Hockey Surprise… Day 904 07MAY11

Joshua received a wonderful surprise today from a great group of people. Several weeks ago Renee and I met a couple, Sal and Olivia, who's daughter, Whitney, and her husband are involved with youth hockey. Their son plays on a local team at the ice rink not far from where we live. Sal and Olivia thought that maybe Whitney would have some old hockey gear that Joshua could use so they put her and Renee in touch with each other. Before we knew Whitney had gotten the whole team involved and they rallied together to get hockey gear for Joshua and welcome him into their hockey family. So today right after lunch we headed up to the rink to meet the team and watch them play, Joshua had no idea that anything else was going on, he just wanted to meet them and watch the game. When we arrived the team greeted him and Whitney took him over to an area in front of the ice where they had assembled a huge pile of gear. The team and their parents had donated and entire set of goalie equipment for Joshua to have. They even had a custom jersey made for him and he is now an honorary member of the Bulls hockey team. Needless to say we were floored and Joshua was amazed. What a wonderful and generous group of kids and adults. The manager of the rink even gave Joshua free skating lessons once his ankle and foot are healed and ready for it.

The team!

Whitney and Joshua

His own Jersey!

Joshua loved the helmet

Two fellow goal tenders who donated some of their gear

Joshua on the bench

Afterwards they invited Joshua back into the locker room while they got suited up and then he sat on their bench during the game. Before long he was opening and closing the door onto the ice and giving the players high fives as they came off the ice. He had a really fantastic time and loved every minute of it. For us to watch Joshua run around with the other kids and be made a welcome part of their team was incredible. They played a great game and won a decisive victory which made Joshua even prouder to be a part of it all. Words of thanks just can't convey how grateful we are to all of the families and especially to Whitney for all of her hard work on Joshua's behalf. Thank you all!

When we got home Joshua immediately began figuring out how to put on all his gear and before you knew it he was standing in front of the door while I threw a few shots at him. We had to talk him out of wearing his helmet to bed :)

An amazing day for all of us to say the least.

BIRTHDAY GIRLS!… Day 903 06MAY11

We have three birthdays to celebrate between yesterday and today. Renee's birthday is today and Mary Ann and Jamie's was yesterday. Amazing how they all wound up bunched together like that. Here's hoping that their birthdays were happy and the boys and I wish each of them a special day! Renee and her mom had a nice girls day out yesterday to celebrate, not often that they can find time to go out and have fun together.

Unfortunately I had to work all day until late so I wasn't home to be with Renee and the boys. They left early this morning to go in search of a cast shoe for Joshua. They found a neat one in Brandon and made it back home before the first rain we have had in many weeks started to fall. The rest of the day was about normal with school work and the like. We have a busy weekend planned and it should be a fun one and of course we have Mother's Day on Sunday as well. Jamie and Christian along with Miss Allie have been a little under the weather but we are hoping they are well enough to come visit this weekend.

Not happy… Day 902 05MAY11

Joshua was not a happy guy today. We went to an appointment with his orthopedic doctor because he was still having some pain in his right foot. The doctor took a look and ordered x-rays which revealed that Joshua has a broken bone, his second metatarsal, in his right foot. So he is back in a cast for three weeks.

The fracture was most likely caused by a combination of the steroids weakening his bones and the effect the vincristine he gets has on his tendons which causes him to walk on his tip toes. The break was a stress fracture and not caused by a specific injury. We are not sure how long he has been walking around with a broken bone is his foot but it has certainly been that way for several days at least. I shudder to think how much he has walked these last few days at the zoo and the hockey games.

He was definitely not a happy camper when he found out he had to have a cast on again. He gets very sad when things like this happen, things that are out of his control and make him not a "normal" little boy. It hurts me to watch him struggle with the sadness that he endures because of his cancer, it is so unfair. He just wants to be able to play hockey and skate , climb trees, run around, ride his bike. His cast is, of course, blue for his Bolts and waterproof like the last time so he can get it wet anytime he wants. We still have to find him a cast shoe because they didn't have any at the doctor's office.

So we spent most of the day at the hospital getting his cast done and getting molds made for the new braces that the doctor has prescribed for him to wear after he gets his cast off, they will help keep his feet more upright and stretch his tendons to counter the effects of the vincristine. After dinner the boys and I cuddled up on the couch and watched a movie and tried to forget about the earlier part of our day.

Sweep!!… Day 901 04MAY11

Joshua got to attend the fourth game of the Lightning playoff series. Coach Raymond called early in the day to say he had two tickets for tonight's battle. I was the lucky one who got to go with him and we had an amazing time! That is two hockey games in a row for Joshua and I think you could have powered a small city off of his smile. Joshua's Bolts won the game 5-3 and swept the Capitals in the series 4-0. After the game was over we met Coach Raymond downstairs and he took Joshua back into the locker room to congratulate the players. Joshua, who is their biggest fan, was all smiles and high fives. It was great to walk around and shake the players hands and congratulate them on their hard earned victory. Coach Boucher was happy to see Joshua and gave him a big hug. A huge thanks again to our wonderful friend Coach Raymond!! You have done so much for Joshua and we are eternally grateful. I am pretty sure both Joshua and I will be quite unable to talk tomorrow :) we did a lot of screaming tonight!

Birds and pucks … Day 900 03MAY11

We got up early this morning and had a quick breakfast before heading off for a family trip to the zoo. We had received passes to Lowry Park Zoo last year and were waiting for a good time to go. We had a wonderful day walking all around the park and enjoying the animals. The boys really liked the birds and we had a chance to feed them a couple of times. Once you get over the quick flashes of the Hitchcock film by the same name the birds are really neat and a lot of fun to feed. The boys rode the rides multiple times and Joshua even got a ride on a camel named Mongo. By the time we left in the afternoon we were all ready to stop walking and rest a bit. Wouldn't you know it though that not long after we had all gotten a shower and were thinking about dinner Coach Raymond emailed and said he had two tickets to the playoff game tonight. We quickly decided that Renee and Joshua would go and cheer the Bolts on in person while Jarrod and I did it from home. Without wasting much time Renee and Joshua got ready and headed off to the rink while Jarod and I got started on fixing dinner. The game was awesome and they won 4-3 which puts them up 3-0 in this series of the playoffs. Joshua had a wonderful time at the game and really enjoyed the opportunity to cheer his Bolts on to victory in person, Coach Raymond has been wonderful to our family. So it has been a full and fantastic day, I am sure we will all sleep well tonight.

Here are a bunch of pictures from our day at the Zoo:

I feel like a scarecrow...

A bird in the hand...

We think that this is a new world record for most birds in one hand.

Camel Rider. Joshua and Mongo.

The flume ride

The boys after the flume ride ;)

Renee talking to her new friend.

Cool colors!

There were 300 birds in the aviary with us.

Joshua the bird whisperer :)

What it is all about. That smile...

New plan … Day 899 02MAY11

Joshua didn't do his normal Monday clinic run today. We are now only going to the clinic every two weeks, this is because he is the phase of treatment where things usually just roll along without many bumps in the road. This is new for us and frankly is a might freaky. We are so used to getting weekly updates as to his counts and we have based so much on that number for quite a long time. It will be a learning experience for all of us to deal with less information than we are used to having, but as we draw closer to the end of his treatment I guess this will help ween us off of being at the clinic so frequently. One day we will only go every once in a while and then finally not at all. That still seems like a long way down the road for Joshua.

After waiting more or less patiently for a week to expire and strictly following doctors orders Joshua was able to get out and skate a little today with Jarrod. He did fine and his ankle is no worse for the experience. He has promised that he will take it easy for a week or two and build his strength back up gradually. IT is nice that he can start doing things he likes to do again after his injury, it was hard to watch him not be able to be as active as he likes to be.

Rest and hockey … Day 898 01MAY11

Joshua spent the day relaxing around the house. Renee cleaned out Jarrod's closet and I worked out in the garage. Just our normal and very routine kind of Sunday. The boys did take a bike ride later in the evening after it cooled down a bit and then we all settled in for game 2. The Bolts played well and won it in overtime which mens they have a 2-0 lead coming back home. I am sure they heard us yelling next door when the final goal went in :-) and that about sums up our day. Nice to just stay home and be normal…