Four More - -

We seem to be in countdown mode, only four more chemo sessions for Madey! (can I get a whoot whoot!) Although there is still much for her to endure we feel like we are finally beginning to see the proverbial 'light at the end of the tunnel'. Madey completed her 10th chemo treatment a week ago Friday. It was a long 5 day stay and her recovery time at home was short lived. She began feeling sick last week and by Wednesday evening was running a fever of about 103 degrees. Which meant we got to go to the emergency room. They kept Madey at Primary Children's until Saturday afternoon, she is now home resting and receiving 'mom care' which is the best care. We hope to get her feeling well enough to attend some school, in the meantime she will continue to do her assignments from home.
While Madey and Michelle were in the hospital, George and Landon went on a campout with the 11year old scouts. They left Friday about 3:30 pm and headed up Ogden canyon to spend the night. There were 3 leaders and 4 boys. Around 5:45 pm, the boys had just finished setting up their tents and George along with one of the other leaders (Mitch) were trying to string up a tarp to keep the rain off everyone, when Mitch hurt his ankle. After hobbling over to the picnic table and getting seated to rest his leg, the wind began to blow and one of the boys tents began to fly away, several of the boys who had been sitting next to Mitch ran after the tent, George went to help them. A micro burst of wind came whistling though the camp and George looked up as he heard a loud crack and saw the top of a cottonwood tree snap off and begin to fall, he yelled "look out" when the large portion of tree crashed down on Mitch's head and narrowly missed Landon. Part of the tree was full of bees which began stinging George, Mitch, and some of the boys, I think Landon was stung twice, while George received about 8 stings. The boys hurriedly climbed into one of the tents to wait out the storm, while George and the other leader Rob, lifted the tree off Mitch. They then put Mitch in the suburban and Rob drove him closer to Pineview where he was met by EMS from Ogden City and Weber county, they then transported Mitch to the hospital where he received 4 staples in his head. If you want to see pictures you can view Mitch's blog at the bottom of this post. After Rob left with Mitch, George went to check on the boys in their tent, when he asked them how they were doing they replied by telling him they had been sharing happy thoughts about Brother Dorius and taking turns offering prayers for him. Needless to say George had a hard time not crying because of the innocent and faithful gestures of these young scouts. Not only was the campout a small disaster, but the boys still need to meet their scout requirement for sleeping in a tent.
We hope for a less eventful week, but continue to be grateful for the many blessings we enjoy in our lives because of the Gospel of Christ and the many people that watch out for our family.
http://www.mitchandstacie.blogspot.com/

Treatment Timeout

After completing 31 radiation treatments, and another session of chemotherapy we decided it was time for a break. We loaded up the suburban and took the family to Island Park, ID and spent some time fishing, floating the river, exploring Yellowstone National Park, and of course poking sticks in the campfire. It was a nice break and time seemed to stand still while we were there. Wildlife viewing was great, we saw about 7 Moose in Island Park, lots of Elk and Bison in Yellowstone, and a bald eagle fishing near us on the river. It was a lot of fun to watch the kids taking pictures and laughing in the car, it actually felt like we were normal again. George's nephew was a great tour guide and we are grateful to George's brother for the use of his cabin, I don't think we could have made the trip other wise. We also really enjoyed being with other family members while we were there. If you noticed and extra human in the pictures, that is Lindy's fiance Cameron, yes we are planning a wedding in the midst of all of this (As if it wasn't crazy enough already). All joking aside, he is a nice guy and we are very happy for the two of them.

When we got back it was time for a little reality check, Madey and Hillary went to the High School and picked up their class schedules and had yearbook pictures taken, there is definitely some nervous excitement on Madey's part about starting High School and still trying to finish cancer treatments. So far the school has been great to work with. George will meet with all of her teachers next week so they are aware of Madey's situation. With all of that taken care of Madey received a blood transfusion on Friday and will start her next round of Chemotherapy on Monday the 16th of August, it will most likely sideline her for first week of school, but we know with each passing treatment we are that much closer to finishing this fight and helping Madey become cancer free.