What has taken me forever? We have been busy. Finishing up school. Tae Kwon Do. Summer projects. Weight lifting. Planting season. Home repair. Life.
Let me back up to May. Usually my school work and Kyle's planting consume the month of May. It was my year to sponsor the junior class who held the prom, and of course, I attended the graduation ceremony and witnessed the ushering of another group of kids into the world of possibilities and responsibilities. Planting was hit and miss for much of May, which allowed us to enjoy some great family time.
Kyle's brother and his family moved to Wisconsin nearly 18 months ago. We finally cleared a weekend to head up and visit. Davis and Annakate love spending time with their little cousins, and we sure miss seeing Kurt and Kristin. The weekend was too short for sure. We are looking forward to squeezing in another few days this summer to visit them as they have a new addition (a baby boy) to the family.
Davis played his last Jefferson band concert. It wasn't too long ago that Kyle and I played our last Jefferson band concerts. (Who am I kidding? It was quite a long time ago actually.) The music was fantastic. Davis loved the songs he played. He actually gave me the list and asked me to download the music to his ipod. Band music on the ipod. Love it.
It was his band teacher's, Mrs. Standfield, last Jefferson band concert as well. There was a packed house, and several former students from years gone by came to play with the kids. It was beyond impressive, and I am pleased that Davis was able to share in that experience.
Davis took a field trip to Chicago to the Field Museum. Honestly, he didn't tell me that much about it. Sometimes, as I am sure a lot of nearly teenage boys are, he is a young man of few words. I said, "How was the trip?" He responded, "Good." That summed it up.
Nearly every Saturday morning in April and part of May was devoted to Annakate's soccer games. She loved it. She had some amazing coaches and a great team who really played well together. I don't think it hurt that they won nearly all of the games they played. We parents braved the freezing cold temperatures in April and the blazing sun in May for three hours every Saturday morning. The kids were completely immune. She is pretty sad that the season is over.
May's chemo brought a spinal, port chemo, and a breathing treatment. It was all very routine. Davis does such a great job with it all now. The doctors increased his oral chemo just a bit because he had gained a few pounds and his counts were still strong.
When Davis does the above breathing treatment, Pentamadine, to protect his lungs against fungal pneumonia, I have to wear a special mask as well. The treatment, while beneficial to him, is harmful to me. We have to use this one room because of the reverse air flow.
Mother's Day. It was a fantastic day. The kids made me some wonderful gifts, including breakfast in bed. And I even took an afternoon nap. No complaints from me.
Davis earned a spot in the prestigious Jefferson talent show. He played "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from The Lion King and "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical on the piano. If you haven't been to a Jefferson talent show, you are missing out. It is a production. Mrs. Cornebise and her crew pours so much time and effort into the event. Kudos to them for such an impressive array of talent crammed into two hours. Annakate played in her Ashmore talent show. There were some great acts as well. I am so proud of my kids for being able to get up in front of a gob of people and showcase their hard work and talent.
It seems that the end of school and a rain coincided. We were able to sneak away to Indianapolis for a night. We ate at a Pizza King. At Pizza King, the drinks are delivered on a moving train, and there is a TV in each booth. Two things the kids enjoyed.
We stayed at the indoor water park. Davis and Annakate took full advantage of the small crowd and the water slides. They must of climbed those steps to the slides at least a dozen times. 
We have been working quite a bit around the house. It seems that all house work freezes for nine months while I am teaching. I am too preoccupied to focus on any real projects at home. I save them all for the summer. Davis and Annakate have been a tremendous help to me the last couple of weeks. They pitch in and help out when I ask. With the help of my nieces, we were able to organize the basement.
Last week, we headed down to chemo at St. Louis Children's hospital. Davis' counts were amazing. His ANC (immune system) was over 3100 (healthy is over 1500), and all of his other counts (white blood cells, platelets, hemoglobin, etc) were all in the normal range. This hasn't happened since before diagnosis. Even his liver function was in the realm of normal. This means that his bone marrow is strong and producing non-cancerous blood cells. So . . . . . All of Davis' chemo was increased. The doctors would like to keep his ANC around 1000. They want the chemo to keep retraining his bone marrow. There is a constant fluctuation. It sort of reminds me of those old scales that you are weighed on at the doctor's office. The nurse moves it one way, then back, then forward, until it is perfectly centered on your weight. Well, that's how it is with Davis' chemo. Sometimes he gets too much, other times not enough. Still looking for the perfect balance.
Chemo was on June 7. That is National Cancer Survivor Day, and it also happens to be National Donut Day. Davis celebrated National Cancer Survivor Day by enduring another round of chemo at the hospital, and he celebrated National Donut Day with a few donuts as well. I couldn't imagine a better combination.
We managed to relax with a little fishing on Saturday. My mom and stepdad joined us. A little picnic lunch and some chicken livers for bait made for a pleasant afternoon. That is, until the mosquitoes didn't mind the scent of our bug spray. Well, after an hour, I had baited their hooks a dozen times, scratched a dozen new bug bites, and everyone had eaten their suppers. Earlier, I had forbid the kids from catching catfish because I am kind of a sissy when it comes from removing catfish from the lines. But it wasn't a problem; not a single fish was caught. No worries. We plan on fishing again soon.
On Sunday, Kyle and I dropped Davis off at Camp Rainbow. It is a camp for kids with cancer or/and blood-related diseases. The camp is funded through sponsors and donations and people who volunteer their time. It is being held is a state park near St. Louis. This is Davis's first time away from us. The camp seems amazing. There are nurses from Children's who volunteer their time. Many of the counselors (one counselor for every one to two kids) are former Camp Rainbow participants themselves. Davis's counselor is a 16-year-old from Colorado. The kids at camp do all sorts of things: swimming, singing, archery, camp fires, field trips, etc.
It took us until Monday night to realize that Davis didn't receive cell phone service at camp. I was going crazy with worry since I had heard nothing from him in over 24 hours. I received a phone call on Tuesday night from a counselor on a land line at camp. She explained that Davis was homesick and just wanted to talk to me for a few minutes. I can't tell you how awesome it was to hear his voice -- despite it being quiet and sad. We visited for a few minutes, and I haven't talked to him since.
I know this experience, being independent and being away from us, is needed on so many levels, but his absence this week has brought about mixed emotions. On one hand, the break from administering medications all of the time has been marvelous. Don't get me wrong; we don't mind giving Davis his medications, which require timers and timing and measuring, but not worrying about medications is a feeling I have forgotten. I keep reminding myself that in a couple of years, Davis will be off of medications, and this worry will cease to exist. The time has also been wonderful because Davis is doing what other kids his age do, and I can spend some one-on-one with Annakate. But on the other hand, I don't want to be apart from Davis. Knowing how close we were to losing him, I want to keep him close. I don't like the feeling of an empty house or the quietness from the lack of his voice or laugh. I don't even enjoy not seeing his shoes and toys scattered all over the house. I love his presence here, because this is where he belongs.
Tomorrow, we will head back to St. Louis to pick him up. I am sure he will be full of stories to share. I can't wait. I am proud of him for conquering his week away from us, and I am sure he has built some friendships that will last long after camp has ended.
Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers. We still continue to need them; I'm not sure we will ever stop needing them. We are so blessed; I don't know any other way to state it. May God bless you and keep His hand on you just as He has held us.
We will keep you posted.
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