We Are Very Sad

In Loving Memory:
Lesly Foster (March 12th 2010)
A Very Short 9 Years

It has been a blessed while since we have posted the beautiful White Rose. For those of you who are newer to the blog the White Rose represents, unfortunately, the loss of another sweet child to cancer.

This time we are saddened with the loss of Lesly Foster, a 9 year old whose family has been battling for quite some time. Although the Fosters live close to us in miles, our treatments have taken different paths and we know only of them, mainly through their Caring Bridge site: Lesly Foster

Lesly was also an honored child with Candlelighter's Ride For a Child the year before Rebekah and the year that daddy participated in the event.

Please pray for the Foster family in dealing with their loss as well as for all of the cancer kiddos and their families who also take each and every one of these angels very personally.

The beautiful white rose that has touched so many of us in so many ways is by and used with permission from Australian photographer Lisa Hocking. Please see her blog and thank her for its use.

We made it to Sunriver

Thanks, once again, to Mommy Debbie & Daddy Brian for letting us use their home for our little retreat! We made the trip over this afternoon/evening. We picked the girls up from school and headed out. We had to cross the mountain and there was a snow storm that blew through yesterday. We weren't sure how the roads were going to be and wanted to try to get over the pass before darkness fell. Here's a photo of the van with the trailer behind it.

It has been a "different" trip for us. We have made the trip several times before and always in the white (old) van. We had things figured out in the white van. The girls sat right behind us, so we could attend to their needs and desires. We could put a movie on for them in them and help get them situated, get them food, etc... In the wheelchair van, they sit way in the back and we can't reach them. So we had to rethink some things. We packed their lunch bags with food and they were in charge of their own. We packed backpacks with activities and again they were responsible. The problems came when they dropped something. But, Mommy has a reacher and we brought that in the van with us. Mommy was able to pick up quite a few things with it and stretch back far enough for the girls to grab the item.

Another "interesting" situation was our stop at the rest area. The rest area is at the top of the pass over the mountain. The parking lot was covered in snow. We needed to park close to the building to not get the wheelchair stuck in the snow and so the girls wouldn't fall. We parked in the handicap spot with the trailer hanging out behind us. Good thing we couldn't see the lines! And just how do you park in a handicap spot when you have a trailer behind you?

Once we made it to the house there was a lot of unloading and getting stuff upstairs. Including Mommy. Thankfully some friends of ours met us there and helped haul the stuff into the house and helped get Mommy up the stairs. Getting Mommy up the stairs wasn't easy. But we made it! And no one got hurt.

Now for the relaxing part. The girls are in bed, Daddy is reading a book and Mommy is typing up an update. We have some friends coming over tomorrow to stay with us for a few days. They have two kids and we all enjoy their company. We'll have some time with friends and with family and some time to just simply relax.

Mommy isn't able to use her motorized wheelchair in the house, so she has a manual one. It takes a lot more energy to move around in it and it isn't nearly as comfortable. It means that Mommy won't be able to do quite as much as she usually does. So Daddy and the girls will have to do more.

Please pray that we all stay safe and that we have some fun and memorable times and that Mommy doesn't have too many aches and pains. We have all been looking forward to this vacation for a little while.

On another note, we met with Rebekah's endocrinologist this week. She grew a "normal" amount over the last three months. She stayed right on the 10th percentile. If she stays on the 10th percentile we could expect that she would be about 5 foot 1 inch as an adult. While we might have liked to see "catch-up" growth (greater than "normal" growth), we'll take "normal" growth. She'll remain on the same dose of growth hormones and we'll check her growth in another 3 months and then do bloodwork in 6 months (along with her cancer scans). Her thyroid levels looked good, so we'll keep that dose the same as well. Her Stress hormone looked good as well, so no concerns there for the time being. All in all, not a bad visit. Keep doing what we're doing!

Vacation?

Daddy spent almost a whole day this week trying to get a trailer hitch put on the new van. There is zero room inside for any stuff. Yes, there is a lot of room but if we put anything there then mommy can't get in our out with the wheelchair. When they did the modifications to the van they re-routed the exhaust and it blocked where the trailer hitch had to go so daddy bought the hitch at U-Haul and then went to Midas to see if they could do something. God bless Jesse Elston at the Hillsboro, Oregon Midas who not only re-designed the system but also helped daddy install the hitch while it was up in the air and they were working on it. If you are so inclined let them know how great they were: aatllc1@gmail.com or 146 SE Oak St., Hillsboro, Oregon 97123.

Now that we have the hitch installed Uncle Mark and Aunt TT have graciously loaned us a small utility trailer (like 4x5 enclosed) that will be perfect to tow behind the van and hold enough stuff for us to actually be able to make the trip. THANK YOU TT AND MARK!

With the hitch done and the trailer available, it was time to decide if we can really do this? Mommy and daddy had a talk this morning about it. Mommy is very afraid about our ability to be able to go this week. Where we are going has a flight of steps. At this point she thinks it will be doable with lots of help and time - but very difficult. When daddy suggested that maybe we shouldn't go we both broke down crying. This home has become a very very VERY special retreat for us. We first went there when Rebekah was well enough in her cancer treatment to actually leave the area for a few days. We have gone back several times a year since. There are no words that can express how much it means to the girls and to us. And, well, the reality is that this is likely the last time that we will ever get to go there with mommy and we don't want to pass that up.

What do you want to do before you die? Do it, please. NOW! You very well may not ever be able to again and we can just about guarantee that whatever the reason that you are not doing it now is not something that you will look back on and say "that was more important."