School has started....

    Good afternoon all, the summer is over and everyone around us seems to be getting back into the swing of school, sports, and other activities. We have had a great summer, Mitchell has enjoyed playing outside, swimming, getting back on the ice, and meeting new friends at camp. We are all looking forward to the new season in hockey, the new school year, and the journey ahead of us.
  
    He is back to school and back to being a normal teenage boy.....Today is his last Pentamidine drip. (this is an antibiotic to help prevent pneumonia) Other than Iron and vitamin D he doesn't need any medications anymore.
     Next month he goes in for another round of scans to follow his post treatment.

    Thank you everyone for all of your love and support throughout our journey with Mitchell's cancer. We will still update the blog every month or so. Hope you all have a great beginning to fall.

The First Weekend of Summer!

Hello all, I know it has been a while since our last post. Their hasn't been much to say about Mitchell's health other than he is doing well....
This weekend started of with a Zumba fundraiser....Zumba with Shawna
This event was fun and energetic. Mitchell joined in the fun and was able to keep up most of the time.
Thank you everyone who put on this event and everyone who came!

This morning we had a nice breakfast, and this afternoon we took Mitchell and Corryna to camp UCANDU! This is a camp put on by ACS (American Cancer Society). It is a great way for children with cancer and survivors, to share their experiences and forget about cancer for a week. One sibling is allowed to join in this opportunity for the same reasons.

We will have details of camp and hopefully pictures as the kids have disposable cameras to document their own experience.

Well, the weekend is over and Mitchell seems to be doing much better. I want to apologize for not having an update sooner. On Saturday he was excited to inform me that his poop is almost back to normal . The doctors think he had a GI bug. He was prescribed Prevacid. His little body's been through allot and we may see little episodes like this from time to time. Mitchell informed us that he "hates cancer!" Everyone have a great Memorial Day!

It is Thursday and the day started off with a bang! Everything has been going great until last night. Mitchell vomited once and had bloody poop four times. This morning he passed out after going to the bathroom. He is currently at the hospital undergoing tests. His hemoglobin has gone from 11.3 on Monday to 8 today. He is getting a transfusion now and fluids. We don't know what is causing it at this point but as soon as we know, it will be here.

The end of the world didn't happen so on we go. Yesterday Mitchell had a Drs. appointment for his antibiotics. Everything went just swimmingly. He had his pick line removed so he can now take normal showers and he is particularly excited...he can go swimming. He will only have monthly appointments for antibiotics for the next 4 or 5 months and scans every three months. The mass continues to shrink and Dr. Norwood reinforced that he is disease free.

We have to be real about all of this and there is a chance it could come back. As Dr. Norwood said, if it comes back it will in the first six months to a year after completion of treatment. If it does, the type of cancer Mitchell "had", will come back with a vengeance. So cross fingers for beautiful scans and normal blood work!!! And in keeping it real...every day he get closer and closer to living a teenage life!!

Things have been going very well, and Mitchell is growing his hair back. I told him he should keep it bald and go for the biker look. He looks quite stunning as a Q-ball. As tomorrow is the end of the world I want to bid a sweet farewell to all. Should we all see Sunday I will post again. In the mean time we are busy getting ready for the end of days. May we all live long and prosper.

Fundraiser at Lupe's Escape - Tuesday May 10, 2011

For the last four months I have been battling cancer. On January 14th of this year I was diagnosed with a rare form of non-hodkin's lymphoma. The insurance only covers a fraction of the expenses.
Lupe's Escape Resturante is generously donating 20% of all food purchases to Mitchell's medical fund on Tuesday May 10,2011. If you would like to help, please come enjoy great Mexican food between the hours of 11am and 9pm and mention this site as your coupon voucher.

Lupe' s is located at:
19405 SW TV HWY
Aloha, Or. 97006

Phone: 503-591-5278

Mitchell is doing very well. He is busy slipping back into normal life. We all are. He should have a an appointment for scans some time next week or the week after, and a huge panel of labs. All standard stuff. Let the monitoring begin. Some exciting news as well, his hair is starting to come back in. It is sparse, but there are dark hairs.So much for being aerodynamic.

Nighty... Night...

Last LP (Spinal tap)

Craig Birnbach, Channel 2 Sports. He's the man behind the Channel 2 story attached to the blog. He visited often and even tracked us down at the game Friday night. You're awesome Craig!

Aunt Paula and Uncle Jorge. We love you!

Two of the strongest people I know. Aunt Paula is a Breast Cancer Survivor!  

This is Alesha. She was behind the scenes for us. She stayed with his sisters while we were at the hospital, brought meals, and was able to find Vanilla Coke. Thank you!



Sorry folks, parks Closed... This is Brett and Zendra. They are dear friends. They also helped out with his sisters and meals. We couldn't have done it without friends like them.



This is nurse Ron one of the many trusted and loved nurses. He is holding THE last bag of chemo just before hooking it up.



Friday nights game. He got his name on the door!

The family minus one.

This picture speaks volumes to me! As Nickole and I were by his side through his whole fight, seeing where he was and now, where he's going. What ever his dreams are...cancer is behind him!

The National Anthem with the Hawks starting line up.

This is Dr. Galderisi, Mitchells Oncologist. She is the quarterback to Mitchells treatment...She is a special woman to us all!!

The Rose Buds. Two of them anyway.

Mitchell is home and he spent his afternoon putting together a Lego set he received from a family friend. He got it while he was in the hospital but it was too big to assemble there. It's huge and has 2503 pieces. We are settled in and are strangely looking forward to work.

Mitchell has an appointment on Friday for blood work. His numbers this morning were low, Platelets at 8.3. anything under 8. is a blood transfusion. The doctors are expecting that to happen. Will it be his last? I don't know, but would say, probably.

Friday evening we will be going to the first game of round three playoffs. He was invited by the Portland Winterhawks to be the seventh man at center ice at the begging of the game. This will be his first time in skates since December. He's very excited.

Mitchell and I are very excited about something we have in the works to give back to the community that helped save his life! We will reveal our plans at a later date, but we've got something cooking!! And it is soooo cool!!!

We also want to have a party for him in May or June to celebrate his victory over cancer. As soon as we have a firm date we will start sending invites.

Also, although Mitchell has not written anything on the blog, he has read every comment left and is blown away by the number of followers he has and how many times his site has been visited. Thank you for all the comments!

Is this the end...or the beginning?

It's the end of his treatment, but the beginning of a five year check up plan. A check up plan to monitor what remains of his tumor. PET scans, CT scans, MRI's, ultrasounds, but only 24 more hours of chemo, six months of monthly shots of antibiotics, one last spinal tap, two more nights in the hospital, and one short ride home.

In about a week his numbers will drop, as they do with every round of chemo, but that does not mean he will end up in the hospital. He hasn't spiked a fever after every round, so we are crossing our fingers and asking for just a little more help from the big guy up stairs. Hank...he's this really nice orderly whom works upstairs.

Mitchell will never be cancer free, the doctors aren't even using the word remission, so I have to be very delicate in using the right words. Screw P.C. My son has beat the shit out of cancer in five rounds and has left cancer to bleed out on the mat!!! Ding-Ding this bout is over! Mitchell is a survivor of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma!

As the author of the blog I want to thank EVERYONE for EVERYTHING! By no means am I done with the blog. I'll keep it up and running as long as people are still reading.

Nurse Ron just hooked up the last bag of chemo!!!

Regardless of the title we will be celebrating for now!!!

Check back tomorrow as I have more...

Sunday's update

Mitchell has now gone 15 hours without a fever. He is feeling much better and he has been instructed to get up and go outside and get some sun. He is back on his normal stay here at "Hotel Emanuel". The next time we do the roller coaster it better be at Disney Land. I'll have more to say tonight.

Mitchells fevers have been like Space Mountain at Disneyland. He peaked at his highest temp. last night at 105. He has been sleeping almost all day and night. He currently has a normal temperature with the help of Motrin. Unfortunately he doesn't get it all that often because he is an Oncology kid. The reason is because Motrin or Ibuprofen is as platelet thinner, we want his platelets up. So as it wears off there is a good chance that his fever can go back up.

So far all of his labs and cultures have come back negative for viruses and infections so the fevers and the vomiting have been the typical results of chemo. He has 48 hours of chemo left on his road map.

Fridays update

Yesterday was a great day for Mitchell. He was able to go to the class room for some school time. He also has had some great visits with friends and family. Last night around 9:30 pm he spiked a fever. It has ranged from 101.5 up to 104.6. Every time he tries to take Tylenol he vomits immediately. The doctors have said that this is a side affect of the chemo he is on. To be on the safe side, they have also started him on antibiotics and have done some cultures to make sure he doesn't have an infection.

His spirits are still great even with feeling yucky.

Wednesday-update

Last night they did his last bag of the yellow chemo. Today Mitchell had his first spinal tap of this round. Tonight at 9:30 they will start his ARAC chemo. That is a 24 hour drip that he gets for 5 days. He will be in-patient during the entire chemo process. He is doing great and is enjoying every moment of his last round of chemo. He goes to the classroom twice a day and he tries to participate in the activities Child Life provides for the patients. These are just a few of the ways he keeps going while being in the hospital for such a long period of time.

Room 3524

Mitchell is in the hospital and we are underway with his final round of chemo. He has a spinal tap tomorrow and more chemo. He will be in the hospital for seven days at which point we will be released for what we hope to be the last time...ever! But one day at a time.

His room Number is 3524.

It's Sunday night and all is well. Mitchell had a great weekend. Friday and Saturday were nice days so we were able to head out side and play. Sunday the weather was back to normal so we spent the day playing video games, doing chores, and watching movies.

Tuesday is the big day.

No one fights alone!







This first Picture is of Kaila in Chicago after her boot camp graduation. Her recruiter is Chief Ferrara. He is pictured with Mitchell in the hospital . Chief Ferrara has been involved in Mitchells fight, has visited at the hospital in his dress uniform, let us use his office for  the hair cutting party, has continued as a mentor to Kaila, and has become a friend of our family... 

 

...This is a picture of Chief with his mom Kathleen Ferrara. She has recently been diagnosed with Uterine stage one cancer. She is going in on Wednesday April 13th for surgery in Raleigh NC. Chief and his mom are viewers of the blog so please leave a comment for them. Our family sends our love and support to yours. Be strong and fight hard!



Mitchell is scheduled for round five of chemo on Tuesday the 12th. I spoke with the surgeon and he said that yesterdays MRI showed that the original tumor/mass was indeed inflamed from the infection he dealt with and that it has shrunk more from the comparison PET scan. All good signs. We are moving forward again!!

I just got the call, NO SURGERY! That's all I have right now.

Mitchell goes in this afternoon for his MRI. I do not foresee any decisions from the doctors today, however if I do I'll post it here. The word of the day is he will be having surgery tomorrow or he will start chemo, one of the two. The saga continues...

Visitors, Nurses, and one Naked Mole Rat

Mitchell is home from the hospital. He is feeling much better. He has an appointment on Thursday for an MRI. They are not doing another CT because they want to limit the amount of radiation he is exposed to. After the images are read by the surgeons and his oncologist they will decide as to weather he is going to have a biopsy on Friday. If they choose not to do the biopsy they will reschedule his appointment for chemo. Basically it is still a wait and see game.

I want to thank everybody for the support that they have given him.

I'll update as we receive information.

Sunday's update

       Mitchell has now gone more than 24hrs with out a fever. He is feeling much better. He still has some tender spots in his tummy, but that isn't slowing him down any. He had great time with Zendra while mom and dad took a break and went to lunch together. He had a surprise visit from his Aunt Simone and Uncle Andy, who drove down from Everett Washington. Overall yesterday was a good day.
        The oncologist has now removed one of the three antibiotics from his medication list. The surgeons stopped by and said he can start with liquids now. Mitchell still isn't hungry at all, but we need to see if his body is able to start processing food.
         As for the biopsy and the mass, a different head surgeon has examined Mitchell and the CT scans, at this point he is not convinced that it is worth the risk of going into his lower abdomen to biopsying the mass. The risk includes damage to the large and small intestines, or the colon, or worse internal bleeding. At this point the biopsy has been put on hold. They wont make the decision to operate until mid week. The surgeons are pleased with how he looks and feels this morning. The infection seems to be going away and the inflammation of his entire G I track is going down as well.
            Now we will wait and see what is next for his journey.

Update

      First thing that needs to be said is that Mitchell's fever seems to be under control. After two and half days of  three different antibiotics, he is feeling better. It is great to seem him laughing, doing art projects, leaving his room for walks, and most of all, trying to figure out April Fools jokes he can play on his nurses.
      Today Mitchell was visited by a team member on the surgical team. Then hours later he was visited by the entire surgical team including the main surgeon. After he examined Mitchell's physical condition and Mitchell's CT scans, he and the oncologist discussed a game plan for Mitchell. Together they determined that Mitchell definitely has some sort of infection, and that his tumor/mass needs to be biopsied.
       The treatment for the infection consists of zero foods, minimal clear liquids, continue all three of the antibiotics, and a IV nutritional bag. He needs to let both his stomach and intestines rest. By doing all of this his entire G.I. track can heal.
      The biopsy surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, he will remain in the hospital until the surgery. They are keeping him in the hospital so they can monitor his abdomen. The next three days will be healing internally and preparing for his surgery. Most of his numbers are raising, so he is defiantly on the road to recovery.

***Thank you everyone for your continued support, it sure makes the detours in our journey easier to deal with***

updates will continue as we learn more......
      

Unfortunately at this time we still have no new news. It seams one hand doesn't know what the other is doing, so we will post as soon as we have an answers.

CT UPDATE

       We just got the results of Mitchell's scan. He does have an infection in his stomach. Which explains why he has continuously had a low grade fever of 100.3 all day.The scan indicated that he has Typhlitis, which are little perforations in his stomach. So he is now on a no food or drink diet to reduce the amount of stomach acid. They are also continuing all three antibiotics and trying to keep him hydrated with IV's.
      The CT also showed something that none of us wanted to hear. His tumor/mass has grown since last week. This could be caused by a couple of other things other than cancer. It could be bleeding or swollen from his infection. The doctor wants to be sure of what we are dealing with before they decide to add more therapy to his treatment plan. The surgeon will be by tonight to examine Mitchell to determine if he will have a biopsy surgery.

~More updates will come as we get answers~

Mitchell is still not feeling all that great. All of the cultures and labs have come back negative, so it is just a reaction from his last round of chemo. His numbers are still too low to start his fifth round so it has been delayed til next week. We don't have a date yet. They want his numbers to be higher before they start him on chemo. He will be here for antibiotics and hydration for the next 24-48 hours. He is leaving for a ct right now to see why he is still having abdominal pain. I think mom and I will have umbrella drinks by the pool tonight.

Room 3519

Mitchell is sleeping. His temperature has been up and down all day. his current temperature is 103.3 He is also having cool fever dreams. He rolled over and asked me for a Lego guy so he could climb the wall. Ya, didn't make any sense to me either. He had an ultrasound this afternoon to rule out an appendicitis. At this time we are waiting for all of his labs and cultures to come back. The Oncologist thinks it's just a virus his body is trying to fight and he has no immune system.

Today he was introduced to a new friend...Morphine. That's all  need to say.

Chemo my start tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted.

I've learned so much from Mitchell's journey- Today's lesson...love you immune system!

Mitchells white blood cells are below 100, normal range is 5-10 thousand which means he has no immune system. His fever has spiked to 103.2. and is on anti-biotic and fluids. I am leaving work and heading to the hospital. I will have more as it come. 

Mitchell went to the hospital at 6:30 instead of 9. He was up all night throwing up and has a fever of 102.7. We are not sure how this will effect his treatment schedule.

Round 5

Mitchell goes in tomorrow morning at 9am for the start of round 5 of chemo. I'm sure I'll have more to post tomorrow. At this point I don't have anything new about his treatment or progress. I do know it will be another long seven day treatment. But we are ready! 

We had an appointment yesterday with Mitchell's Oncologist. They are still uncertain if they are going to do a biopsy, but informed us that it has shrunk even more. His blood counts were ok. There was no need of a blood transfusion. He goes in on Wednesday the 30th for his fifth, and hopefully final round of chemo.

He is doing very well and has been, for the first time since all this started, able to go outside and play with the neighbor kids. Tomorrow we are going to the fire station. He was invited to come down hang out and check out the station. Then we are going to a Winterhawks play off game.

The weekend went great! No fevers! Mitchell has another PET scan on Wednesday and we have an appointment at the clinic on Thursday to go over the scan. His fifth round of chemo should start around the 30th. We'll post the results of the scan when we have the results.

I broke my old record... my Christmas lights came down this weekend! After St. Patricks' day!

...And the weather was ok Saturday so Mitchell and I went for a motorcycle ride to the gas station, but we had to take the long way home. He love it!

I was looking at the title of my last post, and his fourth round of chemo is done. He still has a fifth round. Sorry for any confusion.

He came home yesterday and is doing very well. It is amazing how well he is physically reacting to his chemo. He has an iron stomach! His back bothered him a little yesterday from his LP (spinal tap) but is doing good now. We will be watching him closely this weekend as his numbers will be dropping again.

Chemo is finished!!!

It's 9pm on Tuesday evening and Mitchell's chemo has ended. Today after his spinal tap we found out that his lab counts are low and he has to have another blood transfusion. That means another night in the hospital. He has kept busy while in the hospital, he has gone to the classroom for studies, gone to the starlight lounge for art projects, and to the mini theater for movie night. His spirits are good and he is hanging in there.....I am sure he can't wait to sleep in his own bed and take a break from everything.

*Mitchell has asked me to tell everyone "Hi, and thank you for your support"

Monday afternoon and Mitchell is still in the hospital. His treatment is going very well and he is feeling great. he is on a 24hr drip of chemo with a total duration of 5 days, he will start his fifth day tonight at 8pm. He has another spinal tap tomorrow,and Wednesday will be hydration. We are all ready to get out of this place...if it's the last thing we ever do... The Animals.

Mitchell is in school at the hospital, and did so Thursday and Friday of last week. Video games, board games, walks, and his Lego's have helped keep him sane, although, even those things have stopped working. I think he's ready to snap! He's kind of fidgety and his eyes are starting to twitch. I think he may be chipping away at the sheet rock...escape may be inevitable.

Kidding aside we should be out soon. We'll keep you all in the loop! 

Room 3533

We are at the hospital and have been admitted. We just got settled in and Mitchell is hooked up to his R2 unit. We were shown the pictures of his PET scan (above). There is nothing to see. You can however see his bladder and his kidneys, but the active cells are gone. We are all so excited!!!! There is still a mass, but it has shrunk considerably. He will have another PET scan after this round at which point they will determine if they are going to do a biopsy on the original mass to see if it is still cancerous or just remaining scar tissue. We are not out of the woods but we have definitely turned a corner.

Mitchell is in room number 3533...again and visiting hours are from 9-9.

I have added the first two scans for comparison.

It's Monday and the Weekend is over. We spent the weekend at a hockey tournament Mitchell's team was in. They played six games and won second place overall. It was allot of fun for everybody. They had six games and he was there for every game. The opposing team they played on Saturday, a Canadian team, named him MVP of the game. It was cool. He wanted to play soooo bad!

We go in Wednesday for the start of his treatment, so we're doing laundry, cleaning house, working, and getting everything in order for the week. Mitchell and I have to stop occasionally and kill aliens, maybe a zombie or two. It really is hard work!

A room number will soon follow.

Mitchells blood work came back last week just fine. No blood transfusions. He is in to day for his third PET scan. I'm hoping for nothing on the images. He will be admitted on Wednesday for his fourth round of chemo. He is doing great. He has his energy back and no more throw up. We're just hoping for a nice quiet weekend.

His fever broke at midnight. All is well.

Mitchell woke up this morning vomiting. We just took his temperature 100.8 , the clock is ticking. If it gets to 101 we go to the hospital. It got up to 100.6 last night then went down. So we watch for the next twelve hours. If it goes back down and then up again in the next twelve hour we may have to go back in. 101 or higher is an instant trip. Our cat is snoring.

Mitchells Numbers were ok. Better than last time. He did not need a blood transfusion and was able to come home yesterday afternoon. His hemoglobin was 8.3 which was 3 tenths above the mark for a transfusion. He will have more blood work done next Tuesday. He will also be having another PET scan on Friday. We will be  able to see the results of the last two rounds of chemo. Fingers crossed!

At this point he has not had a fever, it has been normal. So at this time no trips to the hospital. He is a little under the weather with a sore back, a result of his spinal tap which has also given him head aches. Yesterday his head ache was a 10 on the pain scale. Today a 2.

This morning he threw up. We are not sure if it's from his head ache or the chemo. He is sleeping allot more from this round of chemo than the last. He has about a week of resting before the starts his Fourth round.  

Mitchell has an appointment tomorrow for blood work. With finger crossed he won't need a blood transfusion. So far he has been on top of his game since the end of chemo. He has had head aches now and again and has been tired. He has also become sensitive to loud noises and bright light. I think he's turning into a Magwi, and depending on what type of appointment he is going to have he can't eat after mid-night. Yep-Magwi. Wait! He has no hair so he must be a Gremlin! I'll let you all know how the blood work turns out.

Home from the hospital!

We are home from the hospital! It's always nice to come home to a normal life even if it's just for a brief moment, but the best part of being home is we get to sleep in our own beds! Mitchell is for the most part doing very well. The residuals of the chemo, so far, is just being really tired, lots of napping.

As promised, pictures...

 This is Dr. Pereira, his Pediatrician. She is the pro-active doctor who discovered his cancer!

 Mitchell and Mario were killing Zombies-Xbox.

 

Uncle Daniel and Aunt Anna!

 He got draw his own blood.

 

All tuckered out...

 He was able to do some art work with the other kids at the hospital the day he was discharged.

 Three bald heads. Jerome Kersey(Lt.) and Terry Porter(Rt.) How cool!!! Mitchell too!!



It's late Sunday night and Mitchell's chemo treatment is almost over. He will have his last dose Monday morning at 6:30 AM followed by 12 hours of hydration, then if all goes to plan, discharge. This round of treatment was a little harder on him both physically and mentally. His stomach has been more upset this go round, and lost a few meals. His appetite vanishes with the chemo so we have to be on him about eating and the trick is to find what he likes as his pallet changes. In all he is still got a fighters attitude.

I'll have pictures to post soon. We are all spent.

It's Saturday afternoon and Mitchell is doing good. He has spent the last couple day receiving chemo and one spinal tap. He has another spinal tap on Tuesday. He will be receiving chemo for the next 72 hours until Monday night. Mitchell had trouble keeping diner down last night but today seems to be better. He is hungry and has been able to keep breakfast down.

Room 3533

We are settled in at the hospital. They have already started the hydration portion of his chemo. His first chemo drug he is getting today is a 4 hour drip, and then tonight he will get a second drug that is another 3 to 4 hour drip. He will continue to get hydration IV  throughout the entire stay at the hospital.

He is in room 3533 and visitors are welcome.

Back to Work

Well, Mitchell is back to work kicking cancers butt. He went in at 9am this morning to begin round three. He will start off with hydration then a six hour drip of chemo. After that he gets to come home until Thursday when he will be admitted for his long, five day treatment.

I want to take a moment here and thank a very spacial team. The Winterhawks! The organization has been great and done more for Mitchell than I would have ever thought imaginable. To Mac Carruth, thank you for being a true gentleman, you don't know how much your visit to the hospital and the time shared on the ice has meant to Mitchell ~ Thank you! And to Nino Niederreiter, The stick you  gave him is like gold. He has only let me (dad) hold it once. Thank you. To the team as a whole, I can't say thank you enough.

This weekend was amazing! Friday night was the Winterhawks game against Tri-cities. So they lost...It was allot of fun. It was surreal, the support our family received at the game. Mitchell had the time of his life, as all of us did. We were privileged to meet so many amazing and generous people. You all have made his battle easier with all of your kind word, thoughts, and prayers. You're all awesome!!

Today we got together with Chief at the Navy office had some pizza and cut some hair. In the office I saw a poster and had to take a picture to post. A nice metaphor for Mitchell's attitude.

These are our victims. Jessika cut of 15 inches for locks of love and Kristen took off 10 inches. Sammy took off about 3 inches just because. The rest of us went skinny.

...back to the task at hand tomorrow. He start round three of his chemo on Tuesday.

Hair cutting party February 13!

We will be having the hair cutting party on Sunday at the Navy Recruiting Station in Hillsboro. The address is 1991 NE Cornell Rd. Hillsboro 97124. It will take place between 12-2 pm. This is a great opportunity to hang out and show you support for Mitchell. If you don't want to shave your head...that's ok, come and hang out anyway. I do apologize for the short notice but chemo starts next Tuesday and this was the only day we could pull off. If you can't make it but still want to show your support, shave it at home, send me a photo and I'll post it on the blog. You can contact me by email at. If you plan on coming could you please email me an rsvp so we can plan for food. Thanks and we'll see you there.

A side note for the ladies. I know shaving might not be an option so we created one. We will donate any hair to Locks of Love for those of you who want to. It has to be in a pony tail or a braid and no shorter than 10 inches. The hair cuts are free, however you can tip your barber.

The good news is Mitchell's numbers are up, way up, and he did not need another transfusion tonight. Also he has been given the green light by his doctors to go to the Winterhawks game on Friday night. He will start round three of chemo next Tuesday for the day then released (out patient) then he goes back on Thursday for the main treatment. It will be in patient as last time so he will be there for at least 4-5 days.

Now to the bad news, that's right with all good news there has to be a little bad. His hair has begun to fall out. Plus he is helping it because he thinks it's cool. Typical boy! So with that said, I want to have a last minute hair cutting party for him before he starts his treatment. I am thinking Sunday afternoon. I will have more details very soon, tonight or first thing tomorrow morning.

Happy Birthday...13!!!

It is Monday night and Mitchell is home. All is well. The fevers are a normal part of the cycle of chemo. At one point on Sunday his white blood cell count was zero. When we left today they were at 1.1, so up they come. He is off of all meds right now and looks like is old self. Woo-Hoo. He has another appointment on Wednesday evening for labs.

On Saturday he hit the wall. Zofran came to the rescue and settled his stomach. He slept most of the day. Now we, and he are in preparation for round three. After round three he will have another PET scan. Another opportunity to view the results of the chemo, but one step at a time. We don't know yet when round three start, however we think it should be just after Valentines.

On Friday night the Winterhawks are offering portions of the 100 level seats to a fund for Mitchell. However you have to buy the tickets by 4pm on February 10th, thought the Winterhawks office by contacting : L'Erin Waterstreet at 503-238-6366 ext. 430 and mention Mitchells group. It'll be fun...I promise!

    

                                                                     Feeling Better!!

MitchellsTeam photo on Saturday!

Tomorrow is February 8th and Mitchells Birthday...the big 1...3!!! So a big shout out ~ Happy Birthday Mitch!!!! Love you!! 

Mitchell was admitted to the hospital at 5am. At 2:30am Nickole and Mitchell left for the hospital. His temperature spiked above 101 which is an instant trip for him. They have drawn blood, done blood cultures, given antibiotics, and now we wait. He was given zofran to help with his upset stomach. it seams to have helped. He is allowed visitors, so you are all welcome. His room number is 3531.

Mitchell had a doctors appointment this afternoon. His hemoglobin was 7.7 so he had to stay for a blood transfusion. He spiked a temperature and we almost had to stay the night but it broke and fell to normal fairly quick. With his numbers dropping he is isolated from the public for at least the weekend till his numbers start to come back up next week. It's frustrating for him. He said, "dad, it's like being a caged lion."

Wednesday Night Fundraiser

Last night The Portland Winterhawks had a fundraiser hosted by Flying Pie Pizza in Lake Oswego! We were unable to make it but we had many friends there who told us all about it. We even saw it on Fox12. The outreach from our friends, family, and community has been incredible. This battle has been easier to fight with all of you supporting Mitchell and our family. With that said I can't thank you all enough.

I also want to send out a heart felt thank you to our hockey family ~ Thank You!

Support the Hawks and The Flying Pie!!!!!