Thank goodness it's friday

Connor played a lot of UNO today. He played standing, sitting, and kneeling. He played basketball, batted balloons, crawled for beanbags, used the walker, went to "hospital" school and had group speech Therapy with a 5 year old that has the same condition as him.

It was nice to hear my son was empathetic with the other little boy who was crying, and scared and wanting his dad. They played cars, and it was nice for Connor to finally interact with another child.

Connor had to be extra tough today, he had to have his staples removed and he had to have his "Chest Stickers" removed (he hates removing tape and stickers and band-aids with a passion). He did super, hardly any tears!

Daddy came to spend the night tonight which was a highlight for Connor. We were able to go out to Applebees for a nice dinner. After Dinner Connor and daddy popped popcorn and watched the Star Wars The Clone Wars cartoon.

Something funny: The "Hospital" Teacher asked Connor if he knew the difference between a circle and an Oval (Connor can identify a circle and oval), but he was having trouble coming up with the verbiage to describe the "difference" between the two. So the teacher explained that an Egg was the shape of an Oval, and an Orange was a shape of a Circle. Then she asked "What is the difference between an egg and an Orange?" Connor's reply "An Egg is White".

That was the end of that discussion. She thought that was hilarious.

I'm thankful: Connor was extra brave today

Thursday What a Blur......

Yesterday was so busy for Connor (but good). He played board games while sitting and kneeling, hit balloons, threw beanbags, went to "Hospital School", and was fitted for a walker. BUT THE BEST PART was that he got to ride a trike outside in the garden. I so wish I could have been down there to see that (instead of talking to the radiologist), he came back soo excited to share, so proud of himself. Since he hasn't had much "control" over his own mobility, I'm sure it was exhilarating.

Meeting with the radiologist was pretty intense. He is one of the bearers of bad news. He came to tell me about all the not so great side effects of Radiation: Hair Loss, Pituitary gland damage, Brain Damage, being Sterile, Smaller Skull, and Stunted growth, eventual hearing loss.

The standard treatment is to radiate the site where the tumor was removed, then radiate the rest of the brain to kill any cancerous cells that may not have grown yet, and then radiate the spine to eliminate any cancerous cells that may be there.

Then if that isn't enough for you, as a parent you get to choose: The standard treatment above or you can participate in a "trial" that's intended to "reduce the side effects of radiation". With the trial: the same amount of radiation is applied to the site, but LESS to the rest of the brain and spine. But the kicker is: if it wasn't enough you CANNOT repeat radiation treatment to that area again.

A positive that came from this meeting with "Dr. Doom" was that Connor's physical strength was good, he told me he was a 4 out of 5 (5 being full strength).

Connor had Art Therapy which really excited him. Imagine an Art Room with anything you wanted to do! Clay, painting, Collage, Coloring , ANYTHING!. His therapist was so awesome. She told him that he could talk to her about "anything", didn't even have to be art, he was so comfortable with her. He decided to paint a mask. She told him he could paint things on the inside that maybe he didn't want anyone to see, and paint what he wanted to share on the outside. He used lots of colors, and lots of different types of brushes. He loved using gold and told her he wanted to call his mask "Gold Man". She asked Connor if "Gold Man" had any special powers, he said yeah "He can eliminate bad guys and fly".

Greg and My friend Nikki came to visit (it was nice being to chat with someone not wearing scrubs or a lab coat), she came with us to the Group T-shirt painting activity and lent her artistic talent to Connor's shirt, and we had a "delicious" meal downstairs.

Greg gets to stay the night tonight (yay!!!!! it's hard being away from him) and then we get to go home for a short visit after Connor's last session on Saturday.

It doesn't surprise me that: The batteries in Connor's hulk gloves have already died because of too much use.

It was funny when: The Art Therapist told Connor if he could listen to music in there, and he asked if she had "Quiet Riot".

Here's to another day of flying and fighting evil.

Workout Wednesday

The therapists kept Connor very busy today. He played board games, threw bean bags, practiced kneeling,and crawling and walking with a walker.

Seeing that one of his goals is to walk with a walker (at minimum) before he can leave, and he's doing it the first day, I'd say that's great progress.

Today was BINGO night and Connor won twice!!! yay!!! He won a lego airplane, and these giant HULK fist gloves that make HULK sounds. He is soooo in love with those.

Tomorrow he has a full schedule, Gym, PT and OT, Speech, School, Art Therapy, Neuropsych and Group Therapy.

He also is wearing a patch to help strengthen his left eye, which the therapist customized by putting a dinosaur sticker on it. He gets so much positive attention from his "cool" patch he just loves it.

He's starting a reward system tomorrow which he excited about too.

He found a new game that he loves "Guess Who", he is sooo addicted to it.

What put a smile on my face today: Connor being so proud of his accomplishments

A workout for Connor

Today Connor met with his Therapists. I was so glad we took a few days off to take a little break from the Hospital. He came back with a much better attitude than what he left with.

I was impressed with the Therapists he had this morning, they relieved his concerns about this stay being "painful". They are making this a "fun" experience with play therapy and exercises. It was also nice that they took a lot of time asking me questions about his interests so that they could personalize the therapy.

They provide us with a daily schedule so that we can use the Free time to our liking. Tomorrow he will meet with physical therapists, Occupational therapists, Speech Therapists and he will have 30 minutes of "School".

They really provide a lot of great activities for the Children here. There is a child life liaison, (we call her the toy lady) who you can ask for any type of toy and she brings it. For Connor's request of "Knights and Castles" he received a bounty of a Lego castle set, a bag of knights, a Playmobil Knight and Dragon, a moon sand build your own castle set, and a pink princess castle (which he quickly passed on).

Hollywood Video sponsors "Tuesday video night", where we get to see a new video, and have refreshments.
Tomorrow is BINGO night (our personal favorite) where everyone is a winner.
(He may not want to leave).

We were informed today that there is a 3rd child being treated for a Medulloblastoma (the same type of tumor Connor had removed) this week. I'm hoping Connor will get to make some new friendships with these young children during his therapy.

The Physicians seem very hopeful that he will do very well with his Therapy. He has lots of physical strength and they will focus on improving his balance.

That kid is pretty smart. The speech therapist said "Point to your nose and point to me", so he points to his nose with his index finger, and uses his pinky to point to her. "Oh no, she said, I wanted you to point to your nose and THEN point to me", "Oh that's not what you said", he said. (I think he passed the "follows directions" portion of the interview)

So it was a good first day, and he's looking forward to playing tomorrow, there isn't much more I could ask for.

Best part of the day: Seeing my son trust

A day of normalcy

After a whirlwind week, we settled into a day of normalcy.

Even if it was just for one day it was nice. We played outside did some more homemade therapy (threw bean bags, tossed and kicked balls, did some puzzles and played games).

Connor played a computer game with his dad (a personal favorite of his), and right now he is cracking up watching funniest home videos (another personal favorite). Oh how I love his laugh.

We took a little trip to see his teacher after school today. The students in Miss Horn's class made a beautiful poster for Connor, and he will proudly hang it in his room at the hospital this week.

Connor asked if he could take pictures of his therapy so he can show his friends what "he has been up to" (it sounds like a scrapbook in the making).

Tonight we will be busy packing for our stay, and we're looking forward to the therapy, and meeting new people.

Many people have asked for our address to send cards and well wishes so I wanted to post it here:
Connor Solomon
52988 NW EJ Smith Rd
Scappoose OR 97056


What amazed me today: The kindness and compassion of young children sending kind thoughts to a friend in need.

What a Sunny Sunday

We spent a lot of time outside today enjoying the beautiful sunshine. I think the fresh breeze and warm sun felt good on Connor's body.

He threw bean bags and balls, he practiced kicking and writing his name. He was so determined today, excited to try things, and he had a great sense of humor about everything.

It really is amazing to see more and more improvement everyday.

We all layed down on the grass taking it all in, it was nice to be together enjoying each other (the most important thing).

Connor was adamant about going to Pizza (he even had a request of BBQ chicken a pineapple), and calling his friend to come. He wanted to show his friend that he was OK, and wanted to brag about his battle scars.

He is excited about starting physical therapy, and the thought of making some new friends. There will be another boy close to Connor's age participating in therapy who had the same type of tumor removed last weekend, it will be nice if they can help support eachother through this process.

The best part of today: Laying in the sun, watching the clouds