ALL in for Wil

il and his sisters are my world... to know that Wil is a part of so many other people's world makes me have all the feels ❤️ . Who knew that school could give a teenager an emotional boost? So thankful and humbled by everyone who touches our lives, lifts us up, and puts a smile on his face. Much love here.  # wilswarriors  gonna change the world  🌎 💚 💛

He's awake! Thanks for the well wishes.

Wil is back at the hospital in the morning. Hard to not worry. Prayers and positive vibes appreciated.  🚑 💪🏼 Edit: Wil is having a lumbar puncture to check for leukemia cells in his spine, the chemo Methotrexate infused into his spine, vincristine chemo delivered via his port and three Erwinia chemo shots in his thighs. Never a bother to answer questions! The eclipse was a truly magical day with my kiddos!

“Adolescent and young adult patients diagnosed with cancer face a unique struggle as they are forced to confront their own mortality at a time when their peers  are discovering independence and feeling invincible,” said Robin Hanson, MD, PhD, Mercy Clinic pediatric hematologist-oncologist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qC4UXkAkds Hard to have words right now since this Mercy kids ad just popped up in my newsfeed, but this weighs heavily on my mind every second of every day. The AYA (adolescent/young adult) or my favorite the TNT (teens n twenties) cancer patients have a unique set of concerns as they "are forced to confront their own mortality at a time when their peers are discovering independence and feeling invincible." Anyone who really knows Wil knows independent and invincible are the words peop le use to describe him. All you have to do is scroll through my newsfeed to see video after video of him backflipping off a sheer rock face or diving to make a soccer

First day 11th grade! He made it a few hours hours and is sleeping now. Yeah!

Watching Kate's first college soccer game.  Wil had many visitors at the cancer center today, friends and cousins! Thanks Kristine Michelle, Nat and Selah for checking out the center. It is going to take an army to get Wil to appointments and me to work. I want to REALLY thank everyone who has been bringing dinners, you have no idea how much of a help you are!

Today I went back to work officially. I'm very blessed that I have a wonderful job with amazing people and I get to spend my days with young people who are learning and growing with energy and passion every single day. I have been having "groundhog day" type feelings all week. Everything I unpacked in my classroom had one date on it, the calendar, the schedules, the revisions, the desktop...Even yesterday I found Wil's daily calendar in the closet...the date last tore off was  May 18, 2017. That stack is the days that have passed...12 weeks... a lifetime. We have that many days in the stack of 2017 left, plus 3 more years of calendars of chemo to get through.  # wegotthis Between work today and open house tonight we had another round of chemo and shots at the cancer center. Big Grandpa came to check out the cancer clinic and brought the latest soccer magazine. Special thanks to my PEGS families and fellow teachers for looking out for me today...much love!

The ups and downs around here are extreme, but  # wegotthis Morning started with chemo shots. Afternoon spent with  # teamleo . Much luv to Leo and his entire family. Beautiful ceremony and memories. Evening he is already making plans to go somewhere. Bring on the first week of school!

Wil's new chemo meds came in. He had three shots in his legs, very painful going in, but so far so good! Thanks for all the positive thoughts and prayers! He will go every other day for three shots for six days in place of the Asparaginase chemo. Thanks sissy  Kristen Josephine  for hanging out with us at the cancer center. And thanks to all of  # wilswarriors  who have gone out of their way to take care of Wil and our family and others in their community in Wil's honor  Lisa Struckhoff   Cami Groves   Ida Wilson Cessna   Jill Freeman Parker   Tara Shaw Sparks   Susan Briggs Merz   Jackie Zagar Theodore   Christy Johnson   David Geerling  all my PEGS family and as always THANK U to those that my chemo mom brain forgets!

Wil rested yesterday and hung out with my sister so I could get back into my classroom. As he always says "I gotta save up my energy so I can hang with my friends" and he was able to hang out last night. Yes, he does pay a physical price the next day but SO worth it says Wil (mom not so much somedays  😂 ) We are still waiting for the alternative chemo to be sent. The Erwinia will replace the Asparaginase in Wil's treatment protocol. The bad news is that this will require very  painful shots in both thighs for 3 days each time. Some have asked about his port, especially his friends who can see it bulging under the skin on his chest. Wil had a double port pictured below. It was surgically placed under his skin and the catheter goes directly into his heart. When he has to have chemo or blood drawn, the nurse accesses his port by sticking a 1 inch needle through his skin into his port. They flush with saline and then usually pull blood to run labs to check

Well ... I was working on a happy post... I was going to say what a great 3 days Wil has had. I was going to say he was able to hang out with friends. I was going to say he saw his soccer team on Friday and it went better than we expected. I was going to say we agreed to go try school for a few hours a day this fall. I was even going to throw in a little gripe about pharmacies and the costs and running around trying to find someone who has chemo pills in stock. But... now I' m going to post that Wil had a reaction to the chemo meds today and went into anaphylactic shock. His eyes and throat swelled shut, he could hear us yelling but couldn't breathe or see. And he was in so much pain. It was the fastest and biggest swelling of lips, nose, eyes that I have ever seen, even in pictures. The nurses reacted quickly to my calls, the epi pen worked, and the doctor came. I won't throw in the gray skin, vomiting, & diarrhea. I'll just say it was a horrible, scary day and

8/3/17 Please take a moment to send peace, love, energy, prayers, strength, zen... whatever u have to my dear Mommy friend  Erin Drexler  . I have been struggling with words to express the depth of my heartache for her as she takes her little Leo home to love and comfort. Erin was one of the first cancer moms to give me support, her Leo has t-cell ALL just like Wil. She is a wealth of knowledge but more important a constant presence who understands the horror of this awful disease that is now taking her baby boy from her. Please take a moment and lift her up as she goes through these final days with her son, Leo  😍  I love you Erin.  # teamleo 8/4/17   Erin Drexler  said her final goodbye to her son Leo this morning. There is nothing anyone can say or do. Please honor her heartache by extending kindness to everyone you meet today.  # teamleo   # cancersucks

Happy Mama here! Breakfast with my boy after chemo

Wil sleeping "help, help, help" Me "William wake up, William open your eyes" Wil "I had a bad dream mom" Me "I know buddy it's ok" (((Hugging))) Wil "I don't want to have cancer" Me  💔 # cancersucks   # makeitstop   # needstrongercusswords # nightmarewecannotwakeupfrom

Good news!! Wil is awake and planning on going to lunch with friends... send him strength! He had a bad Friday, a "meh" Sat with lots of joint pain, but walking... and this morning he is medicated and motivated to see his friends.  # wegotthis A beautiful person who guided my life in many ways used to pick a word of the year and share it in her Christmas letters. Every year since then for over 25 years I pick a word on New Years Eve and use it as a compass to guide my upcoming  year...not sure she know how much of an influence she continues to have over my life. The picture below is the word I chose for 2017. (I made it with Legos in my sister's basement  😍  while we were doing a NYE challenge from another dear family friend-wow I have awesome people  :) ..it was chosen for the physical things I was going to accomplish this year... but WOW did I need it more than I could have ever imagined. Thanks to everyone who gives us strength... much love from the Ohlers.