The suit

On Friday, Gage participated in the Children’s Cancer Fund’s 21st annual luncheon and style show. About a month ago, I took him to Dillards to pick out his outfit for the big day. The kids each get to choose an outfit that is theirs to keep after the show is over. He loved the outfit he chose last year, and I thought he’d choose another fun, kid-casual style this year. Instead, he carefully looked around the children’s area, slowly looked at me with a funny grin and asked, “Can I pick a suit?”

Secretly, I had hoped he might pick something a bit more formal than his T-shirt, hoodie & jeans from last year…but I never imaged a suit! And, to top it off, he chose a solid black tie to go with his black suit. I offered ties with stripes, Hummers, baseballs and more…but he was adamant that only the solid black tie would do. So, I just laughed to myself and hoped I wouldn’t regret letting him decide what he was going to wear in front of 2,000 people at the luncheon!

As it turned out, his choice was perfect.  And, he was escorted down the runway by the Dallas SWAT team…which we had been hoping for since last year’s luncheon!

Gage with Nurse Rebecca, his backstage buddy for the day

Gage and Laurren, who also walked in the fashion show

Blake, Gage & I back at home

Also, after Gage choose the suit a month ago, he asked me if he could wear it for fun after the fashion show was over. Since our church is pretty casual and we don’t have many formal events to take the kids to, I said “Sure!” After all, it’s his outfit, and there’s no reason to just keep it in the closet until he outgrows it. True to his word, since Friday he has worn his suit and sunglasses on the Saturday morning donut & Starbucks run at 7:00 a.m., on his bike up and down the street, to the grocery store, on the play set in the backyard, shooting hoops with Avery, to a friend’s house and more. Hilarious.

Also, on Saturday, we went to the annual carnival at Ellie’s preschool. The kids had a ball, and Ellie was so proud to have an event that was hers!

Fun for the girls on a train ride

So cute…I walked up to find Avery & Gage having their picture taken for a photo button…

Ellie showing Wesley the fish she won!

Thanks for praying for our family and for checking in. As we were reminded yet again on Friday watching  almost 100 children walk the runway at the luncheon, cancer is a mean disease. Although the kids were sweet, compassionate, funny & kind, many were also thin, pale, limping and bald  from their battles with leukemia, bone cancer, brain tumors, lung cancer, kidney tumors and more. And the 100 who were there are literally a small fraction of the kids being treated for cancer at Children’s. Hopefully, the funds raised by the CCF will enable the research doctors to make progress against difficult pediatric cancers…and make the side effects much less damaging too.

Thanks again for caring for us and those who we meet on this journey.

RH

Chasing Life

Sorry for the delay in updating…this week has been a whirlwind of doctors appointments, juggling kids, asking friends for favors and the like. We’re all glad that Gage finished his steroids over the weekend and is now seeming more like himself. Also, although he never made it a full day at school last week, he’s done much better this week. And, although the days can get pretty crazy juggling four kids plus cancer, I feel like we’re mostly chasing the fun parts of life right now…and I’m thankful.

A quick photo recap of the last week, starting with the kids’ school carnival over the weekend:

Gage with a big smile after doing the zip line

Ellie flying by on the same ride…she’s so small you can’t even really see her!

Avery & Gage got to enjoy the fun on their own (without us, but with each other) for part of the carnival this year…a first!  (And, it’s also the reason I don’t have as many pictures of them in action!)

So…most of my pictures are of Ellie…like this one of her in  the “money machine”

And, Ellie fishing for prizes…

And Ellie playing hockey in her sparkle shoes…

And Wesley, covered in confetti and eating a cookie, taking in the action from her stroller!

And, then we returned to Children’s after school on Monday to the ENT clinic for a long, slow three-hour visit to have Gage’s ears checked because of his reoccurring ear infections. His ears aren’t infected right now, but we reviewed his many ear infections, his frequent complaints of dizziness and all the different antibiotics he’s taken for his ears…quite a list!

They also tested his hearing, and there was some drop off his ability to hear high frequencies in his left ear. His right ear was perfectly fine. The doctor was encouraged and said the left ear drop-off was probably due to the fluid in his ears…not hearing loss from the chemo, a very possible side-effect. Again, the conversation was a reminder to me of the toxicity of the drugs he takes every day and the reality that his body will always be marked in some way by this battle…but thankful right now that one of those battle scars isn’t a loss of hearing.

So, we’ll go back to Children’s next Monday to check his blood counts and for a follow-up visit at the ENT…hopefully much shorter, but I’m doubtful.

Please pray that we would make wise decisions for Gage regarding his ears…and that even as we ‘chase’ the fun parts of life, we would make God-honoring decisions with our time and energy…not easy as it seems like there is so much more to each day than we can possibly get to.

Thanks for checking in!

RH

Easter and more

We enjoyed celebrating Easter with Blake’s family last weekend. First, we spent time in East Texas hunting Easter eggs and hanging out with all the cousins (below):

For several years running, one of the cousins (or more) has won a trophy at the Easter Egg hunt. None of the older kids won this year, so all our hopes were riding on Wesley in the “3 and under” division…  As you can tell, she took her lovie with her for good luck while hunting:

And, she pulled through with second place! Hilarious. She loved the eggs and the activity, but was less than thrilled at the awards ceremony…

Then, in true East Texas style, we also hunted alligators!

Here is Gage, watching some of the action as the adults work to untangle the alligator they’ve snagged:

When the action picked up, the kids decided they felt better with their older cousins holding them!

And, success! Almost two hours later, we have the gator!

Then, we came back home to enjoy Easter at our church…and to get ready for a long clinic day on Monday. Gage had chemo in his port, extra chemo at home Monday night, the regular nightly chemo and started a week of steroids. While we were at clinic, we were able to spend time with Laurren Smith and her family as they returned following her second relapse to begin treatment once again. Although I always love to see them, it was sad for all of us to see each other again at clinic, knowing the road they’re facing. Please continue to pray for them.

A quick phone pic of Gage & Laurren playing while they waited:

And, we also spent time with Justin, a newly diagnosed leukemia patient who happens to live in our neighborhood. He is good friends with one of our nephews pictured above. For Blake and I, it was a long, hard day. At clinic, there’s nothing to distract you from cancer…you’re surrounded by it…watching some friends face the terrifying reality that their child’s cancer continues to return and watching new friends who are just starting down this road.  It’s a lot to take in.

One high point of the day: Gage was able to begin the Beads of Courage program. It’s a national program that Children’s is now offering that lets kids with serious illness “tell their story using colorful beads as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment path.” It’s hard to explain how powerful it is, but to watch Gage pick his first beads was moving…first, the letters of his name, then a handmade bead to mark his road from diagnosis to the present, then a bead for having been bald, a bead for the rough times cancer brings…and then Monday’s beads…blue for the clinic visit, black for a poke, white for chemo and purple for his breathing treatment.

Now, for everything he does in his fight against cancer, he earns a bead. Soon, the long strand will be a physical representation of his courage on this road. And, for those of you who have supported Team Holmes at Children’s, you’ve helped to make Beads of Courage possible there. Without a childlife specialist, the program can’t happen. This is what drew us to supporting childlife: a person with the focus and freedom of loving and supporting the kids in a way the doctors and nurses can’t because of their many, many responsibilities.

Here he is with his beads from Monday:

And, here he is at school on Tuesday, sharing about the beads with his class:

After school on Tuesday, I asked him how his “Show & Tell” went. He said it was good, but most of the kids didn’t know what ‘chemo’ meant. So true, but still hard for Gage to imagine.

Please pray for us as we juggle steroids and school this week. It’s never easy.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Therefore we do not lost heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Thanks for checking in.

RH

Wednesday Update

Thankfully, this week has been smoother than last week with Gage. His IGG levels are on the low side of normal, but normal just the same, so that was good news. And, we finished out his last dose of antibiotic on Saturday on the 10th floor at Children’s. After we assured him that we weren’t spending the night…just going to get the medicine since clinic was closed…he relaxed a bit about it. And, although he certainly doesn’t love going to the 10th floor, we were glad to see several friendly and familiar faces while we were there. While he was in the playroom playing video games (hooked up to his IV), he was also surprised by a visit from several Miss Texas contestants. They were cute and sweet, and Gage certainly enjoyed their visit!

And, on a much more somber note, I wanted to share with all of you the latest news about Gage’s friend Laurren. As those of you who have been following our blog (or hers) know, she was diagnosed with bone cancer in her leg in August 2007. She was unable to complete the chemotherapy protocol for her bone cancer because one of the drugs was too toxic for her heart to withstand. So, she finished her treatment without being able to finish the written protocol.  Then, a few months later she relapsed with cancer in one of her lungs. She then did chemotherapy and a more experimental drug to fight the lung cancer.

On Monday, she had her first scans since completing that protocol, and now the cancer is back again and in both lungs. This news is devastating for Laurren and her family. She is one of Gage’s sweetest friends, and we love her parents as well. Please pray for them as they begin treatment yet again. You can follow her story on their blog. Also, tomorrow is her 13th birthday, so you might take a moment to wish her happy birthday in her ‘guestbook.’ I know they are always encouraged to know of the many people who are praying for them.

Here’s a picture of Laurren with Gage & Avery from last spring:

Thanks, as always, for walking this road with us.

RH

All in a day’s work

Today was one of those days that reminds me of how often we swing between ‘normal’ stuff and ‘cancer’ stuff…

This morning, Avery was honored at her school as a “Paw-sitive Panther”…an award given to one student per grade per six weeks. We all went this morning to watch her on K-PAW, the school’s student-run morning news station. So adorable!

And, a big hug from dad afterwards!

Then, I took Ellie and Wesley with me to help out with Gage’s field trip to the Dallas World Aquarium, an amazing place. So, along with hundreds of school kids, we enjoyed spotting monkeys, toucans, crocodiles, sharks and more for several hours this morning.

Ellie with Gage and one of his good friends

More favorite friends…

Ellie watching a shark swim by…

Wesley trying to tell us about all she’s seeing!

Gage taking pictures with my camera…I snapped this with my phone!

And, a sweet conversation with his teacher before we left for, you guessed it, clinic.

Then, Gage and I went to  Children’s for the rest of the afternoon for his infusion of the IV antibiotics.

Gage playing Uno with Lydia, the childlife staff for the clinic.

As a side note, the money we’re still raising at Children’s for Team Holmes supports the childlife department for the pediatric cancer patients. Because of the generosity of so many of you, there is now a full-time childlife specialist on the inpatient cancer floor. The needs of the children and families there are unending, but we are so glad that the Lord has used your generosity to allow someone to walk those halls daily in the service of those families. You can read more about all a childlife specialist does on our “How can I help?” section.

And, to finish off the day, Blake took Avery & Ellie to Six Flags Family Night…an event that ironically also benefits Children’s. It’s almost 10 p.m., and I think they’re finally on their way home.

Whew.

Thanks for checking in and for your prayers, especially as we complete this last antibiotic dose tomorrow.

RH

Back for more

After the doctors confirmed Gage’s ear infection at clinic yesterday, they decided he needed IV antibiotics through his port instead of another round of oral antibiotics at home. This is his fourth or fifth time to be on antibiotics for an ear infection in the last several months, so they chose this stronger antibiotic to see if it will make a difference.

They are also checking the IGG levels in his blood (another measure of a different part of his immune system). If his IGG levels are low, that could explain the recurring ear infections, and they could give him an IVIG infusion to boost that part of his immune system. We should hear early next week on the results of yesterday’s blood work.

In the meantime, we have to return to Children’s today and tomorrow for the second and third doses of his IV antibiotic. He was not happy at the surprise of having his port accessed yesterday at clinic, so these next two visits could be a bit rough.

Although Gage is certainly accustomed to many challenges because of his leukemia, at this point he’s acclimated to most of them. Still, when he goes to clinic thinking they’re just going to check his ear and he ends up having his port accessed for a blood draw and a 30-minute IV infusion, it’s tough. Routines help all of us cope, and unexpected changes remind us all how vulnerable he is.

So, please pray that the next two visits to Children’s would go smoothly for Gage and that the antibiotic would be effective in keeping his ears healthy.

Thanks for checking in and for praying.

RH

Still running…

For those of you who read our Running in Circles post about a month ago, I think we’re going to relive that day again today. Gage has a possible ear infection, the girls were both supposed to have friends over…and now I’m juggling how to get everyone taken care of so we can get to our 2:30 appointment at the clinic. Sometimes it seems like the minute I decide to venture out and make ‘normal’ plans like play dates, etc., everything gets busy with Gage again. Hopefully, our clinic visit will be straightforward, and we’ll be able to get a handle on these reoccurring ear aches.

And…a few pictures I’ve been meaning to post…first from soccer, which Gage is still loving:

And, we were able to join our church (Watermark) on Sunday as the church decided to worship through service Sunday morning. Thousands of volunteers on tons of school buses dispersed through the city to help schools, charities and others in need. One group of 600 volunteers even repainted an entire school on Sunday morning! We visited the outreach ministry Voice of Hope, and helped prepare craft materials for their children’s activities. It was a great family time and very enjoyable to be able to serve alongside our kids.

Blake with Avery and Gage

Avery and a friend working to trace and cut out crosses…150 crosses!

Gage working hard too…

Wesley hanging out in her stroller (again)…just enjoying all the activity

As always, thanks for checking in and for your prayers for Gage and our family.

RH