"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly"

Good evening,

As the saying goes, shall we start with the good news or the bad news first? And let's not forget about the "ugly" news of the past couple of weeks as well. Given I have the power of the pen, I'll start with the ugly first and work my way to the good to end this entry on a positive note.

The Ugly ...

• It's just my opinion, but the end of July weather we experienced was downright ugly! August is starting off a tad more acceptable but several days of blue skies and decent temps will need to occur to get the weather off my list.
• Need I say more than "steroid emotional swings and crazy food cravings" to describe a few ugly moments the past couple of weeks. That said, Dane fared so much better this round than he did way back in January/February and the entire family is grateful this was the case.
• Dane's realization and verbalization that because of the leukemia, he can't do "stuff" - like swim four lengths of the pool and get up on waterskiis like his sister and cousin. We reassured him this is only temporary and for someone battling leukemia, he should be very proud of everything he has done these past months.

The Bad ...

• After dodging the hair loss bullet for seven months, we faced the inevitable the past week as Dane's hair started to really fall out. Every swim and hair brushing left it thinner and thinner and so yesterday we proactively shaved it very short. He and I held it together while he was in the hair dresser's chair, but both had meltdowns of varying degrees later in the day and this morning. Seeing Dane with very, very short and thin hair is a tough adjustment, but we are fortunate as this phase shouldn't last long. Come September and the start of long-term Maintenance it should grow back.
• "Murphy" was at work and as I intuitively suspected, his neutrophil count was not high enough for him to start Day 29 yesterday. He was soooo close - his count was .67 and it needed to be .75. So now we wait until next Tuesday to see if it rebounds enough to keep this train moving. Dirk and I were very disappointed, however Dane was pleased he didn't have to receive any meds for the next week.
• A few tough moments with Ashley when she verbalized how hard it is at times being the sibling of a newborn and a sick brother. She has done really well to hold it together and we are very proud of her.

The Good ...

• Ashley and Dane had a super and fun-filled August long weekend at PL. There were many great activities to fill the time, the sun shone very bright on Sunday and Dane's energy level rebounded after a difficult weekend at the end of July (he was very lethargic).
• The Children's Wish Foundation! Dane received an invite to meet a few NHL players in town this week for a charity golf tournament and hockey game. The entire family went to the Wish Foundation Office yesterday for some autographs and photos and much to our delight, were given "comp" tickets for the Summer Showdown game at MTS Centre tomorrow night. We are all going and taking Dane's best buddy from school. Before the game the kids get a chance to meet all the players at Autograph Alley and they will be armed with hockey paraphernalia for the many signatures they will be collecting.
• We received the doctor's ok for a little get-away so we are heading to Grand Forks on Friday/Saturday. The kids are looking forward to some time at the water park and I'm preparing to shop for our ever growing Clare (weighing in at just under 14 pounds).

Until my next entry after our appointment on Tuesday August 11, take care.

Janie and Dirk