BROKEN ARM TAKE 1 & 2

Yes, Troy broke his arm AGAIN!!!!! Last week we were walking and he tripped over his own feet and landed on his wrist. Thus, another cast for a new year. After crying my eyes out for a day I am dealing with it much better now. Troy, on the other hand, is once again a little trooper and adjusting to the cast with ease. He will have to wear it for 4 weeks and we are already down 1 week. Yea!!! Of course, Troy wanted a red cast since Lightning McQueen is red. The dude is obsessed with cars and now even points out sports cars on the freeway and says he wants one of them. He better start saving his money now.

We headed to the pediatric outpatient treatment center (POTC) on Monday for another spinal tap. I can’t believe we made it through our first course of maintenance already. Time is finally started to move instead of crawl by. His hair is coming in so great and most days I have to comb it because it sticks up. For some reason Troy's hair coming back is just a wonderful thing for me. I think he was darling bald, but I am glad he is getting hair. All in all, things are going pretty good and the doctors and nurses are taking great care of him. We are so grateful for modern medicine. Thanks to everyone for your constant concern for Troy.

DISNEYLAND WITH "THE PASS"

A couple of weeks ago we took the whole family to Disneyland and California Adventure. Troy had never been before so we thought this would be a good time to go. The best part of the whole thing was being able to go on the rides through the exits. We went to guest services and told them that Troy was battling leukemia and the less people he is around the better. So they wrote us a "pass" to go on the rides through the exits. There should be some advantages to having leukemia right? It was just pure fun walking past everyone in line and having them stare us down. As fun as it was, I would gladly wait in line on every ride if it meant Troy wouldn’t have leukemia. But since he does it was a great perk. We all had a great time and I look forward to many many more Disneyland vacations with him.

LONDON'S RUN

Sorry, for the length of this post but it had to be said. I wish I was a writer to express this day better but here is my best.

Wow, wow, wow!!!! London’s Run was everything I thought it would be and much much more. The moment we arrived I knew this was going to be a special day. Once I got a look at the tribute tables with pictures of Troy, London, and Tucker the tears were flowing. One picture in particular was of London’s mom Heather and London cheek to cheek. London is bald as can be and yet they both have big smiles on their faces. That picture touched me a great deal because I think it just shows so much about them and their love for each other. Then to watch all the runners take off for the run was inspiring. People of all ages showed up to run the ½ marathon, 10K, and 2 mile fun run. The youngest person I saw was a little 6 year old girl who ran the ½ marathon. Her dad cried when she came through the finish line and so did everyone that saw her. I was inspired by her and what great people she must have in her life. What 6 year old decides to run 13 miles? It was pretty incredible. We also had a group of girls from Snow College in Utah come down just for the run. They all had t-shirts on that said Snow College runs for Troy. Then the back said miles ran……13, miles traveled……1160, saving a child’s life……priceless. Now come on, those girls were awesome. TaLisha and Jen you are amazing. I have to mention my sister Juliet who ran the 1/2 marathon with great determination. The Tyler's by nature are not athletic so that was a great accomplishment in itself. The Wendt side of our family is certainly athletic and Angie did awesome at the 10K.
Abby worked at a water station with Chris’s parents and loved handing out the water to the runners. I hear the water stations were quite a party and we appreciate all those that helped work those. Troy loved riding the mechanical bull, jumping on the bouncies, and getting his face painted with a spider. Wyatt on the other hand just wanted to wander anywhere he could and pick up every last piece of trash and put it directly in his mouth. I just love his devilish attitude. It was awesome to have our whole family out to support and a great thank you to them. We would not be able to accomplish anything without your help. To the Solomon family, we were honored to have been a part of this event and know that it is truly inspired. We will certainly attend every year from now on. Thanks to all those friends, and friends of friends, for coming out to London's Run. It was mind-blowing to see so many of you.

I could go on and on about these stories and some day I could write a book about this whole experience. Although, I hate Leukemia with all my heart and wish Troy didn’t have it, I am forever changed by this experience.

Abby handing out water.
Jules running the 1/2 marathon. Thanks for all the hard work!!!!

6 year old that ran the 1/2 marathon. That's over 13 miles people!!!!!
Angie and Alyssa ran the 10K. Way to go girlies!!!!
Snow College girls. Love em!!!
The whole crew.
Grandma Donna, Val, Don, Nat, Abby, and Jill working the water station!!!

Troy on the BULL!!!
Tribute tables


Leah, Lynn, and Holly B. Way to go girls!!!

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!!!!