1 to Go & Nick Graduated from Pre-K

Hi All,

I can not believe Nick has endured 29 shots in his leg/muscle. He is truly a strong child. I know everyone hears us talk about the shots in every blog, but there is a lot of anixety for Nick when he knows the reason we are going to clinic that day is the shot. It hurts a lot for him and the hardest part is that he does not have a choice. He does not have the option to make decisions for himself or really know how to deal with the side effects. We are so proud of him for everything he has been through and will continue to go through. So we are down to one shot left, next Monday and two weeks left of this phase of his treatment.

He started his steroids again this week and it is already an emotional rollercoaster for him. Little things bother him so easily and it is hard to calm him down. We will all be happy when his dose decreases in the next phase.

On a very positive note, Nick graduated from Pre-K at Prospect Hill on Friday night. The entire staff puts on a great show and the kids sing songs and receive diplomas. Imagine that, you get to graduate before entering Kindergarten. :) Prospect Hill has been wonderful to Nick and really helped him keep in contact with his friends. We wanted to make sure we thanked everyone and the kids for thinking of Nick all school year, so I have attached the Thank You note I read Friday night:

As many of you know Nicholas was diagnosed with Leukemia on 10/15/08. That day he was here at Prospect Hill when we got the call to go straight to Hasbro Children's hospital. After receiving the news and digesting how our lives were going to change overnight, we knew we had to keep all our kids going and try to keep them involved in everyday activities as much as we could. In the beginning we thought Nick would not be healthy enough to attend school due to his chemo treatments and side effects of the medicine. We realized quickly that Nick is a fighter and a very active child, especially when you give him what he wants. He missed his friends immensely and we thought it best to bring him to Prospect as often as we could throughout the school year.

We would like to say many thanks Miss Michelle, Miss Andrea and the entire staff, Donna,Beth, Renee . They have always included Nick in everything the class does, even when he was unable to attend. We would like to say thank you and good luck to all the kids here and especially Miss Michelle’s class. I was amazed everyday that I walked into his classroom and how excited the kids were to see Nick. They accepted him with or without hair and the cranky days when he was taking his medicine. They told him stories and kept him up to date on things he missed. He would come home from school every time so excited that he was able to go. These moments and the moments your children have shared with Nick will always be remembered.

We, the Shannon Family would like to give Special thanks Miss Kristen for being flexible with Nick’s schedule and my last minute calls to say Nick is coming today. Her selflessness has helped us to keep Nick going.

Good luck to all the kids who are here as they embark on the next journey of their life. Each journey is unique and special, don’t let it pass without notice.

There are so many people we need to thank for supporting us and keeping us going. We will try to give you all big hugs.... to the Gillespie family for giving Nick a place to escape and play with Michael. The dinners from Deer Run & Taylor Rd gang, we appreciate it and the Cowles family for your kind thoughts. Everyone else out there praying for Nick, we thank you and we are looking ahead to our next phase. Still a long road, but we are lucky for the support. Take Care, Karen