As I sit here at home, back a few days early from a trip to the beach, I am trying to find the humor in the past week. Things started out badly on day 1, when the 105 degree heat (even at the beach) proved to be too much for Clay. We had been in Delaware about 30 minutes when Clay vomited into a planter in the center of town. We have gotten pretty used to such occurrences, and so we marched on to the ice cream shop. But matters didn't improve, and several days later he again vomited, this time on a hayride around the state park. With that, we packed things up (actually the park ranger off loaded the two of us) and cut our trip short. On Thursday we headed to the hospital for an emergency- CT scan to see if the shunt in Clay's head was clogged, and causing the headaches he has been suffering from for the past several weeks. The good news is that nothing seems amiss -- good ventricles, no tumor growth. The neuro-oncology team declared it "a beautiful CT!" Still, Clay was feeling awful.

So off we went to the pediatrician. The Doctor's first response when she saw us was, "They sent you to me? Are you kidding?" Not too confidence building. But still, we were there, and Clay was feeling awful. So after a quick glance at him, she said "this looks like a kid who has seasonal allergies" and sent us to CVS to get some Claritin. So I know there is a joke here along the lines of "how many neurosurgeons does it take to change a lightbulb...." but I am holding my breath, waiting to see if this just may be the most expensive allergy diagnosis ever. We are keeping our fingers crossed, and hoping to resume our summer travels next week if all is well. Here are a few shots from our brief trip.

July 2

Clay and I went to the clinic to meet with the neuro-oncology team this week. Dr. P was shining a flashlight in Clay's eyes while moving his fingers, testing for Clay's field of peripheral vision. It went something like this:

Dr. P: "Clayton, look at me. What finger am I moving?" (repeat 10 times).

Dr. P: "Wow, Clayton, you do this test really well."

Clay: "What do you think? I've been coming here since I was 3. Now I am 5 and a half."

Clay has started adding, "Duh." to the end of his sentences when he thinks you are missing the obvious. I was thankful he left it off this particular exchange, but it made me laugh nonetheless.

All the nurses and staff were happy to see Clay since it has been 4 months since we've been in the clinic. In this time he has grown 1 inch and gained another half-pound. They told us to expect a growth spurt after chemo and we are happy to see him shooting up. The best news of the appointment was the all-clear to get the port removed. This has been scheduled for July 11 and should be a quick, "happy" surgery, unlike the past 4 Clay has had to endure.

The summer is off to a good start, and Clay has enjoyed two weeks of morning camps, as well as swimming lessons. Headaches still slow him down, and we are working hard to see if there is any pattern to when or why he is getting them.

Happy 4th of July to everyone!