Walk this Way (please)

I would like someone to tell me how I can play ANGRY BIRDS in every waiting moment in my life (doctors office, lines, car trips...when I'm not driving....promise), and Gideon somehow beats every level and I only let him play two minutes at a time? He is AMAZING. Yesterday he said to me, "Mommy, the Big Bad Wolf couldn't get the job done with those pigs, so he got the ANGRY BIRDS to help him out." May I just mommy-gush here and say how IMPRESSED I am with his multi-genre connection? The pigs are in buildings and the ANGRY BIRDS get sling-shotted into those houses to squash those egg-greedy-critters. I could just squash Gideon, he's so adorable! Sometimes I do sling-shot myself into him, but I'm not so angry. I just want to inhale him and the treasured way he pronounces the letter "r" in every "r" -ridden word.

Gideon had Clinic today (and received Vincristine), and his ANC has dropped quite a bit since his last appointment. He was in the upper 2,000s the last time we checked, and today he was at 969. We will go in for more count checks soon to see if he is still plummeting, staying the same, or getting better. For those of you who forgot, ANC stands for Absolute Neutrophil Count and it basically measures the body's ability to fight infection. Infection within a body with cancer is much more serious than with us, the cancer-free ones. We will just be more careful again and watch our boy more closely.

While we watch our boy, you can walk with our boy to show your support in ending childhood cancer (was that a transitional stretch?). I have to ask you to WALK WITH US at the CELERY FLATS on May 21 at 8 a.m. to raise money for CureSearch. I have formed a group called "Team Good Fishies." Simply click here, scroll down to the bottom of the screen that says "Gideon's Good Fishies" and click "JOIN TEAM" under action if you would like to WALK that day. To walk, you will pay an entrance fee of 10 dollars. You may then fundraise however you see fit, but people will be able to donate on your behalf via the website CureSearch link. Even if you pay the ten dollars and are not able to find donations, we would LOVE for you to represent Gideon and a cure by being there. If there is anyone out there who would like to kind of HEAD this endeavor, please email me (aschrips@gmail.com). As of right now, we have raised $2,000 for the WALK (we haven't loaded into the computer program keeping track yet), while Ryan and Dawn who are running the marathon this weekend have raised over 3,000 dollars! This is all amazing, so if we could get a group of us out there, that would be fabulous! Of course, the more we raise the closer we will be to finding a cure for Childhood Cancer.

Tonight we went to our Clinic's fundraiser at Noodles and Co. I have to say how empowering it is to talk to other moms in the midst of this battle. There is an unspoken camaraderie and understanding there. I spoke to one mom who brought up my hiding-under-the-bed post. It feels so good to be real, laugh at ourselves, and to know we are not alone and we are not crazy. Just our steroid children are mini-crazies. (Gideon took his first steroid of this round tonight. Heeeeeeeeeeeeeere we go!) I really think there is such power in numbers by not feeling isolated within this disease. I've heard about other cities who have CHEMO CIRCUSES and CHEMO CIRCUS events all year-round to keep families who have children with cancer connected. Uh-oh...my wheels are turning...

Mmmmm... I just noticed that my hair still smells like grilled cheese. I made that for lunch and it's ten o'clock at night. I'm too tired to shower. It'll have to wait. Let's hope I have some deliciously greasy dreams of a diner somewhere. Nigh-night.

P.S. A HUMUNGOUS THANK YOU TO MISSY WISEHEART FOR SETTING UP A BLOOD DRIVE IN FARMINGTON HILLS FOR GIDEON! IT IS HAPPENING THIS FRIDAY. YOU'RE THE BEST, MISSY!