A Magical Memory

The last time I updated everyone, Shane was scheduled for his g tube surgery so we could administer chemo at home.He has since had the surgery (2/9) and finished up radiation (2/10). According to the radiation oncologist, Shane had met his threshold and while we were scheduled to have 5 more sessions, it was up to us to continue and we chose not to.

We celebrated my daughter’s 4th birthday at CHOP while Shane underwent his final round of radiation. To her, the hospital is a magical place where people spoil you and they did just that. We were incredibly thankful to CHOP and their child life services for making her feel special, even under difficult circumstances.

In the week that followed surgery, Shane seemed to suffer from PTSD. He was not himself and was extremely clingy. The starvation factor in being sedated upset him greatly and it was an adjustment for him to realize it was over.

As soon as we had Shane’s radiation schedule, we booked a trip to Walt Disney World.

I am pleased to tell you that we returned from our trip this week. It was magical, memorable and enjoyable for our whole family. It was important to us to have memories with Shane outside of cancer and the hospital. We feel as though we have done a great job of balancing life for us and our children among all of this, but we had yet to take a family vacation. Disney seemed to be the perfect place to make those memories.

There are many people to thank…..

• The “We are Family” Dragon Boat Team
• The members of the Facebook group Hope and Smiles for Shane
• Michele for all her generosity and assistance in helping us plan our trip
• Heather and Meredith-two of my childhood friends who contacted Walt Disney World and their guest experience services agent arranged for special surprises for us
• The Alexa Nawrocki Pediatric Cancer Foundation