This is the latest DD posted on Nathan's CarePage. I'm going to try and add the picture of Nathan wakeboarding. An accomplishment for him. Picture is with DD cell phone I think. It's kinda fuzzy, but... His face is a little fuller than normal because he's on a low dose of steroids still. He hates that.

The 2nd picture is of Nathan and older brother Nick (20) at the Collage World Series.

Happy 4th of July

Posted 1 day ago

Hello we are back from the cabin from a busy weekend with family in from Colorado and Delaware. Friday and Saturday were a little to rainy and chilly, but today (Sunday) was beautiful. We had over 15 people at the cabin and had a good cookout. We had 2 boats so everyone could go out for a ride. Jeff drove our boat so the teenagers could do some wakeboarding. Nate has been so busy with the fishing boat this summer he hasn't tried any wakeboarding yet. I know he was a little worried because he has lost alot of strength since being on chemo and his balance isn't as good as it once was. I am happy to say he got right up and went for about a mile. Just before getting back in the boat he told us he wanted to try a trick that he was working on last summer but never mastered it before the summer ended. We all had our cameras ready, then up over the wake he flipped up and over getting about 3/4's around before falling. That is where he left off last fall. I'm sure he will keep at it all summer till he gets it. (Did I say his balance is not as good as it use to be-He won't let that stop him)

We had treatment last Thursday, because of the clinic being closed Friday for the holiday. Things have been going pretty smooth lately. We make sure we get to the hospital by 8:30, that way we are on our way home around 1:30. Nate had big plans after treatment to meet up with about 8 other school buddies for camping along the Elkhorn river. He took a good nap, so he was ready when they came to get him around 3:00. He said they never went to sleep that night and the stories that he told us, while cracking up, sounded like they all had a great time.

I have posted some new photo's. Some are from a few weeks back. Two are from the College World Series, one being with brother Nick. That picture was taken when we all went together and the heat index on the field was 107. Another is of the State Trooper Wishing Well program that came to meet Nate at the hospital, which also has his oncologist, Dr Thompson that we mention alot. The last picture is of Nate successfully getting back into wakeboarding this weekend.

This Wednesday Jeff, myself and Nate (Nick has to work and will be watching the dogs) will be going back to Children's Hospital of Los Angeles for his next MRS test. It's easy to get a little nervous at this time but I always try to remember that we need this information to make sure everything is going good. This will be the test that they look at to see the changes from the last, to see what his tumor is doing. Then they will make suggestions if needed to aid in the best treatment. Again, please keep Nate in your prayers. We pray for positive or even stable results. I will try and post by Friday as we have the meeting with the doctors on Thurday. (The test is at 2:00 on Wednesday)

Take Care and have a good week,

Monica