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

May 1

Seth has been having pain in his eyes. This is a side effect of the last dose of chemo. Please pray for the pain to go away!

Arpil 29th

We came home from the hospital yesterday early evening. Seth did not get sick at the hospital and says he is still feeling fine. We are thankful for that but as we have learned in the past side effects from this chemo can come a few days after chemo. This past weekend we were able to travel to Indiana for a wedding and to visit Todd's family. We had a wonderful time! It was nice that the doctors left Seth have an extra week off chemo so he could enjoy the trip. Seth officially half way done with his chemo treatments! He is not celebrating too much because for him the end still seems far away.

April 28th

Seth and I are in the hospital today for the start of session #5. As we were driving to Baltimore today I noticed some flowers along hwy 83. It struck me that we have seen the changes of all the seasons on 83 south this past year. We started this journey in the heat of the summer, we saw the leaves on the trees changing colors and falling off. We have driven in ice and snow storms and now we are witnessing new life blooming.
Thank you so much for praying for Seth's walking. It is not back to normal but we have noticed an improvement in the last week. We are also thrilled to find out that the chemo drugs have not harmed his hearing. Seth has gained some weight, he is up to 78.5 lbs! Please pray that this chemo treatment goes well. That he does not get sick and that the chemo will not have lasting side effects.

April 18th

We hope you all had a happy Easter! Since the last blog update Seth has been doing better emotional. He is even eating and trying to get all his calories in on his own! But now it seems like his walking is getting worse. Seth was scheduled to be admitted on Monday the 20th for chemo but we have asked to wait until Tuesday the 28th. We are traveling out to Indiana and thought he would have a much better trip if he was not coming off the chemo treatment. We are looking forward to a nice weekend as a family! Continue to pray for Seth as his mind tries to sort through all his questions. Also pray for his walking that it would not get any worse.

April 6th

Praise God... Seth did not need a platelet transfusion!! His counts are still low but they are out of the dangerous zone. Last week was a really hard week emotionally. He lost 4 pounds and was so frustrated with eating and having to go through all of this crazy stuff. Yesturday I realized how drained emotionally I really was. It is hard to hear your son tell you that he hates himself and hates his life. But who can blame a 12 year old boy for hating to have to go through cancer. I feel his frustration with it and also share the same hate for cancer, but the other day I was thinking of it from a different prespective. Cancer has brought a closeness to Seth and his brother that they have never had, it has made us utterly dependent of God (realizing that we can not make it through life without God) and has made us as parents take joy in the simply things in life. How amazing it is that God can take something so horrible and bring some good out of it. This morning Seth's attitude is really good and seems to be happy and eating again. He still continues physical theropy every Monday and is being schooled with his homebound tutor. Seth is really looking forward to having his siblings home for Easter break this week. Thank you again for all your prayers! Also a special thankyou to Danielle Kreider who made a "count down to the end of chemo chain" for Seth. He cuts one off every night and makes sure he reads the bible verse on the one he removed. Words can not explain how blessed we are for all you!

March 27th

Seth is a "plump" 77 pounds!!! The chemo treatment went well yesterday and it is good to be done with chemo for a few weeks. Seth is having a good day today. The other kids have off school and I can hear him and Laura making up songs and laughing together as I am typing. Seth is going to have to have his blood counts tested on Tuesday. His platelets were 49,000. A low count for someone not on chemo would be 120,000. If his do not go up by Tuesday he will need a platelet transfusion. You can pray they come up on their own. The next round of chemo will start on April 20th.

March 26th

Today is another trip to Baltimore for chemo. This is the last chemo treatment in session #4. After this Seth gets a 3 week break. We all love the breaks!! He is still doing really well on the chemo. The only visible side effect is his difficulty with running and walking. Seth is currently in physical therapy to try to help keep the muscles loose. The one Bible scripture that God showed me was Proverbs 4:12- When you walk your steps will not be hampered and when you run you will not stumble. That is Seth's desire!! I continue to pray that there are no perminate side effects that are not visible to our eyes, such as learning disabilities and growth stunting. But I have to remind myself that God has done amazing things for Seth and He will continue to be faithful. Seth's emotional state has continued to be good. He has also taken responsibility for some of his eating during the day. According to our scales he is gaining weight!! We cannot say Thank you enough for all the prayers. You might not see the effects of your prayers but we see them daily! I do not think there has been a time that we posted our struggles on this blog and the problem was not resolved. We stand in owe of God's faithfulness!!!!!

March 17th

Thank you everyone for praying! Seth's emotional state is so much better. He was laughing and joking around yesterday. He was even eating food without us sitting beside him and encouraging him to take each bite. That does not seem like much but it was HUGE to us!! I am sure Seth lost some of the weight that he gained just from having some sickness from the chemo. Seth and I will be going to Johns Hopkins on Thursday for his out patient chemo and then again next Thursday for the same chemo. After that a 3 week break and thus ends session #4. Almost halfway to the end!!

March 12th Home Sweet Home

Seth and I arrived home about 6.00 this evening. It is nice to be home again. Seth was able to keep his food down the rest of the day praise the Lord. We are almost 1/2 way finished with the treatment. This was the beginning of session 4 and we have a total of 9. Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. God's grace is so good.

March 12th

Good morning all from Johns Hopkins,

We found out great news yesterday the Seth's MRI results are clear and no mass is forming. We stayed overnight as Seth got his chemo last night. he doctors and nurses were so impressed the Seth has gain weight. If you have seen the show the biggest loser our family was like that the last couple of weeks except we were the biggest gainer. Marie has been Seth's personal trainer. Well yesterday was our weigh in and Seth gained a whopping 5 pounds. It was like all those tough times were worth it. We are hoping that this weight gain will inspire Seth to continue eat more. He still not sure.

Last night was a tough night. Seth threw up 5 times during the night. We slept into 10.30 since our night was so restless. Please pray that Seth will be able to keep food down and be able to leave. We will be able to leave around 3.00 today if Seth is able to keep everything down.

March 11th

We have not heard Seth's MRI results yet. We are hoping that means good news. I think we will find out the results today since Todd and Seth will be at the hospital. Today is the start of session #4. He will be staying over night and usually gets his chemo during the night while he is sleeping (or trying to sleep). This is the chemo that makes him sick so please pray that all will go well and his body will not react to the poison they are putting into his body. So far Seth has gained 4 pounds! This is not as easy as it sounds. Seth does not have a huge appetite at least not the kind it takes to gain weight. Todd and I are consumed with his eating. This is getting very tiring for all of us (Seth included). This past week was especially hard with lots of emotions and tears. Seth has been asking questions again the kind there are no answers for such as "why did God pick me to go through this?" and "If God says ask and you will receive how comes when I ask him for this to be over He does not let it happen?". Please continue to pray for emotional strength for our family.

March 5th

Today Seth had his routine MRI scan of the brain and his hearing test. The hearing test showed that the chemo has not effected his hearing at all! We did not find out the results of the MRI so once again we are anxiously waiting for the news. I think the nurse thought we were a little crazy because when she told us Seth's MRI was going to be 30 minutes long we practically jumped for joy. Since the other 3 MRI's Seth had were 2 hours long we expected the same for this one. But like I told the nurse we are happy with every good thing that happens and a shorter MRI was reason to celebrate!

Febuary 27th

Seth does NOT need a blood transfusion!! His counts are rising on their own. He is very happy and so are we!!!!!!!

Febuary 26th

Good news!!!! Seth actually broke the 70lb mark!!!! He is gaining weight! He is eating about 3000 calories a day and at least 70 grams of fat. I can even tell he has more energy. It is amazing how a little weight gain can bring so much happiness. But when you stop and realize that God even cares about those little things how exciting is that? We are still waiting on blood test results to see if his counts are starting to come up. If they are not Seth will get a blood transfusion. Seth really does not want the transfusion but there seems to be a peace over Seth about it. (It might have helped that he saw he can play video games while he gets a transfusion....) The next things on the agenda are... March 5th MRI and hearing test and then March 11 admission to the hospital to start session #4. Please be praying that the MRI is clear and there is no signs of tumors and continue to pray for his hearing. They told us it is not if he is going to loss some of his hearing it is a matter of when. We are believing that his total hearing will be spared from damage.

February 20th

I first want to thank everyone that sent Seth a card for his birthday :) He really appriciated it! He takes time to read every card word for word. Seth very much enjoyed his birthday. We surprised him by having his friends come down after church.

Yesterday was his outpatient chemo for session #3. We found out that his ANC count was at 126. ANCs are a type of white blood cells that fight off infections. A normal healthy persons ANC count would be 4000+. His dropped 90% in a week. Now we have to be really careful of germs and sickness. If he gets a fever for any reason he will be admitted to the hospital. Pray he stays healthy. Next week Seth is going to have his blood work done to see if he needs a blood transfusion. His weight is another problem. They were not happy that he is still the same weight. He is so skinny I can see every bone when he takes off his shirt. His checks even look like they are sinking in a little. Seth and I have had most of our disagreements over food. It tires me and him out to be constantly thinking about what he eats, when he eats, and how much he eats. His eating is not anywhere close to what he was eating before surgery in July. I came home yesterday and cried. Seth is so frustrated with being sick and not being able to be a normal kid. Pray for strength for him to get over these hurdles and for grace on our family.

February 14th

Happy Valentine's Day! We came home from the hospital on Wednesday as scheduled. Seth did not get a single side effect from this round of chemo, yeah!! We are believing that the chemo will not have any long term side effects on Seth's body. Seth is maintaining his weight. Even though we want to see him gain more pounds we are just happy he is not losing any. His attitude is good most days but along with his good days he has bad ones too. Days when he does not understand why he has cancer. But all in all he is doing well. We are meeting a lot of amazing kids at the hospital. Brave kids that are fighting so hard with this horrible disease. I have never really question out God too much and asked why us but I did feel that way this past time in the hospital when they told us the pediatric oncology floor was full. I thought why are there so many kids with cancer and so many families hurting. I do not think we will ever know the reason but we do know that God is still in control. I always have to have a good cry when I come home from Johns Hopkins just thinking of everything. Seth's next chemo will be on Monday. This one will be an outpatient chemo and then he will have a few weeks off to recover. He will officially be 1/3 of the way done!!!!!!

Febuary 9th

Well we are in the hospital for the start of Seth's 3rd chemo session. Seth will be hospitalized till Wednesday. Pray that his body will handle this dose of chemo well. His 12th birthday is this Sunday and he does not want to be sick for it. This birthday will be a special one because without all of these treatments he would not have been here to celebrate turning 12. Lately Seth has realized that he is able to do a little more then he thought he could. He and I rode bike a little and when we got home Seth had a smile on his face that reached ear to ear. He might not be able to run this summer but he will be able to ride bike short distances and that realization meant the world to him. He also had fun sledding with his cousins. But Seth found out that rollerskating is going to have to wait till after chemo. Seth was determined to try rollerskating at our church skating party but due to his "foot drop" fell over 20 times in a 15 minute period. Even though Seth was extremely disappointed he still came home with a smile. I thought he might be physically weak but his "heart" is very strong. Continue to pray for health for our entire family so far no one has gotten sick this winter.

January 27th

Good News!! No blood transfusion needed!!! Thank you so much for praying Seth is very happy with the results. The next time he will be admitted to the hospital will be on February 9th. That will be the start of session #3. Seth is doing amazingly well for going through chemo. The foot drop has made it harder to walk but at least he is able to walk and does not have to be in a wheel chair. His weight is still a concern for us but he is eating more so hopefully it will show on the scales. Seth has been able to keep up with his school work and received straight A's on his report card. It is amazing to me that even in the hardest of times God gives you the grace to endure each day. I was telling a friend yesterday that this life style ,we are living with a sick child, has become our normal. If we look back and dream about how life used to be that is when we lose our focus. We have learned to live day by day always looking forward and never behind.

January 21st

Wow how time flies....... Seth is on his way to Cornerstone Family Health Center with Todd to get his blood work drawn. This will show if his counts rose or fell. If they fell his will need a blood transfusion. Seth is really nervous about the test and the results. Please keep him in your prayers. Other then that all is going well. Seth does not seem to have too many physical side effects from the chemo Praise God but the emotional ones can be just as hard. Yesterday Seth told me, with tears in his eyes, he just figured out that this summer when all his friends are running and playing games he will not be able to play with them. I told him that God is always with us and He will give him the strength to get through the summer.

January 12

Today Seth had another chemo treatment. It all seemed to go well. His blood counts are low and they want him to get his blood counts tested in a week. If they continue to drop he might need a blood or platelet transfusion. We did hear some good news today. Seth is afraid he will never be able to run again but the doctor assured him his inability to run is temporary. That was encouraging to him. Without being able to run Seth has taken more of an interest in drawing. His latest is drawing the Calvin and Hobs comic strip pictures. If Seth does not have to get any transfusions his next admitting date will be February 9th. That will begin session #3.

We were very grieved to find out that a brave little boy we have been praying for has passed away due to cancer. Please remember Jeff and Kris Wagner's family as they have released their little angel to heaven.

January 5th

What a day!! First we started our day out with a trip to the Hospital. Seth found out that he actually gained 1/2 pound and his whited blood counts increased instead of decreased. But his drop foot seems to have gotten a little worse. The doctors are suggesting physical therapy which we are going to pursue. Pray that the muscles in his foot will not get worse so he does not have to eventually be in a wheelchair. God has been showing us He is still in control and He still cares. While Seth and I were riding the parking garage elevator our ears tuned into what was playing on the radio. It was, what we call Seth's theme song, God Will Take Care of You. What are the chances of that song being on at the perfect time in an elevator. Isn't God awesome!! After a good ride home from Baltimore. We rested a little and had to get ready to go to the next place. This time it was for fun. C.V. High School raised $6,500 so Seth's Make a Wish could come true (Seth wished to ride in a NASCAR really fast). Since Seth's favorite sport is basketball, the C.V. Varsity Basketball team asked him to be the guest of honor. They gave him 3 shirts, a signed basketball and an opportunity for a night of fame. Seth was a team captain for the night and also got to throw the jump ball to start the game. It blessed us so much to see how caring the students and the staff were. Because of them Seth will get his dream come true. Thanks C. V. High school!!!

January 1st 2009

Happy New Years!! It has been 2 days since Seth's last chemo treatment and so far he is not experiencing any side effects. He was even able to go to our youth group's New Years Eve party. Even though Seth is not able to run and jump he still had fun joining in and playing the games. He gets right into the game and makes the best of it. That inspires me to see his attitude on life. Continue to pray for his weight gain. Seth lost 1/2 pound this past week. If he does not gain any weight in the next 3 weeks they are going to seriously look into the feeding tube.

Monday Night Dec 29th

Hi Seth here I am with my dad in the hospital. It is cool I have a computer and play station right at my bed, I beat my dad at Risk. I am planning to head out tommorrow. I am currently getting meds put through my port and will get my chemo treatment at 10.45. My nurse said if I am sleeping she will wake me up because one of the chemo's are a pill. I am feeling good and thank you for praying.

Good night

December 29th

The beginning of session #2. Todd went with Seth to the hospital and the last I heard they were having some father -son time playing battleship and waiting for the blood results to come back from the lab. If Seth's blood count are good he will be admitted over night for chemo. I told him that I will miss him and he said " I bet I will miss home more..." Remember him in your prayers tonight.

December 26th

We had a wonderful time with our children this Christmas. Watching the excitement as they opened up each gift and realizing their joy was a gift to me. Seth if glad to have his brother and sisters home from school but knows that in a few days chemo must start again. Seth and Todd will be going to the hospital on Monday Dec. 29th for the start of session #2. Seth will be in the hospital for 2-3 days. Pray his blood counts are up so they do not have to delay the process. Seth is doing so well and enjoying his short break it is hard to send him back and make him suffer again. But we understand (and Seth does too) that each delay will prolong the process. Please pray for Seth to have strength to once again face his fears of chemo.

December 19th

Good news.... Seth gained a pound!!!! His hearing test results were good and his blood counts are starting to come up. His blood counts still need to rise 350 points for him to be able to receive the next session of chemo on Dec. 29th. Our hopes are that chemo will not have to be delayed since Seth already feels like 11 months of this is too long. Keep praying for his hearing. The one doctor told us "chemo will eventually destroy his hearing." But are are believing Seth will have better hearing then when he started chemo. Seth's spirits are much better then the other day. He is really enjoying playing piano again and plans to play for our Christmas Eve service. Thanks for all your prayers!!

December 18th

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho it is back to Hopkins we go..... I wish it was that merry leaving for the hospital (Seth needs a hearing test today) but once again we start the day with a battle over eating. I feel like my life is consumed with getting Seth to eat enough and keeping his moral up. Seth is starting to ask the "why is there cancer" questions. You know all the questions you wish you had answers for and don't. The other day Seth was having a really hard day emotionally. He could not focus on any of his school work and said he was so bored he could not stand it anymore. It sounds common but it was more then boredom that is just the word he used to describe it. He was feeling despair and hopelessness. Seth has given up most of the fun things that 11 year boys like to do such as run, go over to friends houses, go to school, play basketball and so on.... Every day he is surrounded by reminders of what he is forced to lay aside for the next year. So when he looked at me with tears in his eyes and pleaded with me to make the doctors stop doing all this to him it was terribly hard to tell him "I wish I could, with all my heart I wish I could, but I can not. " So far all of Seth's test have been good results so it is hard for his mind to comprehend why he needs to continue treatment. Pray that we can have insight to all of Seth's questions and wisdom to run our family. If anyone would like to send Seth a card and let him know there are still people that remember him and are still praying for him, he would appreciate it.......
Our address is
Seth Good
PO Box 175
Elm, PA 17521

December 15

Seth is still doing well except for the leg pain he started having Sunday morning. We are thinking that is from the last chemo treatment he received. Seth has another hearing test scheduled for this Thursday. Pray that the chemo is not destorying his hearing and continue to pray that his blood counts rise so we can continue the treatments without delay. We are still working on Seth's weight gain. I guess we will see when he steps on the hospital scale if all of his effects pay off.

December 10th

Seth is doing well :) He is not running around and energetic but he is getting bored during the day when all of his siblings are at school. Boredom is a good sign that he is feeling better. Seth is not sick in his stomach and does not have any pain and for that we are very thankful. But even with him feeling better we still have to be careful where we take him due to his white blood counts being so low. The hospital called the other day and said Seth will need to get hearing test throughout his chemo treatments. The reason for that is because some of the chemo that he gets can destroy the hearing. Please pray with us that his hearing will not be harmed. Seth's eating and weight gain are an all consuming subject. If he does not start to gain weight he will need a feeding tube and that is something he really does not want!! Seth has been trying very hard to eat more and it does seem to be working. Continue to pray that his effects are fruitful and effective. The other day he said "mom I could be in the Guinness Book of World Records.....look" and I looked over only to see my son with his shirt up and also every rib sticking out. It was too much for me to bear the reality of how skinny he has become. Thanks everyone for your prayers we can feel each one of them!!

Decmeber 1

I can not believe it is December 1st already. I hope all of you had a good Thanksgiving. Our family has a lot to be thankful. Seth had a great Thanksgiving!! It always boost his moral when he is with his cousins :) I included a picture of Seth with some of his siblings and cousins............

Seth is doing OK on this chemo journey. He just finished session #1 of chemo today. Seth said he can not be really happy because he knows he has 8 more sessions to go till the end. Every time we go to the Hospital we have to face the reality of what Seth's body is dealing with. Once again this week Seth has lost weight, his blood counts are the lowest they have ever been, and he is having problems with the muscles in his feet. As parents we want to believe that this medicine will not hurt our son but with each weigh in or each blood count result it brings us back to "earth" and reminds us how horrible these drugs really are. In spite of all this Seth is still smiling and seems to be in good spirits. But he has his moments when he feels like the end of this journey will never come. Please pray that his digestive system starts working better so he will be able to eat more. Also pray his blood counts come up so when he starts is second round of chemo his body will start at a good point.

November 22

Seth has been feeling much better then he did in the beginning of the week. Yesturday when we were driving to Johns Hopkins it was snowing very bad and I had to tell Seth to stop talking to me (that is a good sign since before he would lay in the back and not talk at all). He was talking non stop on the way down and trying to convince me to go 100 mph on the highway. Just to let you know I was not convinced but he kept begging :). It was also good to hear him tell me the other that he was going to start exercising. But he wanted me to know it would only be 5 push ups a day. I did not care on what it was just the thought that he initiated it was wonderful to hear. Little things like that are signs to me that he feels like he can make it through this year. Chemo went well yesterday and he still feels good today. Seth even gained 1/2 lb. That does not sound like much but after watching our son loose 24lbs in a matter of months, a half pound was music to my ears!! Keep praying that he can gain weight. Thank you to every one who prays for our protection in our travels. After 3 1/2 hours of driving on the icy 83 North the traffic came to a stop. They had shut down all lanes of traffic North bond and South bond of 83 due to so may accidents. We were able to get off at an exit and head back towards Maryland. When we got off the exit we grabbed dinner and a hotel room. Shortly after we checked in I heard the hotel turning people away. I was so thankful that we had a nice bed to sleep in and that we did not have to sleep in our car on 83. God was looking out for us. We made it home safely this morning.

November 18th

Seth has been dealing with some of the side effects from the chemo treatments he received this past weekend. He started with some eye pain, vomiting, weakness, and tired. He also complains about being cold all the time. Pray that he feels better and has the courage to face this year of treatments.

November 15th

So far so good...... Chemo went better then expected. Seth did not get sick at all in the hospital but there could still be side effects up to a week later. Last night Seth had to take oral chemo, vancristine, and have a 6 hr chemo drip on him while he slept. Between the chemo drip, vital signs and blood work during the night Seth did not get much sleep. He is tired!! I could tell Seth was really nervous about the chemo last night. Every time the nurse came in to change the liquid bags (which she did often) he would say "is that the chemo?" You could tell the nerves in his voice. But God is good Seth was scared he would be throwing up when he woke up but he was not. We know that this is the beginning of a long journey but I am happy Seth seems to be starting on a better note then we thought he would. Talking about notes... Seth even found a keyboard in the playroom but to his disappointment some of the keys are broken.

November 13th

Tomorrow is the big day. Seth's chemo journey will begin. He will be admitted for the weekend and he is not looking forward to it. Please keep Seth in your prayers this weekend.

November 10th

It is sad to think that this is the last week of Seth's break. He is doing so much better which makes it even more tough to send him back to the hospital and watch while the chemo treatments destroy some of his health. At times I just want to put my foot down and say no more!!! But I know he needs to go through this last part of the journey. I asked Seth today if he is nervous about chemo on Friday and he said yes. But I told him God was with him through brain surgery and radiation and He does not plan on leaving him for chemo. To be honest with you though I am a little nervous too. Pray that Seth can enjoy this week and not worry about Friday. Also pray for our family as we once again put our normal life on hold for the next year.

November 6th

Good News!!! The MRI was clear they did not find any tumors. Praise God!!!!!

November 4th

Seth made it through his dreaded 2 hour MRI yesterday... yeah!!!! we do not know the results yet but are praying all is clear. He also had another hearing test yesterday. They told us it was not uncommon for him to lose some of his hearing through all of these treatments. The bad thing about that is when your hearing is destroyed there is nothing they can do to fix it. Seth had a hearing test before radiation began to see where his normal hearing was at. We are praising God that he has not lost any hearing but his hearing has improved. His test results yesterday showed better scores then the test taken before radiation. I could tell he was relieved yesterday when the whole day was over. He was talking, smiling, and laughing on the way home. It is wonderful that God has given us another glimpse of his faithfulness. We rejoice with this positive hearing test result but we know we have to sit and hear the results of the MRI. Please pray with us that the MRI test shows good results also.

PS.... do you like Seth's new wig?????

November 1st

Happy Fall to all of you!!! We are getting back into the swing of things after our 6 day vacation to Niagara Falls, Canada. Seth is doing much better then the last time we wrote on the blog. His body seems to be getting back to normal. He is starting to eat more and gain a little weight back. His shingles are gone and he is getting his energy back (he even had enough energy to hike at Canada). Life is feeling more normal and that is a good thing!! The sad thing is Seth has more treatment ahead of him and he is going to feel much worse before he is through all of this. We can only trust that God got him through this far and He will carry Seth the rest of the way. On Monday Seth has an MRI please prayer because this will take 2 1/2 hours. He also has a hearing test on Monday to see if radiation destroyed any of his hearing. We just found out that his first chemo treatment will be on November 14th and he will be admitted to the hospital. That will be the first of a set of 3 treatments to equal session #1. He will have 9 sessions before he is done with treatment.