My Son Has Brain Cancer

Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month
My son has brain cancer. Cancer? Brain cancer?  My son?  If I don't say it, then maybe it won't be real.  For months, I could not bring myself to say the statement, "My son has brain cancer."  People would ask what was wrong with my son, and I would stammer around trying to bring myself to an answer.  Confessing that Ari had brain cancer was something I couldn't bring myself to say.  

I remember going to the grocery by myself one day.  It was one of those days where we had just gotten home from the hospital the night before and we didn't have any groceries.  I was a mess.  My hair wasn't combed, shirt was spotted with vomit, and eyes showed my lack of sleep.  I will often forget to look in a mirror before I walk out the door.  I will get somewhere and realize why so many people are staring.  It is because I am a total mess.  Anyway, on the way to the grocery, I practiced saying the statement aloud, "My son has brain cancer."  I decided that I needed to be able to say it. The month of September is Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month.  In order to help bring awareness to pediatric cancer, I needed to be able to share Ari's journey.  Sharing Ari's story has been better than hiding from it.  Many people have responded kindly which has been helpful.  There are many ways you can show your support for pediatric cancer.  The following are some things you can do:

• Donate to pediatric cancer research 
• http://www.cureatrt.org/
• http://www.pcrf-kids.org/
• onedown.org
• Donate blood 
• Donate platelets
• Become a bone marrow donor
• http://www.bethematch.org
• Use smile.amazon.com instead of amazon.com
• Help bring awareness by running a race

We are so grateful to all the people who have donated blood and platelets.  Ari has received countless transfusions that have helped him in this fight.  Thank you to all the organizations who have supported us.  Thank you to the Kira Foundation for your generous gift bucket for Ari (http://thekirafoundation.org/).  Thank you to all who have helped support us financially, emotionally, and spiritually during this time.  

Ari Update
Today, Ari completed his 12th treatment of radiation therapy.  He has 29 treatments altogether.  Ari's body has tolerated radiation a lot better than he tolerated chemotherapy.  As a result, Ari has shown a great deal of progress over the last couple of weeks.  We have had so much fun spending time as a family, celebrating Ari's growth, and playing with our son.  Over the last couple of weeks, Ari has been trying to clap, attempting to wave, mimicking sounds, initiating peek-a-boo, showing some interest in food, sitting in his high chair, and playing for extended lengths of time.


Pictures and Videos of Ari

One of our good friends took some family pictures for us.  We got a few in before it started to rain.  These were taken a couple of weeks after his second tumor resection.

Ari has enjoyed playing in his high chair.  He especially likes to throw all of his toys to the floor.  We celebrate this developmentally appropriate activity.  We also celebrate that he has shown more interest in food.  Ari is still trying to master the swallowing part of eating.

We have enjoyed the nice weather and lots of walks by the river.