Updates

LATEST UPDATES

Jan 25:Hunter had a doctors appointment yesterday. He is doing great and looking great. They did some blood tests. He got to stop taking one of his medicines....hopefully he will be able to stop the other three in the next few months. His next set of tests are scheduled for March 7th. He will have a CT Scan, Ultrasound, Chest X-ray and an echocardiogram.

Feb 7:Hunter has been doing well. He is growing bigger each day. He is getting a lot of hair. We are ggoing to be moving in a few weeks, so we have been busy getting things ready for that. It is nice to have other things to think about than just the hospital. His next doctors appointment is in one month.

Feb 21:Hunter is still doing great! He is getting excited about our big move this weekend. He will finally have a play room to play in with his brother and to store all of their toys. He is spending most of his time watching t.v., playing video games and playing on the computer.

March 1:We got moved into our house this past weekend. Luckily we didn't wait to do it this weekend; because we are in the process of getting 10 inches of snow. We are finally having a birthday party for Hunter on the 2nd. He is looking forward to it. He returns to the hospital this next Thursday for his tests.

March 7: Hunter had his tests done today. He is still cancer free. There were no signs of any tumors anywhere. He had to go thru having 5 different I.V. lines places in his body before they could get one that would work. They will test him again in 3 months. We are very happy and are glad that Hunter has three more months to have fun and be a normal child before he needs to go thru the testing again.

March 21: Hunter has been doing great. He has been getting outside and enjoying the fresh air. It has been cold out lately, so he has been playing inside the house. He and his brother have a play room in the basement were they spend a lot of their time. It is full of toys and books. The floor is usually so covered with the toys when they are done playing, there is no where to walk.

March 31: We had a nice Easter. The Easter Bunny brought a lot of treats and a few small gifts. Hunter got a Scooby Doo video and an airplane. Logan got an Elmo video and a small airplane. They have been having fun tasting their candy.

April 14:Hunter has been doing great! We bought a new swing-set for the backyard. The boys have been playing on it. They especially like the slide.

April 28:Hunter is doing great! He is anxiously waiting for his Grandparents to return from Arizona. They have not saw him since the middle of December. His hair is all grown back in now, so he will look a bit different to them. We were used to him being bald for the past two years.

May 28:I didn't think it had been so long since I had given an update. I guess time flys by when you are busy. Hunter got his first puppy yesterday. She is a 5 week old Lab/Doberman mix. We named her Brandy. The boys love her! Hunter could never get a pet when he was on treatment, so when we got the chance to get one now....we went for it. Hunter has been busy riding his bike. He loves to get on it and go. The weather is finally warming up here, so he has been getting outside a bit more. He also went to see the movie "Spiderman" with his dad and I a few weeks ago. He liked the movie. His next movie on his list of "to see's" is Scooby-Doo. He has his next set of tests on June 6th.

June : Hunter's tests were today. He is still cancer free! We are very excited and thankful. He goes back on September 5th to be tested again.

July 4th.....Hunter has been doing great! We went to see the Scooby Doo movie last weekend.....and he loved it. His puppy is growing bigger each day. He loves to run in the yard and have her chase after him. We invested in a small family pool. It has been very hot here lately, so it feels good to get in and cool off. We are also leaving in the morning to go on a trip to Virginia Beach. Hunter gets free passes to most amusement parks in the world as part of his Make-A-Wish trip. We are going to take advantage of this and visit an amusement park called "King's Dominion" in Virginia. We are staying on the ocean for 3 nights. The boys have never gotten to play on a beach before , so they should enjoy themselves.

July 22:Hunter had a great time on his trip to Virginia Beach. He made a few friends on the beach. He played in the sand, and ocassionally went into the water. The waves were strong and he didn't like then very much. We visited the amusement park. The boys had a blast on the rides. They had a whole section of rides just for small kids. It was nice, because his brother could ride with him......parents were too big for these rides. We also took a tour of the naval shipyard in Norfolk. The boys got to see some of the battleships and destroyers up close. We just returned this weekend from a trip up to northern Wisconsin. We went with a few family members to Thomahawk. Here the boys tried fishing for the first time. They didn't care for it much......they didn't even get a nibble.

Aug 20:Hunter is going to another amusement park this next weekend. It is called Santa's Village. He has never been there before, so it should be a good experience for him. It is located about 1 1/2 from our house, so it will just be a day trip. The boys have been playing outside. They enjoy riding their bikes and running around with Brandy, their dog. There is going to be an exciting event in Hunter's life in a few weeks. On September 4th he gets to start preschool!!! We go this next week to see his classroom and meet his teacher. He is very excited about it. Then, on Septemeber 5th he goes back to the hospital for his next set of tests.

Sept. 5:Hunter started preschool yesterday. This is the first time he has been away from home by himself for any period of time. He has not said too much about school yet. He is keeping a tight lip about it. He is scheduled to go 3 days a week. Hunter also had his next set of tests done today. His scans were clear. So, he is still cancer free. The doctor and all of the nurses were surprised at how he has changed. He has grown taller and has a nice silky head of hair. His next set of tests will be performed on December 5th.

Sept 26:Hunter really likes school. Every night he asks, "Do I go to school tomorrow?" He is ready to go out the door even before it is time. He has his first field trip next week. They are going to The Apple Hut. This is an apple orchard. I signed up to be a chaperone so I also will be going. They have a lot of fun things planned for him in school this year. He is looking forward to it.

Oct 13: Hunter had fun on his first field trip. It rained the whole time they were there, so they did not get to go on a wagon ride. This next week he gets to go to a pumpkin patch. He gets to go on a hay ride, pick out a pumpkin and eat a snack. Hopefully the weather will be better for them this time. He is learning the letter "F" this week in school. Last week they learned about fire safety and had a special visit from the local Firemen. He even got to sit inside the firetruck.

Nov 3:Hunter has been fighting a small cold. He can't seem to shake it. Last week, Hunter and his preschool went to the Pumpkin Patch. They went on the tractor/wagon ride and had a snack. They also got to pick out their own small pumpkin. He had a good time. The weather was a bit cold that day. Hunter and his brother Logan went trick-or-treating. It also was very cold that night. I don't think they had as much fun because they were freezing! Even though we didn't go around to too many houses, they still received a lot of candy. Hunter dressed up as a Marine. Logan dresses up as Buzz Lightyear.

Nov 23:Hunter has been doing great! He has been feeling good lately. He has started to practice Christmas songs at school. They will be having a Christmas program in a few weeks. I am looking forward to it. He has learned and can recognise 19 letters so far. We practice them everyday. He has also been learning how to write his name. We are getting ready for the holidays. Next weekend we will put up the Christmas tree and other lights. Hunter gets testing done again on December 5th.

Dec 8:Hunter had his tests done on December 5th. His scans were all clear which means he is still cancer free. The doctor was very pleased. He said we have reached somewhat of a milestone now that he has been cancer free for a year. He will next be tested in March. This visit will consist of an ultrasound and a visit with his urologist. He will get another Ct Scan in June. We are now getting ready for Christmas. Hunter has his first school Christmas program this Friday. Our Christmas will sure be different from our Christmas last year.

Jan 18:We had a good Christmas. The boys were spoiled as usual. They had a lot of presents to open this year. It seemed like it took forever. We are happy to start a new year once again. We are looking forward to having another "cancer free" year. Hunter turned 5 years old on the 9th. We had a party for him at a local Pizza Parlor. I think he had a good time. He is still in Preschool and doing well. This next week he gets signed up for kindergarten. It is hard to believe he is old enough for that.

March 21:Hunter was tested again this past week. He is still all-clear and will be tested again on June 3rd. He had kindergarten screening done yesterday. It is hard to believe he is going to be in full-day kindergarten next year. In February we went to Arizona for a week. Hunter got to ride in a golf cart, visit a zoo, ride thru the mountains and fly in an airplane again. We had a good time.

April 29:Hunter is doing great! He is a healthy and very happy boy. He has been spending most of his free time playing the playstation 2, playing outside, and going to school. We are going to try to get the training wheels off of his bike this week. We haven't practiced since last year, but he did pretty good then....so hopefully it will be easy for him this year. Hunter has just a month of preschool left, then he will be getting ready for kindergarten. Hunter goes for his next set of tests on June 3rd.

June 7:Hunter had tests done last week. He is still cancer free. He started playing T-Ball. His first game is this next week. He loves playing. We are going on a trip to the Smoky Mountains next month. The boys are looking forward to the trip.

Aug 15:Hunter has had a great summer. He played t-ball, went on a trip to Tennessee, learned to ride without training wheels and just had a good time. He will be starting kindergarten on the 2nd of September. He is excited. He will be attending school all day, which will be a change from preschool. We are busy now trying to get him ready for school. He goes back to the doctor on the 4th for his next set of tests.