Tomorrow Fund Clinic Visits Nick's Classroom

Hello,
We have had a good week. Greg and I thought it would be a good idea to have our Social Worker (Rachel) and Child Life Specialist (Lisa) visit Nick's class and give a presentation about him. We know Nick talks about clinic, his port, his medicine and all the things that 5 yr olds probably do not understand. We also thought it would help the kids understand Nick when he is moody or absent from school at times. Of course, I had to go and I was very curious to see the kids reactions to the 'terms' and the word 'cancer'. The kids were very responsive and tried to relate times to when they were sick and how they felt. The women showed how a port is accessed and how Nick receives his medicine through a really cool doll that had velcro patch where you insert the port. They brought a couple of ports for the kids to hold and feel. Nick described how his port gets accessed and what it felt like getting shots in his leg. He was really into it and not shy at all. Nick had packed his little port doll that he received the 2nd day in the hospital after his surgery for his port.
I was giving Greg an update about it tonight and I was thinking about how man times the word 'cancer' was said during the presentation. Greg and I usually say Leukemia, I guess for some reason it does not sound so awful. It just really brings you back into perspective and exactly what Nick is going through. We appreciated Rachel and Lisa taking the time to come to class today and we hope the kids have an understanding of who Nick is and when he is sometimes not himself. I know the teacher has done a great job with teaching the kids to wash their hands and use purell as often as needed. She mentioned the kids like the smell of purell, whatever works. The boys are settling in tonight to watch the opening premiere of the Clone Wars. They have been waiting for this night the whole summer. I can not believe we are approaching a year since Nick was diagnosed. So much has happened and Nick has been through a lot. Colby and Tom have also grown up in the past year. We were worried about Colby starting school this year, he had a rough time last year. Colby is adjusting very well and really enjoying 1st grade. Colby told us tonight: "Everyone that sees me in school tells me they saw me in the paper, it is cool to be famous."
Tom is the definitely our 'crazy' of the family. He is so active and so into the boys. He follows them everywhere and tries to play with them, but of course, the boys are not into sharing their toys with him. I can remember the days when Nick was home and always sleeping on the couch, as soon as he saw Tom, his eyes would light up. Tom (and someday he will know) kept Nick going at times and especially when Nick was feeling sad or lonely. Greg and I are so proud of all our boys and how each one has their own personality. Karen

Nick is in the paper. Check it out.

Hi Everyone,
Nick and Colby made the paper for their big day at the State House. They were both so excited to see their picture (in color) in the paper. The link does not show the second picture of the boys. It is the one I posted on the blog recently of the medal and award certificate. We sure wish Tom could of been there for the picture.


http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x356129942/Bellingham-boy-receives-honor-for-fight-against-cancer

We took Nick to clinic yesterday. It was a very busy day at Hasbor Clinic. I decided to bring my dad (Papa Boston) and Tom with me. Tom needed his blood work taken for his 1 yr visit, (I am little behind on the schedule) and my dad wanted to see how the process works at clinic. We were surprised to learn that everyone must wear a mask when you are in the playroom at clinic. If the child can not/will not (due to age) wear a mask then they will be assigned a private room for their visit. Of course, Tom could not wear a mask and there was some confusion going on about 'where to put us', since all the private rooms were taken to by the younger patients. Papa kept Tom out of clinic most of the time and they found us a spot for Nick. I think it is great the pre-cautions they are taking with up coming flu season but makes it a little more crazy at clinic. We will adjust to make sure we keep those bad germs away. Nick's counts were very good.

WBC: 3.7 (a little low)
RBC: 9.1
Plts: 330 (normal)
APC: 2,600 (still a little high and they might adjust the chemo again next week)

Take Care, Karen