The End of 2012

The year is over, well almost and what a year it has been.  One of the questions we often get asked is how we do it.  Honestly, I don't know.  I have faith that the Lord will help us get through what ever trials we are given.  Then I just try and get through today.  That is really all that is asked for us is to get through today.

This month has brought some extra challenges for us.  We were in the ED with Sarah on the 23rd.  Luckily it wasn't because of a fever.  She has twisted her ankle on Saturday, and since she is a HemOc patient, she isn't allowed to go to the insta-care.  She got an X-ray and there was nothing broken.  She limped for a few days, but is mostly fine now.

Sarah did start on a fever on Christmas Eve.  I thought that it was a mirror of the year before where I spent the time Santa came in the ED in Utah, with Sarah.  Luckily this year, her fever subsided before the 8 hour mark and didn't break 101F.  Even though she fought the fever for both Christmas Eve and Christmas, we avoided a trip to the ED.

Christmas was different.  It was our first year as just our family.  We decided to stay home and we had a good time together.  We started a fire on Christmas Eve and sang songs and talked about Christ and how the birth of the Savior was seen by the Nephites.  We held many of my traditions that I grew up with on Christmas morning.  We hanged sheets so that the girls couldn't see into the tree.  We had breakfast with individual boxed cereals, grapefruit and oranges, and hot chocolate.  The kids had to help clean up and we read the Christmas story from Luke.  Then the kids got to go into the room with the Christmas tree.

We got a piano as a family.  We just need to populate sheet music to play and lessons for everyone but Nate. It will be nice to have a piano in the house again.  It took Gus a few presents to realize that there were toys behind the wrapping paper.  Once he did, he loved to open the presents.  He got a number of cars and a track for them, as well as a few sound books that he reads multiple times a day.  Sarah got a Zuzu pet to match one Lilly got one as part of our Disneyland trip.  Lilly got a Luigi Lego cart that she got to build and it went by itself.  Jess got a Kindle Fire as well.  It was a fun Christmas and a start of new traditions.

Lilly and Sarah playing with Christmas presents

This year also found me not teaching at Deer Valley.  It was brought home the day after Christmas when I didn't have to get up early to hit the slopes.  It has been relaxing to not have to work during a vacation, though I did put some hours in at the office this past week.

Jess did provide excitement the end of this week.  On Thursday, she had a fall in the garage and hit her knee hard on the cement.  She was in pain and went to the doctor's on Friday.  They sent her for an X-ray but it didn't get back to the office before the end of the day, so we don't know whether it is broken or not.  Some of Jess's friends used in the medical field and had a knee immobilizer and walker that they let Jess borrow, to help with the injury.  Those help and allow Jess to get around without as much pain.  It also has put me in charge of most of the house.  Hopefully it will still be standing when Jess gets better.  ;)

Thanks for all the love and support.  We are amazed at the compassion that is still shown to us in our trials.

Thanksgiving and the following week

I have been bad about getting posts up.  There has been a few major things over the past couple of weeks.

Thanksgiving was great.  We had it over at the Barlow's this year.  It has been fun to have Thanksgiving with over the past few years.  They have a tradition where they make what ever food each member of the family is most thankful for.  This year there was ribs and curry.  We bring the traditional Thanksgiving things like turkey and yams.  It is a great feast.

My family joined us a few days after Thanksgiving for a quick visit.  We thought it would be fun to have some crab for dinner.  Going out with so many people was expensive so we did crab at home.  It was lots of fun.  Sarah and I went down to Pike's Place Market to get a couple of crabs.  While we were getting the crab, Sarah saw the cups of shrimp with sauce and started licking her lips.  I bought it for her and she chowed down on it.  Funny girl.  The crab dinner was a success and lots of fun.

Sarah with her shrimp cup

Grandpa Butch playing with the girls, while Shannon tickles 

Last Friday was a busy one for us.  Lilly had a school dance that we were looking to go to as a family.  However, Sarah got invited from Sunshine Kids to go to the Wizard of Oz play at the Children's Theater.  Jess and I split up.  Jess got a babysitter for Gus and went to the dance with Lilly.  I went with Sarah to the theater.  She got scared of the wicked witch, until I explained to her that it was all pretend.  She loved it and is now asking me to read the story to her at bedtime.  There are a lot of good organizations that help kids with cancer.

Sarah and Jasmine (a hospital roommate for one of her early stays)

We are grateful for all the love and prayers for our family.  We are excited for the upcoming holiday season as we focus on our Savior and helping to bring the spirit of Christmas to others.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

I look at the date and can't believe that 2012 is almost over.  Where did most of the year go?  It has been a year of many ups and downs.  A year of change and a year of growth.  I have constantly been in amazement at the goodness of people in providing things for my family.  We have been extremely blessed.  Thank you all for the prayers, the service and the thoughts done on our behalf.  We are grateful for all of those.

It has been a crazy week.  Sarah has had to go to the clinic every day to get an antibiotic via her port (IV).  On Thursday, Sarah's port wasn't working.  This happens when a protein forms over the tube in her vein.  To get it working again they have to put a medicine called TPA in the port and have it sit there for 1-2 hours.  Before they do that, they take a chest X-Ray to make sure the port is still in the right place.  We have had to do it a couple of times with Sarah before.  It caused the appointment to go on a lot longer than expected.  On top of that, we found out on Friday that Sarah, Jess, and Gus were exposed to pertussis on Thursday, while waiting in the waiting room.  This means that they all have to be on an antibiotic and Sarah has to wear a mask at the hospital for 5 days.

We didn't want to risk Gus infecting anyone so he stayed home from church and Sarah had a clinic visit.  That meant that only Lilly went to church, since it was the primary program.  We wish we could have gone to see the program.

Thanks again for all the love and support that we receive.  It lifts our hearts and our spirits.

Home again - Nov 14th

Sarah was discharged this evening, earlier than we expected.  She met all the criteria though.  All the cultures that got taken while she was admitted came back negative.  So the antibiotics that she got in the ED worked.  However, the policy is that she goes through a round of IV antibiotics.  That means she is on the antibiotics for the next 11 days or so.  Until the 25th.  Luckily, the antibiotic that the bacteria is susceptible to is one that she only takes once a day.  We have set for her to go in clinic every day to get it, but we might revert to giving it to her at home with a home health care company.  It is nice to be home.

Thanks for all those who helped while we were in the hospital and for those who visited.

Tuesday Morning, November 13th - Hospital visit

It has been a couple weeks since I last posted.  It has been a busy couple of weeks.  Last weekend Jess and I were both sick.  I ended up with a high fever and was in bed most of the weekend.

Halloween was fun.  It was exciting to watch Gus learn how to trick-or-treat.  I will post pictures later.

We are back in the hospital over this past weekend.  At church, Sarah started complaining about her ear, and the pain was just getting stronger.  We left early and Jess took Sarah into the ER.  They thought it was just an ear infection and started her on an antibiotic.  Later that evening, her fever spiked and we went back to the ER.  Her port wasn't giving so she had to get some blood cultures from a poke in her arm, as they waited for TPA to work on her port.  She got a dose of IV antibiotics and we were sent home.

While at work, I got a call from Jess, who had just gotten a call from the Hospital.  Sarah's culture were positive for a bacteria.  We have now found out that it is strep strain, but don't know what medicines will be the most effective.  We will be here through Thursday at least.  She needs 3 negative cultures and no fevers for 24 hours before she can be released.

This trip has reminded me that we aren't out of the woods yet.  Sarah's maintenance, while easier, is still a chemo treatment and we will still need to be watching out for her.  

Thanks for all the love and support.

The return home

The day you leave a vacation is always with mixed feelings.  It is always hard to be away from home, and so you are glad to be heading back to the familiar, and pending it is a good vacation, you wish you could continue on the vacation longer.  That is how we felt today.  It is great to be home, but it would have been nice to have a couple of more days.

We went to Downtown Disney this morning so that the girls could finish up their shopping and use their gift cards.  Lilly got some small dress up dolls, and Sarah got some princess dolls.  Sarah also crash since it was lunch time and she hadn't eaten anything.  We got some sugar in her and went to In-N-Out Burger for lunch.  Sarah also had a little nap while the rest of us had lunch.

We played at a park for an hour, before heading to the airport.  The flight was nice.  We had our "wish girls" waiting for us when we got off the plane.  It was nice to see them and they helped with the luggage to get it to the shuttle to the car park.

We had a fun time and are grateful for all those who made it possible.  The Make-A-Wish foundation does great things and brings happiness to many lives.  Thank you for granting Sarah's wish.   We also want to thank the Wells Fargo Advisors of Bellevue that sponsored Sarah's Wish.  They did a lot and have helped to make Sarah's wish a reality.  Thank you so much.

Disneyland, Day 3

Jess and Gus weren't feeling well today, so they planned on spending the morning at the hotel and joining us after Gus's nap.  Unfortunately, he went down for his nap late, and they didn't make it until Dinner time.  More on that later.

After yesterday's experience with Goofy's flight school, the girls wanted to start out the day with Splash Mountain.  They went on it but didn't like it too much.  The issue was there was a drop in the darkness that they didn't like.  That caused them not to like the big drop where the picture is taken.  Unfortunately, you can't see Sarah because of the person sitting in front, but Lilly's expression is priceless.

The girls were able to see Tigger and Pooh, and go on Pooh's ride.  We then made our way over to Mickey's Toontown.  Due to Splash Mountain, they didn't even want to go on the kiddy coaster in Toontown.  We made our way back to Tomorrow land, where they girls went on the Astro Blasters and Star Tours again.  The Star Tours ride was a completely different ride.  I am sure I could ride that one over and over to see them all.

Tigger and the girls

Pooh and the Girls

We made our way to the wish lounge.  It is a room off Main Street that they have for families there with Make-A-Wish.  It was nice to get out of the heat.  The girls watched half of The Little Mermaid before being ready to do more in the Park.  On our way out, we hit the jackpot with Characters.  We followed Cinderella to a spot just below the castle.  She was there with her Fairy Godmother.  After getting pictures and Autographs with them, we saw the Queen from Snow White, and Ariel come to the same spot.  The girls got pictures and autographs of all of them.

Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother

The Queen

Ariel

About this time we found out that Mom wasn't going to join us before Dinner, so we made our way over to Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion.  The Haunted Mansion was changed for Halloween.  Jack the Pumpkin King took it over and it was themed with Nightmare before Christmas stuff.  It was fun, and the girls loved it.  We then hit some of the rides in Fantasy land before Dinner.

We took the monorail over the the Disneyland Hotel where we met up with Mom and Gus.  We had dinner at Goofy's Kitchen, where we saw a number of characters, like Goofy, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Mulan, and Minnie.  Gus loved Minnie.  It was funny to watch Gus with the Disney characters.  After Dinner, we decided to call it a day.  Tomorrow, we pack up and return home to Seattle.  It has been lots of fun.

Thanks for all those who have made this trip possible.  The girls have been treated very special.  We are very grateful to have been part of Sarah's Wish.

Disneyland, Day 2

We spent the day in California Adventure today.  I took all three kids and took them to the park.  Our goal was to see Car's Land.  It was fun to have Gus with us seeing all the Car's things.  We were able to get pictures with Lightning McQueen, Mater, and Red.  We even went on one of the rides with Gus.  He liked it.  

After Jess got there, we got a few rides in and lunch before Gus needed a nap.  The girls wanted to ride Goofy's flight school.  It is a small roller coaster.  They loved it.  Both of them wanted to ride it twice.  We were also able get into the "Talk with Crush" attraction.  Crush talked to both Lilly and Sarah.  They were excited.

We had dinner at Rain Forest cafe.  After dinner, the girls wanted to do Soaring over California before calling it a day.  They went on it twice, once with dad and once with Mom who is afraid of heights.

Meeting Mickey

Pictures with Mickey

Disneyland, Day 1

Sarah's ready to go.

Today was a fun day.  A couple of highlights.  Sarah had a makeover appointment this morning at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  She became a princess.  Lilly was able to get done as well.  They were cute together.  Sarah picked out an Ariel wig as her hair, and she looked great in it.  Then we found out that someone covered the price for the makeovers.  It was touching to feel the generosity of others.

Dressed up ready for the makeup and hair styling

Sarah all made up

Lilly all made up

The make over took most of the morning.  After lunch, Gus and Jess went back to the hotel to get a nap while me and the two girls started to hit some of the rides.  Since we were with make a wish, we were given a customer assistance card that allowed us to go the front of the ride.  All the Disney employees were so friendly and seemed to do a little extra for Lilly and Sarah.

Lilly and Sarah meeting Tinkerbell

Lilly and Sarah, Tinkerbell and Iridessa

Silly Face time

For dinner, we went to Ariel's Grotto and had princesses visit us during dinner.  Sarah was at the end of her rope, but she loved seeing the princesses.  Both girls loved to see them and get pictures.  Lilly is even trying to get all their autographs.

Snow White

Silly Faces with everyone

Thanks so much to Make-A-Wish, Disneyland and the random strangers that are making our stay a memorable one!

Disneyland, Day 0

So I am writing this from California.  We had an mostly uneventful trip down.  Though we had some surprises.  First let me catch up with a couple of things.

On Saturday, the girls from Make-A-Wish threw Sarah a party at Red Robin.  They had some great decorations and some gift bags for the girls.  They gave both Sarah and Lilly backpacks that they had to bring down to Disneyland.  There was a tinkerbell cake for Sarah as well.  It was fun.  Pictures in-line.

Gus and Bubbles

Lilly had fun

Princess Sarah

We also got all the itinerary that included all the confirmation numbers for the flights and such for the trip.  We got to the airport this morning with plenty of time.  We got checked in and had to wait for the TSA, since we got an escort.  However, there was some confusion as they were waiting on the other side of the check-in counter.  Fifteen minutes later we met up with them and we were on our way.

As we were going through security, a random stranger came up and asked if she could donate some cash so that Sarah could have a good wish.  We were blown away and were in awe of the generosity of others.  Thank you whoever you are.

We flew Alaska Airlines.  They did such a good job to make Sarah and Lilly feel special.  They let them go up and see the pilot and co-pilot before take off; they provided coloring books and wings for the kids; they gave free lunches to us as well.  They were amazing.  Thanks Alaska Airlines for giving us a great flight.

The lady who took care of us at Avis, was so excited about us being with Make-A-Wish.  She told us that we should make sure to write down Sarah's story, because there are many people who need to hear the courage of little kids who have to go through so much.

We made it to the hotel and got settled in.  We were asking where the girls wanted to go to dinner, and they both wanted to go the crab shack (Joe's Crab Shack) near by.  They both got crab.  Lilly liked it but Sarah loved it.  I think I might need to find a good cheap crab place near us that I can take them again.  It was a fun day and we are looking forward to Disneyland tomorrow.

A couple of videos to finish up.  The hotel has a grass lawn that we let the kids play on for a while.  They loved being able to run after the long day traveling.

Tuesday, October 16th

We are getting excited to head to Disneyland.  We leave next Monday and are there through Friday.  The kids are excited.  We are so grateful for all the wonderful things that Make-A-Wish does.  We were invited to a theater showing on Saturday for the new Tinkerbell movie.  Sarah wasn't feeling super well and didn't want to go, so it was just Lilly and I.  It was fun.

Saturday also was the day that I took my girls to get their ski rentals for the season.  Sarah should be ready to start to learn this season.  I don't think that she will last super long, but she can start to learn.  On the skiing note, we have decided that I am not going to teach this year.  It is sad to not go back to Deer Valley, but it seems to be the right time to break that tradition for me.  That also means our Christmas plans are undecided.  We don't know where we are going to be and what we are going to do.

Sarah is coming out of a phase where she sleeps a lot.  It is common and expected about 6 weeks after kids go through radiation.  It was hard because she just wanted to sleep and didn't want to eat or drink.  She has been on steroids for the last 5 days and that has helped get her appetite and activity level back.  She still has her chemo pill that she takes every night.

We were grateful for General Conference.  We got rejuvenated by the talks and felt the spirit.  We know that the Lord is mindful of our challenges and gives us opportunities to grow.  We are grateful for all those who continue to pray for us and provide for our needs.  I am still amazed at the outpouring of love and service that we have received.  Thank you all.

A picture of Gus I grabbed a stoplight coming home from church.
He was watching the rain on the windshield/wipers.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Sorry for the lack of posting.  It has been a rough week and weekend.  The fun all started last Friday evening when Sarah got a fever.  We made a trip to the ED and had Sarah checked out.  Her ANC was great, but they gave her some anti-biotics and got blood cultures and were sent home.  Her fever subsided to mostly normal by Saturday evening.

I was able to take all three kids and go to the light the night walk.  It was a great experience.  We all had fun, though I wouldn't have finished it without the help of one of Sarah's favorite nurses, Aaron.  He walked with us the whole way and helped to push the double stroller, when I had to wrestle Gus who wanted to walk.  I think that Gus walked more of the walk than either of the girls.  Thanks to all those who donated and supported us.

Sunday came and everyone in the house got sick.  Gus was the only one to not get anything major.  Jess and I took turns sleeping throughout the day.  I had spent the night with a fever.  Lilly was sick enough to miss school on Monday.  I stayed home from work from Monday to Wednesday.  Both Jess and I went to the doctor.  She ended up with a staph infection and I just had a virus.  Sarah also was dealing with a fever.  I ended up with a rash on Monday from the virus.  That meant that Jess took Sarah to the ED with her fevers.  She has been in the ED about every 30 hours as her fever keeps coming back.  We found out yesterday that she is positive for the rhino virus.   This is the common cold virus, but Sarah hasn't handled it well, the 3 or 4 times she has gotten it during her treatment.  I am writing this from the ED during one of our visits.  We hope her body finally gets on top of the virus and this is the last time.

Thanks for all the love and support.  I am closing out with some pictures from the walk and a couple others.

Sarah playing the backyard with Daddy's glasses

Best friends

Lilly and Sarah bundled up for the walk.

Waiting for the walk to start

They sure love one another

Almost time

Aaron pushing the girls

Light the Night Walk

I wanted to let everyone know that me and the kids (Lilly, Sarah, and Gus) are going to the Light the Night Walk on Saturday.  It is for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  We are walking with a team from Seattle Children's.  We have loved all the care that they have given us and are honored to help them.  You can help out by donating to the cause or you are welcome to come and walk with us.  You can donate here:
http://pages.lightthenight.org/wa/SeattleL12/NBlackham

I also setup a widget on the right hand side where you can donate.  Thanks for all the love and support that you have given us over the past year.

Monday September 24 - Quick update

I wanted to put out a quick update with a couple things that have been happening.  Lilly was able to go to a concert on Saturday with a guy who sings about food allergies (Kyle Dine).  She had lots of fun.

Lilly and Kyle Dine

Saturday evening, we went to Red Robin and celebrated Sarah's birthday.  It is her favorite place to go out and eat.  We are glad we have hit maintenance but are seeing swings in Sarah's mood.  It could be her body stabilizing or some lingering effects of the steroids she was on early in the month.  Hopefully it is short lived.  I am adding a few pictures from Gus's birthday and one of Lilly.

Are we having fun yet?

Lilly's Cheeky Smile

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

We had a sickness pass around our house over the past week.  Lilly and Gus started with and and it progressed to me and Sarah.  Jess was supposed to teach at church on Sunday but instead was taking care of her sick family.  Luckily Sarah's fever didn't stick around and it never crossed the threshold of 101F so we didn't have to go the ER.

Sarah is excited for her birthday tomorrow (9/19) but we will celebrate it as a family this weekend. She finally started maintenance on Friday.  She gets a week of steroids (a different kind from before) as part of each round.  It isn't the same dose, but does cause some of the mood swings.  Since the dose is different, it hasn't been as bad as it was during the other treatments, but there are times that both Jess and I have to remind ourselves that she is on steroids.

We are grateful for the continued love and support.  I am humbled by the service that is rendered in our behalf.  I feel the prayers and the thoughts and they lift me up each day.  Thank you.

Sunday, September 9th 2012

It looks like it has been two weeks since I last updated.  Sorry for the amount of time since the last update.  It has been a busy time at work.  The kids have been mildly sick and Sarah is fighting to get her numbers up. Sarah has been low numbers for the past two weeks.  We were supposed to start maintenance this past Wednesday, but her numbers were in the 200's, so she has to wait a week.

Gus had a birthday last week, but due to him being sick, we postponed his party until today.  I made a Lightning McQueen cake.  He got a wagon to share with Sarah.  He already loves to be in it and we haven't taken it outside yet.

Gus's Cake

Lilly starts school tomorrow.  She is excited and a little nervous about starting the first grade.  Jess has been ready for this day for three months.  We will have to get the house into a schedule again.  She starts earlier in the day than she did at the other school.  It will be good to get here on a system where she has to get up earlier.

Thanks for all the love and support.  We feel the prayers and thoughts of our family.

Sunday - August 26th - Back Home

We are all back home.  Sarah didn't break the fever mark and was able to come home today.  She had a fun time spending Saturday night and Sunday with Grandpa Butch who stayed at the hospital with her. The kids have loved having Grandpa around.

In the middle of Church, Jess came and found me and she said that she was getting a migraine.  I took her home to let her rest and hopefully quell the migraine.  I kept Lilly and Gus at church with me.  When we got home, Jess was still needing more rest, but was a bit better.  We put Gus down for a nap and Lilly and I went to get Grandpa and Sarah from the hospital.  That gave Jess some good time to rest.  Hopefully the migraine doesn't return.

Thanks for all the love and support.  We feel the prayers of those who pray for Sarah and our family.  Here are a couple of videos Grandpa took while playing with Gus.

Friday, August 24th - Back in the hospital

I find myself composing another blog post from the hospital.  Sarah has been fighting a sickness for the past 10 days or so.  She has had low-grade fevers off and on during that time.  She started one about 3am this morning and it stayed for over 8 hours.  We called and got an appointment to get her checked out.  Her ANC is below 200 (actual - 24) so she was admitted in order to give her antibiotics to help her fight whatever it is.  There hasn't been any indication of what it is yet, but she has had a little bit of a running nose and a cough.

My dad flew into town today to come spend some time with us.  It was fun watching my kids play with him.  He brought Sarah and I to the hospital and stayed with us most of the day.  It was nice to be able to have him here to help out.  Jess's brother Jon has also been in town this week.  He came out for dinner on Sunday and is staying tonight at the house.  The kids love to have visitors to play with.

This will probably be the last time for a while that Sarah has to stay in the hospital.  She eneters maintenance on September 5th.   That means that they will try and keep her ANC above 1000.  She will have clinic visits monthly or so.  We are looking forward to it.

We are grateful for all the love and support.  We hope the hospital stay will be short.  Thanks for all the prayers.

Sarah losing her first tooth

I have been meaning to sit down and write this post since Sunday.  Sarah has had a loose tooth all of last week.  One of the times while she was under for radiation, the nurses tried to see if it would come out, but it wasn't quite ready.  On Sunday, Sarah was done having a loose tooth and came and asked me to pull it out.  I got some floss and tied a knot around the tooth and pulled it out.  She was excited to get the tooth out, but was a little scared of the blood that came.  We got that stopped and she was super excited to get a vist from the tooth fairy.

Sarah's missing tooth

Sarah has had a low grad fever every afternoon since Sunday.  We headed to the ER on Monday night to get her blood drawn and see if we needed to be admitted.  Because she hadn't hit the threshold (101F) and she didn't have any other symptoms, they let us go home.  She had a clinic visit today (Wednesday), and her hematocrit was low enough that she needs a transfusion with a possibility of platelets as well.  The doctor did say, that it was common when all the numbers were low that kids sometimes would spike a fever during transfusions.  If she does, then we are admitted for a few days.  We will see what happens.

Sarah has 2 more radiation treatments and another clinic visit before we start maintenance.  From what they tell us, life will be come more normal after this next week.  We are looking forward to it.  It has been a long year.  We are grateful for all the love and support that has been given us.  It would have been a lot harder if we didn't have people praying for us and helping out.

August 11th - First week of Radiation done.

This past week has been busy as Sarah has had early morning appointments every morning M-F to get her radiation.  The radiology clinic at UWMC does a good time to keep on time.  We are also one of the first patients of the day, so we haven't had many delays.  Sarah was worried about the radiation on Monday but has been good the rest of the week.  She has done well with the treatment so far.

Sarah's numbers are low.  Her ANC is already almost to the bottom.  Her platelets and hematocrit are also falling.  She will probably need a transfusion of either platelets or red blood cells this next week.  Today, we finished her last dose of Cytrabine.  It will be nice to not have to do the 4 days in a row again.

Seattle has gotten hot the past few weeks.  We pulled the inflatable pool out and have used it a few days this past week.

Playing in the pool

The Amazon Summer picnic was today (Saturday).  I took Lilly and Gus with me and we went.  Lilly had fun with the bumper boats and the hayride.  It was good to get them out in the Sun.  Lilly wanted to stay much longer than we did, but we had to get back to pick up Mom and Sarah from clinic.

Unfortunately, Gus has a fever this evening.  We hope that Sarah hasn't picked up the sickness but chances are that we will end up in the hospital sometime in the next week.  Thanks for all the love and support that we receive.

Gus loves the bubbles at the picnic

Lilly's Cheesy Smile

Lilly in the Bumper boats

August 3rd update - One year in.

It has been a busy week for us.  Sarah's appointment on Tuesday showed that she was ready to start the next round of chemo.  While this is the last round of weekly chemo appointments, it is also one of the most intensive.  She has had chemo appointments Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday this week.  We have one on Saturday with Sunday off.  Then Monday through Friday next week, she has radiation appointments in the morning with Chemo appointments Wed-Saturday next week.  The following week is only the daily radiation appointments all week.  By the end of August we should be in maintenance, which should allow us to get back into a routine.

August 2nd marked the one year mark for Sarah's diagnoses.  A year ago, we were in Primary Children's not knowing what to expect.  It has been a crazy year.  We have been in the hospital/clinic around 1/3 of the days this year.  Sarah is gone through 6 rounds of Chemo with many stays in the hospital.  During this time, Lilly completed her first year of school, Gus has learned to walk and run, we moved into a house with a back yard, I got promoted into management, and we have grown a lot as a family and as children of God.  We have learned how to be Christlike recipients to the countless hours and acts of service.  I can't begin to name them all.  I understand more of how the Lord loves each of us and what it means to persevere through our trials.  I have learned to take joy in the many miracles that the Lord gives us each day.  His hand is truly guiding our lives in ways that we don't imagine.  I am grateful that I have been given the chance to learn through this experience.  I hope I can share some of the things that I have learned with others.

We have a few pictures of Gus to post since we haven't put any up in a while.  We are grateful for all the love and support that we receive each and every day.

Gus and His Daddy

Gus with his new haircut

July 26th update

Sarah had an appointment today and we found out that her numbers aren't quite high enough yet for the next set of chemo.  She is pushed back until Tuesday.  That means that we have a week off, but starting next week, we will be busy.  Sarah will have chemo 5 days next week starting on Wednesday and 4 days the following week starting on that Wednesday.  She will also start radiation the week after next and go for 2 weeks of daily appointments for radiation.  It will be busy.

We have been busy as a family and been starting to get back to somewhat of normal.  Sarah is more of herself and is had more energy than she has had in a while.  We are looking forward to maintenance and hop to get back to a routine.

Thanks for all the love and prayers.  We are so grateful for all those who are continuing to serve us.  Thank you!

July 15th Update

It has been a busy week, but really over the past year, what week hasn't been busy?  We are a few weeks away from the year mark of Sarah being diagnosed with Leukemia.  We have had many people tell us that they don't know how we do it or that they couldn't do what we have done.  To be honest, I don't know how we have done it either.  We have taken it one day and week at a time.  The Lord has sent much support both of people and confort and peace.  Jess and I are looking forward to after the next few weeks, where she is on maintenance and doesn't need such constant care.

On Monday we had an appointment with the radiologist.  We talked over what they want to do in terms of cranial radiation.  Sarah also had a simulation of what would happen during the radiation times.  She got a mask set so that her head won't move during the radiation therapy.  She will be put under for each of these sessions so that she won't move and they can get the radiation in the right spots.

Sarah waiting for the radiologist

If you have followed the blog, you may remember the concerns that I expressed early on in the treatment about the radiation.  I am more comfortable with it after the appointment.  Let me add a few of the thoughts and things we found out.  If you want, you can skip this paragraph.  :)  The amount of radiation is measured in "grays."  The two levels they know a fair amount of the effects are 12 and 24 gray.  At 12 gray, there are hardly any side effects in patients.  At 24 gray, there are some known risks and side effects that are possible.  The dose Sarah is going to get is 18 gray, so right in the middle.  The doctor said that the effects are on an asymptotic slope, but they don't know where the curve is.  In addition, the tests have a wide distribution in effects.  One of the measurements that they do is IQ.  The have seen IQ's both increase and decrease in patients who have had radiation.  They doctor told us that there are probably side effects and the problem is that the first test for a 4yr isn't very accurate.  I have felt that there were probably be some side effects in Sarah.  However, I think if we work with her in school and education, the effect will be minimal.  Some of the possible side effects include a tumor or cancer growing in the brain some years after (the doctors said that about 50% of the cancers or tumors found are slow growing ones as opposed to aggressive ones), some learning disabilities, pituitary gland issues (which can be controlled with hormones), or cataracts (a common surgery these days).  While there are a number of risks involved in the radiation, if she relapses with leukemia in the spinal fluid it is very hard to cure.  We are moving forward with the radiation and she will probably get the doses starting on 7/30 (based of numbers) and going every weekday for the following two weeks.  I think during those weeks we will have at least one appointment for Sarah every day.

Sarah is back on steroids and has been tired.  Her numbers are down so she is confined to the house.  This makes it tough on all of us.  I stayed home from church with her today, and she ended up taking two naps and going to bed early.  The problem with that is that she is up at the crack of dawn.  Fun...

Sarah sleeping on the Sumo Bean Bag

I should have a few things about Lilly and Gus.  Lilly has been having fun with the backyard and we try and find activities for her to go and do so she doesn't get cabin fever.  Gus is all over the place.  He loves to play on my PlayBook and will try and find it when he wants to play.

Guess what I found

Watch how I play

We are grateful for all the love, prayers, and support.  I don't think we could do this without it.

July 7th Update

It has been a tough week.  Sarah has tried to eat us out of house and home.  We have woken up to her standing at the foot of the bed saying, "I am starving.  I want a cinnamon roll."  This week she has also needed to do something every minute.  If she is just watching a show, she will often come to find Jess or I and say "I don't know what to do.  Dad, what can I do?"  It is trying on us between her and Gus needing almost constant attention.

We are so grateful to those who helped out with Lilly this week.  Lilly was able to go to other people's houses in the ward, to the salmon locks, and to a movie thanks to ours who were willing to let her tag along.  This helped out the sanity at home.

Sarah's numbers are doing pretty well this week and we are on track.  We have a week off of the steroids and hopefully she will get a few days of being Sarah before she gets cranky again.

Gus got his hair cut by Mom on Friday.  He got a crewcut and looks great.  It is funny to watch him when you ask him "where is your hair" because he expects it to be longer.  He also found his shadow today while he was running on the grass in the back yard.  He would run across and be so excited that it just followed him along.  When he ended up in the shadow of the house, he was confused where it went.  It was funny to watch him learn and play.

Thanks for all the help.  We are very gratefully for all the help that our family receives.  We are also grateful for the prayers and thoughts on our behalf.

It's HERE...2nd Delayed Intensification

     Nate and I BOTH have mixed feelings about this phase of Sarah's treatment. On one hand we are excited that this is her LAST of the intense treatments, (going to the hospital multiple times a week and sometimes everyday) and on the other hand we are being pushed to our limits; physically and emotionally. This past week has been super taxing as Gus is breaking in two year old molars and caught croup. He has been SUPER CRANKY :( Which means I don't get things like unpacking done.
Just as I was beginning to see a silver lining, it was time for Sarah's appointment on Thursday. She got the ok to proceed into this phase, and got her back poke with chemo. as well as chemo. given through her port. This also means she is on steroids this week (meaning major mood swings/meltdowns) until next Wednesday. It is going to be a draining week for sure, as today was the first full-day she has been on them and we had lots of whining and crying. Come to our house if you would like to hear a harmony of crying and whining starring Sarah and Gus.

      With this second delayed intensification, comes her cranial radiation treatments too. We meet with the radiation specialist on the 9th of July and she is set to start treatments on the 30th of July if her counts are high enough to proceed. This has been causing me some major anxiety, I will feel better after meeting with the radiation specialist and he can explain things more to us. The cranial radiation has the capacity to delay brain development in someone so young, so earlier this week we had an appointment to get a baseline on her neurophysch. functions. Her results will take a couple weeks to get back.

      We are EVER grateful to those who bring us yummy meals and babysit the other kids so we can take Sarah here and there. We are very humbled by the help we continue to receive, THANK YOU!!

Jessica   

Busy week for a Princess Party

This week was busy.  I am sitting down to write this just after Jess and I got back from Home Depot with a couple of new rugs for the main living areas of the home.  The family room has white carpet and the front room has wood, so we figured we need something to protect both of them.  The rugs look nice and will be a nice accent to the home.  Jess loves the rug that is going in the family room.

The girls have both been acting up more.  We figure it is them getting used to a new place.  We hope they get settled quickly.

Jess called me a few minutes after I got to work on Thursday.  She told me she was in ditch and she needed a tow truck.  She said everything was fine but she was worried that the car was going to tip.  I called the tow truck and asked if she needed me to come.  She said she was going to be all right.  The tow truck came and pulled her out.  Luckily there wasn't much damage to the car.  The ditch wasn't all that big but looked like it high-centered the car from the marks on the ground.  We are grateful nothing major happened.

Sarah's appointment went well.  Her numbers were high enough and she got her last dose of methotrexate.  She has a checkup on Monday to see her levels but has the week off from any medications.  She hopefully will start the last intensive round the following week.

Tuesday was the fun day for the kids.  As you may know, Sarah's wish got sponsored by Wells Fargo Advisors of Bellevue.  They wanted to throw a party for Sarah and it was scheduled for Tuesday.  About a week and a half ago, we got scrolls in the mail, inviting them to a tea party.  The girls were excited.

We arrived at their office and led Lilly and Sarah off to the cottage where they got dressed up as Princesses.  A carriage (it was a customer built wagon, awesome) and horse (someone dressed up as a horse) awaited them after they were dressed and ready.

The Carriage

The girls ready for adventure

They set off on their adventure.  They had a few stations where they play games like making their own crowns, a matching game, and pop the balloons.  The girls had a lot of fun.

Sarah with her wand

Lilly in the Carriage

Making her crown

Making her crown with the Blackham tongue

They were then sent on a treasure hunt with clues to get to the castle.  A prince came and they had to help him slay a dragon (the boss of the office was dressed up as the dragon).  The tea party had a bunch of snacks and juice.  They were given a treasure chest with prizes.  They had lots of fun.  The people who put it on for them did an awesome job.  We are so grateful for them.

Thanks for all the love and support we receive.  We are very grateful for it.