Tuesday, April 22, 2008

School

Zack went to school today and stayed all day, attending main lesson (Middle Eastern history), games class, Japanese, choir, handwork and band. This was Zack's first full school day since January! Though a bit tired, he happily ended the day with a relaxing visit to Meigra.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Update

Since my last post, Zack has received more chemo and more massage from Meigra...He continues to respond well to treatment and his weight continues to slowly increase. He is nearly a month into the phase of treatment referred to as "Interim Maintenance I" which includes chemo administered via IV, shots and spinal taps, the latter of which is next scheduled for Monday, April 28th.

On Friday, April 11th, Ms. Blaser visited Zack with gifts: a quilt made by his class with the help of Maeve's mom, Rebecca Rothery, and grandmother, Debbie Rothery. It's a very beautiful and unique gift, each square designed by a classmate plus a square that features a poem from Ms. Blaser and a square signed by Cedarwood faculty. Zack is so grateful.

Ms. Blaser also brought a mobile made of 1,000 cranes, each crane created by a student, teacher or family member from Cedarwood. The bright and beautiful mobile is hanging in Zack's room. Thank you to everyone who created it.

Zack returned to the Bay Area on Friday, April 11th for a quick weekend trip to see Frank Ferrante in "An Evening with Groucho" for the 5th time...and it just keeps getting better! Zack's grandparents, Aunt Cristina, Uncle Miguel, Aunt Aleta and cousins Jasmine and Michael also went to the show...While in the Bay Area, Zack spent an afternoon with his buddies Jarrett and Kyle and visited Luanne, Mike and Abbe Lane.

Our trusty old Saab sang its swan song recently and we owe a very big "thank you" to Travis at Atomic Auto for finding us a car...we are so grateful.
http://atomicauto.biz/

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Brighter Days...

Zack has been improving daily since my last post! He was approved for and received chemo on Friday and Saturday, March 28th and 29th. He experienced some nausea but it didn't last...In addition to his doctors at OHSU Doernbecher, Zack is now being treated by Dr. Ken Weizer, a Providence Hospital-based naturopath who is focusing on Zack's digestive system with truly remarkable results. He is gaining weight, his cheeks are rosier, he has more energy, and he feels more like his normal self every day...Our sincere gratitude to Jan and Usha for recommending Dr. Weizer...Zack is also receiving massage therapy from Meigra Simon, a wonderful lady who introduced us to a healing technique called Bowenwork...this very gentle massage is used to treat the after effects of chemotherapy (among other things). Zack is a big fan. We are very grateful to Meigra...and to Heidi for introducing us to her.
http://www.betterchoiceforhealth.com

Spring break included a trip to the Bay Area where Zack nearly ate his weight in tofu, much to his delight...During our stay, he went to Frontierland Park with Tina, Maggie & Stella, enjoyed a visit from Kate & Gary and an Easter visit from Olivia, Laura & Carlos, went to Millbrae Pancake House with Bob, Jana took him to the movies with Carter, he walked on the beach with Courtney & Mike and Mocha & Maya, saw Carol, Tony, Frank Navin and Jill, and spent Easter with our relatives. He is looking forward to seeing more Bay Area buddies when he visits again this summer...

A very big "thank you" to the families who brought us meals...We love you!
See Meal Calendar here: http://my.calendars.net/zackandmaria