It’s pretty official now that we are back to life-as-usual. Yay! You may recall from a previous post that I promised not to get back into activities that weren’t important to us after cancer got us out of everything. It appears that a lot of activities were important because we are back into school, work, family events, travel, play dates, soccer practice, piano lessons, art classes, church activities, field trips, PTA, volunteering in the kids’ classes, writing and so forth. Our lives are not much different than before Andrew’s diagnosis, except that I hope we feel more empowered to make changes when we need to.
Here is what we have been up to in the past few months:
Cancer Scans
We visited Primary Children’s Medical Center last Friday for another routine cancer scan. We alternate between ultrasounds and CT scans every two months to limit the amount of radiation Andrew receives. This was an ultrasound visit. The radiologist was probably our favorite of all the radiologists we’ve seen because he was so thorough and forthcoming. I’m not sure how we’ve never seen him before.
The radiologist spent some time double-checking some “speckles” around Andrew’s pancreas and ultimately concluded that they were most likely scar tissue. He made it clear that there was nothing cancerous about them and if anything else were wrong, it would be obvious.
This was our six-month anniversary since the end of Andrew’s treatment, and we’re still CANCER-FREE!
Make-a-Wish Fundraiser
After the cancer scans, we traveled to the Eaglewood Golf Course in North Salt Lake to support Make-a-Wish at a fundraiser. We were asked to tell our story at a lunch after the golf tournament, but the tournament had been delayed by rain, so we spent a lot of time waiting around. Andrew played on the stairs, snacked on chips and cookies, and eventually, we borrowed golf carts. Andrew loved riding in the golf cart. He held his hands up like he was riding a roller coaster. It was adorable.
Eventually, the lunch started and Andrew played his part well. We were surprised when the Utah Jazz Bear ran into the room and covered both Chris and Andrew in silly string. If golf cart rides and silly string weren’t enough, Andrew was rewarded for his time with a small collection of golf balls, tees and hats.
Days of ’47 Parade
I’m way overdue on reporting this one. On July 24, our family had the opportunity to ride in the Days of ’47 parade through downtown Salt Lake City with Make-a-Wish and the and the 146th Transportation Company of the Army National Guard. For those of you who are not familiar with it, the Days of ’47 Parade celebrates the day that the Mormon pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley in 1847. It is the biggest parade in Utah and it is televised locally.
We arrived in downtown Salt Lake City early in the morning to ride on army trucks in the parade. What we did not know in advance was that we’d be in the middle of a walking water fight all the way down the parade route. The trucks had big boxes full of water and one person whose entire job was to refill water guns.
Did you know? If you punch a hole in the lid of a water bottle with a key or screwdriver, fill the bottle with water, replace the lid, then squeeze, it shoots and soaks better than a water pistol. My kids loved it. I spent a lot of time trying to protect the camera.
The parade ended at Liberty Park where the National Guard unit paid tribute to all of the wish kids and made them honorary members of the unit. Chris and I were so touched by this.
Rubber Ducky Derby
This is Make-a-Wish’s big annual community fundraiser. This year was its 25th anniversary! As a wish family, we received four complimentary passes to the Seven Peaks water park in Salt Lake City for the Rubber Ducky Derby. Unfortunately, Andrew woke up with a stomach virus on the day of the event.
Those stomach viruses make us anxious, because the first symptoms of Andrew’s cancer were stomach pains and vomiting. We were delighted to learn that Andrew’s best friend had the same symptoms. Andrew is our homebody, so he wasn’t very distressed about missing the event, and Chris was happy to stay home after a busy week, so Madeline and I went on our own.
When we arrived at the water park, the lazy river was filled with yellow rubber ducks. We had sponsored a few, so we were hoping to win a prize. Well-known characters and mascots were walking around in costume, and it was a carnival atmosphere.
We ran into a family that rode on our truck in the Days of ’47 parade and Madeline quickly re-connected with their daughter who was about her age. They spent the day riding the water slides together while I tried unsuccessfully to keep up.
I learned at the golf tournament that the winner of the trip to Hawaii donated the trip back to Make-a-Wish. They used it to help grant a Utah child’s wish to visit Hawaii. The 2-year lease on a car was won by a family with special needs children whose own car had just broken down. Goosebumps!
I had no idea a year ago how much we would come to appreciate the Make-a-Wish Foundation. They focus on granting individual wishes, but we are grateful for the other opportunities that have come Andrew’s way through Make-a-Wish as well. Make-a-Wish gave us hope during a dark time in our lives. I am grateful to the many companies, organizations and individuals who raise funds for Make-a-Wish, allowing them to grant wishes to special kids like ours.