ALL in for Wil

6/29/17 Low numbers? Who cares when you have cookies,  SportsCenter  , and blood. Friendly reminder to donate blood if you can...Wil says thank you!  # cancersucks

6/28/17 Wil had a clinic visit today. His port has been giving us trouble when trying to draw blood. They put in a TPA clot buster and let it sit for an hour and then it finally worked! YES! His hemoglobin numbers are really low so they ordered blood for tomorrow just in case. He had a visit from Jake's Crew at Friends of Kids with Cancer and that will be it's own post. I was just glad he was AWAKE. Seriously he slept a good part of the past WEEK. New chemo meds are kicking his butt. He is complaining of a lot of joint pain, especially his left elbow. His mouth sores are just awful and eating is a problem. We generally coat them with meds so he can eat, he takes small bites and puts them as far back on his tongue as possible. UGH. 6/27/17 Really sleepy day and rough day at the clinic. He literally slept through everything, he was so tired he could not stay awake. He would fall asleep snoring in the middle of procedures! It's hard not to worry that something isn't w

6/26/17 Wil's surgery went as smoothly as possible. I still believe that the phrase "routine procedures" should never be a thing cause they may be routine for medical personnel but they are never "routine" for the patient or the people who love them, especially when it involves needles in my kid's spine! They ran a few new tests when he was under and we will get the results in a few days. He will be going to the cancer clinic four days a week this month. He received three ne w chemos today, so I have new lists of reactions to watch for from these poisons they are putting in my  # babybear  's body to kill the leukemia cells. Wil came home with a backpack of fluids attached to his port after  # mamabear  received training on flushing lines, accessing ports, hooking up IV lines, programming pumps, etc...as I told my sisters PEOPLE GO TO SCHOOL FOR THIS! Like I can remember the first mom I saw at the cancer center with her little boy walkin

"Leukemia time" I am learning is a real thing. Wil suffered migraines before he was diagnosed and he had them under control. Today we spent 7 hours at the cancer center making sure his 3 day migraine was just a leukemia migraine. He had 9 new medications and an MRI and nothing has eased his headache. We are back at home and he is asleep again. He has lost 3 days sleeping. This is not the post I wanted to share. The post I wanted to share was that his numbers were good enough  that we were able to contact the Children's cancer center in Louisville and got permission to travel there. Needless to say it didn't go quite as planned. The reality is that no matter how much I want something or anything to just be simple "leukemia" isn't going to let that happen. Still grateful that he and I had some time together outside our four walls. Life is just different now. We grab moments of happiness when we can and literally right now our good moments don't

Some facts about Leukemia... There are over 1 million Americans living with, or are in remission from, leukemia, lymphoma or myeloma. There is no known way to  prevent leukemia. Let me repeat that, you cannot prevent this. There is no one to blame, no lifestyle or habit to point a finger at. The most common symptom at onset is joint pain and swollen lymph nodes that don't necessarily hurt. Fevers, night sweats, weakness, and bruising easily. Because leukemia doesn't usually form tumors, it has no standardized staging like most cancers, it's either untreated, in remission, or recurrent. The best fact...is that survival rates have quadrupled in recent years. Yes, we're catching it earlier due to awareness. Doctors are treating it more aggressively and their winning, and most importantly, our family and friends are giving us hope and making us stronger than ever. God bless our fighters and their caregivers, always. Faith M. "Despite steady improvements in outc

How about some good news  😃 ... Wil received good test results today, we are a very happy family. Long road ahead but first hurdle is crossed and we are just going to be happy for the moment. Thank you for all the prayers 🙏🏼 , positive vibes 🤞🏻 , thoughts, and virtual (((hugs))) they are working!  😍# wilswarriors

Love my summers with Wil, 3 years ago he was sister free for the week. We have no news on his test results, thanks to everyone who is checking in on him. We did have some medicine changes to hopefully better manage his joint pain. He is walking a little bit now and we even got out to have snowcones last night. Please keep a family friend's son, Leo in your prayers as he is battling the same type of cancer as Wil and he received bad news this week.  # teamleo Thanks to all  # wilswarriors   Barb Downs Brooks   Sheri Strebler   Holly Pena Jimmy Pickett   Laura Barulich Knight   Dawn Slade Jerger  Brenda D 3 years ago

"Be kinder than necessary"... always been relevant for me as a teacher and a mom. On the steps outside my classroom it says "throw kindness around like confetti." Every Monday at school I text my 3 kiddos, "Remember Mondays suck for everyone, be the reason someone smiles today." I can not tell you how kind people have been to my son and my family the past four weeks. Family- not everyone has a family as supportive and kick@ss as mine. Hug your loved ones and tell them you love them more than you think is necessary! Friends-oh my goodness I can not even say thank you enough... from Lysol wipes, hand soap, & laundry detergent to meals, chores, & things I didn't even know I needed until they just showed up and did them WOW! Kristen's Lindbergh "FAM" who showered her with love and Wil's "gang" and their shirts  👍🏼 ... Kate's bf and friends who have taken her in ... I'm not kidding about the next generation

What happens when you get ALL good numbers (ok low, but NOT critical) at the cancer clinic? Friends of Kids with Cancer www.friendsofkids.com gives you tickets to the Cardinals game! The best part this organization is it lets kids with cancer be kids, I can not tell you how much that means. If you want to see a happy boy you should have seen it when they told Wil he could go out in public for the first time in almost 4 weeks. For my #mamabears and those that worry more that I (if that is possible, because I said this was a bad idea about 100 times) he stayed out of the sun, drank lots of water, took breaks in the ac (team store), we took all meds, germx, lysol wipes, and a bag of emergency stuff! He made it about 5 innings which was so awesome, he was in the shade and there was a decent breeze. He was genuinely happy when the Cardinals scored a homerun (yes, his sister and I cried watching how happy he was). We were all living on adrenaline and he is asleep on the couch now. Thank

Hair is thinning and a clump came out in the bath...so off it goes! Facebook 6/12/17 I read a quote the other day that said, "Allow yourself the ANDS"... today we are happy AND sad about Wil's haircut...we are scared AND hopeful about his treatment...we are tearful AND laughing about the side effects of chemo...we are accepting AND completely troubled by what is coming next.  # cancersucks 6/11/17 Cousin love

Day 1 continued...(mostly writing this down 3 weeks later before the memory becomes even foggier than it already is) The bad news it is leukemia." I said, "What?" The doctor looks right at Wil and says I'm sorry, you have cancer. I literally want to punch her, but have no time to react as Wil immediately starts crying out and looking at me "what did I do? what did I do?"...#mommabear immediately kicks in and I jump on the table next to him reassuring him that it was nothing he did. Big tears fall down his face and I can do nothing but reassure him that this is ok, that #wegotthis...the doctor chimes in and says something positive, not really sure (because I'm still pretty pissed at her for the diagnosis-like it was her fault, ugh). I really think time stood still for a bit because the doctor was talking non-stop so many many words, just words and I couldn't hear or understand any of them. I kinda hope my sisters have saved our text messages, bec

Facebook 6/10/17 Ok feeling a little emotional mostly because of the lack of sleep. A friend had shared this commercial (link at bottom) a few months back and as always I cried cause crying at commercials is my specialty, ask my kids I don't cry for the big stuff but commercials ALL THE DANG TIME! Anyway it was touching before but Meaningful now, I have met so many amazing parents at the kids cancer clinic. I've seen them at their best (playing dance dance revolution with their kid hooked up to chemo, singing frozen to their screaming child who doesn't want to be sticked again, grown men and women riding pink scoters chasing their kids IV pole, cuddling in rockers with books and blankies during long blood transfusions, peek-a-boo to distract when accessing a chest port, and on and on) and I've seen their worst (the pain in their eyes when we make eye contact, the choke in their voice when they tell me THEIR story, the screams of frustration when given yet another rou

6/9/17 Facebook posts Let's go boys!  L ou Fusz Geerling Ok I have seen this posted a few time. I feel the need to share also... three weeks ago Wil was the "emergency" that delayed doctors and nurses getting home. He has also been the reason several nurses were late getting home this past week. One day last week we had to wait a few hours in the clinic for blood to be delivered because there was a trauma in the er and we wanted nothing more than to know that person was given the very best care! Special thanks for those who care fo r others. Today Wil was happy we were able to go watch his  Lou Fusz  team play  ⚽️ this afternoon. Win or lose, soccer days are the best days. Special thanks to  SLSGsoccer  for the support, they wore orange socks today! So so proud of the  Lou Fusz Geerling  boys for playing with not only the pressure of winning "state cup" but the added pressure of playing for Wil. What a joy it is to be able to watch them play with such

Xbox day Today so far has been the most calm day of our 3 weeks...what was the change? Wil's friend Nick came over with his "extra" xbox one. And one of his soccer dads brought over a headset. Wil has been online for about 8 hours today! Everyone who knows me, knows I hate video games, but it has been a great distraction for Wil. It helped his mental state today for sure! He only had 2 rough patches this afternoon, but rested so he could get back to his "online" friends. We are back at the clinic in the morning and hopefully will make soccer game in the afternoon. Facebook Wednesday, June7 Life is full of ups and downs. Those closest to me know we take things hour by hour here. Sometimes I try to break it up into morning, afternoon, evenin g and over night but even that sometimes does not get the extend of the roller coaster we are on. Wil is getting better at tolerating the constant pain he is in, but there are times when even he can not bear it and it

Facebook: Wil had a long afternoon at the clinic receiving his chemo. We are on day 19/28 and he is following the BFM (Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster) treatment plan for those that need more info. All results are low so we will be going back tomorrow. We are thankful for the nurses who have stayed late every time we have visited until Wil's vital signs improve so that he does not have to be admitted. If you love a nurse please hug them tonight from Wil! We continue to be thankful for all the people in our lives. Sweet notes in the mail and surprises on our front porch  Tara McMahon ,  Julie M Weik ,  Kathy Herbst Arnett   Vicki Siering   Kristine Michelle  . I know that I can't keep up with them all right now, but Brandi has a list. Feel free to message or text me anytime if you need a virtual (((hug))) or more info. Asparaginase  We have had 2 really bad "hiccups" in Wil's treatment. The first time that Wil's asparaginase chemo medication was to be adm

Monday, June 5 Wil's chemo was not delivered today, so we got sent out the door and went straight to soccer to watch a winner! Wil even sat up for 10 minutes or so. Always a happy boy when soccer is involved. ---------------------------- Monday morning Wil had an ok day yesterday and a rough night. He missed his team's soccer game so that added to the frustration, but they won 1-0. They play today at noon but we will be at the clinic for chemo this morning. Sending positive vibes to his teammates!

Missouri State Cup Day 1 http://soccerstl.net/2017/06/04/missouri-state-cup-day-one-2/ Wil's team is U17 Lou Fusz Geerling, there are many pictures linked in the article. ----- Ole thank you for your support of soccer and my kiddos. We appreciate the coverage you give local talent because we all know that St Louis is an awesome sports town that loves our hometown kiddos! Some of my favorite pictures are the ones you have taken of my kids. My favorite will always be the one you took of Carly Boccardi when she scored her first goal as a freshman at Lindbergh and she jumped for joy into my daughter Kate's arms. You get that it is about the relationships on the pitch. Thanks for stopping by to talk to Wil, he was calling your name even before you got to the car window.

Although winning games is just icing on the cake. I know it was important for his teammates. This is the first goal Wil saw his team score since he was diagnosed. He almost jumped out of the car with excitement. Thank you for capturing the moment! Much love for these boys!  # cancersucks Wil did not have the best morning but he really wanted to see "the boys." Ohler worked hard to get a mattress and the wheelchair in the car. Wil was not feeling so good, so we arrived a little after halftime. He was hoping to sit up in the wheeelchair for a bit, but that didn't work out so Ohler backed the car up to the field. Wil said, "wow look at all the people in orange." (If anyone has a crowd pic plz send, so sad I didn't think of it) It was fun to sit and listen to Wil  narrate the game, he knows these boys very very well  😂 . When he watched Mitchell finish and score Wil started pounding on the window and then when Mitchell came right over and pointed at Wil