Well here we are in 2015. For us, 2014 was filled with some INCREDIBLE memories since Addison finally got to go on his Make-A-Wish trip after a 3+ year wait. We also FINALLY went back to visit my Mom (Nana) on Cape Cod. It was also filled with sadness as we lost two dear young friends to this darn pediatric cancer. We will fondly remember Sweet Pete in New Zealand and one of Addisons Aspen camp roomates, Dallin Gunter. Also, the relapse of two other close cancer kiddo friends. Addisons own bloodtests had their ups (the one CBC that was right on track for his stage of the game) and then the one following that kept us all on the edge of our seats, when his platelets and white count decided to drop out of nowhere. We can only hope that his immune will stay strong enough to keep him out of the hospital and that his July oral surgery will be his last view of the inside of the OR forever. ;) All of these emotional ups and downs are a constant reminder that having a child with cancer can be a roller coaster ride of both physical and emotional levels. I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy but I will tell you that some of the people we have met and experiences we have had because of Addisons diagnosis, are PRICELESS and I wouldnt trade those for the world. It is on my mind daily that my life changed on a DIME. In Nov and Dec, I watched moms rushing around at the holidays, stuffing their carts full of toys, groceries for parties and such and I had constant flashbacks of myself in Winter 2009. I had NO idea that my life as I knew it would come to a screeching halt and I would have to slowly learn a new role, accept a new lifestyle and learn to feel accomplished if I found myself still breathing at the end of the day. Madelene has come so far and even though she often feels jealousy of her brothers attention, she is now focusing that energy into her own non-profit, Heartfelt Hugs by Madelene Cares, fun outings for siblings of children with critical illnesses. It was officially launched in October and we hope to watch it grow over the next year. If anyone ever has any ideas or connections for activities (movies, bowling, mini-golf, etc), please contact Madelene as she is working on her own to make this dream a reality. It is a lot for a 12 year old and she SO appreciates your raffle purchases which gave her $110 to help fund the next event in February! Addison is going to begin speaking again in schools starting this week! His first schools for January with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society are Broomfield Heights Middle School and Westlake Middle, both in Broomfield. He loves speaking at fundraisers too so if you ever have an event where you need him to tell his story and remind people to turn lemons into lemonade, just ask him. His New Years Resolution is to his 100 speaking events, he is currently at 86 now. My favorite part of his events is always the Q&A. He said at the last school, his favorite question was, What does it feel like to go to the bathroom when you have cancer? Ah, the minds of kids... ;) Our store is always open for jam and jewelry so contact us anytime. Go to Kleinhans Kicking Cancer FB page for more info. So, thank you for reading my LONG post as you know this page is my personal journal, a glimpse into the mind of a crazy, exhausted, model/actor turned even CRAZIER and more EXHAUSTED yet GRATEFUL CANCER MOM. xo PS, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 04:48:41 +0000
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