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2/15/2012 | Dinki and John traveled to NY for John's quarterly checkup. John is still cancer free and they are now moving his checkup from quarterly to every six months. We are so excited that John is doing so well and is leading a regular life, being completely free from any medication or treatments for over four years now. In the spring John will be playing on a soccer team, running around and bashing shins and heads like a normal eleven year old should be. He also enjoys playing a simple video game MineCraft with James and other friends online. George is a full-time student attending the local community college and studying videography. He loves the classes he is taking and he is very creative and competent in his film work, James continues to grow in his knowledge of all things computers, especially the Mac. He saved up over the summer and bought his first MacBook Pro which he takes everywhere. Looks like he's following in my footsteps as a computer guru, Earlier this month I switched jobs from the U.S. Department of Justice after being with therm for almost nineteen years. An opportunity came about to work for Bank of America. I love the new work I'm doing and the chance to learn so many new things. |
12/15/2011 | John turned eleven today, Happy Birthday John. John had a great birthday and is very thankful for all of his friends and the gifts he received. 
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12/14/2011 | Five years ago today we received the news that John had Stage IV Neuroblastoma. It was the day before he turned six. Now five years later I have witnessed the miraculous and tomorrow my son John will be eleven years old. It's a time for rememberance of all the difficulties of the past five years and also a time of celebration of all that we have to be thankful for. In roughly six months after being diagnosed with Stage IV Neuroblastoma, John had no evidence of disease (NED). He started with what many would be considered a a death sentence to NED, an unheard of time frame to be free of that dreaded cancer. - Did he just get "lucky" and get to the right doctors at the right time?
- Was there some new treatment that allowed him to recover so quickly?
- Did some type of miracle take place that allowed John to be cured?
- Did John possess some special gene or chomosone that allowed him to throw off the cancer?
We may never know the answer to any of these questions here on this earth. But this I do know, John is a living, breathing example of God's grace. We didn't deserve it, we didn't earn it, we couldn't buy it...yet it was given freely to us and for that we are eternally grateful. Dear Lord, thank you again for the healing of our son John and allowing him to live a healthy, normal life. I ask for your healing hand to touch all of the other children with Neuroblastoma and other cancers and heal them. You are indeed the great physician and our son John is a living example of it. Thank you for giving him to us. In Jesus precious name, Amen. |
12/3/2011 | James and I were out hunting this morning and a deer wandered up to within about twenty feet of the tree James was sitting in. A few minutes later a single shot rang out and James had taken his first deer. A dad could not be prouder than I am to see my son take his first deer. |
| 11/12/2011 | Another quarter has come and gone. John had a perfect checkup in NY and did lots of sightseeing on this trip. |
8/30/2011 | John had another great checkup earlier this month. The medical team at Sloan Kettering said he is looking great and do not see any issues with him. We are so happy to share this wonderful news with you. 
James and John at Adventure Land at the Magic Kingdom at Disney World John enjoying dinner at Morton's Steak House |
5/11/2011 | Today we celebrate three wonderful things: - James turns thirteen years old today. Welcome to teenagehood James!
- James is the best birthday present I (Rick) ever received - thirteen years ago.
- John went to NY last weekend with Dinki and got a clean bill of health, which brings us almost to the four year mark with no evidence of the disease (NED) returning.
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2/19/2011 | We just returned from New York for John's checkup. The scans and blood tests are all negative for any signs of the cancer. That's over 3 1/2 years that John has been cancer free now. This trip was longer than most, as the Corporate Angel Network flight that was available got us to NY two days early. We decided to make the most of those two days. On Wednesday we walked at least forty blocks, with John skateboarding along the way. We stopped by the United Nations and took a brief tour of the courtyard. There were not a lot of places to skate, but John made the best of whatever he could find to skate or jump off of.
On Thursday we headed out again, this time in the direction of Central Park. We did a lot of walking and not too much skating in the morning, as there was still a lot of snow in the park and lots of water on many of the pathways. We still managed to see the Balto statue and stopped by Strawberry Fields before heading in to the west side of NY. We found a great skate shop and they were able to tell us about one of the few skate parks that were open in the winter. We left there and jumped into a cab and headed off to the skate park. This would be John's first chance to skate in a NY skate park, which is something he had talked about for several weeks prior. It was Astoria Park and it is located under a massive bridge, so it was protected from the snow. There were lots of people skating in the park from ages six to twenty-five+. John quickly made friends with some of the kids his age and he was right at home skating in no time. With the help of a local skater, I was able to find a nearby skate shop that had instructors that could come out to the park to work with kids and adults to learn new maneuvers. I ended up hiring a guy who quickly came out and started working with John on some new tricks. John's a quick learner and he was amazed at how much he picked up during the hour of instruction.
With skating over for the evening, it was time to head back to the Ronald McDonald house and get dressed to see Spider-Man Turn Off The Dark on Broadway. The show had been getting a lot of press because of the dangers involved in the aerial scenes and some accidents that had occurred. At one point the show had ran out of funding and it looked like it was dead. New funding was found and the $60 million dollar production (most expensive ever produced) continued and after 2+ years of development, it opened to the public. We arrived at the theater and had excellent seats about ten rows back from the stage. The show was amazing: from the incredible digital backdrops they used to diaplay ever changing scenery to the high flying scenes that required split second accuracy to avoid midair collisions. The most amazing part was when Spider-Man and the Green Goblin were both flying around simultaneously and then Spider-Man jumps on the Green Goblin's back and both of them are flying over the audience together. I can see how easy it would be to get hurt on the wires, but our show went off without a hitch. Friday we woke up and headed to the hospital for a checkup and some lab work. Once finished, we got some food and headed to Brooklyn. Our destination...The House of Vans, which is the Vans shoe companies private skate park that they use to promote their products. No one we had spoken to at any of the skate parks had been able to skate there, as it's by invitation only. We arrived, knocked on the door and were greeted by the friendly Vans staff. Dave a.k.a Chopper, gave us a tour of the facility. After the tour, it was time to skate! John grabbed his board and hit the floor running. After a few minutes, Chopper and Frank from Vans joined in the fun, as John enjoyed exclusive access to the entire skate park. No one to run into or have to wait behind, it was just John, Chopper and Frank skating away indoors and out. After skating awhile they started rearranging the park and bringing out ramps and slides to make it more interesting. Before long, all three of them were simultaneously jumping across the ramp three wide. It was a great site to see as they constantly encouraged John. At one point, I lay down behind the ramp and John jumped over me and I escaped without a scratch. Next, was skating the bowl, the equivalent of a nine foot deep swimming pool, but with lots of curves to skate around. The House of Vans generosity to John was overwhelming. John was able to skate in their private park and had his first chance to skate in a bowl. Frank and chopper of Vans showed him how to do the bowl, then John started dropping in like a pro. He quickly got the hang of the bowl and was riding it like a pro. It was then time to leave and head back to the Ronald House, but not before the House of Vans fixed up John with some goodie bags from their secret stash, including a new skate deck for John. Wow, what a great bunch of guys. When it comes to skate shoes, we'll be buying Vans in the future, because that's the type of company I want to support. It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip!
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12/15/2010
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Happy Birthday John - 10 years old today! |
12/14/2010
| Four years ago today, John was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma cancer and our world was turned upside down. Tomorrow, we celebrate John turning ten, what a miracle! Thanks to all of you who have stood by and supported our family all these years. Words alone cannot express our thanks for all the prayers, dinners, shoulders to cry on and financial support. John could have never made it without all of you, our extended family.
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11/21/2010
| We had a safe trip to NY and John's checkup went well. He and I were able to enjoy some special father and son time together without any distractions. Saturday night we went to see the Broadway production of the Lion King. We had bought tickets from a gentleman the day before and were told they were on the second row from the stage. Imagine the surprise when we got to the theater and found ourselves in the center of the very front row. The view was amazing and we could see every little expression, even the sweat on their foreheads. The actors really put their hearts into the show and it was the most spectacular play I have ever seen. The costumes were incredible and the voices of the actors as they sang together intertwined beautifully.
I am preparing for Thanksgiving as George, James and John will be coming over. Tops on the list will be smoking a fresh turkey, along with other favorite foods the guys have requested. I wish you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving...
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11/16/2010 | It's hard to believe that another three months have passed since John's last checkup. This weekend we are heading back to MSKCC in NY for his next checkup. The doctors are very positive about the longterm outlook for John and have greatly reduced the number of tests and procedures that he has to go through for each checkup. Please pray for John and I as we travel there and back. John has really been into skateboarding lately and has gotten very good at it. You can click the photo below to see some photos of John doing some of his tricks. |
10/18/2010
| It's hard to believe that December will be the four year mark of when John was diagnosed. He is doing so well and continues to lead the normal life of a nine year old. Earlier this summer we went white water rafting and John and James had a great time.
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8/8/2010
| John got back from his checkup this week and there's still no evidence of any disease returning. 
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8 / 2010 | After nearly nineteen years of marraige, Dinki and I are divorced. We have have been living apart for the past three years, but had hoped we could somehow work things out and remain a family. The boys are handling it much better than I am, they are so strong for their ages. |
2/17/2010 | All of John's final test results are in and no sign of Neuroblastoma. Thank you Lord for another clean quarterly checkup. John is doing great, as are James and George. I have been working in Washington, most weeks since mid-December. The travel is very hard on us all, but I'm thankful that I have a job in these tough times. |
| 1/30/2010 | Dinki, John, James and George just got back from NY for John's quarterly checkup. We don't have final results on all his tests, but everything looks good.
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11/5/09
| We made it back from NYC. In spite of having to go through some difficult tests, all in all it was a good fun trip. The doctor said all the preliminary test results look good and that John is doing fantastic. He's good to go for another three months.
Thank you all for your continued prayers for our family as we daily walk this road. I am so grateful for all that everyone has done for us.
I should have some pictures up this weekend of some donations John made to the Ronald McDonald house and the MSKCC hospital.
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10/31/09
| John and I are up in NY for his checkup. We flew up this morning, then took a train to Albany to visit our cousin Paige in Albany. We're not fans of Halloween and this gave us a chance to get out of the city and all of the "Hell-oween" activities. John is 27 months cancer free (NED). We're going through the routine checkup and locking forward to another clean bill of health. John has been having a great year in school and his favorite subject is spelling. He's reallly good at reading too. James is a great math and is a deep thinker. George is seventeen now and driving all over the place. He's a good driver and does well at any subject he applies himself to. He continues to amaze me at his creativity with the guitar. He creates a lot of his music and can play just about every style from jazz to rock. Earlier in the fall, James and I went to a father and son retreat at Doe River gorge in Tennessee. We had the opportunity to listen and meet Steve Saint. Steve is the son of Nate Saint, a missionary that was brutally killed in Equador along with four other missionaries. 
James doing technical tree climbing using just ropes at Doe River. |
8/24/09 | Last week James and John went with me to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to visit our family and friends there. We had a wonderful visit and got to catchup with a lot of friends. It's the first time I had been back since shortly after hurricane Katrina. It was so good to reconnect with everyone. We got to go fishing among other things and caught over 25 2 - 3 llb catfish. 
Here's cousin Nathaniel on the left, John with a bass in the middle and James on the right. The week before that, John and I went up to MSKCC in NYC for his quarterly checkup. The checkup went great and all the test results we received show him still cancer free! We should have all final tests in another week, but we don't expect any surprises. So in a nutshell, John is doing great and is not on any medications. Thank you again Corporate Angel Network and all the corporations that donate seats on their private airplanes to allow John to travel back and for th to NYC so he can keep getting the care and checkups he needs. |
7/10/09 | The boys and I had a fantastic fourth of July, eating out, playing in the pool and of course, shooting off fireworks. They are still enjoying their weekly horse back riding lessons and are improving rapidly. I hope all of you are enjoying your summer as much as we are enjoying ours. |
6/28/09 | The boys and I had a great weekend swimming, playing video games and horseback riding. I feel like the most blessed dad in the world for have four great kids and one super grandson. I recently had a change in my job function. I've worked at the U.S. Department of Justice for the past sixteen years and for about the last ten or so years I've been working in the area of Automated Litigation Support (ALS). A couple of weeks ago I was asked if I was interested in moving into information security and I accepted a new position. I'm still with the same firm and everything, just now I do information security work, aka I keep the bad guys out of our computer systems. My new work title is Information System Security Officer or ISSO. So far it has been very interesting and rewarding work. |
6/26/09 | James and John have taken up horse back riding and are enjoying the weekly rides. Here are some photos from a few weeks ago when they rode. |
6/19/09 | John has been cancer free for about two years now and the kids are all enjoying the summer. As Father's day approaches, I am very grateful to be a dad of my four wonder children Jodie, George, James and John and a grandfather to Noah. Below are photos from a beach trip we all took to celebrate my parent's fiftieth anniversary. Dinki and my nephew Ian were unable to attend the beach trip, and are missing from the family photo below. |
3/21/09 | Today James and John and I spent the morning fish at a pond next to my house. We caught a bunch of bream and cleaned them and ate them for lunch. It was a great morning together. |
3/12/09 | Been traveling a lot for work this year and haven't been able to update this site as often as I would like. Here's what's been happening the past couple of months: All of John's test results came back and he is still cancer free, that makes 19 months now, praise God!. The three boys had and I a chance to go down to Miami the weekend of 3/6 to see my daughter's family. Kyle, a friend of the family also came with George. Cisco, Jodie and baby Noah are all doing great and we all could not believe how big Noah already is. 
John and Noah 
James and Noah 
Jodie, Cisco and John 
George and Kyle in the ocean, it was chilly! |
2/5/2009 | Dinki and John had a safe trip to New York for John's quarterly checkup. while we don't have all the final results, everything we have heard remains positive. We should have all the final test results in a couple of weeks. |
| 1/30/2009 | Dinki and John are preparing to go to NY next week for John's eighteen month checkup. John is doing well, as are George and James. |
| 1/29/2009 | Noah is growing every day and Jodie and Cisco are loving the addition to their family. Jodie had to go to the emergency room earlier this week as she had come down with a bad case of Mastitis. she is doing much better now. |
1/21/2009 2:20p | Noah Lundin Pellerano was born today at 2:30 and he weighed 7 pounds and 11 ounces and was 20 inches long. My daughter Jodie and my son-in-law Cisco are so excited to have their new son. Jodie and Noah are doing great and he is already nursing well. This makes George, James and John an uncle and me a grandfather. Thank you Lord Jesus for this new healthy baby! Congratulations Cisco and Jodie! 
Jodie looks great for having just had a baby an hour and a half ago. |
| 1/20/2009 | We woke up to about four inches of snow this morning. It was so beautiful driving through the country and looking at all the snow. The boys were very excited. |
1/14/2009 | John went for a second checkup today since getting back from Miami and the doctor said everything was normal, so we're happy about that. He goes for his quarterly checkup the first week of February. Click on the photo for a link to some photos from the past few weeks. |
12/29/2008 | They have ruled out Early Reropharyngeal Celulitis and are still running tests to determine the problem. John had a good nights sleep and is feeling much better with no more neck pain, so it appears the antibiotics he is receiving is working. We are hoping that if everything looks good, we will be released tomorrow. |
12/28/2008 1:30p | John has been complaining of his neck hurting for several days and yesterday he began running a fever. John's fever went up to 103 today and I took him to Miami Children's Hospital where they did a CT scan and blood work to determine what the problem might be. They are saying that he has a number of swollen lymph nodes in the rear of his neck and are admitting him and have started him on antibiotics. The diagnosis is: Early Reropharyngeal Celulitis and we are fortunate to have found it now before it developed into an abscess. Please pray for John's healing, as we do not know how long we will have to stay in the hospital. |
12/25/2008 | Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus. The boys had a wonderful Christmas today. We opened presents, played scrabble, cooked, backed, drove remote control cars outside and watched UnderDog. It was a great day. John is doing very well and will be going for his 18 month checkup in February. The current news is that he's still cancer free. He turned eight this month and had a great birthday. James (10) got braces recently, as he was having trouble eating things because his two front teeth were growing crooked. He's only had them for a few weeks and already his teeth are looking great. He got in the Christmas spirit by having Red and Green rubber bands put on his braces. George is continuing to grow and is now taller than me. He continues to do excel in playing the guitar and is in his second year of high school Latin. He is doing a great job with driving with his learners permit and we are very proud of that. My son-in-law Cisco turned twenty-five today - Happy Birthday Cisco. He and my daughter Jodie are expecting their first child in late January. They are living down in Miami. Jodie is teaching high school students in science and Cisco works at a very nice restaurant in North Miami. James and John and I are heading to Miami tomorrow to visit with them for a few days over the Christmas break. |
10/20/08 | We just received John's test results from his October checkup and everything looks great. He's now fifteen months cancer free, so thank you for your prayers for John. Please also pray for James, George and Dinki and I, as this cancer has an effect on all of us. |
10/8/08
| John and I spent the last three days in New York city for his fifteen month checkup. We flew up on a commercial flight but we were blessed to be able to fly back to Charlotte with a flight via the Corporate Angel Network. We had a lot of fun hanging out at the Jet Aviation hangar waiting to go home today. While waiting, John got to meet some folks from the New York Giants. The pilot of their plane gave him a Giants hat and a photo of their plane. Another kind lady at Jet Aviation gave John a model of a P-38 Lightning fighter plane, which was used extensively during WWII. It is always so nice to see the generosity of so many people in action. John had a great time running around and playing with the plane and would not take off his new Giants hat.
John was a real champ through all the tests. Every three months we must return to NY to go through the following tests:
- Install IV
- Multiple blood tests
- CT Scan
- MRI (Lay perfectly still for an hour and 20 minutes)
- MIBG Bone Scan (Lay still for forty minutes) - John is given a thyroid blocker prior to this test as he is injected with a radioactive isotope that if absorbed into his thyroid, could cause the thyroid to permanently shutdown. This is one of the most important test, as it can detect the cancer's return in any part of the body.
- Bone Marrow and Aspirate surgery where John is put under anesthesia for them to remove four small samples from the front and rear of his pelvis area to check for recurring cancer.
As he was laying on the MRI Table Tuesday night, I got to my knees and just started praying that John would be at peace and sleep, as he was twitching and moving quite a bit at the start of the scan. I messaged Dinki and the boys to also pray and within moments John was fast asleep and did not move the rest of the scan. Once more God has shown himself mighty on behalf of this little soldier of his.
We returned home tonight to a rainy Charlotte, but boy was it nice to be back home. We should have the results of all the tests in a couple of weeks.... Please Keep Praying for us all!
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| 9/28/2008 | It was time to pack up everything and head back to Charlotte, but there was one last thing John needed...a ride in a new Ferrari. There were sitting out front of our hotel when we were getting ready to leave and someone was nice enough to give John a ride in one of them. What a way to end a Make-A-Wish trip.
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9/25/08 | LEGOLAND, San Diego, CA - John's Make A Wish came true today! We had the most amazing day at LEGOLAND. It all started as we arrived in the parking lot at LEGOLAND. My Sister Rhonda and her husband Mike and there two sons Jonathon and Benjamin (Bebe) surprised John by driving in from Phoenix, AZ to spend the day with us at LEGOLAND. It was a cool and beautiful; a perfect day to spend outdoors. John had an amazing day and there was so much smiling and laughing among us all that it was practically contagious. It was such a blessing to see them all enjoy the day together. Thank you Make A Wish for putting this together for John! |
9/24/08 9:15p PST | It's Make A Wish time for John and his brothers James and George. They were picked up by a limousine this morning and taken to the airport for a flight to San Diego. They were joined by dad and their grandfather, Papa. We were greeted at the airport by James from the San Diego Make A Wish chapter and brought over to the Hyatt Manchester hotel, were John was greeted by about 20 of the Hyatt staff. It was a great honor to be treated so well. Everyone has been so kind and generous to us, thank you all! It's been a great day of fun and laughter. We visited the USS Midway Aircraft carrier and enjoyed swimming at the hotel pool and just relaxing. Tomorrow we head out to Lego Land for the day. If you want to see the photos full size, just click on the slide show below to be taken to the album of today. |
9/9/2008
| It's hard to believe that a year has passed since John was exposed to chicken pox in NY and ended up with a case of the shingles. For the past year John has had to take a pill three times a day to prevent the reocurrence of the shingles or chicken pox. Well I'm pleased that this weekend he got his last dose of Acyclovir. It's such a relief as parents not to have to remember three times a day to give him the medicine. Dinki had come up with a great system of tracking when we were to give him the medicine, but even with a great system, it was still a lot of work to administer three doses every day. It's a big relief that John is no longer having to take any medicine. John's next big thing is his Make-A-Wish happening near the end of this month. He has chosen to go to LegoLand in California and is very excited about it.
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9/1/2008 | I've been slow again to post, but I'm back online now. All of Johns's final test results look great and showed no signs of Neuroblastoma returning. James, John and I went to the beach a few weeks ago and had a great time playing in the waves. Unfortunately James got an ear infection the second day over the weekend and had to spend the rest of the week out of the water. James had a great attitude about the infection and although he was disappointed, he didn't allow it to spoil his fun. |
7/24/2008 | The boys and I drove up to attend the Children's Neuroblastoma conference in Chicago last weekend. they had a great playroom for the younger kids to do activities while the parents attended the conference. the conference was put on by the Children's Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation (CNCF). It was an excellent two day conference and I learned about many exciting treatments that are being developed towards finding a cure for this cancer. Dr. Cheung, who is the primary researcher at MSKCC and probably the leading authority on the topic worldwide spoke several times and offered a lot of encouragement. As I heard other doctors from other facilities speak about other types of treatments and the results theywere having, I felt very confident that God had led Dinki and I to MSKCC to help save John. The other presenters at the conference did not have the same level of promising results that MSKCC has had with the 3F8 antibody treatment. CNCF provides research grants to many hospitals and universities around the country and is working to find a cure for this dreadful disease. Neuroblastoma is the most common solid tumor cancer found in children, second only to brain tumors. Still, only about 625 children a year are diagnosed with it here in the United States and very little funding is available to help with research. If you'd like to make a donation of any size to help the CNCF continue to fund Neuroblastoma research, please click here to go to their donation site. Any amount you can give will help move us one step closer to finding a cure. The drive took about fifteen hours each way from Chicago. Fortunately, George was a great help in taking turns driving. He got his learner's permit earlier that week and he did an excellent job on the drive to Chicago. James and John played and slept in the back seat and overall seemed to have a good time. John's health is great and he is running and playing like a normal seven year old child. Sorry for no pictures lately. Our digital camera just up and died the other day and I have not had a chance to replace it yet. |
| 7/13/2008 | The trip to NY went well and all of John's test results so far are showing no return of the cancer. We should have all the results back in another week, but it looks like we can celebrate on year of John being cancer free! |
7/9/2008 | We had some free time Tuesday and got to spend it at the Bronx Zoo with my cousin Paige (Christine's sister) and her three year old daughter. The boys were glad to meet new cousins and James did a great job of watching over and helping his little cousin. Today was a very long day. We started by being at the hospital for 7:30 am and didn't get done until 6:40 pm. John had a CT scan, a checkup and a very long MRI. He did a great job of lying still during the MRI, which lasted over an hour. If you've never had an MRI, it's a little tough to explain. Think of yourself lying inside a round metal garbage can with about four or five inches free on each side of you. Then imagine while you are in that metal garbage can, someone comes along with sticks and metal rods and beats on the sides of the garbage can for an hour while you are forced to lay perfectly still in the garbage can. If you start moving during the MRI, they have to repeat the process again. John did a fantastic job of being still the whole time. Tonight when we got back to the Ronald house, the NBA was serving dinner for the house. We had burgers, hotdogs, chicken, watermelon and s'mores. It was an excellent meal and a nice way to end a really long day. Thanks for all of you that continue to pray and support us. |
| 7/7/2008 | The boys and I arrived in NY today for John's one year checkup. My cousin Christine that lives in Brooklyn picked us up from the airport and dropped us off at the Ronald McDonald house. Christine has been such a blesing to us each time we've come to New York. whether it's transportation, information, or just a different place to hang out, she's always been there to help us. |
7/2/2008 | George and John are continuing to have a great time at Camp Care. Today was pirate today and there were lots of water fights and other crazy things happening. Looks like they are having a blast! James and I are getting to enjoy a few days together and planning some special times where we can grow closer together and learn more about following Jesus. |
7/1/2008 | John and George are off at Camp Care this weekend and are having a great time. We are so glad that they have this opportunity to get away from their normal routines and enjoy a change of scenery. As you can see, they're having a great time. |
6/28/2008 | The boys have really been enjoying the summer. John's favorite activity lately is swimming, he just can't get enough of the water. Yesterday the boys and I went to Ray's Splash Planet to swim and slide. George is enjoying reading and playing his guitar. He continues to grow in his musical abilities as he has begun teaching himself some piano and it sounds very nice. They all enjoy playing their Nintendo DS or playing the Wii together when they aren't doing other things. Monday John and George head off to Camp CARE (Cancer Ain't Really the End) for a week of fun as they take a break from their normal routines. The camp is fully staffed with doctors and nurses to help the kids if there are any medical problems. Only one sibling can attend with the patient, so James is planning on going with John next year. The kittens continue to grow and are getting more fun to play with and watch as they wrestle around with one another. One of the neighbors puppies wandered over near the kittens and there mom and was quickly taught a lesson about mothers and their young. |
6/25/2008 | 
U.S. Attorney General Mukasey was in town today and James had the opportunity to meet him. It was really exciting for James, as his big Brother George had gotten to meet AG Gonzales a few years before. |
6/18/2008 | The boys are enjoying the summer and everyone is well. We are getting ready for John's one year checkup in a few weeks in NY. John is doing so well that we are meeting with a long-term care cancer doctor who will advise us on how to best manage John's health as continues his life without cancer. Click on the picture to go to the photos -----> |
5/25/2008 | James, George and I had birthdays during the past couple of months. James had a great time playing LaserQuest and George and his friends had a silly string war. John is still strong and living pretty much a normal life. The boys and I went rock climbing and repelling last weekend and had a lot of fun doing it. They are so strong and willing to try anything. Please continue praying for our family. |
5/6/2008 | James, John and I stopped by a sporting goods store and they were looking at the various weight machines. John and James were fooling around with one of the weight machines and James was trying to lift 185 pounds , but it wouldn't budge. John jumped up on the bench and lifted it right away. James continued to increase the weight to 200 pounds. John pushed with all his might and lifted it also. After James watched John do it so easily, he was very confused as to why he couldn't lift the weight. I then adjusted the bar height for him and he also was able to lift it, but for a few minutes, he thought John was the strongest boy ever. |
4/29/2008 |  This morning I received the sad news that Austin Melgar passed away last Thursday. Austin was seven years old and had been fighting Neuroblastoma for two and a half years.
"Austin Melgar was and always will be a joy to his family and an inspiration to the community in which he lived. His qualities of endurance, cheerfulness, and passion for life will be remembered by all who knew him." quoted from his lifestory Neuroblastoma - by R. Sumrall
Neuroblastoma, what can it do?
It takes life from a child and their family too!
It comes like a thief so sudden and soon So many are left in the wake of its monsoon
The family's once thought that they were immune Now they cry, pray and impugn
They say we grow stronger in difficult trials But what of those left in the funeral aisles?
I hate this disease and all it does do
As it seems that it has its own venue
I want children free from this dreaded disease As are the flowers and lilies and trees
For the memory of Austin, Ellie, Grace, Lillie, Lucas and James Let this disease be put down for it is insane
I want it to go before another child dies How many must end before our wet eyes?
Father to you I once again cry
Spare these dear children, not another let die
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4/23/2008 | After waiting over three months for Microsoft to fix our OfficeLive website, it's finally fixed! John completed his three month checkup and he is still cancer free. That's nine months now that he has been free of this horrible disease. James and John have fallen in love with the Webkinz stuffed animals and have collected quite a few so far. They love going on line to www.webkinz.com to play with their virtual pets. 
This was from an Easter egg hunt a few weeks ago. He's got all his hair back! |
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History: Click here for previous history of John's cancer treatment and diagnosis. Page last updated: 02.17.2012 09:20 GMT-05:00 |