Another round of chemo

Jade and Mason and Papa Greg drove back to Calgary last Tuesday. The #1 highway was still closed beyond Maple Creek but they made a quick detour through Golden Prairie which saved a couple of hours. Mason went back into the Calgary Childrens Hospital on Wednesday for round 5 of chemo for this year. He is on day 4 and is doing really well. If all continues to go well he will be finished the chemo tomorrow, Sunday, and will be discharged on Monday. Justin and Kale will hopefully be driving up to Calgary by then also. Still no word on upcoming treatments.
   Picture of Mason at Bowness Park in Calgary on June 13th.

Mason is in Moose Jaw!!!!!

Mason had been scheduled to return to the Calgary Childrens Hospital on Friday for more chemotherapy. This decision was made on Thursday following a lengthy meeting with Dr. Brindel, Mason's surgeon, and Dr. Struthers, the head oncologist. More testing will be required prior to a decision regarding further surgery. The P.E.T. scan did not turn out to be as effective as was hoped, probably due to residual chemotherapy drugs still in Mason's system which dampened the normal biological processes that were to be studied. In the meantime, more chemotherapy will hopefully continue to shrink the tumors. The doctors are very happy with the amount that the tumors have reduced in size.
    Blood tests that were done on Friday morning revealed that Mason's blood levels were not high enough yet for further chemotherapy and Jade was given the green light to make a quick trip home for the weekend.
    It didn't turn out to be such a quick trip!! Flooding, due to record rainfall at the Alberta/Sask. border, closed the Trans-Canada Highway and Jade and Mason were forced to make a 5 hour detour - north at Dunmore (just east of Medicine Hat) to Oyen, then east to Rosetown and south again to Swift Current - on secondary highways that have never seen such traffic (5,000 vehicles per day)! The flooding that went through Maple Creek is the worst ever recorded!
    Jade and Mason arrived home at 1:30a.m. They will likely have to return to Calgary again on Monday.
    The pictures are of Mason at a playground near to Uncle Rick and Aunt Bev's. Feeding ducks, paddle boating and enjoying Bowness Park in Calgary. Mason entering the P.E.T. scanner. Two pictures of flooding across the Trans-Canada Highway.

Back to Calgary once again!

    Mason and his Mum drove back to Calgary on Tuesday. Mason had a CT Scan on Wednesday and was scheduled for a P.E.T. Scan today but this Scan was postponed until tomorrow. From "Wikepedia" : Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine imaging technique which produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body.  PET scans are increasingly read alongside CT or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, the combination ("co-registration") giving both anatomic and metabolic information (i.e., what the structure is, and what it is doing biochemically).
    Jade is requesting as many prayers and positive thoughts as possible right now since these tests are to determine how effective the chemotherapy has been. As usual, Mason is his same happy, positive self.

     Your loving thoughts and prayers are most welcome at this time.

Take Me Home Country Roads To The Place I Belong

Mason had some really great blood test results today and he is on his way home!!!! Uncle Jordan had travelled to Calgary last week to suprise Jade on her birthday so he is leading the way in his car and Jade and Mason are travelling behind in Jades car. Jade hopes that they will be able to stay until possibly the 9th of June so will be happy to have her car at home. They won't get into Moose Jaw until about 12:30am so will need some rest time tomorrow. Mason will have some follow-up blood tests done in Moose Jaw on Thursday. Hopefully, he will be able to have a visit with his favorite lab technician and friend, Sandra Wendt.

    Photos are memories of Disneyworld and Universal Studios in February.

Chemo - Round 4

    Mason went back into the Calgary Childrens Hospital on Tuesday, had blood tests and began hydrating for another round of chemo before the results of the blood tests came back. The blood test results were high enough that he started "round 4" at 3:00 p.m. Tuesday afternoon.

     Sometimes it begins to feel that these "rounds of chemo" are becoming routine and just another day in the ongoing struggle. I forget sometimes that this isn't a natural state of affairs. I think that I become complacent and because I don't have to be there moment by moment and day by day I sometimes just go on with my own life and don't realize the uncertainty that my beautiful daughter and my wonderful grandson have to live with every day. At other times I connect somehow and am most nearly brought to my knees. God, please, let it be me!                              Justin and Kale travelled to Calgary last nite and are spending their time today with Mason and Jade at the hospital. Mason has done really well once again and all things being well, as we expect, Mason will be discharged once again tomorrow. This will allow the whole family to spend some quality time together, over this long weekend, before Justin and Kale have to return to Moose Jaw.

    The first picture is of Mason and Kale on their DisneyWorld holiday in February this year. The other pictures were taken at Kales inline (rollerblade) tourney in Edmonton, May 14th to 16th. Good fun with the Beattie children.
SUNDAY, MAY 23rd, 5:00p.m. - I didn't get the update notification sent out last night so can now inform that Mason did get out of the hospital today. I spoke with Jade moments ago at uncle Rick and aunt Bevs. Mason is doing well and the family is considering what they will do tonite. Justin and Kale need to leave Calgary fairly early tomorrow. Justin needs to get ready for the annual camping trip with his grade 7 students and the forcast is calling for rain. Mason will have blood tests once again on Tuesday or Wednesday. He is also scheduled for a CT scan on June 7th and a PET scan on June 10th. Jade thinks that they will likely have to stay in Calgary throughout this period while Masons blood levels are rebuilding.

It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog!

Mason and Jade flew back to Calgary last Wednesday evening after a wonderful 6 days at home.  Mason and Kale and Jade helped grandpa Greg pick out a 7 yr. old Samoyed, Sasha, at the Moose Jaw Humane Society. Grandpa and Sasha have had a few trials and tribulations over the last few days. Mason had blood tests on Thursday. The doctors were planning another round of chemo but Masons blood levels were too low. As luck would have it, Kale was to attend an in-line (rollerblade) hockey tournament in Edmonton this past weekend. Justin had to stay in Moose Jaw for a training course so uncle Jordan volunteered to take Kale. Since Mason would not be in the hospital now, Jordan and Kale went to Calgary on Thursday and all 4 of them went together to Edmonton on Friday. Another great family time! Mason had a great weekend at the rink with Kale and the Moose Jaw team. They lost their first game on Friday 6 - 3. On Saturday they won the morning game 15 - 2. In the afternoon, they won 8 - 4. On Sunday, today, they won the morning game something like 8 - 4 also and qualified for the gold medal game in the afternoon. They played the team that they had lost to on Friday and ended up winning 14 - 0!!!!!! Kale had 2 goals and 3 assists in that game and 4 goals and 7 assists in the previous games. Way to go Kale!!! The big news is that they have now qualified for a tournament in San Jose!!!! Get your wallets out Moose Jaw - there's going to be a lot of fund raising before they can make it to San Jose!!

    Jade and Mason and Kale and Jordan are on their way back to Calgary as I write. Jordan and Kale will travel to Moose Jaw tomorrow. I suspect that Mason will be having more blood tests tomorrow as well.

    We are grateful for your continuing thoughts and prayers for Mason and will try to keep you all informed of his progress.

Mason is in Moose Jaw!!!!!

    Mason and his Mum flew home from Calgary last nite! Mason had to hold his mothers hand because she really doesn't like flying all that much. Masons blood counts bounced back dramatically once again.  Way to go Mason!!
    Kale was performing in a school musical at the Mae Wilson theatre when Mason and his Mum arrived. It was a great suprize! And it was a great musical too!!
    They will be home until next Wednesday, May 12th, when they will have to fly back to Calgary. Lots of rest and time with friends and family is in order.