We went to Disneyland. The trip was so anticipated and the kids were very surprised when we told them. We ended up telling them the night before so they could get things organized with us. They couldn't believe it and I've never seen the house cleaned up so fast. Josh's mom and sister again surprised the kids when they met us at the airport that morning. Those are memories we will always have. Precious memories because we knew that they could have easily not happened. It was a long busy week and at one point or another EVERYONE cried. But that's to be expected in a highly stimulated environment. Josh rented a scooter and that helped a lot. We also we given a special pass that allowed us to cut to the front of all the rides. ALL the rides. It was incredible. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to go Disneyland again knowing that I might have to wait in lines. We are a spoiled bunch now. The trip was harder on me than expected. I felt a little overwhelmed at running the trip, manhandling the children and keeping watch on Josh while he scooted around enjoying his time. But, Josh's mom and sister helped a lot. All in all, I'd do it again! It was an amazing experience for the family and, like I said, there are many cherished memories. Here are some snapshots....
After we got back from our trip...Josh prepared to get back to work. He has been back since the end of May and doing great. He is as busy as ever and his employers and coworkers have been great and very supportive.
Our summer was full of kids, a trip to whistler, soccer and lots of cabin time at Lake Merwin. That is the one place on earth I think Josh truly relaxes. It's his little get away and we are soooooo blessed to have it in our lives. We paddle boarded, swam and Josh even taught Noah to wakeboard.
Now the kids are back to school and we again find ourselves establishing a new routine.
In the cancer part of our lives, Josh's numbers continue to get better. In fact his new PCR number is 2.5. There is a lot that goes into that number, but the short of it is that his starting number was 416 and it needs to be a 0.4 to be considered in complete response...kind of like remission. It has gone down so fast and I think surprised even some of the drs. We know it is because of our faith and the prayers that have been in our behalf. We made a big change recently and left our oncologist. He was great and it was hard to say goodbye to the team that has been with us every step of the way but we were given an opportunity to be a personal patient of Dr. Druker. As you may remember, Druker is at the head of OHSU cancer research center and responsible for Josh's life saving medicine. We have the CML authority of the world as our personal oncologist. It is a HUGE blessing and we know it. This means as therapy continues to evolve in the treatment of CML Josh will have first access to it. We had and initial 2 hour appointment with him a few weeks and the biggest question we had was "what will the long term effects of the drug be for Josh 20-30 years done the road?" His response still rings in my head. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. He won't be on it that long. We anticipate a cure in the next 10-15 max." YEAH!!!!! For the most part, we forget that Josh has cancer. Taking his pills has become automatic and we are constantly busy with our little growing family. Sometimes though, he gets tired, or a test result comes back a little skewed and the worry creeps back in. I sometimes still have dreams of the first days and feel that heavy cloud of uncertainty and worry. Looking back though, I know that we have been exponentially more blessed than tried. I'm getting to the point that I am grateful for that part of our lives and what it taught us and how far it's brought us. When your forget about cancer 80% of the time and your worries become children, household and getting more sleep, you can step back and say:
"Life seems pretty normal."
