Our Miracle Happened.

I write with huge joy in my heart. This week, after seven months of waiting for my nephew to be strong enough, he underwent his double lung surgery to find out how many different 'spots' were in his lungs.

It has not been an easy journey for Sean. Cancer isn't an easy journey for anyone, but in Sean's case there have been a great deal of little set backs along the way. After his leg surgery where they were forced to take a part of his leg, he was plagued by a severe infection that made it impossible for the doctors to go through with his lung surgery as planned at the time. This darn lung surgery has been pushed back since September. September! There have been weeks where the medical team could not follow through with his Sean's scheduled course of Chemo due to Sean's low blood counts. There were days when the reality of his situation was just too much for one young man to swallow.

As I look back at the several set backs, it obviously makes me very sad. That said, as I look back at this week, I am filled with joy and am elated to share our many little victories that we have been waiting for since June when Sean was first diagnosed.

This week the doctors were finally able to go in and remove the 'nodules' in Sean's lungs. We were calling them nodules, because we were hopeful that the last 6 months of Chemo had worked and that those spots were no longer cancer, rather unspecified nodules. Our prayers were answered.

After a very long, 8 hour surgery, Sean came out of the operation with flying colours. The team of doctors that were involved were all equally ecstatic with how the surgery went and how Sean faired through the surgery. We were all relieved and gave thanks to God for the outcome that we had all prayed for.

The night after the surgery there were some critical complications, but thanks to the team of doctors and nurses in the ICU, Sean pulled through and he is better than we could have hoped for!

It was just the other day that we got the results of the biopsied nodules from the lungs. The results came back that the nodules were 100% CANCER FREE. Cancer free. Cancer free. It just means so much to me to say that. The cancer spots on Sean's lungs were dried up from the Chemo. The only concern that the doctors had initially, was that they found 3 additional spots that they were unaware of and were not necessarily looking for. None of that matters now because they were all benign.

So what does all of this mean? Where do we go from here? Well, it means that all of the aggressive medical intervention has worked. We were unable to save his knee, but whatever it takes to save his life, all makes it worth it. It means that we have 6 more months of Chemo to kill the existing cycle of cancer cells that continue to reside in Sean's system.

Sean is winning! Where we were being prepared for a grim picture 6 months ago, now we are faced with the beautiful future that awaits Sean. It is because of all your prayers that Sean is alive and well. Several times over the past 6 months, all we had was hope and prayer. We had to rely on blind faith and the prayers of everyone, family, friends, & strangers across the globe.

Whatever it was, or wasn't. Whether it was the semi precious stones we laid across Sean's body in hopes that their energies would cleanse his weak body. Whether it was the hands of prayer we laid on Sean's leg or whether it was Country singer Paul Brandt who went to visit Sean and raised his spirits and energy... whatever, so far it has worked.

I am not naive. I know we have a long road ahead of us and that we are not out of the woods yet, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We can feel that overwhelming grace that comes with what it is we are experiencing. We are grateful.

Please continue to pray for Sean's full recovery. We are more than half way there and we are so grateful to all of you have been with us along the way.

God is great. Miracles do happen. We have Sean to prove it!

love & light,
t.

The Power of Prayer

By now you have come to realize that my family's life has stopped in it's tracks and that the mundane rhythm that propels our daily lives no longer matters. What matters is that we have a young, inspiring young member of our clan in the hospital fighting for his life.

Recently, my sister and I made the 1000 km journey through the beautiful and majestic mountains to go and spend several days with our nephew. While we naively made the trek towards him, we somehow thought that we had prepared ourselves for what we were about to encounter. Let me tell you this with all certainty... nothing could or will ever prepare you for spending long days on a children's oncology unit.

We had told ourselves that we were going in with love guns blazing ready to spread love and light in every corner of our family and that entire children's ward. When we arrived into the city after a 12 hour drive, we headed straight for the Children's Hospital. We arrived just before 8pm and the hospital had clearly wound down for the night. The halls were sparse and there was a serenity about the place. It was a little bit of an out of body experience walking toward our nephew's room. I couldn't wait to get in there and wrap my arms around him, all the while, I wanted to be anywhere for any other reason than walking down that hall toward room #1160.

When we got to the room, there Sean was. Sitting up and open arms, happy to greet his aunties. We had a brief visit as he was tired and the chemo treatment of the day had really socked it to him. Both my sister and I shared some love, let Sean show us the care package that Terry Fox's sister had personally sent to him and then we were on our way back to where my brother was staying.

The next day we had an early breakfast and headed back to the hospital. Mind blowing. The difference between the day and night within those walls, really was that... day and night. This time upon our arrival, the halls were buzzing. People coming and going. Children with tubes and drips and their entourage of care givers. There were people that were just bringing their children in for the first time and sadly, heart wrenching as it is, their were parents that were leaving the hospital for the last time, without their beloved children. My sister and I are extremely close and have a bit of a sixth sense with each other... we walked into the hospital, looked at each other and nodded. We knew that we had to suck it up and bring love and much needed levity to our sweet family.

I could go on an tell you how we spent each day distracting Sean and our brother and his family with rounds of crib and other games and stories told, but really it was my sister and I who were distracted.
We learned more about composure and grace from this 14 year old nephew of ours than anyone else could have ever taught us. His courage and strength was overwhelming and his knowledge of his course of treatment was astounding. He schooled us in the ins and outs of his therapy in a way that only further solidified his status of hero in our books.

My brother and his wife taught us about coping in the face of fear and the unknown. They definately have their own unique ways of dealing with this blow that has been dealt to them but they also have a strong united front in the face of this putrid disease called cancer.

Our other nephew Quinn, he taught us that it was okay to laugh and be comical when your family is in crisis. Not only did he laugh but he brought us all to tears constantly by way of his awesome and completely hysterical comedic self. It was clear to see that comedy is his coping mechanism and really it is his gift to all of us. Laughter heals. It's just that simple.

The nurses, the friends that visited the calls that came in,  all of it, everyone made such a difference in this journey. You never know how a simple phone call can change the entire course of someone's day. Or in this case, someone's journey through treatment.

What I also found incredibly interesting was how many of my brother and his wife's close friends were sort of staying away. Whether it is because they are just so sad or not sure what to say, let me say this loud and clear, when someone you know is in crisis, you do not need to know what to say. It is okay to just show up and say hello and that you just wanted to be with them. That is enough. Just your presence is the gift. It broke my heart that not more of their besties were showing up for them in their time of need. My brother, the nicest man on the planet, explains it that they are just waiting their turn to show up when it is the right time... I say show up people, it's okay to come and cry with us.

If you ever need a reminder how precious life is, spend a day at a Children's Hospital. There are a million reasons why we are blessed, but somehow seeing sick kids just puts everything into perspective real quick.

As it stands now, we really need your prayers. Please pray that my nephew Sean is healed of his cancer and that his entire body is returned to the simple mass of white light he came into this world as. We are counting on a miracle. Please be apart of that miracle through the power of prayer.

Please Pray.

love & light,

t.

The Ride To Conquer Cancer

Today marked the first day of The Ride To Conquer Cancer. We walk through life thinking we are so small in the grand scheme of things, that it is very difficult for us to make a big difference in the fight against cancer. I beg to differ, and I have proof that, that it isn't so.

Team iConquer-Little/Kosick. This is a group of men who have combined their passion and loss for the greater good of those still fighting the fight and for the memory of those that were taken from us too soon. I could go into the detail of their losses, but I believe it is enough to say that these men have been touched by cancer in a staggering way that has inspired them to do what is within their ability in order to make a difference.

I am so proud that this team of men, who have NOT had any corporate sponsorship, have achieved an amazing fundraising goal of $150,000.00. I could not be prouder to call many of these men, my friend. I am also immensely proud of the women behind them who have supported their efforts in a very major way. For every man on the team, there is a wife and children that have shown incredible love and appreciation for the efforts spent by these men and they themselves have coordinated highly successful fundraisers on these riders behalves.

This week my own family has been faced with another fight against cancer. This Ride To Conquer Cancer has an especially deep meaning for us this year. Each participant in the ride has deep appreciation from everyone in our clan. They all have our deep gratitude as always, and in past years we have remembered those we know who are fighting cancer and those who have fought this ugly disease. This year we call on all of the angels that are watching from above, supporting the riders and ask them to work a little over time this year and to watch over our young family member who is new to the fight and needs a little extra help from above to stay brave and to heal quickly and for courage for his parents that are trying so incredibly hard to be strong at this time of transition.

Along with the help of everyone's angels, we are counting on the power of prayer to aid in the healing journey of this young person. I was delighted to sponsor a few of my friends this year on the iConquer team, never did I realize that I would be as grateful to them as I am for doing their part in a search to help my very own family again, by so selflessly fundraising for this year's ride.

Team iConquer is proof that we can all make a difference, especially when we join forces and decide that we are going to make a change and to make a difference. Thank you to each of those honourable men.

It makes me wonder... does the iconquer team accept girls?

xo t.