April 23rd THE LAST BLOG ENTERY

It has been quite a journey for Seth and our family to travel. Cancer was never in my plans for my children but it came anyway. We learned many things through our journey such as... how much our kids really do love each other, that through Christ we are stronger then we thought we were, but most important thing we learned was that God never abandons us! With every test result and every surgical procedure God gave us the strength and He especially gave Seth the strength to not only get through all of his trials but to do it with a smile on his face (except through radiation). I know people might think that because all of the pictures we took of Seth he is smiling that this past 2 years were not that hard. But I look at it differently.... I see God's faithfullness with every smiling picture I look at. God does not say life is going to be easy but He does promise to never leave us. We along with Seth have been scared together, cried together, laughed together, found joy in the little accomplishments in life like the other day Seth said to me with a proud smile on his face..."mom you are going to surprised on how fast I can run." Since chemo he has been trying to regain his ability to run and it is finally starting to come back. I looked at Seth's school picture the other day and tears welled up in my eyes as I thought that my son might grow up to be a man. That is the first time I have allowed myself to think that way since July 2008. So many times we take the precious time with have with each other for granted. God has done great things in our family!!!! Thank you to everyone for all your support! We love you all!!!!

March 23rd

Seth had his wish finally granted last week. His wish was to ride 200 mph in a race car! And that is what we did. Todd, Shane, Seth and myself were blessed with a crazy NASCAR ride, one we will never forget. Due to their ages Sarah and Laura were only able to 110 mph around the track but they still had a blast! Thank you to Make a Wish I got to see my kids faces light up with true joy! I have seen a lot of children battling cancer and it breaks my heart to watch them in the hospital instead of enjoying life like other kids their ages. Cancer robs kids of their childhood and my dream would be to see pediatric cancer become extinct. But until then Make a Wish does a wonderful job of helping kids feel like kids again. We were treated so special and I can not say thank you enough to the organizations that helped make Seth's dream come true!

February 23rd

I was cleaning out one of our third floor rooms and found cards that people had sent us in the beginning of Seth's journey. How touching it was to read all of the love and support again. I sat and cried to remember how scary of a time that was for us not knowing the outcome of this journey. At the time I did not know if Seth was going to survive brain surgery. In my heart I knew that God was big enough to save Seth but I also knew the reality of what we were dealing with when you operate on a major part of your body. I am so thankful to look back through the past 2 years and be in owe of Gods faithfullness! On February 15th we celebrated Seth's 13th birthday. He is now officially a teenager! Seth told me last year that his wish would be that he would be able to run again for his 13th birthday. Well.... he ran! Not super fast like he used to but he is starting to run again...another milestone that Seth is crossing on the road to recovery. In two weeks our family is taking a trip to Charlotte North Carolina. We are going to the Richard Petty driving school. This is Seth's Make a Wish trip. He has waited for this trip for 2 years and it is finally going to happen. Seth's wish is to go REALLY fast in a race car and that is what he is getting. BTW.... Seth is not getting a brain stress test that was a miss communication between us and the doctors. The next time he goes to Hopkins will be for routine blood work.

January 27th

Good news again!!! The MRI was normal! Today Seth is starting is journey back into full time school. He seemed excited about it. This will be the first full day of school since he was in 5th grade, he is currently in 7th grade. In March they want to do a stress test on Seth's brain to see if radiation or chemo has put stress on his brain. It is a routine test and we are believing once again for good results. Thanks for praying :)

January 25th

Another MRI completed! Seth did very well through the MRI this morning. The travel there and back was not fun with heavy rain and losing one of my brake lights and turning signal on the van. But God was good and protected us :) Tomorrow Todd is traveling back down to Hopkins with Seth to find out the MRI results and for Seth to have a routine checkup with his oncologists. Amazing enough there was peace in the MRI room today. Seth and I said we must be getting used to this because he slept through most of it and I was falling asleep too. I will post tomorrow when we find out the results. Thanks for praying!

The picture I am posting is from our skiing vacation we took last week. For the first half of the day we all tried snowboarding but by lunch time we were ready to trade our snowboards in for a skis. We thought with Seth weak ankles that cause a balancing issue for him it would be hard for him to snowboard. Funny.... he did better then any of us! Thank you to the Believe in Tomorrow Childrens Foundation that blessed our family with a free vacation :)

January 9th

I hope everyone had a good New Years and a wonderful Christmas! Ours was awesome :) It feels so good to have things going towards normal life. Seth is doing very well. We have finally seen progress in his foot drop healing... yeah!!! He will be starting school full time on January 27th. This will be the first time he is in school a full day since Sept. 2008. This will be another milestone of healing for him. On January 25th Seth gets his routine MRI if you think of him you can be praying for him on that day. His MRIs are 2 hours long and he is an amazing trooper. You can also pray that Todd and I have peace as we wait for the results (that is always a nerve racking time). Many days I smile as I reflect the faithfulness of God over Seth's life these past 2 years. But as I look into the future I still need to take each day one at a time because we do not know what the future holds but thankfully we know God holds the future. I will update with his MRI results. Thank you everyone!

December 6th

I am happy to announce the port removal surgery went very well. Seth is still sore at the incision but I am sure that the pain will go away soon. Thank for praying! Seth's next appointment is January 25th, 2010 for an MRI and then January 26th for a routine doctors visit and to find out the results of the MRI.

December 2nd

Happy December!!!! Seth is doing very well! Yesterday we were at Johns Hopkins for a routine hearing test and found that the chemo has not destroyed anymore of his hearing. Seth still has the high frequency hearing loss in the left ear but some of the other frequencies have actually improved. So all in all that means that he will not have to wear a hearing device... yeah!! After the hearing test Seth and I went to clinic for an appointment with his oncologist. Everything went well and his blood test showed that his body is rebuilding itself. Even though Seth's blood counts are still low his counts are showing an improvement from the last time. And improvement is what we want to see. I told his doctor that I finally feel like I can "breathe" again. Tomorrow will be a special day it will truly mark the end of chemo (at least for me). Tomorrow is the day they are taking the port out!! Finally that device that gave access from the chemo to Seth's main vein is coming out. The procedure is schedule for 8:45am. You can be praying for Seth at that time. Before we left clinic the doctors and nurses celebrated with Seth. They had an ice cream cake and they sang a song of congratulations to him. They also gave Seth a T shirt that was signed that said "You Did It" across the front. How proud I am of him!!! But then you look around and see the other children so sad and you read it in their eyes them saying "what about me? Why can't I be done with all of this treatment?". As I celebrate with Seth and rejoice in all of the good news my heart is heavy for all the innocent children who are missing out on their childhood and having to deal with cancer. It is a horrible thing to watch your child go through and my heart just aches for the children and their families. Seth's cancer journey does not end tomorrow but will continue for years to come. Seth will be getting MRIs and having visits at Johns Hopkins every 3 months for the next year. Then it moves to every 6 months for 3 years and then after that once a year. I told Seth one time it is not a question is cancer going to change you because it will change you but it is more of a question on how is cancer going to change you, for the better or for the worse. Things are going to happen to us in this world it is our choice... do we become angry and hold onto unforgiveness or as hard as it might be do we find joy in the mist of our trials.

November 17th

Good news... Seth's blood work looked really good. His platelets came up and so did his white blood counts. We met with the surgeon who is going to be removing Seth's port and he gave us the go ahead to schedule the port removal appointment. Seth's port will be coming out on Dec. 3rd!!! This is exciting!! It feels wonderful to be moving in this direction. Seth also amazed us yesterday when he brought his report card home and showed us the he made second honors. Even though he has missed almost 4 out of the 12 weeks of school this marking period he still was able to achieve A's and B's in his classes. We just got the results back from his PSSA test that he took last spring when he was in the middle of chemo and it showed that he scored advanced in everything. This is so awesome to me because one of the common permanent side effects of chemo is learning disabilities. I pray that this is a sign to us that God protected his brain! One thing you could pray for us is for wisdom on know when to send Seth back to full day school. At the time I still pick him up at 12pm. He is able to have History, Algebra, and English in the morning and currently gets excused from all of his specials (gym, art....). Thank you all for your continue prayers Seth seems to be doing well.

Seth's Video

It was so good to see all of you who came Sunday night. For those who coulldn't make it we missed you and thanks for your support this past year. Here is a video of the last + year that we showed . God is so good. We will be making a trip to Johns Hopkins on Friday to meet with Seth's surgeon to discuss having his port removed. Another reminder that our long journey is nearing the end. Please pray for good success and health for the removal of the port. At this point Seth's platelets are to low to have the surgery. Please pray that his counts will raise so that he can have the surgery.

November 4th

Seth's appointment went well yesterday. His blood counts are not at what I was hoping for but they said with as much chemo as he had it would take awhile for his body to recover fully. Seth's white counts are 1,500 (up), platelets 64,000 (down), red count 8.6 (same), and ANC 800 (up). Seth's red counts are low enough for another transfusion but because of the chemo treatments being over they are going to see if it can come up on its own. His next appointment is for Friday Nov. 13th for labs and to talk to the surgeon about taking out Seth's port. If his counts are high enough for surgery it looks like they will remove the port by Thanksgiving. That will surely be something to be thankful about!
Some of you might remember a brave little boy named DJ who we have asked for prayer for . That brave little boy got his angel wings. Please remember his family in your prayers.

November 2nd

Happy November!!! Seth is doing so good and I praise God for that! Seth is once again bald. His hair was falling out too much that is was getting in his food and down his shirt and making him itchy. So the other day he had his first hair cut in 15 months. I thought his first hair cut would be a memorable moment not realizing that it would consist of me shaving his hair off and making him bald again. Seth and I were able to laugh about it and said maybe we should call him patches because he had hair some places and not others. It might sound silly we laugh about hair falling out but you have to take some things lightly or you get so frustrated with it all. School is going ok for him. He is having some trouble keeping up good grades because of all the school days he has missed but I am thankful for understanding teachers. Tomorrow Seth and I go back to Johns Hopkins for a checkup. I think this is the time we will find out what the future will look like such as appointments, MRIs and when should we expect Seth's port to be taken out. I can honestly say the future scares me a little bit. But the Lord reminds me how faithful He has been to Todd, me, and our children and that will never change. Just last week I was able to let myself be happy the treatments are over. I know that sounds crazy but when you are on the "journey" your goal is to get to the end and be down with all the chemo and radiation. But when it is over you are faced with the idea that the cancer could come back. And to watch any of my children go through that again is almost unbearable to me. But I praise God that He has placed an excitement in my heart for our future and a joy to be able to celebrate with my son! I am so proud of Seth even though he had to give up a year of his childhood, he is still filled with joy and makes us all laugh. And also our other children, Shane, Sarah, and Laura who have been amazing supporters to their brother through all of this. But we am most thankful to our Lord and Savior who with Him our family was able to walk a journey of cancer with peace in our hearts knowing God was in control.

October 26th

Today was the first day in almost 2 weeks that Seth was back in school. I am sure his blood counts are not up to normal yet but both Todd and I had peace about sending him back. Seth prayed last night that God would protect him from the flu. We believe God is more then able to do that. When I picked up Seth today for school he said everything went well but he started to notice that his hair is falling out again. It seems strange that his hair is falling out now when chemo is over. But I remember the doctors telling us that any change in his chemo schedule can cause his hair to fall out again. It reminds me that even though all the treatments are over his body is still fighting off all of the chemo that was put into his system. Thanks again for all your prayers and support. We hope to see you at the celebration for Seth on Nov. 8th @ 6:00pm. If you have not already emailed us and left us know if you can come please do so.

Thank you :) tmgood@ptd.net

Ocotober 21

Blood results.......
Red blood- 8.2 (normal 11-13)
Platelets- 52,000...up..(normal 250,000)
ANC- 671...up
White blood-1,100..up..(normal 7,500)

The doctor said everything looks like it is coming up and we do not need to go to Johns Hopkins till November 3rd for a routine visit. They also said it is up to us if we want to sent him back to school or not. You could pray for wisdom for us to know what to do.

October 20th

Seth has been out of school since last Tuesday. He feels fine but his blood counts are too low to be in public places. I am taking Seth for blood work today and hopefully his counts are coming up and the doctors will give the ok to go back to normal activities. The other day we did let him go to a "food fight" party with his youth group. Since the party was all outside we thought the germs would not be as bad and besides being at home 24/7 gets old fast. He was all excited about going but later told me how frustrating it was because he kept tripping when he was trying to chase other people in the field. His therapist said that she does not see any more improvement in the left foot. I know I ask for this a lot but it means so much to Seth to know that he will be able to keep up with the other kids again. Please pray and agree with us that his left foot will continue to heal. (the picture is of our kids at the food fight)

PARTY TIME!!!!!!!!

We would like to invited all of our blog supporters to a celebration of God's goodness!!!! Each and everyone of you have made a difference in our lives whether you were a big "commenter" or not. We definitely felt your prayers!!! Our family would be honored if you came to Seth's celebration party.... THE END OF TREATMENT.....

When: Sunday November 8th
Time: 6:00pm dinner provided
Place: Newport Dove 656 W. Newport Rd, Elm Pa 17521 (if you type the address into google maps use a Lititz address instead of Elm)

The only thing we ask is if you could email us and let us know if you plan to attend. Children are welcomed.

Our email is tmgood@ptd.net

October 16th

Seth did get his first platelet transfusion on Wednesday Oct. 14th. Everything went very well. Thankfully he did not have any negative reaction to the platelets. They told us that his white counts were lower then we thought they were. Basically Seth has no immune system right now which means he is pretty much house bound. If you know Seth you would know that being house bound is miserable for him. He hates the idea of not being able to go to school or even out in public. But even though it is hard for me to watch another time that my son have to give up some of his childhood I know that in the end it will be for the best. Seth is not aloud to go back to school until his counts come up and the next blood test will be done on Tuesday October 20th. Today Seth and I were working on his school work. When I was in school I hated Algebra and now I get to teach it to Seth (oh how fun!!!). I can tell Seth is getting frustrated with this whole ordeal. He does not say that exactly but just watching his reactions to things you can tell he is more emotional and has more tears then smiles. Seth had 9 sessions of chemo. The first 8 sessions he had no transfusions or delays then on the last session ,when we were so excited about being done with treatment, he had is first delay, first blood transfusion, and first platelet transfusion. We take one day at a time and praise God for the strength and peace He has given us (especially Seth).

blood count results...

We just got Seth's blood counts back and they are very low. His white counts are 100 (normal is 7500), platelets are at 12,000 (normal is 200,000) and is red counts are at 9.6 ( normal is 11). I am going to call down to Johns Hopkins first thing in the morning and see if they can give Seth a transfusion. Keep praying for protection with his counts being so low.

October 13th

Today is Seth's routine blood work to see how much the chemo hurt his blood counts. Hopefully his counts are good and he does not need any transfusions. He is scheduled to see his Doctor at Johns Hopkins on November 3rd. I am thinking we will hear details at that meeting about when his next MRI is and when they are planning on taking Seth's port out. Seth is doing really well :) He has more energy and his walking is getting better. We went away this weekend and drove to a boulder field. I was surprised that Seth went out on the rocks and had the balance and strength to walk across the rocks. It is at times like that that I see how far he has come since last July and I am just so thankful!! We are still planning on doing a celebration but need to schedule the place. I plan on posting the celebration date in the next few days.

October 3rd

I can not believe it... Seth's treatments are over!!!! We got home last night from the hospital and all is well. Seth feels fine and is so happy to be done. He still needs to get blood counts drawn in 2 weeks and they told us there is a good chance he will need a platelet transfusion. We are praying he does not need one but even if he does God will take care of him. If there is one thing I have learned this past 15 months is that God is trustworthy. Yes God answered our prayers with Seth but the thing that touches me the most is that God,the Creator of the Universe, never left our side. He gave us peace when we were scared, strength when we were week, wisdom to make parental and medical decisions, and joy in our sadness. As we are near the end of this journey it overwhelms me to think of the years of MRIs and checkups, but God will be with us every step of the way. Thank you so much for the prayers!!! We are planning on having a celebration party for Seth and we want to invite our blog supporters. We will be posting the date, time and place the celebration will be.

October 1

Seth was admitted today to the Hospital for his last round of chemo. YEAH!!! It was amazing to see how much his blood counts come up with the transfusion. His red blood counts are almost in normal range and his white blood counts have come up a lot since Monday. His platelets are coming up but not near normal. They usually want to see his platelet counts at 75K before they do chemo his are 60K. The doctors left the decision up to us, do we want Seth admitted and to get the chemo over with or go home and come back next week and try again. If we chose to be admitted today that makes his chances of needing a platelet transfusion after this round of chemo higher. I asked Seth and he said lets do the chemo and be done with it! So here we are... Seth is doing very well and is currently doing some of his school work. Keep praying that all goes well. Chemo should start around 5:30pm and then again tomorrow at 5:30pm.

September 29th

We came home last night around 8:00pm. The transfusion went well! Seth and I will be heading back to Hopkins on Thursday to see if his counts are high enough to admit him for chemo.

September 28th

We are here at the hospital and just got Seth's blood counts back. His first delay in chemo is happening today. Seth's blood counts were not high enough to get chemo and he will be getting a transfusion today. It looks like we will be here for an other 6 hours then home we go. They will try again for chemo next week. Be praying that Seth does not have an allergic reaction to the new blood.

September 27th

Tomorrow Seth and I are leaving for Johns Hopkins and we will be there until Wednesday. This marks Seth's last round of chemo. After this impatient chemo he will have to get some routine blood counts done to see if he needs any transfusions. So far none have been needed. It is hard to imagine that his journey is almost over. Last year at this time we never thought this time would come. God has been so good even in the difficult times. Since Seth has been on chemo he has not grown at all. The other day he said to me that he thinks he is shrinking because his friends are getting taller then him. Please pray that the chemo has not harmed his growth and also that his feet will continue to get better. His right foot is doing great while his left foot is having trouble retuning to normal. This the verse we have been claiming Proverbs 3:23 Then you willgo on your way in safety and your foot will not stumble.

September 18th

We got Seth's blood test results back and good news again! His counts are rising which means he does not need a blood transfusion... yeah!!! Seth gets admitted on Sept 28th for his last round of chemo. Wow, a year ago I thought I would never see the end and now we are able to grasp it. Even though I am so excited about God's faithfulness over Seth it burdens me to see other kids suffering so much. A long time ago we introduced you to a little boy named DJ. DJ had a brain tumor the same time Seth did but later we found out their cancers were totally different. I just found out little 4 year old DJ is not doing good at all. Please as you pray for Seth remember DJ and his family in your prayers too.

September 9th

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend. We celebrated by going camping with family and we had an awesome time! Seth had another routine blood test yesterday and we got a call from our family doctors office to tell us that his counts are once again critically low. His platelets are at 22,000; white blood counts are at 1,000; and his red blood count is at 7.24 (this one would answer the question on why he is so tired). Since we choose to have most of Seth's blood work done at our local family doctor's office we usually hear from them first and then we wait to hear from Johns Hopkins what the next step will be. So far I have not heard from Johns Hopkins.
It was hard for me to send Seth to school today because as a mom you just want to put your arms around your kids and protect them from any possible danger. But God keeps reminding me that I have to let Seth go and trust that He will be always be with him. You can pray that Seth's blood counts come up and for physical strength to be able to go to school each day. At the beginning of this process the doctor's at Johns Hopkins told us that chemo will be like a boxing round. With each punch the boxer has a harder time of getting back up and continuing to fight. So with each round of chemo Seth receives it will be harder for his body to recover. And we are finding that to be very true.

September 3rd

Exhaustion has hit! Seth was so tired he could not function this morning at breakfast. So I left him go back to bed. With his red blood counts being so low he tends not to have very much energy and tires very easily. So I have learned to listen to his body and let him rest. His body is fighting off a lot of junk with the chemo and we need to let him take care of himself. Seth was in tears over frustration this morning. He wants so badly to go to school and have fun with his friends and yet his body is telling him to slow down. Please continue to pray for emotional strength for him.

September 2nd

Day 3 of school and all is going well. Like Seth has told you he is really enjoying being with his friends again. He does not seem embarrassed about wearing his foot braces or not having hair but he did tell me that it bothers him to hear his feet slapping, due to his foot drop, in the hallways of the school. I am sure no one else really hears it but you know how it is when you are self conscious of something, you hear it 10 times more then anyone else. Everyone has been so good to him and for that I am very thankful.
I just heard from Johns Hopkins about Seth's blood counts and once again his platelets are low(28,000), his white blood counts are at 1,200 which is OK and his red blood counts (give your body energy) are low. He will be getting his blood drawn on Tuesday to see if his counts came up. This whole process is getting old and tiring. Do not get me wrong, I am very grateful for all of the good things that have happened through this journey but, it gets to a point when you are just tired. Pray for protection for Seth since his platelets are so low and also that his blood counts come up by Tuesday.

September 1st

Today I had my second day of school. I had lots of fun being with my friends again. During school I have English, Pre-Algebra and History, so far I like all of them. Nobody made fun of me about not having hair or wearing foot braces. My mom picks me up at school around noon. And when I get home I eat lunch and then take a long and relaxing nap. I am glad to be back at school!
~Seth

August 28th

How the summer flew by!!! I was looking at some of our pictures from this summer and smiled because I remembered before summer started being worried it would be the worst summer ever. But the pictures showed the opposite. Even though Seth had chemo we were still able to do a few family vacations and have fun as a family. I view our summer as different but good. God is so amazing! School starts on Monday and I have peace about sending my kids. Not only is Seth starting school again, our daughter Sarah is going to be in the Middle School for the first time, our other son Shane is entering 9th grade at the High School and our youngest Laura is going into 2nd grade. Lots of changes but change is good. Our school district has been so wonderful to work with. They basically do what we request, what a blessing it is to have the support of the school district. I can not say enough about how good they have been to us! Seth is starting half days of school on Monday and probably continue that through Thanksgiving. The district was able to change his schedule so that he could receive all of his core subjects in the morning. We were at the pool the other day and a friend he knew from school came up to him and was so glad to see Seth. The friend asked if he was planning on going back to school, Seth said yes and the boy gave Seth a high-five and shouted "alright man!" Little things like that are some of the ways God shows us his faithfulness. I was concerned about how the other kids would treat Seth but God always lets us know He is taking care of our worries. Seth's legs are continuing to get stronger and his walking is slowing showing signs of normality. On Monday Seth will be getting his routine blood work done to see where his counts are at. You can continue to pray for good results. Most of his counts were on the lower end when he got the last dose of chemo so hopefully they do not drop too much.

August 20th

Another chemo treatment down..... yesterday Seth and Todd came home from the hospital. Seth did not get sick but was very tired. Seth usually does not sleep well in the hospital because he is up most of the night going to the bathroom due to all the fluids they give him to help protect his organs from the chemo. All in all everything went well. In a week they will start testing his blood to see if any transfusions are needed. I have been in contact with our school district to see if we can work out a plan for Seth to start school. I am amazed at how easy they are to work with. Seth is going to try to start school for half days, I have to be honest I am a little nervous. Seth and I were home together all last year, we cried together, laughed together, I walked through a lot with him and now it is time to let him go. To me our last year has been a consent walk of faith and trusting in God, even when I was so tired and weary God was so strong. So once again I need to trust that God will protect Seth from sickness, injuries, and ridicule as he regains some of his normal life back and goes to school. Thank you for all the prayers they are making a big difference in our lives!

August 18th

Today is the start of session #8. Todd and Seth left for the hospital this morning and will be there until tomorrow evening. We found out yesterday that some of the chemo has caused some high frequency hearing loss in Seth's left ear. The hearing that he did loss will never come back it is a permanent side effect. The chemo that Seth is getting tonight is the cause of the hearing loss. Pray there will not be any further damage. This past weekend we were camping with our youth group. Seth hiked up and down a step part of the mountain that was hard to do with normal function of your feet. He also jumped rope, I know that sound easy but prier to this weekend he was not able to jump off the ground. He is now able to jump about 2 inches off the ground. That is a good sign that the nerve damaged by Vanchristine (chemo) is starting to heal. He is also getting his appetite back, well at least he was before this chemo treatment. Another good thing is his platelet counts came up to 90,000 which means he is out of the danger zone. Please continue to pray that Seth has the strength for these last 2 rounds of chemo. Even though the end is so close it can fell so far away.

August 13th

We just got back from a fun time away with friends. We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Seth got to go tubing and even though he wanted to stand up on the tub while the boat was moving he controlled himself and settled for sitting on his knees instead. Due to the possibility of Seth having low platelets I did not want him to hit his head in the water. We told him next year he can be as wild as he wants to be. Seth has not had his blood counts tested lately but we are believing the platelet count is rising. He is scheduled to have a routine hearing test on Monday, August 17th. The reason they test his hearing is because the one chemo he gets can destroy some of his hearing. They have told us it is not a matter of if Seth's hearing is harmed it is a matter of when. But so far his hearing has been perfect. So once again we stand of faith that God will protect him. Seth had physical therapy today and his right leg seems to be getting stronger but the left is not quite there yet. Continue to pray that the nerve that controls the muscle in Seth's left leg starts to heal and that he will be walking without his braces soon. There is a Bible verse that Seth keeps by his bed, Proverbs 3:23 "Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble." Today we were out at the mall and I bought Seth a backpack for school. I know this seems so simple but the smile on his face, when I said "this is so exciting that we have to buy this because you are going back to school" , brings tears to my eyes. Seth's next chemo session will start on Tuesday the 18th he will be in the hospital for 2 days. This will be session #8 we are getting to the end of the chemo journey but we are not quite there yet. Please pray for everything to go well and that he does not get sick.

August 1

The summer seems to be flying by...... We found out yesterday that Seth's platelet count went up!! As of a couple of days ago it was 37,000, that is 10,000 more then before. He still needs to be careful since the counts are still low but praise God they are rising and it looks like once again no transfusion. Seth left with Todd and Shane to go on the father-son camping trip. Thank you for all the prayers he was so looking forward to this weekend. Seth once said if he could live anywhere it would be in a cabin in the woods. He loves to camp! Although Seth is happy to hopefully start school with the other children he was very bummed that he was not able to play fall baseball with his brother and cousin. Continue to pray for him as he have to give up things that a 12 year old boy loves to do, all because of cancer. His next chemo treatment will be in mid August. We will find out exact date closer to the time. I will keep you posted.

July 28th

I just got off the phone with Seth's doctor from Johns Hopkins. It looks like his platelets are not low enough for them to transfuse him. Which means another blood test on Thursday to see where the counts are at. Seth is supposed to go on a father son camping weekend with Todd and Shane, he is so excited. Please pray that his counts are heading back to normal so he can go. Also we have some good news... the MRI was clear!!!!!! I feel like a weight was lifted off my shoulders and now I can breathe again.

July 27th

Today Seth had another blood test done to see if his platelets came up. Unfortunately they did not. His platelets were at 30,000 last week and went down to 26,000 this week. Just to give you an idea... a normal persons platelet counts are 200,000 and up. It looks like we will be taking him to Hopkins for his first transfusion. Please continue to pray for protection since having such low platelet counts can result in a lot of bruising and if he hits his head it can bruise his brain.

July 23rd

We have not heard about the results of the MRI yet but the hospital did call about Seth's latest blood counts. His counts were ok except for the platelets which were low. He needs to get his counts tested again on Monday to see if the platelet counts come up. If they do not I assume he will need a platelet transfusion. We were also told that Seth may not do any activities that might result in a head injury this is due to the platelet counts. When your platelets are low hitting your head can result in brain damage. Please pray for protection over him as we wait for his counts to come back up. I will post the MRI results as soon as we get them.

July 18th

Today marks a year since Seth's diagnosis. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday and other times it seems like forever since I saw Seth just being our crazy Seth. How we are so thankful to the Lord for helping Seth get to the one year mark. I anticipated this summer to be hard but so far it has been better then we all could have expected. There are times that my hearts desire is to see Seth running everywhere and climbing trees (I would even love to see him climbing out of our bathroom window again!!). But I have to believe that this is a season and seasons change. We praise God for all the answered prayers and the strength that He has given Seth, Todd and me as parents, and also Shane, Sarah and Laura as the siblings. Tuesday we will be taking Seth to Johns Hopkins for a routine MRI. Please be praying for a clear scan!!! Also remember me as it seems these are challenging on me. I tend to be anxious about each test and I usually dread the waiting process. Seth seems to be at peace and thinks it is just something that needs to be done. Wednesday Seth will be getting blood work done at our home doctors to see where his counts are at (so far Seth did not need any transfusions). If all goes well his next chemo will be the middle of August which will be session #8. Yeah!!! 2 more session of chemo to go. I will keep you posted with the results. By the way... Thankyou to everyone who has sent Seth cards this past year, he saved everyone of them. He told me he counted 225 cards today. What a blessing to have so much support! The picture above is of Seth and his siblings Shane, Sarah and Laura, also his friends Nathaniel, Nicolas, and Noah.

July 10th

Seth and I came home from the hospital on Tuesday night. So far he does not feel sick at all just a little tired. He went to his youth group last night and came to me when he got back and with a smile on his face said "mom, I ran tonight". Even if it is with the help of his foot braces I still rejoice with him! It has been an entire year since I heard those words and it was wonderful to see how hopeful his face looked. I was thinking about it on the way home from the hospital how we trust the doctors because of their knowledge and schooling. How much more should we trust God because of his knowledge and wisdom. The one scripture that has been going through my head lately is "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding....." Since Seth was diagnosed almost a year ago I have found that I could not answer a lot of Seth's many questions or understand why he was going through childhood cancer, but I have learned to trust God and not rely on my own thinking. Well once again I leave you with a big Thank you for all of your prayers! The doctor told us that the chemo drug that Seth got this time leaves most kids feeling sick as a dog but Seth has not had a bit of nausea and is able to eat normally. Praise God!

July 6th

It is almost 5:30pm and we finally got a room. We got to the hospital at 9:00am for Seth's blood counts but did not have to be back for the admitting till 1:00pm. So Seth and I took the Metro into Inner Harbor and had a fun couple of hours at the Aquarium. Dr. Cohen, Seth's head doctor, decided because of the foot drop that Seth suffers from he is going to take out the Vanchristine chemo totally. Seth is very happy!! I am also happy but a little nervous on how this is going to effect treatment. The doctors say if happens a lot so we are trusting their judgement. One good thing is instead of a 3 week break between chemo treatments he will have a 5 week break since he does not need to go to Johns Hopkins for the outpatient chemo. It looks like Seth will start getting his chemo this evening some time. It is a 6 hour chemo drip and then he needs 12 hours of hydration. Thanks for all the prayers!

July 5th

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! We celebrated with a cookout with friends and then watching the fireworks. Tomorrow is the big day... the start of session #7. Seth and I, mom, will be in the hospital for 2 days. Seth has been doing really good except he realized last night that the hair he was growing back has started to fall out again. With the help from the foot braces that he wears Seth is able to keep up with the other kids this summer. So the summer that he was dreading has turned out to be better then we expected. Keep him in your prayers this chemo tends to be hard on him.

June 30th

Seth had his routine blood work done to see where his blood counts are at. Thankfully he does not need a transfusion. So we have finished session #6! Seth will be admitted on July 6th to Johns Hopkins for the start of session #7. The chemo that he gets during this session tends to be hard on him. They are also starting the Vanchristine again. It was so nice to watch his walking improve but now with the Vanchristine we expect it to get worse. Please pray that he does not get sick on the chemo and also that his walking continues to improve.

June 22nd

We are home from a wonderful vacation at the beach! We were very blessed to stay at the Believe in Tomorrow Children's House at Fenwick Island. The foundation let us stay at the house for free and local Ocean City businesses donated tickets to their attractions. Wow..... how touched we were to be recipients of such generosity! We were given meals out, water park passes, mini golf, laser tag, pizza, bike rentals, our kids even got to drive the Coast Guard boat. It was so nice to be away from the busyness of home life and have fun as a family. Seth had great time being with his siblings. It was neat to see him and his brother playing around on the beach just like normal kids again. With the help of Todd, Seth was able to go out in the ocean and dive under the waves just like before. We also got to meet a lot of neat families that are in the same seasons of their lives as we are.... a child with cancer.

I am not sure when Seth's next hospital appointment is yet. I will let you know when I find out. They reduced the amount of the Vanchristine chemo to help his walking improve and it seems to be working. Seth is using his braces on a regular bases and is doing very well with them. All in all Seth is doing really well. His attitude is better but it helps we now have "crazy" days with all the kids home from school. But we love "crazy" days!!

Thank you for all the prayers!!!! God has been so faithful giving us strength and grace for this journey. I take one day at a time and try not to think of the "what ifs". I am thankful for each day and each smile.

Wednesday June 10th

We arrived home at 10.30. Seth is doing well and looking forward to vacation at the beach next week. It is nice to be home again.

Monday June 8th

Today Seth and I reported for his 6th session. After a morning blood test we had a three hour break. We went to inner harbor for our free time. We were able to tour the light house and enjoy eating on the pier. I tried to take a picture of Seth at the light house but my camera battery was broken. Anyhow we had a great time. We checked into the hospital at 1.30 and things are going well. Seth is getting treatments through the night and tomorrow. the doctor said we may be released tomorrow night; we were originally planning to stay till Wednesday. Please pray that Seth's does well with treatment.

Thanks Todd and Seth

May 29th

I hope everyone had a nice Memorial day! We had a good time being with family. Seth enjoyed having his cousins to play with and do crazy kids stuff with:). He was even out playing baseball and made it home a few times.

Today was the day Seth got his foot braces. It is amazing how much better he can walk with them. Seth said he really likes them but is a concerned that other kids are going to think he looks weird. Seth finished school a few days ago so he is officially a 7th grader:). He seems to be doing well emotionally and is eating well. Thanks for all the prayers! Seth's next chemo session will be on June 8th.

May 20th

Seth's week seems to be going better. We started out the week with a "field trip" to the Whitaker Center with Bryce, one of Seth's good friends. They had a lot of fun walking into a hurricane and seeing a 3D show (those are NOT Seth's new glasses!). Seth told me he is not looking forward to the summer because he will not be able to run. But I know that God has been so faithful and He will give Seth the grace he needs. Even though I know that in my heart it has been difficult for me to watch. I can see in his eyes the desire to be right up there with the other kids running and playing but his feet hold him back. I have been reading the promises in Isaiah 40.... "Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will walk and not grow weary, they will run and not grow faint". Seth is almost done with school and it looks like he will graduate 6th grade with honors. We are so thank-you for all the prayers!

May 15th

It has been a hard week for Seth. He is tired of going through all of these treatments and seemed to be depressed the past few days. After he found out today was Friday and his siblings are home for the weekend it seemed like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders. He really wants to be back to what he was before all of this. Please continue to pray for him and also for Todd and I. We need wisdom to answer the questions he asks us.

May 12th

Today was Seth's last day of chemo for session #5 and still no blood transfusions needed! His next round will start on June 8th with a 3 day admitting to the hospital. Today the doctor said that it looks like Seth's walking has been getting worse and he thinks it is time to reduce the Vanchristine dosage. Vanchristine is the chemo drug that is causes the foot drop. Reducing the dosage will hopefully help his walking to improve. I told the doctor that Seth's goal is to be able to run on his 13th birthday (Feb. 15th). The doctor just looked at me with doubt and told me it takes close to a year to run. We are still believing for a miracle! Until then Seth will be wearing braces on his feet to prevent him from tripping over his toes. He was fitted for them yesterday and we should have the braces by the end of the month. Seth seems to be fine with wearing the braces even though a year ago that would have been the worst thing you could have done to him. I think it is harder for me to watch him have to rely on braces to help him walk (because I know how bad he wants to be back to normal) then it is on him. I guess that is normal for a mom :). I would like to leave you with a poem Seth wrote for school it is called "Just Because".

(The top photo is of Seth getting the cast made to fit his braces

The bottom photo is of him and his brother canoeing)

Just Because

Just because I have cancer

I'm not weird

I'm not dumb

Just because I have cancer

I'm not scared

I'm not embarrassed

Just because I have cancer

I'm not bad

I'm not mean

Just because I have cancer-treat me like a

normal kid.

by Seth Good

may 4

Thank you for praying for me. My eyes feel better. Tomorrow I will be getting the outpatient chemo.
-Seth