Evan's Race

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-23T08:28:00.002-05:00

Evan was so excited this morning to start Kindergarten!!

Evan's 28 months cancer free!! :)

2010-08-16T17:10:00.003-05:00

Evan has been off treatment for 28 months now!! Just got his scan results and everything looks clear and good!! He's healthy, strong and happy - we are so blessed! :)

silly hair

2009-01-22T09:19:00.002-06:00

Bike

2009-01-22T09:08:00.003-06:00

Evan recieved a spiderman bike from his Auntie and Uncle for Christmas - he loves it and it's tough to keep him off it. This picture is from the first day he got the bike, he's become quite the expert (with a helmet of course)!

2009-01-22T09:00:00.002-06:00

Ice skating was great fun for Evan and he was actually really good at it! We had to force him to take breaks, and he skated until his legs gave out! :)

Quarterly Scans/Surgery

2008-11-05T09:53:00.003-06:00

Well things look great - Evan had another set of scans (MRI and CT) and looks good! Everything is status quo - no change in the tumor - still considered NED (no existing disease)! I'm so thankful - everyday I'm with Evan I'm grateful, but especially on days we get such wonderful news.

Shortly before Evan's scans we noticed he developed a hydrocele/hernia, which was successfully operated on yesterday. He tolerated the surgery well and now we are just taking it easy and healing. He was awesome through the whole process - his strength and grace continues to amaze me. I'm so proud of my boy! :)

Halloween 2008

2008-11-05T09:43:00.004-06:00

Arrrgggh Matey! Evan had fun with his cousins at our Halloween party - they bobbed for apples, played pin the nose on the pumpkin and of course did hit the neighborhood to trick-or-treat. It was a good time all around!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-05T09:36:00.001-06:00

Could he be cuter?

2008-09-11T20:27:00.001-05:00

Good times at the park

2008-09-11T20:21:00.001-05:00

Quarterly Scans

2008-08-28T07:52:00.003-05:00

Time to celebrate - the results are in from Evan's quarterly scans, the MRI, CT scan, and Bone scan.

Everything looks good!! :)

The bone scan was negative - there is a slight change in his pelvis due to the radiation he endured, but it's stable now and we'll keep watching it with each scan. The CT was clear and the MRI was stable with no change. What's left of Evan's tumor remains in his bladder, kind of spread out at the base of the bladder and along the prostate. As long as it's stable with no change than we can breathe a sigh of relief - and thanks.

Thank you to everyone who prays and sends positive energy to Evan - he looks wonderful and is just thriving! Evan will continue to have quarterly scans, every three months, for the next two years. But for now we concentrate on busy everyday life, back to work and school. Evan started preschool this week and really loves it. It's wonderful to see him doing normal everyday things and the excitment with which he does it. God is good and we are so very thankful.

Papa's Helper

2008-08-28T07:41:00.004-05:00

Evan adores his Papa and he always wants to do whatever Papa is doing, especially if it involves tools. They've been buddies lately, doing puzzles, wrestling, reading books and just hanging out. I'm thankful for the time they get to spend together, and very grateful for my family's support. Ok ok...I adore Papa too! :)

Blowing Off Steam with a Party

2008-08-28T07:30:00.001-05:00

Evan's cousin Katherine, had a birthday party and Evan had so much fun. He got to drive a go cart, ride a motorcycle game and he couldn't get enough of the bumper boats! If you click on the picture, you can see it better - check out his serious face as we are getting ready to take off in the go cart. So serious!

2008-07-17T14:18:00.001-05:00

Snackin' at the pool!

Postponement of Evan's Celebration

2008-07-17T13:39:00.003-05:00

There's been an overwhelming response to Evan's Victory Celebration from The Woodlands community, resulting in the need to postpone the event for restructuring!

Thank you very much, we are so appreciative of every one's hard work and generosity! :)

Swimming

2008-07-11T09:04:00.003-05:00

Evan is really enjoying his swimming lessons at the YMCA. He's not a big fan of floating on his back, but he's learning! It's great to see him doing the normal summer things kids do, this time last year he was in the thick of radiation/chemo and in the hospital on a morphine pump for pain. I can't tell you how happy and thankful I am to see him swimming and having fun! :)

Cousins in the Park

2008-07-11T08:59:00.004-05:00

Evan and Grace in the park this week. It's nice now that Evan has hair we don't need to always keep a hat on him - just lots of sunscreen! :)

Firehouse

2008-07-04T11:26:00.003-05:00

Museum Trip

2008-07-04T11:16:00.003-05:00

Evan had a blast when the whole family (all the aunties, uncles, and cousins too) went to Houston Museum of Natural Science. His favorite was was the 3D dinosaur IMAX and the Cockrell butterfly and live insect exhibit. :)

2008-06-28T01:32:00.002-05:00

Evan's rendition of "You Are My Sunshine" :)

Summer Fun

2008-06-28T00:54:00.005-05:00

Swimming at Nana and Papa's house - it's got to be his favorite thing to do and he's getting very good! He starts swimming lessons at the YMCA in a week and he can't wait. Notice the hair, it's really coming in now. He's had a growth spurt too - I can't feed him enough. He claims he's a caterpillar! :)

Soccer Camp

2008-06-19T21:53:00.005-05:00

Evan went to soccer camp this week at the YMCA and had a great time. He's the one "dribbling" in the blue baseball hat and black knee socks. :) It's amazing to think of what we were doing this time last year - and to see him now. We are so thankful. :)

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T14:13:00.000-05:00

Evan's surgery (removing the port-a-cath) went really well, it was a piece of cake compared to the biopsy! He had a blast in the fountains at Market Street. He started physical therapy today, to help with the neuropathy in his legs, and we think we will see big improvements now.
Today is the one year anniversary of Evan's diagnosis...wow, we've come a long way in a year! :)

2008-05-22T13:54:00.000-05:00

Evan's port-a-cath removal surgery is scheduled for tomorrow morning at 8am! Playing with his cousin Grace is a perfect way to pass the time...sooo serious when he runs. :)
Evan Carter and Gracie B
Spring 08

2008-05-17T10:05:00.000-05:00

Evan's newest obession is this car book - he could have us read it for hours! His spasms are better now, not as intense. :)

2008-05-15T23:22:00.000-05:00

Update

2008-05-14T15:19:00.000-05:00

My how things can change in 24 hours - we are still cancer free but there's been a bump in the road. We just got back from the TCH emergency room, Evan was in excruciating pain and was not able to urinate since 9pm last night. We are not exactly sure why he can't pee, possibly some of the remaining tumor "flapped" over the bladder neck. They took several biopsies and I guess his bladder is having a hard time healing. They put another foley catheter in his bladder and gave him iv morphine which has helped considerably and allowing him to rest comfortably. Things were going smoothly and besides some bladder spasms he was urinating just fine on his own - and now this. UGH

We are keeping the foley in for one week and then we will reevaluate the situation. Keep the prayers coming please, nothings worse than seeing Evan in pain and not being able to help him.

2008-05-14T07:56:00.000-05:00

Results Are In...

2008-05-13T17:21:00.000-05:00

And the news is GOOD!! The biopsy results showed mature rhabdo cells that are no longer dividing with no malignancy. So we are officially off treatment. :) We hope to have the surgery for the port-a-cath removal scheduled for as soon as possible. After that's done then we will be back to TCH every three months for scans and lab work. It's all very exciting and we are headed to dinner to celebrate!!

waiting

2008-05-10T17:04:00.000-05:00

Evan's had a rough couple of days since the biopsy, he's had some bladder spasms and pain - but amazingly he's still super happy. Thankfully, this afternoon he got his foley out. He was in pretty intense pain until his first pee after the removal of the foley. It's hard to keep a three year old from moving around but he's pretty good as long as I explain it to him and keep him occupied. It helps when our family comes by to read and play with him. Nana brought plenty of books and games and Auntie and Uncle have come by several times to play. We're so lucky to have them. So now, we wait for the spasms to subside and for the results of the biopsy. Hopefully by mid next week we'll know more. :)

Quote of the Day

2008-05-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

"i beg you...to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. don't search for the answers, which could not be given you now, because you would not be able to live them. and the point is, to live everything. live the questions now. perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer..."

(rainer maria rilke)

Blessings

2008-04-30T10:05:00.000-05:00

We have a lot to be thankful for- Evan's scans came back clean!! They have scheduled a biopsy of the remainder of the tumor for May 8th. It is expected that the pathology on what is left of the tumor (approximately 40%) will come back negative. I believe that it will, but would love extra prayers for a cancer-free result and that Evan tolerates the procedure well. :) If all goes as planned, we will have his port-a-cath removed shortly after we receive the results (maybe even the next day)!

It's all very exciting, and a little nerve wrecking. I'll keep everyone posted and thank you for all the prayers.

2008-04-23T21:13:00.000-05:00

The Great Brain

Relay Fun

2008-04-23T20:50:00.000-05:00

The Relay for Life was a good time for a good cause. As a team we raised over $3200.00 for the American Cancer Society, as we kept a body on the track from 7pm to 7am. Evan had a blast, he had so much energy - playing soccer at 11pm! He took a survivor lap - while most everyone walked it, Evan ran over half of it! Now that's a survivor! :)

2008-04-18T12:12:00.000-05:00

Playing in the playroom at the Texas Children's Hospital on our final day. Navigating through the playroom with IV poles is no easy feat! :)

The Final Infusion

2008-04-18T12:01:00.000-05:00

The final VAC infusion was certainly exciting - Evan helped out (as usual) with the flushes. Evan is my hero. :)

Final Day of Chemo

2008-04-14T14:42:00.000-05:00

Well...this is it. I'm sitting in the hospital, while Evan naps, waiting on his final infusion of chemotherapy. It's hard to believe that we've been fighting this cancer with chemotherapy for 11 months already. In some respects it feels like we've doing doing this forever and yet really, it's just flown by.

Evan is amazing, he's tolerated this arduous treatment beautifully. Not only has he tolerated it, he's thriving, as he blossoms into an energetic and curious three year old. I can't even begin to tell you how proud I am of him for the amazing little person he's becoming. It's fun to watch and I'm honored to be a part of it. Physically he's doing really well, no more bladder spams (thank God) and can you believe he's POTTY TRAINED!? It really only took a week (if that) and then he was in big boy underwear. He has great control of his bladder, which considering the intense radiation, is damn near amazing. I'm so thankful every time Evan pees. 11 months ago Evan had a Foley catheter and we didn't know if his tumor would shrink enough to allow him to urinate on his own. Now my son wakes up with a dry diaper after nap and tells me "Mama..I have to pee....A LOT". I love it! He's still dealing with some neuropathy in his legs from the vincristine chemo, but we've been told that hopefully in time that will resolve. It may take up to a year so we are going to start him in physical therapy to help it along.

I met with his oncologist today and the latest plan of action is to do his final scans - PET, CT, MRI and a Bone Scan at the end of April. Then they will know exactly how much of the tumor remains. At that point the urologist will most likely perform another biopsy to ensure that it is just "rhabdomyo blast" and not "sarcoma". If all turns out well then most likely he won't need surgery. They said they feel comfortable, based on past cases, to leave the remainder of the tumor in an effort to keep his bladder in tact. Hopefully there won't be much there and whatever is there is no longer active. We will know more the first part of May, but I'm feeling optimistic. We'll wait until all the pathology comes back clear before having his port-a-cath removed from his chest - won't that be a happy day!!

So much information, I'll let you all know more as I know more! I'll be posting some pictures from today and tomorrow too. All the nurses and doctors are so excited that he's done with treatment and they even put a cool sign on his hospital room door that says "Congratulations Evan on completing Chemo!". It's very exciting and I pray that this really is the end of this phase of our journey.

Relay for Life

2008-04-03T13:30:00.000-05:00

The Relay for Life is coming soon - April 18, 2008

Show your support for Team Sevan (Sean and Evan) by visiting Evan's homepage to make a donation!

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RelayForLifeHighPlainsDivision?px=5593931&pg=personal&fr_id=5805

Relay For Life®, the American Cancer Society's signature event, is a fun-filled overnight experience designed to bring together those who have been touched by cancer. At Relay, people from within the community gather to celebrate survivors, remember those lost to cancer, and to fight back against this disease. Relay participants help raise money and awareness to support the American Cancer Society in its lifesaving mission to eliminate cancer as a major health issue. During Relay For Life ® events, teams of people gather at schools, fairgrounds, or parks and take turns walking or running laps. The events are held overnight to represent the fact that cancer never sleeps. Through the survivors' lap and the luminaria ceremony, we honor the people who have faced cancer first hand, and we remember those who have been lost to this disease.
But, Relay isn't about taking laps -- it's about coming together in the fight against cancer. It’s a time to remember those lost to this disease and celebrate those who have survived. It’s a place where people connect with others, share the cancer experience, and find comfort and solace. And it's an opportunity to build hope for a future where cancer no longer threatens the lives of the people we love.

Evan the Cook

2008-04-03T11:50:00.001-05:00

Evan loves to cook..anything really - but pizza is a favorite. I've found that it helps him to eat (when his appetite is not the best) if he's helped to make whatever it is that we are having that day. It's working for us now, so I'm going to capitalize on this as long as I can! :)

Evan's 3rd Birthday Party

2008-04-02T10:01:00.000-05:00

Evan's Birthday party was a big hit! His Nana, Papa, Aunties, Uncles, all his cousins and friends Sean and Michael all came to celebrate. He got a ton of cars and a super cool racetrack that he can crash his cars on. He told me he wishes that everyday was his birthday!

Faces of Sarcoma

2008-03-31T10:07:00.001-05:00

The picutre outside is Evan dancing! And the other is at clinic with Evan's friend Sean (also has rhabdo), they are doing crafts.

I found a great website that pays tribute to people who have battled sarcomas. I added Evan to the site under "stories of current fighters". And what a fighter he is, I'm so proud of his courage and strength.

http://www.facesofsarcoma.com/index1.html

Fish

2008-03-31T09:57:00.000-05:00

Evan caught his first fish! :) It was lots of fun and super exciting for him.

2008-03-31T09:37:00.000-05:00

Heroes for Children had the annual Heroes and Handbags event at the River Oaks Country Club last week. My friend Shannon went with me - Shannon's son, Sean, is the same age as Evan and also has Rhabdomyosarcoma in his bladder. We also both live in The Woodlands, what are the chances? :)
http://www.heroesforchildren.org/houstonhandbags.html
This is Jenny Scott (co-founder of Heroes for Children) and Mary Lou Fernandez (chair of the event) at the luncheon. A lot of money was raised for a wonderful charity -It was a great time and I was really happy to be included!

2008-03-27T13:58:00.000-05:00

Evan's sweet friend, Elizabeth, at the Texas Children's Hospital Cancer Clinic. She's a doll and really likes Evan (especially if he's playing with his cars)!

This was a special day for us, our last irinotecan infusion - EVER! What a great day, we are so happy to be done with this phase of our treatment!! We have one more admission to the hospital for a VAC 24 hour infusion in a couple of weeks and then we await our scans. We are scheduled for a PET scan, bone scan, MRI and CT for the end of April.

2008-03-27T13:49:00.000-05:00

Night Easter Egg Hunting at Nana and Papa's!
We were at the hospital getting chemo on Easter, so we had a night Easter egg hunt when we got back. Evan had a great time and found some of the coveted "golden eggs". :)

2008-03-27T13:42:00.000-05:00

Wasting time at the hospital, waiting for them to make our irinotecan chemo. Irinotecan is on five day cycles that sometimes run into the weekend, which brings us into the hospital as opposed to just the clinic.

Slide Fun

2008-03-12T21:01:00.001-05:00

Our Park

2008-03-12T20:51:00.000-05:00

Evan named this duck "Charlie" - he wants to take it home! We visit it several times a week.

We walk to this park all the time - it's close to our house and Evan loves it.

Painting

2008-03-12T20:45:00.000-05:00

Evan loves painting - he'd do it every single day if he could!

Glass Bead Bracelet

2008-03-11T12:05:00.000-05:00

At the clinic, a sweet volunteer helped Evan make a glass bead bracelet for his Nana. He was so proud of it, picked out each bead specifically and was very serious about the placement - in true Evan fashion!

Making Cookies

2008-03-11T12:00:00.000-05:00

2008-02-04T22:46:00.000-06:00

We've always known he's a super star, now it's just official! Evan Carter is on the cover of an invitation, for a fundraiser benefiting a local non profit, Heroes for Children. I am excited to be attending the Heroes for Handbags event on March 26th. I'm looking forward to meeting some of the wonderful people who work so hard to help families just like ours.

http://heroesforchildren.org/houstonhandbags.html

2008-02-03T13:10:00.000-06:00

Evan's best buddy - his cousin Zach

good news

2008-02-01T15:07:00.000-06:00

Bathtime - one of his favorite things to do, prefers bubbles for sure.

Oh, and here's some good news. We had a MRI of Evan's pelvis last monday and they said there is no evidence that his tumor has spread. That's good good news and we are thankful. We are so thankful for everyone's prayers, well wishes and support.

2008-02-01T15:01:00.000-06:00

Another round of VAC chemo - but can you believe we only have 13 weeks left on treatment? As long as we don't get delayed with low counts and/or infection, we should be done mid April!!

Next hurdle will be surgery to remove the remainder of the tumor.

2008-02-01T15:00:00.000-06:00

2008-01-11T22:15:00.000-06:00

He's a natural! You should've seen him, the pictures can only capture so much. He was dribbling the ball down the field like he's been doing it forever! When he turns 3 he get's to start playing on a team - hope it goes as well as when he's alone!

2008-01-11T22:12:00.000-06:00

It took a minute to get the hang of it...but now he's a professional. He loves his truck so much that when I say we have to run errands he wants to take his truck!

2008-01-11T22:09:00.000-06:00

2008-01-11T22:04:00.000-06:00

Santa brought Evan an Escalade on Christmas morning! Needless to say he was thrilled!

2008-01-11T21:55:00.000-06:00

Sometimes at clinic we get visitors, this day it was Houston's professional soccer team the Dynamos star players. They brought the trophy in and Evan really loved it. Sadly I didn't have my camera on me the day he met Craig Biggio from the Astros. It was funny though because Mr. Biggio handed Evan a signed baseball card and Evan said... "Um..no thanks...I want a car." I took the card anyway and saved it for later when he can appreciate it! :)

2008-01-11T21:51:00.000-06:00

We're at clinic waiting on chemo and playing with the new remote control truck he got from Santa. Man Christmas was fun!

2008-01-11T21:46:00.000-06:00

Evan became pretty good at the "Santa" thing by the end of this holiday season! Texas Children's Hospital was great and had plenty of parties and gifts. This party was with Oncology Radiology at Methodist. It was good to see everyone we knew from our radiation days and they enjoyed seeing Evan looking and feeling so well.

2008-01-11T21:41:00.000-06:00

2007-12-18T07:31:00.000-06:00

It's the official Santa picture! Notice the clenched hands and half smile, he was extremely nervous but managed to say faintly "cars" when asked what he wanted from Santa. It was a big day for Evan and it was all he could talk about the whole night! :)

2007-12-12T11:50:00.000-06:00

Evan is all about Christmas!! He loves all the decorations and lights (especially the lights). He did get to sit on Santa's lap at the clinic, but couldn't manage to tell him what he wanted. He just stared at him with wide eyes and was stiff as a board! We are going to try again though, he talks about how he needs to tell Santa what he wants. We shall see how it goes!

2007-12-12T11:43:00.000-06:00

Evan's best friend, his cousin Grace - playing dress up. Grace was all about dressing up and he was more into chasing her around with his trucks! It's hard to believe she's 8 months older than he is because he's bigger, but she sure can talk circles around him. Pretty sure it'll be that way forever! :)

2007-12-12T11:34:00.000-06:00

Riding the horse at clinic - good times while we wait and wait and wait and wait!

2007-12-12T11:30:00.000-06:00

Evan's Aunt Katy came to visit and they had a blast, nothing like a captive audience to play cars with!

2007-11-27T17:47:00.000-06:00

2007-11-09T09:41:00.000-06:00

Evan's ANC (absolute neutrophil count) has gone up to just over 1000!! This is exciting why? Because it means that he has enough white blood cells to fight some infections, basically he has an immune system (weak, but it's there)! And really it means that we are off total social isolation until next week anyway! I never thought I'd want to go to the grocery store so bad!! Evan feels it too, he's always asking if we can go inside to places, restaurants or stores. I explain to him about the germs and he says while nodding his head "oh yeah....germs...right..we can't go in". He's getting so smart and aware. I'm feeling really thankful today, thankful that I'm Evan's mom. Thankful for all the good medical care we receive and especially thankful for my supportive family. More on them later...I have to get the store! :)

2007-11-01T10:25:00.000-05:00

Halloween 2007

2007-10-26T09:33:00.000-05:00

So it's getting cooler here so we have new warm jammies which Evan is very proud of! We started another round of chemo yesterday - a five day cycle.

Evan has a port-a-cath in his chest that they keep accessed when we have this chemo. He calls it his "noodle" and insisted I took a picture of it this morning. :)

2007-10-24T13:32:00.000-05:00

Look closely....you can see some fuzz growing on his head. :)

2007-10-24T13:26:00.000-05:00

2007-10-23T10:09:00.000-05:00

Evan's first fundraiser at the Alcott Center was a success!

It was a pleasure to see the Alcott Center, it's a beautiful old school that was built in 1923 and was the perfect spot to host the comedy show. Thank you again to Chris and Chuck Green for donating the venue and getting things set up for us. A huge thank you to Tim Gaither for organizing the event, bringing together the talent and entertaining us! Johnny O, Dave Free and Conrad Courtney were hilarious and very kind to donate their time. Thanks to all the people who came to the show and helped make the night fun. Thank you to Flying Monkey Brewery for donating the beer and On the Border for supplying the fajitas!!

Everyone that I met was so kind and generous in spirit, it was an uplifting trip and one that I will never forget.

2007-10-15T14:00:00.000-05:00

At the park with the ducks and playing on the playground is our favorite past time these days! He's feeling great and as Fall approaches it seems that outside is where he wants to be. :)

2007-09-30T15:18:00.000-05:00

Seriously, could he be any cuter? His personality is really blossoming now as he's feeling better. We are currently in a 5 day cycle of irinotecan (chemo) ~ but you wouldn't know it, he's feeling great and playing non stop! We've found out it's usually the week after these infusions that it really hits him, so we just enjoy every day he feels great!

2007-09-27T11:35:00.000-05:00

So it's week 16 into treatment and we officially had our evaluation. It's good news...Evan's tumor has reduced in size by approximately 52%! It seems that radiation, all our hard work and all the prayers are making a difference! We feel so blessed that things have gone so well so far, and we know that the tumor will continue to shrink. Chemo continues now weekly, we are starting another 5 day round today actually. It was a nice to have a break for evaluation, but now it's back to the routine of the hospital and clinic.

2007-09-27T11:29:00.000-05:00

Doesn't he look like the bald Elton John? He was so excited to sneak and put these glasses on - exceedingly proud of himself! :)

Evan Goff Snoddy

2007-08-30T09:24:00.000-05:00

Evan Goff Snoddy

It's our first fundraiser event!!! :)

The Alcott Arts Center, in Kansas City, is sponsoring a comedy event in Evan's honor on October 5th. Comedian Tim Gaither will be headlining the event (other comedians, yet to be announced, will perform) with all proceeds going to Evan's medical fund through Bank of America. We are so thankful to Chuck Alcott for donating the venue, as well as Tim Gaither for organizing the event and donating his talent and time. I'm amazed at the generosity and support that we've recieved and we are so very appreciative.

I'm excited to be attending the event and will take plenty of pictures ot update the blog!

Check out the above link to read about Evan's evening! Also ~ check out the Alcott Arts Center site to see all the wonderful things they are doing in their community.

http://alcottartscenter.org/index.htm

National Children's Cancer Society

2007-08-29T09:05:00.000-05:00

National Children's Cancer Society

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and you can make a difference.

Wear a gold ribbon on your lapel. The gold ribbon is the official color of children with cancer worldwide and is supported, recognized and promoted by hundreds of organizations and treatment centers, families, friends and caregivers.

Consider asking your child’s school to recognize this month.

Contact your local library and ask them to feature books about childhood cancer during September.

Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper that informs readers about childhood cancer.

Ask your employer or co-workers to recognize childhood cancer awareness month by wearing a gold ribbon during September or sponsor a “dress down” day, with the proceeds benefiting a specific child or the N.C.C.S.

Write your elected officials about the need for increased funding for childhood cancer programs and research

2007-08-24T11:41:00.000-05:00

Evan still loves his trucks, I couldn't get him to stop looking at it long enough to look at me for the picture! He also loves his hats...yeah, he's adorable. :)

2007-08-24T11:29:00.000-05:00

Evan in his new home in The Woodlands...and there's Nana working hard to get it ready for us. Evan and I are excited to move into our house next weekend, we sure are lucky to have such an amazing family to make it all possible!

2007-08-24T11:25:00.000-05:00

Somebody's starting to feel better!! There's more playing and smiles now which makes everyone feel better! :)

2007-08-24T11:14:00.000-05:00

So with the completion of radiation came the removal of the Foley!! Yea!!!! Unfortunately came more pain and another lengthy hospital stay! The bladder spasms that Evan has are very painful and incredibly hard to control. We had been using oral morphine but at the end of radiation we needed a morphine pump that seemed to make a big difference. I have to say the worst part of all this has been Evan's pain, nothings worse than seeing your child hurt. Now we are out of the hospital and back on oral morphine. It is getting better though, the farther we get from radiation the better his pain it seems.

2007-08-24T00:20:00.000-05:00

This is Peggy the recovery nurse at Methodist. Evan had to be sedated every day for his treatments - it was hard on him and us, but the nurses and doctors there made it so much more bearable. It's amazing the bond you form with people that are caring for your child. Both Brad and I feel blessed to have had the staff at Methodist be involved in Evan's treatment, they were amazing.

2007-08-24T00:10:00.000-05:00

Here's Evan on his last day of radiation. I didn't take much pictures the last three weeks or so of radiation, honestly because he was so sick that I couldn't bear to take them. But I realized that we decided to document his journey with pictures in the beginning and they couldn't all be cutesy pictures. Some of them had to depict the terrible stuff that's happening. He's lost weight and had no energy towards the end. I think I speak for Brad when I say that we were out of energy towards the end too. Those were tough days and we are soooo glad radiation is over. Evan's holding a tile in his hand that his Daddy drew for him, it will go on the wall at Methodist in the Oncology Radiation department. He was so proud of it! We also go to ring a bell at his last treatment...it was awesome!

2007-08-23T23:57:00.000-05:00

We have a blast on the 16th floor of Texas Children's Hospital playing the games, the race car driving game being E's favorite of course! Auntie and Auntie Meems (my sisters) were visiting with us on this day. It's nice to go to a floor in the hospital where only fun things happen, no ouchies as Evan would say. :)

2007-08-23T23:49:00.000-05:00

Here is Evan in the hospital, we've had many hospital stays for a variety of things from infections, to pain control. He's a trooper....

2007-08-23T23:44:00.000-05:00

The three of us at that little water park. Sara and Joseph, Evan's Aunt and Uncle, were with us too! That was a fun day for sure.

2007-08-23T23:38:00.000-05:00

Here Evan is with his Daddy at a water park in the Medical Center in Houston.
This is at the beginning of his radiation and we were staying in a Holiday Inn next to the hospital for six weeks of his treatment. There was this little park near by that we could walk to and look at the water, Evan loved it. We loved it to, this is when things start getting rough with both radiation and chemo Evan's good days were dwindling so seeing him smile made our day.

2007-08-23T23:34:00.000-05:00

Evan's love...Tessie, his Nana and Papa's dog. They've spent a lot of time together, she's been wonderful for him and he loves bossing her!

2007-08-23T23:30:00.000-05:00

This picture is blurry, but he had a blast with bubbles this day...still in June. This is before radiation started so he's just getting chemo treatments weekly and tolerating them well.

2007-08-23T23:24:00.000-05:00

Now it's 6/14/07 and we've figured out a way to keep his foley clipped to his monkey backpack. That really helped to keep him on the move. HE loved his back pack..he even made up a song for it! The hair is shorter you see, as it started to fall out we buzzed it. He thought that was the coolest, to have a big boy hair cut. I however cried while I cut it! It's funny though, now I don't miss his hair at all. I'm telling you bald IS beautiful. :)

2007-08-23T23:20:00.000-05:00

A little later on after we've moved to The Woodlands and Evan has the hang of the foley. His Papa made a "pee cart" out of a kids golf club caddy to hold is foley bag. He went everywhere with it, amazingly it didn't slow him down too much at all!

2007-08-23T23:02:00.000-05:00

Evan at the beginning of this journey...still in Ft. Worth at Cook Children's and still with hair! :) He's saying "cheese" in this picture. Those first few days and weeks were a blur, finding out his diagnosis was shocking to put it mildly and if it hadn't been for our family I'm not sure how we would have made it through.

First Time Blogger

2007-08-22T11:06:00.000-05:00

OK, here we go. We have set this blog up so that Leslie and I can share our thoughts and feelings regarding our beloved Evan. Also, to keep everyone up to date regarding his treatment. Feel free to leave your comments and/or questions. Leslie and I both will have access to post and comment.

Brad