Hope for Christmas

One of the many blessings of this season of our lives is our eight beautiful grandchildren.  We love each one so much!  They all bring joy and happiness to our lives! We have been especially concerned, this past year, about our six-year-old grandson Thomas who was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor last March.  If you have been following my blog long, you know that I made a couple of trips to the East Coast last year to be with Thomas and his family and spend my summer in Philadelphia while Thomas was getting Proton Therapy treatment at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. 

We had positive news this week about Thomas, shown here with his big sister.  Thomas' field of vision had recently deteriorated and that had been cause for concern, but his doctors have now concluded that the recent deterioration was caused by last summer's proton therapy.  Apparently this is a common side-affect of proton therapy and while it is not a good thing, the loss of vision does not appear to mean that the cancer has returned.  That is a very good thing and a reason for much hope.

Also, his mom, my oldest daughter posted this on Thomas' Facebook page last week:

"On a very happy note, we received the results of his [Thomas'] neurophysiological exam and he scored "superior" in mathematical reasoning. He tells us all the time that he is a genius and now we have confirmed it, at least in math. I (mom) am a big fan of mathematics, so this made my day."

Thomas spent some time in the hospital last week and had to have a blood transfusion. He was anemic after his last round of Chemo, but the good news is that he is now home and enjoying Christmas Eve with his family. We hope to Face Time with him and his family later today or tomorrow.

You can follow Thomas' progress on Facebook by searching for @FightlikeThomas.

Catching Up

I have been home from Philadelphia for over two weeks now and am only now finding a few minutes to do a quick catch-up.  When I got home, I literally had three days of summer vacation left, then it was back to school.

 First, we had four days of teacher meetings and classroom preparations.

Here we all are during teacher meetings the first day back. I am at the left side front table, right in front, wearing a blue t-shirt (slightly out of sync with my colleagues in red) and busily working on lesson plans, or maybe I was just taking notes on what the principal was saying. ;-)

Last Wednesday, the students came back to school.  This year, I am teaching four classes of juniors and one of seniors.  I am beginning my 16th year as a high school teacher. Charly is beginning his 10th year as a teacher.

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, Thomas finished his proton radiation therapy a few days after I had to return home.  Here he is with his mom and dad and three sisters the day he got to ring the big bell, which is what all the cancer patients at this hospital do the day they finish radiation therapy.  

Thomas and the whole family are now back in Maryland where he had another round of chemo only a few days after getting home.  He was inpatient at the hospital for five days but is now home until his next round of chemo in about 21 days.  I love this picture of Thomas and his baby sister Maddie from photographer Madison James.  I must admit that the picture did make me miss them a lot, but I am grateful for the time I was able to be with Thomas, Maddie, Emily, Eleanor and their mom and dad this summer.  It was truly a blessing to be there and be able to help out as much as I could. 

It has been a hectic and busy couple of weeks since I got back to Arizona.  I promise to post again soon, but for now, I will leave with this scripture that was read at church today and helped me remember that there is hope, help, healing and peace even in the midst of the crazy busy lives and the heart-rending trials and problems of this life.

More Philly Favorites

My time here in Philadelphia is just about over.  Thomas' treatment at  Children's Hospital of Philadelphia will be over early next week.  While the circumstances that brought me here to Philadelphia (my grandson's cancer diagnosis) are not happy or positive, we have tried to make the best of the situation and make some good memories this summer.  Here are some of my favorite memories from the past couple of weeks:

• Philadelphia Temple - Although "official" public tours don't begin until August 10, I was invited by the missionaries at church to come and participate in a special early tour last Sunday afternoon.  Thomas was not feeling up to going, so I went by myself via subway and foot. It was so worth the effort! The new temple is beautiful and peaceful and holy.  

• 
  I loved being there and feeling the spirit of the place. 
  
  
  

• Independence Hall - I had seen the outside of this historic building where our nation began, but I really wanted to see the inside and do the National Park Ranger lead tour. One day, Thomas had treatment later in the day, so I rode the subway to the historic district and took the tour.

 It was amazing, and even emotionally moving to me, to be in this place where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of our Nation were debated, agreed upon and signed.  

 Of course, none of the furnishings in the room now are original, except for...

...this chair. This is George Washington's chair which Ben Franklin looked at and wondered whether the sun on the back was rising or setting.  When the delegates finally came together and started this nation, Ben Franklin said that he knew the sun was rising.

What a special and important place Independence Hall is, because of the special and important things that happened there.

I also saw Congress Hall, which is right next to Independence Hall. This is where the House of Representative and Senate met before Washington D.C. became the capital of our nation - another special and important place because of what happened there. I am so grateful for the opportunity to see these historic sights that mean so much to me and all of us who love America.

•  Hershey Chocolate World and Valley Forge - Last weekend the whole family met up in Hershey, Pennsylvania for fun at Chocolate World.

Charly and I took the kids here on vacation years ago when our kids were little and now my daughter and her family love the place as well.  

 On the way back to Philadelphia, we made a quick stop at another historic place I have always wanted to see - Valley Forge.

 The children were tired so we didn't stay long...

...but we did see some interesting things...

learned some American History and made some memories.

•  Adventure Aquarium - Yesterday, we went here on what was our last outing together here in Philadelphia.

We saw lots of different animals...

...from sharks and stingrays to penguins and hippos.

After we left the aquarium, we waved "goodbye" to Philadelphia...

...from across the Delaware River.

This city has been a great place to come for Thomas' treatment and spend the summer. Philadelphia and the kind, talented and courageous people we met here will always have a very special place in my heart.

•  New Friends - We have met many kind, caring, interesting and fun individuals here in Philadelphia.   Some are doctors, nurses and technicians and Child Life specialists who have cared for Thomas.  Others are people we met at church or here at Ronald McDonald House. Thomas and his sisters have enjoyed the playmates they have met here at Ronald McDonald House.

Some of the people we have met here include a very traditional Mennonite (Amish) family from Kentucky with eight children - the youngest of whom is a patient at C.H.O.P., a first-grade teacher with premature twins, several pregnant women who are caring babies with spinal bifida, and a mother from India and her five-year-old who is fighting leukemia. These are people with tremendous challenges as their children fight serious life-threatening diseases and conditions.  We have come to know and care about these people and they will be in our thoughts and prayers when we leave.

•  Heading home - my final favorite this week is that I will be heading home on Saturday.  I am so grateful that I could be here with my daughter and her children help out during Thomas' treatment this summer, but it is time to go home now.  Thomas treatment here will end next week and he will return home with his mom and dad and begin more round of chemo therapy within a few days. Of course by  heart and prayers will remain with Thomas, but it is time now for me to get back to Charly and get on with life.When all is said and done, "there's no place like home."

Joining again this week with my blogging friend Susanne at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five.

Heroes

It has been hard to grab a few minutes to write a post since I got here to Philadelphia almost six weeks ago. I have tried to share some of the interesting sightseeing we have been able to do on days when we have a free afternoon after treatment and Thomas is feeling up to it.  There has been much more going on here than sight seeing. This has been a summer when I have learned more than any other summer in a long time. Some of the lessons have not been easy.  Before I head back to Arizona this Saturday, I felt I need to relate some of the most things that have transpired that have changed me and how I view the world.

In the past, when I thought of heroes, I often pictured our Founding Fathers, at Independence Hall, right here in Philadelphia, signing a document that started our nation and made them traitors to the crown of England.  They pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to bring liberty and freedom to this land.  In my  books, they were heroes.

Firefighters, police officers and our service men and women also come to mind.  Most are heroes in the true and traditional sense of the word.

This summer, I have met a whole new class of heroes here at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia...

...and here at the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House.

These are people ~ parents, grandparents and children, who are living their own worst nightmare in the illness of a beloved and cherished child. Children, who are enduring adult-sized pain and sickness in their little bodies at a time in their life when play and learning should be their only concern.  I have watched these people bravely go on day after day,  doing what needs to be done, even when what needs to be done is not pretty or fun or exciting, and in fact may be excruciatingly painful physically, mentally and spiritually.

These people are my new heroes.   They are down-to-earth folks from all walks of life, living one day at a time, with no guarantee of a future, doing what they know they must, hoping beyond hope and praying for miracles that only sometimes come.  My experience this summer has been, that through the days of good news and bad news and sleepless nights filled with anxiety and worry, most of these people manage to smile when they are down, to help when they can, to share what they have and to be kind when kindness is most needed.  These people, these heroes, are me and you and each of who deal with the heart-wrenching, heart-breaking trials of loving a seriously ill child.

My prayers each night are filled with these heroes, asking God to give them healing, and if not healing then understanding and strength.  It has been an honor to live among them, to get to know them and to learn from them this summer.  I hope that everything will turn out OK for all of these families - but I know that it will not - at least not in the way that we usually think of as "all right."   Still, I will pray that all of these heroes can carry on, endure to the end, keeping going one day at a time and never, never, never give up.

Friday Fave Five from Philly

I haven't been able to join in on Friday Fave Five for a while, but I am determined to write about the many blessings I have received over the past few weeks that I have been here  in Philadelphia.

1. These three - my oldest daughter, my grandson Thomas and baby grand daughter Madeline. They have become my world since we arrived here in Philadelphia for Thomas' treatment.  Their smiles, their voices, their laughter and companionship is my #1 favorite thing this summer.

2. American history.  I love history and I love America. Putting the two together can put chills up my spine and lump in my throat.  That is what happened early this week when I got to see the Liberty Bell for the first time.

 Last Saturday, we got to see the Battleship New Jersey. across the Delaware in Camden, New Jersey.

It was another interesting bit of American History that made this a good week.

3. This place - known around here as C.H.O.P.. We go here every week day for Thomas's treatment and I have come to realize that this is truly an incredible place.

Not only does this place have brilliant doctors and scientists who offer cutting edge treatments not even dreamed off a few short years ago, it has programs  and caring staff that treat the whole child - body, mind and spirit. Here is Thomas playing "doctor for a day" yesterday with nurses and child-life specialists whose job it is to help sick kids deal with their illness.

Not only did Thomas enjoy himself being "doctor for a day," he got to meet and play with some other kids who are dealing with health challenges at CHOP.  He wants to go back and do this again next week too.

4. Walking Philly - We have been doing a lot of walking - back and forth to treatments each day.

My Fitbit is registering that I am walking 7-9 miles a day, which is good because the food here at the Ronald McDonald House is very good, and there is a lot of it.

In the evening, after dinner, I take another walk, and enjoy looking at the old historic buildings, most of which are quite well preserved and still in use.

There are also interesting monuments and sculptures like this one Thomas is standing under..

...and this monument to World War II veterans...

...and this very cool dragon which Thomas really liked. It is the mascot of Drexel University, which is right next to the University of Pennsylvania and right down the street from the Ronald McDonald House. 

We also found a couple of great used book stores while walking around the city.

They were fun to browse in, but aside from a few books to read to my grandson, I (so far) haven't bought a thing because bookstore heavy and my luggage on the flight here was already very close to being overweight.  I have downloaded some books to my Kindle however, so I am still enjoying my summer reading whenever I have a few spare minutes.

 5. Play Therapy and Friends- I think everyone needs a little "play therapy" from time to time - time to kick back and just do something enjoyable. My daughter knows how important this is, especially as Thomas battles cancer so we have visited some fun play grounds to let Thomas just be a kid.

 Thomas is friendly and outgoing and loves to make new friends. 

 He has found an abundance of friends to play with here at the Ronald Mc Donald House.

One of Thomas favorite playmates here is the young man in this picture.  He is also a brain tumor survivor who has undergone chemo therapy and now the same kind of proton radiation therapy that Thomas is having. This little guy, whose name is Nicholas, is from Quebec and speaks only French. Thomas speaks only English, but the two of them play together and have a lot of fun. It is fun and interesting to watch them interact when they do not know how to speak to each other.

Thomas also enjoys animal friends that come to the Ronald McDonald House several times a week as "pet therapy."   He loves to pet the puppies because he says that he really misses his dog Pearl, who had to stay home.

 Even by himself, Thomas can have a lot of fun at a playground...

..but when his mom joins in, he finds that sometimes moms (and grandmas) can be our best friends.

Joining once again with Susanne and friends for Friday Fave Five.