Our community grows

On Friday afternoon, Kevin stopped by with some baby shower gifts he's been holding on to since early August (Thanks!), and an envelope from the staff...WOW. How can I express my thanks? As many people know, Bay Point is a big part of my life and I am very loyal to my school. Not only am I loyal since I am an alumni, but because of all the wonderful friends and colleagues I have there or have made there. I am always fighting for a better Bay Point because I care so much about the community and clearly, you all have shown that you care a lot for me as well. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Now...you might have to wait a little longer for that computer to work! :)

Today, Chris, Carina and I went to the benefit at My Little Play Town (which is owned by a current and a former Bay Point Elem teacher). What a fun place! I can't wait to check it out with Dante when he is healthier. Caroline and Jennifer organized a great event and had a super turnout. Thanks so much to everyone who attended and bid on some amazing items. It was nice to get out and see some old friends and meet some new people who I have only ever met online! Caroline called us tonight and told us that the benefit greatly exceeded her goal which has just left us speechless.

Before this turn of events in our lives, I had the assumption that many of us are just numb to bad news and see most things we hear of as "things that happen to other people." You hear so many bad stories in the news that sometimes you have to just move on and not dwell on them to keep your sanity. So many people seemed caught up in their own lives and not concerned with others. Well, I can tell you that I was wrong. We have experienced the most incredible outpouring of genuine support from good friends, old friends, neighbors, colleagues and strangers. Even those who are struggling themselves have offered their assistance in any way they can. I have always believed in the power of a community and knew that I was part of one, but I had no idea what that truly meant until now. I don't know what else to say except thank you from our entire family.

Dante is still doing OK. When we went to the doctor on Friday, his ANC was 5300 - thanks in part to the GCSF injections he has been receiving. We also said good-bye to Dr. Aung, who is off to California and research on brain tumors. We will all miss her, but wish her well! Dante drew a picture just for her, but he liked it so much that he didn't want to let go of it!

He has become very edgy the last couple of days - super happy one minute, and then yelling the next. We think that he must not be feeling so hot and he doesn't understand why, in addition to the fact that he can't tell us what is wrong. He just seems to get angry quickly or upset about little things. We have started to give him options for everything, so that he feels some sense of control over his life. We have also tried to let him do things for himself so that he feels empowered. Maybe we are over thinking it, but he is definitely not his usual self, although he is 2, right? I find that we seem to be living day to day around here, as we never really know what to expect from our little man.

Sometime before Oct. 11th (the start of round 3), we are going to have a bone scan and CT scan to check on Dante's progress. We know that the tumors in his pelvis have shrunk, we are just hoping that the rest have shrunk or disappeared as well. We also have to have a hearing test, as one of the side effects of his chemo drugs is hearing loss. We had a baseline test before he started, so this is to check and see if it has been effected so far. Think about that ice cream again everyone, OK?


One more note- our lives have become pretty exhausting. Most nights after Dante is asleep we try to relax a little bit, get Carina to sleep or get a few things done around the house. If we don't update the blog daily - please don't panic! It is probably because nothing of note has happened or we are just too tired! It has been a great outlet for Chris and I to be able to share this journey with so many people and allowed us to focus on our family instead of making many phone calls and emails. Thanks for tuning in and stay tuned for good news in our future!

Kip and Carina at My Little Play Town.