I have a website set up too. www.k9sloveforkids.com. You can register for the walk online or the morning of the walk at the park.

♥Lisa♥
Updating from the Hospice House-
On New Year’s Eve Coleman woke before dawn with a lot of pain…he whimpered for hours in spite of the morphine I was able to get into his mouth through his clenched teeth. Scott and I were doing our best to keep him comfortable, but it was obvious we needed more than what we were able to do at home. Each time he would move just a little, he cried out in pain. It was a long few hours.
Our hospice nurse arrived and worked on getting some new meds for us that wouldn’t have to be oral…after much discussion, we decided to bring him to the hospice house where he was able to have his port accessed and they could give him the morphine through that- it made things so much easier. That drive was not a happy one, and we did our best to fight back a lot of tears on the way. Caden wondered WHY we were packing our bag AGAIN and WHERE we were going. We tried our best to explain- and stay positive about the whole thing for his sake.
The staff here couldn’t have made the transition any easier… THEY ARE WONDERFUL! They took Caden right away and got him set up with a snack and showed him the toy room. He told them, “This house is nice, your toy room is very organized.” And after coming from the mess of Christmas still all over our floors, I’m sure it DID seem really organized to him! He still cracks us up and is the BEST medicine for us all. He's made himself right at home.
When we got here Coleman was pretty out of it…and unresponsive most of that day. He’d open his eyes and stare up into the corner of the room as we held his hand. We were just relieved he was at least resting comfortably. Since then he has rallied again- he never ceases to amaze us…as he used to say, “I’m one tough tookie- wight mommy?” The kid really does have the “Neva-div-up” attitude!
He’s slowly begun to eat- at first soft foods, but moved up to cheese pizza (tiny bites) and watermelon, and is drinking like a fish. He’s only able to say a few words here and there, and a lot of times they don’t make sense, but sometimes they do. Talking is a struggle for him, but he pushes on. He even wanted to color a picture last night! We keep telling him how proud of him we are and how much we love him. We’ve had a lot of visitors, but a lot of time he pulls the blanket over his head…he says he doesn’t like everyone looking at him! :)
I swear each place we go the angels just keep coming! The staff here is beyond awesome! We can’t say enough about how much we appreciate each and every one of them. They came in and asked for a grocery list for the boys, cooked Coleman pizza, bought and cut up his watermelon, have played with and entertained Caden and wait on us hand and foot. It's a beautiful house. A couple of wonderful ladies even came to do hand moldings we started yesterday…one of me holding Coleman’s hand, one of Caden and Coleman, and Daddy and Coleman. They take a few days to get finished, but I’ll post pics when they are. We have a beautiful room, (actually rooms), and are all very comfortable.
Caden is able to come and go with family and friends we have close, so he gets out a little during the day, but wants to make sure he comes here to sleep with US at night. He didn’t want to go with anyone today, so decided he wasn’t going to get dressed this morning- he thought if he stayed in his pajama’s all day he wouldn’t be able to leave! Which was fine, because it’s been kind of an ice storm here today, so pretty slippery out there- I'm glad we’re safe and warm and not driving in this.
We continue to take one day at a time- THANKING GOD for ALL of our many, MANY blessings and always trusting in Him, as we enjoy our time together. Each moment is a gift. We don’t know what the future holds, but we know God is carrying us.
Again, the support showered on our family is overwhelming. Scott and I will never have enough words to say THANK YOU. Please know how much we appreciate your prayers and positive messages. I haven’t been on the computer much- most of my time is spent laying with Coleman, holding his hand, or playing with, snuggling and talking to Caden. He’s handling things the best he can…Scott and I are doing our best to answer his questions and remind him how much we love him.
So that’s about all from here. Oh before I go, Please know that we’ve gotten MANY suggestions of things to try- remedies, places to take Coleman, etc.…it’s overwhelming to sort through them all, but we do appreciate everyone caring enough to share them… a lot of them are things we HAVE done, some are new, but Please don’t be offended if we haven’t gotten back to you on the suggestions- it isn’t because we don’t appreciate them- it’s just a time factor right now.
Okay, I’m back to snuggling and praying…not just for Coleman, but for all the families riding this rollercoaster. Way too many kids- too many families. WE NEED A CURE.
Until I get back on,
Happy New Year and Blessings to you all,
Team Larson
Wow, here I sit at my laptop- right where I left it Christmas Eve night when I last updated…
When I typed that last update, I didn’t know what would happen, but I fully intended that I would be updating the next day after the boys woke up- Scott and I were so excited for Christmas morning and watching them open everything…OR I at least thought I’d be able to update after our ER visit. In true Team Larson fashion though, a NEW plan unfolded, and this is the first I have been back to type it out. Our house still sits as it did Christmas morning.
So I guess I’ll jump right in here and start from Christmas morning-
Caden came down the stairs and was overwhelmed with the generosity of Santa! (Thanks to so many of you, and to so many secret Santa’s they had- GOD BLESS YOU!) He stood there in a daze, not knowing which way to turn…(kind of like his parents) He started ripping into things, and Scott and I did our best to put our happy faces on, knowing that we were going to give him an hour or so and then be heading back to the ER with Coleman.
Cade didn’t get through opening everything, but we had him choose two favorites and got him dressed to go to Aunt Sherri’s who met us at the ER. (THANK YOU SHERRI!) Coleman was pretty unresponsive as he didn’t have the best night and was still not talking or swallowing much. He was unable to talk and mostly slept. We were very worried.
While we were in the ER, the doctors called DesMoines, and we were given the choice to either come home with him, or come there to have him looked at. We knew we couldn’t take him home again on our own without doing something, so Coleman and I got a helicopter ride to DesMoines while Scott drove to meet us. Oh how I wish Coleman would have known he was riding in a helicopter. He would have LOVED telling Caden all about that. He slept the whole way.
Once we landed in Des Moines, they got us a big room and kept Coleman comfortable. We can’t say enough about the kindness and compassion shown to us by the staff at Blank Children’s Hospital. They were so wonderful to us.
They gave Coleman a drug called Manatol (?) and after a day of sleeping, he did come to a little and we got a few more words out of him…even a dirty look or two, which I considered a gift- it was nice to see him responding. He picked up his hunger right where he left off after not eating anything by mouth for three days.
Unfortunately it was short lived and he is back to the mostly sleeping and maybe a word here or there, and just a little food…but with all the of the pain meds, he’s pretty out of it. Even doped up on morphine though, bunny’s ribbon gets the twirling, same as always.
We came home today and met with a couple of awesome ladies from hospice, and we went over many options. For now, we are home. That may change, but we want to try it at least. Also Coleman is on a new oral chemo, because…. Well… “Team War-sin NEV-VA divs up.” We aren’t finished yet…
we know in our hearts we need to keep praying and trusting in God’s love for Coleman and for us all.
We have a new set of meds to keep Cman comfortable. That's our main goal, we DO NOT want him to be in pain, and so far he doesn’t seem to be. We pray that continues. We’ll take one day at a time and see how everything goes. The one thing, the only thing, that’s for certain right now- God is with us and giving us strength to keep going.
Caden was able to come to the hospital and spend the past few nights with us in the room. It was a wonderful gift to all four be able to spend time together, even if it was in a hospital room.
We’ve been having talks with Caden…I can’t begin to explain how difficult it is to answer his questions, hold him as he sobs, and says he needs to “help Coe-man fight harder.” It brings to mind the quote we have on Coleman’s home page here- "“There's nothing that can help you understand your beliefs more than trying to explain them to an inquisitive child.” -Frank A. Clark
How true it is.
The bond between Caden and Coleman is something we’ve seen all along, and that in itself is hard for us to comprehend at times, yet it’s there. I think we’ve given Caden as much as he can handle each time we talk, and we take his cue of when he needs to quit talking about it & go back to being the bouncy little boy he is.
Small steps.
I’m going to end there as I think I need to take this in small steps as well.
I can't end with out saying...
WOW- how blessed we are! The messages of support- what can I even begin to say? it’s overwhelming, and I find it hard to explain how touched we are. We thank you for the amazing support of our family, and for your prayers. There are so many people I’d like to personally thank, but I would be sitting here all night- please know how much it means to us.
We’re hanging in there, and doing what we’ve always done…taking one day at a time, (sometimes one moment) and thanking GOD for all He’s continues to provide us in helping us make it through.
Blessings to you all,
Team Larson
I debated on updating tonight, as I didn't want to bring anyone down on Christmas Eve...
But I figured you've been such prayer warriors for us, and we could really, REALLY use them right now.
Our big family Christmas was not to be. We didn't get to go to my family's. This morning Coleman woke up fine. By 9:00 he was having slurred speech and droopy right hand.
I called Scott who hurried home right away and we rushed to the ER.
They did a catscan which showed two new spots on his brain and very enlarged ventricles. He was given a boost of decadron through his port and we came home around 2:00.
He's slept pretty much all day and has not eaten or drank much. We'll be going back to the hospital tomorrow I'm sure. He's having trouble swallowing and is drooling a lot. I'm don't know exactly what they can do. He's unable to talk much and when he does it's really hard to understand him. He gets frustrated and goes back to sleep. This is so tough...
Since he's not able to swallow very well, I only managed to get the steroid down him tonight, but we weren't able to do any other meds-the others are just too big.
Caden has the cookies out, reindeer food on the porch, and is ready for Santa. We've read the Christmas story about the birth of Jesus and have been praying...A LOT.
Scott and I are exhausted, but the three guys are all asleep on the couch and I suppose I'll wake Scott up soon so Santa can make his delivery- for Caden's sake at least.
Not the Christmas we hoped for...but we're still giving thanks for what we do have, we feel God right here with us.
Thank you for praying for Coleman and our family.
Pastor Kent and Rebecca, God bless you for coming out between services tonight. It meant a lot to us.
Okay, I'm going to end here, mostly because I'm just too tired to type more.
I'll update again when I can-
Blessings to you all and Merry CHRISTmas,
Team Larson