We Are Thankful

We have hit Maintenance. This is the phase of treatment that will remain consistent for the next 3ish years as Eli continues his battle. Thus far we have been lucky, comparatively, with few hospitalizations. The late summer was rough as he underwent Delayed Intensification—a shock and awe barrage of meds to knock lurking cancer cells out of his system. He lost his hair again and was very ill from side effects, but with his indomitable spirit and humor, he Minecrafted, built Legos, watched his YouTube heroes Zak Scott, DanTDM, StampyLonghead, and Rizzial, and Minecrafted some more. He also felt well enough to attend the outer-space themed mother/son dance, where he and I dressed as Darth and “Mama” Vader. Many cookies were consumed by his galactic might that evening.

October was a month of adventure. Our family was invited to attend the Camp John Marc oncology family retreat weekend where we fished, took a cooking class, zip lined, painted crafts, and made s’mores around a campfire under the stars. The weather was beautiful and getting to have a real outing as a family and meet others fighting similar battles was healing in so many ways. Since we were at the same host site as Eli’s summer camp, he was able to retell events and show us his cabin he stayed in. The pathways were paved with bricks with hundreds of children’s names and the dates they had played under those same trees . . . children who fought and continue to fight just like him . . .

On Halloween he was invited to participate in a televised fundraiser at WFAA, hosted by meteorologist Colleen Coyle, to benefit Cape Day. He dressed as Superman and charmed all around him as usual. Everyone at the studio was so kind to us—for which I am grateful. Having a rambunctious child on live television is a daunting thing, but he did a great job and loved being on camera, exploring the studio, and talking about tornadoes with Colleen.

Afterward, he was able to Trick or Treat at the Stars arena executive offices. HopeKids organized the event, and those in the offices decorated their zones in different themes, allowing the children to trick or treat throughout the three levels. He was elated and exhausted by the time we got home, but regained his energy and was ready for another round when we went trick or treating in our neighborhood later that evening.

Now that we are in Maintenance and he has had his flu shot, he can begin to go places within reason and feel like a regular kid again . . . his hair is already starting to fill in quickly, and next week he will be starting back to school half days to build his stamina up for full days in the new year. He got to go on a field trip and meet his classmates earlier this month to make the first day a little less scary. His new Minecraft backpack is ready to go, and hopefully he will be too.

We can start building our new normal. These past 10 months have felt like being trapped underwater, only able to feel things directly within reach with the vague indication of light in the distance. To all our friends and family who reached into the depths to find and help us—we are thankful for you. Happy Thanksgiving.