Milestone

Ben has been out of treatment for over a year! Woo Hoo! Ben's numbers were "perfect" at his last visit so now we only have to go back every 2 months which we are pretty happy about.

The boys started school last week and have been loving it. The teachers and classes are great. Of course, getting used to getting up and out of the house early and the homework is taking the usual adjustment period but they are both doing well.

Ben will be playing for the school's flag football team starting next week and he cannot wait.

Life if good :)

Summer Fun

We have been having a great summer. The boys both went to Ronald McDonald sleep-away camp last month and had a blast. David wasn't sure he wanted to go but since Ben talked about it nonstop for the past year David decided he would give it a try and ended up having a great time! Of course, I was a bit of a mess with both boys leaving but was so happy for them to have this adventure. The rest of the summer we have been trying to be a little more relaxed than usual with less camp time and more family time and play dates. It has worked out well and in our extra time we have been swimming and the boys have been taking tennis and golf lessons.

Ben had an amazing check-up again last week and his numbers continue to be strong. We are only a month away from the one year milestone since the end of chemo and the doctors have said that since he is doing so well that he will only need to go in for blood draws every 2 months!! This has been a long road but things are going so well now. We are so thankful for all of the support from doctors, nurses, family, friends and sometimes even strangers!

Update

As I was sitting here with Ben, who is home from school with a cold, I realized that it has been a very long time since I have made a post. The good news is that no news is usually good news! We have just been really busy with school, friends and sports. Although Ben has been plagued with catching many viruses over this long cold and flu season he has managed to stay out of the hospital except for short visits (no overnights!) and his numbers have been fantastic.

Ben played lacrosse for the first time starting in January and although his team did not have a great season he had an amazing time with this fun sport. He also started on his first little league team this Spring and he has been having a blast so far this season. Although I think he would be having fun no matter what, it doesn't hurt that his team is awesome.

We went on a fun-filled vacation to Hawaii over Spring Break where we spent our days in the pool and beach. Ben had a great time fishing and also some amazing dolphin interaction time. All in all it has been a wonderful few months!

Ben is Great

Ben had another checkup today and all is well. Ben's numbers are great - very high and he is feeling strong. We did discuss the issue of his gallstones and his doctor decided that Ben should see a specialist to find out what they recommend. Apparently, in adults the usual course of action is go in and get them out but we are hoping to avoid that but we also don't want him to have to stay on medication forever. We will see what happens.

The boys have started their new sports. Ben with lacrosse and David with basketball. They are both loving their teams and are doing really well!