Ready for Halloween

Oh Halloween, how we love you. Liam has always loved to dress up, he has a costume for every day of the week. Walking door to door for candy just makes it a dream come true. Liam is going to be the toughest little Captain America and Jack is working on cutest bumble bee.  I don’t think a little rain is going to keep Liam from celebrating to the fullest. Let me start the last year in review to say we are doing great. Liam is amazing and thriving. We LOVE where we are right now!  This is the icing on the cake.

Halloween 2012 wasn’t so spectacular. In my mind it marks the start of our climb from the bottom to the top.  Every part of Liam’s system has taken a toll from all the treatments. Taking the chemo pills that barely bothered him a few years ago left him the most miserable I’ve seen him. Even Liam himself came to the conclusion that we were taking too much of the medicine. October 2012 was basically the last cycle of chemotherapy. It is indescribable to have treatment behind us.

So we began healing….

Preschool was a little more than we could bite off last year. We followed Liam’s lead and began rebuilding at home. We were visiting the hospital very frequently(twice a week) for blood and/or platelet transfusions. We had some weight to gain, muscles to build and cuddles to share. Liam was better and better every day. By Christmas, Liam had rebuilt a lot of endurance and we were thrilled for our Australian family to visit. We enjoyed a phenomenal trip to Disney World. It was so fun to explore the parks by day and swim and play with cousins at night. We were lucky to be able to visit the hospital near Orlando for a platelet transfusion without missing out on the fun.

In the new year, we started gymnastics and little ninjas for gaining strength and flexibility. Liam is growing stronger every day. He gained weight without trouble and he is starting to grow taller. The doctors expect him to be petite related to treatment especially the second round of radiation to his spine. Small and Mighty sounds great to me!!

February was the last set of scans that we have done. The tests remain clear of neuroblastoma! Awesome!!How to celebrate? DisneyLand!!!! Liam’s favorite movie is ‘Cars.’ So, naturally, it was his wish to visit Carsland, a new amusement section at Disneyland. Carsland has been a topic of discussion for years now.  We were impressed, I may have liked it even more than Liam;) The boys enjoyed every minute, lots of swimming and fun.  We were still receiving a lot of transfusions back then and I didn’t want to visit a hospital on this vacation so instead of flying home (requiring platelet transfusion) we took a 3 day train ride from California. It was such a wonderful trip.  I never imagined the adventure we would have, it was tight quarters but that was half the excitement. No trip is complete without a little drama, running out of diapers in Albuquerque was enough drama for us. Will saved the day by dashing to find supplies during a strictly enforced super short stop.

First day of Kindergarten

After returning home we sat down with some Doc’s and Nurses to plan the future…
-We are finished with treatments in New York.

-We are taking a well deserved break from scans. The testing weeks are always stressful both physically and emotionally so we are just choosing to listen to Liam and his body.

There was one remaining bag of Liam’s stem cells, gathered before his marrows were damaged . We planned with great hope in our hearts that these cells would hold the answer to Liam’s recovery. Our prayers were answered!!!!! March 29th 2013 Liam received the stem cells and received a platelet transfusion. That was the last transfusion Liam received. We went from  at least weekly transfusions to absolute freedom. WHAT!?!?!?!?! NO MORE TRANSFUSIONS!?!?!?!?!? In Liam’s life, he was transfusion dependent more than not. This is a gift straight from God! Not only is he independently maintaining his blood counts Liam is getting better every month. A snapshot of his blood proves his healing is through and through.

Liam’s only medical treatment  is taking half a pill daily and a monthly blood draw that we get to do from home with our excellent Home Health Nurse, Cindy.

We are living life to the fullest and take nothing for granted. Our summer was outstanding. Today, Liam is proudly going to full day Kindergarten near our house. Enjoying new and old friends.  We are leaning on nature and all that she has to offer to help continue healing. The little fella might not admit it but I think he likes the fresh vegetable juices that we now drink. Jack is just as dreamy as Liam. Jack is lovable funny and adventurous. The boys keep Will and I on our toes. They are adorable together playing snuggling and making mischief.

Thanks for continuing to keep us in your prayers, The Kellys are a work in progress.  There is nothing more comforting than feeling your love and support. We have come so far from last Halloween and it seems like light years from when this all began in 2010.