A NEW BLOG FOR SAM!

Good Morning Everyone!

The blog is here!  Finally!  A place where we can update everyone on Sam’s progress!  Hooray!  I’m sure you all were missing my daily email updates on Sam (HA!) and some of you might have even been going though some withdraw! Well, your fix is here!  Nothing fancy, just a place where you can check in on Sam.  No longer will you need to wait with baited breath for the next update on Sam, simply save or bookmark this blog site and you can check in on Sam whenever you would like.  And we hope it’s often!  :)    I’ve cut and pasted all of the previous emails that we had sent out below so that the people who are just tuning into Sam’s journey will be able to follow along.  I’ve even added a few pictures from the hospital that I wasn’t able to attach in my emails.

So, what have we been up to since we came home from the hospital?  Well, we’ve been focusing on getting Sam up and about as well as trying to get back to a “normal” routine. We’ve ventured out to Target (talk about getting back to normal!), gone to the movies, over to a friend’s house, out to eat and other activities.  Sam continues to feel a bit dizzy at times and still has some nausea and vomiting, so these trips are quick trips.  But we think he enjoys the change of scenery.  He continues to be on steroids and is eating us out of house and home!  My goodness!  Maybe this is preparing me for his teenage years as I hear teenage boys can really put it away!  His little face has really plumped up and gotten so round!

We had a wonderful surprise over Father’s Day weekend when my mom came to visit!  Grammie had so much fun playing with the boys, visiting with us, gave the boys a “buzz” cut and we even had a glass or two of wine!  It was so nice to see and visit with her and gave us a chance to escape our reality for a bit.

My mom and I at my cousin’s house on Father’s Day….yes-with a much needed glass of wine!

Sam lounging on the chair during our Father’s Day cookout.  He actually wanted to swim with the rest of the kids, but wasn’t able to, due to his recent port placement surgery, which was still healing.  But he did get in a little bit and sat on the steps.

Sam continued to become more and more active with more “up” time vs. “couch” time.  The nausea and vomiting continues, but he just seems to power through it.  Big brother Jack had a birthday party to go to at a local splash park and when I went to drop him off, guess who wanted to stay?  Yep!  Sam wanted to be right there in the mix with the rest of the kids…splashing around, squirting squirt guns, running around (yes, it was a bit of a run!) and even climbing up on the jungle gym!  (This gave me a bit of a heart attack!)  This outing seemed to be “just what the doctor ordered” and was a real mood booster…for everyone.  I can’t even tell you how much fun it was to see him laughing, playing, running around.  It was fantastic!

Sam sporting his new “buzz” cut at the splash park.

Being silly with his “squirt gun” with big brother Jack.

Time for a break to eat some pizza and a cupcake!

On our way home after a FUN afternoon!

We have begun (as of June 29th) Sam’s daily (weekday) radiation treatments.  Yes, Monday was the first day of radiation.  Doctors tell us they have the most success fighting this type of cancer if radiation is started within four weeks of surgery.  He also had his first chemo drug yesterday.  We will continue with daily radiation treatments with weekends off until August 14th.  We will have 13 daily radiation treatments at Riley and then the last 21 daily radiation treatments down in Bloomington.  He will also continue to have a weekly dose of chemo for the next seven weeks at Riley.  Then six weeks off before he begins his eight rounds of chemo.  The last two days have been rough-especially yesterday.  Lots of throwing up, can’t keep anything down, lots of tummy aches.  It’s painful to see.  They tell us it will get better.  We hope soon.  Please pray for his comfort and continued healing.  Prayer is so powerful and we know God is listening.  Positive thoughts are also greatly appreciated!

You all are so wonderful!  Thank you so much for all of your thoughts, prayers and support for us.   It’s so humbling!

Until next time!

Love,

Ery, Jere, Jack & Sam