Harlem Globetrotters

We stopped by the Palace, not mine - the Pistons, on Sunday to see the Harlem Globetrotters. It was fun and they were entertaining. Here's a fan photo from the day. I think daddy was tired. ;)

I'm back at school this week and loving it. Although I'm a little more tired than usual I still take a shorter nap than mom does when she get home from work! Ha!

I've a couple blood tests this week but other than that we're enjoying the return to normalcy. Thanks for checking and make it a great day!

Daddy is the BEST! - Just sayin.

Lost Car Key - MRI Results

My daddy lost his car key and ring Saturday afternoon at the Brighton theater. There was a BLAST charm on it from my fundraiser, that was the only identifying mark on the key ring. If you [special key-finder movie goer person] land here on the blog please contact us at lyeshmcm@yahoo.com. A big thank you to my daddy's friend Jeff who came and got me and Maranda and daddy so he could go get the other car. Luckily mom had her spare car key on her ring so we could take home both cars. ... Oh, we all REALLY enjoyed the Three Stooges.

The result of my spine MRI came back good last week. There's no indication that the disease has spread there. Yeah. I'm feeling great most of the time and having a lot of fun at the cottage this week during spring break. I can't wait to get back to school on Monday and see all of my friends.

Here's a picture of me the other day eating breakfast at the lake. Make it a great day everybody!

Ask and you shall receive

Once again our support team does not fail us:)   we had numerous people offering up crutches and have gotten a pair...now if I just could use them without hurting anything else

For those of you who were wondering exactly how I could hurt myself doing a workout with Lisa, attached is a video of the fitness princess in action a few weeks ago after our weekly viewing of the tv show Biggest Loser.  The camera was turned off right before she started doing the "knees-up run" and yelling "get your knees up!"....trust me she's a drill sergeant!

sorry about quality of video...blogger seems to have issues with uploading these files

Yeah...sigh of relief!

Lisa's scans came back STABLE!!  Yeah!! Again, with no known cure...stable is what we hope for.  Her scans look good, her energy is good, her attitude is awesome.

She will return to school the week after Easter break and we are very happy and thanking God for his blessings.

Speaking of blessing, I was reading a childhood cancer newsletters and one of the posts was about how people wish their "support team" would actually make good on their offer of "what can I do for you to help"   We are so blessed this has never been as issue for us.  We have the most wonderful group of supporters ever!! Not once have we ever needed or asked for something and someone has  not stepped up.  All of our readers who read, pray and think of us.  Our schools and teachers who take the extra steps to make sure all of my kids are doing okay.  Friends and family who are there when we need them.  We are so appreciative of all of you.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

I'd like to send a special shout out to a few special individuals who've helped while Lisa has been homebound.

Lisa G., Matt, and Bonnie....these guys ROCK:)  They were our caregivers for Lisa on the days she was home and Mike and I had to work.  Not only did they come every week, each of them established their own special routine and activities with Lisa and she loved, loved, loved the time they spent with her.

Ms. Mattson....with her efforts, we were able to arrange with the school district that Lisa get homebound teaching from her classroom parapro...Ms. Ava...who came 3 x's a week while Ms. Mattson came 2ce a week.  Thank you to these two wonderful ladies who provided Lisa with learning and structure a few hours during the week. 

Hulsing Elementary PTG...they surprised us with a monetary donation they had collected.  It was totally unexpected and a most wonderful surprise.

So...Life is Good and we are living and loving every minute.  Thank you to all of you who help make our journey bearable:)

PS...Anyone have a pair of crutches I could borrow? I tore my calf muscle this morning working out and am not allowed to "bear weight" on my right leg...doc has prescribed rest (haha), physical therapy, and crutches.....let me know if you or someone you know has crutches..thanks!

Scan week--fingers and toes crossed

I know we haven't updated much lately...sorry about that.  Call it denial, call it basking in the good days, call it if I don't think about it-it won't happen.  Whatever you call it, here is a quick update.

Lisa has had great energy levels and is full of smiles.  She has been "working" with homebound teachers (or should I say making them work as they have to fight to keep her focused) to keep up on her schoolwork.  And, we've been sneaking her out in the public for more excursions even though technically she has not been "cleared".

While she looks great and still has the warrior attitude I find myself feeling like I'm holding my breath waiting to find out what this cancer is up to.  The fact that Lisa is complaining more and more about her back and has requested "spine surgery" more than once makes me quite uneasy.  It is anticipated that her cancer will move to her spine next and if that happens treatment options become very limited.

Her back pain, coupled with the fact that my Mother's cancer has stopped responding to treatment, really has me anxious.  For the past 6 mos both Lisa and my Mom's cancer have been keeping pace with each other....their scans have been a few days apart and remained stable together, they been on the same drugs together, and have switched up treatments at the same time.  While I'm sure it's just coincidence, it does make me uneasy knowing Mom's cancer is trying to get the upper hand.  I pray that Lisa's cancer behaves itself and remains stable, stays of her spine, or just completely, miraculously disappears.

Fingers and toes crossed, prayers and pleading going up!

Lisa at St. Patrick's Day Parade in Detroit

Lisa has been doing very good on this trial study she's on but this entry is about her day out at the parade on Sunday. For those of you not familiar with South East Michigan in March, the weather can be very unpredictable. Anything from freezing sleet, snow, rain, or like yesterday 60+ and sunny. Lisa arrived early with her sister Chrissy and dad [me], and met a host of others already there and that continued to arrive throughout the morning.
The parade followed the annual St. Patrick's day run that had to be the largest I've ever seen on that day. Probably a result of the weather as much as anything. The parade itself seemed to be longer too and Lisa took it all in from the curb in front of the Firestone store on Michigan Ave. A big thank you to Firestone for letting us park there for the day!
As you can see from the photos, Lisa met up with some great friends and was able to escape to the big blue bus when she needed to rest. It was a great day all around and we hope you were able to enjoy it as much as we did!

Bridget the Brave---An Amazing Day

For those of you keeping tabs on Bridget...below is her mom's post from yesterday...like a said...these kids aren't going down without a fight...amazing!!

An Amazing Day

Bridget had an amazing morning! I didn't get to sleep until 5 am for various reasons plus Bridget was sick in the night. I woke up to Bridgie lying awake in her bed. "Where's my glasses?". I told her I had them. "Well, I need them"

This started an amazing morning of doing all the things I told you 3 hours previously that she was no longer able to do. She used the bathroom, stood and walked with assistance, talked clearly without the slurring, conversed on the phone with her dad, watched some tv. The kicker was she said "I am hungry and wanted chicken nuggets! Mind you it was 8 am. Luckily, I had a stash from the night before in the fridge. I had to order honey mustard though. In order to do that I had to order breakfast for her...lol!
She was tired, but we had a full conversation about some things. One of the Gift of Art Musicians knows a friend of ours and she came and played some music. Bridget was tapping her foot, sang a verse or two and even did some of the motions. The guitarist played a song with zebras in it about going to the zoo just for Bridge and a few Irish ones too;) I was just see excited to have some moments with my Bridgie enjoying herself.
She was tired when her godmother came to visit, but she listened and prayed a whole rosary along with her, listening to the words and very devoutly nodding at the end of each prayer. She started to get sleepy at about 3, but she had quite a full day.
When we go to radiation a SWAT team takes her....kind of like Survival Flight within the hospital. Radiation is about a mile walk from Mott through the hospital. They are with us the whole time in case she has a problem.
Fr. Lobert, the chaplain of my kid's high school, Fr. Gabriel Richard, stopped by in the early evening. He gave Bridgie the Anointing of the Sick, a Catholic sacrament of healing.
I would say it was a good day. G.K. Chesterton once said that " the most astonishing things about miracles is they happen!" May we continue to be astonished with the big and little things In all our lives.
Every Day With Joy!