Cancer Cure

It was 10 years ago this week when our (then) 6-month old Michael was diagnosed with a very aggressive brain tumor called Ependymoma. He spent many months fighting for his life, including enduring numerous grueling brain surgeries, chemo therapy, and radiation treatments.

On Thursday Liz and Michael made yet another trip to Children's Hospital for an MRI and multi-disciplinary clinic. We are thrilled to report that once again Michael's scan is clean!

 

Not only that, but Michael's oncologist used a term we've never heard him use before with Michael. Previously, ever since Michael finished his cancer treatments, he has stated that Michael is "NED", meaning that there is currently "No Evidence of Disease". This time, he declared that Michael is officially CURED. Our 6-month old Michael is now 10 1/2 years old, and his Ependymoma is finally gone for good.

 

Michael's oncologist said that Michael is quite the anomaly. He's always kept quiet about the statistics regarding Michael's chances of survival, preferring instead to focus on hope and what we can do in the moment to help Michael. This time, given Michael's positive outlook, he shared with us that roughly 3 children under the age of 1 are diagnosed each year with Ependymoma in the US. Of those, fewer than 10 percent survive.

 

We are super grateful Michael's life has been extended. We don't know the reason why. We only know that we have witnessed a miracle, as we and many others have sought to put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ--regardless of the outcome. We are grateful, more than we can express, for all of the prayers and faith and help that have been offered in our behalf over these last 10 difficult and blessed years!

 

Michael will go down to Children's Hospital for MRIs every 3 years now instead of annually to watch for secondary effects from his cancer treatments. He will continue to meet often with his team of doctors and therapists to help him navigate his unique challenges of life. Michael's future still holds so much uncertainty--so very few children in his circumstances make it this far. What we do know now is that he has every opportunity for a long life and a bright future ahead of him!

 

10.5-year old Michael waking up in the recovery room after his most recent MRI

 

 

10-year old Michael

6-month old Michael recovering at Children's Hospital after his first brain surgery

6-month old Michael recovering at Children's Hospital after his first brain surgery

8-month old Michael, just prior to Easter and his second brain surgery

 

4-month old Michael

Megan Michelle

On Monday, April 22 we celebrated two birthdays!  We celebrated Liz's birthday and welcomed a daughter into our family.

Liz started her birthday off by going into labor.  The baby wasn't due for another week, so she wasn't anticipating going into labor that day.  We scrambled to find someone to help us get the school kids on the bus and to take care of children and appointments throughout the day.  Fortunately Liz's contractions slowed down a bit so we could get the kids out the door for school before we left for the hospital.

The labor and delivery went very smoothly.  The doctors gave Liz a whiff of Pitocin, which was all it took to kickstart her labor into high gear again.  The delivery nurse actually lives in our neighborhood, and has children at the same school and same grades as some of our children.  She did a great job, and when it finally came time to push, it took only 1 strong push for the baby to come out.  It went so smoothly the doctor didn't seem to have to do much other than catch!

Our baby girl was born at 3:14 pm.  She's beautiful, very healthy and came in at 8 lbs 3 oz, 20 inches long.  We named her Megan Michelle.  Sometimes we call her M&M.  Since we often call our babies "peanut" when they're so small, she's our little "peanut M&M".

The hospital offers a bistro meal for the new parents.  Since it was still Liz's birthday we opted for the bistro meal that evening, just hours after delivering Megan.  So we celebrated both birthdays over an incredible meal of steak and lobster.

For Family Home Evening that night our six other children came to the hospital to meet Number Seven.  It was getting late, but we're so glad they came and got to see her and hold her.  They absolutely adore their little sister!  Two-year old Amy couldn't stop patting her little sister on the head and telling her, "Hi baby, I Amy!"

It turns out Megan isn't our only recent addition.  We're in the middle of a major home addition and kitchen renovation as well, which we were hoping to complete before the baby came but is actually now just starting to ramp up and will last several more months.  The two days we were in the hospital were the most complex in terms of our remodel, and involved the careful placement of a steel beam above the kitchen.  Talk about timing!

We found out later from our contractor about a miracle that occurred while we were at the hospital having the baby.  As they were doing some of the kitchen demo in preparation for the placement of the steel beam, they faced a major structural dilemma with one of the existing beams in our house, which threatened to delay their plan to put in the new steel beam and potentially postpone it by several weeks.  They contacted our structural engineer, who lives and works over an hour away in Denver.  Amazingly, he was at a nearby job site only 10 minutes away, and his appointment had just ended early.  He came right over, came up with a solution to the problem, and our contractor was able to install the steel beam the next day as planned!

The footprint of our addition.  The kids think it's our new dance floor.

Installing the steel beam above our kitchen

We actually had a lot of tender miracles this week, but I'll just mention one more.  Since the remodel is really noisy during the day and much of it is taking place right next to the master bedroom, we decided to set up a bed in the basement in the farthest corner of the house away from the construction so Liz can get some rest during the day.  I went to Costco and found a mattress, but wondered how I would get it home.  Right then a friend from our ward walked by and said hello.  I asked him if he happened to bring his truck to the store, which he did.  We both did our shopping, then we loaded up the mattress and frame in his truck, which he transported to our house and helped me get them down to the basement.  It was incredible that he walked by at precisely the moment I was pulling out my phone to see who I could text to ask for help.

This afternoon I printed out all 7 letters I've written to our children while in the hospital, telling them a little about their birth, how we picked their name, and how much their dad loves them.  I handed them out to each child for the first time, then I took some time reading the letters aloud for anyone who wanted to listen.  The kids really enjoyed reading and hearing those letters; I'm so glad I took the time to write them.  I think it was Liz's idea when Sarah was born.  We also spent time looking at pictures of each of the children when they were born, reminiscing, and admiring how cute everyone is.

Megan is almost a week old now.  She's super cute and loves being held.  She can be fussy when she's hungry or wants to be held.  Of course our children love to hold her, and we've been encouraging our children to spend time holding Megan every day and enjoy this magical time with her while she's so tiny and sweet. 

Getting ready to check out of the hospital

Megan has no shortage of siblings who love to hold her

Leaving the hospital

Home at last!  Note the torn up kitchen in the background.  Good thing Megan won't remember it.

Temple Dedication

This weekend we participated in the dedication of the Fort Collins Colorado Temple!  We've been waiting for this day for 5 1/2 years, ever since it was announced in the April 2011 General Conference.  It's been a wonderful weekend, but I'll share only a few highlights.

Last night we attended the cultural celebration held at Hughes Stadium (CSU's football stadium).  The show featured stories, music, and dancing put on by the young men and women in the area.  During the show the youth situated some large props to look like a large fort to depict the early settlement of the area.  Later they turned the props around and rearranged them to form a replica of the Fort Collins Temple!  I took the three oldest kids since we knew there was no way the three youngest would last through the show, even if it wasn't way past their bedtime.  So Liz stayed home with them and watched it streamed live on the internet. 

We happened to get seats near the front on the right hand side of the stadium.  We were thrilled when President Uchtdorf of the 1st Presidency, Elder Renlund of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and the other church leaders entered the stadium from our side and passed right in front of us.  We were even more thrilled after the show when they passed in front of us again on their way out of the stadium, and took time to shake our hands.  We discovered later from a few sharp eyed friends and family members that it was caught on camera by a Mormon Newsroom photographer and posted on their website!

Mormonnewsroom.org photo capturing Whitney shaking hands with President Uchtdorf

Today was the actual temple dedication.  Since you have to be at least 8 years old to attend, Liz and I went with Sarah and Whitney to the 1st session (out of 3).  It was a wonderful experience and we feel so grateful and happy that our temple is finally dedicated.

That afternoon I went on a bike ride with Spencer, Michael, and Brooklyn to the temple grounds so they could feel of the spirit of this wonderful day as well.  It doesn't hurt that the fall weather has been warm and the fall colors on the trees are stunning right now.  After walking around the temple grounds, we noticed a few people gathered behind a corded off area near the temple entrance.  The 3rd and final dedicatory session was about to end, and the church leaders would soon be passing by this way.  So we opted to stick around, which gave Michael and Brooklyn a chance to meet and shake hands with President Uchtdorf, Elder Renlund, and the other church leaders.  I told some of them a little about Michael and him being our little miracle.  As they listened they took both of Michael's hands in their own, looked into his eyes, and offered kind words of love and admiration.

Enjoying the temple grounds

Liz's grandma passed away last week, so this afternoon she took Sarah, Whitney, and Amy to Evanston, Wyoming so they can attend the funeral tomorrow, which will be in Woodruff, Utah.   Her grandma was such a kind and sweet lady, and we're so grateful to know her.  It's especially fitting that her funeral is right after the Fort Collins Temple dedication, as families are sealed together in the temple.  Because of the temple, we believe and are grateful that we will see Liz's grandma again in the next life and that we will still be a family.

Mount Rushmore

We decided to take a bit of a last minute trip to Mount Rushmore over Labor Day weekend to enjoy some family time and get out of Colorado for a few days.  It's only about five hours away from where we live, so it's even closer than visiting Liz's family in Utah.  We stayed at a nice 4-bedroom VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) home in Custer.  With the size of our family it's cheaper than 2 hotel rooms, but with much more space to spread out, cook our own meals, do laundry, etc. 

It had been exactly six years since our last time to Mount Rushmore, which we did with my parents when we only had three children and Spencer was our youngest.  We have a lot of fond memories of that trip.  Six years before that Liz and I went there as newlyweds.  Apparently our family is on a six year Mount Rushmore rotation.

They have a great trail that takes you to the base of the mountain where the presidential faces are carved.  It has lots of stairs, and we worried about our younger children, particularly Michael being able to make the whole loop.  He loves climbing stairs, though, so we pushed him in a stroller to help conserve his energy on the flat areas, then let him climb the stairs while the older kids carried the stroller.  It worked out great and the hike was one of the highlights of our trip.

Michael the Mountain Climber

Whitney the stroller climber

Getting up close and personal with the presidents

Getting the close up views was magnificent!  We wish we could climb up the rubble to get even closer.

There is so much to do in the Mount Rushmore area.  We could easily spend a week there, but this time around we only hit Mount Rushmore itself and Storybook Island, which is a huge park with lots of story book themed play areas.  

Brooklyn and The Three Pigs.  She's wearing her shirt from her Aunt Julie that says "Messy Hair Don't Care". That about sums it up for some of Brooklyn's hair days!

Since we were there on a Sunday, we attended the Mount Rushmore ward in Rapid City for church.  They're used to getting lots of visitors this time of year and we were no exception.  We were worried about the rain predicted during the weekend, but were very fortunate in that regard.  Several times there were major downpours either just before or just after visiting one of the sites, but while we were outside we managed to stay dry and have great views of Mount Rushmore.

Back to School

During the last few weeks of our summer vacation we took a few day trips to enjoy some final moments of freedom.  We enjoyed places such as the Children's museum in Fort Collins, a waterpark and playground near a river in Loveland, and the Butterfly Pavilion in Denver.

Celebrating Dad's and Whitney's birthday with Grandma and Grandpa at the Children's Museum

Swimming in the river

Trying to stay dry under water

This is what happens after you touch a butterfly--you turn into one!

Sarah's new pet butterfly

Amy dressed as a flower

Oh no, the butterfly got Amy!

Now that our fun summer vacation is over, our four oldest kids are all attending Zach Elementary!  This is the last year all of our kids will be in the same school.

Sarah is in 5th grade

Whitney is in 4th grade

Spencer is in 2nd grade

And Michael just started kindergarten!

Michael isn't able to make the walk down the street to the bus stop, so we are so fortunate the school district has allowed the bus to make its first stop at our house.  The older kids are still riding their bikes to school while the weather is warm, but in the winter they'll get on the bus at our house.  Or head down the street to catch the bus ten minutes later if they're running late.

This is where Michael says he sits on the bus

This is where he actually sits

Brooklyn and Amy are jealous of their big brothers and sisters and wish they could go to Zach this year too. Brooklyn is attending a preschool co-op called Joy School with several other families near our home.

I have a backback with my woobie and stuffed kitty.  Does that mean I can go too?

Hey, it's so quiet around here, where did everybody go?

My name is Amy and I go to cuteness school