Sunday, September 23, 2012

Two Years

It was 2 years ago today that Joey was diagnosed with leukemia.  I can't believe it's been that long.  I asked him if he remembers what it was like before he had it and said only a little bit.  When I look at pictures from those first few days, I remember the feelings very clearly.  At that time, I didn't know what the future held for him, but he's doing so well now.  He'll be done with the chemo in April, which will obviously be a huge milestone.  The fear of relapse creeps into my mind sometimes, but overall, I'm confident that he'll be fine.  He "shouldn't" relapse, but the reality is that no one really knows.

I like to keep track of things, so here is a listing of treatments, etc, from the last two years:


4 hospital admissions
3 ER visits
110 Visits to Dr Rosen
4 surgeries
2 bone marrow aspirations
14 spinal taps
6 blood transfusions
1 platelet transfusion
10 x-rays
2 CT scans
130 CBC's (50 finger pokes)
1 MRI
3 EKG's
2 Electrocardiograms
94 days of steroids
74 rounds of chemo drugs (different types, including 672 MTX pills & 27 MTX Shots)
3 sinus infections
2 Hickman infections
11 Rounds of antibiotics (plus every weekend)
1 case of pneumonia
11 port accesses
 

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Joey Soccer

We started Joey in AYSO this year so he could play more than just during the spring.  Jon is his coach - his first time to be a head coach.  Their team is very new to soccer and they are all on the younger (and smaller) end of their age group, so Jon has his hands full.  They've only played 2 games so far, and I won't even mention the scores, but I think they have fun.  Joey is small, but he's really aggressive. He wanted to play goal-keeper and was disappointed to find out they don't use them in his age-group. His eyes are really sensitive to the sun (they always have been, but even more so from the medicine, so he got some sunglasses he can wear when he plays. He also wears a cushion over his chest to help protect his port.  It would be really hard to injure it, but it doesn't feel good to him to have it hit.









Labor Day Weekend

We spent Labor Day weekend at the lake house.  Katherine got to bring a friend with her for the first time (Hannah), which turned out to be a really good idea.  We didn't spend too much time in the boat - partially because of the weather, and partially because of a dead boat battery.

We did some shopping, had dinner at the Dixie Stampede, swam in the pool, and spent time on the lake.  We really need to get some kid skis for next summer.  They're all bored with the inflatable skier now.









Katherine Soccer

Katherine is playing soccer with SCSA this year but with a new team, which she really likes.  She played with older girls last year, so we decided to have her play with her own age group, which was a good decision. She's much more aggressive this year than she's ever been before.  I was never good at sports, and it's fun to watch her play.

They've had 3 games so far and they're 1-1-1.  I'm happy with that.








LLS Support Group with Star Wars

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society provides times for the kids to spend together doing fun stuff.  This last time, it was with the Star Wars characters (some were the same guys who came to our house).  The kids got pretty rowdy, but they had fun.








Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Joey Sayings

I didn't do a good job of writing down the cute things Katherine used to say and I wish I would have been better.  Joey has been saying a lot of awesome things lately.

Joey: Mom, should I eat after you? Me: It's probably ok, why? Joey: Well, you're pregnant and I don't want to get pregnant.

Joey: I think I'm becoming a grown up. Me: Oh, yeah? Why is that? Joey: Because I watched a black-and-white show yesterday, and I liked it.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

First Day of School

August 21 - Joey's first day of 1st grade and Katherine's first day of 4th grade.




Back-to-School Pictures

I took the kids out and got some new pictures in honor of the new school year starting.  Joey hated every minute of it, but we got a few good ones. 











Camp Quality 2012

Joey got to go to Camp Quality again this year and he had a blast.  He had the same companion as last year and all the same boys bunked together again.

 Visit from Thunderdog and Thunderpup.

 His companion, Tobey.

 They had several visits from therapy dogs. 

 Uno!

 PJ carnival

 Playing in the cabin

 I'm actually not sure what this is...

Crafts 

Prom night

 Talent show - the boys did card tricks

 Baseball

 Joey with JC