All Is Well

Clean Scans!! Carson is happy and healthy.

Whooooo!! Clean Scans!!!

we met with dr. watanabe this afternoon and his exact words were "carson's scans look wonderful, except for the missing kidney that the surgeon took" for some reason he always reminds us of the missing kidney, i sometimes wonder if he thinks we think it is going to grow back or something :). my eyes swelled up with tears when he told us this wonderful news. just grateful for yet another miracle in our lives! we have been blessed with many. i was a little bummed, though to find out during carson's exam his left ear tube has already fallen out-he just got it put back in the end of january. other then the missing ear tube and kidney carson looks great! full of life and ENERGY! carson is due for scans, again, in july.

on a typical day carson is a cowboy, but today he wanted to be a soccer player. here he is in his "soccer uniform"

The Scan Day

well, carson and i headed down to phoenix children's hospital at 6:15 this morning. we checked in and had just gotten john wayne playing on our portable dvd player when they called us back for his tests. carson held real still for his chest x-ray, then he was given some contrast to drink (we put it in his strawberry juice). this contrast "lights" up the stomach and pelvis area so they can better see these areas when the cat scan is done. unfortunately, it took 2 pokes to get an iv going-let's just say carson was mad when they missed the first one in his arm. the iv was needed for a different contrast they inject into an iv 60 seconds before the cat scan is done. this iv contrast "lights" up all the organs to make sure they are clean of cancer. the nurses wrapped him up like a burrito for the cat scan, they drew labs and he was done! oh, don't forget - his 1st time to pee in the cup, usually i have to collect his urine on cotton balls. it is necessary to collect urine to make sure the kidney is working properly. he will most likely have to collect urine samples for the rest of his life. so the cup worked out very nicely! we were out by 10 am and off to saba's western store we went. since he did such a great job holding still for the x-ray, iv-poke, cat scan and drinking the yucky contrast he scored a new cowboy hat and black belt. he was awesome!! such a strong, brave cowboy!

we meet friday april 17th with the oncologist to go over the results. now i get to focus on an Easter talk for sacrament meeting :) talk about a stressful week!

carson's new belt

The anticipated phone call

i got the anticipated, dreaded phone call. each time i see 602-546-0000 pop up on my caller-id, my heart sinks. it is the same number that popped up on my caller-id back on may 24th, 2007. that was the phone call that informed us "there's a massive tumor growing off carson's kidney-and it is cancerous." that phone call forever changed my life, hopefully only for the better. anyways, on wednesday april 8th carson will have a cat scan of the pelvis and abdomen and just an x-ray of the chest. he doesn't have to be sedated this time! yeah! unfortunately dave is out of town this day so i get the lovely pleasure and taking him down to the hospital for his 7 am check in and tests. we can only pray and hope our little cowboy carson is still "cancer free" by looking at him and watching him run and play he looks nothing but healthy!

this was my conversation with carson the other day:

carson: mom can i have a sucker

me: sure, you can have ONE

carson: okay, mom ONE

(carson comes back eating THREE suckers)

me: how many suckers are you eating?

carson: THREE

me: why? i told you ONE

carson: well, i am THREE so i need to eat THREE of 'em

me: good answer carson! with a smile on my face and his, he enjoyed eating THREE suckers

An Amazing Race

LET THE CHALLENGE BEGIN!

this is the awesome decorated suburban!

well, my mom and all her friends did an AMAZING job on their relay! i know it was one of the hardest things my mom physically has done. thanks mom! and all her crazy friends!

7 am right before the race started

in white: monika, michelle, martha, kati, aprel, jen

in green: megan, whitney, nicolina (they were our awesome volunteers)

runner # 1 kati (blue jacket)

way to start us off!

runner #2 monika

whoo! i did it!

runner #3 jen

she ran up the mountain (it wasn't a hill)

runner #4 michelle

you would have never thought she's never ran before!

runner #5 martha

getting ready with her bandana, i-pod, and garmin

runner #6 my mom

stretching, just about to start her 1st run of the relay

whoo! we crossed the finish line at 5:40 pm

34 1/2 hours from start to finish

jump if you are game to do it next year!

(notice my mom's feet are off the ground)

The Count Down is On....................

well, one week from today my mom and all her friends will be doing their 202.1 mile relay! my mom along with her friends have been doing a lot of running. in fact this morning my mom ran 5 miles, tonight she ran 6 miles and tomorrow she said she will run another 5 miles. go mom!!
i know all these ladies are going to do a great job, they are prepared! i think my mom is a little nervous especially when she does her run at midnight. my mom is a little afraid of the dark :)
i am looking forward seeing you all cross the finish line saturday night! go crusader's!

Crusading against children's cancer

My mommy and a bunch of her friends are running a big race to give awareness to childhood cancer. The race is 201.9 miles long and is called The Ragnar Del Sol Relay. My mom and 11 of her friends are starting in Prescott, AZ and running a relay all the way to Mesa, AZ. My mom and her friends have been waking up in the middle of the night to practice running. They will take turns running from 7:00am on February 27, 2009 till about 6:00pm February 28. They have new running shirts with green letters that say Carson's Crusade Winning Is Everything (Thank you Jenny and Istitch embroidery) They also will be decorating the cars they will be driving (check back for more pictures). My mommy and her friends are so excited to be running this race, they have all worked so hard and have gotten more healthy. Thank you, Mommy, Minnie, Martha, Kim, Michelle(back row) Tiffany, Jen, Amber, Tishia, (middle row) Monika, Jenny and Kati-not pictured-(front row). Run Fast.

Love, Carson

A 3 year old who loves Westerns

one of carson's new favorite pastime is to watch westerns staring john wayne. have you ever known a 3 year old who even know who john wayne is?? well, carson does and from the moment he gets up in the morning he wants to watch "my john wayne movie"- and to be honest, i find them sooooooo borning!! but he will sit on the couch for 2 hours with his eyes glued to the tv watching a western. a couple of years ago dave bought over 20 westerns on e-bay and put them in a box in our closet (thus for the westerns in our home) . carson found them a couple a weeks ago and since then EVERY day he watches a western. the other day we were going into the store and this was our conversation:

me: carson you need to leave your gun in the car

carson: but i am john wayne and john wayne always carries a gun
me: just shaking my head and smiling
carson: i promise mom i won't shoot anyone
me: okay you have to put it in your pocket
carson: it doesn't fit in my pocket
me: okay i will carry it for you
carson: no, mom, i will put it in my pants- it fits good there

off in the store we went and he did keep his promise! :-)

we also met with carson's cardiologist on friday (01/30). the type of hole in his heart will not close by itself (i guessed we were hoping). so we have opted to have his hole fixed at the end of next summer. it is major surgery-they will have to break his chest bone and then go in and patch the hole. it will require about a 5 day stay down at phoenix children's hospital and then about a 6 week recovery time. the cardiologist is not in a hurry to fix it because it is not harming him in any way or is damaging anything. he thinks the further away from chemotherapy the better his immune system will be. i know it is a major "thing" but i am not overwhelmed or stressed about it. i guess going through 7 months of chemotherapy puts a different perspective on things. all i know is carson is a strong little boy!

carson watching his john wayne western

carson with his movie and gun

Ear Tubes, Again

friday (jan. 23rd) carson got ear tubes back in his ears. he originally got his first pair in april 2007. after getting them he only had one ear infection in about 15 months. well in august he was sitting on my lap and on the edge of the inside of his ear was a tiny green tube (about the size of a grain of rice). his other tube fell out some time during chemotherapy. apparently when the tubes are put in the ears they usually only stay in for about 6-18 months. due to an ear infection every month since august we opted to have new tubes put in. so friday morning off to the phoenix childrens hostpital. the the entire procedure takes about 10 minutes, he's a pro at being "put under" i believe it was around the 15th he as been put under anesthesia since april 2007. i think he should be an anaesthesiologist when he grows up :-)


he was a little cranky when he came out of the anesthesia, he kept saying his tongue hurt. the nurses said he would probably be mellow-NOT! by the time we got home he as all energy. he watched one of his favorite movies "three ninjas" and then wanted to ride his bike.

as dave and i were in the waiting room, i looked at him and said "last time carson got tubes in his ear it started our journey of many, many visits to phoenix childrens hospital, maybe this time will end our journey" he smiled and said, yeah let's hope-there has to be a beginning and an end, right??

Carson riding his bike--so happy

Hip Hip Hooray Another Great MIRACLE

we got the great news that all of carson's scans are clean! YEA! the nurses were all so excited to see carson, he doesn't remember any of them but they are okay with that. they are truly amazing women taking care of these innocent cancer children day in and day out. i did have to hold back the tears a couple of times. even though we got great news, it is NOT a fun place to go. i looked around and saw several bald children and my heart just breaks, just knowing what they are going through. it is mentally draining! but we are good until april.

as i was getting carson ready to go to his appointment, i told him we were going to see dr. watanabe (his oncologist) he yelled with enthusiasm "NO MORE CANCER" i said yes no more cancer!!

Carsons Crusade Memories-November 2, 2007

One Year Down

carson had scans yesterday january 14th. dave took him since he knows the routine. thanks dave- you're and awesome dad! carson had a bone scan, cat scan, mri, echo cardiogram and ekg. whew that is alot for a 3 year old. he his a brave, tough little boy!! we meet with dr. watanabe his oncologist next tuesday. and i expect nothing but good news!!!!