Update on Caden

Hello all. Here is an update about Caden from my mother. If you read carefully, her spirits sound fairly high, which is very good. She isn't as young as Caden and it is harder for her to bounce back. I am also attaching the picture that she sent because I think it is cute. It's definitely a Happy 4th of July picture if I have ever seen one.

"It's Saturday afternoon, Caden is taking his nap (rare these days) so I thought I would take advantage of the free time to send out my update. The attached picture is Caden approved. It was very important that the picture showed him smiling. He also asked that I tell everyone that he feels good! Actually, considering everything going on right now, he is doing better than anticipated. What's going on? He is still running a fever; not as bad as last round because this round he is a big boy and is taking his Tylenol. "It makes me feel better Nana and make my bever go away!". I am so proud of him, we have come so far! Because of the mysterious fevers, he is on three antibiotics again. So far we are still blessed without the negative side effects we had last time and, the blood cultures have all been negative. His ANC count is still 0 so we all worry about infection. Purell is great stuff, if you don't use it, get some and use it, it helps! Of course being cautious of who he around helps too. He has developed some sores on his right foot and now has some red spots showing up in different parts of his body. They are not sure what they are because with his counts so low, any normal fungus or virus does not present itself in the normal way, thus making it hard to identify. To me, it looks like a staff infection. So, being the bossy Nana I am, I insisted they send in the cleaning staff yesterday to sanitise the entire room! I mean I moved everything around and out that I could and had the beds stripped and wiped down. I then wiped Caden thoroughly down with Chlorhexidine wipes. The sores on the top of his foot look a tiny bit better, the rest look the same. There was one rash spot under his arm that is completely gone today. I'm sure the improvement is due to both the antibiotics and sanitising. I asked the doctors how much longer they think it will be before his ANC comes back up and the shrug and say, "We expect them to come up sometime in the next 6 weeks." Humph, seems to me they said that 6 weeks ago. Okay, I am exaggerating, but it feels like it! Like I said last week, we are all ready to be done. Most of all, we want Caden to be better! Please keep the prayers going, I believe they are working. We enjoyed watching the fireworks on TV for a few minutes but Harry Potter was more interesting to Caden! Thank you and God Bless. Cindy"

Seasonal Dragonfly and Pics of My Mommy

I have decided to create some season specific dragonflies for Fourth of July. It would not be something that I might choose, but lots of people like red, white, and blue things. I am selling ten of them in my etsy store, and will bring some into the store. I will also have some at the arts and crafts show. My friend LeAnn gave me the idea and then I felt silly not having thought of it. Such a simple idea :) I hope they sell OK but if not oh well! I tried!

Also, here are some pictures of my sweet mommy. She is taking a MUCH needed break from the hospital with Caden or the Ronald MacDonald house with Cameron to take a stroll on the beach. Good for you mommy! You have to take care of yourself too. Perhaps you should make it a daily ritual until you leave. You were right though...the pictures turned out really well. I think I can see the stress washing out with waves. For the moment anyway.

The Videos

Here I am trying AGAIN to upload videos to this BLOG. I swear that I am not technologically challenged but I don't see how these short little videos can possibly be so difficult to download. They are all just a few short minutes but I am having a rough time with them. I still can't figure out how to place the real-time clock either. I am still waiting for JennyP to read this and tell me. We did a whole lot of nothing today and the weather was a bit chilly. There is really great news on the Caden front though...if you can say that chemo is good news. Well, honestly the end result will be and he will go home fully healed and live a wonderfully normal life driving his mother crazy just like every other child. Anyway, my sister sent an email saying that his blood counts are up enough that they can begin the fifth round. This is good news. I send out updates regularly and must say thank you to all of my friends and family who pray or send well wishes to them. My sister's update is below:

"As much as Caden has enjoyed his time out....we are starting round 5 tomorrow!!!!! I know, silly to be excited about that, but it holds more meaning then you'd think. It means that his counts have come up enough that they do not think the leukemia is back and he does not need to have the bone marrow aspiration today. It also means that the sooner we start this round the sooner we will be HOME!!! I am hoping to catch some of the Alaskan summer but it is looking unlikely. The weather here is actually not as nice right now as home. Go figure. C'est la vie. I am hoping for an uneventful 5th round and a speedy recovery. In a perfect world right?? Except our world is so far from perfect. I am actually grateful for that. How boring life would be if all were perfect. I am also grateful for all of my family, friends, and everyone accross the globe praying for us. Strange how we have become part of the lives of people all over the world. Thank you."

Thanks again to all of you who take the time to think of my family when you are busy with your own lives. It means more than you may ever know. Since I can't seem to get the videos to upload, I am attaching some recent pictures of Caden and Cameron. As I noted in my last email, they make me happy and sad at the same time. It is so sad for me to think that soon this poor little boy will be sick to his stomach and weak again from the treatment he needs to get rid of this aweful cancer. It makes me happy to see his big smile though and I find solace in the fact that children are often stronger than adults and the bounce back better than most. There is a large blessing in that fact.