correction

I have to apologise...I may have been misleading in that last short post. I do not mean to mislead my dear faithful readers, so let me tell you the story:

Many of you know that Adam's favourite TV character is Mr Tumble, aka Justin Fletcher. Justin is a man kind enough to write back to fans when they send a message on facebook, and also kind enough to give the address to which said fans should write when they want to request a visit. I wrote and did not hear back, so wrote again and included my phone number. I then received a call from a woman at the Make-a-Wish Foundation asking for Adam's details so they can begin to organise a trip for him to meet Mr Tumble (Justin) in Surrey, England, sometime. This all happened because Justin called her and asked for her to pursue it.

He (Justin) then had a bunch of Mr Tumble stuff--magazines with fun activities and stickers (Adam LOVES stickers!), DVD's, cards and a picture of himself, much of which was signed by Justin/Mr Tumble--sent to our house, and all this arrived last Tuesday. Needless to say I was amazed and grateful a second whole time, so I tried to get a picture to send to Mr Tumble to say "thanks". It was not a great shot as Adam was really grumpy that day (and who can blame him I ask?), but the result is what you saw in the last post. I think he looks solemnly pleased :)

At any rate, things continue here on a fairly even keel. Adam received his 4th dose today, and we should be seeing the effects of that in a few days, by Saturday at the latest. The doctors are amazed that he has come this far in this particular part of the treatment. He's been enjoying school and his bus rides to and from, though he is still refusing to keep a hat on in our late-Autumn dropping temps. The man is tough, I tell you!

I went to Caleb's parent-teacher conference this evening and his teacher had nothing but good things to say about him, his conduct in the class and the speed with which he is picking up language and maths. I do think he might have my brain for math, but also his daddy's brain for concepts and liking to know how things work. It's a winning combination and a sweet boy to hold it all together.

The baby, well she is practicing her standing up and her new "Ab. Ad. Ab. Ab. Ad." during the day AND the night just now, enjoying several opportunities to call me in and politely ask to be laid down again. "Ab. Ad." It's sweet, and wonderful to see her come on so much and enjoy a little rough play and new foods and the attention of strangers everywhere she goes. If you are in Aberdeen and walk past the Starbucks at Marischal college and see a gorgeous little pink puff lady in the window, it's probably Agnes! :)

That's all for now. It is, as usual, bed time for this mama.

Mr Tumble made my day!

Thanks Mr Tumble (Justin) for bringing some light to a hard week!

another post-holiday update

Well, it's been a good couple of weeks with lots of news to report.

The October holidays were a success, not least because of the company and help of my mom who is still here (until Nov 9). We had good weather, good enough to get out and walk a lot. The second week Caleb had football camp, which he enjoyed but was equally keen to finish. Hmmm, may not be a star footballer this boy, we'll have to find something else that catches his attention! Adam and I walked nearly every time to take and pick brother up...it's a good half mile to the Sports centre, so I would guess Adam walked in excess of 5 or 6 miles last week. Pretty good for a cancer patient, right?

Speaking of which, the doctors and nurses are amazed at Adam's progress, and particularly the way he's sailing through this current round of chemo. He's had minor (comparatively speaking) mouth trouble for a few days after each of his treatments, but nothing like what they were expecting. I am so proud of him--the energy that both his brother and sister display in their constant movements, acrobatics, exploration and attention to the world around them is mirrored in Adam through his being able to take a full whack of chemo, turn around and say thank you, go to school, come home and eat, sleep well, and do it all again the next day. I know it's only a matter of time until the bubble bursts, but for now we are glad.

The only shadow is the fact that once again Adam didn't "make the cut" on the last MRD test. His result was just slightly higher than the cut-off for continuing as is or pursuing more aggressive treatment, i.e. a bone marrow transplant. As always, Adam is a grey area for the doctors, but our consultant is wonderful and called several of her colleagues to confer. The answer they all gave was "continue with the treatment he's on for now", much to our relief. They feel that this gives Adam the best chances of survival and cure. The way Adam has been going I am beginning to feel that they might be right.

This last sentence of course reveals the fact that I've had my doubts, and who wouldn't if they are being honest? It's so weird to live at the edge of life, to walk a narrow ledge over a deep precipice with your son and know that at the end of the day you will either fall in or stay standing. It's one or the other, and at the beginning I was sure Adam wasn't going to have the strength to handle the treatment. Now, watching him take a blow and heal up and keep going, I'm feeling my hope grow each day that he might just do it. Seeing the docs perplexed at his good response makes my heart swell, and no matter what I'm so happy that he's coped this well so far and been able to go to school and live a (mostly) normal life.

Ok, final news: After two letters to Justin Fletcher, aka Mr Tumble, asking him to come to Aberdeen to meet Adam and his friends, I had a response. Yesterday a woman called from the Make a Wish Foundation asking if Adam would like to come to Surrey and meet Mr Tumble in person!! It seems that Justin called her and asked her to contact me, and said it would be best for the meeting to happen through these channels. WOW!! So now we wait and see how the logistics lay out, and hope that Adam is well enough when the time comes to make the trip. It would be so amazing, and I'm so grateful for the glimmer of hope that Adam might one day finally get to meet his muse. Thanks Justin--thanks Mr Tumble!!! :)