Radiation and Chemo this week!

Monday Seth started a second round of Radiation Treatments. He will do 12 again and they do not do treatments over weekends or holidays so it'll be about 2 1/2 weeks until he is done again. His hemoglobin levels while he does radiation have to be 100 or higher and on Monday they were at 98.  Almost avoided a blood transfusion! So Tuesday we went for radiation at 7:45 am, then to school to write his Socials exam and back home for a bit and then off to the Stollery for a blood transfusion. 

Seth showed zero side effects of getting the blood transfusion, thank the Lord! By Wednesday he was getting pretty tired though and asked me after radiation to and from school that day. I'm not sure if it's the radiation making him tired or the fact that he has to go every morning, sometimes really early. I figured it's probably a combination of both.  

On the weekend Seth participated in the Credo Weekend! Credo Highschool from BC came to play volleyball and basketball with our school.  They had many activities planned for senior high students to hang out and Seth participated in all of it. For the basketball game Seth participated in the warm ups and then the game started with a little tribute to Seth.  He then got to be part of the starting line up and score the first basket.  It was so nice to see him in a jersey and play, even if it was for 10 seconds. 

You can watch it on Youtube. Channel is Parkland Immanuel Christian School, video is PICS vs Credo Basketball Games March 28.  It's at about the 2 hr 20 minute mark. 

Monday Seth continued with radiation and was also admitted to the Stollery for another round of the harsher chemo. We went in around 5pm so he could get started on hydration and they started chemo at 11:30pm,  a little earlier than normal because we had to make sure the timing worked with his radiation appointments.  Radiation is again at the Cross Cancer Institute which is 3 minutes down the road, so they set him up with his IV backpack and I just take him myself. Even though it's 3 minutes down the road it takes about the same time as coming from home, but consistent. By the time we walk to the van in the parkade, drive out of the parkade, get to the next parkade, it's basically the same amount of time. 😄

Today we went to the Teen Room they have here at the Stollery.  We saw they had a pinball machine so had some fun with that and then moved on to the PlayStation.  The Teen Room closes at 4pm but we were allowed to take the PS5 to our room and just bring it back when it opens again tomorrow at 1pm.  So that was nice, good way to be distracted here.  

We are hoping, as said before, that we can go home with the IV backpack.  Even if they don't want me changing the bag we could still have a chunk of time to go home as each IV bag goes for 4 hours. Take out the 1/2 hour of travel time and we could be home for 3.5 hours!  It would be so nice just to be home, have a shower and a nap in our own beds.  Depending on the timing maybe even have dinner together.

We were told today that they'd be moving the chemo up a little bit every day so that we could go home a little earlier. Last time we had to wait 24 hours for hydration which was in the middle of the night. So as soon as we got up we were able to leave.  I think they are hoping this time maybe we can be done to go home in the evening instead of sleeping here an extra night. 

So far things are going well. We will do radiation every morning this week as well as chemo.  I'm hoping if we can come home a little early that we will be home on Saturday sometime, which is great because we really are not fans of being in the hospital on Sunday. We just want to be home with our whole family that day, even if Seth is sleeping the whole time, it's nice to all be under the same roof.

Praise God for all his mercies over Seth! He continues to take treatments very well with little to no expected side effects! They are hoping that maybe by doing radiation and chemo at the same time it'll be a double duty war against his cancer.  Pray this is the case and that it'll help shrink it some more so we can eventually do a surgery.  Ultimately we know who's in control over all things and we take comfort in knowing that Seth is in God's Good, Almighty, Powerful Hands. 💖💖👐 

It Shrank!

 I knew it had been a while since I did a blog update but March 4??? and I left you with a cliffhanger of news we were waiting to hear?😬 I have some catching up to do! Well...it shrank!! 🙌Not a lot, but this was the FIRST time they told us the words that it shrank.  Honestly I think after hearing the news we just felt a little relief and for me personally it felt like a break.  A break from trying to cling to hope and be positive, because this WAS hopeful and positive.  I think because of that I had it on my list to update the blog, but my brain just wanted to keep taking that break.

Now to get you all up to speed.  Seth was given the go ahead to drive again so he drove to school and was very excited to have that freedom back.  We told him to call me if he needs to come home because he's tired though.  We made it clear that he can drive as long as he's feeling energetic enough.

We were scheduled to go in for chemo on Friday but there was no bed available, which worked out well because I got a call for some more Oiler tickets. This time his sister Mya and I went along! Our first Oiler game (neither of us are really into hockey, but we wanted to go to at least one game). 

Myself, Seth, Mya

Seth went in for a harsher kind of chemo that he got over 5 days instead of 3 like before.  Then 24 hours of hydration so we went into the hospital on Saturday March 7 and came home the following Friday March 13. They told us they would be keeping an eye on him to make sure his kidneys are good and warned us of some other side effects, some rare but they have to mention them all.  A rare one was that the chemo could cause seizures, so again praying that none of that happens. 

Well, lets start by saying PRAISE GOD!! again!!! and again!! 🙌Seth's side effects were less than they were with his other chemo.  It literally makes NO sense to me that he did better than previous rounds that were less days and not as harsh on his body.  Divine intervention is all I can think of honestly.  Even when the doctors did their rounds, they said in a surprised tone, 'We were worried about how his kidneys would handle this but they are doing just fine,' then added, 'it's probably because he's young and athletic.' I nodded and smirked knowing full well Who's responsible for that. 😏

Seth went in Saturday, slept like normal, hung out with friends, did some homework, we played games, walked around, etc.  Finally by Thursday he slept until 3:30pm. I was also very thankful for this because I had to take him from the Stollery to the Cross Cancer Institute for a follow up appointment and CT simulation, so they can prepare for another round of radiation. Typically at this point he would've been so tired and nauseous, but other than being tired and me pushing him in a wheelchair so he didn't have to walk so far, he was fine. They just had to make sure his night time chemo was finished on time so that we could make our appointment in the morning. That way we can avoid the hospital having to transfer him and all that. It's easier to just hop in the van and drive 3 minutes down the road. 😉

His other rounds seem to knock him out by day 3, and then he sleeps for 2 more days at home.  By Friday he seemed good to go again, after sleeping in until 3:30 the previous day.  We got home Friday morning and he didn't even have a nap all day, meanwhile I went to have a quick nap and slept for 3 hours. 😴

Getting some homework done.

He gets chemo during the night because he can't leave the ward while he's getting chemo treatments. During the day he is just on an IV and they have IV in a backpack for him so he doesn't have to push an IV pole around everywhere. It's very handy.  They told me that if I was willing, I could learn how to change the IV bag and he could just go home during the day.  There are some things I would have to monitor, but since he did SO well they said he didn't really have to be at the hospital during the day. Each IV bag runs for about 4 hours. Pray that he does well next round so we can do this and also for me to be calm and capable of being the 'nurse' during the day. I feel very unqualified. 😬

His IV backpack.

Sunday he did get up and wanted to go to church, all dressed and ready and he sat on the couch to put on his socks and said, 'I think you should stay home.' He looked so exhausted.  He planned to live stream, and told us he had a half hour until the live stream started so he figured he'd just lay down for a bit.  He slept for 3 hours. 💤

Seth now has to go twice a week for bloodwork, so he'll have his regular appointments on Thursdays now, instead of Wednesdays, for PICC line dressing change and bloodwork, and also Mondays just for bloodwork. Thankful the doctors and nurses did his PICC dressing change early so that he could go along to Basketball Provincials in Peace River. He just had to get bloodwork done while he was there. Bryan went along, and was given a doctor letter explaining Seth's situation and protocols in case Seth needed to go to Emergency.

'Cheer for Viher, we're so glad you're HERE!'
Got this photo off the school's fb page 😇

Another round of radiation starts tomorrow. Another 12 treatments, last one being April 8. Every morning of spring break, yaaaaay. 😒 Pray that it shrinks it even more and for side effects to continue to stay away! Also pray for our whole family, if Seth ends up having to do chemo IN the hospital it just makes ever harder.  Our experience last round with a week in the hospital meant no family dinners with everyone there, Bryan and I were often tag teaming at the hospital, like ships passing in the night, and it felt like we had to unpack and clean up after a week of holidays.  I tend to dump everything and catch up on sleep.  It just sucks and I grieve the normal life we had, knowing it will never be that way ever again. 

Also a BIG thank you to all of you being so caring.  This last round I didn't do a meal train, and just had things the kids could cook easily and for any amount of people who happen to be home. We just wanted to see how that would go. It went very well, and hopefully next round we can come home during the day and it'll be even better! I do plan on doing a meal train for the few days when we are back and just all so tired. I know sometimes it's nice to know how to help and sometimes we don't even really know.  I will say though, homemade muffins or cookies are always awesome for lunches.😉  I don't take the time to bake and just buy them if needed, but there is just something about homemade. 💖 haha DO NOT feel obligated 😅.  We appreciate you so much even reading this blog and praying with us.  Every time Seth has no or little side effects I just smile and think of all the prayers it took to make that happen.  We will never be able to thank you all enough. 

Perfect Moments and Divine Timing

 Last week Monday Seth went to radiation as usual. He did get a nose bleed on the drive there that he was trying to control.  With chemo treatments his blood doesn't clot as fast so this can take a while.  He'd seem to have it under control and then the clot that started to form would come loose and it would start all over again.  So when we got there we let someone with an appointment after Seth go ahead of us as they were there early for their appointment.  This gave him enough time to get it under control.  They did send a nurse to check in on him just because he'd been trying to get it to stop for over 20 minutes.  Finally it was under control enough that he could do his appointment. They did prepare us back in November about nose bleeds and that it's common.  Thankfully Seth hasn't had too many to deal with, thank God He's spared him from having them constantly, especially in our dry winter climate. 

Monday night the senior girls and boy had basketball games. If you were there you already know how amazing and unbelievable it was.  For the rest of you let me paint a picture. 

Both Senior Girls and Boys played home games at PICS and turned it into a Cancer Awareness Event and invited the community.  They even handed out yellow ribbons for Childhood Cancer Awareness. It was neat to see a whole crowd full of yellow ribbons. Of course we were all hoping both teams would win on such a night as this!

First up, the Senior Girls played a great game and won!! One win, we're halfway there! Now for the Senior Boys. They played a great game and were in the lead most of the time, but then the last few minutes of the game the other team took the lead by only a couple points! 

Let me take you to the very last few seconds of this game: The other team is winning with a score of 59-57. I kept saying to my hubby sitting next to me, 'You never know, they could still win this,' which he responded with raised eyebrows and head tilt. I wasn't sure if I believed my own words either.  Then, our team starts the play and passes the ball in, they let the ball bounce it's way up the court because the clock doesn't start until they touch the ball (I did not know this so I learned something new) then as the opposing team moves in our team grabs it, the crowd starts counting down, 'FIVE, FOUR, THREE,' he makes a pass, teammate catches, 'TWO,' one bounce and throws the ball right as we all yell, 'ONE,' and MAKES A THREE POINT SHOT!!! WE WIN!! 60-59!! All the kids rush off the stage, the crowd is going nuts! It was just so unbelievable!

Does this not feel like it could've been a movie? 16 year old boy in high school has rare cancer, can't play basketball anymore but the team keeps him on anyway.  They have a Cancer Awareness Night because so many, if not everyone, is affected by cancer and then honour the student battling it currently. Then for his team to win the game in the last second like that? We'd watch that heartfelt movie and probably cheer even though it's just actors in a nice story. I'd be the one crying watching that even though it's not real.  God brought that to LIFE on Monday and used everyone in that gym to do it. What an amazing night! 

Also made me think about how I said, 'We could still win this,' even though we both weren't very sure. Hanging on to hope until the last possible moment because you just never know is a way I want to live. 😍

There is a youtube video of it. The youtube channel is 'Parkland Immanuel Christian School' and the video is 'SH Boys Basketball Senior Night Feb.23,2026 @6:30pm'.  If you just want to watch what I described here it's at the 1:23:46 mark to be precise. If you wait until the very end you'll see Seth's brother, Drew, climbing back on the stage where he was sitting and just start saying,' That was absolute cinema!' And he is absolutely right! Felt very much like a future 'based on a true story' movie! 😁

Wednesday was Seth's last Radiation appointment. He got to ring the 'Bell of Hope' for completing treatment.  It seemed not as exciting because we know there will probably be more radiation in his future, but it was nice to ring it anyway.  We said bye to our waiting room friends and said, 'Hopefully we never see you again...at least not here.' 😂Right after that we went to his regular Wednesday appointment for PICC line dressing change and bloodwork. He also had a follow up this time which usually happens so he can be admitted, and he was due for another round of chemo, so that's what we were expecting.   Dr. Eid said he wanted to wait for the CT scan on Monday though, and get the results of that.  He wanted to maybe try a different type of chemo this time depending on those scan results. Seth was happy to go home and sleep in and enjoy the weekend.  He still has fantastic energy and it was nice to have some extra time to enjoy that before another round of chemo. 

Ringing the 'Bell of Hope' at his last radiation treatment of this set. 

Saturday Seth went with us to early morning hockey.  Seth was in the Beulah hockey and played the first Saturday and then the following week we found out he had cancer, and he hasn't played since. Bryan helps coach sometimes and this time they let Seth come help ref the game.  He got to do all the puck drops for the game and even participated in the shoot out they did with everyone at the end. 

Participated in the shoot out they did for fun at the end. 

Helping Ref and getting to drop the puck.

Monday, Seth went for his CT scan so we will hear the results of that at todays appointment and Seth will be admitted depending when they have a bed available, usually between Wednesday and Friday has been the norm for us to get a call to come in for admission. 

Waiting for Dr. Eid to come in to tell us some news.

Also, I have a pretty amazing moment to share.  Seth's CT scan takes all of about 5 minutes.  Only a couple people knew when his appointment time was (which is actually irrelevant because it ran about an hour late).  Seth was playing on my phone and a message came across the top, then we hear his name get called.  The nurse said he'll be done in about 5 minutes. While he's gone I got 2 more messages of people just saying they are sending hugs, prayers, and thinking of us. Seth went in at 12:54 pm and I have 3 texts from 12:53, 12:54 and 12:55.  By the time I was done answering them back Seth was done. 

God made sure I wasn't alone in that moment. How else do you explain 3 separate people who did not coordinate that and had zero idea that Seth was getting a scan at that VERY moment.  Through tears on Sunday I chatted with our minister about how the next few days is usually when my anxiety starts to creep in.  After this, my hope was running high again and anxiety never even had a chance to make a move on me.  So if you ever feel compelled to send a text or make that phone call to someone, do it. Your given that feeling for a reason, I truly believe that. 

What a God we have! One who comes down into the valleys with us to calm our fears. This doesn't mean we are spared of tears of the journey, it's still a hard road to walk, but walking it alone without Him would make it full of fear and anxiety and terror. Instead we still cry, but with less fear and more calm and peace. 

2nd week of Radiation done!

 Monday was Family Day, after taking the kids for a breakfast that barely fit on our table, we drove to the Reynolds Museum in Wetaskiwin.  We brought the wheelchair for Seth because even though he has good energy, walking around for the entire afternoon was still a bit much.  It was a great day 💖

Some of our plates were literally hanging off the edge of the table.

Seth and Drew at the Reynolds Museum

Tuesday Seth finished his 6th radiation treatment which is the halfway mark.  He was given a $25 Skip-the-Dishes gift card which was a nice little perk for him. After that we met with Dr. Chafe just so she could check in on how it's going.  She commented that Seth doesn't complain much does he? We did mention that through this whole journey since October he has been spared most side effects. We were told that about the 4 week mark after he starts radiation he'll go for a CT scan to see if and how much effect radiation had on shrinking the tumor. CT scan is booked for March 2nd. Once she has that info she plans on making another plan for radiation. She'll have to make a whole new plan because hopefully the tumor will be smaller, which makes perfect sense. As of right now, the plan is to do more radiation in the future along with the ongoing plan of completing 10 rounds of chemo. 

Wednesday Seth had his PICC line dressing change and bloodwork. Being that his hemoglobin levels were 101 at last weeks appointment they told us to count on doing a blood transfusion this time.  So we were prepared with games, packed lunch, Seth brought homework and I brought a book...and then his level was at 105! Praise GOD!! His PICC did have a clot in it because they couldn't get anything through the one side, so we had to wait a half hour for the solution they put in the line to do it's work to break that line free.  A half hour wait was better than 3 hours, so we were good with that.  Dr. Eid saw us sitting there and came to say hi, which I am very grateful for because I don't want Seth to be anxious every time he sees him now after the last time was not a good news meeting.  Last thing I want is for him to associate Dr. Eid with a feeling of dread. He asked Seth how his weekend was and Seth actually said more than his usual one word answer of 'Good' 😁.  He told him about the concert he went to and the Oil Kings game and they had a great little conversation.  Thankful that God connected them for this moment. 

The chair he sits in at his Wednesday regular appointments.  Here he's just waiting for the solution in his PICC line to break up the clot that's obstructing it. I think this is the 2nd time he's had to get this done. It's not abnormal for this to happen, so nothing to be concerned about.

Thursday, Seth had radiation and went to school.  With his hemoglobin levels being higher than normal he's actually gone to school every day this week and made it through the whole day! I can't remember the last time he did a whole week of school! He even had energy to go to the school play on Wednesday.

Today he did radiation again so that's 2 weeks down, he needs to go 3 more times, next week Wednesday will be his last one. By the end of next week he'll be due for the 7th round of chemo as well. Tonight we go to the school play again.  When we bought the tickets we weren't sure how radiation was going to affect him or where he'd exactly be as far as his chemo schedule so we bought tickets for Wednesday and tonight, hoping that he'd be up for going to at least one. Turns out he's good enough to go both nights! This afternoon and tomorrow he plans to join his team at a basketball tournament as well. 

Continual Praise to our Almighty God for keeping Seth's energy up, side effects down to the point of basically nonexistence, and for keeping us in His care.  Like I've said before this journey could be SO much worse.  Last chemo round Seth shared a room with another 16 year old boy who had a bad reaction to the his chemo. We prayed for him as well because it was not sounding good from what little we overheard through the curtain.  Poor guy was so sick and so frustrated about being there for so long.  His mom shared that they've prayed so much and would pray for Seth as well, and we did the same for their son. 😢

Thanking God for glimmers of light, and moments of joy and laughter. These last couple weeks have been going so well we almost didn't notice the dark cloud of uncertainty hanging over our hearts. 💖

I think our whole family is going through the rollercoaster of emotions. Sometimes we are devastated and 5 minutes later we feel very hopeful.  When people ask me how I am I always answer for the very moment they are asking, because I could be doing great, but ask me again in 15 minutes and it may be a different story.  We take it a day at a time, a moment at a time and we have a such peace knowing that God is with us every minute, every step, wherever we go. We couldn't escape Him if we tried. 🙌

I thought of how radiation treatments are at the Cross Cancer Institute, but everyone just calls it ‘the Cross’.  It's very fitting to say that we go to 'the Cross' every morning for help, for treatment, to hopefully heal a sickness. Is that not just such a fitting thing to say? 

A week of Radiation done!

 Five days of radiation out of the 12 and now we get a long weekend break.  No side effects to note except for one morning when he all of a sudden felt nauseous and had to throw up on the way home.  Thankfully I was in a place I could stop the van.  That was it for him, less than 2 minutes of feeling nauseous this past week. As soon as we got home I added barf bags to my Amazon cart. 😉 All these things I never thought I would need.  The next day we made sure to give him ant-nausea medication before we went.  After that he said he was good to go to school for a bit to take part in some of the fun activities happening for Heart Week.  He told me at the fundraiser auction he bid on a hair straightener because he thought it would make people laugh, and it sure did. He did ask me to pick him up early as he was pretty tired. 

At his PICC line dressing change appointment they told me while he's doing radiation they want his hemoglobin levels to be at 100...his was 101. So no need for a blood transfusion this time! Normally for him 70 is the number for a transfusion, but for the next bit they'd like it to be at 100. She told us next Wednesday to just be prepared to be there for the day because he'll probably need one.  

He's feeling pretty good this week, even joined his basketball team for their game after a busy day on Wednesday. God has kept answering prayers in our favour for side effects being kept away, like I said before this journey could be SO much worse and the LORD has shown Seth mercy on this road. 

Friday Seth went to a concert with a friend, Saturday to an Oil Kings game with another friend. I must say, he's had pretty good energy this past week.  He sat through both services on Sunday with no problem and didn't look tired at all.  Even his hair and eyelashes are growing back! I'm assuming that's due to not having the one type of chemo (doxarubicin) for the last 2 rounds?? But I'm not sure.  He said he was at catechism on Tuesday and rubbed his head and was like, 'Why is my head fuzzy?' 😋 

Bryan and I went to a Caregivers Connect night, hosted by the KWCS (Kids with Cancer Society). They host different evenings to connect parents/caregivers of kids with cancer so we can share stories and struggles and celebrations while we do something together. This evening was a meal making night so we all went home with 3 meals for the freezer (as if I have room! We have been SO blessed with a freezer that's constantly filling up). We are the new parents there still and as much as it's nice to connect with other parents who have some understanding of what we are going through, it's hard to listen to all their stories as to why they are there. It's nice to meet them, and yet we all wish we'd never had to meet anyone there. 😩

Yesterday was his sisters birthday so we had family over and played games at lunch and in the evening and Seth had great energy all day.  It was great to see him joining the fun and not sitting there feeling too tired to participate.  

Today is Family Day and we are off to the Reynolds Museum! We will take Seth's wheelchair just in case but I'm not sure he'll need it at all.  Praise God for giving him such high energy, praise God for the treatments he's getting that make this energy possible. It's amazing the treatments and things they can do to help Seth, but we know ultimately it's God doing it and using these means.  

We thank you for all your continued prayers💖 We pray that the radiation shrinks his tumor, for the side effects to continue to stay away, for peace knowing God's got a plan and it's the best one, and for Him to use Seth's story to spread light in this world, to show others His love, and to give Him the Glory!

A Hard Week and Hanging onto Hope

It's been a tough week. Too tough to worry about a blog post. So here goes I'll update as well as I can remember. 

Sunday Feb 1

Seth's back was still bugging him and he tried to sit through the afternoon church service but didn't last long. I sat in the foyer with him and massaged that knot in his back for the duration of the service.  I was willing to take him home but he wanted to be there.  Thankfully, a friend was also in the back and gave me a sample of LactiGo which she said will just help on a cellular level instead of a surface level.  It did wonders for Seth! His back was still a bit sore but he managed to sleep through the night and didn't need me to massage his back every 2 minutes during the day like before.  (If you need some of this for your own ailments look up _inspiringlifechanges on Instagram and Janeanne can help you with that like she helped me. 👏)

Monday Feb 2

Seth ended up getting a fever.  His temperature was up and down all day and then it finally stayed up long enough that it meant a trip to the emergency room.  It was very busy and I was very thankful that Seth has an Emergency Room Passport so he gets bumped up and we were in the waiting room less than 10 minutes.  They seemed very unconcerned (maybe because he was at the end of a chemo round?) but still did some bloodwork and sent him for an X-Ray just because we told them about his back pain. They just wanted to make sure nothing concerning was happening. So we had to wait on all that but Praise God it was nothing to be worried about and they sent us home.  We got home again by 2 am.  So, we started off the week tired.🥱

Seth in emergency until 2 am. He got as much sleep as he could.

Tuesday Feb.3

Seth had an appointment to prep him for radiation.  He was too young for tattoo markers, so he has stickers on his chest where they'll line him up with the laser beams on the Radiation Therapy machine.

His appointment to get him ready for radiation. He came out smiling and we also giggled when he sat down and were like, 'Wow a vision of beauty!' as we all chuckled and wondered who picks the pattern for these gowns?? 😂

Wednesday Feb 4

Seth had a PICC line dressing change and bloodwork like always.

He happened to wear shark socks the same day as most nurses were wearing shark shirts that said 'take a big bite out of cancer.'  🦈

  At his follow up the oncologist met with just me and said that Seth's tumor is still the same.  Not growing thankfully, but also not shrinking.  He expressed that he was disappointed in this result. There is no cure for his cancer and the only way to get rid of it is surgery. With the size his tumor is, surgery cannot happen for a few reasons.  He explained it to me like this: When you have a cancerous mole removed, we take the mole and some skin around it to make sure we get all the cancer cells.  With Seth they cannot get that bit of extra around it because the cancer has it's greedy little fingers around lymph nodes right by his heart.  There is just no wiggle room for taking any extra tissue.  This poses 2 threatening things, the first being that the morbidity rate of doing a big surgery so close to his heart is very high, and second, if they can't take that extra tissue around the cancer the chances of the cancer coming back is also very high.

This is where he told me if it doesn't shrink he is confident we can keep the cancer at bay like the chemo has been doing. Surgery is the only way to get rid of it as there is no cure for Synovial Sarcoma. He had no idea of timeline or anything, but simply said his sarcoma is a slow growing one, and  he'd rather have Seth feeling good and live a good rest of his life than risk him dying during surgery just to have the cancer probably grow back anyway.  This was so hard to hear, and even worse when he mentioned that he'd like Bryan and I to meet with palliative care just so if (yes he said IF and not WHEN) we need it, it's not all unfamiliar.  Also he said if we meet the care team we can make sure we are happy with them. He added that the team is amazing but just in case there is someone you really don't like they can make sure that person is not part of Seth's palliative team. 

He then told me he is NOT giving up hope and we haven't tried radiation yet and still have other options to try.  He just wanted to be transparent that it's being stubborn and he didn't want to pretend that everything is fine and then one day just tell us he's got nothing else he can do and it's a shock.  This is shock enough but with hope hanging on still. 

I was alone to take this news and his oncologist asked if he could give me a hug, which of course I said yes, I needed one, and maybe he did too. It has to be SO tough to deliver bad news as a pediatric oncologist. He was so sorry he had to tell me this and then complimented me saying he was impressed in how Bryan and I are handling this whole journey.  I shared that we believed in God and have faith, to which he said, 'Me too,' and I said, 'without that we would would probably be VERY different.'  That was kind of nice to hear he also believes. I told him we pray for him and the whole medical team often, and he seemed kind of surprised that we would even think to pray for him.  I shared that God can do miracles but he can also use people to do it. It was a good moment in this heartbreaking meeting. 

SO...all that being said, the plan is still moving forward as was the plan before.  Nothing really changed at all in that regard. We are still trying to shrink this thing to a size where it can be removed.  So there is still hope and we aren't giving up on that even if the light of it looks a little dimmer. 

I decided I didn't wanting Dr. Eid telling Seth yet.  I wanted to tell Bryan first, so I was given a few minutes before Seth came back into the room so I could put on a brave face.  Seth was ready to be admitted as well, we were just waiting for a room to get cleaned.  We were told to go for lunch or whatever and wait for the phone call to come in.  We went for lunch and realized we forgot a couple things at home so we just went home, we live only about 15 minutes from the Stollery and I figured we probably had time.  At home I couldn't keep it together and I needed to phone Bryan and share the weight of this news.  He made his way home and we spent time together as we waited for a phone call to come to the hospital for admission.  I was thankful we decided to wait at home for that call and not go back right away because it was 4 hours later that they were ready.  Good note for next time to just go home and wait for the call. I'm thankful God gave us those 4 hours as well so Bryan had that time to come home, we could chat privately and then spend some time at home with Seth. 

Seth was admitted and started on fluids. He wasn't hydrated as quick as previously so instead of getting chemo at 1 am, it took until 8 am before his body was ready to start Round 6 of chemo. 

Thursday Feb 5

Seth typically is feeling good the first couple days of chemo and this was no different.  It was also the day we had Dr. Eid tell him what was going on. He wanted to tell him alone and at first I thought of how I felt getting that news alone and didn't want Seth to experience that, but he explained that often teenagers won't talk or ask any questions, they just look at their parents.  So we agreed and Dr. Eid chatted with us first and told us what he was going to say to Seth.  We waited and came back in the room as soon as they were done talking and by that time our minister, Rev. VanSpronsen was already on his way, which was God's perfect timing again.  Bryan had asked him to come, but our doctor meeting ran later than we thought, so he ended up coming right after Dr. Eid was done talking with us all. I think we all needed to meet with him and to have that meeting right after was actually really nice even though it was very difficult for all of us, him included. 

Friday Feb 6

Friday we told the rest of his siblings, please pray for them as much as you pray for Seth. 💔💔💔

Hailey, Drew, Seth, Mya

Saturday Feb 7

Some of Seth's friends came to visit. It was almost harder telling them than our own kids because we can't comfort them the same.  Please pray for Seth's girlfriend, friends and school/church community.  It's so hard for all these kids, and for their parents to have to navigate their emotions along with their own. 

Sunday Feb 8

Seth was still in the hospital on Sunday and I hadn't really been home to spend time with my other kids after learning the disappointing news of no change.  I decided to live stream with them so we could just be together, as we were all emotionally exhausted. With so much visiting and hard phone calls the last couple days I just wasn't up for talking at church and possibly missing the fact that my kids were all emotional and escaping to the van alone. I just needed that time to be available for them that morning. Also, I got the news alone and just didn't want to sit in church after this week without Bryan beside me.  And what a sermon it was that morning! That could not have been easy to deliver after our meeting with him this week. If you are struggling with the 'WHY?' of this journey please go listen to it, it was so good to hear. 

Rev. J VanSpronsen -Sermon from Feb 8 2026

Seth was supposed to be discharged Sunday morning, but they wanted to give him a blood transfusion because he was starting radiation the next day. He's usually tired and nauseous the day after he's home so they wanted to make sure his numbers were up and in good range. He was discharged Sunday evening. 

Monday Feb 9

Yesterday morning was his first Radiation Therapy Treatment.  All went well. It was hard to leave that room knowing those big heavy doors protect us all outside the room and you just think of the fact that you left your child in there on purpose.  I told this to a friend and she said, 'God was in there with him.'  Which was such a comfort because it felt so awful to walk away and know he was the only person in there with only a microphone and a camera to communicate with staff if needed. 😓

You can see the little X sticker on his side, they are lining him up with the laser beams to make sure he's in the right spot. 

His appointments are very quick and when we got home he went straight back to bed and slept half the day away.  When he got up he looked so much better than he usually does when he's done chemo, so that blood transfusion helps.  He had no nausea today or anything. I know it's only the first of 12 treatments but I was happy it didn't start with awful side effects. Praise God!

God has definitely been keeping side effects away! This journey is hard for Seth, but there are SO many ways that God has made it easier on us all.  We are so thankful to Him for that!

That brings us to today!

This morning Seth had his second treatment, we figured out the parkade and where we are going once we park. So a quick in and out, no nausea or anything again.  We are trying to get Seth to do some school work when he is home and he feels very unmotivated so please pray for this too.  It's hard to go from an active kid to one who has no energy.  This week is Heart Week at school and also a short week so he wanted to just stay home.  School will be very busy with fun stuff and he wasn't up for it. We will pop in tomorrow to grab some school work though.

Well that has been the week for us! Go give that sermon a listen! We know God can give us a miracle. Seth could wake up with a brand new lung if God wanted him to.  Is He willing? Do we only praise God based on what He does for us? 

We have our hope knowing what God can do but we also have to trust that He knows the best plan.  We see a couple puzzle pieces and He sees the whole finished picture. One day I hope to see that same picture and say,' Oh I understand what you were doing with this.' 💖

Chatting with a few people lately and talking about different Bible stories like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and how God didn't save them from the fiery furnace, they still went in (and willingly) but God sent his angel to be with them. King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished when he saw 4 men in the furnace and not just the 3 he sent in there. He saw that they were not burned up and called them out and worshipped God saying, 'there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way.' (Daniel 3)

So as we send Seth into a room with Radiation so harmful that the big metal doors are 2 feet thick to protect the rest of us, we know God can make him come out without any harm to anything but the cancer. Also I'm going to feel differently when he comes out of that 'fiery furnace' where he could literally have burns on his skin as a side effect and the first thing he's done both times is put his sweater back on. 😎

This week has been tough but God is good all the time and He's been good to us. 

Praise God for a week of no updates...and some more Oilers tickets 😉

 For starters, PRAISE GOD yet again for granting my personal prayer of not having anything to update you on for a week.  A friend commented on my facebook sharing my blog update from last week and said, 'Well I hope I don't hear from you for a week.' GRANTED 💝 It's such a gift, a blessing, an answered prayer, take your pick of what you want to call it. 

Seth DID have a cold this week (worse than the minor one he had before) that he was fighting, and here's something you never thought of I'm sure, but when Seth's hair fell out, he also lost his nose hairs. Your nose hairs have more function than you realize so thank God tonight in your prayers for your nose hairs! (I can already hear all your little kids laughing during prayer and I love that joyful sound!😂) Seth doesn't have those wonderful nose hair filters so it makes it easy for pollutants and colds and other bugs to make their way into his system. Again, this is also why it's so amazing that all he's had is a cold so far. Praise God for protecting him from all the sickness that have been going around when his body is incapable.  Like I said in my last post, his sisters were sick and had to stay home from work and school and Seth??? Didn't catch it. The word MIRACLE comes to mind.  And while I thought maybe his medication that prevents him from getting pneumonia might be the reason, I looked it up and it clearly says this medication does NOT prevent colds, flu, or other virus infections. 

Miracle it is. Medications can do amazing things but there's no limit on miracles. 🙌 Seth could literally grow back a whole new lung and I wouldn't be shocked (ok maybe a little😉).  I know what God is capable of and our family is grateful for any miracle He chooses to send our way. 

Seth had a bit of back pain last week, which I assumed was just from playing a little basketball, but being that it was on the same side as his cancer and knowing the doctors wanted us to tell them of any pain I had a bit of concern. I was putting a muscle cream on his back and massaging his back in one spot on Wednesday because he was so sore. He had a hospital appointment on Thursday so I figured we could wait until then to see what was going on.  While he got his PICC line dressing change they sent for a physio therapist to check on him.  Less than 20 seconds and she said, 'Oh ya you have a big knot in your back on this side.'  I'm pretty sure Seth was a little worried that morning too because he seemed quiet and tired, but once she said that he perked up and seemed himself again. To be fair, we did think his cancer was growing pains remember? So that worry is 100% valid. 

We were told to do a hot compress and continue with topical muscle cream.  He's still sore but hopefully he feels some relief.   

At his appointment they were prepared to give him a possible blood transfusion as well.  Last week his numbers were low but not quite enough for a transfusion.  He was more tired in the past week, but I figured it was because he wasn't sleeping well because of his back.  Turns out that's exactly what it was because his levels were up from last week, his nurse called and told me, 'His levels are lovely, so he can take that extra wristband off.'  Seth's favourite thing!  He hates wearing hospital wrist bands.  When he goes in for Chemo treatments they just stick it to his IV pole, as per his request to not wear it. 👍

After his appointment for his PICC line dressing change and bloodwork, he went for another PET scan.  I can see on my app that the results are in but as I've said before I tried to read it once previously and I don't understand it, so everything sounds terrible! I just see that the results are in and we wait for the doctor to tell us in plain English what's going on.  So we are waiting for that doctor meeting now. 

During Seth's PET scan I received a call from the KWCS (Kids With Cancer Society) that they had 4 tickets for the Oiler game that night if we wanted them! So that was a nice surprise for Seth coming out of his scan. 🤩

Looking ahead, we wait on PET scan results to be explained to us, and this coming week Seth is due to go back for Round 6 of Chemo.  His oncologist said previously that Round 6 they'd probably do radiation as well, but we'll hear if that's still the plan at the same time as we hear the results of the PET scan.  He has a scheduled appointment on Wednesday. 

The Stollery Radiothon was going on while we were at the Stollery.  Seth was encouraged to write a little piece of his story on a rocket ship and put it on this board. 

1 in a million kids who get diagnosed with cancer have Synovial Sarcoma. That statistic still baffles me. If God's writing a miracle story right now though, why would he pick any other cancer right? He's just making sure this story doesn't go unnoticed and many will praise Him through it!💖

Morning of a PET scan Seth isn't allowed to eat so by 3pm he was starving. Took him out for some Jambalaya after!

Seth with Jaren and Jaxon at the Oiler game!  (and Bryan, taking this photo).