14 MONTHS LATER!

No.....life is not fair! There are so many people out there just 'living to die'....and my grandson is 'dying to live'! How fair is that? When my brother of 51 was dying with lung cancer....he said....'you know...I worked hard to get it....I asked for it....and I earned it.' But he also said...what he felt was so unfair...was that kid's got cancer and they didn't choose it!

Several weeks ago, when I took my grandson for his usual check-up and blood work, the doctors found that he needed a liver biopsy as his iron levels were high. When they did the bloodwork...they saw that his counts weren't good. His platelets had dropped. They scheduled 2 bone marrow aspirations, one week apart .....and found that the cancer cells were back!
They told us to come back on Tuesday, August 21st so that Mister T can have another bone marrow aspiration as well as a lumbar puncture. We will be staying at Cheo for the next few months.
The plan is to try to get him into remission once again....and then we will travel to Toronto Sick kids hospital for a bone marrow transplant....if they can find a matching blood marrow donor. His name is already entered into the bone marrow registry.. I'm sure they will find a donor.....medical technology has come a long way.

In order for my grandson to get better.....he will get worse. Today I look at him...and he looks like the picture of health. He is brown from long summer days of swimming and fishing and has grown a few inches in the past few months.....and his appetite is ginormous! I am not looking forward to see him getting sick again. And he will. Chemo is not for the faint of heart.
Although I hate to leave my home and my granddaughter...I have no choice. Neither does Mister T.

He was so excited about going to high school this year with his buddies. Last month we went to visit his high school, meet the principal and teachers, and get an idea what his school year would be like. He was so excited to find out he would have basketball, football, dodgeball and guitar as well as drama.
He was also looking forward to our county fair in late August for 4 days....the rides, the games, the excitement.

He doesn't understand why he should go through this ordeal again.....and neither do I. I have sat down with him and explained to him in nanny-talk...why we have to go through this again.

I used the analogy of his bicycle. Many times his inner tube on his bike had to be changed or patched...although we patched it up a few times. ...eventually we had to buy him a new inner tube. I told him....that chemo was the same thing. First they try to patch your body using chemo....but just like your tube on your bike....eventually you need a new tube...the old one just won't do. Same with your bone marrow...if chemo doesn't work....then you need to get a bone marrow transplant...and you'll be good as new!

Well it sounds good to me! And he has complete faith in me....and I told him I have faith in the doctors & the medical team....they are professional...they know what they're doing...they've done this many times. And I've assured him that even though he may not start school with his friends....that he will keep up his school work with a tutor at the hospital. He will get his homework sent by computer....he will get a loan of a computer at Cheo just for that purpose...so that when he comes home he can start back in school without missing a beat.

His only question was...."Will you stay with me, Nanny?" and I said..."for as long as it takes...till you get well....and we'll come home together!"

We won't always stay at Cheo...if Tayten is having a few good days...when he's not on chemo...they will allow him to come stay with me at Mcdonald house, (which is 1 block away) and thats when I can get his sister to come as well.....and we can have a good weekend together. In the past she did spend a few weekends with us....and we had a good time...playing boardgames, watching movies, sharing a room at the Manor and going to museums in the city.

We are all packed and ready to go. Wish us luck! Once we are there...I will keep you up-to-date on Mr. T's treatment with pics.