We had a real treat of a day today. Brenn is currently always a bit tired, and today was no exception, but we headed off after a pretty good morning to the Vancouver School of Massage Therapy! They opened today for the Ronald McDonald House only. We were treated to an hour and a half reflexology appointment. It was the first time that I have ever experienced such a thing, and it was quite nice. There were 10 of us in the first session and another 10 in the later session. It was nice to have some time to just relax, and not think of anything for a while. It still amazes me that so many people are so willing to go out of their way to help us in any way that they are able!

I have been working on our car over the last week or so. I have been trying to find things that I can do just to keep a little busy. There were a few dent in the bumpers, and some paint transfers from various contacts over the years. I went and got some cut polish, and spent some time with a rag and my index finger scrubbing all of the transfered paint off. I felt like my finger was going to fall off by the time I was done! Once I got all of the paint off, I heated up the dents with a heat gun, and was able to push the dents back out. It still has a couple of ripples were the dents were, but it really looks a lot better. A little bit of hard work really makes a huge difference. I have also planned to replace all of the electrical plugs in the common areas of RMH, as a donation. I am currently unable to give a monetary donation, so, by offering my services, I am doing what I can to give back tot he house, while I am able to. Nedco in Prince George is supplying all of the material that I need to do the job, which is also really great. The thing that has really gotten to me while I have been down here is the shear lack of anything to do. I am really used to being busy, always with a project on the go at work and home, but being here I don`t have that opportunity. I have really been looking for ways to stay with Christine, Brenn, and Samantha while finding something to keep my time occupied. Let me tell you, I have become much better at playing Rock Band since I got here!!!!

Christine and Samantha are heading off to visit some friends in Vernon tomorrow. It will be a nice, and necessary break for Christine. This will be the first time in the 3 months since we have been here, that Christine will have a break. I am sure that it will be a great time, and I am sure that all of our friends are really looking forward to seeing her. Brenn and I have a few things that we have planned to do while they are gone, and are looking forward to some time together. It will be hard not having Christine and Sam here for a few days, but I am happy for them that they have the opportunity to get out of RMH, and the hospital environment for a few days, and enjoy some of the summer! I hope that the trip goes really well for them, and pray that they will be kept safe in their travels.

Scott

Wow it's been a while since we have written, the last three days have been going reasonably well for us. Wednesday was the roughest day as Brenn was really not feeling well when she woke up, she ate very little throughout the day and her temp was still 2 degree's above her normal. We hung around the house for most of the day so that Brenn could rest, my uncle Rob came to visit for a couple of hours, we went for ice cream and to the candy store. When we returned from our brief outing Joe and Debbie Van Calsteren had to come to visit. It was comforting to have people who are close to Brenn here and be able to unload all of the stuff I have felt bogged down with over the last few months, it was like the flood gates had opened up. Brenn and Sam enjoyed spending time with them as it was a little bit like home for them :)

Thursday Brenn woke up and she was feeling great her temp. went back to her normal 35-36, she ate breakfast and then continued to eat for the rest of the day......yeah!!!! We had a doctors appointment to check her mucusitis and it was almost gone....go figure, the sores except two were healed over, her tummy was soft, she had only lost .1 of a kg and her stats were great. The doctor was happy with her progress.....great news for us as Scott and I were beside ourself with worry. The rest of the day we just stayed close as a family and waited for Scotts mom and Grandma to come in from Campbell River in the evening. When Elaine arrived Scott and I ducked out for a few hours to spend some much needed time together after the girls were fast asleep.

Friday late morning and early afternoon we spent with Scott's family at his uncle Lyle's going for lunch, picking blueberries and having a water fight. The girls loved it and kept asking for another water fight which Lyle graciously obliged and took the brunt of hose from two equally soaked little girls.....everyone had a great time. Upon return to the house all residents got together and made a family dinner of pork loin, chicken kabobs, beef, corn on the cob, potatoes and all the fixings.....yummmmmmy! The girls are off to bed and I will be going to spend some time with my Uncle before he leaves back to Calgary.

We had a really fun day today. If it wasn't for Brenns stubbornly high temperature, I could have relaxed and enjoyed it a bit more, but it was really great none the less. This morning, Christines Uncle Rob came down to the house. He is on vacation from Calgary, and happened to show up on one of the hottest days yet in Vancouver. It was 29 degrees at the waterfront today! We started out by going to Shabusan for a sushi lunch. It is an all you can eat place, and the food is quite delicious. Afterwards, we headed for Kits beach to enjoy some splashing around time trying to stay cool. We were really protective of Brenn while we were there, because it was so hot. We made sure that she was drinking lots, left her hat on and stayed in the water for as much time as possible. Of course the water part was quite easy to enforce as she loves playing in the water, and has had a really difficult time with not being allowed to go into any public pools, or water parks this summer. After Kits, we took Rob on a tour of Stanley Park, spending some time up at Prospect Point, and showing him all kinds of things all the way around. It is kind of fun going through Stanley Park as a tour guide. It helps you remember all of the really interesting, and beautiful things that we can sometimes take for granted when you are allowed the opportunity to go as often as you would like.

We came home and had some dinner, then broke out the hair cutting kit. Brenn and I both needed a hair cut, and another little boy in the house wanted to get his mohawk cut back in. We set up outside, and started with Ryans hair. For my first mohawk, I think that I did a remarkably good job. Brenns hair has started to fall out again, so it was starting to look a bit funny again. She agreed right away to cut her hair. She went even shorter than last time, not that it really makes much difference. She really looks good without hair, and she is not the only girl in the house that walks around bald every day. Even though Brenn has had an elevated temperature over the last few days, she has still really been active, and happy. There seems to be almost nothing wrong with her. She still gets a bit tired, walking around, but always wants to play as hard as she can. I am going to try to take her in to the clinic to get her checked out in the morning. She has had a temperature for long enough now, and we would really like to know what is going on, and make sure that she is okay.

Scott

Today was a very quiet day for us, we stuck around the house all day doing low key things such as crafts, painting, watching shows, and playing a bit in the backyard. Brenn's temp increased point by point throughout the day until it leveled out early evening...thank goodness. Her mouth is quiet sore still particularly the corners of her mouth which is causing her not to want to eat much. I made her salmon with rice and salad for dinner, she ate alot of salmon a chunk of cucumber and two bites of rice, doesn't seem like much but for us we were ecstatic as she barely ate anything all day. For me this is the cause of alot of my stress right now as nutrition is the key to her fighting the cancer, coping with the chemo and recovering from this illness. I know that this is a normal part of the process for the children fighting cancer but it's hard as a parent to sit by and watch what is happening to her without any way to help but to rack my brain making meals or drinks with the highest calories, with the fat, protein and carbs that she needs so desperately. Both Scott and I know it will work out in the end, it's just tough going through it sometimes. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers, please continue to pray that Brenn's body fights against the mucusitis and that her pain is minimal. All our love

Brenn and I had a date today! While Christine and Samantha went to Sea World with their seasons passes (thanks Terry), Brenn and I found a cheap place to rent a bike and a follow along bike (a Bike with one wheel, and pedals that attaches to the seat of my bike), and took a tour around Stanley Park before heading out to get some lunch. It was a really great thing to do. Brenn was able to just sit on the bike and be outside enjoying her beautiful surroundings, and have a great time. It was really fun just hearing the joy in her voice, I have really been missing our little dates that we take. Samantha and I have been able to spend a lot of time together, just the two of us since being here, but Brenn and I have not got as many dates in as we usually do.

I noticed that Brenn started getting a bit of a fever today, not much but a little bit. This morning she was fine when I fist checked her, but this afternoon, I have taken her temperature quite a few times, and her fever is creeping up ever so slowly. Brenn usually runs a bit cool, and her temp has risen about 2 degrees Celsius over the course of the afternoon. It is still a couple points away from calling the doctor, but I will certainly be checking her again before I go to bed tonight. She seems to be quite healthy, other than she is starting to tire quickly again. During our date today, I carried her most of the time when we were done with the bike, and she did very little pedaling, and she was still complaining of tired legs. Sometimes I think that she is sandbagging a little so that I will carry her, but for now, I will give her the benefit of the doubt (and I really don't mind the cuddles I get when I carry her). Her sores in her mouth are getting a little worse as well, so I have been on edge all day worrying about her. I am sure that she is fine, I just really wish that she wasn't going through this! I know that this is all for a good cause, but the disruption that it has caused our family is pretty significant, and I just pray that in the end, the kids will both be okay with it. They are both young, and keeping some form of routine for the girls is really important for both Christine and I. We have always tired to keep a pretty good routine for the girls day in day out, and down here it is really difficult. There are always lots of people around, there is no school or work, or normal day to day things, so it is quite different for them.

Please keep praying for Brenn that her mucusitis doesn't get any worse. It looks bad right now, but we trust the doctors, and respect their opinion, so for now, we are sticking with the treatment protocol. If her mucusitis gets much worse though, we will have to adjust the protocol because her little body is having trouble with the side effects. Also, please pray that her fever comes down, we really don't want to spend much more time in the hospital than we really need to. Thank you for continuing to help us through this time with all of your thoughts and prayers, and congratulations to Dan, and Jenessa who were married today in Whistler at 5 pm.

Scott

We had a good day today. We headed to Stevston for lunch and browsing with another family as they had never been there before. After looking at the fresh catch of the day from the various fishermen everyone was up for some airplane watching near the airport. the Kids loved it, Scott boosted the 4 kids up on top of the Ronald Macdonald Van that we borrowed and the kids screamed "air Canada" and waved at each plane that came in regardless if it was westjet, Jazz, or a united states company.....it was so funny. At about 3 we made our way back to the house to drop off the other family and then for a quick gaunt to the beach to have a small visit with Scott's cousin Nicole. Brenn just wanted to keep going today, we finally insisted on coming back to the house for dinner.We ate lasagna, did some crafts, watched a goofey movie and then the girls jumped in to bed. The weather has been beautiful in Vancouver and we are very lucky that Brenn is doing as well as she is so that the whole family can get out and enjoy the outdoors. It is a huge reality check for us as there are children that we encounter on a daily basis that are not able to enjoy this beautiful weather or have the strength to be active. We are very blessed in our life.......

Clinic day today...It was a tough one for sure. Brenn has developed some mouth sores and some jaw pain over the past couple of days which we have seen before, and didn't really think were a big deal right now. However, the mouth sores are called mucusitis, and these sores go all the way through her entire digestive tract, and out the other side. We have known that her bum has been sore for a little while now, but we were prescribed some cream for this in the second round, and have just been using the cream again to help her be more comfortable. Her mucusitis is not to bad yet, but we will be going to the hospital more often throughout this round now, so will have to stay close to home, our short lived freedom has now been taken away, but Brenns health is far more important, so we don't really care to much...During this round of her treatment, the drug called Methotrexate is responsible for the mucusitis. Some children are more susceptible to the mucusitis than others, and the doctors were somewhat surprised today that Brenn had developed symptoms already. Methotrexate is the drug that we will continuously be increasing every 10 days in the clinic, and if she has already had a reaction to it, this may be a really long couple of months. We were prescribed a couple of different drugs today to help combat the symptoms, and the pain, but they symptom medication isn't a drug that is used in all hospitals, and there is debate on weather or not it actually works. Our doctor recommended that we should use it, so we have faith in him, and will try it out. We are now worried about Brenn, when we weren't yesterday, but I guess it is just another thing during this crazy time we are having.

The rest of the day was pretty good. Uncle Allan came in to watch Samantha while Christine, Brenn and I were at the clinic this morning. Thank God for Uncle Allan being able to come and spend time with Samantha while we are in clinic. Clinic would be really hard if Samantha was there with us. It is a time when we get to talk to the doctors, nurses, nutritionists, physiotherapists, and social workers. Without both Christine and I to be there, we would have a really hard time getting to take in all of the information. With Samantha at the clinic there would be absolutely no way that we would be as informed as we are. Today we talked to all of the people that I listed except for a physiotherapist. Today was the first clinic visit that we did not see her, because Brenn is still walking pretty well. All of her tendons in her legs seem to be doing pretty well right now, so hopefully that symptom will stay away for now at least.

When we got home, we made the girls some lunch, and hung out with Uncle Allan for a little while before we had to go back to the hospital to pick up Brenns new prescriptions. We came back home, made some dinner, which only Samantha, Christine and I ate, because Brenns mouth is really sore. We made her a high calorie smoothy, and she sipped on it a little. We are going to have to get used to her not eating very much now. The doctor explained that mucusitis is quite painful, and usually kids simply will not eat. This is the time that they were telling us that Brenn would loose all the weight that she gained in the first month! We just pray that she won't get any worse, because there is a real possibility of hospitalization if we can't get it under control. Please pray that that will not happen! She is a tough kid, but she doesn't need any more problems to have to deal with.

Scott