DC by Storm

7/31/2012: 9:00 AM

I can't believe over two weeks have passed since I last posted. So much has happened during that time.

Back in March, Davis was nominated by his teachers and given the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. as part of the Junior Young National Leaders Conference. He was able to take part in the conference last week.

I know that we always worry about germs. We are always sure to weigh the risks with the benefits when it comes to allowing Davis to be exposed to tons of germs. His ANC (immune system) has been on the low side of healthy, and the doctors encouraged him to go, so he went.

The organization prides itself on helping children be independent from their parents, so we were away from Davis most of the time. Kyle, Annakate, and I spent our days sight-seeing, while Davis attended leadership classes and visited monuments and museums with his group. Kyle and Annakate spent the nights in a nearby hotel, while I spent the night with Davis. Although this wasn't ideal for him, it was the best way to make me accessible to him to give him his nightly and morning meds.

On Tuesday, we received a call from the conference nurse telling us that Davis needed to go to Urgent Care for an infected toe. He apparently picked a hangnail and it had become infected. The first Urgent Care doctor transferred us to a different Urgent Care center when she discovered that Davis had Leukemia. I called Stl oncologist while in transit, and she told me to go to the hospital. We ended up in Bethesda at a satellite hospital of Johns Hopkins. Five hours in a pediatric ER ended with a bacterial cream and an oral antibiotic.

Wednesday was rough for Davis. His toe was really making walking difficult. Arrangements were made for him to have a wheelchair. I was grateful for this, because I hated the idea that he would be sitting in a dorm room while his peers were out exploring.

We met up with him and took him out to lunch

View from Jefferson Rock at Harpers Ferry.

On Thursday, Davis and his group headed to the Capital for a tour. He called at one point and was telling us about how they were evacuated because there were two unclaimed bags noticed. He was feeding us bits about police and police dogs and safe cars. Not much more than an hour and they were back in the building. He sure has a story to share now.

Kyle is such an amazing dad. The little legs
wore out very quickly.

Thursday night, Davis slept in the Baltimore Science Center. He didn't provide us a ton of details, but he said he had fun and that it was hard to sleep in a museum.

Davis was able to see quite a bit of DC, and I know he enjoyed that part. I hope that he embraces this experience and the leadership skills that were taught. I think that learning to be a good leader is far more important than having your picture taken in front of the White House. Anyway, Davis loved it and is already wanting to go to the Boston Alumni Conference next year.

White House

WWII Memorial

Kyle, Annakate, and I enjoyed DC too. Well, I enjoyed DC. Poor Kyle. He was so sick of traffic and parking garages by the time the trip was over. We did use the subway some, but even it can be a chore at times. Annakate was super bored until I handed over my camera. Surprisingly, her favorite part of the trip (besides swimming with her friend Calista, eating Pinkberry, and going to DC Cupcakes bakery) was hanging out in the Smithsonian Museum of Art. I think she was going to take a picture of every single piece in that museum if I hadn't stopped her.



What took us hours to do in a museum, Kyle
could do in thirty minutes.

We really enjoyed spending time with the Fox family. Their daughter, who is a good friend of Davis', was attending the conference. Their younger daughter and Annakate are the same age, so Annakate had a friend to play with. I wanted to personally thank them for doing all the things great friends do. They booked our hotel, carpooled with us around town, listened to me whine nonstop about wanting Pinkberry, took numerous family pictures for us, watched our daughter, etc. They were awesome. Nothing's better than exploring a new city in good company.

We had planned to extend our vacation through the weekend. I wanted to head down to the beach since we were so close to the ocean. Davis' toe infection nixed that. The kids wanted to head up to Wisconsin to visit their cousins, but they were sick. So we came home.

Lincoln Memorial

Arlington

Davis is now fighting what appears to be a sinus infection. Luckily, his fever has remained under 100.4 when he does have one, so no trips to the ER yet. I am hoping that the oral antibiotic that he is on for his toe is helping him fight this sinus infection. The doctor will check him out on Friday.

Davis will have blood work on Thursday and chemo on Friday. Hopefully, the chemo on Friday will be routine. Chemo via port and a breathing treatment.

We couldn't be more happy for Jordan, a roommate of Davis' at Children's. He was diagnosed with Lymphoma back in July of last year (a week after Davis) and has sailed through his three month check-up. He will have his port removed on Friday. We are excited and patiently waiting for our turn to hear those words -- nearly three years from now. When we told Davis about Jordan's good news, he said, "Why can't that be me?" Sometimes I forget that he is eleven. Sometimes persevering seems just as difficult as everything else we have endured. Anyway, we are ecstatic for Jordan and know that Davis' turn will come.

Davis is looking fantastic. He has put on some weight and has a full head of hair now. We are definitely in a much better place than we were a year ago. I want to really, really thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts. I am pretty sure that we could not have endured this thus far if is had not been for your thoughtfulness and lovingkindness wrapped around us. Please pray for us still. Even though the physical side effects of cancer aren't as evident, the emotional side effects still plague our home. Davis struggles with change, and a bunch of change is about to happen in the next few weeks. I am going back to work, the kids are going back to school, and it appears that harvest will be early. Please pray that this transition goes smoothly.

We believe that God is a healer and has His hand on Davis.

We will keep you posted.