"We Remember Him"

Sept 29 - Always a tough day for the Kidd/Hantscher families. Eleven years ago yesterday our first child - Cole Andrew - was born at HSC. As we have done every year since 1999, we honoured his special day with a picnic dinner at St. Vital Park and a picture of the kids at a spot close to where Dirk and I took him one warm fall day. Every year is different - last year was particularly tough because it was his 10th birthday and Dane was fixated on the older brother he never got to meet. This year the kids were more pre-occupied and I think had both decided they "didn't want to cry" over Cole quite so much as in the past. I think yesterday was tougher for Dirk because of Dane's health issues - it's hard not to be sad when you are reflecting on one loss in the midst of a serious health issue of another child. The bright spot seemed to be Ms. Clare - Ashley and Dane think she is the best and were delighted to have their baby sister in the annual photo. I think it's a tender shot of the three siblings.

On a more upbeat note, Sept 29 was a rewarding day for both Ashley and Dane. Our Ms. Ashley has turned into quite the little runner and in two cross country meets has placed an impressive 14th (Sept 22) and 8th (Sept 29) out of about 100 grade four girls. She definitely has the build to be a runner - those legs of hers are mighty long (takes after her dad). Yesterday Dane received the email he had been waiting for - he was successful in his attempt to play 8A1 hockey this season. Not too bad for a kid who has been battling the fight of his life the past 9 months! Every ice time he gets stronger and faster and we anticipate this will continue. More importantly is he is ecstatic about the game again. We are seeing a level of enthusiasm we have not witnessed since November 2008 and it is wonderful. Dirk is going to be broke though as many new pieces of equipment were required to start the season. Both kids are now gung-ho to get fancy new hockey and ringette sticks and I told them I wasn't going to be left behind so it will be my turn next!

In terms of Dane's treatment, I don't really have any news to report today. He has not been at the Clinic or Children's Hospital since September 16. We were scheduled to go yesterday, however I have been fighting a wicked cold/virus since last week. To avoid passing my germs onto any of the kids, our appt has been rescheduled to Friday. So far he has been handling the various meds really well. I don't even have one "roid" induced story to share for this month and I'm hopeful this will become the norm for months to come. As much as we all enjoy the humour of his food cravings, the emotional roller-coaster that accompanies "dex" (dexamethasone) is not pretty. So thus far, Maintenance is a much better world than the intense phases of the past eight months.

Until next time, take care ... Janie and Dirk

"BIG News"

Good evening,

So, with cheeks that look like they are stockpiling nuts for the winter, it's likely not a stretch to figure out one of my "big" references for this week. Yes, at four months Ms. Clare has passed the 16 lb mark and she has the dimples and rolls to prove it! She is almost able to sit up, but I suspect it's because she has a few extra layers around her mid-section that get in the way of her toppling forward! She has started "real" food and I'm hopeful it will improve her not so stellar sleeping habits.

Of course the biggest news this week is Dane has officially started cruise control - aka long-term Maintenance. His neutrophils were up to .87 at his Tuesday visit to the Cancer Clinic, just a bit above the required threshold of .75. The following is a snapshot of Maintenance:

- This is the treatment regime he will be on until May 2012

- Each Maintenance cycle is 84 days (essentially three months)

- On day 1 of each cycle he undergoes a spinal tap

- On day 1, 29 and 57 he receives chemo intravenously

- He is on steroids day 1 - 5, day 29 - 33 and 57 - 61 (referred to as a "boost")

- He takes a specific chemo pill once a week on Tuesdays for the 11 weeks of the 84 day cycle

- Starting day 1 (yesterday) through May 2012 he takes a pill called mercaptapurine every night (this pill is a bit of a nightmare because it has to be taken on an empty stomach and he can't have dairy products within two hours of taking it. So, no milk, cheese, yogurt or ice cream after supper for almost three years)

- He takes antiobiotics every Sat & Sun until May 2012 to prevent infections, eg: pneumonia

- He only goes to the clinic every two weeks for blood work/IVs so the visits are going to be much less frequent (yahoo)!

- Now that he has started Maintenance, there is no stopping for low neutrophil counts. If his counts drop below an acceptable level, the dosages of the pills he takes at home will be adjusted. All spinal taps and IV chemo will proceed whether he is below .75 or not

- His various blood counts should stay much more normal and transfusions are highly unlikely. This is great news as it should mean his hemoglobin and platelets will be just like other kids and that bodes well for his energy level and playing hockey

So, there will be a test now on all the facts above. Are you ready?!?! Just kidding ... (a little sleep deprived humor).

More big news is Dragon Boating for Dane was a HUGE success! Our team Paddlestar Galactica had an amazing weekend. We were in 8th place after our first two races on Saturday which put us in the top of Division 1 (mixed recreational). We raced one final time on Sunday and much to our surprise, posted a great time and wound up finishing 2nd overall out of close to 90 teams! More important than our race placing though was our fundraising for the Canadian Cancer Society (MB division). We are currently the top on-line individual fundraiser with nearly $3200.00 in pledges. Add our in person pledges to that total and we have surpassed $3500.00!!! Thank you again for your generosity and support - every dollar raised goes toward research and we know first hand how significant studies are to help find cures for childhood cancers, particularly leukemia. Dane's illness proved to be a huge inspiration for our entire team and the weekend was capped off in the beer tent at the Forks with Dane on Dirk's shoulders and the crowd chanting "Dane, Dane"!! Our experience this year was physically, mentally and emotionally draining but we wouldn't have missed it for anything. We are already looking forward to 2010 and what we can accomplish as a team.

Until my next entry, take care everyone.

Janie and Dirk

"We are Paddlestar!"

Good evening,

Well, we paddled our butts off today (literally) and finished second in our first heat and first in our second heat. Our average race time was 2:26 and although we don't know exactly where we are in the standings after today, we know we are near the top of the pack. We have an early afternoon race time tomorrow and the following are our race details ...

Heat P - Lane #3 - Race time approximately 12:30 pm

**could run a bit early or late however today we ran pretty much on schedule**

We had great fan support today - thank you for the wonderful cheering. Our entire family was on hand to watch the race and Dane is particulary keen on being there for the big final tomorrow.

If you can make it out, we would love to see you. The forecast is for a beatiful and sunny 25 degrees - it should be great!

As always, thanks for the support. We have done AMAZING with our fundraising thanks to so many generous donations. As of today we are at close to $3000 - all of which stays in Manitoba and is dedicated to Cancer research! That is a tremendous total and we are so grateful.

Good night - we must rest so we can give it our all one final time tomorrow.

Take care - Janie and Dirk

"Ready, Set .... Go???"

Good evening,

If it hasn't become too obvious after eight months of writing this blog, we journalist types love headlines. Looking back, I must have really been in survival mode in January when I started the blog because it took me a few entries to start getting creative. Now I lie awake at night planning my next big headline (OK, I don't lie awake very long given I know it's only going to be a matter of a few hours before I'm up again to feed Ms. Clare)! So this week's entry is "Ready, Set .... Go???" and it refers to a few happenings in our world right now. They are ...

Was "Murphy" at work again today?

Of course, "Murphy" is "Murphy's Law" and he took a break today. Dane was not ready to start long-term Maintenance so the great news is he gets to start school with his peers tomorrow morning and attend his 4x4 hockey camp for a week "med" free. His neutrophils jumped considerably from last week (they were .17 last Tuesday and .59 today). He just needs to get to .75 and the doctor is pretty sure he'll be there next week. His platelets are not an issue, they have climbed to 234, a major increase from 66 last week. Dane's oncologist is likely starting to get a bit tired of my sense of humour, as I told her flat out today we didn't want Dane to be ready (for once) but figured "Murphy" would likely rear his head. When she presented me with his results, she said "you got your wish - he's not quite ready". There is a downside to him not being ready though and that is his Cancer Clinic buddy Hayden is ready to start tomorrow so they will now be one week apart. It would have been great to have their treatments match up, but no worries, we'll find reasons to connect even if it's not at the Clinic. He is appointment free until Tuesday and given we have a crazy week ahead (for reasons I will explain below), that's a welcome break. So, in the case of his treatment, it's a "no-go".

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

If you are a parent of school age children and you've seen the creative Staples commercial with the dad pulling his kids on a couch that doubles for a sleigh and the song "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" playing in the background, you'll know where this is going. School starts tomorrow (not that I'm excited or anything ...)!!! It's been a long summer and given everything we've been juggling - Dane's illness, doctor's appts, Ashley's needs and Ms. Clare's appetite, we are all ready for some structure. It will do Ash and Dane a world of good to spend less quality time together and mix more with their peers. I'm also looking forward to giving Clare a bit more one-on-one attention and taking care of tasks around the house. So, start the engines because at 9:00 am tomorrow, school's a "go".

They Shoot, They Score

Yep, hockey and ringette are in full-swing. Ashley has had a couple of practices already and Dane started tonight. It's his first time on the ice in a formal practice since his diagnosis. Under the circumstances he did great, however as his mom & dad, we know he's a few steps behind where he was last year. We are hoping that with each ice time, he regains his confidence and his love of the game. He really seemed to enjoy himself and we told him many times we were proud of his efforts and attitude. And here is a bit of perspective ... another hockey dad who's son has cancer said really it's a miracle he's back out there after just finishing eight months of hard-core treatment. So, here we "go" for what we hope will be seven uninterrupted months of hockey and ringette.

Dragon Boating for Dane!

We are in the home-stretch before our big dragon boat races. As I indicated in an earlier blog entry, below are our race times for this Saturday's heats ...

HEAT O - Lane 1 - Race time approximately 1:15 pm Saturday Sept 12

HEAT NN - Lane 3 - Race time approximately 2:55 pm Saturday Sept 12

*** These times are approximate and we could run a bit ahead or behind ***

We won't know our final race time on Sunday after late Saturday, but I will post the information as soon as I get it. We would love to have you on the route or at the finish line to cheer us on. It's a crazy, adrenaline rush for 2.5 minutes but worth every ounce of energy. Our team is PaddleStar Galactica and we have bright blue shirts.

We continue to climb the ladder for fundraising (currently #2 online and closing quickly on #1)and if you are interested in pledging our team, please follow the instructions I posted in the August 17 update. Your support is greatly appreciated and truly "going" to a great cause - much needed cancer research.

We hope your family survives the September craziness. Until next time, take care everyone.

Janie and Dirk

p.s. The photo is the kids five minutes before leaving PL this past Sunday after four spectacular days. It was a great way to end the summer!

"Second chance at summer"

Hello everyone,

Well, this is definitely more like it, even if it is September 2! Dane is feeling much better post transfusion so we are going to enjoy this "second chance at summer" for the next few days before the fall/school activities kick into high gear.

Although his neutrophils remain pretty low (.17), Dane's platelets and hemoglobin have rebounded to nearly 70 and 100 respectively. As such, his color and energy level are really good and they will continue to improve as he has not had any meds in 10 days. He had his weekly check-up yesterday and his oncologist can tell by his other blood results that his neutrophils should start to increase soon. As was the case with all the other phases, he needs to be at .75 and 75 platelets to start long-term Maintenance. We don't think he will be ready next Tuesday, but we have been surprised before. This is the one time when we would appreciate a delay, otherwise he'll be having his once every three months spinal tap next Wednesday, which happens to be the first day of classes. We would really like him to start school normally like all the other kids and not show up at lunch and after a sedation procedure. However, we know we don't control the blood results so we'll just wait and see what next Tuesday brings.

Dane's doctor has given him the ok to play hockey this winter and he is very excited about hitting the ice. We have been outfitting he and Ashley the past couple of days as ringette and hockey camps are in full-swing. Ashley started yesterday and Dane gets going next Tuesday (another reason to hope for a week's delay).

Our Clare is nearing the four month mark (Sept 11) and is now over 15 lbs. She is full of smiles and chuckles and we are all enjoying her many expressions.

Until next week, take care and enjoy the long weekend.

Janie and Dirk