London's Run coming up

So, we got to come home from the hospital the next day after Troy received his blood transfusion and IGIV (antibodies) to boost his immune system. Once that was completed we were able to come home. The cat scan showed he does have a sinus infection so he is on an antibiotic for that along with zyrtec for decongestion. These two drugs on top of all the others which is throwing me off a little bit. They will check his IGG level again in about a month and a half to make sure it is looking good. We have made it through half of our first phase of maintenance and things haven’t been too bad. Only 1 fever is something I have to feel lucky about. Once he gets over this sinus infection and we get his numbers looking better maintenance should be a lot better. He continues to take all his medicines and go to the clinic like it is just part of his life. Troy never fights us to take his medicine and sometimes when I get my shoes on to go somewhere he will ask, ”Mom are we going to the doctor?” How sad, but it is what it is. We are all still adjusting but life is going great.

So, I am soooooo excited for London’s Run coming up next weekend on SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2ND. The Solomon family, here is Queen Creek, lost their beautiful daughter London to Leukemia and started this run. They have turned their heartache and sorrow into inspiration and hope for others struggling with cancer. I want to send a personal invitation to all those reading Troy’s blog. Please, please come and be part of this event. Even if you are not a runner there are so many activities to do, even for children. Just coming by to donate blood/platelets would be awesome. I know that when we do service for others our problems seem less important. If you haven’t had a chance yet click on the link up in the right corner for London’s Run or just go to http://www.londonsrun.org/ to see all the awesome events going on that day.

Here are some of them:

Running, ½ marathon, 10K, or 2 mile fun run/walk
Breakfast & BBQ lunch ($5 per individual, $20 per family)
Kids Corner (Free)
Mechanical Bull (SWEET!!)
Silent Auction (awesome items up for auction, check them out at the london’s run website)
London’s Ride (equestrian trail ride)
Blood Drive (don’t forget your driver’s license)


Seriously, this is going to be an amazing day and we are so grateful to the Solomon family and everyone who has taken the time to put this event together. We truly feel honored to be a part of it.

Short stay in hospital

Yesterday Troy was admitted to the hospital for a short stay of 23 hours for a fever. His red blood counts are down so they will give him a blood transfusion. The doctors also did an IGG test (a component of your immune system) which was also down so he will have another transfusion of antibodies to boost that number back up. They also want to get a cat scan of his sinus area and a chest x-ray to see if anything is going on since he has had an ongoing cold. All of this should help him feel better since yesterday he felt like crap and threw up all over on the way to the clinic. So, hopefully by this evening we should be able to go home and Troy will be feeling better. He is in good spirits and had no qualms about going back to the hospital. Wish the same could be said for Chris and I. We know we have been so lucky to not have any major problems for this entire 7 months. I count my blessing daily and know how blessed I am. Still, it is difficult to go back to the place where it all began. I remember every detail of that time and what a whirlwind of emotions that was. Luckily, the nurses are still amazing and knowing it is just a short stay makes things easier. Thanks to my Jay Circle sisters (Holly and Heidi) and Holly B. for taking on my kids at the drop of a hat. We appreciate you so much and are thankful we live so close. Thanks to everyone for your support and concern.

TURKEY WADDLE!!!!

The whole Tyler Family that came out to run.

Check out Nate Braunhut's shirt. Is he awesome or what?
Getting ready to start.
Chris and Troy after the run.
My sister Holly stopped to pose for a picture. Check out her sweet headphones.
My dad running. What a great grandpa.


I finally got around to these pictures and I just had to post them because this was truly an amazing Thanksgiving morning. Once again, our friends the Packer’s put this all together and we had such a great time. The Dad’s club and PTSO at Abby’s school sponsored the event and sent out flyers to every student in the whole school. We so much appreciate all the time and effort that went into organizing, and running this event. Harmon Hawks rock!!!! A great big thank you to everyone that came out to run, we hope you enjoyed it. Start training for the London’s Run in February.

Future Doctor???

These days Troy likes to give himself his own medicine and chemo all by himself. It is just too funny and I’m glad he is so great at taking his medicine. The other night I was taking him to bed and he said, "Mom you forgot my medicine." Good thing the 3 year old is on top of things when I'm not. Almost every time we go to the clinic Troy has to get his finger poked and he just watches the blood go into the little tube. For every spinal tap Troy is put to sleep with anesthesia and this last spinal tap the anesthesiologist let him push the medicine into his port that puts him to sleep. He loves to watch the magic white stuff go through his tube. All these things are a little strange to me, for a 3 year, old but hey this his how he is dealing with all this. Anything that makes him feel more comfortable with all this change is just fine with me. He goes back to the clinic on Christmas Eve to check counts and then not again for 2 more weeks. Yea!!!!

Maintenance Here We Come!!!!!

We have finally made it to the maintenance phase and we are sooooo excited. Last week Troy’s numbers were back up and they approved him to start maintenance on Tuesday. He had a spinal tap and chemo through his port along with the steroid for 5 days. We started another oral chemo that he will take everyday for the remaining 2 ½ years. What a champ this dude has been and we are so proud of how tough he is. I know we still have a long way to go but I am just grateful to have come this far. We will go to the clinic every 2 weeks to check his numbers for the first few months and then just once a month!!! Thanks again to all our family and friends for your love and support. We could not have made it this far without all of you.

Gift Basket at PapaRazzinis

Christine and I with the check from the Penne a la Troy meal!!!

I did want to let everyone know that our friends down at PapaRazinnis are raffling off a gift basket full of great stuff as another fund raiser for Troy. Is this family awesome or what? Take a moment from this crazy time of year and have a nice dinner at their restaurant. You will not be disappointed. Here is a list of the items in the gift basket and the breakdown of the ticket prices. ENJOY!!!

Ticket prices:
1 ticket: $5.00
5 tickets: $14.00
8 tickets: $20.00

That's $2.50/ticket when you buy 8! It's like half off :)

Raffle Tickets available at:
PapaRazzini's Italian Eatery
1825 E Guadalupe
Tempe, AZ 85283
for reservations call 480.345.6560
Closed Mondays :)

Gift Basket Goodies!

Gift Certificates:
Jamba Juice
Starbucks
Bikram Yoga of Tempe
Salon Va Bella
Route 66 Salon
Frys Food and Drug
Changing Hands Book Store
All Night Auto
Mac's Broiler
Papa Razzini's

Wine Vendors:
Southern
Republic of Arizona
Action Wine
Valley of the Sun
Alliance Beverage

Gift Basket valued at over $500.
Raffle tickets available through 12/24
Drawing will be held on Christmas day

Weekend over!!!

Well we seem to have almost made it through this weekend without any fevers or issues. (Knock on wood.) I took Abby to the Polar Express and she had a blast while Chris stayed home with the boys. I was super sad that Troy could not come with us but hey there is always next year. Troy will go to the clinic tomorrow to check his counts and I am so curious to see what they are. I am hoping he will not be severely neutropenic, at least. If he is still neutropenic that’s ok as long as his numbers are improving. He is just bouncing off the walls still running around like crazy. I would think when his counts are low he should fatigued or tired but that is not the case at all. (Knock on wood again). Although, I still have a ton of Christmas things to get done, I truly think what does it matter. Chris and I realize what does mean the most to us and that is all that matters.