It is 11:00 am and I just woke up. I'm just sitting here thinking about how lucky I am. Living here at the hospital isn't all bad. Brooks likes to stay up late at night because that's when he feels his best, so most nights we watch movies, read books or play games into the early morning hours. I miss my sleep but I'm so happy that I get to be spending this time with him. I get to hang out all day with my son. . . it's awesome!This last round has definitely been the hardest so far. Brooks is so tired and fragile. He sleeps most of the time. He started having fevers a few days ago and it turns out he has some form of staph. The antibiotics are working though and he is holding strong.The other morning about 5 am I woke up to Brooks listening to his iPod, Bob Marley,"don't worry about a thing, cuz every little thing is gonna be alright", was playing. I just can't help thinking about how precious life is, how everyday we have here is a miracle and how lucky we are to be alive. Brooks always talks about the things he is looking forward to, the things he wants to experience in life. Somethings are big but most are simple: hanging out with friends, playing with a dog, wrestling his brothers, going to school, swimming, hiking a mountain, riding his dirt bike, learning to snow ski, hunting, fishing, camping, boating, I'm sure once he is better he will never waste a day. I'm constantly reminded to live every minute to the fullest and enjoy the time we have together.
-Lisa

What Cancer Cannot do...It Cannot...Invade the Soul...Destroy Peace...Conquer the Spirit...Shatter Hope...Cripple Love...Corrode Faith...Silence Courage...Rob Eternal Life

Bald boys

I feel like the past week has just flown by, and I haven't had time to give a lot of updates. Brooks went back into the hospital on Thursday, April 1st. He is just about finished with his chemo treatments. His last dose is tomorrow. He has been tired, but has stayed healthy,which is great. This round, some of the chemo medication is blue. Brooks thinks it is pretty cool. He has been spending most of his time putting together Legos (when he is awake). That kid LOVES Legos! He received a lot of cool gifts on Easter from the Easter Bunny. I think that several Easter Bunny's showed up that day to bring him gifts to cheer him up. We all love that he is able to stay at Primary Children's. It is such a great hospital and there are so many people who donate to help kids like Brooks lift their spirits! What a blessing!

-Kristi

Easter...one week early

This weekend has been great for Brooks and the whole family! Yesterday, he spent the day with his family and cousins at Grandpa and Grandma Palmer's. They had an Easter egg hunt and flew kites. It was so fun for everyone! Brooks even tried to play a little bit of "steal the flag" with all of the cousins. Today, he had an Easter celebration at Grandpa and Grandma Call's. He was super tired (probably from all of the running around on Saturday), but all in...it was a great weekend!
-Kristi

Home at last

Brooks was able to come home yesterday (March 22nd)!!! Yeah!!!! He should be home until next Friday as long as he keeps staying healthy. I don't think that Brooks has ever been as stir crazy as he was this round in the hospital. He was able to have a few visitors, which helped, but I know he prefers being at home and so do the rest of us. Yeah Brooks!

Special visitors

Brooks has been able to have some really friendly visitors while he has been in the hospital. This is a picture of one of the therapy dogs that Brooks likes to hang with. I think Brooks really likes this dog because it wants to cuddle and be held. I think the dog weighs more than Brooks! Brooks has done well the past few days. He started running a little fever yesterday, but his body was able to fight it off on its own, which is super cool! He is going a little stir crazy sitting in the hospital. Lisa and Greg were able to get the webcam to work so that Brooks could see and hear all of the craziness going on at home with Ethan and Nic. It has helped so much to have the webcam and the laptop! I honestly can't thank people enough for being so generous! It is such a blessing that Brooks is able to go to a hospital where so many people volunteer and bring in just a little bit of the outside world so that patients like Brooks can have a brighter day!
-Kristi

Luck O' The Irish...

Brooks has a sweet new hat, and even though he isn’t Irish…we are all hoping that a little bit o’ that Irish luck rubs off this week. Grandma Palmer is staying the weekend with him so Lisa can go home and be with Greg, Ethan and Nic. Brooks has put together so many Lego’s this round in the hospital that his room is starting to look like Lego Land. We are definitely going to need to post some pictures of the Lego mania in the room. Brooks slept a lot today. I am sure that his body needs the rest. He was able to eat a steak dinner tonight, so his stomach must be doing really well tonight. Happy St. Patrick’s Day Brooks!
-Kristi

This is definitely a day that we will be happy to be done with. I don't know about this cancer thing. I wish it could be easier. . .The good news is that time seems to be passing quickly. I can't believe it's almost St. Patrick's day already. Hopefully we will blink our eyes and this will all be behind us. Brooks counts finally hit bottom today. I'm glad they're down but will be scared until they start building back. Can we just have a redo of last round? His skin biopsies came back negative. What a relief! Brooks is really missing his brothers and friends right now. He still continues to amaze me with his strength and maturity. I have always told him that he is strong willed and I am so glad that he is. Life right now is so surreal. It's hard to relate to things or think about things beyond surviving this. I'm just so grateful for all of you. We feel so blessed that we have you to lean on. Keep praying for us! We love you!


-Lisa