Sunday, September 9, 2012

CureSearch Walk



Kennedy started kindergarten, a life occurrence we didn’t think would be possible 7 months ago.  We’ve come a long way.  Maintenance is not the cakewalk we thought it would be but it is one step closer to kicking cancer’s butt for good.  Kennedy now has morning sickness every day and her first few days of kindergarten were hell to get her out of the house.  Thankfully, a simple dose of Zofran nightly along with her oral chemo seems to do the trick for now.  If we had any concern that the nausea first reported 2 weeks ago was the flu or anything else, we are now pretty sure the oral chemo build-up is the culprit ,which is good and bad.  Good that it is not anything more serious, bad that we have 2 years of this left.

Other than her daily nausea, we’ve been living life hard.  We take our kids everywhere and live life to its fullest. 

Yesterday was the CureSearch walk and we are privileged to know so many wonderful and kind people.  The generosity seen from friends, family, acquaintances, colleagues and clients to help such a worthy cause has been humbling.  An old friend donated his dad’s birthday gifts to the cause.  His dad has also been battling cancer and just turned 70, they felt Curesearch was a good place for the gifts to go since no kid should have to go through what his dad has.  One of my best girlfriends got her whole workplace to kick-in to make her the single largest outside donor of our group.   There are so many stories of generosity it would take pages to list.  I am grateful to all the friends and family that came out to walk and give up their time early on a Saturday morning to support us in our battle. I am also grateful to those who couldn't make it to the walk but still contributed, every bit helps.

The walk was hard, not physically but mentally.  Walking from the parking garage to the event was overwhelmingly emotional.  Seeing the balloons released by all the families that lost a child or reading a poster about a little girl who died from AML at 11, was hard to digest.  I know I say it often but we are one of the lucky ones.  Kennedy’s cancer has definitely given the entire family a new perspective on life.  We know what matters, who are friends are and appreciate every chance we get to enjoy our life and everyone in it.

I am not numbering days on the blog anymore because it is honesty just to hard to keep up.  We are 7 months into treatment and have 23 months to go.  We are almost 25% done with stupid cancer.


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Days 192 - 203


Kennedy's portrait for the Cure Search slide show

Look mom, no water wings!
Summer is almost over and Kennedy is going to start kindergarten next week.  When she was first diagnosed, that didn’t even seem possible.  We met with the school principal, nurse, social worker, kindergarten teacher and gym teacher last week and we have a plan to keep Kennedy safe.

Grandma, Auntie Julie and Kennedy
Arizona day out shopping
We got back from Arizona on Sunday; the kids had a blast.  Kennedy swam for 9 hours straight!  Julie treated the kids to a lot of fun, including crafts at Make Meaning where Kennedy decorated a birthday cake (including edible spray paint) for her cousin Ali and Maddox made soap for Ali’s birthday.  We did some shopping and a lot of eating.  We got to spend some much-needed time with grandma, auntie Julie and the cousins.  Although we had a blast, it is great to be home.  We aren’t the most organized family and I think our clutter was making Auntie crazy (that along with our dramatic son and non-eating daughter).  The flight to Arizona was LOONNGGG.  The flight was delayed for nearly 4 hours but otherwise, uneventful.  Kennedy wore a mask on the plane and they let us board first so we could wipe down the seat and her area.  Unfortunately, the trip back wasn’t as great.  Kennedy threw-up in the car on the way to the airport (the poor driver), in the airport and then again on the plane 2-3 times.  We are still not sure why.  We did give her some Zofran on the plane, which seemed to work.

At Clinic - love Maddox's choice of toys!
Today we had clinic.  Kennedy threw-up on the way to clinic, which was bad since I was driving and Maddox was in the back seat with K.  I felt bad there was nothing I could do but hand her the barf bag Gary gave us month’s back.  The doctors examined her ears to make sure she didn’t have an ear infection causing the nausea  but nothing was there.  Her counts were at 800 so the assumption is that she just has a tummy bug.  Being completely honest, the nausea and vomiting was so reminiscent of our return from Mexico, although we didn’t say it, Gene and I both thought the cancer could have been back but it was not something we gave much merit to.  She’s just a kid with a tummy bug, thank GOD!

Cancer?  What Cancer?
By the time we left clinic all was good but Kennedy got sick again on the way to lunch so we just headed home.  After some Zofran and some chill-time at home, I took Kennedy and Maddox to Extreme Trampoline, yes that’s how we roll – from puking to jumping.  Cancer, what cancer?  Our kid is normal and that’s how we try to live.

A little boy was diagnosed with brain cancer today in clinic.  As we sat on the other side of the curtain, I heard the pain and agony of the family being told the next steps.  Mom, dad, grandma and grandpa and Jordan (he’s 2), were there.  They couldn’t get the IV in and after several attempts and screams, I heard them explaining that a port would make things better.  Both Kennedy and I were in tears and Maddox asked to leave, it’s amazing how that feeling of just finding out returns.  As far as cancer goes, we are lucky with ALL Leukemia.  Please pray for Jordan and his wonderful family.  They need as many prayers as they can get right now. 

Lastly, thank you to all who have donated to the CureSearch walk.  We are kicking some butt in the war against childhood cancer and the money contributed will help find a cure for some tough forms of the disease.   We were asked to take a picture of Kennedy for a slide show for the event that expressed her journey through cancer.  My word was "hope", Kennedy's was "Never Give Up". If you haven’t done so already, please login to our page and walk with us on September 8.  http://www.curesearchwalk.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=1009283&lis=1&kntae1009283=C1B8853B38224340A74C694F784AB444&team=5165206&tlteam=4939253

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Days 184 191



At Big Time Rush
It was a great week for Kennedy.  Her moods were still all over the place for the first few days after she stopped steroids but slowly she has turned back into our sweet little angel.  She had a great time at the Big Time Rush concert last Saturday and due to the crazy weather that night, her Bear Hug lasted from 4pm – 12pm and included a power outage and an acoustic performance by the band when we were rushed back stage to stay out of the torrential downpour.  It was quite the experience and we are grateful to Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation for their program that allowed Miss. K to do this.

At Museum of Science and Industry

This past week I took the kids to the Museum of Science and Industry and dad hung out with Kennedy and took her to Pirate’s Cove and Miniature Golfing.  Both kids have been through a lot and it is nice to be able to spend special time with them.

At pirates Cove
On a very somber note, we said good-bye to a friend this week.  Last year we got to meet an amazing family that were neighbors to us at our new trailer.  Dave Rivera was diagnosed with liver cancer just one month after Kennedy was diagnosed and he passed away yesterday.  We will miss him dearly.

There is no cure for cancer but we are working on finding one by supporting CureSearch.  September 8, 2012, our entire family is participating in the 2012 Chicago CureSearch Walk to raise funds for children's cancer research. Every day, 36 children are diagnosed with children's cancer – 7 of these children will not survive; cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children. Although the cure rate is now 78%, up from 40% over the last 20 years, it is not good enough. Our goal is a 100% cure rate and we need the assistance from our family and friends to help make this possible. 

To participate in the September 8th walk or to make a donation, visit our team web page at



We would love if you would walk with us, kids are welcome too!!!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Days 178- 183





Molly and K's hands
Thank goodness this round of steroids is done.  This week was just awful and roid rage was extreme.  It was difficult to leave the house without Kennedy having a meltdown backed by extreme frustration and spotty pain.  Leaving for work or anywhere was a challenge.  We noticed that she was easily distracted from the crabbiness and the pain by playing so we used it to our advantage.  Thanks to some last minute help on Tuesday and Wednesday, we all survived the week.

Tuesday morning, I texted Molly and she thankfully came over to play with Kennedy.  The 20 calls I received on Monday were reduced to about 10 on Tuesday.  Wednesday, Stephanie came over with all of the kids and Kennedy spent the afternoon painting everyone’s faces.   I am so thankful to both Molly and Steph, I’m not sure we would have made it through the week with the help!

K painting Kaitlyn's face
Thursday was clinic and her counts were through the roof due to the steroids (something like 16,000).  Dad took both kids to clinic because Maddox wanted to go and he thought it would be good to keep K distracted.  This clinic visit was not the best.  The nurses had to access her port twice, the first poke didn’t result in a blood draw and after trying to move the needle around a bit, they de-accessed and re-accessed her.  There was a lot of screaming and Kennedy was extremely upset.  It is not fair that Kennedy and all of the kids at clinic need to go through so much, so young.  Gene was emotionally drained by the end of yesterday, obviously traumatized by dual poke and Kennedy’s extreme mood swings.

Maddox and K at clinic
Maddox wanted to dictate a portion of the blog regarding clinic, so here it is…. “First we got there, then Kennedy was sitting in the big chair.  Then, we got a little hungry when we got into the new room and daddy gave us some chips.  Then we watched Home Alone and then she got the needle stuck into her chest two times.” 

K - today...happy, finally!
Today I put up the backyard water park and Steph came over with the kids again and they all played.  Kennedy is still extremely emotional but I can tell it’s already getting better by the smiles. 

Tomorrow is Kennedy’s Bear Necessities “Bear Hug”.  We are all headed to the Big Time Rush concert and Kennedy gets to meet the band.  She is very excited. 

We meet with the school next week to discuss Kennedy’s kindergarten special-needs.  So far the school has been extremely receptive and I really like the new principal.   A letter will be sent out to Kennedy’s class at the start of the school year to hopefully help incoming students understand why K is bald and the need for all of the sanitizer.

Saturday, July 28, 2012

Day 177


Maintenance is not what we expected.  This roid run has been hell so far and we are only on day 3 of 7.  The chemo and the steroid mixture has completely changed our little cherub into a little devil.  She’s angry, impatient, clingy, crabby and worst of all, in pain.  This is a different experience than any we have had so far with med mixtures.  Instead of celebrating maintenance, we are filled with dread and fear for our suddenly very sick child.  This pit in my stomach will not go away.  She has handled treatment so well until now.  We knew the muscle pain would come with the steroids but it wasn’t supposed to come on day 2!  The roids that used to make her eat like crazy now makes her nauseas, add that to the headaches and pain and I want to scream.  Every smell disgusts her so she will barely eat.  It has been a very hard 2 days and we still have 5 to go. 

I haven’t felt the need to blog daily because I can usually handle everything but tonight, I’m at my limit.  I wish I could take her off treatment but unfortunately, if we stop, the cancer wins and that is NOT an option.  2 more years and 2 weeks left, please pray it gets better!  Cancer sucks!

Friday, July 27, 2012

Days 169 – 176




Super Kids - Maddox won his sister cool
gear at Great America

We are on maintenance. Kennedy’s counts were at 1,000 so she was able to receive treatment yesterday.  Within 12 hours of chemo, the pale chemo-glow with blue bags under her eyes returned and we were reminded how much this all sucks.  Maintenance to both Gene and me has always been symbolic of “ease” but it’s not. We were introduced to a new arsenal of home meds and Kennedy’s aches and pains have returned and it hasn’t even been 24-hours since treatment.  We have 6 more days of steroids and another vincristine dose next Thursday.  Maybe it will get easier?  This last week has been so nice without meds, I think we often kid ourselves that everything is normal, it definitely is not.

Dad getting his face painted
Gene took Kennedy to clinic yesterday and I took Maddox to Great America.  He really has been lost with everything going on and we don’t spend enough one-on-one time with him.  He had a great day and we checked-in with dad and K throughout the day.  It was hard not being there for Kennedy but I needed to be there for Maddox; he is so often overlooked.  After clinic, dad took Kennedy to Stir Crazy, one of her now favorite restaurants.  He had bigger plans for both of them but Kennedy was just too tired to go to Build-a-Bear or Color Me Mine so she went home to sleep.

From Kennedy:
My favorite doctor is Dr. Manera and Dr. Sarvita, Dr. Heminway too.  I went to sleep yesterday.   I painted daddy’s face.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Days 159 - 168


K on the diving board at Alene's

What was supposed to be our first day of maintenance was postponed until next week.  Kennedy’s counts weren’t high enough for her first day of maintenance treatment.  She was at 735 and needed to be at 750….so close.  The doctor had the lab do an additional manual count to try and find one extra neutrophil and the next count came back at 733, even lower – no luck.  Today she was scheduled for her spinal Methotrexate, port vincristine and start of oral steroids which means she couldn’t eat until the counts came back.  Everything has been pushed back until next Thursday, count dependent.  This also means July 30, 2014 is no longer her last day of treatment, it is now August 6. Bummed.

On a happy note, she will be chemo free for one full week.  Likely the only week she will have med free for a full 2 years of treatment, so long as her counts stay up.  No 6MP at night either – a clean week to be med free. 

On the tube hanging out with Ella
The past week has been good.  Friday, Gene and I had a date night – woo hoo!  On Saturday, I attended the Tender Heart lunch put on by the Tillman Foundation for parents of chronically and terminally ill kids. This lunch was for moms only and I stood in awe as I heard Kate (Ella’s mom) tell her story of Ella and Leukemia to a room full of more than 100 attendees.  I also heard a lot of heart wrenching stories from parents whose outcome isn’t expected to be as good as Kennedy’s.  Parents that lost a child also spoke.  I felt as if the three of us, Kate, Donnna and I (fellow parents of ALL leukemic children) were the lucky ones.  The highlight of the lunch was getting to meet Bears player and foundation creator, Charles “Peanut” Tillman, who is a magnificent man both on and off the field.  He signed a Bears hat for Gene and a jersey for Ella – thank you Kate for the hat so I didn’t come home empty handed for my big Bears’ fan Gene J


After clinic with Dad - being sent home :(

On Sunday we went boating with Kate, Ella, Josh and Steve.  It was nice because both girls couldn’t go in the water so Kennedy didn’t feel left out (although K was a bit crabby all day).   We did let the girls hang out on the tube at the sandbar so long as they didn’t go in the water. On Tuesday, cousin Alene picked up Kennedy to take her swimming at her house and for a play date.  Most of the family was there and Kennedy was in her glory diving off the diving board and playing with dolls. 

We are looking forward to August 4 when Kennedy receives her Bear Hug from Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer foundation.  We will be heading out to see Big Time Rush.  We may even get to meet them – Kennedy is ecstatic J