One Year To Go... But Not Really

Hannah had her first August appointment this morning (it works out where she will have two appointments this month). I had been so excited to post on here that she only has one year left for her treatment. While this is true (she will be finished with treatment next August), we have never gotten past treatment in our discussions with her doctors. They told us today that when she gets off treatment next year she will continue to go to the hospital for appointments and blood work every four weeks for ANOTHER YEAR after that. So we will be making monthly trips to Atlanta until August 2015, then every three months for a long time after that. The risk of relapse is highest in the year following treatment and gradually gets less with time. That is why she will be carefully monitored that first year off treatment.

I don't want to sound like I'm complaining. I am thankful that such a great team of doctors will be carefully tracking her health. Only going once a month is better than going once a week like we did for six months - I am thankful for that. I just had it in my mind that I could kind of see the light at the end of the tunnel, that we had to just get through the next year. I'm feeling a little discouraged today. I hate it for Hannah. She dreads going to the hospital and getting poked. She won't be getting chemo in her body after this next year of treatment, which is so much better for her. But nothing will change as far as us scheduling our lives around these trips...finding someone to keep Evan and Lauren, Eric taking off work, the long drive, Hannah hating to go to the hospital, etc. It feels like this is never going to end.

We have chosen to be positive and thankful through this journey. We will continue to be that way - I just need a couple of days to get used to this new information and get it in my mind that this is the way it's going to be. I have to keep remembering all we have to be thankful for. It just feels a little disheartening today.

Hannah begged to get out of the stroller and run with us this morning. 

Thrift Shop

My kids don't even listen to the regular radio - but somehow they know every word of this song. I thought this video was hilarious! (And yes, we are in a restaurant.)

July

As usual, I am very late in putting these posts on here. This month has been good. Hannah has felt good overall except that her stomach hurts almost every day and is often upset. I think she is extra tired some days. Neither of our other kids still needed a nap at age four and she usually does. But if those are the only side effects of all the medicine she is taking, we are thankful!

Our sweet girl, Lauren, turned seven!

Hannah's chemo appointment was scheduled for July 5, so we went up early to try to make it a fun family time. Eric and I ran the (very wet and rainy) Peachtree Road Race on the 4th. We were able to run in support of the Lighthouse Family Retreat.

We watched fireworks between rain showers. 

Also, our kids have a new cousin - Hendrix Spurlock. Congratulations, Rocky and Whitney!

Asking for your help!

You could probably guess this post was coming. :)

This is where we ask for your help.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Eric and I are training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. We cannot believe that we are training to run 13.1 miles! It seems almost impossible! But when we think of what our little Hannah has had to go through this year (and the other families we've met in the same circumstances), it doesn't seem that impossible at all.

Unfortunately, most everyone's life has been affected by cancer. Will you help us by donating to this most worthy cause? Your donation will help bring support to those affected by blood cancers and help us reach the ultimate finish line of finding a cure for blood cancers. Just one example - research funded by the Leukemia and Lymphoma society is responsible for medicines like Gleevec. We personally know children whose lives are being saved because of this new medication. This is your opportunity to help save a life!

I hope you will consider making a donation. All donations are 100% tax deductible. To make a donation online, quickly and securely, please visit my TNT homepage. Your donation is appreciated more than we will ever be able to express!

If you know of anyone who would be interested in donating to the LLS mission, please forward the link to your contacts. We are incredibly grateful for your support!

Lighthouse Family Retreat

We had the privilege of attending the Lighthouse Family Retreat for a week in June. (I've waited to post about it because I was waiting to get some pictures in the mail.) It was one of the most wonderful weeks our family has ever had together! The LFR describes what their mission is as:
    "Lighthouse Family Retreat serves children with cancer and their families at a seaside retreat to help them laugh, restore family relationships and find hope in God."

We had heard from other families how great the retreat was, but we had no idea how much fun it would be and how good it would be for each one of us. There are no words to describe how amazing the volunteers were! We were assigned two families as our personal volunteers and there were many more there to cook, serve, do the music/worship, play with the kids and help with activities. There was a whole group of Summer Staff volunteers. These were college students who had given their entire summer vacation to serve the families at these retreats. This is a picture of just some the volunteers entertaining us at dinner:

We definitely had the best family volunteers assigned to us. Here is us with Nate and Lindsey:

We somehow didn't get a picture of us with our other family volunteers, Bob, Barb and their granddaughter, Molly. (I'm very sad about that!) Lauren and Hannah quickly became great friends with Molly.

Lauren and Hannah fell in love with one of the college volunteers, Carly. She spent hours playing with them and was so incredibly sweet! All of the volunteers took a week of their vacation time and paid their room and board expenses to serve families like ours for a week. Who does that? We are blown away from this and the love that was poured out on us!

Our kids had the best time playing with the children of the volunteers and other retreat families. They had lots of time to play on this big open area. There were games of football, nine-square and tag going on all the time.

This is the group photo of all the retreat families. Look how many people were blessed by this ministry!

We are so thankful to this ministry for allowing us to have a week to relax and have fun at the beach! Each morning the kids went to their fun activities and the parents went to a group time. It was such a unique and healing experience to be in a room full of parents who are also walking through this journey of childhood cancer. We enjoyed every minute of our week and hope to be a volunteer family one day!

Team in Training

Eric and I have decided to do something we are very excited about. We signed up for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. We have formed a team and will be running in the Savannah Rock 'n Roll 1/2 Marathon on November 9. We will be running in honor of Hannah with all proceeds going to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to fund research. Does anyone want to join us and be a part of our team? Let me know if you are interested and I will give you more information. The LLS explains it better than I can, so here is the description from their website:

About Team In Training

Our athletes have walked away with new friends, amazing accomplishments and the sense that they did something even more important than getting in good shape.

How serious is blood cancer? Every four minutes, someone new is diagnosed with blood cancer. Every 10 minutes, someone dies.

In exchange for training and support, you help raise money towards cures for blood cancers like leukemia -- the No. 1 disease killer of children -- lymphoma and myeloma.

The Reason

• Coaching and training
• Travel to a major marathon, half marathon, century, hiking adventure or triathlon in exciting locations
• The opportunity to make your athletic goals a reality (an unbeatable offer with great personal rewards)
• A connection with an honored patient so you know just who and what you're doing it all for

As the largest endurance sports training program in the world, we will provide you with the experience of a lifetime.

Team In Training Benefits

Join the thousands of runners, walkers, cyclists hikers, and triathletes who will participate in the world's major marathons,half marathons, centuries, hiking adventures and triathlons this year.

And if you're looking for a program to fit your busy schedule, now there's TNT Flex, a flexible, customized, online training option developed by TNT's renowned coaches.

If crossing the finish line after running or walking 26.2 miles or 13.1 miles, cycling 100 miles, completing a triathlon or hiking adventure while helping cure deadly diseases are things you've always wanted to accomplish, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team In Training ^® will make them happen.

LLS's Team In Training (TNT) has become the leader in endurance sports training for charity, funding significant therapies like chemotherapy and bone marrow transplants, which have a significant impact on blood cancer patients.

Today, LLS funds only the most promising advances; targeted therapies like Gleevec^®, Velcade^® and Dacogen^® take aim at cancer cells, and destroy them. Immunotherapies use a patient's own immune system to kill cancer. And the repurposing of existing drugs for arthritis and antifungals to fight specific leukemias are breakthroughs that allow patients to live their best life, today.

TNT and LLS fundraising efforts through marathons, triathlons, cycling and hiking really are making cures happen. Coaches will expand your fitness level with workouts, nutrition and hydration clinics. And you'll have staff members to help with fundraising support.

www.teamintraining.org

June

I am once again late posting on here. For what is supposed to be a relaxing summer, this month has been very busy for our family. Hannah had a good appointment for this month. She had to have her sedation where they insert the chemo into her spinal fluid. Her favorite nurse who usually does these procedures had a baby, so Hannah was sad that she wasn't there. But there was another wonderful nurse to fill in for her. This picture is Hannah before she woke up from her sedation. For as "normal" as all of this hospital stuff has become for our family, Eric and I will never like seeing all of the tubes and wires hooked up to her.

We stopped at Callaway Gardens on our way back from Atlanta. The kids loved the butterfly house.

While taking pictures, a butterfly landed on Evan's leg. Don't you love how Lauren doesn't let the butterfly distract her from posing for the camera! :)