Updates about my journey
Tuesday Dec. 12/17
Today I had a big and annual check up where on top of the bi-monthly regular blood and physical check they looked also on my heart with ultra-sound (Eco-Heart) and an endocrinologist look over my height and weight. Happily all tests went well. My blood is having good values, my heart is in great shape and I am slim and short bot keeps on growing and to be on the growing chart (low 5%). An interesting story: Tamar - my beloved sister loves to do scary things like jumping from high places and to see scary movies like airplanes crashes. Few days ago dad asked her if she afraid of something and she immediately said "No - I do not afraid of anything", or something like that. Than, since I was there and as part of the discussion with Tamar, dad asked me if I'm afraid of anything. I said immediately that I'm afraid of something but I cannot tell what it is. But I'm sure you all know what I am afraid of.....
Any way - my life are good. My family loves me and I love her, I enjoy school, I'm very good in math class and not so very good in writing and reading but I'm gradually improve. I have many friends and things are good.
Sunday May. 16/16
Things are good. I'm at school and I enjoy life (excluding few kids that give me some hard time at school, but this is a good and natural problem). Today I asked dad a very direct question, and it was something like that: "dad - can people die from cancer?. Dad said yes, but also, "that happily for my cancer there is a cure (that usually works). I smiled and laughed and when dad asked me why do I lough I said that I am happy for not dying...dad was happy too.
Saturday Nov. 21/15
WOW. It ended....
Unbelievably: three years, three months, and 16 days ago, which are equal to 1,203 days or 28,872 hours or 1,732,320 minutes, or 103,939,200 seconds - it all started. Today - hopefully it ends. This afternoon I took my last chemo pill (Mercaptopurine). Hopefully - hereon I could say I have finished with this Leukemia thing; I will have to find a new hobby. Me and you knows that it is not really the end - but it is a very important mile stone. From now on I will start to have a monthly checkups at the hospital to make sure my blood is OK and that the Leukemia doesn't relapse. For now, for few more months - until we will have some confident that things are OK, I will stay with the centre line . The centre line also require a monthly visit to the hospital as it has to be washed every few weeks. I also will have to keep on taking the antibiotic pills that I take twice a week. Moreover, for the next few months, until my immune system will be strong enough I still have to go to hospital for every fever or other medical problem as we don't want to take any risks.... But - and this is an important 'but' - the treatment to the cancer is done and we hope we can say Leukemia is part of the past and now it is time to restart my normal life again. To mention this very special day mom and dad invited all of our friends to Nitzanim Dunes to join us for a picnic. At around 13:00 today every body came to the picnic site. I got a lot of presents and we had good lunch together as every one brought some food and my grandmothers: Didi and Batya brought a lot of food on top of that. I enjoyed playing soccer with my friends and to see all the people that care so much for me over the last years. After eating and playing we went for hour and a half tour at the dunes. It was beautiful and great fun as we climbed, rolled, jumped, and ran at the steep dunes. After that we got back to the picnic site and with great pleasure and excitement I took my last pill. The guests also received a pill like chocolates and they took it with me while tossing a glass of wine (I took it with water as needed...). It was really exciting and I think I was the only one who didn't cry. When dad asked me later on what did I think about while taking the last pill I told him something like "bye bye night plays". When dad asked what do I mean I said that until now, after dinner I knew I have 2 hours of playing as I had to fast for two hours before taking the pill. Now - I will have to go to sleep with no excuses to stay awake late...
Well - it is really time to conclude. I don't understand the full meaning of the fact that I finished my treatment. I don't understand that there is still a 10-20% chance that my cancer will return. I also do not understand that if it will happen my life are at risk. I also do not understand that if it will happen there are still many other medical options to be implemented against the Leukemia (though not a very easy or pleasant options). I also do not fully understand what a big hero I am and how much strength I gave to my family and others. My parents do understand all these things and for the rest of my (probably theirs) life they will be worried of every bruise or a fever that I will have. All I know is that I am a happy boy with a loving family that loves to play soccer, build Lego, and ride my bike. I guess this is all I have to know ....
I truly hope that here this blog ends - together with my Leukemia. Thank you all for being with along the way; for the help, support, and care. I (we) appreciate it a lot.
Sunday Nov. 15/15
Today was my last day of steroids (hopefully ever) to celebrate that we called that day the junk food day. As you remember - when I'm on steroids I mainly want to eat junk food. The more salty and greasy - the better. McDonald of course is my favorite place. Usually mom and dad try to feed me with healthy and nutritious food (not with a big success I should say). In a regular steroids week we usually go once or twice to McDonald's in order too keep me happy. However, since this steroids cycle is the last we went several times to McDonald and today it was unbelievable. Mom woke me up and told me that today I can eat what ever I want. We got organised and went to McDonald to have breakfast; unfortunately, it was closed so instead we went to Aroma where Tamar and I had a huge hot cocoa with marshmallows. We also ate chocolate cake and it was yummy. For lunch, at school I had Gioza which is also a food with great demand over the steroids weeks and for dinner - ofcourse - we went to McDonald. It was so tasty. Now - I'm done with the steroids and I guess it mean I'm done with the so many meals at McDonald. My parents are planing on eating healthy now on. We will see.....
Wednesday Nov. 11/15
Today is a day to remember: first it is 1 day after dad's birthday; but - and more important - today I had my last (at least that is the hope / plan) chemo treatment in hospital. very soon (Nov. 20) my maintenance treatment will be over and we hope that this would be the end of my cancer journey. Today I went with mom to receive the chemo VinCRIStine . As always, in the next 5 days I will take my steroids and again - for the last time (must to add - hopefully). The plan is to keep on getting my chemo at home for additional 9 days and then it ends. Of course I will keep on having a lot of checkups and they will start to see if the treatment had any side effects on me that has to be repaired, such as growing and so on. But - no more chemo, no more fasting, no more steroids....all we will have to do is to hope for the best.
There is another reason why it is the right time to end with this unpleasant adventure: Last week after dad wrote here the weekly report he pressed the save button and he got a message that the changes in the site can not be saved as it is too big. Dad cleaned some space by deleting some old and unnecessary stuff from the site and it was OK but we are writing now on the last bits that google allow us to use. Also now dad can't save it and he will have to arrange some more space. Isn't it a funny coincidence and timing? Both my treatment and the space for this blog are on their very last stages. I hope it will stay like that and that my dad won't have to find ways to make more space in the blog. It is time to finish.
Friday Nov. 6/15
A good week has passed; school was good, the afternoons were good. I enjoyed my Judo class and Lego class and more important - yesterday - Gal, my uncle came and gave me a piano class. We want to start having it on a weekly basis. Medically I am good, my blood test from last Sunday was also good. Shortly - it was a regular week and I hope many more like this will follow.
Thursday Oct. 29/15
Happily - all is well. I finished the last steroids week last Thursday and I am all well now. The steroids week wasn't a pleasure but it was OK; I had worst. I (we) start to be tired of this cancer and yesterday I even started to ask mom all kind of questions like: "why did I get it?" and "will it be over while I'll be 8 years old?" and so on. Mom didn't know exactly what to tell me but she did her best to encourage me. The bright side is that really soon, by the end of November I'll be done with my treatments. I have only another one cycle of steroids by then. After that it will be a new era. No one knows how it will look like and what will happen in the future but it will be a new era for sure... Few days ago we looked on movies and pictures from our times in Canada just before I was diagnosed and from the first days of the disease. I was sweet and small. It looks like I was smaller than Tamar today. It is unbelievable how this little creature tolerated all the things I went through. We even saw pictures of my self with no shirt and with no bulb on my chest. I don't think I remember how it was leaving with out the centre line . Oh - strange thoughts are coming these days...
Anyways, back to life: as I said - all is well. I love school and during the steroids week that was my relief actually. I woke up pretty grumpy every morning but I knew that when I'll be in school I will be better and with great efforts I took my self out of bad and went to school. Indeed the time in school was good. The classes and friends and all the activities masked on the steroids. I also go these days to two afternoon classes: Judo and Lego and I like them very much. Last Saturday mom and dad woke us very early and we went to the fields to do some bird watching. The weather now is very nice and it was a great trip;here you can see some pictures. Last thing: winter started. It is still pretty warm (~20oC) but we had two or three strong rain storms. My duty at the rainy days is to check precipitation at the rain gauge we have in the garden. Every morning, even if pouring rain is dropping I go out side take off the metal lid, pull out the glass column and read the amount of rain dropped over the last 24 hours. It is great fun, you should try it. In here you can see online the readings.
Sunday Oct. 18/15
Sorry for missing last week report. We were too busy.... Any way, no news is always a good news in my situation. Things are good and I am well. Today i went with dad to the clinic to get my monthly chemo treatment. It went quickly and all is well. My counts are still too high (like a healthy person) so we try to push the chemo slightly up. Following today chemo I am on another steroids cycle, I hope it will be alright. I will update you and give some more details after finishing the steroids cycle. Both of my parents are having a minor sore throat. It is minor for them but if I will get it I will have to be admitted in hospital. I hope that my high count will help with this minor issue.
Thursday Oct. 8/15
Last week was very nice; most of it was an holiday - anyway. Last Saturday afternoon we took a spontaneous decision and went to Eilat. We wanted to do it for some time but we didn't. Saturday afternoon I told dad that I in school we talked about flowers in Mizpe-Ramon and that I have to see it. Since Mitzpe-Ramon is on the way to Eilat we decided to go: first to Mitzpe-Ramon and then to Eilat. In Mitzpe we didn't find any flower. After visiting my family in Faran, we arrived to Eilat at around 23:00. Tamar and I slept already and mom and dad looked for a place to put our tent on the beach. It wasn't an easy task as the beach was packed with tents and caravans. Finalaly they found a nice spot on the water and we all got into our tent. It was a very pleasant night and it was a big treat to wake up and to see the sun rise and the calm water. Then we spent to all day on the beach and my friend Rotem Bar-Shalom and his family joined us. I snorkeled very well and enjoyed it a lot. At the afternoon we packed our self and moved to a small apartment that we rented for the following night. It wasn't as romantic as the tent but we all enjoyed the shower. In the following day we also snorkeled and enjoy the time on the beach and at the late afternoon we headed back home. On the way we stooped at our friends house in Sede-Boker for dinner and that was also good fun. We got back home very late but we were all very happy. That was a good ending for the Sukkot holiday vacation. Since yesterday I am back in school. Over the last two days we had a strong rain storm (first for this winter) and it is very exciting to see and feel the first rain.
Medically - things are good and I feel good. Last Tuesday I did a (finger poke) blood test and my blood values were too high. As you know too high is good if you are a healthy man but with the chemo I am receiving we want to see some supress of my blood counts. Therefore the Dr. increased my medication doses by 30%.
Thursday Oct. 1/15
I owe you few updates: (1) the steroids session, last week, passed on relatively alright. In the last two days of it Tamar and I went to Shalom and Didi which was a good distraction as well. (2) my diluted hair seems to be alright also. Mom and dad cut my hair very short but it is beautiful and stable. We have no clue what happen that day when my hair fall down easily, I guess crazy things are happening in my body which we can't understand or predict.
The last week was very nice; due to the Sukkot holiday mom and dad were at home with us and we did many cool things. Last Saturday we went with my friend Omri and his family to do rock climbing in the wild. We spent the all day under a ~10m cliff, had fun, enjoyed the picnic and climbed the wall with all the needed equipment. I climbed very well and did more than half of the wall. Also Tamar did it very nice. Apart of that we use the vacation time to enjoy the nice weather and we go out to the fields to have fun. Today dad and I went to ride Dad's motorcycle and it was great fun. We found a wounded raptor (DAYA in Hebrew) but it was in a very bad shape ( broken wing with open wounds and smashed bones) so we left it there to be eaten by other raptors. Few days ago I went with dad to see a "real"play of my favorite cartoon soccer team, Super Strika. It was a nice show in a real stadium and I liked it a lot. Next week is also a vacation most of the time, we will see what will happen by then.....
Monday Sep. 21/15
I went today with dad to the clinic to receive the chemo VinCRIStine . The clinic was very busy and hectic but I was happy and patient and at around 14:30 we were out of there. My blood values were too good so the Dr. slightly increased the doses of the chemo I am taking at home. As always - following the VinCRIStine I am starting today the 5 (challenging) days of steroids. Today after the hospital I asked dad why I don't get any more treatments to my spine, since I miss the sleeps that came together with these treatments. Dad asked me why do I miss it and I said that just before I fall a sleep with the anesthesia I used to hear a rattle sound, something like "TRRRR.....TRRRRRR....." and I liked this sound. Moreover, I liked the feeling where all the Dr and staff at the operation room and the sounds they did were fading out. Lastly - I most liked the dreams. But for some reason I was dreaming only in Canada and not in Israel. May be, already in my little age, I understand that there is a much greater chance to fulfill dreams in Canada than in Israel.
Last thing to report is that when I met mom after hospital she kissed me and hugged me and put her hand on my head. After that she saw on her hand more than a few of my hairs. She told it to dad and he said it is nothing but then when no body saw he pulled my hair a bit and also he noticed that relatively a lot of my hair dropped into his hand. As a scientist he immediately did the same to Tamar and nothing get off her head. Well..... we have no clue what it means. It is somewhat strange and we couldn't find any reports online that describe hair loss during maintenance. We will keep on watching it and we'll ask the Dr. Anyway, it is important to mention that it is not a real hair loss like I had many months ago but it is still strange. Nevertheless, I know few people (like my dad) that experience this thing with no chemo. And - the most important thing to remember is that any hair loss is due to the chemo and not due to the cancer. We will update in few days how the steroids are moving on and also what is going with my hair.
Friday Sep. 18/15
This week was very nice and quick. Half of it was a holiday - Rosh Hashana and the other half was also nice as I enjoy my time in school. Last weekend and during the Rosh Hashan (the Hebrew new year eve) holiday we did many trips in cool places. We even found a big natural pool in one of the rivers (Wadi Besor) close to our house and we swam there. Next week I will have a treatment with another steroids week. I hope it will be OK.
Tuesday Sep. 9/15
So - the steroids are behind me. It was a complex week to be on steroids as I had my birthday and started school. Two very happy and excited events that were slightly messed up by the steroids; mainly the beginning of school. Instead of being happy and anxious to start school I didn't want to go there and I was afraid I won't like it and that I will miss my old friends from kindergarten. School started on Tuesday a week ago and over the first three days, while being on steroids mom and dad had to pull be off the bed every morning and to push me to school. I just wasn't happy. After I was already in school and after mom and dad left, I was OK. However, around noon time, over these days, I started to miss mom and dad again. Nevertheless, from last Sunday, as the steroids effect fade out I enjoy school and I go there (all by my self on my bicycles) with a lot of joy. Today I even woke up all by my self very early and got organised all alone. Tamar also started a new kindergarten but she likes it and enjoy her time there. She still slightly cries at the mornings when mom or dad put her there, but in general she is doing very well. Last Thursday my grand grand father - Lutek had his 100 years birthday party. It was at Shalom and Didi's house and many people came to celebrate with him and I think he enjoyed it a lot. I also was happy at the party and I blessed him in front of all the guests. I told him that "I wish you to get to the 101 grade", as I am influenced by the school these days.
another anecdote - at school, every day we need to clean our class and some part of the yard. The teacher told us to pick up waste from the floor but I (politely) refused as it is not hygiene and I can't touch these dirty things. The teacher told me again to help the kids and asked me why I am not picking up the garbage. Then I explained her that I can't do it as I need to keep on my hygiene. Of course she understood that and told me that I can do what ever I want and when dad came to pick me at the end of the day we asked him to give me gloves for the cleanings. Since then I have in my bag few pairs of plastic gloves that I put on when ever we clean up the school. Now I am happy.
Monday Aug. 31/15
Today - exactly 6 years (and 13 hours) ago I was born. Today I turned to be 6 years old; isn't it amazing? I don't really remember my birthdays before I was diagnosed with the Leukemia. However, after diagnose I remember each and every one of them. My third birthday was almost three weeks after it all started. Few days ago I told mom that this birthday is my first memory. At this birthday I felt very bad, I was full with medicines, chemotherapy, and steroids. I looked sick and felt sick and even though every body did their best to look happy, these were very unpleasant and frighten days for everyone. Next birthday, was much better. We were already back in Saskatoon, I was after the intensive treatments and we celebrated it with friends in a remote cabin at La-Ronge, a beautiful place up north in Saskatchewan. Fifth birthday was already in Israel. It was a very happy birthday with a lot of friends that came to celebrate with me. Today I started the day with a cool breakfast with my friends Eviatar, Rotem Kanias, and Nir. Mom prepared for us Belgian Waffle, like I loved to eat in Canada and it was a great treat. After that I had fun with my friends and at the afternoon we went to the playground at my village and mom brought a cake and all the kids, friends, and their parents sang to me happy birthday songs and we had the cake together. Today birthday is very unique as tomorrow I will start first grade. I am (and my parents even more) very excited about that. I guess every kid tht start school is a big deal, but in my case, I allow my self to say that the deal is even bigger.... All I can ask for this birthday is to keep on having happy and healthy birthdays; I hope I will enjoy school and that I will learn many interesting things and have good experiences
A bit more routine updates: Last Sunday mom and I went to the clinic to receive my monthly chemo treatment. It was quite all right and my blood values were OK as well. As always, after the chemo VinCRIStine , which is what I received I have to be on Steroids for 5 days. Not a perfect timing with the birthday and school, but I hope that all these excited events will mask a bit on the steroids moods and other side effects. I will update soon how the steroids week passed and how the first days in school are passing. Tamar is also starting a new kindergarten tomorrow and I hope she will have a good and easy beginning. Knowing her, I assume she will be fine.
Wednesday Aug. 26/15
The end of the summer break is around the corner and it looks like everybody is waiting for it. Since last Monday I was out of home. First I went to Arie and Batya and after that we all went to be with my grand-grand mother - Esther. We had good time there. Last Sunday - Tuesday we went with my friend Omri and his family to a trip to the North of Israel. It was great vacation and we had a very good time together. We will upload some pictures soon. From yesterday till today Tamar and I went to Shalom and Didi. Now we are back home. I missed home and I missed my animals, mainly Steno, my big dog. This week was also an important birthdays week. Last Saturday my mom turned to be 36 years old. I love my mom and I bought her new bicycles. I hope she will enjoy it. Slightly more unique was yesterday as my grand grand father - Lutek celebrated his 100th birthday. We went to visit him yesterday but still many more parties are planned for him. He is a strong and stubborn guy this Lutek. Last birthday will be mine - soon. August 31st, but more details about it next week. Coming Sunday I have a chemo day at hospital that will be followed by a steroids week but what cand we do?.....
Sunday Aug. 16/15
Two more weeks left to the summer break but there are no more summer schools, either for me or Tamar. It is quite challenging to my parents to juggle between us and work but it seems like they survive. Last week I went to the summer school at Dad's work and it was a great success. I made new friends and spent time with Neta my cousin as her mother also work at the same place and Neta was in the same group like me. One night she even came to sleep at our home. Part of the week Tamar, dad, and I slept at my grand grand mother - Esther house. During the day she was with Tamar and we had good (and tasty) time there. Today dad took care of us and tomorrow we will go to Arie and Batya for two days. After that we will go again to Esther.
Medically things are OK. I had my blood checked today (by finger poke) and it is quite alright.
Sunday Aug. 09/15
As you know, last week was a steroids week. Actually - it wasn't too bad. I was more on the happy and hyper side of the spectrum. I also went to the 'sunrise' summer school camp, which is aimed to kids that deal with serious illnesses. It was fun, even though in the mornings mom and dad had to convince me hardly to go on the shuttle that picked me. First - I didn't like the drive which was a bit too long (~45 minutes) and second - the steroids probably also had their affect. Anyway, once I got there I enjoyed it. Yesterday, at Saturday, we went to a cool climbing wall in Beer-Sheva. We went with my friend Omri and his family and it was great fun. I climbed very well and after that we went to eat all together and then Omri came to my place which is always fun. Today dad took me early to his work as this week I am going to be along the days in a summer camp in his work. It looks like it is going to be a cool thing with a lot of cool activities. I will let you know how it was- next week.
Just now my mom pointed out that this week, three years ago it all started. It is unbelievable that this horrible disease is my companion for so long. Indeed this period wasn't easy to no one but it also wasn't too bad. After so long together with the Leukemia I (we) understood how strong I am and while three years ago we were sure that world has collapsed, now I (we) know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and also - that it is possible to turn on the light along the way. I already almost see the end of this journey and with some luck I hope it will all be beyond me soon.
Sunday Aug. 02/15
It is 05:00 AM now and I am writing to you from the hospital. At around 02:00 Tamar woke up and I woke up too. Dad came to put us back to sleep and then he felt I am having high fever. Mom checked my fever and it was 39.5oC at the arm pit. We waited for an hour to see if it goes down but it didn't so at around 03:00 dad and I went to the hospital. All that time I was hot but felt very good and was very lively. As always, as we got to the hospital my fever was gone; I had 37.5oC which is OK. Anyway, the nurse accessed my port and took blood sample. The Dr. checked me and since I felt good, and my blood values were very good they decided to leave me here for inspection but for now I am not receiving any antibiotic. My neutrophils are very high, which is an indication that my body is fighting some infection or a virus. However, as long as it does it on its own and manage to produce enough neutrophils there is no sense of distributing my body doing its work with additional antibiotics or other drugs. The plan was to receive today the chemo VinCRIStine but with this fever episode, it might be postponed a bit. The Dr's will decide later today. I also hope to be able to go soon to the 'sunrise' summer school camp. I will update you all about it soon.
It is 19:15 now; sitting with dad at my favirote burger place. I had no fever the all day so I was sent home. I got the treatment and all is good.
Saturday Aug. 01/15
Another nice week passed by. I went to my summer school in the Moshav and things were good. Wednesday-Thursday me and Tamar went to Shalom and Didi's house and we had good time there. We went to a friends swimming pool which was great. These days it is very hot during the day so we are indoor at the air condition most of the time but in the cool evening hours we go out to play football, riding the bike or to do fun with friends. Today afternoon we all (mom, dad, Tamar, and I) went into mom and dad's bed to watch a film and then we all fall asleep. It was a treat. Tomorrow dad will take me to the clinic in Soroka to get my monthly chemo treatment. After that I will start another cycle of steroids. I will update you tomorrow about my blood values and I hope this week will be reasonable despite the steroids. I also will start tomorrow the 'sunrise' summer school camp. I will go there for one week only as after that I will go to a summer school at Dad's work. I hope I the sunrise camp will help me to forget my steroids.
Saturday Jul. 25/15
Things are all right; my dad is back from the reserve army and life is back to normal. Mom had a rough 2 weeks as dad was away but she also felt very bad. We are not sure what it was but now she is back to her self. I am feeling well - last Sunday I had a blood test and it was all right and I am still on relatively low chemo doses but it is alright as long as my blood values are where we want them to be. It is summer as you know and the days are very hot. Last Sunday Tamar and I went with dad to the beach at the afternoon. The sea was very high (wavy) and we couldn't get in too much but I surfed on my board very nicely. I got out of the water only after a nasty Jelly-fish stung me. It was quite harmful and I cried a bit but in general it was a cool afternoon. Next week I am still going to the summer school at my kindergarten and I like it. As you can see - all is good, nothing too much exciting to report about but that's how we like it.
Wednesday Jul. 15/15
Excuse me for not reporting properly over the last two weeks. This is because my dad (biographer) was in Korea a week ago and over the last week he was at the reserve army. Now he is back home and I hope both life and reports will get back to normal. I am OK. Last week it was a steroids week but it went quite all right. Next week I promise and more detailed and interesting report.
Saturday Jul. 04/15
I am at the first official summer break of my life. Kindergaden ended on last Tuesday and now I am doing nothing. Luckily (for my parents) I will start summer school next Sunday. Over the last few days I have been with my grandparents and that was great. My biographer is in Korea (south) until next Tuesday so excuse me for the brief report. Next Monday I start another steroids cycle. Will update...
Saturday Jun. 27/15
Sorry for updating so late at the week, but I was busy. Last Sunday, I woke up early and went with dad to Beit-Kama, to the clinic, to do finger poke to check my blood. Unfortunately, the blood sample was clogged and they couldn't analyse it at the Lab. Consequently, the following Monday I had to redo the finger poke. This time we went to the Clinic at Mabuim, as in Beit-Kama they take blood samples only on Sunday and Tuesday. May be because it was a second poke in a row, I cried a lot at the clinic and it was very hard to convince me to come and do the poke. Only when dad told me that it is my decision if I want to be sick or healthy I agreed to get into the nurse. As usual, the poke wasn't too bad but I just hate it. Happily this time all was OK and my blood values were good, event slightly too good, but the Dr. decided not to increase my chemo doses for now. Mom and dad are a bit puzzled about that as they believe I can receive a bit more chemo, but for now they are listening to the Dr. Next Sunday we will go to the cancer clinic in Soroka and we will consult the Dr. again. In general I feel good and strong. In kindergarten things are good but the highlight of the week was over the weekend. On Wednesday night we said bye bye to our dogs and home (and cat and chickens) and went for 3 days vacation in Eilat. That was great! we mainly ate and snorkeled in the beautiful sea, watching the colorful fishes and corals. On Thursday we went to the ground water observatory and we saw there a wonderful aquarium of sharks. On Friday morning we went to see dolphins and that was cool as well. However, most of the time we were just lying on the beach and snorkeling. On Thursday I had no idea how to snorkel and I didn't dare to get into the water by my self. On Friday mom taught me slowly how to do it when the water were calm and nice. By Friday afternoon I went snorkeling with dad and I did it not too bad at all, but on Saturday I did it like a master. I went snorkeling in the deep, open water, watched the fishes and swam all alone. Here you can see some pictures. It was amazing. Now we are back home. Tomorrow I will have to get back to my normal life, which is not too bad as well..... I didn't mention Tamar today. She is sweet and naughty. Me and her had great time in Eilat and I can't wait for her to grow up so we will be able to snorkel together.
Last thing - less than an hour after we left Eilat there was a little earth quake at the region that was felt in Eilat. I really cried and was very disappointed when I heard that as I am keen to feel an earth quake....
And another last thing - Saturday a week ago we also did a beautiful trip to Nahal-David, which is a wonderful oasis close to the Dead Sea. In here you can see some pictures from there.
Friday Jun. 19/15
That was a busy week. Medically all was OK; I'm feeling well and nothing special happened (happily). Next Sunday I will have a (routine) blood test to check my it again.
But; in terms of activities - that was a busy week. On Monday evening Tamar, dad, and my self went to the beach. Mom was working late that day so dad took us to Zikim beach. There is there a little restaurant, that sells only fries and chicken cutlets (but that's all we need) and ice cream. We got into the water and that was great pleasure and after that we did our dinner there. After food I went again with dad into the deep water while Tamar stayed on the beach. On Tuesday morning, all kids from my kindergarten came to my house. Since my birthday is during the summer break, they celebrated my birthday now and because it was the end of the year they came to my place and that was so fun... I was very excited. Together with me also Ori Sherry (a friend from kindergarten) celebrated her birthday. Her mom and mine divided tasks. Ori's mom made the cupcakes, while mom took care of the activities for the kids. We played many games and I enjoyed it a lot. Dad even did a short magic show and I helped him. I succeed to guess (well you know it was more than just a guess) what cards my friends took out of the card deck. The kids were here for 2 hours and then we got back to the kindergarten. I think everybody was happy. Today I had my "graduation ceremony" from kindergarten. All the parents came to see us dancing and singing and celebrated with us. Mom even made a wonderful album of pictures of the kids and all the things we did over the year and each kid got this album. My parents were very very excited to see me finish this stage and stepping ahead to school (soon). Sometimes it didn't look so trivial over the course of my short life. Mom was crying a lot, and dad only a little....
Now it is Friday noon, soon we will go to the beach and after that for dinner at Shalom and Didi. I will update you next week about my blood.
Here you can see few pictures and movies from my birthday and the "graduation ceremony".
Thursday Jun. 11/15
This evening I took my last steroid pill of this month cycle. Happily, this week wasn't too bad. I went to kindergarten every day and in general I felt good. Shalom came to be with me (and Tamar) at Tuesday afternoon. I am feeling well and my blood counts from Sunday were good may be even too good, hence I have to increase my medication doses.
we will ask the Dr.'s next time Ill be at the clinic.
Thursday Jun. 04/15
All is well. I am happy and feeling well. The most exciting things that happened this week are related to Tamar. She is out of her baby bed and not using diapers any more. Mom and dad took apart one of her bed walls and now she is sleeping in an open bed with no high walls. It is very somewhat challenging as she is trying to go a sleep with dad and every once in a while she fell off the bed, but in general she is very happy with the change. About the diapers: mom and Tamar's teacher at the day care decided that it is about time to stop using diapers. It works not too bad with some glitches here and there.....
Last thing - dad found a wounded raven last Friday. He is now in a cage at our garden. He is much better and dad even opened his cage today but he didn't want to go out. We will try again tomorrow. Next Sunday I will have another cycle of the chemo VinCRIStine and will start another week of steroids. Not a great pleasure but I (we) will survive.
Thursday May. 28/15
Today is a day of good news: I got this afternoon the final results from the bone marrow test that I did almost three weeks ago. Happily all is well and no Leukemia cells were found. It is good we did the test as now we know that things are good; However, the lesson is that you don't need to be worried for a relapse during a steroids week. If you remember, the decision to do the bone marrow test was taken three weeks ago when I was on my steroids and after receiving the VinCRIStine . Both of these drugs have strong side effects and many times the signs are very similar to the clinic signs that hints someone has Leukemia. The problem is that every time the exact signs and their magnitude are different and you don't know what to expect for. One time I might have minor signs and in the following steroids episode they can be very strong. One time they can appear immediately at the first day of the steroids and other times it might take few days before something happens. Naturally it is very scary for my parents but the fact is that in a steroids week you never know what will happen and when. Therefore, the best thing to do is to wait after the steroids week ends and then if the worrying signs do not disappear, there is a reason to be worried. I guess it is easy to say but hard to implement when you see your son complaining of leg pains, sweat at night and having stomach ache; which are typical signs for the occurrence of Leukemia. Any way, for now, the bottom line is good and happy and this is the important thing. I also had a blood test today and that was good as well.
Apart of that all is well. Last weekend we went camping on the beach and that was great. We found a nice and secluded spot at the dunes above the beach (North of Beit Yanai) and there we put our tent. During the day we were at the beach at that was beautiful. Here you can see a short film from the water.
Thursday May. 21/15
The last week was good. I feel well and enjoying the time. We got first results from the bone marrow examination I did last week. The results were good, but we are waiting for results from another test that is much more accurate. It was encouraging recieving the initial results, but mom and dad are anxious and won't be calm before they will see the results from the more accurate and important test.
Tuesday May. 12/15
Happily, last Saturday, after one night at the hospital due to the annoying fever episode I returned home and soon after dad also arrived home after 6 days in Canada. We were very happy to see him and the presents. On the following Sunday I went with dad to the hospital to receive the chemo VinCRIStine . My blood counts were good and all went smoothly. However, yesterday - at around noon time, while I was in my kindergarten I had pains in my legs and I asked my teacher to call mom. Mom came quickly and took me to her work. These leg pains are likely to be side effects of the VinCRIStine . However, mom was very worried because of that, together with the last fever episodes that I had. She was really sad and worried and after consulting with my Dr. - it was decided that today I will have a bone marrow examination. This test should tell us if mom's worries were for a reason or not. In other words, they will look for Leukemia cells in my marrow. We truly hope they will see nothing and that we will be able to continue on with life, knowing that my leg pains are due to the VinCRIStine and not due to any other unpleasant reasons. Exactly now (10:50) I am under a sleep on the operation bed, they are taking some marrow out of my thigh bone. Soon I will be awake, with some pain in y thigh and in few days I hope to have good news.
Friday May. 08/15
This will be a short report. Last week was nice and all went well. Since Monday dad is away in Canada, visiting Saskatoon and Toronto. Happily, he is on his way back home already. Over that week I had a lot of fun with mom and Tamar. Many people and friends came to visit us and we did many things. However, this evening, while being with mom and Tamar at Arie and Batia's house I started to feel sick and had some fever. Mom took Tamar to be with Didi and took me to the hospital. I hope to have positive updates soon. I had enough of hospital admissions. I want home.
By now we have got the blood count results which are good and my neutrophils are very high, indication that my body is fighting some infection or something alike. I hope to defeat it soon.
Friday May. 01/15
After few nice days at home with mom and dad, yesterday morning I woke up with fever. Dad was at work already so mom took me (after puting Tamar at her kindergarten) to the hospital. Shalom was supposed to be with me at home that morning, so he also was on his way toward us. At the hospital my fever wasn't too high and my counts were OK. Therefore, they decided not to connect me to the antibiotic but they said I will have to stay there to be supervised. At the beginning mom and Shalom were with me but at the afternoon mom went back home and I stayed with Shalom. I felt very well by then and had fun with my grandfather. Because I had problems with the blood samples from my centre line ,which no body knows why, both of my ports were accessed, as well as my vein at my hand. They took blood samples from all places and still for unknown reason, my blood samples from hand give my higher values. Strange.....
In order to check mu centre line , they did an X-ray for that, but it seemed to be alright. In addition, while I was at home I jumped on Steno, my dog, and he got scared and I got a scratch from his teeth. To be on the safe side they gave me Tetenus vaccination by injection to my thigh. It was heart, but not as bad as the chemo injections I got to my thigh. The Tetenus, actually, heart much more after the injection. Also now, more than a day after the place is still warm and sore. I hope it will be better soon.
After a nice night at the hospital (with Shalom) dad came in the morning and since by blood counts went up and I had no fever, they sent me home, I hope this virus (they found the virus type). Sunday morning I will have another blood test and if it will be alright, I will go back to kindergarten and probably will resume chemo again.
Monday Apr. 27/15
Today, after almost 5 days in hospital I got back home. I felt very well and had no fever during my stay at the hospital, but they waited for my blood counts to start recover. It is still low but after being almost on 0 for few days, today it started to go up and the medical team allowed me to go home. Something strange that happened was that by blood counts from blood samples that were taken from the centre line were much lower than blood samples that were taken from my hand veins and from my finger. First we thought that it was related to the fact that it was hard to take blood out of my centre line , but also when the blood came out easily, the readings were low. We have no clue why. Anyways, the important thing is that I am at home now, feeling well and happy. Since my blood values are still relatively low, I am not receiving my chemo yet and I can't go to my kindergarden until I will do another blood work and make sure it has recovered. I probably will do it on Thursday or Sunday and until then I will enjoy my time at home.
Saturday Apr. 25/15
Not with a big surprise, last Thursday night I spiked a fever and at 11 PM, mom took me to the hospital. Thursday was the Israeli independence day and there was no kindergarten that day. We didn't do too much but we were all together and we had a nice day and I felt very well. However, at around 8 PM I got tired (which is not typical for me) and while mom put me into bad she told dad that it looks like I am developing something; my legs and stomach were aching and I wasn't my self. Mom kept on monitoring my fever and at around 10 PM it went over 38oC and mom took me to the clinic to be admitted according to the protocol. By the time we got to the clinic I had no fever, but automatically they connected me to antibiotic through my centre line. I said that it wasn't with a big surprise, as my blood values and my immune system were very low in the last week or so and mom, Tamar, and dad had a (minor) cold and it was very likely that I will get it. Anyways - I did the first night with mom at the hospital and the second night Shalom came to be with me which was great fun. Today dad was with me and now mom is with me again for the night. I am feeling very well, and had no fever since Thursday, but they can't send me home before my immune system will get stronger - so for now I am at the hospital, which is not too bad, I must admit. Hopefully in a day or two I'll be back home. Now Arie and Batya are with Tamar and dad went to work as he need to finish many things (apart of writing this blog) and tomorrow he need to come early to be with me.
The only annoying thing in this admission is that my centre line doesn't let the nurses to take out blood for blood counts (it does work fine when they want to inject medicines into me). The Dr. said that it might be clogged by my vein. He said that sometimes when they try to pump out the blood the vacuum results that my vein wall is being attached to the centre line tube and it clogs. Therefore, when they want to check my blood (once a day) they take it straight from my hand veins and they poke me each time and it is not a great fun. It doesn't really heart but I'm afraid of it and cry quite a bit (before they poke me). I told Shalom that I'm afraid of it so much because it reminds me the injections I had to get into my legs, long time ago in Toronto, that were a very unpleasant pain.
Last thing: today, while dad was with me he asked me something like 'how is life? and if I could change something what would it be?' He probably believed I would say something about my health, but I told him that "if I could - I would make a world with no wars. All over the world, not only Israel". Ain't I sweet?
I will update you when I will get back home.
Sunday Apr. 19/15
Had my blood work today. It is OK, slightly too low (the immune system) so we will decrease my chemo doses. For now the values are OK more or less but as we know it, usually it is the beginning of a trend. We will see....
Saturday Apr. 18/15
Happily, this week was all normal. I felt good, went to the kindergarten and had a normal life. I think that the week highlights took place over the weekend. First - yesterday, one hour before kindergarten ended my grandfather, Shalom came to tell all the kids about pilots and flying. Shalom is an ex-pilot at the air force and he came to tell us about it. He came with his flying suit and that was cool and he told us all kind of interesting stories and the kids had a lot of questions. I think they enjoyed it. Soon after kindergarten ended, we went to meet my other grandfather - Arie and the rest of mom's family for a trip close to Jerusalem. That was for Arie's 72 birthday. I wish him 'Mazal Tov' and all the best. We did a cool trip and a nice walk at the Sataf area, we even dipped in a small spring and after that we went to a nice restaurant. Moreover, today - my lovely cousin - David had his 4th birthday at Shalom and Didi's house and that was a great party. I enjoyed it a lot and I think David even more. I am happy for him. Tomorrow morning I will have my bi-weekly blood test. I will update...
Oh - one last thing. Last Thursday was a memorial day for the holocaust (world war 2) in Israel. We learned about it in the kindergarten and that was a big deal to me. In general I am interested in the history of world war 2 and last week gave me a chance to think / learn about it in general and the holocaust in particular. My grandfather Lutek was there, ~70 years ago and I love hearing his stories every once in a while. I even draw a picture of a German soldier shooting a Jewish young boy.... Do you think I am affected by this holocaust week??
Friday Apr. 10/15
Ten days have passed from my last update. I waited as on last Monday I started another cycle of Steroids and I wanted to let you know how this week went by. I am happy to report that it was a reasonable and well tolerated steroids week. I felt quite alright and my mood was under control most of the time. It could be related to the fact that mom, Tamar, and dad were with me the all time as it is the Passover vacation these days. To complete the medical report I would say that I also got the chemo VinCRIStine last Monday. As for that day, my blood values are OK and things in general are OK. I have some pale spots on my face and hands. I used to have it as a baby and it started not too long ago again, as summer began. We are not sure exactly what it is, but it doesn't bother me physically and our friend / dermatologist Yael Politi is trying to help us with this.
Put aside medical issues; Last weekend my all family from Dad's side (excluding Gal who lives in New York) gathered together at a beautiful place near Majdal Shams, which is at the very Northern (and elevated) tip of Israel. We stayed there for three days and we had a lot of out door fun. The highlight was a beautiful (and private) pool we had where we stayed and I was there when ever I could. My swimming / diving skills improved there a lot, largely thanks to Shalom who spent most of the time with me in the pool. For some unknown reason, Tamar, dad, and mom, as well as Didi and others got some diarrhea over there, but my self with my minimal immune system didn't get a thing. Could be related to my high hygiene standards. We also celebrated there the Passover Seder (meal), which was great fun but too strange for mom as a lot of the dishes included 'Hametz' which is not allowed to be eaten in Passover by the orthodox Jews. Anyways, we survived it and a lightning didn't strike us. In the rest of the week, as I told you, we all were together and we did a lot of things at home and in the garden. Yesterday we went to Arie and Batya for a second Seder and this time it was done properly with no 'Hametz' and also there I had great fun. I sang the songs and was sweet. In general, over the last week with all this kosher q no kosher 'Hametz' issues, we talked a lot about god and so on. Mom of course is believing, dad doesn't and I am slightly confused. At one occasion I asked mom something like that: 'íf god exists - how come I got my disease?'. She had an answer for that but I'm not sure how convinced I am. I will let you know if I will find more evidences for / against god in the future. In the meanwhile, with god helps, all the best for all of you :)
Wednesday Apr. 1/15
All is well. It is the Passover vacation these days and I am at the "Sunrise Passover day camp". It is the same camp like the one I went last summer, but this time it is in Beer-Sheva. Every morning at 07:15 I get on a little shuttle that takes me (with other kids from the region) to the camp, and brings me back at around 16:00. This camp is for sick kids (in various stages and various sicknesses) and their siblings and it is great. Today mom came to pick me from the camp because she was in Beer-Sheva and all the instructors didn't stop telling her how great / special / smart / sweet I am. I believe they are right. Sadly OyLo passed away last weekend but I got over it.... Tomorrow we are going all the family (all the family from dad's side) to a long weekend in the North and we will do the Passover seder there. I am very excited abut this trip and it should be fun. Next week is a steroids week. I will update....
Happy Passover to all of you.
Wednesday Mar. 25/15
Happily not too much to report. I'm feeling well and my blood values (checked yesterday) are great. Exactly where we want it to be. Yesterday dad found a Garrulus (Orvani in Hebrew). For some reason it couldn't fly so we have him and I hope it will be better soon. At least it survived the first night. Dad told me that we need to be ready and not too sad if the bird will die because it might be too sick. Therefore I named it 'OyLo', which in Hebrew it means something like 'Oh No'. I also asked dad if OyLo can be sick but stay alive for many years and dad told me that sick birds usually die very quickly. Then I said "they are not like me; I am sick but live many years". Later mom told me that I am not sick any more...I hope she is right.
Wednesday Mar. 18/15
First - a medical report: Things are good; I am feeling well and happy and after consulting my Canadian Dr's my parents are much more relieved and feel OK with the decision of stopping my Intrathecal methotrexate treatments. With all these nice news it is important to mention that my last week - with the steroids - was terrible. The Steroids impact was quick and hard. I had pains in my limbs and a very bad and unstable mood. I was hungry but didn't like any food and I woke up screaming at night and my parents were worried and it was terrible. One day I didn't go to the kindergarten because I was so grumpy. As we stopped the steroids on Thursday I started to feel better and by Saturday I was my self again. If there will be no more surprises, I have 7 more cycles of steroids. There is no fun in that but that's life I guess......and I used to it in a way.
Now; for bigger (but not more important) issues: Yesterday the elections went on in Israel. I was very excited about that and I even had few days ago elections at my kindergarten and I was the head of the elections committee. Mom and dad prepared me a (fake) ID and I went to vote with them yesterday. We really hoped and had the feeling that our side of the political map (left) will win this time but the truth was the other way around. Bibi and the right wing parties received most of the votes. This is bad. We are disappointed, but as I know very well, you get used to shitty situation very quickly.....
Monday Mar. 9/15
So after the great week-end (pictures will be uploaded soon) I went yesterday with mom to the clinic. I had to receive the chemo VinCRIStine . The clinic was in a big mess and due to cleaning of the cooling system they moved to a different building and every thing was hectic. I was happy and enjoyed my time, but mom was getting crazy as everything took a lot of time and the Dr. was confused and didn't give me enough attention. Mom was really frustrated. In addition, because I received too many Intrathecal methotrexate by the lumbar puncture operation in the last few months (a stupid misunderstood of the American protocol) it was decided to stop giving me any additional Intrathecal methotrexate. My parents are not 100% happy about this decision and they are not sure the Israeli Dr's., which are used to the European protocol, really understand what are the meanings of this confusion. Therefore, mom and dad are contacting my Canadian Dr's, and we hope to get some reassurances from them. In general I am feeling well. I have some spots on my face and the Dr. said it is a fungi that likes the sun and he wasn't too concern about that. More frequently than before I have some up's and down's in my mood, but this could be related to many things apart of my medical condition. This week I am on steroids so for sure, this week moods will be a consequence of my medical condition. But - still - I am a happy and sweet kid most of the time. I am a very loving (and beloved) brother and I play very nicely with Tamar. My blood values are OK. Slightly too high, so my medication doses were increased again, but it is OK. I hope this steroids week won't be too hard...
HERE YOU CAN SEE PICTURES FROM THE LAST WEEK-END
Friday Mar. 6/15
You may wonder why, this week, I didnt write until today. The answer is because today is Tamar's birthday. Today 2 years ago I became a big brother and I am very grateful for that. Tamar is my best friend and a great sister. I love her very much and I wish her to be healthy and happy. We are now in Sede-Boker for the weekend. We went today to Ein Aquev - a beautiful spring in the middle of the desert. We are having great time. Dad is writing from his phone today so we will add more information and pictures tomorrow. One last thing is that tomorrow SHALOM has his birthday. Happy birthday shalom.
Thursday Feb. 26/15
Not too much to tell (happily). We are all feeling well and things are OK. The most exciting thing over the last week was a very strong and cold storm that took place all over Israel. Last Friday, instead of going to kindergarten mom and dad took us to Mitzpe Ramon to see snow at the desert. It was beautiful and we had great fun. Not as much snow as I used to see in Canada but still - it was cool. We also saw some beautiful floods on the way. You can see some pictures in this link. On the following Saturday we had a very special guest. June, our very good friend from Saskatoon, that helped us a lot while we were there came for a visit in Israel and she came to our place. Ido and Ayelet and their girls (Ora and Carmel) and Hadar and Gili also came and we had a very nice afternoon together. Next Sunday I was suppose to have a chemo treatment but because it is Purim and a lot of fun activities are goingon through out the entire week (and I don't want to miss nothing and not feeling like doing that with steroids) mom talked to my Dr. and they postponed the treatment in one week. So - a happy Purim to all of you.
Tuesday Feb. 17/15
In general all is good. I am feeling well and things are OK. Last Sunday I had finger poke to check my blood and values are pretty reasonable. Last week there was a huge sand (and dust) storm over Israel, but our region suffered the most as the southern-western winds brought all the dust from Africa. We had few very unpleasant days with dark skies and dusty feeling. The house / cars / streets were all covered with dust and it was bad. Luckily, Friday night was rainy and the rain washed the air and by Saturday we had a beautiful day again. We used Saturday to clean the house, in-side and out. I helped a lot and it was a good team-work effort. Yesterday mom worked until late and dad took care of us at the afternoon - evening. He asked me to give Tamar a shower so after I washed my self I called Tamar. She got undress by her self and got into the shower. She enjoyed being under the water. Then I called dad to soap her but I washed the soap away and then I took her out of the bath, dried her and put her a diaper and the clothes. Dad was very proud. Me too.
Wednesday Feb. 11/15
The steroids week has passed. The first two days were OK and the other 3, plus the following day without the steroids were more challenging. Any-way, it is behind me. Now I am feeling much better and enjoying the time. In kindergarten all is good and I can't think about to many things I can complain about. Two interesting things: Last Saturday morning I asked dad to go out for a jog. I dressed up with my finest sport cloths and went with dad (and Tamar in her stroller) For a run around the village center. It was exactly 1060 m and I did it in less than 15 minutes. I ran most of the way and walked in two short sections. It was good fun and we said we will do it again. We tried another day to do it before my kindergarten but we did it only fo ~500 m. More excited is that yesterday I had a "yellow belt exam" at my Judo class. Even though I didn't remember by heart the (Japanese or Chinese?) names of the routines, I did them successfully and received my new yellow belt. So now you better not to upset me as my Judo skills are lethal...
Tuesday Feb. 03/15
Another regular week; which is great. Yesterday I went with dad to the clinic in Soroka to receive a chemo treatment ( VinCRIStine ). After long time that my blood values were relatively high, now it is back to where we want it to be. Not too high and not too low. The question is if this current value will be stable or if the drop will continue and then we will have to start playing with the doses again. As always, following the VinCRIStine , I am on steroids for five days. For now it is OK I hope the rest of the cycle will be OK as well. Apart of that the weather is warm and nice these days and the spring bloom is awesome. Last Saturday we went with my friend Omri and his family and Hadar and Gili to see the Anemones close to our house and here you can see the pictures from this beautiful day (but I have to admit that Tamar is the star this time). I also took my gransparents from all sides to see the flowers and we go there as much as possible these days. It is wonderful, you should come too....
Thursday Jan. 29/15
Again, with great joy I can tell that there is "nothing to write home about". Weather is nice, the wheat fields out of our home windows are beautiful and the Kalaniot (Anemones) are red in their pick. Tamar is sweet and mom and dad are also OK. Next Monday I am going to have another blood test, it should be interesting as I am on relatively high medication doses these days. I will update.
Thursday Jan. 22/15
Happily, nothing too much to report this week. Life are good, and I am feeling good. Tamar had 24 hours of fever but it passed as it came. In general due to winter many kids (and grownups) are having a cold or a flu these days and I just need to do my best to catch as little as possible of that. I had a blood count Yesterday and my blood values were too high (Normal values for healthy person) so they increased my chemo doses and I am back to very high doses, almost as high as it was many months ago. Lets wait and see how long it will last before it will knock down my values as happened many times before. Mom and dad had a personal meeting with my kindergarten teacher few days ago (I didn't do nothing bad, she does that with all kids now). They were very anxious about it (especially dad) and with great humble I can tell you that I am a great kid; smart, friendly, and discipline. She said something like: "I wish I could duplicate Rotem to have few more of him in my kindergarten ". But she probably said it about all other kids as well.
Wednesday Jan. 14/15
OK; now I can tell you that since two days ago (Monday night) I was admitted in the hospital until today afternoon. On Monday, when dad picked me from the kindergarten I was pretty grumpy and tired. Dad tried to make me happy by letting me see a cartoon with a big bowl of popcorn, but I just wasn't my self. When mom came home at the evening I had already 38.9oC - fever. Very quickly mom did all the preparations of packing a bag and calling the clinic and dad and I headed off to Soroka. According to the protocol, as we got to the hospital, immediately they connected me through the centre line to fluids and antibiotics. The first night and day I did with dad, then Shalom came for few hours at the afternoon and dad went to work and mom came to be with me on Tuesday night and today. In the meanwhile Tamar was with Arie and Batya at home. It is not very simple to keep me happy at the hospital and to let other people to keep on with their life and work....
Anyways, we talked about it, that for me and my companion, who ever it is, the time in hospital is actually a "quality time"; there are no interferences, all the attestation is focused on me and my companion can put aside all of his duties and daily chores with clean conscience. I won't say I am happy to go to hospital, but if medically things are OK, more or less, then a day or two in hospital may be a good break in life. So - indeed medically, my condition was OK. I had this cold / flew / infection, no body really knows what it was, but in general I felt good, my blood counts were very good and I stayed in the hospital just to be on the safe side. My fever dropped over the first night and apart of some headache at the second night, probably because I didn't drink enough, I felt very well.
As I said now I am at home. I Hope to get even stronger in the next few days and to stay away of hospital for at least few more months.
Apart of this episode things are good. Tamar is sweet and naughty and winter is very nice. Few weeks ago dad brought a rain gauge and installed it in our garden and my job is to take the readings. In this link you can see the precipitation at our garden and we have already passed the year average of our region. With these good news I will tell you bye bye.
Thursday Jan. 08/15
Over the last week my dad was at the reserve army. Consequently, I couldn't report immediately after the treatment I had last Sunday. Anyways, it is may be better to report now as I can tell you about the last steroids week, but first thing first. Last Sunday dad dressed up with his army uniforms but instead of going to the army he went with me to the clinic. There they accessed my centre line and took some blood for a blood work. My blood values were OK, slightly too high so they increased my chemo doses again. but it is alright. We were sure that my treatment on that day should include the chemo VinCRIStine and the Intrathecal methotrexate with the full lumbar puncture operation. However, a new and nice Dr. in the clinic double checked my protocol and apparently, from March 2014 I had to receive the Intrathecal methotrexate by the lumbar puncture operation only once every 85 days, whereas I got double of that. It means that I got 3 extra treatments of the Intrathecal methotrexate by the lumbar puncture operation. We don't think it is a catastrophe but dad will double check it with my Canadian team; there is a maximum limit for receiving this chemo and I am not there yet. From now on I will start receiving this treatment once every 85 days. Even though I love this treatment and mainly the fact that it includes a full anesthetic, it is going to be a great relief having less of that. Apart of that, as I told you, I got the steroids this week as it follows the chemo VinCRIStine which I am still receiving regularly. Mom was alone with Tamar and me as dad was in the reserve army (mom came to the clinic and he went straight to his base) and in general it was a reasonable week (steroids wise). Mom did a good job and it was very nice being alone with her. One day Gal - Dad's brother - came to take Tamar and my self from the kindergardens and he took care of us as mom was busy at work. It was great fun with him and he even changed Tamar's diaper (with a poo in it). Now dad is back home. He didn't go to work today and there is a big and nice storm out side so I stayed with him at home. Now we are in bed, watching TV, enjoying the rain outside and dad is doing some work.
Thursday Jan. 01/15
Happy new year! As you can see 2015 started today. I am still confused between the Gregorian calendar and the academic (kindergarten) year. How could it be one starts in September and one in January... Apart of this confusion all is good. I'm felling well and enjoy the days. Tamar is also good, though she had a few hard days (mainly nights) lately, probably due to few new teeth that came out. Next week I will have a "full chemo treatment"on Sunday. After that I will have the 5 days of steroids. If this is not challenging enough, next week dad is going to the reserve army and mom will have to deal with me all by her self. Its going to be hard but I'm sure she will make it a great (in the steroids scale) week. Luckily family and friend will come to help too. I will update you next week about my blood counts.
Happy new Gregorian year.
Monday Dec. 22/14
Yesterday I woke up very early, at around 06:00 and I went with dad to Beit Kama clinic to have a finger poke to check my blood. After that, at 07:00 Shalom and Didi came to be with me and Tamar and mom and dad went to their works. Me and Tamar had a great day with Shalom and Didi. We went to the science museum in Beer-Sheva and it was great fun. We didn't go to our day-cares due to Hanukkah. Today is still a holiday so mom took a day off work and she took us together with my friend Omri and his mom and brother to another science museum in Weizmann institute. Later on tonight I will go with mom to a theater show in Tel-Aviv.
As for my blood: it is OK, values are more or less where we want them to be. Last I will just tell you that two nights ago Tamar climbed out of her baby bed. I guess this means she is ready to move to normal bed now.
Thursday Dec. 18/14
I am after the Steroids week already. It was a reasonable steroids week; not a great pleasure but I had a much worse weeks. Last Thursday I didn't feel very good when I was in kindergarten so the teacher called mom and luckily dad was at home. He picked me at around 13:00 and we went for a bike ride. We did the way, through the fields, to Sederot. It was a 20 km drive. I didn't ride by my self, I was on the trailer, connected to Dad's bike but still I had to paddle and help dad. Apart of that all is well. The weather is nice and I enjoy my time in the kindergarten. These days it is Hanukkah holiday and every evening we go to light the candles with friends. Tonight my friend Omri and his family will come to our place. Last Monday I had a Hanukkah party at my kindergarten and it was great fun. I danced and participated and I liked it a lot. However, the best part (that's what my dad says) was when my dad played the clarinet with the kids that sang holiday songs. Here you can see a video of that. Happy Hanukkah!
Monday Dec. 8/14
So - I am on Steroids now. Just started yesterday so it hasn't really kicked in yet. In general all is good. I went with mom yesterday to the clinic to have the "all package" treatment that includes the lumbar puncture procedure. It went very well and quick and after that we went to have lunch together. I hope the steroids week will pass easily, though I know that I can't control it. Last Saturday we met my friend Rotem Bar-Shalom and his family at the Ashkelon Park and the weather was so beautiful that I couldn't stop my self and went for a swim in the sea. That was great.
As for my blood: Finally - it is back down to the values that we want to see. For now I will stay with the current medication doses and in two weeks we will see if I need to do any more changes.
Tuesday Dec. 2/14
Even though I was pessimistic last week and despite the fact that mom was very sick last week, I am quite all right for now. Mom is much better now, though she is on antibiotics and I hope she will end soon this annoying sickness and that Tamar and I will not be infected. Things are good, I am alright. Last Saturday we had a great trip to the dunes south (40 minutes drive) of my house. Here you can see some pictures. Again - a short report for this week and I hope it will stay like that. Next week I have another "full treatment" with the steroids. I will update next time.
Monday Nov. 24/14
It will be short report today, as it looks like there is a good chance of having more updates this week. I am saying that because mom has a cold and I have some coughing. I won't be surprise if it will end with a fever.... Any way, for now I am still OK. At least my neutrophils are very high these days. Yesterday I did a blood test and my blood values were too high (as high as a regular healthy person) so the Dr. increased my medication doses a bit. This is a delicate balance between giving me enough chemo to fight the Leukemia efficiently, vs. keeping me strong enough to fight all the viruses and infections that are out there. Apart of that things are good. We just need to hope this winter, which is pretty rainy one for now, will pass without too many flu / cold / fever events. I will update you if one of these nasty winter diseases will jump on me.
Tuesday Nov. 18/14
All is well. Last week was another steroids week. It wan't great pleasure but I had worst steroids weeks than that. During my time in kindergarten I felt all right and even the teachers told mom that I was 100% all right. However, when I got home I allowed my self to break and the 'steroids behavior' came into action. Anyway, as I said it was OK. Now all is back to normal and things are good. Tamar is sweet and naughty and every day she has new "tricks". We are becoming very good friends and she already big enough to play with me and that is nice. Next Sunday I have another blood work, I will update you with the results.
Monday Nov. 10/14
Yesterday dad and I went to the clinic to check my blood values and to receive the chemo VinCRIStine . At the clinic all was well; Matka, my favorite medical clown was there and I enjoyed passing the time with her. Because I haven't been for long time at the clinic, they had to wash the two entrances of my port. Therefore I had to be poked twice. It wasn't a great pleasure but not a big deal as well. My blood values were OK. Still slightly too high, but not too bad and there was a drop since last time. In addition, the Dr. also increased my medication (6MP) dose a bit so we believe it will keep on falling in the coming weeks. After the clinic we went to 'Black', the burgers restaurant we are going to after any clinic visit. I also started another cycle of steroids and I hope that it won't be too bad this time. Apart of that the winter is more or less around. We had already few very strong rain storms and at night temperatures are dropping (not too much, around the 10oC). Thanks to the rain the things are starting to be greener now. Last Saturday we went to see 'Helmoniot'(Sternbergia Clusiana) at the Lahav Forest which is 15 minutes drive from home. We saw plenty of this beautiful flower and we did a nice picnic with my friend Erez and his family.
In general - I am feeling good and I am very active. These days I love to paint pictures and I do it very nicely. Tamar is sweet and naughty and I love her. Mom works very hard and a lot of hours but she survives for now. Last thing - Dad is turning 36 today - Mazal tov.
Thursday Nov. 6/14
Everything is fine. I enjoy my kindergarten and I feel well. I am still on the low medication doses which is slightly irritating my parents. Anyway, next week I will have a blood count and hopefully all will be sort out then.
I will just let you know that last Saturday we (mom, dad, Tamar and I) went to a trip close to our house and we found an ancient cistern that, me, Tamar, and dad got in to it by using ropes and all the equipment for rappelling. It wasn't too big or too deep but it was cool. I will upload some photos soon.
Tuesday Oct. 28/14
All is good, I'm happy that dad is back home. Nothing has changed too much since Saturday but today I did a finger poke at Beit Kama and they sent my blood sample for a check up. My blood values are relatively high but the Dr. (Dr. Mozer) decided not to change my doses for now as he want to make sure it is a trend and not a single occurrence. My mom is quite concern about it as since August my values are higher than where we want them to be and she believes that they should increase my medications doses. She even called again today to ask Dr. Mozer if he sure about his decision and he said that this is the right thing to do. I hope he is right.
Saturday Oct. 25/14
Sorry for the long break since previous update. This is since my secretary (and father) has gone for 8 days to Canada. He went for a conference in Vancouver but on the way he stopped also in Saskatoon for the weekend. He had good time but I (and mom and Tamar) missed him a lot and he missed us as well. Actually Tamar was the one that missed hime the most she was going over the house crying "Uri, Uri...". In general, from (dad's perspective on) my perspective everything was good in this week but from Mom's point of view it was a hectic week. In the beginning of the week I was still on Steroids and I took it quite hard this time. In the middle of the week things were OK, and also Arie and Batya came to help mom. In the end of the week Tamar was a bit sick and Shalom came to take me to their place. Mom worked very hard this week while dad was having fun in Canada. She really did a great job. Apart of that everything was more or less good. Last night dad came back and he brought us a lot of presents and today I was with him the all day. I am feeling good and looking good and that is all for this (crazy) week,
Tuesday Oct. 14/14
So many updates this week!
Mom woke up early and called the clinic to see if they can give me the treatment. Luckily, they said they can so very quickly mom and I went to the clinic. Dad stayed with Tamar and after she woke up they joined us. At the clinic all went quite quick today. The only problem was that the Anesthesiologists used a "sleeping medicine" that went over its expiry date or something like that. I hardly fall to sleep and when I woke up I was very confused. I also did pee while I was a sleep and that never happened to me before. After I woke up I got a flu shot. I cried quite a bit as I wasn't happy from the idea of being poked again, this time in the arm. Any way it passed. Now I'm starting a steroids week. Lucky dady - he will go for 9 days in Canada in two days from now and mom will have to deal with me, my steroids, and Tamar. It will be hard but I'm sure she will survive. Until next time, Bye Bye.
Oh - by the way it looks like the vomiting virus is behind me, but Tamar is still suffering from it. I hope she will have a solid poop soon.
Sunday Oct. 12/14
A quick update: Not with a big surprise, last night I puked twice. I got the virus from Tamar. Today I didn't puke any more but I didn't feel very well and even had some fever. Mom called the clinic early morning to see if we need to come and it was decided that I will stay at home. Because I puked I couldn't get the chemo and to do the lumbar puncture procedure as it is under full anesthetic and no Anesthesiologists would put some one that puked over the night to sleep. Mom also consulted Dr. Miri about my fever and she said that as long as I am OK I can stay at home. I had a good nap at the afternoon and mom called Shalom and Didi to come and visit me as she believed it will be a good medicine. Indeed my fever dropped down when they were here and now I am feeling much better. Lets see how the night will pass. Tamar didn't puke today but she had some bad diarrhea. Tomorrow we will know if I will get the chemo on coming Tuesday or next week. We hope it will happen this Tuesday as next week dad is going to be abroad. I will update.
Saturday Oct. 11/14
It's been a while since I last updated. This is because our life these days are pretty hectic. Mom and dad are trying to joggle between their works, Tamar and me and all the other life-duties. Mom in particular is working very hard as usually she put us in our kindergartens and also pick us up at the afternoon and in between she has to work. Dad try to help when he can but it is hard as he works quite far from home. Any ways, life are hectic but good. The weather is wonderful these days and I'm feeling very well. Tamar is much better at her kindergarten and I loves mine. These days it is the holidays time in Israel so every week more or less there is a holiday with days off kindergarten. It is nice but I do miss all the action with my friends. This weekend our friends from Toronto Dan, Keren, Ella and their parents Miki and Guy came to be with us and it was fun.
Medically - there are no news (which is good of course), but its already more than two weeks that I didn't do a blood test; so I hope all is good within my veins. Tomorrow I have a long day at the clinic for the lumbar puncture procedure. I hope all will be well and fast. I will update you tomorrow how it went.
Tamar had in the last 24 hours a nasty virus in the stomach and she vomited and had diarrhea; I hope I won't start to show these symptoms in the next few days. Will let you know...
Thursday Oct. 2/14
Nothing too much to report this week (that's how I like it). Me and Tamar are going to our day cares every day. Tamar is OK more or less and I like my day care (pre school) a lot. However, it is not easy to get me out of bed in the mornings. Most days it's mom duty to wake us up as dad is already on his way to work in this hour. I feel good, though I still have some running nose, as well as Tamar. That's all. I hope net week report will be also with no special (bad) events.
Wednesday Sep. 24/14
First - Shana Tova to all of (happy new year). Now it is the new year eve in the Jewish calendar; we are at Shalom and Didi's house, already after a decent and happy meal. I am OK now, even though I had a challenging week. Last weekend, mom, dad, and Tamar were in Istanbul - Turkey for the wedding of our very good friend Ali (Mazal tov Ali). I stayed with Shalom and Didi as I don't really want to spike a fever in Turkey (and no body will insured me). As always I had great time with Shalom and Didi, we also went to a friends wedding and we had fun. However, On Saturday evening my fever went up and they took me to Soroka - mu hospital. Then, as the usual drill I got hooked to fluids and antibiotic. Even though my neutrophils were high, I was admitted in hospital since my feer was high (~38.8oC) and I didn't look very well. The night also was quite hard and I couldn't sleep very well. But - in the morning I was back to my self, I felt good, I had a good appetite and had no fever. Then - thanks to the high neutrophils they sent me home. However, the left the center line connected to a short tube as I had to come on Monday to receive another dose of antibiotic. On Monday mom already took me to the clinic and after a quick checkup and the antibiotic dose I got unhooked and sent home happy. Apart of that all is well, I enjoy my day care, but still at the afternoons I am much more needy than I used to be. Tamar is much better in her day care and mom and dad are working hard juggling between their works a
Monday Sep. 15/14
I am good. My virus / infection / whatever it was passed with no more special events. In the nights I have sometimes some dry coughs but apart of that I am very well. I hope it will stay like that for long time, though I doubt it as today 7 kids didn't come to daycare and yesterday 6 kids didn't come because they all have fevers and they do not feeling well. I am doing my best to keep on my hygiene. I'm still happy to go to the day care but after 3 years at home I slightly forgot that kids are not always nice and quite and sometimes they even may hit you or being nasty. One evening I told mom and dad about kids that didn't want to play with me and that made me a bit sad. Any way - important to emphasize - I am very happy to go to the day care. Not so much Tamar. She is still having hard days in her day care. She cries every morning when mom or dad put her there but her kindergarten teacher said there is some improvement.
Some medical report: yesterday I went with mom to the clinic to have the lumbar puncture procedure. All went well and even relatively quickly. like always after this treatment I am now on steroids for a week. Yesterday mom prepared a stock of meat balls for the week. It is going to be interesting how will the steroids effect my feeling at the day care. I hope that the activity and the kids will make me to forget the steroids. We'll see....
Thursday Sep. 11/14
So - a week in daycare, more or less, was enough for me to get some kind of a virus. Two nights ago when mom came to kiss me in bed before she went to sleep she felt I was too warm. Immediately she measured my temperature and indeed I had a moderate fever. Apart of that I looked good and had no coughing or any other signs of sickness. She called the cancer clinic in Soroka and the Dr. on call, which was Prof. Kapiloshnik - the department head told us to stay at home as long as my fever doesn't pass the 38.5oC (in the armpit). He had some confidence as two days earlier, on Sunday, I did a blood test and the results showed my neutrophils were relatively high. Any way he said to bring me in the morning to the clinic to be checked. That night dad came to sleep with me (I was sleeping the all time) and every hour he woke up to check my temperature. It was around the 38oC throughout the night. In the morning dad took me to the clinic where they checked me, took some blood for blood work and for Bio-culture to see if they can identify any infection. My neutrophils level this time was very high. That was an encouraging sign indicating my systems are working and fighting some bad dudes within me. My very healthy appearance and the fact that in hospital I had no fever helped the Dr. (Dr. Miri) to decide that I can go back home with no special care. She even said I can go back to the daycare but dad decided to stay with me at home and to take the day easily. Indeed that was a good call as I was a bit tired and most of the day I spent in bed. Last night again my temperature went a bit up (around 37.6oC) but in the morning I was strong and ready for my daycare. Apart of that things are good. Hectic but good; Tamar is still not very happy with her daycare and she cries quite a bit. However, there is some slow and constant improvement. Dad and mom are working hard, trying to juggle between me, Tamar, and their works and I think they do it all right. It seems like the work is in lower priority than me and Tamar (at least that is what dad want us (you) to think) so I can't complain too much. I hope they won't get fired soon, especially mom, as I like the car she got from work. Both me and Tamar are a bit more needy these days and in the afternoons we are much more "sticky" to mom and dad. We probably need to compensate for our time in the daycare without them.
Now I hope that this virus / infection episode is behind me. On Sunday I am scheduled to have the full lumbar puncture procedure. Mom will come with me and dad will go to work. It is strange not having them both with me in these days....
Thursday Sep. 4/14
It was not too long ago since I last reported what is going on. Therefore there isn't too much to tell now beside the fact that me and Tamar are going to the kindergartens. I am very happy with my daycare. On the night before my first day in there I told mom and dad that I need to get into bed early and they put the alarm clock next to my bed. Since then I go to sleep every night at around 21:00 adn I wake up at around 07:00. At around 08:00 I get on my bike and ride to the day care (less than 1 minute ride). Mom is coming with me and from my there she goes to Tamar's place and put here there. I am really happy and love being with all the kids. I take with me breakfast and I get lunch in there. I make sure to wash my hands and to maintain my high standards of hygiene. At 16:00 I'm going back home, usually a friend or two are coming to my house with me. Tamar on the other hand is not so happy with her new status. She is having hard time in her daycare and I hope she will get use to the idea of being without mom soon. She cries a lot after mom put her there and it looks like she miss mom. Dad is already 100% in his new job. He leaves home very early and returns at around 17:00 or even later. I miss him a bit but I survive; I think it is harder for mom. As for mom: She is also starting new job these days. After a tedious recruiting process she was selected (out of 8 other people) to be a social worker at the 'Bnei Shimon' regional council. It should be a nice work and the best part is that it is 5 minutes from home (dad - learn something) and on top of that she is going to get a vehicle from work (dad - you see how it should be done?). Isn't it great?
Sunday Aug. 31/14
Sorry for the delay of this week report but as you will see in a minute I have a good excuse. More over; the time now is 00:13, so even though it is consider as the 31st and Sunday, practically it is still Saturday night. If you remember: few weeks ago when it was 2 years for my Leukemia diagnose I told you "Today is a very special day. I guess almost as important as my birth day in a way... " so - today it is really an important day as it is my birthday. On August 31st, five years ago I was born. But first thing first as I had an exciting week.
Last Sunday I went with mom to the cancer clinic to get the chemo VinCRIStine and for a general check up. Everything went slow but well. I got the chemo through the centre line and the good thing was that my blood values were good. They weren't too high but they were high enough to feel like I have some degree of immune system in my blood. More important it meant that I was good to go for a week in a summer day camp. This thing was organised by a wonderful organization called 'sunrise' that organizes activities and summer day camps for kids like me with bad diseases. Originally the plan was that I will go for this camp at Beer-Sheva, but due to the war and the missiles that hit Beer-Sheva it was canceled. Therefore, I relocated my self and moved to Shalom and Didi's house and Instead of going to Beer-Sheva I went to the camp at Even-Yehuda which is not too far from their house. I've been there from Monday to Thursday and every morning a mini-bus came to pick me from Shalom and Didi and took me to the camp. In the after noon it also took me back to Kfar-Shemaryu. The camp was SSSOOO great. I really liked it and I did a lot of fun there. I didn't know any one in advance but in no time I met nice kids and we became good friends. We did a lot of activities and crafts and played and had a lot of fun. The only (very little and minor) problem was that due to my not super high blood count I couldn't get into the pool with the other kids. Any way, I wasn't the only kid with this restriction and instead of taking us to the pool they took us to all kind of cool places such as a bowling court. One day Didi came to volunteer and cook lunch for us and it was nice. The camp was great fun for me and I enjoyed the company of the kids. It was good to feel I am a big boy and and I was really happy. I think the best evidence for that is the fact that it was also a steroids week but I hardly felt it. Here you can see few pictures from the camp that were taken by Didi when she came to cook for us.
Thursday was the camp last day and Arie and Batya brought me back home. It was important to get back home as on Friday I had my Judo class. At the afternoon of the same day we drove back to Shalom and Didi to celebrate with the family the 99 years old birthday of Lutek my grand grand father. This guy (Lutek) is something special and all I can tell is that I hope to be in his condition in 94 years from now.
Now - with all the respect to Lutek and his 99 years, lets get back to the important stuff - my birthday. In a mutual effort of the entire family led by Didi, my friends and family came to celebrate my birthday with me on Saturday evening at Shalom and Didi's house. It was a great party with many of my good (kid) friends. We palyed and mom and dad organised all kind of activities and it was great fun. As a "professional" soccer player mom prepared a football field - cake for me and it was yummy. I got a lot of cool presents and I was excited about this event the all day. I am happy to be five years old and I'm happy for the great day I had today. Here you can see pictures from the party.
Another very exciting event that is going to happen tomorrow (Monday) is that both me and Tamar are going to start going to the day care. I am going to the bigger kids day care which is 2 minutes walk from home and Tamar is going for a smaller kids day care, also in our village. I am very very very excited about it and I count the days until it will start. Mom is a bit more anxious as going to the day care means meeting many kids with many viruses and other "surprises". On top of that also Tamar is going to meet many kids with many "surprises" and all we can do is to pray (and keep on basic hygiene) that I won't get too much of these diseases. Any way - all the Dr's said that I can and should go to the day care and I'm sure it will be great. That's all for now. It turned out to be a long report but it is all good news so it is OK I presume. Next week I will update you about the day care.
Friday Aug. 22/14
First and foremost: Today is my mom birthday. She is 35 years old now and that's a lot; from my perspective, it is not trivial getting to this age. I love my mom so much. Yesterday dad took me and Tamar to buy her a present. He consulted with me what to buy and I said a necklace with an animal pendant. Dad was surprised from the idea and he convinced me that it is stupid to buy jewels. Somehow I still have the feeling that dad was wrong and mom could be very happy getting a nice necklace from me. My next suggestion was to buy her a Camel but we cancelled this option as well. Not surprisingly we haven't find yet what to bring her but I'm sure (hope) that dad will save the day. I want to tell her that I love her and that even though she doesn't show that, I know that it is not so easy being with me (and Tamar) every day over the last three years. Since we moved to Canada, through out my sickness, and the return to Israel and all the treatments and the good days and the bad days. She is the only one that really been there all the time with me; no work to distract her mind, no vacation or travels for work (as dad had) she is fully dedicated to me and my sister. Thank you mom, Mazal Tov and for both of us I hope that by your next birthday we will have our (more or less) normal life again.
As for me: I had a nice week indeed. Since my birthday is also getting closer I got a huge present from my grandparents. They bought me a huge trampoline. I love it so much and I jump on it when ever I can. I think the only one that jump more than me is, may be, Tamar. On top of that, last Wednesday mom and I went to a cool event organised by 'Amutat Hayim', which is an organization that does good things to kids like me and their families. The event took place at the 'Herzliya air port' and the highlight was flying in a small air plane. It was cool. In here you can see some pictures from the plane and the trampoline.
Next week is the preparation week for my birthday. It is going to be exciting especially as it is going to be a steroids week.
Oh - one last thing: since yesterday night I am a cousin for another sweet baby girl. Reut - my mom sister gave birth last night and I am very excited about it. The baby has no name yet but I wish them all a huge Mazal Tov and all the best. August start to be a very crowded month in my family; in few days it is going to be my 99 years old grand father birthday. May be I will buy him a trampoline....
Thursday Aug. 14/14
After the long update from last week it will be short today. I am well. I did a blood test last Sunday and all is good in this front. My blood values are good now. Probably in few weeks it will change (up or down) again and we will have to change again the medication doses, but it is all right. I am going these days to a kind of a summer day camp in our village; it is nice being with other kids the all day (9:00-16:00). In the Gaza front things are relatively quiet now and I hope it will stay like that for long time. Well - that's all for this week. A regular - no special occasions week. That's how I like it.
Tuesday Aug. 5/14
Today is a very special day. I guess almost as important as my birth day in a way... Exactly two years ago on the morning of a beautiful sunny Sunday in Saskatoon, I was diagnosed with this horrific Leukemia. At that day my life and my family life were changed; probably for ever, but not necessarily for bad. At the time (and I believe also now) I didn't understood that my life were at risk. I also couldn't imagine what a rough journey I am going to go through. My parents on the other hand, at the time, didn't understood that life can continue in almost a normal manner even when such a monster like Leukemia is threatening to eat you (or your son) alive. More over they couldn't imagine how many amazing adventures and beautiful memories we will have from this, not yet finished, experience. I am now after two years of treatments and (if all work well) another year to go - some of the treatments were easy and some were very hard. However, me and my family memories are mainly of the cool things we did along the way. The RV trip is an unforgettable memory, and all of my family that is behind me. All of our short and long trips in Canada; learning riding my bikes; going to the beach; the friends that were with me and those I collected along the way and even the Pierogis I learned to love in the Sick-Kids hospital, these are my strongest memories, much stronger than the hospital visits and treatments and all these needles that were stuck into me. I still have a long way to go and probably this Leukemia will accompany me for my entire life, in this way or another, however two years has passed and you won't find me complaining, I just hope for many more beautiful years to come and for more memories to be collected. Last night mom asked me what is the Leukemia for me and I said that for me the Leukemia is my port (a.k.a. centre line) and this makes a lot of sense as this is the most tangible expression of this morphemic disease.
Now - in a less sentimental manner. The last week was nice. After 4 weeks out of home, last Saturday we got back. It was great fun being with Shalom and Didi but it is also good to be back home. Again with my friends and my room and my almost regular life. I am saying almost regular life as the situation is Gaza is still fragile. Today (another) cease fire is expected but in the last few days we heard a lot of explosions from Gaza. It wasn't pleasant. I hope soon things will settle down. Last Saturday at 06:00 AM, still at Shalom and Didi's house I was waken up by the siren that indicated on rockets flying toward us. Quite calmly, yet agile I got out of the bed, gave a quick glance on my parents to see they woke up, and ran to the shelter. It is crazy that my father ran to this shelter more than 20 years ago when Saddam Hussein was shooting missiles on him and now I have to repeat it. Apart of that everything is really well. I am feeling good and happy. Last week was also a steroids week. It had ups and downs but in general it was quite reasonable.
Oh - one last thing: dad started a new job this week at the Volcani Center which is a research institute of the Israeli agriculture ministry. It is great job but after being a student most of his life, which mean he could be with me when ever needed / wanted, it might be challenging now that he really need to wake up every morning and to go working. I guess you can't be a student for ever. Well - today report was all sentimental after all...
Sunday Jul. 27/14
Medical update first: I went today to the clinic and all is well. My blood values went up. They are not too high, but high enough to resume the treatment. It was a long (yet completely reasonable) day at the clinic as I had to go through the full lumbar puncture procedure. the Anesthesiologists came late so I had to fast until 13:00 more or less. It wasn't big fun but not too bad as 'Matka', my favourite medical clown was there with me the all day. Today it was quite quiet in respect to the missiles and there were no sirens, but the medical team didn't take any chances and the procedure wasn't done at the day clinic, which is not very safe. Instead I had to go to the Hemato-Oncolgy department which is built in a more massive building and there the procedure went on. After the procedure they put me into one of the department rooms until I woke up. Ironically enough I found out that the two rooms next to me were occupied by kids from Gaza that came to receive treatment and to heal in Israel. Like me I'm sure they are suffering from the missiles and the sirens that disturb our life, inside and outside of the hospital. Last week I asked for the peace and the neutrophils to rise up. The neutrophils did went up, now it is the peace time.
Apart of that we are still with Shalom and Didi and it is good fun. We are going a lot to the sea and here you can even see me surfing. Last weekend we went to the far North, to Kibbutz BarAm to visit my friends Dan and Keren, that we know from Canada. Of course I am still going to the football class while I am with my grandparents. Today straight from the hospital I went to the class and even scored a goal.
Sunday Jul. 20/14
Today mom and dad woke up very early; prepared the car and took me and Tamar (while we were asleep) to the car. We headed to Soroka for my monthly chemo treatment. Mom dropped me and dad at the clinic and went to park the car with Tamar. Five minutes after we entered the clinic, while mom was outside, the sirens went on due to another missiles attack on Beer-Sheva. Very calmly every body went to the shelter, we waited to hear the "Bombs" waited few more minutes and then went out again. All that time mom and Tamar were at the parking lot, they were hidden next to a container. After few minutes they joined us and after few more minutes again the sirens went on and as before we went to the shelter. At least this time we were all together. After the second run to the shelter they checked my blood and it was low. Even though upon the protocol I should receive the chemo today regardless of the blood condition, it was decided to postpone the treatment and to let me rebuilt my neutrophils in the blood. Hopefully it will recover soon and next week I will receive the treatment. The decision to wait with the treatment was influenced by the situation. The hospital today was a crazy place. Between the sirens; the missiles attacks; and the choppers that brought wounded soldiers from Gaza it wasn't a very pleasant place to be in. Due to the missiles I couldn't get the treatment at the regular operation room as it is not safe enough and I had to go to another place( if I was getting the treatment). On top of that I guess the Anesthesiologists were very busy today and probably I had to wait for long time before they could come and do my lumbar puncture procedure. In short, today wasn't a day to be in hospital unless you are in a very acute condition. So - before 11:00 we were already on our way back home. I was a bit upset: I was very thirsty due to the fast I did before the (theoretical) operation and also I think I was quite annoyed by the sirens and the general hectic condition of the hospital. In the car I calmed down. We went for a quick visit in our house and it was fun being there for a while. Then we headed back to Shalom and Didi as I had a football class at 17:00. Now I am happy because two reasons: First - I love to be at Shalom and Didi's house and second my treatment was stopped for now so I have no medications and fasts for at least a week. I know it is not ideal for my treatment (it is OK) but it is great to be a regular kid every once in a while with no medications and other things that shouldn't be part of my life really. Lets hope for a quiet week in all fronts and that both peace and neutrophils will rise up.
Friday Jul. 18/14
Both happily and unfortunately we are still at Shalom and Didi's house. I say happily because it is great fun being here: playing with my uncle David, going to the beach, playing football and doing a lot of other cool things with Shalom and Didi. How ever, it is not so happy because we are here due to the little war is still going on in Gaza and the missiles that are flying around. Also here at Shalom and Didi's house we get into the shelter almost every day, but in the south, where is my house and closer to Gaza it is even worst. I am waiting patiently for it to end, but I really hope it will happen soon. Medically I am OK: feeling well and looking well. Next Sunday I have a big hospital day with chemo to my back and all the "ceremony". I will get it in Soroka at Beer Sheva, where missiles are falling quite frequently, but it will be OK. In the meanwhile, look at these pictures of me playing football with my 'Messy' suite.
Thursday Jul. 10/14
A week has passed since my last update. Happily, at least personally, things are good. I am feeling very well and I had a beautiful week as we were in a beautiful vacation. Last Sunday mom, Tamar, Batya (my grandma) and I went to a very nice hotel in Nahsholim, which is a beautiful place on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. We were invited to this vacation with other families like ours that have sick kids and it was great. It was organised by another amazing organization named "Larger than Life". The vacation included many activities and attractions like going to the zoo and other cool things. However, the best thing was the beach and playing with the kids. As you know I am into football these days and I played it a lot with other kids. They called me Messy as I wear Messy football uniforms when ever I play football. The sea water were clear and warm and I even learned how to snorkel and I went with dad (that joined and replaced Batya on Monday) to swim and look for fishes. As I told you, I am personally very well but these days there is a little war between Israel and the Hamas in Gaza and sadly most of Israel, but mainly the area of our house is being bombed by missiles. It is a very nasty situation with a lot of sirens and exploding noises. Therefore, until things will settle down we came to be at Shalom and Didi's house; It is a bit more quiet where they live. I hope things will get back to normal soon as both kids
Thursday Jul. 03/14
Forgive me for not updating last Monday but I had today blood test and we wanted to give you the numbers. So I am all right, feeling good, and looking good. My blood values are OK apart of the neutrophils that are slightly too low, therefore they reduced my drugs doses a bit. The reason we went today for the clinic and not next week as planed is because on Sunday me, mom, and Tamar - we are going for four days vacation in the North. We got this four days treat from one of the organizations (Gdolim me'hachayim) that help and support kids (and their families) like me. As I said I am really good, I had a somewhat tough Steroids episode last week, but now I am all right. Not too much news to tell and that's the way I like it!
Monday Jun. 22/14
Health first: Tamar is well and healthy; she and mom got back home last Friday and I am very happy about that. I love Tamar so much and being all alone with dad is nice but it is much nicer to have mom around. As for me - I had yesterday a "big" clinic day to receive the chemo VinCRIStine through the centre line and the Intrathecal methotrexate with the full lumbar puncture operation. My blood count was good, therefore we didn't change the medications doses for now. I went to the clinic only with mom, while dad stayed with Tamar at home (for a change). All went well at the clinic apart of the fact that everything took long time and I started the lumbar puncture procedure only at around 14:00 and I couldn't eat until then, but - that's really not a big deal. Last medical comment: If you remember, last week I told you I had this issue with peeing; that I felt I had to pee a lot, even though only few drops were getting out each time. First - it improved over the last few days and it is not an issue any more. Second - yesterday at the clinic mom mentioned that and they took a sample from my urine to look for an infection or whatever. They didn't find nothing and it seems like all is OK. That urine episode was strange but many strange things happened to me along this treatment - both physically and mentally. Do you remember these days (beginning of February 2014) when I was obsessed about my coughing and I was saying all the day "I'm coughing - I'm coughing", until one day it just stopped. What I am trying to say is that all the drugs and chemicals I am receiving over the last (almost) two years certainly impact many systems in my body from head to toe and it is impossible to really understand and know (and predict) what is going on in side me. Any way, as long as in general things are going in the right direction - I am happy.
As for non health issues: Things are great. David my uncle came to sleep with me last week and that was fun, I enjoy being with friend and play out side. Riding my bike, taking advantage of the summer and playing with water outside, building my Lego (so nicely) and more and more. Tamar is sweet and I love to play and be with her. She grew up so much and we really make fun together. It is the Mondial these days in Brasil and almost every night I watch a game with mom and I enjoy it. That's all for now, things are good in most fronts and I hope it will stay like that. I am starting a steroids week now but it is only a week.
Tuesday Jun. 17/14
The most important thing of the last week is the fact that I passed my first belt exam in my Judo class and now I have a yellow-white belt. In here you can see my self at the exam and the "belt change" ceremony. Apart of that I am quite well. I had no blood work this week so I don't know what are my blood values but I feel very good. I have some issue with peeing. For some parts of the day, over the last week or so, I have a constant will to pee. It seems that I don't have more pee than usual, as most of the time I only have few drops, but my feeling is like I need to pee. Dad noticed that it happens mainly when I am bored and tired. In addition, it is usually follows a real pee event - where I pee a good, clear urine in a reasonable volume and after that for some time I feel that I still need to get out some more of it (and when I try - only few drops are going out). We feel it is improving, but we will mention it in my next clinic visit. The most dramatic medical event of the week is related to Tamar this time. Over the last week she had repeated episodes of fever and she wasn't happy at all. On Sunday mom took her to see the Dr, that sent her to the emergency room. There they checked her blood and urine and other things and the conclusion was that it is a virus. It is not very pleasant for her and potentially dangerous for me. Therefore, on the same day mom and Tamar packed them self and went to be at mom's parents until Tamar will be better. She is still not perfect but mom said there is a slow improvement. Today she had no fever which is great of course. In the meanwhile I am with dad, we work in the garden, ride the motorbike and bikes, having fun and most important I went with him to his lab at the University and I liked it a lot. I miss mom and Tamar and I hope they will be back home soon, happy and healthy.
Wednesday Jun. 11/14
Happily this week there isn't too much to report on. I am good, enjoying riding my bike, playing with my friends and having fun. The summer is officially here so all the pools are open and swimming in the sea is also something I like a lot. Last Saturday I went with dad and Tamar to swim at the pool and I enjoyed it so much. I swim by my self for some distance and manage to float; the hard part is to take out my head to breath and dad is helping me with that. We need to be quite careful with this swimming issue as the pool water may contain all kind of bad bacteria's and viruses which I don't want to get. Tamar is quite sick since yesterday (and may be it is because of the pool). Because of her sickness, yesterday evening Arie and Batya came to take me to Shalom and Didi and I will be there until Tamar will heal. On Monday I had blood test and it was OK. It is high enough to allow me to keep on getting the chemo, however, it shows a general dropping trend so the Dr. reduced my chemo doses a bit. In addition I also went to do an Ultra Sound to my heart, to see how things are there and as expected I have good heart. I only hope that Tamar will be well soon as on Friday I need to get back home for my Judo class.
Tuesday Jun. 3/14
Last week was a steroids week and quite surprisingly it wasn't too bad. I didn't eat too much as I usually I do over a steroids week. Also my mood was very much all right. Few things that helped me to make it a nice week included 3 days of sleep over with Shalom and Didi, a ride with dad on a huge combine at the wheat fields around our house, visiting Dad's friend that landed with an helicopter not too far from our house - including going on the helicopter and playing with the stick and everything, watching stars with our telescope, going again to the crawling caves, sleeping with dad out side the house on the grass, having fun with friends and much more. As for my health, I am feeling very well and my blood count, that was checked yesterday is very good. It is exactly where we want it to be, but we can't tell if it will be stable on these values for long time. Therefore next week I will have another blood test. Now it is Shavuot holiday and we enjoy all kind of holiday events both at our village and with my family. Until next week bye bye and I hope my blood will stay on his current values.
Sunday May. 25/14
Happily, there isn't too much to report on this week. I hope it will be like that for some time.... The last week was good, I felt well and had fun. I am getting more and more into Lego buildings and I am doing, all by my self, really beautiful things; I read the instructions all by my self and dad said that the only kid he knew that built lego better than me was him self. I guess it means that I am doing it pretty good. Today mom and dad woke me up and took me to the clinic to check my blood and to give me some chemo. I was pretty unhappy in the morning and mom and dad were even a bit worried that I might develop something again. However, in the clinic, Matka - my favourite medical clown slowly slowly with a lot of patience melt me down and together with some food that dad brought me I gained my strength and was happy again. At the clinic all was OK more or less. My blood count was quite good, apart of the fact the my neutrophils were crazy high, seven times more than where we want it to be. It is not a big deal as long as it the neutrophils that go up. It may indicate that my body is dealing with some inflammation or something, but the Dr.s' weren't seem to be worried. Mom did worried a bit but I think she is better now. I also got the chemo VinCRIStine through the centre line and that went with no problems. After the clinic, as always we went to eat Burger at my favourite burgers place, mom also bought me a new Lego set and then we went home. One last anecdote of the week is that yesterday all of my Israeli friends from Saskatoon (those who are in Israel) came to be with us, including Ana our very good friend that came for two weeks vacations from Saskatoon. We had a great day together and I enjoyed it a lot.
Today I started another week of steroids. Lets see how it will go. To sweeten the pill I am planed to go for few days to Shalom and Didi this week and I'm sure it will be fun.
Monday May. 19/14
You probably expect (hoped) to read today that I had a blood test and that my blood values are high and good. Happily, this is true. I am at home and at the last blood test, my values were great. This is good of course; however, life are not so simple. Last week, straight off the hospital I went to Shalom and Didi for two days. I returned home on Tuesday but on Wednesday, while dad was at work, mom felt I had a fever. She put Tamar with the neighbours (while Arie and Batya did their way to take care of her) and took me to the hospital. Same as last time, again, in the hospital my fever was already back to normal, but following the protocol I had to be admitted and to receive antibiotic for at least 48 hours. This time my throat was sore too. Dad got to the hospital more or less when the Dr. saw me and indeed I had a red throat. Luckily, my blood values were quite high at this point, so we expected it to be a quick visit. However, in the following days my blood values dropped and we didn't know when I will be able to go home even though I felt quite well and had no fever. On Thursday my hemoglobin values were relatively low so I got a blood transfusion and immediately my cheeks got their reddish colour and I felt very good. Two interesting issues about the hemoglobin drop. First; why does it drop so much while the other parameters didn't drop so much. The reason is (probably) because my body preferred to produce neutrophils at that time, to fight the virus / infection / what ever was in my body. Second, the day after the blood transfusion my neutrophils dropped by more than 50% and my dad hypothesised that it is due to dilution of my blood with the transfused blood, which has 0% of neutrophils in it. I got approximately 500 ml of blood with no neutrophils, while my body blood volume is probably less then 1500 ml, therefore, at least theoretically it is not surprised to see a decrease in the neutrophils levels.
Apart of the medical aspects, again the hospital visit was not too bad. I played a lot and one night Shalom came to be with me and that was great fun. We saw the movie Star Wars (return of the Jedy). In total I was four days in hospital and in Saturday I got back home. I was so happy to see Tamar and she was too. These days there is a special holiday in Israel (Lag Baomer) where you suppose to make camp fires, so it is already three days in a row that every evening we gather with friends and having camp fires together. Eating good food and having fun. The only disadvantage is the smell of smoke all the day and the air pollution. But I don't worry too much about air pollution, what can it does; give us a Cancer?!
Sunday May. 11/14
Last time I wrote here, it was just after midnight between Sunday and Monday. I wrote that my blood counts are going up and that everything is good; at the following afternoon of the same Monday, while we were at Shalom and Didi's house, getting ready for a happy night with shows and fireworks for the independence day of Israel I got a fever. The thermometer showed 38.8oC. Quite quickly we got organised, packed our self and drove very fast to our hospital (Soroka) in Beer Sheva. Mom talked with the hospital from the way and by the time we were there a clean and big room was already waiting for me. Mom took care of the registration and then she and Tamar went back home and I stayed with dad for the night. By the time we got to the hospital I had no fever, but to be on the safe side and upon the protocol they connected me to fluids and antibiotics through the centre line and took some blood for blood counts as well as for blood culture to look for bacteria and other problematic biotic creatures that may be found in my blood. The blood counts came back very quickly (may be because there wan't too much to count) and we were quite shocked to see that my immune system (neutrophils) was almost at zero and most of my other parameters were relatively low as well. I just remind you that a day before all was quite all right with my blood. Of course immediately you (by saying you I mean my parents) wonder if this sharp drop in blood counts is related to the cancer by any way. We knew it wasn't due to the chemo as I was off treatment for 2 weeks all ready. Mom and dad were quite puzzled and anxious. The medical team told us that such drop of the counts is common to be related to a viral infection but still - it is hard to ignore the Leukemia that is always in the background. Anyways, the plan was to be connected to antibiotic for 48 hours at least and if I'll have no fever and the counts will rise, then I will be able to go back home. Both mom and Tamar had a little cold so they couldn't be with me at the hospital, therefore most of the time dad was supposed to be with me.
To make a long story short: Beside of the initial fever that we measured at Shalom and Didi, I had no fever at all for the entire week. However, my counts hardly climbed up. We were in the hospital until today afternoon. Most of the week my counts were very low, and they still are, but from Friday we see a moderate and gradual increase. In addition, since Friday I am off antibiotic with no fever; therefore today the medical team decided that I am OK to go home and I will come next Sunday for another blood count. Since I am still with low (very low) immune system I am now at Shalom and Didi's house to have fun and to be away from mom and Tamar that are may be still a bit sick.
For me the last week wasn't a big deal at all. I felt great, the hemato-oncology department was really good with amazing stuff and all was brand new, clean, and tidy, with teachers, activities, clowns and volunteers that came to help us to pass the time. Dad was OK most of the time and Shalom and Didi came many times to be with me and to replace dad. I even enjoyed the hospital food, even though it wasn't like in Toronto, where I could choose to eat what ever I wanted. I think that from the entire family mom had the hardest time as she couldn't be with me or see me and she had to be at home alone without seeing how well I am. Happily many friends helped her over this week and Arie and Batya came few times to be with here, but still, all these good people are not a replacement for me.
This episode was the first major fever and admission event in my maintenance phase, since we left Toronto. I think the most important lesson that we learned from this week is that viral infection can take down blood counts and immune system to a very low values, quite rapidly. It is important to know that in order to not to be panicked the next time it will happen (it will happen probably) and more important is to be aware to that phenomena and to know that even a mild fever and a minor virus can make me a very vulnerable creature that can very easily catch a much worse infections or other bad things. Hopefully over the next week my blood counts will recover, mom and Tamar will get better (they are quite all right already) and soon all will be getting back to Normal.
Monday May. 05/14
Last week was a steroids week as you know. However, relatively speaking it went quite well. For my parents it was a really easy week as for three days I was at Shalom and Didi's house. As for me I was still a bit grumpy, a bit needy, and a bit hungry but all was just a 'bit'; much easier than many other previous steroids weeks. On Friday my back was sore the all day and like an old man I hold my back, but by Saturday it all disappeared (course I didn't let it to disturb my Judo class on Friday). On Saturday my friend Omri came to visit me with his family and that was great fun. We went to explore ancient caves that we had to crawl in them.
As for my blood: You probably remember from last week that my blood values were low due to the chemo and my treatment was halted. Yesterday we went to the clinic to check my blood and it looks OK. It is still not too high to resume my treatment but it is going up and it is almost as high as needed to start again the treatment. I believe that by next week it will be high enough to restart it again. Anyway, it was good fun to have this break from all the chemo, the fasts and medications (while the steroids are in the background). Next Sunday I have another blood test and I will update you then.
Sunday Apr. 27/14
First medically: I am feeling well, happy and energetic. But - today we were at the clinic for a routine check up and chemo and my blood values are very low so we stooped for now with the chemo pills that I am taking at home. Next week they will check my blood again and hopefully it will start to recover, even though we know from the past that sometimes the recovery can take some time. It is strange how things are working in the body as for long time I received very high doses of the chemo and my blood values were (too) high, and suddenly it fall down. Any way, it is not catastrophic; I just need to be more cautious with my hygiene and hopefully soon all will be back to normal. It is also nice to have a little break with the medications and the fasts that I have to do every evening. Today at the clinic I got both the VinCRIStine through the centre line and the Intrathecal methotrexate with the full lumbar puncture operation. Everything went smooth and easy apart of the fact that we waited a lot for the anaesthetist. Only at around 16:00 we got out of the hospital, but since the atmosphere was good and I enjoyed playing with the wonderful medical clown and the rest of the support crew, and as well I had a wonderful sleep, I can't complain. Straight after the hospital as we always do, we went to my favourite burger place in Beer Sheva - the restaurant 'Black' and I had my regular Kids burger with fries and Belgian Waffle for desert.
Apart of that my last two weeks were very nice. Dad was at home a lot and we did camping with friends, I enjoyed my time with friends at home and did a lot of good stuff with mom and dad (and Tamar). Today I am starting a week of steroids (Prednisone), it is not going to be a great fun but I am ready for that. I will update you next week with my blood values.
Monday Apr. 13/14
It has been a while since the last time I updated you about my situation. Sorry for that; all I can say is that everything is good. I am feeling very well and we are doing a lot of fun these days when dad is at home. Almost every day we are doing something exciting: one day dad and I went out to ride our motorbike, one day we went with friends for a short trip, I visit and being visited my many friends and so on. A week ago I even participated in a Judo tournament. I participated in three fights and I enjoyed it a lot, even though I lost in each and every one of them. I have an accuse for that since I was the smallest (both in age and size) in the competition and I was the only one with white belt, while most of the other kids had yellow and orange belts. Any way I got a medal at the end and mom, dad, and I were very proud. Here you can see a short video from one of the fights. On another day we went out to the fields, close to our house to run the dogs; surprisingly we encountered a huge school of Pelicans that decided to have a break for the night in our fields. That was amazing and here you can see some pictures from this special sight. And last - really the highlight of the last week was when we went to do rappelling in a small (~5m) cliff close to our house. Dad found this spot with the nice cliff and he took us with few more other friends to go down the cliff with ropes. I was really good and I loved it. Here you can see a short video of me going down the cliff.
Medically - as I said I am very well. I went today with mom to the clinic to check my blood. It is all good and happily my neutrophils went down. It is not good as it makes me more sensitive for infections but it is a good indication for the efficiency of the treatments. For some time my neutrophil values were slightly too high and we are happy to see it going down, we just hope now it wont get down to zero. We adjusted a bit the chemo doses due to this change.
Last - tomorrow is Passover, I wish to say to all of my friends, all over the world and all over religious - have a happy passover and a lovely spring, especially for my Saskatonian friends.
Wednesday Apr. 2/14
I am already 4 days into the current steroids episode. As always it is not a big fun; I eat a lot and I am quite grumpy. However, when I am with friends around me I usually very friendly and happy and behaves almost completely normal (ALMOST).Therefore, mom tries to make sure I will meet as many kids as possible, and most of the days we have many other kids in the house. Two days ago I went to a theatre show with other friends from my village and it was great. Dad is working a lot these days and tomorrow he is going for 2 days trip with his pupils so mom's days are very hectic, busy, and not easy at all. Any way after the trip dad is finishing working at the school and he will be with us more, at least for some time. Apart of taking care of me and Tamar, mom is also dealing with Vashti, our cat. She is very sweet, yet very demanding at this stage of her life. I hope she will grow up quickly as I need my mom back..
Medically I am all right. Last Sunday I had the lumbar puncture operation which went all right. My blood values are OK. My neutrophils can be lower but they are in a reasonable value. Tomorrow is the last day of steroids for now and I hope to be back into my regular mode soon.
Thursday Mar. 27/14
Nothing is too much new. I am well, the cat is still alive and growing and Tamar is sweet. Next Sunday I will have a lumbar puncture operation. I will update you in on Sunday how it went and what about my blood.
Monday Mar. 17/14
Hooray! My counts have dropped. I never believed that I will be happy to know my blood counts are dropping down, but as you know we wanted to see a decrease in my blood values as indication for the efficiency of the chemo. I went today to the clinic and happily my neutrophils values dropped down to a reasonable (in my condition) value of 1.2. For now I will stay on the high chemo doses of 116% and hopefully my blood values will stay stable. However, as we know life, it probably will fluctuate in the future.
Apart of that all is good. Purim was nice with many events and parties; the summer start to kick in and most interesting is that we have a new baby cat. It is ~1 week old, dad found it in the middle of the road after we got out of the clinic. Tamar is very excited about this creature and mom and dad need to feed it from a syringe every two hours. I hope it will hold, I will update you.
Thursday Mar. 13/14
Another week has passed and what a week. I had no medical events or clinic visits; however it was full with other cool things. Last week end (Saturday to Monday) I went with all of my family from Dad's side to a beautiful cabins site in the Arava valley. We slept in beautiful (fancy) mud cabins in the desert and we had a great time together. I most enjoyed being with my cousin David and having fun with Shalom. The reason we went for this weekend was Tamar and Shalom's birthdays. We had big luck and while we have been there we saw a big flooding event of the usually dry rivers that cross the desert. We all (but mainly me and Tamar) got into the muddy and fast flowing water and that was an unforgettable event. Apart of that we did all kind of other trips and played and ate and all was great. Hopefully we will upload some pictures soon.
In addition, tomorrow is Purim in Israel and all last week was in the light of this holiday. There were in my village all kind of activities for Purim and I also went with mom, Tamar, and my big grandmother - Esther to a train ride from Tel-aviv to Beer-sheva, where the train was full with Purim customs, activities and performances. It was organised by "Gdolim Mehchaim" which is an Israeli organization that do good things for sick kids. It was nice but slightly too crowded and noisy. I guess there are much too much sick kids.....
Tomorrow I will go with dad to the school where he works and I will put on my Captain America custom. I am very excited about that. Today I even made Captain America shield.
As for my health: Nothing new for now. Next Monday I will go for a blood work and we hope to see some decrease in my neutrophils values. It was too high in the last few blood tests and we want it to be lowered as it indicates how well my chemotherapy is affecting my bone marrow. I will update you with the results when they'll come.
So - for now I will just tell you all - have a lovely and happy Purim.
Thursday Mar. 06/14
I waited to report only today as it is my sister - Tamar birthday. One year ago she was born at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. I really remember that day. I talked with mom and dad about that day, how I visited mom and Tamar in their hospital and how in the night we signed to mom with a flash light from our room in the Ronald McDonald house since we had a direct line sight from our window to hers. In addition we got remembered that few days before she was born I lost my hair. Anyway - today I have a lot of hair and a happy, lovely, and beautiful sister that runs all over the house and makes us crazy. I love her so much and I wish her happy birthday and all the best.
As for me - I have finished a steroids week. This time it was quite all right. Much better than the previous one. I ate a lot of meat balls and had some grumpiness but it was really minor and bearable. On Sunday I visited the clinic to check my blood and to get the chemo VinCRIStine . Everything went well and smooth at the hospital. My blood values are still a bit too high, therefore if at the next test my values will remain high we will increase my medication doses. My Dr. doesn't seem to be too worried about that. Apart of that I am very well. Yesterday Hadar and Gili came to celebrate with us Tamar's birthday and tomorrow we are going for 3 days with Dad's family to a vacation in the desert to celebrate Tamar and Shalom's birthday which is tomorrow. Happy birthday shalom!!
Wednesday Feb. 26/14
Another nice, simple, and pleasant week has passed. I had no clinic visits or any other special medical events. Today mom took Tamar for a check up at our family Dr. and happily she is 100% all right. I don't think I told you but few weeks ago I started going to a Judo class at our village, every Friday. I like it a lot even though I am the youngest and the smallest in the group. I am getting bitten all the time by kids that are more than 1.5 times bigger than me but I have good spirit and I enjoy it a lot. I do the routines as good as I can and I give my opponents a good fight, despite the fact that they are so big. Beside that my father students (3rd grade) are becoming my friends and few days ago two of them came to visit me one after noon and that was nice. We still enjoy the lovely weather and the wonderful nature around our house. Yesterday we took Shalom and Didi to a short trip and at the end we saw an amazing dance of a huge school of birds. I will upload a movie of the birds soon (hopefully). Next Sunday I have a clinic visit to get some chemo and to check my blood. I will update you about my blood values as soon as possible. Bye bye for now.
Here is the movie of the birds!
Tuesday Feb. 18/14
Last week was nice and relatively simple. All was well and pleasant at home, after the previous hectic - steroids week. Yesterday I went to the clinic to check my blood and my values were quite high. From one side it is very nice as it indicates that my systems are working well and produce good and healthy blood cells. On the other hand, we want my values to be a bit lower as it indicates that the chemo treatment is affecting the bone marrow - where the cancer cells may be found or form. For now it is not a problem, my blood values are not too high compare to the healthy population, they are only slightly over the value target determined by the experts.Dr. Miri, my main Dr. increased my chemo doses by ~15% and we will see next time if it will take my counts a bit down. Any way, no body is too concern and it looks, for now, that my body is doing OK with the treatment. In general I am happy, active, and energetic as always. Until next time,all the best from me...
Monday Feb. 10/14
Another week has passed, but it wasn't an easy week. As always, following the VinCRIStine that I received last week I had to take steroids (Prednisone) for five days. This time I reacted quite hard to the steroids with a very moody and needy behaviour. My face also swelled a bit which is also a known reaction for this drug. Not sure how much related it was to the steroids but over the last week I had the tendency to report to my parents each time I coughed or farted. Actually I started doing it before the steroids but at the steroids week I was really obsessive about that. There were times that I couldn't finish a sentence without saying 2 or 3 times that I coughed or farted. It was especially bad in the evening times and when I was excited. However, it is much better now, therefore we believe the obsession was affected by the steroids that mess up my brain (hopefully reversible). Apart of that mom and dad did their best to help me pass this week. They allowed me to sleep with them if I wanted and they tried to do with me as much fun as possible. We tried to go out to see the flowers in the fields almost every day and I also did two motorbike trips (off road) with dad. One of them was almost 2 hours long and I had a lot of fun. At two occasions along the drive we had to cross a small creek with water and mud. To pass it dad carried me on his hands to the other side and then he cross it on the bike. Dad was very excited and happy and he told me something like: "What do you say? Did you see how I crossed the river?" and I told him in response: "Dad - it is not a river, it is hardly a puddle with some mud". I guess that is what happen after seeing real rivers in Canada.
One last thing about the steroids, when I am with other kids and friends I am usually much better and don't have the typical steroids grumpiness. Therefore mom and dad also tried to make sure that I will spend some time with other kids every day.
Now when the steroids are behind me (for now) I am much better. I feel good and strong. Dad is not 100% though, since yesterday he has a little cold and we try to avoid one the other so I won't get it too. I have no clinic visit this week and next week it is only a blood test. I will update you next week about my blood. Bye bye for now
Monday Feb. 3/14
As I told you, yesterday I went to the clinic to get the chemo VinCRIStine through the centre line and the Intrathecal methotrexate with the full lumbar puncture operation. I was in a very good mood and I was very happy when we got to the clinic. I actually quite like the lumbar puncture operation with the anaesthesia and everything as usually I have good dreams while I'm sleeping. For some reason in Israel I didn't had any dreams, but in Canada I remember I had a lot of nice dreams. I'm sure once I will get use to the Israeli anaesthesia, my dreams will come back. In the clinic everything went well apart of the fact that the anaesthetic Dr came a bit late. Shalom joined us at one point which made me even happier than I was initially. He even got with dad and me into the operation room and been with me until I fall asleep. Also when I woke up he was there next to me. Shortly after the operation I wanted to eat a burger so Shalom and dad took me to a burger place and I had a nice lunch at around 15:00. Just to remind you, I was fasting since the night before due to the operation. Now I am on steroids for the next 5 days and we know that I will be hungry and potentially grumpy but I am feeling very well and I am very sweet; even my stool is much better in the last few days. My blood values from the test yesterday were very good, not too high and not too low and I am staying on the 100% doses for now, which is great.
I think I told you all ready that our area, where we live is beautiful now, so here are few pictures from last weekend. You are welcome to come and visit me and I will take you to see all these beautiful flowers.
Thursday Jan. 31/14
My clinic days are now on Sundays or Mondays so dad forgot to update the blog yesterday. I think that next week I will update on Sunday after the treatment as it is a big day that includes a lumbar puncture operation. The last week was nice, I did a lot of things with mom, including a lot of crafting. The weather is beautiful these days and we worked quite a bit in the garden. Today I even helped dad to loan the grass. Gal, my uncle from New York came to visit and it is nice having him around. We enjoy hanging out at the fields around our house. Everything is green and full with flowers (Mainly Anemone). Medically I am OK; my stool is still far from being perfect and I have very soft stool most of the time. Mom insisted to take a sample from it and to check it for Bacteria. Today we got the results and I don't have any thing problematic in my stool; at least not biologically. A funny story about my stool test is that I (mom) had to put a piece of my stool in a plastic vile and to send it to be analysed. In addition we had to take a swab from my butt for another test. The swab stick looks exactly like the swab stick uses to take samples from the nose or throat. When we got the results of the swab analysis it said that I have no streptococcus. It is not surprising as streptococcus is a lungs - throat bacteria. Apparently, they took my butt swab stick and thought it is a throat swab stick. I hope for them that they washed hands before they went home.
That is all for now. A more important update will be given next Sunday after visiting the clinic.
Last - I just want to mention that today Tamar walked for the first time few steps (~6) without holding nothing.
Wednesday Jan. 22/14
Last week was very good. On Monday I went for a check up at the clinic and I am doing well. my blood values were good and my medication doses were pushed up to 100%. The weather now is beautiful during the days and we enjoy being out side the house. I ride my bike almost every day and in the weekend my friend Omri came to visit us with his family and we went to do a picnic at a nice spot out side. We also did a short walk to an ancient village (called Jamama) and I found an old well. I am feeling very good, but I have a little cold, nothing too serious with no fever. I cough a lot and wipe my nose every once in a while. The way I am wiping my nose amuses mom and dad; I put the tissue paper on my nose, but I blow air and make the noises from my mouth. Dad told me to try farting, it might be more efficient. Beside that I have dry coughs at night but this is due to the drynesses of the house that makes my throat very dry and sore, mainly at night. To over come it mom is boiling water with all kind of herbs in it and letting me to inhale the vapours. It works quite good I must to admit. In the beginning of the week I spent two days at Shalom and Didi's house and it was fun as usual. Bye bye, until next week.
Wednesday Jan. 15/14
Another nice week has passed. Dad is working most of the days until 15:30 and I miss him. However it is also fun being with Tamar and mom. We are still not sure about sending me to the daycare (which and where and when) but mom had all kind of meetings about that with all kind of professional people this week and hopefully something will work out sooner or later. Last weekend we went to visit friends at Sede Boker and that was great fun. Today Batya and Arie came to visit me and I enjoyed being with them also. Medically I am quite all right, I'm feeling good and full of energy. I still have soft stool but dad says that it is better now, compare to the previous weeks. Another thing I did a lot over the last week was riding my bike and I am very good in that. You can see it in this movie. Tomorrow mom will take Tamar and me to Tipat Halav to see how Tamar is developed and they will check my eyesight. That is all for now. A boring report and I hope it will stay like that.
Wednesday Jan. 8/14
The last week was quite complicated. It included cool and fun things such as meeting many friends, sleeping at Salom and Didi's house, riding my dad motorbike, having fun with mom and Tamar; but on the other hand last Sunday (as you know) I had my lumbar puncture operation and since then (until coming Friday) I am on steroids which make me angry and hungry. Immediately after the operation I went to sleep at my grandparents Shalom and Didi and I had there great time. On Tuesday dad came to take me from them. He came with a train and we did the way back in the train which was nice. On the way dad asked me if I had fun and if I behaved nice and did what ever Shalom and Didi said so I told him: "Dad - you are confused - you don't know how it is with grandma and grandpa? There I am saying what to do"...
Since yesterday evening the steroids kicked in strongly and I am very moody and grumpy. Today I was quite upset most of the day, beside of the time when dad took me for a long motorbike ride in the fields, and tonight, just before I got into bed I did a real scene as dad brushed my teeth and I didn't want him to do that. I shouted and cried and did a very big deal out of it, but this is the nature of the steroids as you know by now.
I also want to mention something regarding the lumbar puncture operation in Soroka. Everything there went very quick and smooth. The cool thing was that before the operation when we waited and while they put me to sleep a cool medical-clown was with us. We played and did a lot of "stupid" things and I loved it. I laughed a lot.
I don't remember if I told you but dad started working in the school at our village so most of the day I am with mom and Tamar and it is not very easy for mom but she deals with it in a great way (no that I expected something else) and we have a lot of fun and learning many things.
Next week should be nice as I will be off the steroids and there are no hospital visits. Bye bye for now, until next Wednesday...
Sunday Jan. 5/14
Full report will be given next Wednesday, just to report that all went well today at the hospital and that my blood values are good (even slighlty high) and my medication doses were increased a bit.
Wednesday Jan. 1/14
I wake up in the morning and I was with daddy a bit a bit and then I went to sleep a bit and I wake and daddy wasn't with me and I didn't love it, but I went to see a movie with mome and then i played with momy and after playing with momy I eat and play and after that I was playing and momy was working and after that we gone for a walk to the fields and then daddy was coming and I was being with daddy and daddy was cleaning the house and I was playing in the Ipad and after I played in the Ipad I was eating and that's all.
Happy new year! It is my second new year eve since I was diagnosed; I plan on having many more..... I am feeling very well these days, even though I have some kind of diarrhoea over the last few days. Nothing too severe, just annoying. Today we didn't had to go for a check up at the hospital as I will be there next Sunday for a treatment. Dad started to work this week at the school in our village, so again, like good old times in Saskatoon it is me, mom, and Tamar at home alone most of the day. The house is still not 100% ready (for example we have no sofa yet) but we have all we need for now and I enjoy the time with mom and Tamar. I enjoy my yard very much, I love my dogs, my chickens and I mainly love working with mom and dad at our vegetable garden. Last week Shalom brought me new bicycles and I am riding them not too bad. I still need to practice but I manage to ride in straight lines all by my self. Mom and dad are still not sure if to put me in a day care all ready as they afraid I will spend more time in hospital than in the day care, due to my low immune system and the many kids with the running noses in the kindergarten. They still need to think and consult smarter people. May be they will wait for the summer.....
As I said, next Sunday is going to be a big day in the hospital with a full lumbar puncture operation (first time in Israel) and I will tell all about it next week. I wish you all a happy and HEALTHY year.
Wednesday Dec. 25/13
The last week was nice. We are all ready quite settled in our house, Tamar's and my room is beautiful and mom organised all of my toys from Canada in the room. We met a lot of friends over the last week and I helped dad working in our olive orchard. Today Shalom brought me new bicycle; it is my first real pair and I practised riding on it with dad at the after noon. I still need to practice a bit but I managed to ride all by my self for a short distance.
We were today at the hospital for a check up. If you remember, last week mom and dad decided not to give me the full dose of the medicines as told by thr Dr. At the beginning the Dr. was quite surprised and not very happy, but after talking to mom they understood we did the right decision and for now they left me on the doses that mom and dad put me on. My blood values are still good and high but they are almost half than what they were a week ago, which means that the chimo is working and affecting my bone marrow. Another important thing is that I got today the results from the blood test I did few weeks ago to see if I am still immunized against Polio (which is kind of a problem these days in Israel). Happily, despite of what my immune system has gone through over the last 16 months, I am still immunized for Polio, and I can go to the kindergarten finally. Hopefully next week mom will take me to see the kindergarten and to make a plan how to send me there. Apart of that I am happy, energetic and enjoying the time. Good bye until next week.
Wednesday Dec. 18/13
This week was very interesting as we moved back into our house at Sede Zvi. After more than 4 weeks with Shalom and Didi, our house was ready and mom and dad were ready as well and we moved in last Sunday. The house is still far from being fully organised, but slowly slowly it looks more and more like a place where people leave. It is very hard working with Tamar, so mom and dad switch - some time mom is with her and some time dad is with her. When mom is with Tamar dad is working at the garden (and I help him) and when dad is with Tamar, mom is working in side the house. Last weekend was a very stormy weekend with cold temperatures, a lot of rain and snow in the high places. I am telling you that because from my home we can see the snow on Judea Mountains and it is beautiful. Even though we work very hard these days on cleaning and organising the house,almost every evening we meet friends (that help us with dinner) and today afternoon we all took a break and went to have a picnic at the fields. Tamar is sweet even though she is not sleeping very well lately (looks like tooth issues) and she is really interested in the dogs. She follows them, walking after them and climbing and petting them all over the day.
Medically - I am very well, happy, energetic and feels good. Today I went with dad to a check up at the clinic and my blood values were very high. It is good as it means that my systems are working well and produce good and healthy blood cells. In addition, it means that we can take up the chimo doses I am receiving and this is also good. The Dr. that saw me told dad how much pills to give me at home according to the elevated new doses. When mom and dad repeated the calculation at home they saw that the Dr. took up the doses to 100% and if you remember, over the last few weeks I was on 50%. According to the protocol you should increase slowly the doses, therefore mom and dad decided to give me only 75% of the doses for now. Due to my high blood values mom allowed me and Tamar to have a bath together today and it was the first time we are doing it and it was great fun. We played and laughed and enjoyed it a lot. Now it is very late and Tamar mom and I sleep together and dad is in my bed. I promised them that from tomorrow I will sleep in my bed again. We will see tomorrow what new stories I will make...
In this link you can see few nice pictures from the last week.
Friday Dec. 13/13
Forgive me for not updating last Wednesday but my secretary was very busy in all kind of job tasks. It is not that my dad started to work at something by now, but he is doing all kind of interviews and meet all kind of people. If he was charging money for the interviews we were reach people by now. Any way, back to me; I am very well. We are still staying with Shalom and Didi and I like it a lot. Mom and dad were in our house for few days last week to organise it, but it is still not 100% ready for me and Tamar. Hopefully next week. In the meanwhile I really enjoy my time with Shalom and Didi and with Arie and Batya that also take a good care of me and I slept in their place few nights as well. I had no clinic visit this week, I am still taking my medicines at 50% doses and things are good. There is nothing special to report on and we hope it will stay like that. Next week I will update on Wednesday, after the clinic visit.
Wednesday Dec. 04/13
Everything is good and I am still enjoying my time with Shalom and Didi and the rest of the family. Our house is still under preparations and we sleep at Shalom and Didi's house. Over the last week we had some thoughts of continue my treatment in Schnider hospital, which is one of the biggest and the best kids hospitals in Israel. Yesterday we were there and we met a very nice, friendly, and smart Dr., but after all we decided to keep on receiving my treatment at Soroka as it is much smaller and less hectic and the Drs. are great - I'm sure. Therefore, today we woke up early and headed off to Soroka, to get my first real chemo treatment in Israel. We got to the department by 09:00 and the department was very quiet and calm. After 10 minutes mom and dad went to talk to the social worker and I left to play with a nice lady named Elinor that her job is to take care of the kids and to keep them happy and busy. At around 12:00 my chemo arrived from the pharmacy, the nurse connected me through the centre line and gave me the chemo VinCRIStine . Until that point everything went well, My blood values were good and I felt well. After the treatment finished and the Dr. examined me I had to get the second shot of the flu vaccination. The nurse injected it to me at my thigh and that was painful. I cried and wasn't happy at all. Also Tamar got it, but she didn't complain so much. Mom asked me before the injection if I will get it first or Tamar and I said that I prefer to be first as I don't want to see Tamar crying and indeed after my shot I went out with dad and mom stayed with Tamar for her shot. Soon after the injections we headed home.
Apart of that everything is really OK, mom and dad want to get into our house all ready, but I am happy with my grandparents. Bye bye until next week.
Wednesday Nov. 27/13
Another week has passed; I am enjoying my time with the family as we are haven't got into our home yet. It is under (minor) constructions these days and hopefully it will be ready by next week. Dad works very hard to clean and organise the garden and today I even helped him a bit. Last weekend we went to the North for two days. We went because Yael, my aunt had a concert in "Kibbutz Baram". Strange enough my friends Dan and Keren from Toronto leave there now, so we had two very good reasons to go there. On Friday I was with Dan and Keren and on Saturday we were with Yael, Aharon, and more important David my god god friend.
Today I went to meet Iris, my family Dr. and she talked to my parents for almost an hour and they had a very good and fruitful talk. I was quite bored and not very happy but mom and dad said that they feel very well with Iris in "our team". Apart fo that everything is normal, I receive medications on 50% for now and next week I will do a blood test to see how my body reacts. That is akk for now, talk to you next week.
Wednesday Nov. 20/13
The past week was very joyful. I really happy being with my family; most of the day I am playing and having fun with Shalom and Didi and I find my cousin David to be a cool guy. We are very good friends and we slept together for few days at Shalom and Didi and we played a lot together. I also had fun last Friday with Arie and Batya and Ori and Netta, my cousins from mom side. Today we went to see our house as our tenants evacuated the house. The house is great and the garden is like a jungle. I was very happy being there and I went with dad to see the olive trees. We need to do some small corrections and improvements in the house and hopefully in a week or so we will move back into the house.
The more important part of the day was our visit to the Paediatric Cancer Clinic at Beer Sheva. It was all right; the stuff was very nice and it looks like things are going to be all right there. The Dr. who will take care of me is very nice (Dr. Miri) and serious. She is not very familiar with the american protocol that I am on but with the help of mom and with some home work I'm sure she will get it quickly. My blood values were high today and they pushed up my medication doses to 50% for now. We had a little adventure at the way to the hospital as the car broke down, so me, Tamar and mom took a taxi to the clinic and dad stayed in the car until the towing truck arrived. Then Didi came to rescue dad and brought him to us.
That is all for now. I will update next week, may be from my real house in Sede Zvi.
Thursday November 14/13
Excuse me for not reporting yesterday but we were 40,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Today at 11:35 we touched the holy land ground. After hectic week (mainly for my parents) of packing, cleaning, organizing, moving things from our house to all kind of other houses we arrived to my grandmother and grandfather (Shalom and Didi) house and we will be here for a week or so until we will get organise on our life... We got to the airport in Saskatoon after we slept last night at Ali's place and we had nice evening together with friends that came to separate. Since we had a lot of languages (8 big suitcases, 4 small bags, 2 strollers, big box with dad's and mine bicycles and few more bags) Hadar took a big van from her work and Kevin also came with his car and Ana came, as well as Yuval and Daniella and all of them helped us with the baggages and took care of me and Tamar while mom and dad organised all the paper work. In short -we had a big group that came to help and say good bye and that was great. All over the last week many many friends helped us to pack and take care of Tamar and me and invited us for dinners and brought us food and other good stuff and we love them all. It really warmed our heart and did the leave even harder. I also separated from all of my friends and I will miss them a lot. I hope to keep in touch with them.
If you remember, after last week test blood mom (with the Dr. approval) decided to stop my chemo until the flight, to let my body recover and to be stronger. Happily, that was a good call and at Tuesday, we did last blood test and my values were great. Also at the clinic we separated nicely from the (wonderful) stuff and we gave them something small and they gave me T-shirts and other surprises for the way.
Tonight, as Dr. Mpfou said I resumed the treatment. I am taking now doses of 25% until I will see a Dr. in Israel, hopefully next week, and then the Israeli team will take over.
So we are now in Israel. I am very happy; I played with my cousin David all the afternoon and evening and he is a cool guy. I'm sure we will have great time here but Israel is not Canada - I can tell you that. It is not necessary worst but it is something completely different.
Wednesday November 07/13
So the "bye - bye" parties were very nice, mainly the one that Bruce and Rachel, our friends from dad work, organised. They reserved a big room in Amigos, a mexican restaurant and many friends from dad's work came to be with us. The best part was that many kids came as well and we played and had a lot of fun together. Apart of that mom and dad try to start packing and organising the things for our return. Winter is really really here by now. Today temperatures were around the -18oC and for the last few days everything is white and covered with snow. Today we went to the cancer clinic to receive my last chimo treatment in Canada. I got the chimo Intrathecal methotrexat to my spinal cord and VinCRIStine through the centre line. Everything went well at the clinic. My blood values are slightly low. They are not low enough to stop my treatment under regular circumstances but because I am going to have a ~20 hours flight next week to Israel, we decided, after consulting the Dr. to stop taking the chimo until the flight, to let my body strengthen a bit. In general I feel good and I am very exciting about our returning to Israel. I have some coughing in the last few days, but it is not too bad. That is all for now; hopefully next update will be from Israel. Shalom.
One last thing: In this link from the local Saskatoon newspaper web site you can see nice pictures of me and my friend Aki from the 'Light the night' walk, from few weeks ago.
Thursday October 31/13
I didn't write yesterday because dad had a long day at work; forgive me (him). We are really starting seeing the end of our Canadian adventure. The days are running fast and we try to meet and see as much friends as possible and dad has a lot of things to finish at work. Any way, we still enjoy our time in Saskatoon and everything is well. The days are pretty cold, already under zero most of the time but I am quite used to it by now. Today was the Halloween and I went with Aki (and his parents), mom, and also Simon for a short time, to do the "trick or treat" custom between the houses. I was dressed like Spider Man and Aki was a Ninja Turtle. At home we put a sculptured Pumpkin with candles in it and many kids came to our house to ask for their share. I was very excited about this day and it was great fun indeed. Beside of that I had other interesting things at the last week. Yesterday I went with Hada, Gili, and dad to a Hockey game. It was the Blades (Saskatoon) against the Tigers (Madison hut). Sadly the blades lost by 1 point but I had good time there and I enjoyed shouting "Go - Blades - Go...".
Medically I am all right. I am still receiving 50% of the chimo doses and it probably will stay like that at least until our return to Israel. In the coming weekend we are going to have all kind of "bye - bye" parties and I will tell you about this next week.
Wednesday October 23/13
Winter has come to Saskatoon. The days are getting colder and colder and few days ago we had the first snow of the year; it was beautiful. Apart of that we keep on enjoying the days, I saw many of my friends in the last week: Aki and Oliver and tomorrow I am going to be with Taz. The Hebrew school is still great fun, Simon in playing with me once a week (at least) and in the last weekend I went to sleep and to do a movie night with Hadar and Gili. In general things are good. We started to get organise to go home to Israel, in few week from now. I am feeling very well and today I went to the clinic for a blood test and my blood values are very good. Last Thursday we (mom) organised a dinner at the Ronald McDonald House, for the hosted kids and their families. We've been told that we need to make food for approximately 30 people. On top of that we had on our mind the dinners from the Ronald McDonald House in Toronto so with the great help of many good friends we prepared dinner for ~50 people. We really did a lot of food but at the end only 7 people came to eat. I hope we did these people happier and that is the important part. We left there a lot of left overs and I had to eat a lot of meat balls over the last week....
Last update from Tamar's frontier is that she stood up today by her self. She did it several times all ready and she is doing it very professionally. Of course she still need to hold something but she crawl to the sofa and pull her self up to stand. She is less than 8 months old and it is quite amazing. Even I didn't do it so early.
In these links you will find some nice pictures from our latest adventures:
Week end with Aki at Prince Albert National Park
Wednesday October 16/13
Sorry for the late update; it is now 04:00 in the morning in the night between Wednesday and Thursday. Dad couldn't write earlier tonight as mom and him were working in the kitchen to make food. On Thursday evening (few hours from now) we are going to make dinner at the Saskatoon Ronald Mcdonald House and we are all excited about it. It is going to be like the dinners all kind of volunteers did to us in Toronto, but this time from the cooker side of the pan. The menu include meat balls, fish nuggets, salads, roasted vegetables and all kind of good things for dessert. Mom leads this thing and many friends are helping her, and I believe it is going to be nice.
As for me: Most of last week I took the steroids that made me quite grumpy and hungry. The first two days (out of 5) were really tough and I was kind of crazy. I didn't feel good and my legs were sore due to the VinCRIStine I took last week. However, last Saturday which was the third day of the steroids we went for a long weekend the Prince Albert national park, 3 hours north of Saskatoon. We took a cabin there with my friend Aki and his family and it was great fun and a big distraction from the steroids and I felt much better than the way I usually feel with the steroids. Mom and dad also told me to remember that I am with the steroids and that I need to make sure that I am patience and well behaved with Aki and indeed I was a great kid (Aki too but he wasn't on steroids). We had there great time and I enjoyed playing and having fun with Aki and the park was beautiful too. Dad let me drive the car at the gravel ways of the park and I am quite a good driver all ready. We got back home on Monday evening and then the Steroids effects were over. Since then I am feeling very good and do a lot of stuff and activities. I am still on 50% of my medication doses and next week we will see how my blood is doing.
Mom and dad almost finished organizing the pictures from our last rips and we will upload it very soon. Bye Bye for now...
Wednesday October 09/13
Hello again, another week has passed. I was today at the clinic to get the chimo Intrathecal methotrexat to my spinal cord and VinCRIStine through the centre line. It was a bit messy today at the hospital and the anaesthetic team wasn't very nice and they woke me up soon after the operation and I was grumpy and un-happy. Usually after the lumbar puncture operation I stay to sleep for an hour or so and then I wake up very happy. Any way, the important thing is that my blood values are relatively good, though for now I will continue to be on the 50% dose of the medications to see how I will react for that in the next few weeks. They also checked my Creatinine today which happily was in good level.
Apart of that the past week was very nice. Today after hospital I went to the Hebrew school and after that Simon took me to our weekly date. I also go twice a week to be with my friend Taz and his nanny which is a great fun. The highlights of last week were the 'Light the Night' walk which is a beautiful fundraising event to support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada. Mom organised a team that called 'Team Rotem' and we raised more than $1500 and a lot of our friends walked with us in that nice Saturday evening, with many other people that came to support. I really appreciate and thank the people that donated money to my team and came to be with me at the walk. On the walk there were pictures of the people that are coping with Leukemia in town and my (beautiful) picture was there also. I hope mom and dad will put pictures from this event soon on the web. On Sunday I had a lot of fun too; it started with a good brunch with friends and after that I went with Aki, his father, and dad to a huge corn maze out of town. As you can imagine, it is a big corn field that a maze was cut within it. There are a lot of paths within the field and you have to find your way and to do all kind of tasks. From there we went to a nice place with may be 10 or 15 bouncing castles and other cool things. We jumped and slide and had a lot of fun.
The coming weekend is a long week end (thanks giving) and I hope we will do something fun even though I am on the steroids from today to the next 5 days, which are likely to make me very hungry and moody.
Oh - one last thing - I have a new cousin, called Binyamin. He was born last week to Yael and Aharon and I am very happy about that.
Wednesday October 02/13
First - I went today to the hospital to check my blood and my values are good and I resumed the treatment again. It is good news, though I enjoyed my time off treatment without the daily fasts and pills. I also had an Ultra Sound for my kidneys last week to see if everything is all right with them, after I had the relatively high Creatinine value few weeks ago. The results came today and everything seems to be all right. In general I feel very well and I am happy and energetic.
Apart of the medical report, the last week was very nice. I did fun with mom at home and I saw many friends, including a play-date with Aaron. Tomorrow I am going to be alone with my friend Taz and his nanny. Beside that, Simon, our friend started to take me every Tuesday evening for few hours. I like it a lot and it gives some time off for my parents. This week she took me to eat Pizza and to play at her house. I also still go to the Hebrew school which is great fun and usually after that, every Wednesday we go to Ali's house to swim at his building pool and to eat dinner together. However, the pick of the last week was the trip we did over the week end to the south west parts of Saskatchewan. We went for three days and we saw the beautiful Cypress Hills park, the Grasslands park and many other beautiful places including huge sand dunes. I hope mom and dad will organize the pictures soon and I will put a link for them in here.
Last - in the coming Saturday there is the 'Light the Night' walk to support and collect money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society of Canada. We are going to be there; if you want it is not too late to donate money or if you are around, to join us for the walk. For more details please check out this link.
Wednesday September 25/13
As you know last week I was off treatment due to low blood counts, which is side effect of the oral chimo I am taking at home. Today I went to the clinic again, to test my blood. It is still under the threshold to resume the treatment, but it went up significantly since last time and I believe that by next week I will be ready again. My parents are trying to understand the meaning of this intermission in my treatment. Does it mean that for the last 2 weeks I (the chimo which I didn't get) didn't fight the last cancer cells that may be still wondering around in my body? They haven't got a very clear answer but it seems that as long as my blood values are low it means that I still have some chimo "in my system" that fights the cancer cells and my good blood cells. Lets hope this is the case indeed. Apart of that I really feel good. I'm happy and active and enjoying the last days of summer in Saskatoon. Mom is taking me almost every day for a walk along the river which is great fun and we meet friends and I still go once a week to the Hebrew School. The only annoying behaviour I have these days is the fact that I don't like to go to sleep by my self and I want mom or dad to be with me in my bed. They are trying to fight this behaviour, but it seems like I am a stronger fighter.
We added few more pictures to the web album that include:
Our trip to La-Ronge at my birthday.
A fun day at the field research site of dad, when all of us came to work with him.
Just beautiful pictures of Tamar.
One last thing - Tomorrow is my big grand mother (Esther) birthday, so I just want to tell her happy birthday!
Wednesday September 18/13
We went today to the clinic to check my blood values. It is still low; My neutrophils are at 0.19, and I need to be at 0.5, at least, to resume the chimo treatment. It is not surprising that it takes some time for my blood to get recover. Last time something like that happened, it took more than 4 weeks until my blood values were high enough to start the treatment again. It seems like I am quite sensitive to the chimo and that it affects my blood quite strong. I hope it is a good sign that it also has strong effect on the Leukaemia cells, though I have no clue or indication about that. However, it is not ideal to be off treatment for long time. I do get some of the chimo regardless my blood counts. Over the last week I took the steroids that made me very hungry and grumpy. It is over now (for the next month) and me and my parents are much happier now. I also got the chimo VinCRIStine last week and I think I have now some constipation because of that. Beside of that I am feeling very good. My mom and dad try to do with me some physical activity every day and I also enjoy a lot (improved a lot) to draw. Of course I also enjoy playing my Ipad. Today I went again to the Hebrew School and I stayed there alone while mom went home. It was really great fun. I also love to be a big brother and I love Tamar a lot. She is very sweet and funny and she already crawls all over the house. Every once in a while I want my parents to be more with me and less with her, but in general I am very happy and proud big brother. I was very happy today because the weather was cold and first signs of autumn are in sight. This mean that soon the (cold) winter will be here, but by then my parents promised me (I'm not sure how much they are happy about that) that I will be back in Israel.
I really keen to see more kids and friends, but these days because of my low neutrophils we need to be very careful. Also the Hebrew School today was slightly risky, but mom explained me what I am allowed to do and what not (not to touch the other kids and not to touch my face) and she also talked with the teachers to make sure there are no sick kids. We really wanted to do a birthday party for me, with many friends, but we will wait with that until I my neutrophils will recover.
Last update - next week I have an ultra Sound check for my kidneys, just to be sure that indeed they are OK. Good night and happy Hag Sukot; I will update you if there will be any interesting medical news before next Wednesday.
Saturday September 14/13
Today wasYom Kipur so we didn't do too much. Mom did her best to make it looks like a Yom Kipur in Israel and she succeed to some extent. However, thanks to her we had a lovely peaceful day at home. We enjoyed being all of us together and we played all kind of games, read books (played the IPad when mom didn't see) and had fun.
Yesterday I was in hospital as they wanted to check my blood again to see what is going on with my Creatinine values. Happily it was all back to normal and I hope it will stay like that. No body know what was that little jump in my Creatinine . Next week they will check my Kidneys with an Ultra Sound, just to be sure that indeed everything is OK. These days I am on the steroids which make me very hungry and sometimes moody and grumpy. But the steroids also take me to extremes of quietness and sweetens Any way, last night I got upset on dad so I told him something like that: "Dad - you don't want me to be a bad father - right?" and dad said "of course not" so I said "then stop behave (bad) like that as I am learning from you and I will be a bad father too". Ain't I sweet?
Wednesday September 11/13
The last week was very nice, we still enjoy the lovely summer and I had a lot of fun with mom and Tamar. I started to go to the "Hebrew Pre-School" which is once a week an after noon activity for the kids of the Jewish community. It is very nice and enjoyable and I am the best Hebrew student in my class.
Today we went to hospital to get some chimo and to check my blood. Everything went well, but my blood values are very very low so I am off medications now until my blood values will recover. This is not perfect but not very surprising and uncommon. However, they also examined today my Kidney function by the blood work and they saw that my Creatinine values are 30% above the norm. This is still not a very high number and various things can explain it. However, there is some chance that my kidneys were affected by the chimo I am receiving. I will go through a series of tests this week and hopefully we will understand the cause for this jump in my Creatinine values. I am quite cool but my parents are slightly worried. Once I will know more about this kidneys story I will update you,
I also still owe you pictures from my trip to La-Ronge and hopefully it will be uploaded soon.
Wednesday September 04/13
I had no hospital today, so there are no new medical news. I am still on 75% of the doses and I feel good and happy. Last week end we went to La-Ronge which is a beautiful region up North of Saskatchewan. The weather was great and we had great time there. I will put some pictures soon. It is the Rosh Hashana Eve. tonight so happy (and healthy) year for all of us.
Saturday August 31/13
Even though it is not Wednesday, I am writing here today as I have just turned to be 4 years old. The last year was a tough one, but I'm sure hereon all will be much better. We are doing a lot of fun in this birthday. It started with the Wiggles show. last Wednesday, continued to a fireworks show tonight and will continue to a long week end with friends at a cabin at the far north of Saskatchewan.
If you want to give me a birthday present, it is very simple this year. One option is to go to this link and to donate money (as much as you want), This is a fundraising event that me and my family participate in. You can read all details there and any $ counts. Second option is to go to the nearest blood donation center and to donate some blood. I hope not to use your blood or any other blood any more, but many more kids like me will be glad to use it.
That's all folks, All the best to all of you.
Wednesday August 28/13
Another nice summer week has passed. We celebrated mom's birthday last Thursday and that was an happy day. Gal, my uncle came to visit us from New York at the last weekend and that was fun too. We went to a lot of good restaurants together; including my favourite, 'Go for Sushi'. On Sunday we went again to the beach on the river. This time also Aki, my friend joined me and we played in the sand and buried our self (apart of the head) underground and it was so funny. Since Monday mom has a cold and she is locked in her room most of the time. Dad, Tamar and I sleep together at the living room and today and on Monday I went to be at Lily and Illya, and Ben and Anya house. I had there a lot of fun; I played with Anya, Ben and their dogs and today the best part was when we made Pierogis (from scratch) together. Today, I went with dad to see the Wiggles show. They are in Canada now and today they had a show in Saskatoon. I liked it a lot. That was the first present I got for my birthday that is going to happen on Saturday. In the afternoon dad and I went to the clinic for a routine blood count. My values are a bit low, but nothing too drastic. For now I continue to get the medicines at the same doses as I had it over the last two weeks (75%). Now we just hope I won't catch anything from mom and beside that all is good.
Wednesday August 21/13
Last week was a nice week with beautiful weather. I did a lot of fun stuff with mom and Tamar. Two interesting things took place over the weekend: First - in Friday evening, my belly was swollen and very firm. Mom was worried and at around 23:00 she called to the oncologist on call at the hospital that told us to come to the emergency room. Of course - mom and Tamar couldn't come and I went with dad. We got to the emergency room slightly after 23:00. I was happy but my belly was really swollen. They took a blood sample for blood count and took X-ray pictures of my stomach. While we played and waited for the results I did few farts and my stomach got loosed a bit. My blood count was very high and good and the X-ray showed that all I had was gases that were stuck in my belly. We got home at around 01:00 and by the morning my belly was completely all right. In this weekend I took the steroids that I need to take every month for five days. It could be that it was a side effect of these pills; I don't know....
The second interesting thing happened on Saturday and Sunday. Andrew told us about a cool beach on the river, 30 minutes out of town. We went there and it was great. A beautiful sandy beach with cool, deep, and clear water to swim in. On Saturday we went there alone and on Sunday we brought the "Israeli gang". In these links you can see some pictures and a movie from the beach.
Tomorrow is Mom's birthday and I hope we will have fun together. Good night and hopefully, I will talk to you next week.
Wednesday August 14/13:
It has been more than a week since last time I updated you. I am happy that you came in today to hear about my last adventures. First I will just let you know that I was today at the hospital. I had to do some blood tests and to do lumbar puncture operation in order to receive the chimo Intrathecal methotrexat to my spinal cord. While I was asleep I also got the chimo VinCRIStine through the centre line. Everything was calm and easy at the hospital. My blood counts were OK but not great. My neutrophils were quite low. This is because the chimo I am taking at home (Purinethol) which fights my good white blood cells as well as it fights the cancer cells. It is known and typical to have these fluctuations in the blood values along the chimo treatments and therefore my blood is being monitored all the time and the Dr. are playing with my chimo dose. Due to the low blood values of today Dr. Mopfu reduced my dose to 75%. I also have some kind of irritation on my face and I kind of scratching and touching it a lot but it is not really disturbing. The first one to notice it was Shalom, through his skype chats with me, almost two months ago. It could be a side effect of the VinCRIStine and we are not doing anything with it for now. Beside of that I am really well; I feel good and I enjoy the Saskatoon lovely summer.
Few anecdotes from the past week:
Last Friday dad came back from work at around 15:00. He had a good day at work and he was calm and happy. He opened the house door and he saw: Theo, Ahlliya, Oliver, Simon (Oliver brother), Rachel (their mother), mom, Tamar and me. Oh - and Dexter (Oliver's dog). Most of the kids were somewhere on the spectrum between unhappy to crying and the mothers somewhere on the spectrum between confusion and panic. And Dexter was barking and unhappy too. To make a long story short - A lot of wasps attacked Dexter while he was out side of the house. He was very unhappy of course so Rachel brought him into the house to see what is wrong with him. She didn't know about the wasps and apparently, few of the wasps (around 15) hide in his fur. When he got home the wasps started to fly in the house. Ahlliya got a sting in her forehead; Rachel also got some bites and all of the house was full with these wasps. When dad came he started to use the vacuum cleaner to catch the wasps and it worked quite well, but did a lot of noise and everything was a big mess. As mom said, "it was the worst play date ever". Few minutes later the other fathers: Bruce and Andrew came to help with the kids and after short time every one were more or less OK. Nonetheless, these 10 minutes were very hectic and crazy 10. The funny thing is that all that time I was sitting at my table, trying to eat my chocolate cake. Wasps or not wasps, I had a cake in front of me and that was the important thing.
At Saturday we went with Hadar to the EX which is a big amusement park that come to town for few days every summer. It was hot and crowded and noisy but I enjoyed it a lot and I did all the rides that I could do. We were there from around 14:00 till 21:00 and you can see some pictures and movies in here.
On Sunday the weather was beautiful and we drove one hour north to Fort Carlton which is a nice park with nice scenery and an interesting history. More than 100 years ago it was a fur trading station between the Indians and the Europeans. We saw the fort and there were all kind of cool activities for kids. We also canoed on the North Saskatchewan River, which is always fun. A strange thing was the hundred of furs we saw there. We were quite shocked and disturbed to see the unbelievable amount of furs that were presented there. From small rabbits through wolfs and foxes to bears and buffaloes. I was quite unhappy with the furs too and I didn't want to touch them. Nonetheless, it was a beautiful and joyful day. In here you can see some pictures from there.
Apart of that the last week was very nice. The weather was lovely and mom did with Tamar and me a lot of fun. Almost every day we went to a different playground and we met friends and one evening I even went to swim at the pool at Ali's building. I hope there will be no surprises in the coming week and that I will give you another interesting (not from medical perspective report next time. Bye Bye.
Tuesday August 6/13:
Today was another nice day. The morning was funny and messy and the afternoon was very nice. At the morning I wanted to wear one of my superhero's shirts so mom told me to go and take it from my closet. When I didn't find it she told me to look more carefully. I still didn't find it and I call her for help; when she got into the room she saw all of my cloths in a big pile on the room's floor. I know that deep in her heart she was quite unhappy with that, but she kept on being nice to me. By the way, she didn't find the shirt either; it was in the laundry. At the afternoon we went to eat lunch at Broadway street and we enjoyed the sunny afternoon. We also went to buy all kind of things for Tamar at Toys R Us. When we got back home dad was already there and Tamar and me stayed with him, while mom went to see a show at the fringe festival with friends. Dad, Tamr and me had a nice party together that included cleaning the house and pushing the pile of cloths from my room floor into the closet (as a pile). Now I am asleep and happy. Good night.
Monday August 5/13:
As I said yesterday, today we had a calm day at home. It was good plan because it was a very rainy day today. We were at home, playing and having fun. In the evening Gili and Hadar and Illya, Lili and Ben came for dinner and it was very nice. I played and enjoyed my time with Ben. Now I am in bed with mom, trying to go to sleep. Good night.
Sunday August 4/13:
Today morning mom and dad woke me at around 08:00 as we had to go for a trip. We got organised and at around 09:00 we met Andrew, Theo and their daughter Ahalliya and Gili and Hadar at a gas station, on the way to out of town. We drove as a convoy to the 'Last Mountain Lake'. I know it may be confusing, but if you know Saskatchewan, it won't take you too long to understand it is a lake, not a mountain, since there are mountains in here. This lake is approximately one and a half hours drive out of Saskatoon. The last bit of the way we did on gravel road and our first station was at the national wildlife area. This is a beautiful park on the lake that is well preserved to enable happy life to the many birds and other animals in the area. We did there a short walk and we saw some very nice birds, mainly Pelicans. After the walk we had a picnic and then we drove to the other side of the lake. On the way we stopped for another quick walk. Mom was so happy to watch all these birds and I was happy too. After a short drive we got to the Last mountain lake regional park and we sat in a nice spot in the shade, close to the water and to the playground. There we spent the next few hours and the highlight was the new Canoe of Andrew that we all cruised on. First I went with Ahalliya, Andrew and dad and later, just before we went home I cruised with mom and dad. We puddled to a near by island that called the 'Birds Island' and we saw there hundreds of Pelicans and Cormorants. They were on the island beaches and we were puddling along the beach, very close to them, hearing them and smelling them and watching them. It was beautiful. Every once in a while a group of them were flying above our head and some Cormorants swam around us, it was beautiful. When we got back to shore we packed everything and we went to eat in the local restaurant. I had Fish and Chips and I liked it. From there, at around 20:30 we started driving back home. On the way we saw a beautiful and big owl sitting in an old barn in the side of the road. 20 minutes after that I had to poo so I went out with dad. First all was OK and I enjoyed doing my things in nature but after two minutes all the mosquitoes from the area came to my sweet little ass and it was terrible, though I didn't give up until I done with what ever I had to finish with. On the long way back home I played in the Ipad. At some point I told dad that I saw an explosion in the sky. Then mom and dad looked too and apparently for dessert we had another beautiful show of the Northern lights while we were driving and with that I fall asleep. We got back home at around midnight I took my pill, had a quick shower and fall straight into bed. I think tomorrow is going to be a more relax day to gain some powers, though you can never tell. In here you can see some pictures from our day. Unfortunately we couldn't take the camera with us on the Canoe so you won't see the hundreds of Pelicans from the Birds Island. Good night.
Saturday August 3/13:
Another nice summer day in Saskatoon.
I woke up at around 08:00 and I ran straight to mom and dad's bed, crying that I had a bad dream. Of course they hugged me and after a minute I was happy again. After breakfast I went with dad to the supermarket to do shopping. We got back home at around 12:00. At around 15:00 mom, dad, Tamar and me went again to the 'Fringe Festival'. The Broadway street area was full with people and it was all very happy. At 16:00 we went to the Broadway theatre to see a real magic show. The magician was good but it wasn't for my age (a lot of cards tricks) so at the middle mom Tamar and I went out and dad stayed. He said that it was worth waiting to the end, as it was really good, but what can I do about that? After that we passed more time walking in the street, watching the street artist and buying all kind of things. From there, at around 18:00 we went to Andrew and Theo and we met there many friends from dad's work. We had there a nice B.B.Q. and me and their daughter Ahalliya had fun together. At the end, before we went home I went down to their basement with Sun (a friend) to play at the X-Box. Here you can see me playing and how talented I am. We got back home at around 22:00 and dad allowed me to sleep on the sofa at the living room so there I am now; all asleep. This weekend is an important one. It is a long weekend (every year it is like that) and it is the first week end of the 'Fringe Festival' . However, more important than that is the fact that at this weekend, a year ago mom and dad took me to the emergency room in Saskatoon since my testicles were swollen and I had all kind of other worrying signs. Last year we missed the fringe festival. I am really happy for having the chance (and the ability) of seeing it this year; It is not so trivial...
Tomorrow we will wake up early and we suppose to go for a trip at a lake 2 hours drive from town. All about that tomorrow. good night.
Friday August 2/13:
Today was a nice day though I didn't do too much. Most of the day mom, Tamar, and me just had fun at home. In the evening we were invited To Ari and Tamar and there we met more friends. It was a very nice evening with good food and I had a lot of fun. I played with Hadar and Anna and we built a puzzle of the map of Israel. I mainly gave the orders and they built it. After dinner, quite late at around 11:00 we headed back home on foot, but the air was fresh and the weather was nice so we extend our nightly walk and we went to the playground. I played there a bit and only then we went home. Now it is 24:00 and I have just talk to Shalom and Didi on Skype and soon I will go to sleep. Good night.
Thursday August 1/13:
Also today was a wonderful day. Saskatoon (in the summer!!) is great. Especially as we have the four seasons in one day. When I woke up it was rainy and dark out side (poor dad was on his bike on the way to work). I ate my breakfast and then we got organised to go out side and jump in the puddles. However, by the time we got organised the rain stopped and a strong sun came out and very quickly all the puddles got dry. At least the sun and the beautiful weather stayed for the rest of the day. During the day I played and had fun at home and Eliran also came to play with me around noon time. When dad came back from work at around 17:00 I walked with him to the river. It was a long walk (30 minutes) and I did all of it by my self. At the river we did a nice walk and we found a secret beach where I played in the sand and got a bit into the water. Mom and Tamar joined us at around 19:00 and we had a nice time together on the beach. Then we went to the close by Broadway street to eat something. But as we got there we saw that the all street is closed for traffic and a lot of things are happening in the street. Apparently, the 'Fringe Festival' started today. This is a cool festival, with a lot of theatre performances, and in the Broadway street there are plenty of street shows and food booths, and art performances and it is colourful and beautiful. We ate there a very good dinner that we composed of various dishes from various food stands. After that dad and I watched a very good magician while mom and Tamar watched a dancing performance. Then I had my ice cream at the 'green ice cream' which is one of the things I missed over the last year. Now I am in bed. Good night.
Wednesday July 31/13:
Today was a great day. In the morning my friend Gavin came to visit me and we played very nicely together at our backyard and we also went to the playground and ate a delicious cake that his mom made. In the afternoon I went with mom to the zoo and we saw a very interesting show of birds of prey. I ride my bike there which is always fun. Because we had a very hectic day today, mom planned the things that I fasted and took my pills (5 pills today) while we were in the zoo. In the evening we met dad for dinner at the house of friends of us from our old house in Saskatoon. They arrived to the house few days before we left to Toronto. They are new comers from Iran and they have a very nice boy called Illya that I enjoyed playing with. Beside that I am feeling good and everything is OK. Good night.
Tuesday July 30/13:
Also today we were most of the day at home, but we did cool things such as baking cake (very good one) with the Berries we picked on Sunday. Dad came back from work quite early, at around 15:00 and he took Tamar and me to the University. I took my bike and I rode in the endless tunnels under the campus. I rode the bike very fast and professionally in the many descents and ascents of the tunnels. I was so happy to ride there, the last time I did it was more than a year ago. After that when we got home we prepared dinner and Hadar came to eat with us. For dessert also Tamar and Ari, another two Israelis from town, joined us. I was very sweet in the evening but when the guests left and I had to go to bed I cried and screamed that I don't want to sleep alone because I will have scary dreams. At the end dad agreed to work on his computer out side of my room. Of course I fall to sleep two minutes after I got into bed, though dad is still on the floor out side of my room. Good night.
Monday July 29/13:
Sorry for the late delay in report, but we have some internet connection problems. Anyway, there was not too much to report on today. The weather was a bit gray and we were most of the day at home; playing and having fun. Dad came back from work at around 17:00 and we ate supper together and then mom went for a girls night with Hadar and Anna. I stayed with dad for a boys night that included reading 'Alice in wonderland', playing 'Spider Man' on my Ipad and playing chess.
Sunday July 28/13:
We wake up in the morning, I ate French toast and strawberries and then I play and do a lot of fun and dady do me some balloons today and then I go pick raspberries with Nick and then after I pick raspberries with Nick Hadar came. We go outside and do a lot of thing and then we come home and hadar go back to her home. We go to pick raspberries with Garth and then I jump in the trampoline and then we go back to my home and I watched TV too and then I do shower and I’m in the bed and now I am smiling.
I woke up quite early today because I was supposed to meet Taz at 09:30. However, he didn’t feel very good and we couldn’t meet. I was very disappointed but mom cheered me up by suggesting me to talk with Shalom and Didi in Skype. I called them and it was fun. After that dad prepared French Toasts for breakfast and immediately after we ate mom and I went outside to help Nick (our landlord) to pick Raspberries in the garden; I filled up my beach bucket. Then Hadar came to visit us and we were in the house for some time. At around noon time we went to the Farmers’ market, we had there a small lunch and we bought some nice vegetables. From there we went for a walk along the river and we saw a Ski Jet race. I also splashed and played in at the sprinkling playground close to the river. At around 16:00 we took Hadar back to her car and we went to meet Andrew, Theo, and Ahalliya (and Garth) at Garth’s house. Garth has a wonderful big garden with a real big trampoline and more important they have very fruitful raspberries bushes. We picked more berries and we had there a very nice time. I and Ahalliya had a great time together running on the grass and jumping the trampoline. Garth and his family are having a new dog. He is few months old and he is very energetic and happy but I was a bit afraid of him. We got back home at around 19:00. Mom and Tamar stayed at home and dad and I went to the supermarket. When we got back home I took my pill and an hour after that we had good dinner that mom prepared. Now I am in bed sleeping already. Tomorrow another week is starting; I hope it will be a nice one. Good night.
Saturday July 27/13:
Today the all house woke up at around 09:00 in the morning and we immediately got organized for a day trip. I went with dad to fill up the car with fuel and to buy some food for the planned picnic and mom organized Tamar and the other stuff for the trip. By 10:30 we stated driving North; our destination was the national historical site of Batoche. Batoche was a thrived and pastoral town more than 130 years ago. Most of the population in Batoche was metis which is a mix between white Europeans and local Native Indians. In 1885 a big battle between the Canadian army and the metis took place in Batoche and of course it was about land allocation. Like most battles nobody really won and many worriers died from both sides. However, now it is a beautiful site that tells the story of Batoche. We saw there some of the original houses and buildings (mainly the church) from these days and we could even see the bullets holes in the houses walls. It was very interesting to see how they lived in that time and we also saw a nice movie about their life and the war. We walked quite a bit (I ride my bike part of the way) to see all kind of interesting things at the site and I even pumped water from an old well. The site is on the east bank of the South Saskatchewan River and the scenery there was beautiful. We planned to be there only two hours and to go after that to another place, but it was so nice and interesting with so many things to do, so at the end we were there the all day. We will go to the other place some other time. After Batoche we drove down to the river and we crossed it with our car on a ferry. It was cool. After that we stopped in a small lake that was full with beautiful birds and mom was very excited to do some bird watching. From there we headed back to Saskatoon; Tamar and me slept on the way and in Saskatoon we met Hadar that just got back from Israel (no need to feed the cats any more) for dinner. Now I am at home after my shower and my pills and soon I will go to sleep. Tomorrow I am going to meet Taz in the morning and I am very happy about that. Good night.
Friday July 26/13:
As the last previous nights, also today I woke up at mom and dad's bed. No body knows when it happened and it is hard to estimate it as the sun is rising at around 04:00 in the morning. We do believe that it happened after the sun rise First thing in the morning mom and Tamar and me took dad to work and then we went to feed the cats of Hadar and Gili. When we got out their apartment and went down the stairs mom told me "be careful, there is some pat poo at the bottom of the stairs". I was worried not to step on it and I was too concentrated looking at it so I missed a step, flipped and rolled over the stairs and after few turnovers my face hit the ground few cm from the poo. It wasn't nice at all. Mom took me and hugged and kissed me and when we got home she gave me a bath. The rest of the day was just "another nice day" at home with nothing too much special to tell about. At around 16:00 dad came back home and soon after we went to a party at Howard and Pat's house. Howard Is the head of the institute where dad is working and they invited all of my friends from dad's work for a summer party. I had there a very good time. They have a nice garden and Played there with my friends Juliana and Ahalliya. From there, at around 20:00 we went home to take my pill (which tells you that I was a good boy and I fasted at the party) and then we went to the river to see a show of water ski jets. After that we did a short and nice walk at the down town, then we went to feed again the cats and on the way home I fall asleep.
One medical issue - I had today diarrhoea, or as I told mom "my pee got out of the wrong hole". Beside that I am 100%. Good night.
Thursday July 25/13:
Indeed I sneaked into mom and dad's bed in the early morning. However, all of us enjoyed this family sleeping time. Me and dad woke up first: dad organised to work and I watched TV. When dad went I wake mom up. Around noon time my friend Taz and his sister Aurelia and his mother Lori came to visit us. I was very excited to have Taz in my house. It was really pleasure to have him here and to play together. I took Taz to my room, closed the door and we played for long time. Then we had lunch and after that we ride on our bikes to the playground close to my house and we played like big kids. At around 15:00 Taz left and more friends came. Theo and Ahaliya came to visit us and again it was good fun. We ate some more and mom and me enjoyed to feel that we have our house again and we enjoyed to have all our friends in our place. Dad came back from work at around 17:00 and we quickly got organised as we had to go to visit our friend Ali. Ali has his family from Iran in his place now and he invited us to meet them and to have dinner together. Of course it was nice to meet the family and the food (that his mom made) was great, but the best part was to jump into the water in the pool at Ali's building. In Ali's building there is a small and nice pool that is always free of other people. Dad and I got into the water and it was so fun. I dived in the water and swam and jumped and it was great. There is there also a hot tub that I enjoyed being in. Of course I swam before the food and after the food I just went to sleep at Ali's bed. Now we are back home and I am sleeping in my bed. It was a beautiful day.
Wednesday July 24/13:
Today I was a real housewife. I cooked and clean and helped with Tamar. Mom and I were all the morning and the afternoon in the kitchen. The best part was when we did Burek and I enjoyed playing with the dough. Dad came back from work at around 16:00 and we organised the house a bit. At around 19:00 Illya, Lili, and their son Ben came to eat with us and it was a very nice evening together. I played with Ben (8 years old) like real two boys. We ran and did some fighting and put out a lot of energy. After they went I took my pills, had a shower and fall asleep on the sofa at the living room. Now dad will take me to my bed and may be I will sneak into mom and dad bed later on tonight. We will see.
Tuesday July 23/13:
Today morning I woke up in mom and dad bed, even though I went to sleep by myself in my bed last night. I claim that dad took me in the middle of the night while he claims that I came in the middle of the night by myself. Anyway, it was nice sleeping between mom and dad. The morning was a regular morning with Cereal breakfast and playing and having fun with mom and Tamar. Just before 13:00 we went to the clinic as I had to do a checkup today. The clinic was quite empty when we came which was nice and everything was relaxed and pleasant. I think it was too relaxed as it took more than three hours to get my blood count results. However, the time passed quickly as we played and nice volunteers gave me some juice to drink. Happily, when the blood results came it showed that my blood values are very good. If you remember, over the last two weeks I am on 75% of the normal chimo doses. This is because my blood counts dropped due to the chimo few weeks ago. Now, since my blood count is at a good range I am back to 100%. Hopefully now my blood will remain stable and I will keep on receiving the 100% doses. However, the Dr. said that also doses of 75% are OK, in case we will have to reduce it again in the future.
Before we went to the clinic it was a beautiful sunny day and while we were in the clinic a very strong storm started outside, but as we got out it was sunny lovely again. I immediately jumped into the ponds at the parking lot and I got wet, thus I wanted to go home, but mom convinced me to go for a walk (I ride my bike) at the beautiful walk way along the river. It was very nice, even though after some time I wiped out on the mud. Then we got back home and I stayed to play in the mud at our yard since I was already very dirty. In the meanwhile mom organised a surprise for me. After some time in the garden she called me and a beautiful plate of Pierogis with sour cream was waiting for me on the table. I ate it with a lot of joy. Then dad came back from work (he was in the field today) and we played and had fun over the evening. Now I am after my pill and my second (very late) supper and soon I will go to sleep. Good night.
Monday July 22/13:
I woke up at around 09:00 and I went quietly to mom and dad bed and I joined mom and Tamar that was just getting her breakfast. After that we had a nice morning at the house. We ate and played and watched some TV. I also talked on Skype with Shalom and Didi which is always nice. After a good lunch we went to the Saskatoon Zoo . There we took a ride on the train between the various animals cages and I enjoyed it a lot. We were there for more than an hour and then we went to take dad to buy food for the house. It is about time to start making our own food in our new kitchen. After dinner I started my fast before the pill. In the meanwhile I watched TV, played with Tamar and read a Spiderman comic book with dad. Now it is 22:30, I will take my pill soon and then I will go to sleep. Tomorrow I have a check up in the hospital and I hope all will be good. Good night.
Sunday July 21/13:
Also today was a nice day, even though the weather was not as perfect as yesterday. I woke up and after my breakfast I went with dad to feed the cats of Hadar and Gili and then we met Branko and we took him and his Kayak ~15 km north of Saskatoon and we dropped him at the river and he did the way back to town on his Kayak. I'm sure he had great time. When we got back to Saskatoon we went to Andrew and Theo place to finish organizing it as they are coming back tomorrow. In the meanwhile mom was still working on organizing our house. We got home at around 14:00 and we went for lunch at a new friend from Dad's work called Luis. He is from Colombia and he has a ~5 years old daughter called Juliana and his wife name is aliyana. They made for lunch Mexican food and it was very good and I ate very well. Me and Juliana played really nice and I had a great time with her. The nice thing is that they live 5 minutes walk from our place. After the food we went together to the playground at the park close to our house, which was good fun too. After that we kept on working on the house and at around 19:00 Ana came and worked with us until midnight more or less and now the house start to look like a normal house with clean beds and a living room and nice kitchen. I even think that tomorrow we will be able to cook something for our self, after eating mainly out side in the last week. I am all ready sleeping in bed, but tonight I wanted mom and Tamar to be with me in the bed until I fall asleep. Now the three of us are knocked down but soon dad will take mom and Tamar to their beds. Good night.
Saturday July 20/13:
Today was another nice day with beautiful weather. After long time (few months) that I didn't agree to go to sleep by my self, yesterday I went to sleep all alone. At the beginning it felt strange and I asked dad to come, but he was busy and after 2 minutes I fall asleep and I had a very good night sleep. I woke up at around 09:00 and we spent the morning in organising the house and I went with dad to Andrew and Theo house to clean it after the mess we did there over the last two weeks. At the afternoon I went (biked) with dad to a nice park close to our place (two blocks) and we met there my friend Oliver. We were there for few hours and it was a very nice afternoon. We really biked to the park; I was on my (push) bike and dad was on his bike. It was a reall ride with road crossings and climbing uphill and riding downhill and it was great fun. When we got back home mom also wanted to see some sun and the house was still a mess so we did a short walk (I biked again) to Eight street and we had a good dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant (Spicy Garden). On the way back home we met Ali and Elmira, our Iranian pirate friends and they came to visit us. We enjoyed having them in our place and I mostly enjoyed playing with them in Pirates. Now it is very late and soon I will go to sleep.
Few anecdotes: First - these days with the steroids I am really kind of "crazy" mom says it is like I am on LSD (I wonder from where she knows that???). I can at one moment to kiss and hug and say 20 times in a row to mom or dad or Tamar (or all of them together) that I love them and a minute after that to be completely angry about some stupid thing. Luckily, most of the time I am still sweet and happy, but this Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Heid thing is very interesting. I also eats a lot these days, but I am very active so I'm not gaining too much weight for now. This steroids story going to happen for the next ~3 years, 5 days per month. The second funny anecdote is from our visit yesterday at the bank. One of the reasons that mom and dad had that meeting yesterday was to increase their credit frame. While the nice guy from the bank filled up the needed paper work he asked "if the kids are healthy?" mom immediately asked with a fear look in her eyes: " Why? Is it going to affect our credit by any way?" and he said "No no, just asking....". You know, the poor guy just wanted to be nice, but after he heard our story, I guess with the next costumers he will try to think on different question to pass the time. The important thing is that my parents credit frame was increased. Good night.
Friday July 19/13:
First, it is my aunt - Yael birthday today and I forgot to call and say 'Mazal Tov', so I will say it here - Mazal Tov Yael, I miss you (and David).
Beside that we had another nice - normal day today. When I woke up dad was already at work. Mom tried to keep on organizing our new place, while Tamar and I tried to disturb her. I think we did our job very well. At around noon mom gave up and she took us for lunch at a nice restaurant on Broadway street. After that we met dad at 15:00 at the bank as we had to take care of all kind of financial things. We had a meeting with one of the people in the bank and mom and dad asked all kind of questions and move money from one place to the other. However, it was so interesting that after 3 minutes I fall to sleep on dad. From there we went to the pharmacy to get some more antibiotic for my self and from there we headed home. At home mom continued to organize the house and me and dad organized my toys. I have too many of toys, but I didn't let dad to throw too many of them. At around 20:00 we were hungry again but our kitchen is still empty so we went to the 'The Taste of Saskatchewan', which is a nice event at down town, on the river bank, where all kind of restaurants sell their food for low prices. I wanted Pierogis but it all sold out so I ended up eating Fish and Chips and Beef Dim-Sum (which is almost like Pierogis) and for dessert I had ice-cream. It may seem like I ate a lot, and it is correct, but you have to remember that these days I am taking the steroids which makes me hungry all the time and kind of moody in part (small part) of the time. Now I am lying on our old sofa watching TV and waiting for my fast to end before I will be able to take my last pill of the day and to go to sleep.
Thursday July 18/13:
I am writing to you form my space shuttle which is my (old) bed in my new room in my new house. All day today we moved things into the new house and arranged it. Branko, Illya and Lili came to help us. Branko and Illya helped dad to bring all the stuff from Branko’s garage and Lili took care of Tamar and me. Also Ben, the big boy (6 or 7 years old) of Lili and Illya came and played with me and it was very nice of him. Our house is very nice in a very good location, close to University and all the interesting things of town. I really like it and I hope we will enjoy our time in here. Throughout the day I enjoyed unpacking our things and to find all of my old toys and games. Not too long ago I took my two old (small) tents and put them on my bed and I play like it is a space shuttle and I am going to sleep in it tonight. So - before we will lift off I will tell you Good night.
Wednesday July 17/13:
Today I woke up at around 09:00. I didn't have my breakfast this morning because I was fasting since last night as today I have to go through the lumbar puncture operation in order to receive the chimo Intrathecal methotrexat. Before we went to the hospital I went with dad to feed the cats of Gili and Hadar since they are in Israel. Then, at 11:00 we met mom and Tamar at the cancer clinic. At the clinic everything was OK. Dr Ali checked me and said that I am looking good. Then the nurse accessed my centre line, took some blood for blood count and then we waited for the operation room to be free. After a short waiting they called me in. The operation room has big windows viewing the beautiful South Saskatchewan River. The anesthetic dr. talked to mom and dad about the drug he is going to use and they told him that usually it takes me more than an hour to wake up. He said that here (in Saskatoon) the anesthesia team stays with the patients until he wake up, therefore he will not give me a lot of the drug and that anyway they will wake me up after no more than 15 minutes. Then they put me to sleep while I was on dad's hands and mom and dad went to wait outside. 10 minutes passed; 15 minutes passed; 20 minutes passed; 30 minutes passed and then the anesthetic dr. called mom and as mom and dad said, I was happily sleeping. The Dr. said that he need to go to other patients, but they kind of wake me up and saw that I am OK and then I went to sleep again. Mom and dad waited patiently until I woke up at around 14:00, one hour after they put me to sleep. At least they had a nice view from the window. When I woke up I felt very good. I also got the chimo VinCRIStine through the centre line while I was asleep. The nurse brought my blood count results which were good and she also gave me a cool present that included a huge and beautiful beach towel with other toys for the beach sand. From there we went to eat lunch at a nice place close to the hospital because I wanted Pierogis. Then dad went to work at home and mom took Tamar and me to play at the playground and we were there for few hours. When we got home I played with dad and Tamar who started to crawl today. As every night I had dinner and took my pills and now I am in bed. Good night.
Tuesday July 16/13:
Today was another nice day. I woke up slowly and had a nice morning at home. In the afternoon mom took me and Tamar to the Saskatoon Zoo and after that we met with dad, Ana, and Eliran for dinner in an Indian restaurant. It was very tasty but we can't wait for Thursday to move into our new house and to have our own kitchen. After that we got back home and we passed the evening in playing, reading books and playing in my Ipad. I am short in writing today because you have a big reading assignment now. In this link you will find connections to pictures and a report from the RV trip we did from Toronto to Saskatoon. I hope you will like it.
Tomorrow we have a big day at hospital as I am going to go through another (planned) lumbar puncture operation to get some chimo into my spinal chord. It shouldn't be a big deal but it is the first time we are doing it in Saskatoon. I will let you know tomorrow how it was. Good night.
Monday July 15/13:
I wake up in the morning I be with Tamar a little and then I played in the Sesame street with Shalom and then I eat Pokoleks with water.
I'm sure you are anxious to know so the answer is yes; we saw the Northern Lights. While I talked with Shalom and Didi on Skype (last night) dad went out to the porch and saw the Northern Lights. We all got outside, including Shalom and Didi at the computer screen, and all of us saw a beautiful big and strong show of the Northern Lights. I was very excited and the fact we saw it from town means that it was a very bright Aurora. Even though we saw it from the house we packed our self into the car and headed outside of town. We found a dark spot north of town and we parked the car. Mom and dad got out of the car to set the camera and Hadar also joined us. I was a bit cold and tired at this stage so I stayed in the car. After some time dad took me covered in a blanket out side to be with them but I fall asleep on the ground after few minutes. The lights were very impressive. We were there until 03:00 AM and mainly toward the end of the night the lights were very strong and covered large part of the sky. We left at 03:00 AM because mom and dad were tired but also because dusk started. This is the time in Saskatoon when the sun start rise in the summer days. You can see some nice pictures of the Aurora in here.
When we got home dad took Tamar and my self while we were asleep into the beds and mom and dad went to sleep too. Dad woke up early as he had to go to work but mom Tamar and I kept on sleeping. Mom and Tamar woke up at around 10:00 but I slept until noon more or less. The rest of the day was very calm as we had to rest after this hectic weekend. Important note is that Tamar tried to eat today a mashed apple. It is the first time she is eating something that is not mom's milk. She didn't like it too much but she ate some of it. In the evening we also let her to play with a piece of a Water Melon. The second thing to note is that there was today a Tornado warning but at least in Saskatoon there was nothing special. We do live in an interesting place...
Sunday July 14/13:
Oh I love Saskatoon in the summer. Dad woke me up at around 10:00 as we had to do a lot of things today. First we met June for breakfast at a nice coffee shop close to our place. The weather was beautiful and we set out side and enjoyed the food and the sun. Then, at 12:30 we ran back home and we uploaded the car with food, drinks and other essential things for a summer picninc day in Saskatoon. The most important thing was that on the car of the car we had a Canoe. In the morning, while I was asleep dad went to Garth, a friend from his work, and took his canoe. We met Ana, Gili, Hadar and a new guy called Elliran that came to Saskatoon two days ago and we went to 'Pike Lake'. This park is a nice park 30 minutes out of Saskatoon and we did there a nice Picnic on the lake shore. Of course, the best part was when we canoed. The Canoe is very nice with a lot of water lilies and other nice things. At around 18:00 we were back home. We cleaned the house a bit and for dinner Gili and Hadar came again. I ate before they came as I had to start my daily fast. Now it is very late but I am not asleep yet because I am talking with Shalom and Didi on Skype and soon we will go to look for the Northen Lights. I hope we will see something soon as I am very tired. If I will see the Aurora I will let you know.
Saturday July 13/13:
Today I wake up in the morning and then I eat Crispy Rice and then pick up berries, but I stacked in the mud and then I can't go out and dady help me and after that I go to the beach and then we played follow the leader and then me and dady crawled and then jumped over the pool and then we go to buy bread and then mom bring bread and then after that we go back home, we play in the computer with Hadar and then I play with mom and now I am in the bed. THE END.
Today was a fun day. We woke up slowly at around 10:00 into a gray and rainy day. We had breakfast and spend the morning at the house. I talked on Skype with Shalom for long time and at around 14:00 we went to sign on the house that is going to be us for the next four months. We will move in next week and it is a sweet little house, close to our previous apartment in Saskatoon. After that, at around 15:00 the rain stopped and we went to the 'West Development Museum'. There was a beautiful festival where they built out side of the museum the town of Saskatoon as it was in the early 1900. It was quite amazing and I could see all kind of (working) steam engines and steam tractors and many other interesting machines. I could see a real blacksmith working and many other cool tools and practices from 100 years ago. I pumped water by hand and did laundry on a board and most important: I ate Pierogis. I saw there a beautiful steam organ (Calliope) that really works and a nice lady played on it all the time (and you could hear it from far away). We stayed there until they closed the museum at 17:00. From there we went to the river close to dad's office and we went for a walk along the river. The walk had two purposes: one - to enjoy the nice scenery; and two - to pick Saskatoon Berries. Even though there is a paved walk way along the river, we went off the beaten track as we were looking for the berries. We walked in muddy trails and one time I even got stuck in the mud and dad had to pull me out. That walk was beautiful and tasteful. After that we went back home and prepared dinner. Hadar came to visit us in the evening and it was a fun visit as I played with her on Andrew's X-Box and I enjoyed it a lot. Now I am watching pictures from today with mom and soon my mom will put the pictures on the site and I will go to sleep. Good night.
Friday July 12/13:
Today we wake up on the morning. and then I cry and cry and cry because I didn't get kiss to dady because he go to the work and then dady came back and me and dady did a shower together and then we play and then we go to Gili and Hadar and we eat and we do a lot of fun and then we go back home and I play in the car with dady some more and I clean my teeth and then I go to the bed and now I am in the bed.
Today was a very relaxed day. Dad went to work before I woke up and when I woke up I was very sad that I didn't give him a kiss before he left. Therefore we called him and I talked to him on the phone and after that I was better. Tamar was very grumpy today and didn't feel very well , probably due to the vaccination she got yesterday. Because of that mom had to give her a lot of attention. While mom took care of Tamar I talked on Skype with the family from Israel, mainly with Shalom, that talked to me on the Skype for more than an hour. Dad came back from work at around 16:30 and first I gave him a huge hug and a kiss. Then we played Frisbee out in the garden and at 19:00 we went to Gili and Hadar for dinner and it was very yummy and fun. We got back home just after 22:00 and now I am in bed with dad, writing what we did today. Good night.
Thursday July 11/13:
Today I had a long and interesting day. It started in a visit with mom and Tamar at the babies clinic (Tipat Chalav) to vaccinate Tamar. Everything at the clinic went well and smoothly even though it was hard to me to see Tamar suffering when she got the shots. I was very helpful at the clinic and I tried to be the best 'big brother' as possible. At the afternoon I was suppose to go and visit my friend Taz, but unfortunately he was a bit sick. I really waited for that visit and I was very excited about it the all day, but I understood the situation and I can't see him. Hopefully I will see im soon. To make me happy mom took me to the 'West Development Museum' and we had there nice lunch together and we saw cool stuff including a real old (steam) train moving on the rails. After that we went to continue our house hunting and to do some other arrangements. At around 16:00 we went home to have a healthy snack of egg and vegetables and at around 17:00 dad came back from work. Then dad took Tamar and me to meet my friend Oliver and his family at the park close to our place. I had there a lot of fun and I played both in the playground and at the sprinklers zone. From there, we went straight to the park behind the Jewish Community Centre since there was there a cool theater show of 'Alice in Wonderland' and I liked it a lot. It was quite long; a bit more than an hour and I enjoyed it very much. After that I asked dad to go home and to read the 'Alice in Wonderland' book. However, we stayed there to see and meet many friends and I ate hot dog as they did a B.B.Q. After that I started my fast and now I am in bed, watching a movie. I took my pill already and soon I will go to sleep. Tomorrow is Friday and after that we will have another fun weekend. Good night.
Wednesday July 10/13:
Today was a long, good, and diverse day. It started with an early wake up and a quick Cereal breakfast. At around 09:30 we went to the Cancer Clinic in Saskatoon for the first time. The clinic is nice, though much more hectic (and somewhat depressing) than the clinic in Toronto since all the cancer patients of all ages are getting treatments in there and not only kids. The pediatric section is small but very pleasant and the medical team is very nice and lovely. First the nurse (Heather) accepted me and took my height (95 cm) and weight (12.9 kg) and all the other vitals. She was very nice and sat with us and explained us about the clinic. After that Dr. Mpofu, which is the same Dr. that diagnosed my disease 10 months ago, talked to us and examined me. After that Heather the nurse accessed my port and took some of my blood for a blood count. Not like in Toronto, in here for the blood work they take blood from the vein or from the port, and not by finger poke. For my stage in treatment it is not a big deal as I don't have to do too much of blood tests and any way they need to flush my port every few weeks. Accessing the port today was very easy and I didn't feel a thing. It was really painless and it could be related to the fast that they use in here a different numbing cream (Maxilene) than the one I usually used in Toronto (Emla). After that we went away and they said they will call us once the results will come. First we went to eat as all of us were very hungry. After lunch in the down town we went to look for houses. We saw few houses and we still didn't decide on anything; I hope we will decide soon, as mom really need a place to be called home. At 18:30 we met with friends from Dad's work in a Burgers place and we had a nice meal. I mainly enjoined playing with sun, a friend from dad's work. From there we went to play in a nice playground close to the river and we did a short walk along the river. By 21:30 we were back home and now I am in bed after taking my pills and having a shower.
As for my blood count results: At the afternoon Dr. Mpofu called us and said that my blood values are good and he even increased a bit my medications doses. In the next blood work we will see if it is too high or if may be we can increase it even more.
Tuesday July 09/13:
Today we woke up at around 09:00 and because we ran out of milk I didn't had my Cereal, but mom prepared for me a Banana Pancake breakfast; which was yummy. The rest of the morning I spent in playing in the house and in the afternoon mom took Tamar and my self to the park that I like with the sprinklers and the playground. We went to the park on foot, though most of the way I took a ride on Tamar's stroller. Our friend Lili joined us at the park and it was great fun and help for mom. Dad got back from work at around 18:00. We got organised and we went to meet Hadar and Gili and to have dinner together in an Indian restaurant. After that they came to our place (Andrew and Theo place) for dessert. I didn't eat the dessert since I was fasting. Dad promised me that after the pill he will eat with me ice cream again. Indeed, when the fast ended we went to the porch and ate ice cream with good Carrot cake that mom made. We sat in the porch with no lights and watched the stars. We even saw a satellite Now I am in bed and mom is singing me a good night song. Tomorrow we are going to the Saskatoon Cancer Clinic for a checkup. I hope all will be well. Good night.
From medical prespective I am quite all right, happy, energetic, and feeling well, but my poo is far from being perfect. It is soft and may happen several times a day. Dad thinks it is from the antibiotic I am taking and mom says it is due to the chimo. Anyway, it is probably related to the drugs I am receiving. Mom is trying to feed me with healthy food so most of my snacks during the day are fruits and vegetables and also in the meals I eat a lot of vegetables. I hope it really helps as candies are much more tasty.
By the way, here you can see some pictures from my last few days in Saskatoon.
Monday July 08/13:
This morning we all woke up at around 08:00. I ate my Cereal and then we went to visit my friends Aaron and Jehuda and their mother Lisa Schifman. First we went together to a nearby park with a paddling pool. However, the pool was still filling up when we arrived so first we went to play at the playground. After some time in the playground I ran in the sand and I fall and hurt my ankle. I cried and my leg got swollen a bit. But - after short time I got over it and we went back to my friends house for lunch. After lunch we played some more and then we went to the paddling pool that was full already. The water were too cold so after 30 minutes I got out and we went back home. Beside the nice visit, Lisa gave Tamar and my self beautiful welcome presents. On the way home mom stopped at dad's work to show him my leg and the fact that I was limping, but I had no pain and I said that "by tomorrow it will be OK", so we decided to leave it for now. Just before we got to the house parking I fall asleep in the car and mom took me on her hands to the house and I slept for another two hours. I woke up at around 17:00, just before dad came back from work. Then we did a kind of picnic - dinner at the porch and after that I started to fast before the daily pill. In that time I played and watched some TV. Later in the evening mom and dad organised the pictures from the RV trip while I played next to them in my toys. Now I am in bed (23:20) and soon I will be asleep. Good night.
Sunday July 07/13:
Today we woke up to a beautiful sunny day. Straight after my morning cereal we went to visit my friend Oliver. I was very excited to meet him and it was fun being there. Oliver has a small playground in his yard and I enjoyed playing there. At around 12:00 we went from Oliver and we headed to a race car arena in the North side of town to see an air show. It was today a day to honour the Canadian soldiers and veterans and there was a ceremony and an air show. We met Hadar and Kevin, another friend from Saskatoon and we have been there from 13:00 to 17:00. All kind of cool things were there such as helicopters and police cars and fire truck that I climbed on, but the coolest thing was the show of a F-18 and of the snowbirds. The snowbirds show was really spectacular and I was amazed to see that the same number of planes started the show really ended it as they did crazy things. It was a cool event and you can see pictures in here. And movies in here. from there we rushed back home, we did a quick shower and we went to Lili and Illya, where we met Hadar, Gili, and June and we had a lovely evening around the campfire in their yard. We ate and had fun. They have a parrot that after some pressure from dad I agreed to let him walking on my hand and another small and harmless crazy dog that barked on me all the time and I was a bit afraid of it. At around 23:00 we were back home and I went to sleep. Tomorrow another week begins and I hope it will be a good one. Good night.
Saturday July 06/13:
Today was a very nice day, even though it was gray and rainy. We had plans to go and see an aerobatic show, but due to the weather we did a quick change of the plans. First thing we went to see a small house that we might rent. After that I asked mom and dad to take me to the 'West Development Museum' or as I call it the 'trains museum', which is a beautiful museum that I love and remember from our past days in Saskatoon. Even though mom and dad tried to convince me to do something else, I insisted to go there and it was great fun. All of us enjoyed the visit and mom and dad admitted that it was a good idea to go there. After that we went with Hadar to eat lunch and after lunch me and dad dropped off mom and Tamar at the house and we went to dad's work. First we played on dad's computer and after that we went to play Ping-Pong and to wonder at the nice area where dad is working. At 18:30 Hadar met us again at dad's work and we went to the Gym. Dad and Hadar played Squash while I watched them. Every once in a while I knocked on the door and asked for a hug or brought them some imaginary food, but in general I was very patience; I waited there for more than 45 minutes. After they finished I played some squash with dad and practised for 5 minutes at the Gym. Then we got home and mom waited for us with good and hot dinner. After dinner I went straight to bed and now I am a sleep. If tomorrow will be a nice day, then we will go to see the aerobatic show. If not, may be we will go to the 'West Development Museum' again. Good night.
Friday July 05/13:
This day started very bad and improved gradually. I woke up from a bad dream at 06:00. Dad took me out of bed and we lied together on the sofa until we both fall asleep. I woke up at 09:00 just before dad left to work. In the morning both Tamar and my self were quite grumpy and not nice, and it was hard for mom. However, at the afternoon things started to improve. Mom took us to a nearby park, where there is a nice playground and great water sprinklers. I cooled my self in the water and enjoyed playing in the playground. Also Tamar enjoyed the open air and slept most of the time. Dad joined us after some time and played with me. After that we went for a walk along the river which is always beautiful. The mosquitoes were quite annoying but they attacked mainly mom. From there we went to eat dinner at Broadway street. While we ate, out of no where a crazy storm started with heavy rain and hail, but as it started it dispersed after 30 minutes. While we ate we played chess and that was nice. Now we are at home. I had my shower and I am waiting for my two hours of fasting to pass before I will take my pill and will go to sleep. I got remember now in my scary dream from the morning. I told dad that it was a violent dream and that I don't want to go to sleep tonight, but dad promised that I will have good dreams tonight. He told me that he dream last night that my wish from the 'Children's wish foundation' was to go the moon and they organised it for us. But dad woke up from the dream (by me) still at the stage of preparations for the journey.
Thursday July 04/13:
I wake up in the morning and I go to eat with dady lunch and then we go with dady to home but in the way to dady I eat Pokoleks and after that we go back home and I do a lot of fun and after that mom do a bath to Tamar and then we eat with Branko dinner and then I'm do a shower and brush my teeth and then I go to sleep and now I am in the bed. Bye Bye Bye.
Today wasn't a very easy day. It was hot and I was a bit grumpy. After I woke up and passed the time at home we went to eat lunch with dad at the University. We went to the main food court and I ate Schnitzel sandwich and fries. Before that we walked at the beautiful dinosaurs, rocks, and animals (small) museum at the Geology department building. From there dad came back home with us and we relaxed and rest at the hot afternoon. After it cooled down a bit dad and I went to see the river and to do some shopping at the super market. When we got back home I took my pill and after that we went to run around the block. I couldn't run all the way so I walked in some parts. At least I said dad that I did a Marathon today. After that mom prepared dinner and Branko joined us for the meal. Then I helped dad to fill up his bicycle tubes and now I am in bed after a shower.
Good night.
Wednesday July 03/13:
I wake up in the morning and then I talk with my grandfather that I call him Shalom and then I play that I am the costumer and momy is the chef and I seen to Shalom how we play this and then I hang up. After I hang up I go with mom to the paddling pool and playground. And then I'm go back with mom to eat lunch in the house with mama and I eat all my lunch in the plate. I have a great fun.
Today dad woke up first and went to work. We woke up soon after that and after talking to Shalom and eating breakfast mom organised a picnic bag and we went to the paddling pond at the Buena Vista park in town. After I got into the water and mom and Tamar settled down a rain started. So we packed our self and got into a near by craft room that is being operated by the town for the summer months. We did some crafting and as the rain ended we got out to play at the playground. After that we got back home and we ate the picnic at the porch. After that I watched the cartoon of 'the cat in the hat'. Then mom showered me and Tamar, I fasted and took my pills and at around 19:00 we picked dad from work. We all went to Hadar and Gili for a very nice dinner. Mom and dad enjoyed the food, but I didn't like it too much so Gili opened for me a cane of Tuna and now I smell like a fish. We enjoyed our time there until 22:00. Now I am in bed and soon I will go to sleep. Good night.
Medically - I seems to be all right, though I was a bit tires today and my stool wasn't perfect and somewhat soft.
Tuesday July 02/13:
Today we all woke up at around 08:00. We got organised and we took dad to work, after he haven't been there for a while. Mom, Tamar and I went with him into the office to see all my friends from his work and to show them Tamar. I was a bit shy, but happy. After that dad stayed to work and we went for a walk at the University and to eat lunch at Boffin - a good place close to dad's office. after that we kept on hanging around in the area and then we went to visit Gili at her office, but it was so hot and I was tired so we stayed in the car with the air condition and she came to sit with us. After that on the way back home we looked for a house to rent. At home (Andrew's and Theo's house) we rest and watched TV. At around 17:00 we went to pick up dad from work and all of us went to look for more houses. For dinner we went for my favorite place in town - Go for Sushi. I even ate Sushi with fried fish in it and that was great after not eating Sushi for the last 10 months. When we got back home we played at the garden and had fun. We pretended that I am dad and dad is mom and mom is our daughter and Tamar is our baby. I took the game very seriously and it was funny.
It is almost 22:00 now, but it is not dark yet. We are sitting at the porch and enjoying our time and the good air of Saskatoon and try to ignore the mosquitoes. Good night.
Monday July 01/13:
Oh Saskatoon!
We have arrived yesterday afternoon to Saskatoon after beautiful eight days on the road. Poor dad, after putting us at Andrew and Theo house kept on driving another 650 km to Calgary as there is the returning point of the RV. Tonight he returned back to Saskatoon and I am very happy. Mom and dad promised to put a full report of the trip, including pictures, soon. However, regardless of the trip or dad, today was a very nice day. After a good night sleep mom, Tamar, and I went with Hadar to a very good breakfast at June's house. I haven't seen June (Avivi) for a while and it was good seeing her. After the very good food she read bools to me and that was fun. From there, at around 14:00 we went to visit my friend Taz. I was very happy and excited to meet him. Also there I had a lot of fun and we played and jumped the trampoline and did many other cool things. We also played with her sister Aurelia that grew up a lot since I last saw her. Then we got back to our temporary house and mom gave me dinner that included salad and Pierogis. We played like I am in a restaurant, ordering the food and it was amusing and good because I ate all the salad. but it required a lot of patience from mom, since I ate very slowly and enjoyed the pretending game. At around 20:00 we went to pick dad from the bus station, since he took the bus from Calgary back to Saskatoon. With dad we went to see the last show of the Jazz Festival of Saskatoon. It was a nice show and I started to dance immediately as I hear the music. Later on Hadar and Gili joined us and we did a walk along the river. We went south to find a spot to watch a fireworks show for the Canada Day that was celebrated today. It was a nice show, but I was a bit tired because it was very late (it get dark here only around 22:30). On the way back to the car while I was half asleep on dad's shoulder I heard music again and I saw people dancing at the walk way. I went down of dad's shoulder and with turbo powers I danced with mom and alone and had a great time. Then it was really late and it was time to go back home. Now I am after a shower and my daily medicines, all ready a sleep in bed.
Good night and happy Canada day.
Wednesday June 26/13:
Hello friends. I'm still on my way to Saskatoon, just passed today Thunder Bay. The internet is low and we are tired so I'll just tell you I am good and happy. I did the blood test in Sudbury two days ago and I am goo and restarted the treatment yesterday. I will update you with all the details of my beautiful trip when I will be in Saskatoon by next week.
Good bye for now.
Saturday June 22/13:
Today was a long day. Especially for my parents as from last night till tonight they packed, cleaned, did laundry, threw 20 sacks of garbage and worked very hard to be prepared for the big day of tomorrow, the beginning of our road trip to Saskatoon. In the afternoon my good friends Dan and Keren came to say good bye for the last time. We played in the basement a bit and after that they went home. I will miss them, but hopefully I will see them soon in Israel. At dinner time (that was again cooked by nice volunteers at the communal kitchen) both Galya and David and the Kaufman - Gluzman family came to visit me. While I played with David and the Kaufman kids at the playground, Noa, Erez, and Galya helped mom and dad with the packing and cleaning of the house. Their help was enormous and we really thank them for that. We already put at the Kaufman's car almost half of our stuff and tomorrow we will upload the rest and they will take us to the place where we will take the RV. At around 23:00 mom finished to pack everything and Tamar mom and I went to the Baldwin Inn, to sleep, while dad stayed at home to finalize the cleaning and the laundry. I am very happy and excited about our tour and I'm sure I will have great stories to tell. I'm not sure if and when we will have internet connection along the way, so be patience and we will do our best to send stories and pictures as soon as possible.
Good night for my Canadians readers, good morning for my Israeli readers and good bye Toronto. I hope to see you in the future but not for medical reasons.
Friday June 21/13:
So - It is now 22:30 in the night and I have just got into bed. Today I was planned to have a quick visit in the hospital but eventually I was there almost half of the day. Dad and I went to the hospital at around 08:30. I did a finger poke and we waited to the results. In the meanwhile I did some crafting with the volunteers. Then mom and Tamar arrived and we were called to see the Dr. as the results arrived too. My blood results, are still not great. Most of my blood values are good, but the neutrophils are still quite low. They are indeed creeping up, which is a good sign, but they are not climbing fast enough. The Dr.'s are still relaxed and the major concern is that I am out of any chimo treatment over the last two and a half weeks and it wont get resumed untill my neutrophils will go up. More over our plan was to leave in coming Sunday to Saskatoon, but we wanted to make the way on ground by RV (8 days of road trip). By sticking to this plan it mean that I wont be checked and get my chimo for another week and a half. After consulting the medical stuff we came up with the next genius program: We will leave on Sunday as planned, but in Tuesday we will stop for a blood test at the cancer clinic in Sudbury which is a city ~500 km north of Toronto. The clinic there is a satellite clinic of the hospital in Toronto and together with my medical staff from Toronto they will decide if I can resume the treatment or not. So - to conclude. Unless something bed will happen in the next 48 hours, I have done with my treatment in Toronto, and on Sunday we will start an amazing Caravan trip to Saskatoon. Isn't it amazing?! The Caravan trip is organised and sponsored by the wonderful Child Wish Foundation, but more details about that later on.
In the hospital before I knew my blood values will be low I told dad that I want to do something heart today, like accessing my port. Strange saying indeed and I guess I said it because I wanted to be admitted and to eat the hospital Pierogis. Strange enough, when the blood results came they said that I need to receive antibiotic through the centre line. I was happy. While we waited the antibiotic to arrive from the pharmacy, we went to eat Pierogis at the hospital food court and to say good bye and to give small presents to the medical stuff that took care of me over the last 10 months. I gave them a small picture of me, a chocolate from Saskatoon and Hamsa that me and mom prepared. Every one were excited and I got a lot of hugs. Then I got the antibiotic, it took one hour and then we went home. At the house we gave similar good bye presents to the amazing stuff of the Ronald Mcdonald house. Also Rabi Azriel came to say good bye. He helped us a lot to get to the Sick Kids Hospital ten months ago. I'm sure we forgot many people, but we did our best to thank who ever we could think about. At the after noon mom and dad kept on organizing things for our leave and I went alone to the craft room, to do some crafting. At 18:30 Liran came to take us for last Friday dinner at their house. I t was very nice, the food was good and as always we enjoyed our time there. We also separated from them, but for sure we will see them in Israel in the future.
Now I am in bed, very excited about our move to Saskatoon. In the next 2 days we will have to work, pack, and clean the house and hopefully in Sunday morning we will start our exciting trip. Isn't it cool? Good night.
Thursday June 20/13:
Oh what a sleep!. After going to sleep last night at around 02:00 I took my time in the morning and slept until 11:00 more or less. Then we wanted to go to Lea from 'JIAS'. She in particular and the 'JIAS' organization in general helped us a lot over our time in Toronto and we wanted to show her Tamar and to thank her for the help. The 'JIAS' is located in the North of Toronto so Guy (Raivitz), our friend came to take us with his car. After our visit at the 'JIAS' we went for a short visit at Guy and Miki house, I think it is the second or the third time we meet them over the last week and each time we say that we need to meet again to separate before we will go to Saskatoon. We became really good friends over the last year and I'm sure we will stay good friends in the future. After that I had lunch (remnants from yesterday dinner) and talked to Didi in the Skype. Then mom and I went to the hospital to say good bye to Denise who was the major nurse than centred my treatment over the last year. We gave her a little present to say thank you, but she was so nice and she brought me a present too - she brought me beautiful games that I like a lot. After that I played and passed the time while mom kept on organizing and packing the house. Dad - as a wonderful husband, worked on the computer. Later in the afternoon I went alone to the craft room and I was there for quite some time. I did crafting and enjoyed the time. When I finished there, one of the volunteers brought me back home. Then me and dad tried to help mom, but after we saw that we are doing more mess than helping, we took Tamar and went out to bring dinner. We brought a nice take away from a nearby Japanese restaurant. Now I am after shower, in bed, and soon I will continue to see the movie I started yesterday with dad. Tomorrow I have another check up at the hospital and I hope my blood will be OK, so I will be able to head off to Saskatoon soon.
Good night, I will update you tomorrow about my blood.
Wednesday June 19/13:
Today was a very long and beautiful day. We rented a car and we drove 250 km East to a beautiful town called Kingston, to meet my cousins Jonatan and Maya, the kids of my mom sister - Tali. Noa, the older sister of Jonatan and Maya had a cold so she stayed at home and I didn't see her. Any way, after almost three hours of driving we got around noon time to Kingston. We met Tali, Maya, and Jonatan at Fort Henry which is a nice old fort sitting on a high hill above the town. We were there all the day; we walked in the fort and saw all kind of nice exhibitions, and we had a nice picnic together. A cool part of the day was when we saw the soldiers marching and playing their drums and flutes. A very funny part was when Jonatan, Maya, and me tried to learn how to become soldiers. You can see a funny movie about that in here and some more pictures in here. However, with all the respect to the British-Canadians soldiers, the best part of the day was meeting Maya and Jonatan and to run and play and fly a kite with them. Last time I saw them I was less than one year old and it was great meeting them today. I talked to them in English and I was sweet (and them too). At around 18:00 they headed back to their house (Montreal) and we went to the old part of Kingston, but because Tamar was asleep we only watched it from the car. Then we headed back west toward Toronto. In the middle of the way we stopped to eat dinner in a nice Italian restaurant and I ate very nicely a schnitzel and pasta. We got into Toronto very late, at around 23:30 but I didn't sleep at all along the way. After dinner mom gave me my DVD and I watched the movie Toy Story, which kept me awake. After we got organised at the house I went with dad to return the car at the rental place and only at around 01:00 I got into the shower. I was very tired and when dad washed my head I screamed and I was very very angry, I have never been so angry before. The problem was that the more I shouted the more my dad laughed. He tried to stop him self but he didn't succeed. So I was shouting and my dad was laughing, therefore I shouted more and he laughed more and it was a very unpleasant moment. At the end dad gave me a hug and said that he sorry he was laughing and I told him that "In the morning he had patience for me, but now he has no patience for me and it is not nice of him". I also told him that "next time he will behave like that I will give him a strong box". After we calmed down we got into bed and I asked to see with him a movie as he promised yesterday. We started to see the movie 'Iron Eagle' but I fall asleep after five minutes. At least I fall asleep on my dad shoulder and I was happy. I hope tomorrow I will wake up late since I believe I need to sleep a lot to let my body to produce my missing neutrophils. Good night.
Tuesday June 18/13:
This morning Mom woke up dad and me at 08:00. We got organised quickly and before 09:00 we were in the clinic. Very quickly, my port was accessed and I got the chemo VinCRIStine through the centre line. They also checked my blood and all of my blood values are quite high except of the neutrophils that are still low. The Dr. says it is due to the chemo and she is not worry regarding the cancer. As long as this is the case, we can live with it. My neutrophils did go up a bit since last week and hopefully in few more days it will be OK and I will be able to continue the treatment according to plan. Apart of the neutrophils I looks great and feels great. My hair is growing and I am happy little boy. In the clinic - Dina, our friend from 'Chai Life line' came to say good bye before we will go to Saskatoon. She brought for me special cupcakes decorated and coloured like the Sesame Street characters. It was beautiful and tasty, or as I say "Yummy Yummy in my tummy". We also said good bye for few more important people we met over the last year, including Noa my other friend from 'Chai Life line'. Then we had lunch and we got back home at around 15:30. After 16:00 I went with mom and Tamar downstairs to the drumming class, which was fun and after that I played at the playground of the house. In the evening I went with dad to the basement and we played Hockey and ran and had fun together. After dinner I went to the toilet and my poo was really green. Of course mom and dad got panicked and immediately checked on the internet what does green poo means. So in case you didn't know (1) green is a completely normal colour for your poo; and (2) if you eat a lot of green / blue / yellow food colour, your poo may turn into green. And then we got remembered in the 'cookie monster' cup cake I ate this morning. We laughed so much, knowing that we were 2 minutes away of going to the emergency room only because of the 'cookie monster'.
Now I am sleeping; I asked dad to wake me up when he finishhis stuff on the computer, so we will watch together a movie on his computer, but I know he won't wake me up....
Good night.
Monday June 17/13:
As every morning, I woke up, slightly after mom and Tamar and before dad. I ate my Cereal and passed the time. After dad woke up we all went to bring Dr. Morton, the Dr. that took care of mom along her pregnancy with Tamar, a good bye present. After that we went to China Town to eat lunch and to buy some vegetables and fruits for the house. After that dad went to the bank and mom, Tamar, and I went back home. When mom fed Tamar in the room I was in the saloon. Mom heard me working with my colours so she was happy, but then I came to her and she was amused, but somewhat less happy. I coloured my self like a Tigris. All of me (legs and hands) was coloured with black and red-orange stripes and dots. I knew I did something "problematic" and I had a naughty smile on my face. I was so sweet that mom couldn't really be too angry. After dad returned mom went to the Yoga class and Tamar and dad came with me to the basement to the kids sport class. I played golf and Hockey and ride the tricycle and it was great fun. Then we had dinner, a shower and now I am in bed watching some TV.
Tomorrow I have a hospital morning as I need to get some chimo to the veins and also they need to check my blood. Mom and dad are pretty anxious about this blood test since my neutrophil values were quite low in the last two weeks and we definitely want to see it climbing up a bit. I will update you tomorrow about my blood.
Good night.
Sunday June 16/13:
Today was another very nice day. Mom and Tamar woke up at around 07:00 to eat (Tamar ate) and dad and I really woke up at around 10:00. We all went down to the communal kitchen since there was there a good breakfast, prepared by volunteers, for the Father's day that is being celebrated today. (Happy father's day - dad). I ate in the breakfast few pancakes and a sausage. Then we went back home and we kept on organising / throwing / giving things before going back to Saskatoon. At some point mom and dad had an argue about what to do with some toys (dad said to throw and mom said to keep). When I saw that mom was a bit angry on dad I told her that "today is father's day and she should behave nicely". At around 13:00 my friends David and Galya came to take me for few hours of fun. Yesterday mom asked them if they can take me for few hours so mom and dad will be able to organise the house more efficiently. They took me in their car (with an open roof) around town, we went near by the CN tower and after that we went for a walk along the lake. Then we went back to their house, where I met their nice (grown-up) kids and I played with them. They brought me back home at 16:00; it was a lovely afternoon with them and I thank them a lot for that. At around 17:00 more friends came. This time it was Dan, Keren, their little sister Ella and Guy and Miki, the parents. First we went to play in the basement and after that we went for a short walk that ended in an Italian restaurant. I ate and enjoyed a very good Pizza. Now we are back home and soon I will go to sleep. Good night.
Saturday June 15/13:
Like most of the recent days, me and mom (and Tamar) woke up at a reasonable hour, while dad stayed to sleep since he worked till very late in the night. Mom and I kept on organizing the things for our move to Saskatoon. Dad woke up at around 11:00, but I preferred he would stay in bed, as he tried to throw away most of my toys. Luckily mom is on my side and I manged to keep many of my toys. At around 14:00 we took a tram west on College street to the 'Little Italy' quarter. There was there today a big festival with all kind of activities, shows, and street food. We met there David and Galya Feilier, our friends and we spent the afternoon together. From there we went to the near by 'Bellwoods Park' which is a very nice park, but more important it is close to my most loved Fish & Chips place. We enjoyed the sun in the park and dad brought me lunch from the Fish & Chips shop. The park was full with people; some were lying on the grass, some did sport and many of them did kind of a garage sale at the park. It was interesting to see. From there we went back home. At home I organised my super hero toys and I divided them to those that I will take with me and those that will stay in Toronto. For dinner I ate the good steak that Noa Gluzman sent with us back home yesterday night. Now I am in bed, watching some TV and in a minute I will go to sleep. Good night.
Oh - on our way back from the park mom got into a hair saloon and she cut her hair. She is very beautiful now.
Friday June 14/13:
Today was another day of organising for our move back to Saskatoon. All day I helped mom and dad with various tasks. I helped mom to sort my toys: what I want to keep and what we can throw or give to other kids. With dad I went for an hour walk to buy all kind of things that we need. It the evening we took the car of the house and we went to the Kofman-Gluzman family for dinner and as always it was great fun and great food. Itamar, Nimrod and me lit on the fire in their fire pit at the garden and we set there and talked, ate marshmallows and had fun. We were there until midnight more or less and I fall asleep at the car on our way back home. In general I look very good these days, my hair is growing nicely and I feels good. Tomorrow is another day of more preparations for the move. I can't wait for that.....
Thursday June 13/13:
In the morning I had fun with mom and Tamar while dad was asleep since he worked throughout the night. In that time we also organised my toys and books for the move to Saskatoon. At 12:00 dad woke up and soon after we went for a walk in the down town both to enjoy the sunny day and to do all kind of arrangements we had to do. For lunch we sat in the balcony of a nice Bar in King street. We got back home at 17:30. I went with dad to the craft room which was open and for dinner we went to the communal kitchen as again nice volunteers came and made dinner for us. In the communal kitchen there is a TV that shows most of the time kids shows. For some reason the TV was mute today, so I went to the TV panel and looked for the volume key and I turn the volume up. Dad was very proud of me as he has (or any one else) never showed me how to do it. Now I am watching some TV, after that I will hear some stories and then I will go to sleep. Good night.
Wednesday June 12/13:
It was another relax (and even somewhat boring) day at home. Most of the day I played, read books, and watched TV. In the morning I helped dad with the laundry and in the afternoon I fall asleep in the living room with mom and Tamar. For dinner I went with dad to bring some food from a restaurant in Baldwin, while mom stayed to tidy up the house. Now I am in bed, I still need to reed a Pirates book with dad and then I will go to sleep. Good night.
Tuesday June 11/13:
Mom woke me and dad at around 08:00. We got organised and before 09:00 we (all of us) were at the Cancer Clinic. As I told you, due to the low neutrophil values that were measured last Tuesday I had to come today for another check. If you remember, I also didn't take any medicines over the last week because of the low neutrophil values. So as we got to the hospital I did the finger poke and then we waited for the results. It took some time today to get the results (almost three hours), but in the meanwhile I did some crafting with the volunteers and played and had fun. We were very curios to see the results. Happily most of my blood parameters were in the good range. However, my neutrophil values were still quite low, so for now we are still holding on with the chimo, until my neutrophil values will go a bit up, so I won't be with a very low immune system. The Dr. said it is not a big deal that I have this drop in counts and that as we will move into the maintenance we will figure out the right doses for the chimo, which won't suppress my immune system too much. I hope she is right. After hospital we went straight home. I had some Pierogis for lunch and in the rest of the afternoon I played and watched TV. At 16:00 dad took me down to the play room where a volunteer came to do for the kids a kind of a music, rhythm and drums activity. I was the only kid and it was fun. At 18:00 we had a nice dinner at the communal kitchen and after that I went with dad to buy big bags to pack our things before we will go to Saskatoon soon.
So - all in all, for now everything seems to be OK. Mom and dad (well, mainly mom) are working very hard on preparing our move to Saskatoon.
Monday June 10/13:
Today was a very relax day; it was also a rainy and cloudy day, so we had all the reasons to stay at home. I woke up at around 09:00 and I had a nice morning with mom. After I ate my Cereal I told her: "Mom - with out you I have no powers and with out you I am not a hero" she was very touched by it. I was still a bit tired, may be because my Hemoglobin is not in the skies these days so I fall asleep hugged with mom, next to Tamar. It was fun. I woke up at around 12:30 and I had lunch and in the rest of the day I played and watched TV and had fun with mom and dad, when he didn't try to work. I played with dad 'Hands-Up' which was great fun, especially when he hide inside the closet. At 18:00 we went down to the communal kitchen to eat dinner that was prepared by nice volunteers and after that dad and I went to the basement to the kids sport activity. While we had our dinner I told mom and dad that I think that if I will cough really really really strong, all my sickness will go away, out of my body. But then dad told me that my disease is in my blood and not in the lungs, so I can't really cough it out. Any way, I'm not trusting him too much. After all he is only water Dr. Now it is 20:00 and I am already after a shower, watching some TV. Hopefully I will go to sleep soon as tomorrow we have to go for a check up at the hospital. Good night.
Sunday June 09/13:
Today was a good day to compensate on the nasty evening of yesterday. We woke up at around 10:00 and then we got organised slowly slowly. I felt very well today and I had no fever at all. At around 13:00 we took the car and we went to another birthday party. This time it was for my friend Libi. Libi is the sister of Gabriel who is a young baby (almost 2 years old) that we know from the cancer clinic. His father is also Israeli and we became good friends. The birthday was very nice and the funniest part was a blowing castle that they brought to the garden and I enjoyed so much to jump in it. Beside that I just enjoyed the party with the food and the cake and the nice kids. Then, at around 17:00 we went to meet the Shlush family. We went with them to the Ravines Park which is a beautiful natural park in the middle of Toronto.
Medically, as I told you I feel very well, though I have something in my belly and I have some kind of diarrhea; it is probably connected to the fever I had yesterday. I took advantage today on the trip in the forest and I went to make poo, between the trees twice. After my first time i said that I won't come back to this park as it is stinks from shit.
Saturday June 08/13:
I don't remember too much what was happening at the morning, as it is now 24:45 and we have just came back home from the emergency room. In general the morning was nice, I played a lot with mom and watched some TV. I had a good lunch and I was happy and energetic. At 15:00 we took the subway up north to celebrate my friend Keren's birthday. I was happy along the way but as we entered Keren's house I was all cranky and tired and all I wanted to do is to sleep. Miki - Keren's mother said that I am also a bit warm and when we measured my temperature it was 37.6oC. Immediately we packed our self and we took a taxi to the emergency room. We got there by 18:00 and my fever then was 38.1oC. Mom, against to her mother instincts had to go home as the emergency room is not a good place for Tamar to be in. According to protocol they accessed both of my ports and took blood also from my hand vein. My blood values were high enough, so they released me home and we should keep an eye open on my fever. Ten minutes before they released me I had to go to the toilet, but at the wash room dad stepped on my fluid tubes and both of my ports pulled out and it pained a lot. One may say that it was good timing as any way they need to pull out the ports before I will go home, but the thing is that before they disconnect me they need to put a special substance called Heparin that keep my centre line clean from inside. Therefore, they had to access me again in both ports, without the usual numbing Emla patch we put before accessing the centre line, which mean that it was especially pain this time. Any way, it went very quick and I was very brave and after that we went home. At home mom waited for us with a good (and very late) dinner. Dad is working now and soon I will go to sleep with mom and Tamar. Good night.
Friday June 07/13:
Today I woke up at around 10:00 and dad was still asleep after he worked throughout the night. Mom gave me my Cereal and played with me in the morning. At around noon time mom Tamar and I went to the AGO. Apparently the Ronald Mcdonald house has few member cards for the museum that the families in the house can use when ever they want and they can get into the museum for free. It's a shame we figured it out only now. Any way, we went to the museum and as always it was very nice. On the way we bought few Dim-Sums, but mainly I could eat it as most of them were with shrimps. We got back home at around 16:00 and then I played with dad and I practised my counting and numbering skills. After that I helped dad to cook and to make dinner. At around 19:00 I went with dad to the craft room and I made more than 10 paintings, and I enjoyed it a lot. After that we had good dinner at home and we had a nice evening together. Now it is after 23:00 and I am on my way to sleep. I was so sweet that dad gave me a kiss and told me something like that I am an amazing boy and that I will have a beautiful life. I told him the same in return and then I said with a big smile on my face "but dad; when you die you die - right?" and he said "right" also with a big smile on his face. I'm not sure why we smiled, but we did.
Medically, I am still not taking my chimo at home due to the low neutrophil values that were measured last Tuesday. Beside that I am very happy and active and looks great. Today morning I went to the toilet to have a poo and when mom cleaned my bom she saw a tiny spot of blood on the toilet paper. Of course immediately she showed it to dad and both of them were very concern. However, because the stool it self looked good and the high platelets values I had three days ago, and in general I feel and look very good they decided to ignore this tiny spot of blood for now. I had another stool in the evening and that was normal. Next Tuesday I will have again a check up at the hospital so we will know then how am doing. I guess the conclusion is that It is not easy to be a kid (or parents for a kid) with cancer, even if you are in remission. The surprises and uncertainties are immense. You just need to hope for the best and to keep on smiling; at least I am very good at that. Good night.
Thursday June 06/13:
First, today is Didi's birthday. I talked to her in Skype to say 'Mazal Tov'. But again and more formally: Mazal Tov Didi; I love you!
As for today: today was a rainy and gray day so I didn't do too much. I mainly stayed at home and played and had fun with mom and dad. In the afternoon Miki, Guy, and their baby Ella came to visit us and it was nice. In the afternoon I went with mom to a kids kitchen class at the communal kitchen and we made a tasty combination of fruits and ice cream. Now it is 21:30, I am playing (and laughing) with mom while dad is trying to work. Soon I will go to sleep. Good night.
Wednesday June 05/13:
Today dad took Didi and Ester to the airport at 05:45. He said that he tried to wake me up but I didn't woke (I believe him, even though he didn't try). However, 5 minutes after he went I woke up by my self and mom called him and he came with Didi and Ester to take me. We did the way to the airport very quickly while I helped dad to navigate as I looked for the road signs. After we left them at the airport we did our way back home and as we got home we went back into bed to sleep. We woke up again at around 11:00. I made with mom a small present to Adam, the very nice guy from Camp OOCH that do fun for the kids in the hospital. I love him a lot and he is finishing working there these days so I gave him a little thing from me. Then we got back home. I ate lunch and after that I played with mom and Kandra, another nice girl we know from the house. At the after noon I helped dad doing laundry and organising the house and I also went with mom to do some wood crafting. At the evening mom went to a baking class to learn how to make Macarons at a fancy Macarons store she found in the down town. Meanwhile Dad, Tamar, and I had a party that included mainly watching TV and keeping Tamar happy. Mom got back at around 21:00 with very tasty Macarons. Now I am in bed with mom, Tamar, and dad. We talked and had fun together and I am asleep all ready. Good night.
Tuesday June 04/13:
Dad and I woke up at around 09:00 and after a quick Cereal breakfast we headed to the hospital for a check up. At the hospital they did to me a finger poke and then we waited for the results. It was a busy day today at the clinic so it took some time until the results arrived; luckily Ester and Didi came to be with us at the hospital and helped us passing the time. At around 13:00 I got the results. Most of my blood parameters were good except of my neutrophil values that were very low, due to the chimo I am receiving. Therefore, the Dr. decided to hold on with my chimo for a week. Next Tuesday I will come again to check my blood and if everything will be OK I will start with the chimo again.
By 13:30 we were back home. Didi and Ester prepared lunch and in the meanwhile I watched some TV. After lunch I played and Didi and Ester went to their hotel. Then mom took me (without Tamar) to the playground behind the art gallery museum and we had a lot of fun there. At 18:30 we met all the rest (Tamar, Didi, Ester and dad) at the Restaurant 'Frank', which is the very good restaurant of the museum. We had a very good dinner and after that we all got back home. I played with Ester and Didi and enjoyed our last hours (for now) together as they are flying back to Israel tomorrow. It was great fun having them around.
Monday June 03/13:
I wake up in the morning and I didn't eat pokoleks and then I go to the Canada wonderland. After the Canada wonderland I fed the seagulls.
It was a great day today. As I told you I woke up at around 09:00 and with out having my Cereal Didi, dad, and I took a taxi to the Canada's Wonderland. This is a huge amusement park, approximately 45 minutes north of Toronto. Most of the park is for grown-ups with crazy roller coasters and other good stuff' that dad tried, but there is there a very big section devoted to kids in my age so I could enjoy a roller-coaster for small kids that I did five times, riding bumping cars, flying in a helicopter and doing many other cool things. There is there a beautiful section with Dinosaurs models that move, make sounds and looks like real, live dinosaurs. In addition we saw a 3D movie about various creatures at the oceans and it was amazing. It was the first time I watched a 3D movie and it was very interesting. I tried to catch and touch the marine creatures and some parts were somewhat frightening. We were there from around 11:00 to 17:00. At 17:00 Noa Gluzman came to take us to her house. While we waited for her I fed some seagulls that were around with some bread that we had and it was cool. On the way to Noa's house I fall a sleep. Mom, Ester, and Tamar also came to the Gluzman-Kofman family and after I woke up we had there a very nice dinner and as always I enjoyed playing with the (big) kids and mainly with Itamar. Now it is almost 01:00 in the night, I am still awake, but hopefully I will go to sleep soon as tomorrow I need to go for a check up at the hospital. Good night.
Sunday June 02/13:
We wake up in the morning, and I eat pokolelks with milk and egg. After that I go home and then I watched some TV with dady and I read a book and that was so fun. Oh Ye! After the Oh Ye I go to restaurant with Didi and Ester and Dady and mom and Tamar and then I go to the house of Didi and then I go back home with dady and now I'm in the bed.
After a fun pyjama party with Didi and Ester last night I woke up and had a good breakfast in their inn. Then we went to AGO, the art gallery of Ontario. We played there at the kids activity zone and I had a lot of fun. At around 14:00 we got back home and I watched with dad a magician show at the first floor of the Ronald Mcdonald house. Today there was a small party at the house and they brought a clown and a magician and they gave the kids a lot of nice presents that were donated to the house. After that I went up to the room and I had a quiet and nice after noon with mom and dad. We read books and played and watched some TV. Ester and Didi came again at around 18:00 and we went to look for a place to eat. Most of our favourite restaurants were close today (Sunday) but at the end we found something at Yonge street. From there I went with Ester and Didi to their inn and the plan was that I will sleep there tonight too. However, at 22:00 I called dad and I asked him to come and to take me home. The reason I wanted to go home (at least that what I said) was that I missed Tamar. Now I am at home, in bed with dad, writing my day adventures. Soon I will go to sleep. Good night.
Saturday June 01/13:
A new month has started. Last night I went to sleep after 01:00 as I had to wait to take my pill. Therefore, I woke up today after 11:00. After I woke up we took our time in bed and at around 13:30 we went out to meet Didi and Ester the Raly and Dora at a very nice Italian restaurant. After that we got back home; the skies started to be grey so we went straight home. I went with dad and Ester to the Ronald Mcdonald house library and we read few books together. After that I played and had fun with Didi. At 18:00 I took my pill and then I got organised to go with Ester and Didi to their hotel and to have a pyjama party there. My parents are happy for the night off. They still need to take care of Tamar but they can't blame me on that. Good night and happy new month...
Friday May. 31/13:
Today was a wonderful day. It started when I woke up next to dad and it made me so happy. After that I ate my Cereal and did my regular morning things. I passed the morning with mom, dad, Ester and Didi. Didi brought me few days ago an electronic worm that crawls on the ground similar to a real warm. However, it didn't work today for some reason. I told dad "don't worry - I am a motorbikes technician, I will fix it!" and I took a pair of scissors and no body knows what I did but after I fiddled with it - it started to work. At 13:30 I went down to the Ronald Mcdonald house tranquillity garden, which is a wide spread garden with beautiful grass. It was a very hot day today and they opened the grass sprinklers from 13:30 to 14:00 and they invited the kids to come and play, run, and have fun with the sprinklers. I had so much fun in these 30 minutes. Even though the water were very very cold I jumped into the sprinklers sprays and I got completely wet. It was great. Then I went back home and I played and had fun at home. All the day today Didi and Ester worked in the kitchen. They got a task to make a (very) good dinner and we invited the Shlush family and the Raivitz family to come and eat with us. We wanted to have them with us before we are going back to Saskatoon (in the next few weeks) and to thank them for the help they gave us in our time in Toronto. They came at around 18:00 and we had a very good dinner together and I enjoyed playing with the kids. They went back home after 22:00 and all that time we (the kids) played very nice and we had a lot of fun. Because we were many people we did the dinner at the communal kitchen and it was very convenient After dinner all the kids went down with dad to the basement, where we could take out a lot of energy. Now I am in bed, watching TV and waiting for my fasting to pass before I will take my pill and then I will go to sleep.
Good night and thank you Ester and Didi for the dinner.
Thursday May. 30/13:
Tonight dad is coming back. Soon reports will get back to normal.
Wednesday May. 29/13:
Dad is still away. Everything is OK. Mom took Tamar today to see her Dr. in regards to the blood in the stool "events" and he said there is no reason to be worried. We hope he is correct.
Tuesday May. 28/13:
Dad is still away. I am all good.
Monday May. 27/13:
My biographer is still away, and he miss me (and mom and Tamar) a lot, so the reports are still limited. In general I had a nice day today, I went with mom, Ester, and Didi to an Italian restaurant for lunch. When ever I'm talking with dad on the phone I'm sweet and happy. Mom is taking a good care of us. Good night. Three more days and the reports will be more accurate.
Sunday May. 26/13:
I was so happy today. My two grandmothers: Didi and Ester came to visit me. They arrived early in the morning and Ester brought fresh home made Burek that I (and mom) enjoyed eating so much. After that I did fun with Ester and Didi. In the evening there was a big happening in the Ronald Mcdonald house with all kind of games and activities and I sang a the 'A, B, C' song in a Karaoke. For dinner they brought food from McDonald and I like it so much. After that I had a party with Batya and Arie and I went to sleep at around midnight. I hope Tamar will sleep well tonight, as mom need to have a good night sleep. She works very hard now when dad is in Saskatoon and she is very tired. Good night.
Saturday May. 25/13:
Today was a very long and joyful day. In the morning I made all kind of crafts with mom. At the early afternoon Arie, Batya and us went to our friends Noa, Erez and the kids. We had there a lot of fun and we ate good food. Arie and Batya enjoyed it a lot. We got back home very late and I am all asleep now. Good night.
Friday May. 24/13:
Today I woke up when mom and Tamar were with me in the bed and it made me happy. I had a good and fun day, event though I didn't do too much. I played and had fun with mom and Arie and Batya. In the after noon I went with them to the super market and I asked them to buy a chicken for dinner. At the after noon I did some crafting at the craft room and after that we had good dinner. At around midnight we talked to dad on the phone and I got into bed with mom. I love mom and I miss dad, and I am a sweet and happy little boy. Good night.
Thursday May. 23/13:
So - as you know my biographer is in Saskatoon these days so the report will be relatively limited and somewhat speculative. I played and had fun most of the day with mom and Arie and Batya. The Steroids I am taking since Tuesday started to kick in and I am hungry all the time. This is problematic mainly in the evenings when I need to fast for 3 hours due to the Purinethol pills. At around 22:00 I wanted to eat more Pierogis but we had no sour cream, and Pierogie with no cream is not a Pierogie so Arie went to buy sour cream at 22:00 in the closest store that was open. After he brought it I enjoyed the Pierogis a lot. Beside that Batya made for me meat balls, but I didn't eat too much of that.
The most important thing of today is that today, 5 years ago mom and dad got married. Isn't it exciting?! However, my super hero dad totally forgot about it and in the evening, after she understood nothing will come out of him, mom called him to say that he is (almost) the perfect husband. At least he was really sorry for forgetting it; I hope I will do better.....
Now dad is working in Saskatoon but he also looking for a house for us, for when we will come back. Today he took our car from where it wa stored for the last ten months, at Illia's and Lili's place. Somewhat surprisingly, it worked quite well, but tomorrow he will send it to the garage for a test. That's all for now. Good night.
Wednesday May. 22/13:
Even though I promised you yesterday that today I will do a lot of fun with my dad, because he is going to Saskatoon tonight, unfortunately it didn't work out. Dad and mom had a long night last night as they started to pack and organize our staff for the move back to Saskatoon. Therefore dad woke up quite late, at around 10:00. After that he had to organize all kind of other things for his trip to Saskatoon. Mom juggled between Tamar and the house tasks and I played and watched TV. For lunch Guy, the father of Dan and Keren called and asked if dad and I want to join him for lunch at the Ramen place in Baldwin street. We went with him and it was a very good meal. Arie and Batya came around noon time to take care of me. I went to put the laundry and to play at the basement with Batya and then mom came and told us that she is taking Tamar to the emergency room since she had blood in her stool, and this is the second time already. My parents are quite “hysteric” about that as few babies we know from the cancer clinic were diagnosed with Leukaemia after they had blood in their stool. Dad finished his last things and he also joined mom at the hospital. Beside this stupid blood episode Tamar is very happy and active and eats and sleeps very good, so most likely it is not a big deal, but considering the situation you can understand my parents. Dad had to go to the airport at around 18:00 so he came back home just before 17:00 to be with me a bit. We played and did some paintings together. I was so sweet today; I told dad all the time that I will miss him and that I love him. At 18:00 dad went after we hugged and kiss one the other and I waved him for good bye from our window. In the meanwhile mom and Tamar were in the hospital. A “young” Dr. saw Tamar and said that she looks perfect and he has no concerns. However, mom insisted that they will take Tamar’s blood for blood work. Then a senior Dr. came and he also tried to convince mom that everything is OK and there is no need in blood work. Yet, mom, after consulting dad on the phone from the airport decided to insist on this test. Happily, the blood test was good and at least we know there is no "blood problem", the Dr. still not sure what cause it but they don't seems to be too concern. We will keep an eye on that.
I am quite all right, the steroids I am taking these days start to show their symptoms as I eat more and more. In the evening I had some small pee leakage. Mom described it something like a broken pipe. I guess it is something related to the drugs I am receiving. Tomorrow mom will call the clinic. Between Tamar's and my health concerns, mom don't have too much time for her self. I hope the things will calm down soon and that we will have nice 9 days without dad. Good night for now.
Tuesday May. 21/13:
After a good but not very long night sleep mom and dad woke me up at around 07:30. We got organised and went to the cancer clinic to get some chimo. First I went with dad and soon after mom and Tamar arrived. In the beginning they said they won't have a place for me at the operation room because they were very busy but after ten minutes they said that three kids cancelled and they took me in. Before starting the chimo we met Dr. Sheila Weitzman, which is my "big" doctor and that was very good as mom prepared last night three pages of questions regarding my life in the maintenance. Sheila answered the questions in a lot of details and the bottom line is that we can start planing our return to Saskatoon, and that we can do it on land as dad and I want (and mom and Tamar less want). More important is that she said that I can eat Sushi. After talking with Sheila they prepared me to the (simple) lumbar puncture operation which mean that they connected my centre line. Then Arie and Batya came to take care of Tamar and mom dad and I went to the operation room. As always I entered the room by my self while dad is walking behind me. Because today is probably my last time of doing the lumbar puncture in Toronto mom also came in and took a lot of pictures. After I fall asleep they went out. In the lumbar puncture I received the chimo Intrathecal methotrexate and then I got the VinCRIStine through the centre line. At around 12:15 I woke up, it took me a while to walk straight, but by 13:00 we were back home. We had lunch and I ate Pierogis. The rest of the after noon I spent on playing and talking in Skype with Shalom. For dinner we had a good meal cooked by nice volunteers at the communal kitchen. After that I helped mom with the laundry and washing Tamar and by 21:30 I was all asleep. Tomorrow evening dad is going to Saskatoon for 9 days. I hope we will do something fun tomorrow. We will see.....
Monday May. 20/13:
Today was a very exciting and long day. It is the Victoria day, a special holiday celebrated in Canada only for the Victoria Queen from England. Even in England they don't mention this day, but it is a great reason for a party in Canada. The day started like every other day: TV while mom and dad sleeps, breakfast with mom and at around 12:00 dad and I took the car of the Ronald Mcdonald house and went to do some shopping at the supermarket. By 13:30 we were back home and we all got organised for Queen Victoria. We took street car number 501, on Queen street (a super natural connection?!?!) to the east of town to a region called 'the beaches'. It is at the east side of town along beautiful sandy beaches of the Ontario lake. The main street that goes along the beaches is Queen street and in that region it is full with nice restaurants and pubs and nice shops. two minutes off to the south you get to the beaches with the nice walk way along them. In there there are a lot of people playing on the beach or on the grasses, all kind of street shows, ice creams, music and many many other interesting things. We met there the Shlush family and I had fun playing with Sarel and Gony. Soon after we got there we saw a cool show of a juggler that did his show mostly with burning things. He call him self 'The Fire Guy' and we really enjoy the show. After that we walked a bit more and then the Shlush family went back home. We heard two people saying that there is a fire works show at 22:00 in the night for the Victoria day, so we decided to wait and see it. We found a nice sandy spot and we lied down. After 10 minutes I took off my shoes and pants and I played in the sand and in the water and had a lot of fun, like a normal - healthy kid. We stayed there for almost two hours and after that we kept on going along the walk way. We saw a lady that did huge soap bubbles over the water and it was beautiful. Then we heard a nice music show done by 4 musicians. As I heard the music I started to dance. After that we went back to Queen street to find a place to eat. We also called Arie and Batya to come and join us, so we met them at one of the restaurants and we had nice dinner together. At 21:55 we were back in our spot on the beach ready for the show to begin. At 22:00.00 It started and it was beautiful. I enjoyed it a lot. When we did our way back to Queen street a pouring rain started to go down (is it connected to the fire works smoke or something??) and we tried to hide under a cover. The street was completely jammed so we tried to walk when ever there were some breaks in the rain. After some walk we got up on a street car and headed back home. I fall a sleep on the way but dad woke me up at home to take my pill. That is all for today. It was a great day. You can see some pictures and 2 movies in here. Tomorrow is also an important day, I am going to the hospital in the morning for a check up and to get some more chimo. All about it tomorrow. Good night.
Sunday May. 19/13:
I wake up in the morning and watched TV while dad, mom, and Tamar were still asleep. Soon after mom and Tamar woke up and dad stayed to sleep. Mom prepared my Cereal and after that we got organised to go out. Arie and Batya came and excluding dad that stayed to work we all went to the Casa Loma castle. I have already been there few months ago but we wanted to take Arie and Batya to see it. There we had fun. I played a lot with Arie and pretended being a knight; I even brought my sword and shield from home. We had there good B.B.Q. lunch at the gardens. At around 18:00 we got back home. I went with mom and dad straight to the communal kitchen as there was there an ice-cream party and I won't miss an ice-cream party. Then dad gave me a quick wash and by 19:00 we were at the cinema room of the house to see the movie 'The Lorax'. I already saw that movie but I got very much into it and I was completely afraid at the frighten parts. At these parts I jumped on dad and hoped he will save me. At the middle of the movie mom came with Tamar to be with me and dad went to bring us food from the vegan restaurant at Baldwin street. Now it is almost 23:30 I am unbelievably sweet but far from going to sleep. My dad tries to work and mom and Tamar are in bed already. Lets see if I will succeed to bring dad into bed soon or if he will be stubborn tonight and will stay on the computer. We will see.....
Saturday May. 18/13:
This morning was like most other morning: slow, relax, and pleasant. I watched some TV and played and read books. At around noon time Aria and Batya came with some (vegetables) supplies from China town. We had brunch together and after that I gave mom and dad a break and went to have fun with Arie and Batya. I was with them until 18:00. Then they took me back home and as I got home mom and dad took me out again as Liran came to pick us for dinner at their place. We had nice dinner together and I enjoyed playing with Gony, Sarel, and Romi. After the food we went outside to play basketball at the street. Sarel was much better than me but it was fun any way. Every time I saw a car getting closer I shouted "CAR - DANGER" and we all ran to the walkway. At around 21:00 Liran took us back home, I did a shower, took my pill and now I am in bed. Good night.
Friday May. 17/13:
Today morning was pretty regular: some TV, Cereal for breakfast, and some playing with mom. At around noon time mom, Tamar, Tali and Batya went out for 'girls time' and I stayed with dad. First I asked him to go for lunch at Midi , which is a nice restaurant 5 minutes from our place. I ordered Salmon, fries, and ice-cream for dessert and I ate it with a lot of joy. The waiter at Midi was Israeli, in the age of dad and he grew up close to where dad grew up, so it was funny. From there we went back home to rest a bit and to go to the toilet. After that we headed to the University. We went to see an exhibition of old astronomic equipment It was small but nice. The more interesting thing was that at the same building there was a contest between vocal choirs and that was beautiful. We set for some time in a beautiful room and listened to the music. Even I was impressed. From there we just wondered at the down town and at around 17:00 we got back home. I played in the playground a bit and then went up to the room. Now I am just passing the time: bath, TV, games and books and at some point I will go to sleep.
Good night.
Thursday May. 16/13:
I woke up today at around 08:00. I had my Cereal and at around 09:00 Arie and Batya came to take me to be with them. We went for a walk and to buy me some toys. After that we went back to their apartment and I did there fun. At around 16:00 Arie brought me back home and I played with mom and dad. I played with dad a nice game I got today from my friend Ayelet (from Israel originaly - now in California). It is a board game but it involves practising of Yoga and I liked it a lot. At 19:00 Tali came and we all went for dinner with Arie and Batya at their place. Now we are back home and soon I will go to sleep.
Good night.
Some medical information (only if you ate already) I have soft stool (and a lot of it) in the last two days. We will mention it to the Dr. next week.
Wednesday May. 15/13:
I woke up relatively early today, at around 08:00. The all morning I watched TV and played, while dad worked. Mom went with Tamar to the Sick Kids hospital to do an Ultra Sound for her hips. It was a check to see that everything is good with her joints and it seems like all is well. At around 14:00 mom, Tamar, dad and I went to Baldwin street to eat something at the Italian restaurant. I went on my bike and I enjoyed the sunny day. When we got back home I went with mom to the craft room. After that I went with dad to the play ground of the house and I played there for almost two hours with my friends from the house (Peyton, Cameron, Josh, and others). It was really fun playing with other kids in the sun; half of us were bald, but this is normal....
After that we ate in the communal kitchen another nice dinner that was cooked by volunteers. From there I went straight up with dad to do wood crafting, like in every Wednesday. Tali, my aunt came to visit me tonight, but I was so tired so I was a bit grumpy, and now I fall asleep on dad's shoulder. I didn't take my pill yet, but dad will wake me up soon to take it. In general I am sweet, happy and feels good, though I had some stomach ache and constipation today.
Tuesday May. 14/13:
Mom sneaked into the big bed (where dad and I sleep these days) in the morning and all of us had a good sleep until around 10:00. After we woke up I ate my Cereal. At around 12:00 dad and I went to the Ontario Science Museum. It is up in the north part of town so we had to take the subway and two buses, but it went very quickly. In the subway station two artists played happy music and I enjoyed dancing to their music. At the museum we first went to see a beautiful IMAX movie about butterflies. It was really cool and I felt all the time like I am moving and flying like a butterfly. After that we went to the kids section and I had a lot of fun in there. From there we took two buses to the house of my friends Dan and Keren. It is the Shavuot holiday today so Miki and Guy invited us for dinner. Mom and Tamar met us there, and as always, the food was very good and I had fun playing with Dan and Keren. We got back home at around 21:30, I did all the things I am doing before going to sleep; including taking the pills (5 today) and soon I will go to sleep. Haapy Shavuot to all of you.
Monday May. 13/13:
After a good night sleep with dad, both of us woke up at around noon. Mom, tamar and Arie and Batya exactly returned from a tour to mom's dentist. We had breakfast together and then I played with my toys. It was a Gray day today so I didn't get out of the house. All the afternoon I played with mom, dad, and by my self. At around 18:00 Arie and Batya came and we had supper together at the communal kitchen as again nice volunteers came to cook for us. After that mom and dad went to their Yoga class and I went with Tamar, Arie and Batya to the basement to do sport with volunteers. I played golf! When mom and dad returned I helped them with washing Tamar and doing laundry. Now it is 22:00; I am in bed and soon I will go to sleep.
Today mom and dad talked about something related to Boston. When I heard them saying 'Boston' I asked them "Boston is not where the bomb exploded in the marathon?". They were impressed by that, I don't know why.
Sunday May. 12/13:
I wake up in the morning and eat breakfast for happy mother day, down in the ground floor and I eat breakfast so yummy with maple syrup and pancake very tasty and then I'm go to my dady.
Hooray !
Dady came back. But first thing first: In the morning I woke up and we went down to the communal kitchen to eat (very good) breakfast that was prepared by the staff of the house. It was for the 'mothers day' that was happening today. It was a very nice breakfast. Along the day I played and had fun. The most important thing is that at around midnight dad came back. Even though it was late I waited for him and as he got into the house I jumped on him and kissed him. I was very happy. It is after 01:00 already and soon we will go to sleep together. Good night.
Saturday May. 11/13:
Still waiting for my dad, luckily he will be back tomorrow. Today was a nice day, in the after noon Dan and Keren came to visit me and that was fun. Beside that Arie and Batya were with me today. I am happy and sweet and my dad miss me a lot. My mom had a hard night yesterday with Tamar, so she was a bit tired today, but we have a lot of fun together. Good night.
Friday May. 10/13:
My secretary is still away, but in general all is good. I had fun today with mom, Arie, and Batya and I enjoy sleeping with mom and Tamar. I miss dad but he will be back soon. Good night.
Thursday May. 09/13:
The report today will be very limited as my secretary took a vacation in Saskatoon. I woke up at 06:45 and I saw that dad wasn't at home and I went into mom's bed and I slept with her and Tamar. At 09:00 we went down to eat breakfast that was prepared by workers of 'Disney' I ate a tasty Pancake. Along the day I had fun with mom and Batya that helped a lot to mom. At around noon mom went for lunch with her friend Miki and I stayed with Batya. We had fun together; we played at the house playground and at the basement. For dinner Arie joined us and we ate at the communal kitchen as again the people from 'Disney' came and cooked a good dinner. I was a good kid today and I helped mom with Tamar and I had fun with Batya. Now mom, me, and Tamar are in the big bed (Tamar in her crib), doing a pyjama party - I love pyjama parties. Good night.
Wednesday May. 08/13:
Dad and mom woke me up at around 07:00. It is very early for me; however, we got organised and by 07:45 we went down to the lobby of the house and my family and another family were taken to a breakfast at the Mcdonald restaurant at the intersection of Bathurst and Dundas streets. As I told you yesterday it was today the 'McHappy day' which is a charity day in the McDonald restaurants throughout Canada to raise money for the 14 Ronald Mcdonald houses over the country. When we got to the restaurant we got breakfast and many other surprises. We met Gorge Cohon who is a very nice men that founded the Ronald Mcdonald house charities, as well as the McDonald chains over Canada and Russia. He was very nice to me and in return I was nice to him. We talked and had fun together. After the food we even climbed together on the fire truck that came to be part of the event. Moreover if you remember, few months ago (January / 30) we were interviewed to a morning TV show about the Ronald Mcdonald house. Today the same interviewer, from the same show, came to the "party" and she interviewed mom and the big deal was Tamar, since at the previous interview she was in mom's belly. At around 09:30 we were back home. I played in various things and at around noon Arie and Batya came and we had lunch together. After that Batya helped mom to clean the house and Arie and I played and had fun in the basement and in the craft room. I have no clue what dad did but he did something so the rest will think he is busy. At the evening dad decided (with mom's approval) that my hair is messy. some of my hair got longer (less than 5 mm), whils other parts of my head were still bald. We tried to cut my hair with the electrical machine but since it didn't work dad shaved me with a real shaving razor. He put the foam on my head and he shaved me carefully. Now I am beautiful with a perfect smooth and shiny bald head. After that I went with dad to the craft room to do wood crafting and after that I passed the time playing with mom or by my self at home. I watched a movie on my Ipad but it was slightly frighten so I followed mom around the house as she organised the laundry, while I watched the movie. It is good the house is small and the ipad is light. Soon I will go to sleep. Tomorrow dad is going for 4 days to Saskatoon. I hope I will be a good boy. Good night.
Tuesday May. 07/13:
Dad woke me up at around 08:00. We got organised quickly and we headed to the hospital. I was a bit grumpy in the morning and I insisted to take my stroller and to be covered by my Mickey Mouse blanket and of course that is what we did. Also mom and Tamar came to the hospital as we were sure that we will meet a Dr. today and we wanted to ask many questions. However, we didn't see no Dr. They just gave me a finger poke, test my blood and because it was all right they sent us home very quickly. I guess it is good news that my blood is good and that I am on the right track of the maintenance. We will see a Dr., for sure, in two weeks from now and then we will ask our questions.
At around 13:00 Arie and Batya came and all of us went to the 'high park'. We had there great time, I ate hot dog and ice cream and played in the play ground and did a lot of fun. We were there for several hours and I walked and ran a lot. These days there is a beautiful blossom of Cherry trees at the park and we saw that. It is beautiful. At around 19:00 we got out of the park and we took the subway back home. I took my pills (5 today) as we got home. After an hour I had my supper and now I am in bed and I will be completely asleep soon. Tomorrow we need to wake up early as at 07:45 we will be picked by some one that will take us to a McDonald restaurant in town, where we will have breakfast and we will participate in the 'McHappy day' which is a big charity day for our Ronald Mcdonald house, as well as other houses all over Canada. I hope they will have a fruitful day.
Monday May. 06/13:
I woke up slowly at around 10:00. Before I woke up dad put Tamar next to me on the bed and I was so happy to see her next to me. I asked if she slept with me the all night. At 11:00 Arie came to be with me and mom and dad went with Tamar to her Dr. to get some vaccinations. They came back in the afternoon and then I went down with dad and mom to play at the play ground in the house. The days are beautiful now and I enjoyed running and playing out side with the other kids. I am really looking good these days. Still bald, but beautiful. Arie and Batya came again for dinner that was prepared by volunteers. After dinner mom and dad went to the Yoga class and I went with Arie to the Kids sport class at the basement. After that we played again out side and mom and dad joined us at 20:00. Now I am waiting for my two hours of fasting to pass and then I will take my pill. After that I will go to sleep (at some point). Tomorrow I have a check up at the hospital. Lets hope all will be good.
Sunday May. 05/13:
Today was a beautiful sunny and warm day (Summer is really here already). I woke up at around 10:30 and I had fun with mom and dad. At around 11:00 Liran called and invited us to join them for a trip so dad and I got organised and in 15 minutes Liran, Keti, and the kids picked us. We drove to the area of St. Jacobs, which is a pastoral rural area with many Mennonites villages. We had fun; I enjoyed playing with the kids, we had a picninc on a nice river bank, ate ice-cream and did a short walk along the river at St. Jacobs. We got back home at around 19:00. I was happy to see mom and Tamar, I missed them a lot. We had dinner together and soon I will go to sleep. Good night.
Saturday May. 04/13:
I woke up at around 10:30 and I got organised quickly. We were suppose to meet my friends Dan, Keren, Ela and their parents at around 11:00 at Arie and Batya house for Iraqi breakfast. As always, as we were ready to leave home Tamar had to eat so dad and I ran to meet them there as they have arrived already. I did the way on my bike and dad ran. I did it very quickly, sneaking between people and going up and down the side walks. The breakfast was very nice and I enjoyed playing with Dan and Keren. From there we went to the play ground in the park close to their house. Also there I played and had fun with Keren (Dan went with Guy to the museum). After some time they went home and also dad went to work and I stayed with mom and Tamar and we had fun, beside the fact that I step on a dog's poop. We got back home at around 17:00. In the rest of the evening I played and had fun with mom and dad (mainly mom). For dinner again volunteers cooked at the communal kitchen. It was Mexican food today and I liked it a lot. Now it is 22:00 in the night; I am in bed, ready to sleep. I will see some of the movie 'Flyboys' with dad which we have started to watch yesterday. Good night.
Friday May. 03/13:
As I said yesterday, I went to sleep after 02:00 in the morning since I stayed awake with Shalom. Few minutes after I fall asleep dad took him to the airport; It was a fun visit. As expected, most of my day today was awkward due to that late night sleep. I woke up at around 11:00; I ate my Cereal and Dina, a friend from 'Chai Life line' came to visit us, to see Tamar and to give me a nice present of Woody and Baz from Toy Story. After she left I went back into bed and I slept until dad woke me up (violently) at around 15:00. After that I played and ate lunch and watched some TV. Mom went for a walk and to buy things to the house with Tamar. At around 17:00 dad and I went down to the yard of the Ronald Mcdonald house and we played hide and seek with Cameron, another friend from the house. After that we went to Arie and Batya for Friday dinner. I did all the way to their place on my bike and it was nice dinner. Now it is after 22:00, we are back home, I am watching some movies on my IPad and my dad is hoping that I will go to sleep soon since he need to work. Lets see....
Thursday May. 02/13:
After a good Pyjama party with Shalom I woke up and went with him to eat breakfast at his Inn. I ate Cereal and boiled egg. Then we got organised, we went home to say good morning to mom and dad and to get organise a bit more, as at around 10:30 we went to our daily adventure. Today we went to the 'Fantasy Fair'. It is the coolest indoor amusement park in town; at least the coolest I am aware of. I went there with Didi few months ago and today it was as fun as the first time. I played there for hours: riding the train and the horses and the little boats and the bumping cars and more and more and more.... I had there the time of my life. I didn't stop for a minute and I ran from attraction to attraction and did it for hours. At around 16:00 we started to do our way back home and after 3 minutes on the bus I fall asleep on Shalom's shoulder. I didn't wake up when we moved from the bus to the subway; I didn't wake up when we walked (Well - Shalom walked) on the street from the subway back home; and I didn't wake up at home. Shalom put me on the bed and I slept for another hour or so. When I woke up it was already 19:00; I took my pill and waited for another hour until dinner. The waiting of that hour was hard because I was very hungry but it is a must due to the pill's rules. When time for dinner came I was so hungry and I was a bit grumpy because of that. I ate three hot-dogs and vegetables and bread with olive oil and I drank a milky drink and then I was happy. Now Shalom is giving me a bath and soon we will have fun together. It is good I slept in the afternoon as tonight is my last night with Shalom. He is leaving back to Israel in few hours and I will make sure to have a good fun over these hours. Good night to you, I am going to play...
Wednesday May. 01/13:
Today was a really great day. I woke up slowly at around 09:00, I ate my Cereal and did all the regular things I do in the morning (including eating one Pierogie). Shalom came, and at around 11:00 all of us got into the car (the Ronald Mcdonald house car) and we went for a trip. Mom was smart enough to check the weather forecast few days ago and she had the good idea of organizing this trip. It was beautiful sunny and warm day; We drove to the Mountsberg Conservation Area which is a beautiful little park ~50 km west of Toronto. There is there a nice lake and a sanctuary for injured birds of prey. In addition there is a little barn with all kind of sheep and horses and other farm animals. We watched the birds (I most liked the Bald Eagle) and I had a picnic, where I ate two more Pierogis. We played and flew a small kite that Shalom built. It was so warm that we even took off our shoes and we put our legs in the lake water. It was really fun. I walked and run and had a lot of fun. [A little distraction Tamar has just rolled overnow, for the first time, from her belly to the back]. At around 16:00 we started to head back home but we were hungry so we asked the GPS if there is a near by restaurant It said that there is a Thai restaurant 5 km from us. All the area around there is very rural, scattered with farms and not too many things around. We were quite sceptic, but we were more hungry then sceptic and we went to eat there. This place name is 'Thai House Cuisine 4' and from the out side it looks like a very simple and not promising place. However, when we got the food all of this impression changed. The food came on very decorated plates and the dishes were as good as my parents remember it from their trip to Thailand. Also Shalom said that it was one of the best Thai restaurants he has ever been in. I ate a lot: Chicken Satai, Rice, Shrimps and some vegetables. At around 18:00 we started to do the way back to Toronto. There was some traffic and it took almost two hours. It was a good timing as it covered my fasting time before the pill. Now I am at home, after a shower and after my pill and soon I will go to do another Pyjama party with Shalom. Good night.
Tuesday Apr. 30/13:
So: the light fever from yesterday evening turned into almost 38oC (under the arm pit) by 23:00, so at around midnight Shalom, dad, and my self did the way to the emergency room. Shalom was with us until I got a room at the E.R. and then he went back to sleep. In hospital, according to the protocol they took blood from both of my ports and from my hand vein. Three pokes in total, and the one in the hand is very painful. They took the blood to see my blood values and to see if they can detect any bacteria in the blood. After some time My blood values came back and happily my white cells were very high, with high neutrophil values which means that my body is is strong enough to fight by him self against the infection or what ever caused me to have that fever. Therefore, I don't need to stay in hospital or to get any antibiotic medicine. However, my hemoglobin values were relatively low so I got a blood transfusion. I slept most of the night, beside the parts where the nurses poked me. By 09:00 in the morning we were ready and we did our way back home. Along the day I had no fever. Soon after we got home Shalom came and me and him went to the AGO, the art gallery of Ontario. As always I enjoyed my time there and today we went to a kid activity section that I have never been in. We ate lunch in a dim sum (kind of Pierogis - isn't it?) place and when we got home after that I had few more Pierogis. The rest of the afternoon we spent in playing and watching TV. For supper we went to our favorite vegan restaurant at Baldwin Street. Now we are back home, I had a shower and I organised my toys. Now I am watching TV and soon I will take my pill (actually 5 pills tonight) and then I will go to sleep. Good night.
Monday Apr. 29/13:
I had a good Pyjama party with Shalom last night. In the morning we ate breakfast in his inn. We came back home at around 10:00, but we woke up mom and dad that were still asleep. Shalom and I got organised and then we went to see the town. We went on the street car and I took Shalom to see the Allan Gardens that I know so well. It was very nice in there and the flowers were as beautiful as always. For lunch we entered to a near by restaurant and I ordered steak, Rice, and Potatoes. The potatoes were very good, and the rice was OK, but the steak was so hard and chewy that I told Shalom "that it will take me YEARS to finish this steak" and I didn't eat it. From there we went to the big supermarket that I like on College street and we bought a package of ham and I enjoyed it after this terrible steak. Since we were already in the supermarket we bought few other things to bring home, mainly vegetables as mom asked. We got back home at the afternoon, but the house was empty; mom and dad went to arrange all kind of things for Tamar's passport. When they returned they said hello and gave Tamar to me and to Shalom and went to the Yoga class. When they returned Shalom, dad, and I went down to the basement to do some sport and to play with volunteers. When we returned I ate a big dinner of Pierogis and salad (after Shalom already gave me an egg) and at around 22:00 I have started my two hours of fasting before taking the daily pill. To pass the time I am watching now Toy Story 2 with Shalom.
Beside that, in the evening my temperature was a bit high. It wasn't a fever yet, but it was above my average temperatures. We will keep an eye on that. Good night!
Sunday Apr. 28/13:
I told you I would have a lot of fun today. I woke up slowly at around 08:00. I ate my Cereal and then Shalom came. First we played at home and at around noon time all of us went for a walk. We went to my favorite Fish & Chips place close to the 'Bellwoods Park'. Like the previous time we bought the food and brought it to the park and we had a picnic. I ate quite a bit: few shrimps and fish and chips; and I ended with an ice-cream. Then we played Frisbee in the park and after that we did our way back home. I did most of the way to the park and back home on Shalom's or Dad's shoulders, but not a negligible part I did on foot or on my bike. I complained on some leg pains on the way. I hope it is normal... On the way back we also stopped at the playground on McCaul street. I stayed there with Shalom and mom and dad went home. After that on the way home with Shalom we entered one of the churches on the way and we heard some one playing the Organ. We got back home at around 17:00. We played and had fun. For supper I ate Pierogis and vegetables; a lot of both. I ate for an hour.... After that Shalom gave me a shower and now I am on my way to Shalom's hotel to have there a Pyjama party with him. For tomorrow we also have great plans; I will update you about that tomorrow evening. Good night.
Saturday Apr. 27/13:
Oh what a day! It started quite early when I woke up at around 08:00, with a big smile on my face. I was full of energy and happiness because I knew I will go soon to the Toopy and Binoo show. Even though the show was about to begin only at 10:00 I asked dad to get out of the house at 09:00, so we will be there in time for sure. It was a lovely sunny day so we walked on foot to the 'Sony Centre Theater' and we were there at 09:30. Of course it was too early and we waited to my friends Dan and Keren that also love Toopy and Binoo (Mainly Keren). Once they have arrived we got in. The show was very nice and I enjoyed it a lot. I was a bit unhappy that they didn't sell fries and the intermission, but beside that it was really nice. After it ended we went out side to the sun light and I played a bit more with Dan and Keren. Then me and dad did again the way back home. As we got closer to the house mom called and said that Shalom has arrived, and I was even happier than before. We walked faster and faster and then I saw mom, Shalom, and Tamar coming toward us in the street. Immediately I ran to Shalon and he ran to me and I hugged him and showed him my bold head, just like his! From there we went to eat in a nearby restaurant at Baldwin Street. We sat in the restaurants' porch, enjoying the sun. After that we got back home and I got many many presents from Shalom and the friend and family from Israel. At the afternoon I went with Shalom to his hotel. We had fun and we watched the movie Toy Story 1. We got back home at around 18:00, we ate dinner at the communal kitchen, that was prepared by volunteers. After that, when we got back home I ate few more Pierogis as I had to show Shalom what are the Pierogis. In general I eat quite a bit in the last week. It probably relate to the Steroids I am taking these days. However, it is not as bed as it was in the previous times that I took the Steroids. I do eat a lot, but mainly in the meal times; I don't eat too much between the meals or waking up at the night for that.
The rest of the evening we spent at home, playing and having fun, watching TV and reading books. We also had a quick visit from our friends Noa, and Erez, and Itamar. Now it is 22:00 I am reading a book with Shalom and soon I will take my last pill of the day and I will go to sleep. Tomorrow will be another fun day with Shalom. Good night.
Friday Apr. 26/13:
Today was a beautiful sunny and warm day. I woke up and ate breakfast. After that I played a bit and without noticing it was already almost 13:00 so I ate Pierogis for lunch. Then we got organised and we went out to be in the sun. We went to a nearby park and we played with my Frisbee. After some time mom went with Tamar to do girls things like shopping and I stayed to play with dad at the playground of the park and on the way back home we ate Ice cream. When we got home dad had to work so I had to keep my self busy. I watched TV, played very nicely with my Lego and did other things to pass the time. Every once in a while I came to check if dad can come to play with me, but in general I was a very good and patience kid. Mom came back at 17:00 and then she took me to the library of the house. When we came back we ate supper. I asked for a soup so dad made me a soup from one potato, four tomatoes, one onion, Ketchup for the taste and my 'A, B, C' pasta. It was discussing I couldn't eat it. However, mom and dad enjoyed it. Don't worry, I didn't stay hungry. Instead I ate three hot-dogs, rice, Hummus, Strawberry and Banana. After dinner I helped dad and mom with the bath of Tamar. Now I am waiting for my two hours fasting to pass and then I will go to sleep. Tomorrow Shalom will come to visit me and I ''can't wait to see him'' as I am saying in the last week.
Thursday Apr. 25/13:
Today I spent most of the day with mom as dad had to work. After I woke up I had breakfast and took my morning chimo. After that I played and had fun with mom. At 12:00 we got down as a professional photographer came to take pictures of the families. We posed for 30 minutes and I hope to see the results soon. For lunch I ate Pierogis of course, with salad and all the after noon I played and spoiled with mom and Tamar. At the evening we went down to eat a good supper that was prepared by volunteers. We set together with two other nice families that have kids with cancer. After that I went with dad and one of the girls, called Peyton, to play at the play room. We had fun together and I spoke English very well with her. Now we are back home. I had a shower all ready and we wait that my two hours of fasting will pass before I will take my bed time chimo and then I will go to sleep. Good night.
Wednesday Apr. 24/13:
I woke up in the morning, I ate Pokoleks with water and then we played and do fun. And then me and my mom do Chocolate cake and then Arie and Batya came with a lot of food and we eat some and I'm eat the chocolate cake and now I'm in the bed.
I woke up at around 10:00. Mom, dad and Tamar got organised as they had to go with Tamar to see her Dr. for that Virus. I stayed and played and had fun with Arie and Batya. When mom and dad returned I made chocolate cake with mom and played with dad. I also went to the craft room to do some crafting, as well as doing some sport at the basement. At the evening Arie and Batya came with food for supper and I ate quite well. I forgot to mention that for lunch Batya gave me Pierogis. After supper I went with mom and Arie to do wood crafting. Tamar is much better today and I took all of my new drugs with no special events in that aspect. I will go to sleep now and tomorrow I hope to do something fun. Good night.
Tuesday Apr. 23/13:
Before talking about me, two minutes about Tamar. After telling you last night that she is well her breath became heavier and she didn't eat very well so at around midnight mom took her to the emergency room. There they listened to her lungs and they heard that indeed she has something there that makes the noises. However, because she had no fever it means that it is not an infection and that for now she is OK. They cleaned her nose and all the tunnels very thoroughly and at around 03:00 mom and Tamar were back home. Both Tamar and mom were very tired and fall immediately into bed. Today along the day she was OK and in the evening she started to make these noises again. Tomorrow we will take her again to the Dr. Enough of Tamar...
Me and dad woke up at around 06:30. I saw some TV while dad got organised and then after I got dressed we headed to the hospital. My blood values were quite high and I was good to start the maintenance. So, happily and officially, I have started my maintenance today. I got two chimos at the hospital; Intrathecal methotrexate by a lumbar puncture; and VinCRIStine through the centre line. Everything went very quick at the hospital and by 11:30 or so we were on our way back home. However, I wanted my Pierogis so we went to the food court and dad bought me 8 Pierogis. It took 40 minutes or more, but I ate each and every one of them. I dipped them in the sour cream and licked my fingers; I did it slowly and I enjoyed every bite. Dad at the meanwhile slept on the table. From there we went back home after collecting at the pharmacy a bag full with new drugs for the maintenance. At home we met mom, Tamar, and Arie and Batya. I played with Arie and Batya, we went down to the basement and had fun. After that I played with mom and in the evening we went down to the communal kitchen to eat dinner that again was prepared by nice volunteers. They made Mexican food and I liked it a lot. After dinner I played more with Arie and Batya and I also took more chimo by pills and syrup. Now it is 21:00 and I am already sleep.
With that Virus of Tamar and also mom is still sick, we are all (well... may be all beside me) quite tired. Mom that is the boss in regard to Tamar didn't sleep too much in the last few nights and as much as she wanted to come with me to the hospital today, she was just too tired. Anyway, hopefully soon Tamar and mom will be better and we will get use to my maintenance new routines and all will be much easier. Good night.
Monday Apr. 22/13:
Today was another nice free day. I woke up and ate breakfast; after that mom helped me to make Pierogis. We really made it from zero, we prepared the dew and the filling and composed them together. It was very good. Mom had all kind of bad things to say about it but I think it was great and I ate all of them. I dipped it sour cream and it was great. Talking on Pierogis; today I told dad that I miss the hospital and that I want to get hospitalized because I miss the hospital Pierogis. Around noon Arie and Batya came and I spent most of the day with them; we played in the basement and had fun. Dad worked a bit and mom rested and took care in Tamar. Tamar is still a bit sick with running nose but I think she is slightly better today. In the evening I stayed with Arie and Batya and mom and dad went to the Yoga class together and they enjoyed it a lot. While they were in Yoga we went down again to the basement to play with volunteers. Now I am in bed, watching some TV and soon I will go to sleep. Tomorrow we will wake up early and we will go to the cancer clinic to check my blood and if it will be in a reasonable condition then I will start the maintenance. If not, I guess I will have to wait a bit more. I will let you know. Good night.
Sunday Apr. 21/13:
I woke up at round 09:00 and I played and had fun with mom and Tamar. At 11:00 I asked mom to get my Pierogis and I ate 9 of them in two seconds. At around 13:00 Arie and Batya came and all of us went for a walk. It was a sunny (yet cold) and nice day today. We walked on College Street and ate brunch at Caplansky's which is one of the hottest Jewish Deli's in town (Sounds promising, isn't it?). Any way, they do have a very good Jewish food with great Sandwiches and other stuff. From there we went for a stroll at the Kensington Market; I played in a nice play ground there. Also there was there a group of people that tied a rope between two trees and they walked on it. I tried it and I did quite well, with some help of mom and dad. Then we got back home. I watched some TV and talked in Skype with Shalom. At the evening Arie and Batya came and we ate together. Mom brought from the communal kitchen dinner that was cooked by volunteers. We didn't go down because of our viruses that surround us these days. Funny enough, the food today was prepared by people from Chabad Toronto, so I get to have also a Kosher food for dinner. I played with Batya after food and soon I will go to sleep.
Saturday Apr. 20/13:
OH ! it is so good to be back home. I was so happy and sweet today. We didn't do anything special, we just stayed at home and played but it was great. I built in my Lego and played in my trains. For lunch I ate more Pierogis (10) and I asked more for dinner but mom and dad refused. All the day I am talking about the Pierogis and I negotiant my parents about how many Pierogis can I have. I have the feeling I am a much better negotiator than them. Tamar is OK, though she has some signs of cold. She probably got the virus I had, but for now she is doing well, only running nose and minor coughing. We hope it won't get worst than that. Any way mom and dad (mainly mom) are in high alert regarding her symptoms. I will go to sleep now. Good night.
Friday Apr. 19/13:
I wake up in the morning and I play and then the lunch came and then I do fun with my dady and then took put my port and then I eat the soup with the Pasta (in the shape of) the 'A, B, C, D E, F, G' and I go with dady to the super and we bought ome things to the house and eat with Arie and Batya and dady and momy and Tamar and now I'm in the bed.
Today I woke up early at 07:00. I had a good night sleep with no fever and my blood counts are reasonable so the Dr. told us in the morning that we will go home today. It took some time, but at around 14:00 the nurse disconnected my centre line(s) and we went. In the morning dad and I played and slept a bit more. For lunch I ordered again the 'A, B, C' pasta soup. Arie came to take our stuff before we got out of the hospital. Then dad and I went to the super market to buy food. It was my idea as I wanted to get the 'A, B, C' pasta and Pierogi. We got home at around 16:00. It was great to see mom and Tamar and to do a good shower. Mom cleaned the house and 3 presents waited on my bed. I was so happy. I played in the rest of the afternoon and helped mom to cook. Because I am still coughing we try to keep me away of Tamar, as much as possible. For dinner Arie and Batya joined us and they brought chicken and other things, but being loyal to my self, I ate mainly the 'A, B, C' paste and more than 6 Pierogis. Now I am in bed, going to sleep; good night.
Thursday Apr. 18/13:
I wake up in the morning and I don't do nothing and I sleep with dady all the morning. Then me sleep and dady order for me the Pierogi and then I play with my dady and then they give us the pancake and I'm eat some of pokoleks and then give us again the Pierogi and then I saw a movie on my dady computer and then I do Pipi and now I'm in the bed.
I am still in hospital. This is because last night at one of the temperature checks done by the nurse I had a fever of 38oC. Dad checked again my temperature 5 minutes after that and it was lower than 37oC and same was measured by the nurse 20 minutes after that, but a rule is a rule and if there is the smallest indication that I might have some infection then I need to stay at the hospital. However, my blood counts are climbing up and apart of that nasty measurement I had no fever today, therefore, hopefully if I won't have any fever tonight, I will be able to go home tomorrow. As I said already, I had a lazy morning. I woke up at around 11:00 and then I was half asleep in the bed together with dad until noon more or less. Dad ordered for my breakfast pancake at around 09:00 but some how my food got lost in the way, my breakfast was my lunch that I ate at around 12:30.We found out what is my (currently) Favourite food in the menu. It is the 'A, B, C' soup from yesterday and the Pierogi. Pierogi is the Russian version of dumplings and I like it a lot. I ate it both for lunch and dinner, dipped in sour cream. At around 14:00 someone came and brought me my breakfast with cold pancakes and hot chocolate milk (we ordered a cold one) I didn't touch it of course. Beside that we had a nice day; I feels much better and I got back my energy and happiness. We played and did crafts, read books and watched movies on dad's computer. I still can't get out of the room, not to risk the other kids, so we did it all in my small room. At least the nurse disconnected me from the fluids so I was a free and happy kid most of the day. At the after noon Arie came to visit and brought me ice cream. Mom and Tamar are OK. I miss them a lot and we talked in the phone and Skype few times along the day. Mom throat also started to show some signs of illness today. I hope it will disappear soon and that Tamar won't get any thing too.
It is around 20:00 now and I am in bed already. I hope to wake up tomorrow to good news that will send me home. Good night.
Wednesday Apr. 17/13:
Another day in hospital has passed. Because of my blood values that are not high enough I am still in hospital, connected to the antibiotic. I hope in a day or two it will start to go up and I will be able to go back home. I am feeling very well, I had some running nose, but I was pretty happy most of the time. I am a bit tired so I had a good nap in the afternoon, but it is reasonable, considering my low hemoglobin values. In the morning I woke up late, at around 11:00; I ate some pancake and Cereal for breakfast and then I played with dad. At noon time mom came to be with me a bit and dad went to have a shower. In the meanwhile Arie was with Tamar. For lunch I asked mom to bring me vegetables so she brought me a salad from the Falafel place at the food court, but I wasn't happy with that, so Arie went and brought me fresh vegetables and I was happy (though I didn't eat too much of that either). At the afternoon I watched again (may be for the 10th time) the movie 'Toy Story 3' and I am still completely afraid at the frighten parts. For dinner dad ordered for me a soup with pasta in the shapes of the 'A, B, C' and I enjoyed eating / playing with it. After that a volunteer came and played with me and now it is almost 21:00 and I am already asleep. The routine is that dad wakes me up every two hours to pee, but I can do it while I am asleep so it's not a problem (dad can't do that while sleeping).
Well - I hope to go home soon; I miss mom and Tamar. Good night.
Tuesday Apr. 16/13:
Today was a long a boring day at the hospital. Because of my virus I am not allowed to get out of my room, in order not to risk the other kids, so the all day dad and I were alone in the room. Arie jumped at noon to bring some food, and I skyped with Shalom and Didi, but beside that we were alone. I played with dad and watched TV during the day. I got a nice building game from the 'Chai Life line' organization this morning and I enjoyed playing with it. At the afternoon I had a good nap while dad skyped about work stuff with the guys from Saskatoon. I am feeling good, I have no fever, but I still have some cough. Tomorrow, if everything will keep on being well I probably will go home at the afternoon.
Monday Apr. 15/13:
Today was a regular day in the hospital. We woke up late and I played and watched TV most of the day. The nurses accessed the second port of my centre line since I have to get antibiotic throughout the two ports. Aharon, Tamar, and mom came around 11:00 to replace dad and he went for few hours back home to get organised. When he returned the Dr. exactly came in and said that they have detected that I have a virus and this is the source for my fever and cough. He said it is not a big deal for me, yet it can be a nasty virus for Tamar so immediately mom and Tamar went away. I hope she didn't catch it already... Aharon also went with them since he had to start doing his way to the airport and back to Israel. It was good having him around in the last few days. It was fun and he helped us a lot with this virus episode. In general I am feeling very well and since last night I have no fever. In the evening mom and Arie brought us some food and I ate a lot of butter with some French fries. During supper my friend Keren (~2.5 years old) called me and asked me how do I feel and she made me happy.
Even though I am having this virus the Dr. decided to give me the injection of the Erwinia Asparaginase according to plan. At around 15:00 I got it and I cried as usual and it heart as usual, but inside me I had a hidden happiness knowing this is the last injection of the last cycle. NO MORE INJECTIONS (for now...) Here you can see the count down table I did to count down my injections. Not only it was the last injection, it was the LAST chimo I have got for the first and hardest part of the treatment. 254 days since diagnose have passed and soon I will start the maintenance. It is a big and happy milestone that should be discussed more seriously and I will do it soon. Once this virus story will end and my counts will be high enough I will start the maintenance which is a long part of the treatment, yet not as intensive as what I have been through till now. We can also start to see the end of our Toronto days and in few months we will be able to get back to Saskatoon. I miss Saskatoon, mainly in summer. I will go to sleep soon, good night.
Sunday Apr. 14/13:
This day started with a pancake and ended with a pancake so I believe it suggests I had a good day. After a good night sleep I woke up at around 10:00. First I talked to the guys in Israel to support them; Yael my aunt broke her hand few days ago and she could use some support from a hospitals and medicine expert like me. Then I talked to my two grandmothers: Didi and Esther that today is an important day for them as it is the memory day for who ever died in the Israeli wars. Yossi, my (theoretical) uncle, Didi's brother and Esther's son died in one of these bad wars, 40 years ago and I'm sure they were happy I talked to them. Needless to say that mom was the one that guided me through the support services. After that I was hungry, so we went to meet Aharon at the Restaurant 'Frank' at the Art Gallery Museum, close to our house. It was a very very very good breakfast. I ate some fries and wonderful Pancakes. When we finished eating we went down to the Museum shop and Aharon bought me a present. Then we went back home but I was a bit tired so I crashed in front of the TV and rest. After I recovered Aharon, dad, and me went down to the basement to play, build a Pirates ship, ride my bike and to do some sport. I really enjoyed it there and I was very happy and energetic. When we got back home dad checked my temperatures. From yesterday mom and dad have the feeling that I am a bit warm and they checked my temperatures every few hours but it wasn't very clear if I am hot or not as my temperatures were not stable. Any way, after the basement for a minute (only at one of my arm pits, which is where I measure my temperature) my temperature was 37.8oC. So dad called the Oncologist on call at the hospital and she told him that I should come to the hospital. In 15 minutes Aharon, dad, and me were in the emergency room. They checked me and due to my low immune system they decided to leave me in hospital for the next 24-48 hours and to give me antibiotics. I was very poor guy today as they had to take some blood from my arm veins, as well as from my port. When I say my port I mean two pokes because I have a double port. Also in the arm they poked me twice because in the first time they didn't get any blood out (missed the vein). We were in the Emergency room until after midnight. At some point I asked for Pizza with Olives and for more Olives, so Aharon went to bring me the Pizza and a cane of olives. I ate the olives from the Pizza (without the Pizza) and more olives from the cane. At around 23:00, or even after I wanted Pancake so mom made me fresh Pancakes at home and Arie did the delivery and brought it to the hospital. The Pancakes were very good and I ate it with a lot of Maple syrup. At around midnight we got a room at the Oncology department. I watched there some TV and at around 01:30 I fall asleep. Even though I am in hospital and I am a bit perforated, and I am kind of sick I feel quite good in general and I am sweet. I hug my bear now in my hospital bad and I am waiting to see mom tomorrow morning. So - as I told you I started and ended my day with a Pancake, so my situation can't be too bad.... Right?
Saturday Apr. 13/13:
I think I broke my record today as I woke up at 11:30, it means I slept almost 12 hours. Also dad woke up at that time, but he went to sleep long time after me. After we woke up Aharon arrived and we played and had fun. At around 14:00 Aharon, dad, and me took a taxi to the TIFF CENTRE, to see again the exhibition of 'interactive digital arts for kids', which I have seen already with Dan and Keren. There were tickets only for 16:00, so we had an hour to burn. Dad wanted a new running shoes so we went to a near by sport shop. He bought the shoes he wanted and on the street he put his older shoes. He said some homeless will enjoy them. However, I told dad that I love these shoes and I don't want him to leave them alone in the street. He insisted to leave them there and we went toward the TIFF CENTRE. After a block or two I was so sad about the shoes and I cried really hard with a lot of tears. Than dad convinced that I might be right and Aharon ran back to bring the shoes. I was happy! We still had some time so we ate Pizza in front of the exhibition place and then we went in. Like previous time I enjoyed the exhibition and the various activities. By 18:00 we were back home. Again - nice volunteers came to cook for the house, but I was a bit tired so dad brought up food from the kitchen. I ate mainly the chocolate cake that was very good. After that I played with Aharon and now I am doing my bath. Soon I will go to sleep. Good night.
Friday Apr. 12/13:
Today dad woke me up at around 08:45 and we got organised to go to the hospital. Aharon came and him, dad, and me went to the hospital to get my injection ( Erwinia Asparaginase). Everything went very quick at the hospital and by 13:00 were outside of the hospital. At the hospital we built a beautiful 100 pieces puzzle of the Jungle Animals. For lunch I wanted to eat rice and a japanese style of a Schnitzel, so Aharon and dad took me to a Japanese restaurant close to the hospital. At the end I ate mainly rice and I drank the Miso soup. Dad asked me if it is OK if he will eat Sushi, even though I can't have it. I said it is OK by me so dad had few pieces of few fishes. I was very interested in his dish and at one point I said in a polish accent: "Dad - do you know that when Shalom will come he wont eat any Sushi" and dad asked why and I continued to say "because he won't eat something I will not be able to eat"; I hope dad enjoyed his Sushi... From there we went straight home and I played with Aharon and dad. At around 15:00 the fire alarm was operated and we had to evacuated again. As always there was no fire, but 5 fire trucks arrived with a lot of noise and only after the fire fighters approved there is no fire, we were able to get back home. However, I like these fire alarms as I enjoy seeing the fire fighters and their trucks. Today I got from them a sticker and Aharon took me into one of the trucks. After 10 minutes or so we were back home. Then Aharon went to his hotel and I stayed with dad. We played a bit more and then I watched TV while dad worked. Short time after that mom and Tamar arrived. They were in the Israeli consulate as mom had to registered Tamar and to ask for her Israeli Passport. The rest of the after noon I spent playing and organising my toys with mom. Aharon came back at around 19:00 and dad took advantage of the opportunity that Aharon is there to help mom with me and Tamar and went to run. When he returned we got organised and went to eat supper in a nice restaurant at Baldwin street. Mom and dad ordered soup and as the soup came to the table it smell discussed me. They tried to put the soup as far as possible from me and they ate it very fast, but soon after they have finished their soup I started to puke. Mom caught the vomit in my plate so no harm was done and dad took me straight out side. Then mom brought me some water and after I finished to puke dad took me home. On the way home I had some time to think while being on dad's shoulders and just before we entered the house I told him that "I don't want to die. Not even when I will be old". Dad told me that by the time I will be old some one will invent a medicine that will enable us to live forever. I will take his word for that. By the way, I hope mom and dad enjoyed their soup... Ten minutes after I returned home Aharon, mom, and Tamar arrived and they brought with them in take away boxes the rest of the meal. Then I did a good bath and Aharon and dad showed me what is a diving bell. After that I watched TV while the rest (except of Tamar that was asleep) finished their food. Now it is midnight, I have just fallen asleep after reading a book with dad. tomorrow is another day off hospital and I hope the weather will be nice so we will be able to do something outside.
By the way, dad asked today the Dr. about my Mucus like poop and he said it can happen due to constipation and he suggested to give me something against that (Miralax). Dad gave me that and indeed I had a good poop in the evening.
Thursday Apr. 11/13:
First and foremost, today is my cousin - David - birthday; Happy birthday to you. Now back to me. As appropriate for an off hospital day, I woke up today by my self, after 09:00 in the morning. It was a cold and snowy day, so I didn't get out of the house. Most of the day I played and watched TV. At the after noon I went with dad and mom to a cooking class at the communal kitchen. We did Pizza Muffins and it was quite good. The funniest part was while the muffins were in the oven and I played hide and seek with the other kids. In the evening we played in the house until we got a phone call from the reception that said we have a guest down stairs. I knew who it is. It was Aharon my uncle that came to visit me. I was so happy. In one second I put on my Crocks and I ran downstairs with dad and I gave Aharon a big hug. Then we got up to our apartment and I got many cool presents from Aharon and other people that sent their presents with Aharon. I played and had a lot of fun with him. Now it is after midnight; Aharon is in his hotel all ready and I have just fallen asleep. Tomorrow Aharon will come with dad and me to the hospital to get my injection. In general I'm quite all right these days, though I am not eating too much and I am relatively needy, but this is normal for times when I get the injections of the Erwinia Asparaginase, It should end next Monday finally. Good night.
Wednesday Apr. 10/13:
Since I went to sleep last night so early, I woke up today very early as well, at around 06:30. Dad that was awake after he worked throughout the night gave me my Cereal and prepared me for the hospital. Mom and Tamar woke up at around 08:30, then dad went to sleep and mom, Tamar, and Batya went with me to the hospital to get my chimo. At the hospital everything went well. Because I was with Tamar and mom, that haven't been at the hospital for a while, there was a big fuss around us and all the nurses came to say hello to mom and to hold Tamar. One of the nurses (Bina) hold Tamar for more than 30 minutes. In the inner TV channel of the hospital there was a BINGO game and all the kids at the hospital could participate in the game. Batya helped me and we had a 'BINGO' and I got a cool prize of dinosaurs game. Because I didn't get today a private room (crowded day) I got the chimo in a general treatment room, with few more other kids. At some point the nurses took me to their table and played with me in my dinosaurs. By 14:00 we headed back home but as we got out we saw that there is a very strong rain so mom called dad to come and help us. He came and brought with him my bike. By then the rain stopped, so mom, Tamar, and Batya went home as usual, but me and dad went to cycle on my bike in the underground channels of the hospital. We took the tunnel that goes almost all the way to our house and I enjoyed riding my bike in it. When we got home all of us were pretty tired and grumpy. Dad made lunch but I didn't eat nothing. After that we relaxed at home. In the evening Arie and Batya came to say hello but I didn't feel very well so I mainly watched TV. I had today a strange mucus poop, could be related to the fact that I didn't eat too much. I hope it is not a big deal, we will keep an eye on that. I believe I will go to sleep soon because I am pretty tired. Good night.
Tuesday Apr. 9/13:
What a lovely free day I had today. As should be in free day, I woke by my self at around 09:30, I ate my Cereal and then I had a relaxed and nice morning. I talked with Shalom on Skype and at around 11:00 mom said that we all need to get organised since it is a nice day and she booked the car of the house for the after noon. We picked Batya and we went to the Etienne Burle park, which is where I was with dad last Saturday to watch the jumping fishes. Indeed it was a beautiful day and we saw the jumping fishes and had fun. In the beginning I was a bit grumpy and I said that the only thing I want to do is to go to a restaurant to eat burger and fries, but after some time dad told me that I give them a headache and if I say another word about the restaurant, there is no chance I will see a restaurant in the near future. After that I got back to my self and I enjoyed walking along the Humber River and to throw sticks into it, and to climb with dad between the trees and to ride my bike in the park. After that we went to buy some things for the house and before 17:00 we were back home. Since I was a good boy mom and dad took me to a restaurant close to our place. instead of burger I ate salmon, but I didn't give up on the fries.
Now It is almost 20:00, I am in bed, watching the end of the movie 'Mary Poppins'. Tomorrow I need to wake up early because I need to go to the hospital. Good night.
Monday Apr. 8/13:
Today was a long day. I woke up at around 08:00, I got organised and I went with dad to the cancer clinic. First I did a finger poke to check my blood and the results were reasonably good. At around 11:00 I got my injection and by 13:00 we headed back home. As always I the injection was painful and I cried when I got it, but a minute after that everything got back to normal. When we got home I did with dad Pizza and mom prepared Pasta. After the food I watched some TV, had fun with mom and at around 16:00 I went down with dad to play at the basement. Batya joined us at the basement for some time and then we got back home, organised our self and at 17:30 Sarel my friend came to meet us and him, dad and my self went to a Hockey game. It was the Toronto Maple Leaf against the New York rangers. We got tickets to a box at the stadium that were donated to the Ronald Mcdonald house by Jay McClement who is one of the players of the Maple leaf. It was a very good and exciting game, and we (Toronto) won 4-3. A yellow school bus took us to the game and back home and it was a great evening. Here you can see a short video from the game. Tomorrow I have a free day and if the weather will be nice we will do something out side. Since dad was in the game and Batya came to help mom with Tamar, at 19:00 mom went to the Yoga class at the house and she liked it a lot. I hope next week both mom and dad will go to the yoga class.
Good night.
Sunday Apr. 7/13:
My day started today at 09:00 when I woke up, quite panic, crying and screaming that I don't want to get the injection to the leg today. I was really hysteric from the thought (dream) that I will get another injection today. Immediately dad hugged me and told me that I have no injection today and I should not be worried, but I was still crying and I told him that I want mom and not him. So mom came and took me and calmed me down. At the end I understood I had a bad dream and I really don't have any injection today. I watched TV and played with mom until I was happy again. At around 11:00 dad prepared a good breakfast and after that dad and I went down to the ground floor since volunteers from the Royal Ontario Museum came with all kind of small presentations from the museum and did various activities for the kids. The topic was knights and I liked it a lot. I did a beautiful blue shield and a yellow crown with precious stones on it. The most exciting thing was a small catapulta that really worked and I used it to bombed a castle model. After that we got back home and we spent the rest of the afternoon in playing and watching some TV. At around 17:00 I went with dad to buy fruits and vegetables in China town and at 18:00 we were back and mom, Tamar, dad and my self went to the communal kitchen since there was an ice-cream party. After the ice-cream we went to eat dinner in a nice vegan restaurant on Baldwin street. We returned home at around 20:00 and I did a shower. I did it like a grown up, just stood under the water stream while dad soaped me; I enjoyed the massage from the water stream and I stood there for more than 20 minutes. After that I got into bed and I watched one chapter of Dora before I fall a sleep. Tomorrow my dream will become true and I will get another injection; I hope it will be quick.
Beside that, my general mood is good, I walked today quite a lot. I did all the way to China town on foot and I am very happy and sweet; especially with Tamar. Today Tamar cried and dad sang a song that said something like 'when you are crying you are not beautiful'. immediately I put him in place. I told him this song is not nice and that Tamar is always beautiful. Mom's back is much better. Her nights are not very easy lately, since the feeding of Tamar takes a lot of time, but in general all is OK. Good night to all of you and mainly to mom.
Saturday Apr. 6/13:
Last night we came back very late, after midnight, from my friend Itamar. They did (Itamar did) a very nice B.B.Q. with very good food. Mom and dad had a nice evening there, Avishag enjoyed to help with Tamar and Erez (the father) gave us a good tip for something to see in a nice park close to town, as you will read soon. However, I was a bit tired and grumpy at the beginning but after some time Itamar melt me down and I smiled and had fun. We played and run in the house and again I played on the drums. As we got home I fall into the bed and slept until 10:00 in the morning. When I woke up mom gave me Cereal for breakfast and then I played and had fun at home. For lunch I did Rice and Alluenta with dad and I ate quite a bit of that, together with the meat balls I did yesterday with Batya. Mom and dad were very tired today, as Tamar gave them a hard night, so both of them tried to get few minutes of sleep along the day. Mom's back is better than yesterday, thanks to the massage she got from Noa, but it is still not 100%. At around 16:00 dad and I met Liran, Sarel, Gony and Romi and we went with them to see what Erez told us about. We went to the Etienne Burle park along the Humber river, which is a long river running along the west side of Toronto. At this time of the year the Rainbow Trout, which is a big and beautiful fish, are doing their way up along the river to get into good breeding areas. At that park there is a little dam (~1.5 m) that is standing in their way. To get over it they swim very fast, take a big breath and jump up. We saw many of them trying to jump over the dam. Most of them didn't succeed and tried again and again. In the 40 minutes or so that we were there only one fish managed to get to the other side of the dam. It was really interesting to see it and I was thrilled. I was in very good mood at the park and I enjoyed watching fishes and playing with the kids. In the following link you can see some pictures of the jumping fishes. After watching the fishes and doing a short stroll in the park we went to eat dinner with Sarel and Gony at their house. We got back home at around 20:00 and I was happy to see Tamar and mom. We organised the house a bit and then we watchd the movie 'Mary Poppins'. We made popcorn and we did a cinema evening. I enjoyed the movie but at the middle of it I became to tired and I got into the bed. Mom was already asleep on the sofa at that stage. Tomorrow is another free day and we will use it to sleep well and to have fun. Good night.
Friday Apr. 5/13:
Dad woke me up quite early today, before 08:00. We got dressed and went to the hospital. First I did a finger poke to check my blood. Now my Hemoglobin is OK, thanks to the blood transfusion from yesterday, but my platelets are quite low. Not low enough to justify platelets transfusion (similar to blood transfusion), but we need to check my blood again next Monday and I need to be careful not to injure my self these days. After the finger poke I got a room at the day hospital and we waited to my injection to come. It took some time but at around 11:00 I got it; I hate this injection, it is painful and annoying, but there is nothing I can do about it. Then I had to wait for two hours for inspection. While we were in hospital Batya came to be with mom and Tamar because mom's back is still stiff and painful. I hope she will be better soon because I want her to be able to play with me. We got back home at around 13:30; then mom and dad went with Tamar to meet her paediatrician. It was for a general check up and to give her Hepatitis B vaccination. They also measured her weight and she gained more than 1.5 kg since birth. While I stayed with Batya I ate and we made together the meat balls that I love. When mom and dad came back dad went to work (rest) and I stayed to have fun with mom and Tamar. I got two packages today from Israel. One is books and other surprises from Ido, Ayelet, and their daughter Ora; they sent cool things for me and for Tamar. Second package is from friends of mom and dad that I don't know: Roi and Maya and their kids Ilay and Daniel that sent us beautiful CD's. Now it is almost 19:00. Noa, our friend is here, she treats mom with a lovely massage to help her with the back pains. When they will finish that we will go with Noa for dinner with her family. I can't wait to play with Itamar, her son. Tomorrow is a free day. The weather should be nice and I'm sure we will do some fun. My grandfather Arie is coughing, so I can't see if for now, until he will be better.
Thursday Apr. 4/13:
I wake up in the morning and I go to the hospital and in the hospital I eat breakfast.
Dad and me headed to the hospital at around 09:00. We got a room at the day hospital and soon after they brought the blood that I received through the centre line. The transfusion took three hours and then I had to stay for another hour for inspection. While I got the blood I watched TV and played with dad. We built a 100 pieces puzzle, though three pieces were missing. At around 14:00 we were back home. I played with mom and Tamar, while dad worked and run in the Gym. For dinner the staff of the Ronald Mcdonald house arranged a nice pizza night. I didn't eat too much because I ate 2 corns, 2 slices of bread dipped in Olive oil and Salmon fish for lunch, after the hospital. After dinner I did laundry with dad and we went up to the house library to read a book. Now it is only 20:30 but I am in bed already as tomorrow I need to wake up early to go to the hospital to get another injection of chimo to my leg.
Wednesday Apr. 3/13:
After few days off hospital it was the time to go back to the clinic. Dad woke me up at around 08:00 and at around 09:15 Lior came to our place and the three of us went to the cancer clinic to get the chimo VinCRIStine through the centre line and the Erwinia Asparaginase, which is the chimo that I get by injection to the leg. I hate the injection and I need to get another 5 like that in the next two weeks. The clinic was busy today, so everything was slow, but there were no special events and I played and had fun with Lior and dad at the play room. My blood counts from today showed that my Hemoglobin levels are under the threshold and tomorrow I need to come again to the hospital to receive blood transfusion to increase my Hemoglobin levels. The low levels were expected, due to the treatment. At 15:30 we did our way back home and in the rest of the after noon I played and had fun at home. Lior went back to Israel at the evening. I am happy that he came. We had fun together. Mom and Tamar are OK, beside the fact that mom's back is stiff and sore since yesterday. Last night she could hardly move and also today she had back pains. While we were in hospital Batya stayed with mom to help her with Tamar. At 18:00 we went down to eat at the communal kitchen, another dinner that was cooked by volunteers. Now it is almost 21:00, I will take my last pill for this cycle soon and then I will go to sleep. I am still connected to the centre line due to the blood transfusion tomorrow and I am a bit tired. However, I am not as tired as expected from a kid with low Hemoglobin levels. I am still quite active and happy. Tomorrow we will go to the hospital quite early and I hope the transfusion won't be too long.
Good night.
Tuesday Apr. 2/13:
Today was a busy day. We woke up at around 09:00. Then Lior came and Lior, dad, and I went to show Lior around. First we went to the Royal Ontario Museum where we had fun and I showed him the animals part of the museum. From there we went to a walk on Bloor street and then I took them to a nice restaurant I have been with Didi and mom. I didn't eat nothing, but Lior and dad enjoyed their food. From there we walked around the down town and we finished at the Allan Gardens, which is a beautiful botanic garden in a big and nice green house. Then we took the tram back home. When we got home mom and Tamar were away as they went to have fun and shopping with Batya. I watched TV and did some activities in activity books that I got from Lior. Before 18:00 we went down to the basement to do some sport and at 18:00 we went to the communal kitchen to eat good burgers that were made by volunteers. Now I am at home after a shower. Mom will come back soon. It could be that dad will go out with Lior later on this evening and then I will stay to have fun with mom, Batya, and Arie. Tomorrow I will go to the hospital to get some chimo, but it suppose be a short day. We will see...
Monday Apr. 1/13:
Big news! I went today to the clinic for a general check up and they told us that they were wrong in my diagnose and I just had a strange kind of a flew. We were so happy that we forgot it is April first today (April fools' day).
Of course, this is not true, I just had to do something for this funny day. Don't worry, the diagnose was precise and I don't have any flew.
As for today. I woke up at around 08:00 with a screaming fire alarm. Dad covered me with a blanket and mam took Tamar and we went out through the emergency stairs. Soon after the fire fighters in their huge truck arrived they found it was a false alarm. However, I enjoyed the fuss and it was nice seeing the fire fighters. After 10-15 minutes we were back in our house. Immediately I dived into the bed and went to sleep until 10:00. When I woke up for the second time dad gave me a Cereal and after that I played a bit. At around noon Miki invited us to join them to a kind of exhibition / activity for kids at the TIFF CENTRE. The activity was about all kind of interactive digital arts for kids. Mom stayed at home to rest (that what she thought) with Tamar and dad and I went to meet Dan, Keren, Guy, Miki and Ela. We joined for lunch at a Japanese restaurant and then we went to the exhibition. It was a very nice exhibition, not too big and not too crowded. There was there all kind of cartoon related activities, cool digital paintings on walls, playing on potatoes like they were digital drums, printing in 3D and many other cool things. Here you can see a nice cartoon I did with dad and here you can see some other pictures from the exhibition.
From there we headed back to the house of Arie and Batya. Dad left me there and went home to help mom and to do his things. At 18:30 Arie, Batya and me came back home (my home) and we went down with dad to eat at the communal kitchen, dinner that was prepared by volunteers. After that I spent some more time with Arie and Batya and also played by my self. At around 21:30 dad went to meet his friend Lior that came to visit me from Israel. They came back home after Lior got organised his hotel and he brought me few very very nice presents. Because Lior came I was very excited and sleeping was not in my plan. I played and read books with Lior and at arounf 01:00, when he left, I got into my bed and fall asleep very quickly. Tomorrow is another hospital free day. I hope to have fun with Lior and dad. Good night.
Sunday Mar. 31/13:
I wake up in the morning, I eat Pokoleks (Cereal) with milk with my momy and you know - Where I eat that Pokoleks? I eat that Pokoleks with my grandma Didi that Pokoleks. So I'm eat with momy and then Arie and Batya came and took me to Arie and Batya house. Then I go home with my grand father Arie and my grandma Batya. And then Arie and dady and me go to eat supper and I don't eat all my food. And I'm eat first my dessert and then us do a shower and now I'm in the bed.
Today morning I woke up very late, at 10:30. It was fun to be able to sleep and not to go to the hospital. Then I ate Cereal; but today it was a special Cereal that I ate for the first time with Didi in her hotel few weeks ago. After that Arie and Batya came and took me to their place. I was there the all after noon and I had fun. At around 17:00 we got back home as there was a special dinner at the communal kitchen for Easter. It was a very good dinner and funny enough it was cooked by a Jewish family. The family is of one of the managers at the Ronald Mcdonald house and they did a very good job. After dinner I went with mom and Tamar to the basement to do some sport. I ran a lot and had fun. Then we came back home and I did three puzzles and after that I invented a story about the puzzles. I played a bit more with dad, I took my pill, had a shower and now I am in bed, talking about super heroes and writing my story. Tomorrow is another hospital free day. Good night.
One hour later....
When I talk endlessly in bed about super heroes I talked and talked and talked, while my secretary (dad) wrote my biography. Then, with out any warnings I said: "....and now all the superheroes are coming to give me a good night kiss" and I got under the blanket, turned over and fall a sleep in a minute. Then dad got out of the bed and went to do his things. At around midnight dad came to look at me and he saw Spider-men hugging my head. isn't it a miracle?
Saturday Mar. 30/13:
I wake up in the morning and I go to the hospital and after the hospital I go with my dady back home. I'm and momy opened a present and then I played with momy and I did a lot of fun and then me and dady and momy eat and then I watched TV - Ninja turtles and then me and dad and momy and boba go to a friend David. Then I go with momy to Arie and Batya and I do a lot of fun and then me and momy and Arie and Batya go home to dady and then I do a bath and now I'm in the bed.
Today was a beautiful and sunny day. Dad and I woke up at 09:00 and we went to the hospital to get the last chimo of the current cycle (next cycle will start in four days). After I got the chimo the tube that was connected to my centre line in the last four days was disconnected. By 11:00 we were back home, mom made a breakfast and after that we went (on foot) to the house of our friends David and Galya. We had there good time and David took us to see a nice park close to their place. The park name is 'Bellwoods Park'. Then David went back home and we stayed there for some more time. Mom saw across the street a 'Fish & Chips' place that looked quite promising and dad went to bring us lunch from there. I ate a sea food cake and chips and it was great. We think it is one of the best Fish and Chips places we have tried. So - we had a nice Picnic in the sun on the grass and then we headed back home. On the way back we met Arie and Batya who have just returned from Montreal and mom, Tamar and me went to their place. Dad went back home to work and run. Now it is after 22:00. I had my shower (a good shower and bath) after four days of sponge showers. We will read some books and then I will go to sleep. Tomorrow is a free day; isn't it wonderful?
Good night.
Friday Mar. 29/13:
Today is Easter apparently, so no one is working and the streets were empty in the morning, but from around noon the streets were full with people enjoying their day off. However, I didn't had a day off and I had to go to the hospital to get another dose of chimo. Me and dad left home at around 09:30 and I got the chimo very quickly. We asked the nurse to take some sample of my blood to check my levels of Hemoglobin, because last Wednesday it was pretty low and we wanted to make sure I won't need a blood transfusion at the weekend. Therefore we waited some time (~30 minutes) for the results to arrive and happily my Hemoglobin levels were still OK. Not high, but OK. Another indication for my reasonable levels of Hemoglobin is the fact that I ride my bike to and back from the hospital. The spring is here all ready and the days are getting warmer and shinier and I enjoy riding my bike. Short time after I got back home from hospital Dan, Keren, Ella and their parents Guy and Miki came to visit us. They brought left overs from their Seder and we had good lunch together. After that we went with them to a close by playground and after that Guy, Dan, dad, and me went for a walk to the Kensington Market which was full with people enjoying the free day and the sun. We got back home at around 18:00, I played and dad went to bring me Pizza for dinner. After that I played more and now I am asleep. Tomorrow we are going again to the hospital to get another chimo and to get disconnected from the centre line as I have few days without it.
The funniest thing happened today was at the playground. I was swinging on the swing with Keren and then another little girl (not too little as you will read in a minute) came and swung on the swing next to me. The swing was for relatively small kids so it is built like a chair, that surrounds the kid from all sides and there are two holes at the bottom of the chair to enter the legs. This girl swung and had fun until she wanted to get off the swing. She was in my age, but she had somewhat wide legs. While swinging I guess she slipped down through the leg holes. When she wanted to get out she was stuck. It was like both of her legs (at the most upper part f the leg, where it is connected to the rest of the body) were stuck very tightly in two rings. In the beginning her mom tried to pull her out. Then another mother came and tried to help. When dad and Guy saw they will not get the girl out of there, they helped too. Dad put his leg under the swing so the girl could stand on him and Guy and the two mothers pushed and pull back and forth until the girl got out. The hardest thing for dad at the situation was to hold his laugh. He succeed quite well, though every once in a while he couldn't hold it and the laugh came out. I am not sure what is better; to be lost in an elevator for two minutes or to be stuck in a swing for more than five minutes?!
Thursday Mar. 28/13:
Wake up in the morning and go to the hospital with my dady and then me and dady go home with mom and play and play and play and play and more playing and play and more playing and play and play and then me and dad go to the library and then I eat ice cream and then supper and then more ice cream and now I am in the bed. And I have fun and Ahoy, Ahoy - Rotem the Captain.
Today Dad and I went out of the house at around 09:30 and we went to the hospital to get my chimo. In the Cancer Clinic, while dad stood in the line to register, I went and did crafting with the volunteers. I enjoyed it a lot and did it very nicely until the nurse called me to get the chimo. I got the chimo very quickly with no special events, through my centre line, which is constantly connected these days. After that I asked dad to stay at the clinic to do more crafting with the volunteers. He was glad I enjoyed it, so we stayed for another 30 minutes or so. Then we got back home and had lunch with mom. After that dad went to sleep and I played and had fun with mom and Tamar. When dad woke up I did some Play-doh with him and at around 17:00 we went to the public library at College street. We were there for almost an hour and we read one book about pirates and three books of the 'Cat in the hat'. From there we went to buy some vegetables and fruits in China-Town and also some ice cream to take home. When we got home I took my pill (after fasting for 2 hours). After the pill I need to fast for another hour before I am allowed to eat, so in this time I watched TV (the cat in the hat) and gave Tamar a Bath together with dad. When the fast ended I had some ice cream and soon after that we had dinner. For dessert I had some more ice cream. Now I am in bed, writing my story and soon i will go to sleep. Tomorrow I will have to go again to the hospital to get some more chimo.
Last thing: Recently I have started to develop a tendency to like the things to be organised; I love to organise my toys at the end of the day and I wash my hands a lot, but it is because mom and dad taught me to wash my hands before food and when ever I get back home from anywhere. However, the most interesting thing is my issue with open things. When ever I'm passing an open drawer / open dishwasher / open closet I close it, even without thinking about it. The most funny thing was tonight when dad was lying in bed and the tip of his foot was uncovered by the blanket. I went for a minute to say good night to Tamar or something like that and when I passed dad's foot (while walking) I covered it with the blanket, even without stopping or thinking about it. Lets see what will happen with this behaviour. I am just reporting for now...
Wednesday Mar. 27/13:
Today dad woke me up at 07:00. I did my best to stay more time in bed, but by 07:30 I was dressed, unhappy, and out of the bed. We went to the cancer clinic as I had to get some chimo. They accessed my centre line and I got the chimo Intrathecal methotrexate by a lumbar puncture operation. It took me a while to get awake after the little operation, and I was a bit dizzy for some time, but beside that all went well. By noon we did our way back home and to make mom happy we went to the bakery to bring her some good bread for lunch. We bought three types of bread but as we got home we got remember it is passover now, therefore mom is not eating bread this week. While we were in hospital mom cleaned the house so we came back to a sparkling home. We ate lunch together and after that I played all along the after noon. Even though the blood counts from today showed my Hemoglobin is pretty low, therefore I should be tired and with no energy, I am full with energy; play, run, dance and mainly talk. Sometimes my parents would be happy if I will just shut up for few seconds. At the evening I went with mom to do wood crafting and after that we ate supper. I have just done laundry with dad and now I am watching TV, waiting to take my pill soon. Tomorrow I have another (hopefully) quick day at the hospital. Good night.
Tuesday Mar. 26/13:
After the long evening of yesterday I woke up at around 09:30. I ate Cereal and then I played with the beautiful present I got yesterday at the Seder. At around 15:00 mom and dad told me that we are going out and I need to stop playing. It was a beautiful sunny day and we put Tamar in her stroller and I took my bike and we went for a walk in town. We walked to the CN tower and the park under it. I did all the way (2 km) on my bike. In the park under the CN tower there is a brewery, in a beautiful old building. We took a tour in the brewery, but after two minutes I couldn't stand the strong smell of the beer and mom, Tamar, and I went out. Dad joined us after 30 minutes. After that I played in a near by play ground. After that, at around 18:00 Tamar was hungry and we looked for a place to feed her. We ended up sitting in a Starbucks place in a big building. The Starbucks was attached to a big supermarket at the -1 floor of the building. After Tamar finished eating mom went to buy something at the supermarket and me, dad, and Tamar took the elevator to the ground floor. As the elevator door opened dad and Tamar went out; Tamar was crying so dad was dealing with her. Then, before I had the chance to get out of the elevator the door closed. Dad was outside and I was inside. I started to push the different buttons at the elevator and to shout. In the meanwhile, dad could hear me screaming and he immediately pressed on the button to call the elevator and called mom to tell her to wait for the elevator at the super market floor. However, mom's phone was in Tamar's stroller and instead of my elevator, the other elevator came. So dad had to wait some time (may be 20 seconds) until my elevator arrived, but I wasn't in it. Then he pushed the button to go down to the supermarket floor and as the door opened he saw me crying and talking to one of the super workers. Immediately I ran to dad and we hugged and he calmed me down. All in all this story didn't take more than minute and a half, but it was quite frightening both for dad and for me. It was lucky (or my good instincts) that I got out at the supermarket floor and not at one of the 4 underground levels of the parking lot or at the I don't know how many floors of the building. After that we took a a taxi back home and we ate dinner at the communal kitchen that was cooked by volunteers. Then, to treat me after the elevator experience dad took me to eat ice cream. Now we are back home. We did a bath to Tamar and I am waiting to the end of my two hours fast before I will take my pill. Then I will go to sleep as I am having a long day at hospital tomorrow. Good night.
Monday Mar. 25/13:
Today I woke up at around 09:00. I had a little accident and I pee in bed. Immediately dad took care of the bed sheets and I sat to eat my Cereal. Mom and dad were busy and tired in the morning so I had to occupy my self. I built four puzzles until Noa, my friend from Chai Life line came to visit me and to bring Tamar a present from the Chai Life line. After she went me and mom prepared almond cookies for passover. At the afternoon I went for some time with dad to the craft room and I did some painting.Then we got organised as we had to go to the Passover Seder at the Gluzman-Kofman family. We took the car of the Ronald Mcdonald house and drove to their place. At around 20:00 we got there and we had a very nice Seder. it was only us and their kids and another friend of the boys. The food was very good and Itamar, their middle boy (13 years old) played with me very nicely, Their daughter Avishag took care of Tamar part of the time. We were there until almost 01:00. At the basement they have a lot of music instruments and I played on the drums while Nimrod the older brother played the guitar, Erez the father played the trump and Voctor, the friend, played the bass; it was great fun. I found the Afikoman and I got from them a beautiful present of a car race track. Now it is almost 02:30 at the night, I am in bed with dad and I'm not stopping to talk. Since we got home I am talking non-stop. This means I am in good mood and that I had a good evening. Dad is hoping that I will go to sleep soon as he need to work. Good night.
Sunday Mar. 24/13:
Hurray, after 4 days of being connected to a short tube through my centre line I am free again. Dad and I woke up at around 10:00 and by 11:00 we were at the hospital. I got another dose of chimo and then the nurse disconnected the tube from the centre line. I will be free of it until next Wednesday. Everything went quick and easy at the hospital and from there we took the street car to the big supermarket to do our grocery shopping. By 13:00 we were back home and dad made me a quick lunch of fried Salmon. At around 14:00 we took the car and went with mom and Tamar to buy stuff for Tamar and then we went to my friends Dan and Keren. There I went with Dan and dad to a nice playground and we had good fun there. When we got back to their house Guy (there father) prepared Pizza and I ate a lot of it. We played and had fun and by 20:00 we were back home. We did a quick shower to Tamar and I enjoyed a good and long and deep bath, after four days with no showers. Tomorrow is a completely free day. It is Pesach tomorrow and we probably will go for a holiday meal with friends. Good night and Happy Pesach to all.
Saturday Mar. 23/13:
The most important piece of information from the last 24 hours is that Tamar slept almost six hours without waking up. At around 01:00, after her feeding dad took her and mom went to sleep. Dad worked and he put Tamar next to me in the big bed. When dad went to sleep he put her back in her crib and she woke up only at 06:30. Dad and I woke up at 09:30, I ate some Cereal and we went to the hospital to get my daily dose of the chimo Cytarabine . Because it was a sunny day I took my bike and I did the way to the hospital and back home while riding the bike. At the hospital, not like yesterday, everything went very quickly and after 40 minutes we were on our way back home. At home I had fun with mom, talked on Skype with Shalom and Didi and after that all of us went to sleep. For dinner we went down to the communal kitchen to eat dinner that was cooked by volunteers. It was a very nice food today, though I didn't eat too much as it seems that the chimo start to effect my taste again. After dinner I built in Lego with dad, then we gave Tamar a shower and did laundry. I took my pill after fasting two hours and sooner or later I will go to sleep. Tomorrow we need to be at 11:00 at the hospital for another dose of chimo. Good night.
Friday Mar. 22/13:
Today we woke up at around 08:30 and went to the hospital. We got there at 09:30 and I was suppose to get my chimo and to go back home very quickly. However, four out of six nurses were sick and it took almost four hours until I got it. It wasn't a big deal, I played there and watched TV and enjoy the time, but I guess we could have done better things in that time. At around 14:00 we met mom and Tamar for lunch at an Italian restaurant close to the hospital and then me and dad went to the City Hall to get SIN (social insurance number) for Tamar. So now she has all the papers and the needed documents. Then we got back home, I played with mom and dad went to run. At 18:00 Liran and Keti came to pick us to dinner at their house. I played there very nice with the kids, mainly with Gony. We built a tent in her room and it was fun. At around 22:00 we got back home. As every night we did the home assignments and gave Tamar a bath. Now I am in bed watching TV and soon I will go to sleep. Tomorrow I will go again to the hospital to get again my chimo. Hopefully this time it will be really quick.
Thursday Mar. 21/13:
This morning mom woke up dad at 07:30 after he didn't wake up from the alarm clock; and he woke me up at 07:31. Because I did my regular routine of waking up very slowly, dad was very harsh with me and told me it is impossible that I can't wake up in the mornings. I think he forgot that he didn't wake up from the alarm clock 10 minutes earlier. Any way, by 07:45 I was on dad's shoulders, doing my way to the cancer clinic. At the clinic, very quickly my finger was poked to see if I am ready to start the second phase of the Delayed Intensification. Happily my blood counts were high enough to start the treatment. By the instructions we got on Tuesday from the nurse, I was suppose to get the chimo Intrathecal methotrexate by a lumbar puncture operation only tomorrow, because they had no vacant places in the operation room today. The lumbar puncture operation requires fasting from the evening before the operation. Even though I was suppose to eat regularly, dad decided that I will fast any way, for the chance that they will have a spot at the operation room. Luckily, dad's gambling paid off and due to two cancellations of two other sick kids, I got the Intrathecal methotrexate today. Once we knew I will get the lumbar puncture we called mom and asked her to come to the hospital as I wanted her to enter with me into the operation room and to be with me while they put me to sleep. So mom came with Tamar and entered with me into the operation. Everything went well with the (simple) operation and after that I got through the centre line the rest of the chimos I had to get. I had to stay in hospital until 18:00 as they had to give me some fluids after the chimo. Mom and Tamar stayed with me and dad at the hospital and it was fun, even though Tamar wasn't very happy. All the nurses were very excited to see Tamar. Just before 19:00 we got back home, dad arranged dinner and when we finish eating, at 20:30 I started two hours of fasting as I need to take a new pill (Tioguanine ) that requires this fasting. In these two hours we showered Tamar, did laundry arranged the house and I even had some time to play. Soon I will take the pill and then I will go to sleep. Tomorrow morning we need to be at the hospital for a short visit at around 09:30 to get another dose of chimo. It will be like that also in Saturday and Sunday, therefore my centre line will remain connected in the next 4 days.
Mom had a tough day today, with me and Tamar at the hospital. Tamar is eating a lot and it is quite hurting for mom. I hope tomorrow she will have an easier day. As for me. I am very happy today, energtic and sweet.
The closing scene of the day is as follows: Mom (half dead) finished feeding Tamar, dad put Tamar on his shoulder and he writes what I have done today. I am playing with my toys. While playing a toy air plane fall on one of my fingers at the leg. I even had some blood and I cried a bit. Mom took me and take care of me and my little wound. Then (still half dead) she went back to the TV, while Tamar is still on dad. I came back to the saloon, ready and happy to keep on playing. On my way to my toys I step (with the same leg) on a sharp car toy. Hurt again and crying I climbed on dad's second shoulder. Now Tamar and my self are lying on dad who all he cares about is to finish the daily report. I hope he will finish soon. Good night.
Wednesday Mar. 20/13:
I'm wake up in the morning and I eat pokoles (Cereal) in Choco. I have a joke in English: A house made of chocolate. Then Arie and Batya came and then I go with Batya to the baisment and then I play with Batya in my "Hovert Yetzira" (Colouring book) and then Arie came (he went back home in the middle) and then me and dad go to the craft room and then all of us eat dinner. And then all of us eat the dessert and now I'm in the bed. Tomorrow I'm with dad or momy to the hospital.
So - As I all ready told you. I had today an easy day. Even though I went to sleep last night before 21:00, it didn't disturb me to sleep until 10:00 in the morning today. It was a wonderful long night sleep. When I got out of bed I ate Cereal with mom and then Arie and Batya came. Dad put on his headphones and started to work. Mom rest and took care of Tamar most of the day and I did fun with Batya. We went to the basement together and played many other games. At 18:00 I went with dad to do wood crafting like every Wednesday. After that we had dinner with Arie and Batya and I enjoyed eating the Good Kobe that Batya did. Then I helped dad washing Tamar and now we are in bed. Dad want me to go to sleep soon as we will wake up tomorrow very early. We will go to the hospital and I hope my blood count will be high enough to enable me to start the treatment.
Tuesday Mar. 19/13:
As much as I wanted to start the treatment today, my blood wasn't ready yet and it postponed again. The good news are that at least my blood values are climbing up and I am almost ready. In the coming Thursday they will check me again and hopefully I will start the treatment then. As you remember, last night I went to sleep quite late, at around midnight and today dad woke me up very early, at 07:00, to get organised for hospital. I didn't want to wake up and I told him that "the night was very short". Dad was more stubborn than me and by 08:00 we were at the Cancer clinic. We were the first costumers today and we didn't had to wait at any line. They took some blood sample (by finger poke) to do the blood counts and shortly after that the results came and they told me to come again on Thursday. Usually when I am getting finger poke at the hospital I get one small surprise from the nurse, but today, because I told her that I have a new little sister she gave me two big presents and another present for Tamar. Before 10:00 we were back home and we had breakfast with mom and I talked on Skype with Shalom and Didi. After that we all went to rest. Mom was half a sleep, dad was completely a sleep (1 second after he put his head he snored) and I watched TV. At around noon I went with dad to the post office at the University as he had to mail something. Soon after we got back from the post office Arie and Batya came to visit me. As they came dad ran up to the 'Quiet room' to work and I stayed and had fun with Batya. Dad came back at 19:00 and we had dinner all together. After dinner I went with Arie to play at the basement and now it is almost 21:00 and I am already asleep next to dad who is writing what I did today. Tonight it will be a long night...
Mom added few more pictures of me and Tamar and you can also enjoy from this funny movie.
Monday Mar. 18/13:
Last night I woke up at around 02:00 in the night I told dad that I am hungry, but he insisted that I can't eat in the middle of the night and instead we talked in bed. After almost two hours I fall asleep again and then I woke up at around 10:00 in the morning. Because I was hungry at night dad made for me a big breakfast that included (fried) smoked Salmon, vegetables, olives and boiled egg. During breakfast I was a bit sentimental and I told mom and dad "Aren't we lucky that my disease is not contagious? If it was contagious we couldn't be so close all the time." Am I sweet or not? After breakfast Arie came and he took me to his place. Mom and dad stayed at home; dad worked and mom rest and took care of Tamar. At around 19:00 me, Arie, and Batya came back home. We brought food and we ate dinner with mom and dad. After that I had a shower and then I helped dad with the bath of Tamar. After that dad was very busy with preparing our tax report for 2012, so he couldn't get into bed with me. Therefore, I waited and waited until midnight and now we are together in bed, writing what I did today. Tomorrow I will go to hospital very early in the morning and I hope my blood condition will be good enough to enable me to start the next stage of the treatment.
Monday Mar. 18/13:
Last night I woke up at around 02:00 in the night I told dad that I am hungry, but he insisted that I can't eat in the middle of the night and instead we talked in bed. After almost two hours I fall asleep again and then I woke up at around 10:00 in the morning. Because I was hungry at night dad made for me a big breakfast that included (fried) smoked Salmon, vegetables, olives and boiled egg. During breakfast I was a bit sentimental and I told mom and dad "Aren't we lucky that my disease is not contagious? If it was contagious we couldn't be so close all the time." Am I sweet or not? After breakfast Arie came and he took me to his place. Mom and dad stayed at home; dad worked and mom rest and took care of Tamar. At around 19:00 me, Arie, and Batya came back home. We brought food and we ate dinner with mom and dad. After that I had a shower and then I helped dad with the bath of Tamar. After that dad was very busy with preparing our tax report for 2012, so he couldn't get into bed with me. Therefore, I waited and waited until midnight and now we are together in bed, writing what I did today. Tomorrow I will go to hospital very early in the morning and I hope my blood condition will be good enough to enable me to start the next stage of the treatment.
Sunday Mar. 17/13:
Today I woke up at around 10:00 and I ate my Cereal. After that I played and watched TV with mom while she fed Tamar. At around 16:00 Dan, Keren, their little sister Ella and their parents Guy and Miki came to visit us. Because I am a new big brother they brought me a cool present of a fire station building toy. I enjoyed playing with Dan and Keren, and at some point we went down to play and to take out energy at the basement. We had dinner together and after that Keren, Dan, dad and my self, we all went down to the kitchen to eat ice cream at an "ice cream party" that is recently taking part at the Ronald Mcdonald house every Sunday. After they went we cleaned the house and mom gave me a shower. Now I am playing and I will go to sleep later on. The night is still young..
Saturday Mar. 16/13:
I wake up in the morning and momy talk with momy friend (Leslie) and I wake up in the morning and dady was in the laundry and after dady come with the elevator and then me and momy played and dady and me go to Sarel and Gony and Romi and then me and momy played again and then I'm do a shower and then Boba do a shower and then Boba didn't do nothing and I go with dady to sleep.
Now dad's version: Because it was Saturday today dad let me to sleep as much as I want and I woke up by my self at around 10:45. When I woke up dad wasn't at home - he did laundry and mom was with her friend, Leslie, at the saloon. When dad returned he made for me a salad from tomato and cucumber and I ate it all. Then I played with mom, while dad went down to the Gym to run. It wasn't a perfect timing to be with out dad because Tamar woke up as he went and she was unhappy and I had to go to the toilet and mom had to operate both of us. Anyway, we survived. After dad returned we got organised and at around 13:00 Liran came to pick dad and me to their place. There I played and had fun with the kids. At around 17:00 dad and I went to Bloor street, where there is an Hungarian restaurant with the best Schnitzel in town. We took a dish of Schnitzel for me and mom's favourite cake (Cream Schnitt). We got back home at around 18:00 and we ate the Schnitzel and other good things with mom. After that I played with mom and dad. I talked on Skype with Aki my friend from Saskatoon and after that dad made for me some more salad. After that I did a quick shower and then I helped dad to organise the house.
Beside that Tamar is sweet and I love her. I help when and where ever I can. I bring mom and dad the diapers when needed and I responsible to make sure that her bath water are in the right temperature. For the last few days it seems like she has some gas (colic) problems but there is nothing we can do about it. I hope it will go away soon.
Friday Mar. 15/13:
Again, dad scraped me out of the bed at around 10:00 and again I said that I haven't slept enough (12 hours). Eventually I woke up and I joined mom that was with Tamar and a friend (Leslie) in the leaving room. I ate some fresh carrot cake that mom made. Noa, my friend / volunteer from Chai life line came at around 10:30 to see Tamar and to play with me. I had fun with her and we went down to play at the basement. After she left I ate lunch and talked on Skype with all of my family from Dad's side. At around 15:30 we got organised and we took the Ronald Mcdonald house car. Mom and Tamar went to the Dr. of Tamar to weigh her and to check her (everything is OK) and dad and I went to Toys R Us to return part of the things we bought for Tamar. When we were on our way back to pick mom and Tamar I told dad the follow: "Dad - do you remember that I talked strange some time ago?"; dad didn't know what I am talking about and then I told him "don't you remember that in Toronto I was saying: 'me me me me', or 'dad dad dad dad' many times in a sentence ". Then dad understood I meant to the days where I was kind of stuttering (see Feb. 20). And I told him why did I stutter. I told him that in these days "their voices sounded very loud to me" and it disturb me and didn't let me to concentrate. It is interesting because in these days all of my senses were extra sensitive. I could smell every little smell; and I was very sensitive for touch; and apparently, it sharpen my hearing too. Anyway, after this interesting talk with dad we got to mom and we took her to Arie and Batya house. There we had dinner together and by 19:00 we were back home as there was today a St. Patrick party at the house. The party was very nice. I enjoyed playing with other kids and doing the different activities. The best part was when I painted dad's nails like a girl. Now I am helping mom with Tamar; soon we will give her a shower, then I will have a quick shower and then I will go to sleep.
Thursday Mar. 14/13:
Today was another quiet and nice day. It was a beautiful sunny day, but the temperatures were well below zero so we stayed at home. I woke up late, at around 10:00 (after dad pushed me out of the bed) and I ate for breakfast plain pasta with vegetables and olive oil. After that I played with dad in all kind of things. At around 12:00 Miki came to visit us and that made mom happy. She and mom and Ella (Miki's baby) and Tamar went to have lunch together and I stay with dad. We went to the basement with my bike and we played in being superheroes. When we got back home I ate pita break with chicken breast. Then I played with dad and mom all along the afternoon. At 18:00 Arie and Batya came and dad went to some workshop (Comsol) at the Ryerson University. We went down to eat dinner that prepared by more volunteers and after that I played with Arie, we worked with Play-doh and had fun together. Now it is almost 23:00 and I am in bed, soon I will go to sleep. Good night.
Wednesday Mar. 13/13:
This morning my cruel dad pushed me out of the bed at around 10:00 in the morning. I didn't went to sleep too late yesterday, but I just enjoying sleeping. When I got out of bed we were alone at home. Mom and Tamar (I still call her boba) went to the hospital to meet a "breast feeding expert". She said that Tamar is eating very good. Since she got out of hospital she gained 300 gram. They weigh her before mom fed her and after the feeding and she ate 100 ml of milk. In short, she is a little hungry creature (and sweet). When mom got back home she brought us breakfast she picked on the way from one of the restaurants at Baldwin street. While eating we talked on Skype with Shalom and Didi and that was nice. After that I did a puzzle contest against dad and I won. At around 12:00 dad and I went out to the Royal Ontario Museum, but when we got there, there was a line of people that went out to the street and it was may be 150 m long. And it was quite a cold and snowy day. All the people came because it is spring break now in the schools. Any way, with all the respect to the museum, we decided not to stand in that crazy line. Instead dad bought me soft ice-cream and we went back home through the Toronto University. We explored the University buildings and tunnels. Some of them were quite frighten. Shortly after we got back home my friend David came to visit me and to see Tamar. He brought me a very nice toy car and I enjoyed playing with it. After he went I asked dad to eat something and to watch TV. He brought me pasta with olives. When I finished my dish I asked for another one, and then for another one. At that time dad figured out that I am asking for more and more food, because we said that after the food we will go down to play at the basement but I wanted to keep on watching TV. So, dad turn off the TV and there is now a new rule in the house that I can't eat while I watching TV and vice versa. Then, when we got down to the basement we had great fun together. We built a house and I ride my bike. From there, at around 19:00 we went to do wood crafting, like every Wednesday. When we got back home Arie and Batya were there, they brought us dinner. I ate (with close TV) and after that I helped dad with washing Tamar. Soon I will go to sleep and we will see when dad will wake me up tomorrow?!
Tuesday Mar. 12/13:
Today was the first time that mom was happy that my treatment was postpone. Dad and I woke up at 07:30 and by 08:00 we were at the cancer clinic. I did a finger poke while I was half a sleep. The results from my blood test showed that I am not ready yet for the next phase of treatment, which mean that we need to wait another week for the beginning of the treatment. Mom was happy because it mean that she will have another week to be focused on Tamar. At around 09:30 we were back home and I ate breakfast that included Cereal with Chocolate milk, pasta and hot dog. Then Arie and Batya came and took me to their house. There I played and watched TV. Mom and dad stayed at home to take care of Tamar and of them self. Dad even managed to work a bit. At around 18:00 Arie and Batya brought me back home and all of us, including mom and Tamar went down to eat dinner that was prepared by volunteers. It was mom first time out of the room since Tamar was born and all the people were so happy to see her and Tamar. After dinner I went with dad to to the video games room and I played with Josh - my friend. Then we got back home. As every night since Tamar born we cleaned and organised the house and now I am in bed trying to sleep.
Monday Mar. 11/13:
Today was a simple and nice day. I woke up quite late at around 11:00, as I went to sleep last night at 02:00 AM. Soon after I woke up Arie came and take me to their place; mom and dad stayed at home to take care of Tamar. With Arie and Batya I watched TV, played in my power rangers and ate pasta and olives. At around 17:00 Arie brought me back home. At 19:00 dad went with Arie and Batya to a concert of Itzhak Perlman. It was a donation evening for the 'Chai Life line' organisation and we got few tickets. Dad enjoyed it a lot, but at the intermission he sneaked out to get back to us. While I stayed with mom and Tamar I helped mom with Tamar and I played in my puzzles. Mom was tired after some time and we got into the bed. She and Tamar fall asleep and I watched TV. When dad returned he brought to me Schnitzel, because, if you remember yesterday I wanted a Schnitzel and I talked about it all the day today. I ate few bites of it and then put it a side. After that I helped mom and dad with the evening assignments, such as cleaning the house and giving Tamar a shower. Now I am in bed and hopefully I will fall asleep soon. Tomorrow dad and I will go very early to the hospital as my "vacation" ended and if my blood counts will be alright, I am planned to continue with the treatment. Good night.
Sunday Mar. 10/13:
I'm wake up in the morning and I didn't want to go to the trip, but then I wanted to go to the trip and then I did fun and then I go with dady and Sarel and Gony and did fun. And then me and dad go to the game and then me and dad look for restaurant and we didn't find restaurant so dady do me food. And I eat the food and it was Yummy Yummy Yummy and then I clean the house with my dady and after the jobs in the house me and dad go to sleep in dady and momy bed. As you could understand, I had a busy day today. Dad woke me up at around 10:00, but for me it was like 09:00 because they moved to a daylight saving clock last night. Dad said that I am like a teenager as I told him in the morning that "I didn't sleep at all" and that I need to sleep more. At the end we decided that he will put a timer on 5 minutes and when it will ring I will get out of the bed. After I woke up we got organised quickly, I ate my Cereal and at around 11:00 Liran, Sarel, Gony and Romi picked us and we went to a nice park , one hour drive out of town. There we met also Sari, Udi and their kids Naomi and Uriyah. The weather was great, around 13oC with sunny skies and we had a great walk. The track was still all covered with snow and it was beautiful. One of the most interesting things was a number of maple trees that small nuzzles were stuck into their trunk and clear water, with a very delicate flavour of maple dripped out of them into tin buckets. It was surprising to see how water-like is the sap and how gentle is the taste, compare to the viscous and sweet Maple syrup we eat with our pancakes at the end of the maple preparation process. I had great fun in the trip and I was in a very good mood. On the way back home I fall asleep in the car and that was an important rest. At 17:00 Liran dropped us at home; we kissed mom and Tamar, got organised and took a taxi to the Air Canada Centre, as we had tickets for a NBA basketball game between the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers. We got the tickets from the 'Chai Life line' organisation and it was a big treat. The tickets were for a private box (us and ~7 more people), where we had popcorn, ice creams, hot dogs, drinks, and all was served by a private waiters. It was a very good and tight game; the Raptrs won after a serious fight and I had a very good time. You can see some pictures and videos from the game in here. Since the arena is a crowded place on the way into and out of our box I was with a mask over my face to reduce the risk of catching some infection. After the game we did the way back home on foot (on dad's shoulders) and we looked for a restaurant that has Schnitzel, but we couldn't find any. At the end we ate at home. At home I kept on being sweet. I helped dad to clean and organise the house. We did laundry and other home assignments. Now it is almost 02:00 in the night and I am still full with energy. I think dad won't let me sleep any more at Liran's car.
As for mom and Tamar. They stayed at home to rest. Unfortunately mom didn't rest too much because she has bad pains due to the breast feeding and in the back where she got the Epidural. For the breast pains she put cabbage leafs and frozen packages of adamama under her cloths. I don't know if it helps, but at least it is funny. As for the back pains, she is more concern about that and if it won't improve soon she will go to see a Dr. Tamar is sweet. Do what babies do: eat, sleep, and poop but I love her a lot. Last night I did my self crying and when dad asked me what happen I said "I'm crying because I love Tamar so much". In the morning Raly and Dora came to visit mom and they brought us a very good Car Seat for Tamar. This will be very useful for us.
Last - in trying to find the best configuration for Tamar, mom is sleeping with her tonight at my room, since this is the most warm place of the house. Me and dad are sleeping tonight at their bed. Good night.
Saturday Mar. 09/13:
I wake up in the morning and dady took me to Arie and Batya in the car and then dady go back to Ronald Mcdonald house and I watch TV and eat and play in Arie and Batya house. And then Sarel took me to my house and I play and do fun with Sarel and Gony and Romy and after Sarel and Gony go home I open the presents. and after I'm open the presents dady do some "seder" (organised the house) and then dady go to the laundary and then dady put Pyjama and go with me to the bed, and now I am in the bed. So here is my dad version of what he think would my version for today adventures. Indeed I woke up and dad took me to Arie and Batya as mom, tamar, and dad had to take Tamar to see a Dr. for a routing check up and Hepatitis B vaccination. The Dr. said Tamar is 100% and then they went to do some shoppings. Meanwhile I had fun with Arie and Batya, we played, watched TV and eat. It was a beautiful sunny day today so we went for a short walk out side. At the afternoon Sarel and his parents picked me from Arie and Batya and brought me home. They came to see Tamar and we played and had fun together. When I wasn't at home, Noa Gluzman came and brought us very good things. She brought me a beautiful present, but more important she brought Israeli food (white cheese, Malawach, olives, and good Hummus and pita) and the weekend news paper from Israel. Mom was thrilled from this delivery. I also got Play-Doh from Tamar. In the evening mom and Tamar went to their own businesses and I and dad organised the house, did laundry and had fun together. Now it is almost 12:00 in the night and we are in bed. I want to write a bit on the computer. Recently I love to write on the computer, in 'WORD' all kind of words. I already know how to write ROTEM, ABA, IMA, and I practice on METEOR and TAMAR. However, while I was waiting for dad to finish writing I fall asleep. Good night.
Friday Mar. 08/13:
I'm wake up in the morning and first me and dad go to momy bed and give hug to momy and then I'm eat cheerios and dady go down to put the papers and then dady come home and I eat with dady Salmon and then Miki came and then Arie came to pick me up to Arie and Batya house and then I eat and watch TV in Arie and Batya house and then I'm comed with Batya and Arie and I'm eat chocolate and I'm eat lunch (dinner). And then I have some poo and then I'm do a quick shower and then I'm go to my bed and now I am in my bed. That was the original report of Rotem.
So, as I already said: In the morning dad had to do all kind of paper work regarding Tamar birth, so in the meanwhile I watched TV and ate cereal. After that, when dad finished the paper work issues he made me a breakfast with Salmon and mom joined us for the breakfast. Around noon Miki and her 3 weeks old daughter - Ella, came to visit us and she brought us few presents and it was good to see her, especially for mom. At around 14:30 Arie came to take me to his house as mom and dad needed some time to get organised. At Arie and Batya house I had fun, though I mainly ate and watched TV. At around 19:00 Batya Arie and my self walked back to my house. Then I went to do with dad some craft work at the craft room and after that we ate dinner that Arie and Batya brought. Arie did a "kiddish", which was very important for mom. Now it is almost 10:00 in the night and I am in bed; I will go to sleep soon. The most important thing about today's report is that I am in my bed. As I promised to my parents; once Tamar arrived I moved to sleep in my bed. I still need dad to be with me until I fall asleep but mom and dad are very proud on how I moved to my bed with out doing a fuss out of it. In general, I am much better today, it seems like the steroids effects start to disappear and I don't have the strange moods I had with the steroids. Also my hunger is being reduced slowly. As for Tamar, she is very lovely, she slept most of the day and she ate a lot and did a lot of poo. Mom and dad are still trying to figure what would be the best configuration with Tamar, where to put her bed, where to make her bath and so on, but in general everything is quite all right. Mom is tired and have all kind of pains, but she looks great and she is a brave lady.
Thursday Mar. 07/13:
O.K. Boba had her moment of glory, now I'm the main story again. I will just update you that Boba name from now on will be Tamar (the Hebrew name for Palm tree). Tamar and mom got home today at the afternoon and she is really sweet. For now she is a very pleasant baby, she eats very good and sleep well and doesn't cry too much.
Now back to my story. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night with bad pains in the legs. Dad massaged my legs and we checked in the internet what may cause these pains. We saw that the side effects of the drugs I got last week (VinCRIStine and the steroids) may include bone and muscle pains. After some time I fall asleep and slept very well until almost 10:00. At 10:00 I woke up and dad, after giving a good morning visit to mom and Tamar, gave me Cereal for breakfast and then we went to the cancer clinic to check my legs. The Dr. that saw me said that everything is OK and as we read last night it is due to the chimo. I told to all the nurses that I saw that I am a big brother now and they all were so happy; especially when I showed them the pictures of Tamar on dad's phone. From my hospital we went to see mom and Tamar in their hospital. It is just across the street from my hospital. We did fun all of us with Tamar and after some time we called to Arie and Batya (that cleaned our house the all morning) to come and take me home while mom and dad stayed with Tamar. At home I had fun with my grandparents. I ate meat balls, played with them and watched TV. The best part was when we wrote a welcome sign to mom and Tamar and blew up balloons. At around 17:30 Tamar, mom, and dad came back home and I was SOOOO happy. And then me and dad and Arie go to bring food up but Arie and Batya want to eat down but me and dad want to eat up so me and dad go up. And then I eat some Pitta and Alluenta. (That was me telling dad what to write, in the red section). So we brought food up from the communal kitchen where a good dinner was cooked by nice volunteers. Mom, dad, and I ate the (good) food in our apartment, while Tamar was sleeping. After that mom fed her, then dad and I gave her a bath and then mom and dad got into the room to take care of Tamar. In the meanwhile I watched TV. Now mom and Tamar are in the room, sleeping (At least Tamar) and dad and I are writing my story and then we will go to sleep. Mom and dad are trying to figure what would be the best way to handle me and my new sister. Both of us require a lot of time and energy, each one in his own way, and we all need to get use to the new situation. What will happen is that probably dad will take care mainly on me and mom will take care of Tamar. We also have Arie and Batya around to give help when needed.
Last thing, almost as important as my sister birthday yesterday is that today is Shalom's birthday. MAZAL TOV! Shalom kisses.
Wednesday Mar. 06/13:
Im wake up in the morning and I watched TV nd then I eat Bacon and watch TV and then I want more bacon with "Beitza Kasha" (Boiled egg) and then dady came and then dady took me to be with Boba and momy and then me and dady go to the super and then me and dady go home with taxi. Then I be with dady three hours and then dady take me to Arie and Batya and then I played and do fun and then dady came and I give him a big hug and then dady talk with people out side and then me and dad be home and then I'm do with dad some "seder" (organised the house) and then me and dady do lunch and after the lunch I eat with dady chocolate and then me and dad do together a shower and now I'm with dad in the bed.That's what we did today. As you know all this red section was dictated by Rotem to dad. And Rotem the pyrate said to dad to send kisses to everybody to know I'm coming soon to Israel. Between the lines of my text you could have seen that I went to visit Boba. And this is the most important story of today. My sister was born. I'm so happy. If you don't mind, my story will be the minor story today. In general all was well. I ate a lot and spend most of the day with Arie and Batya and mom and dad were with Boba (we haven't choosen a name yet).
So this is my sister story: Mom woke up dad at around 04:00 in the night and told him that she has strong contractions. They decided to go to hospital so they called Arie and Batya to come and stay with me. While they got organised I woke up too and I didn't want dad to leave me and I cried. So mom and Batya went to the hospital (3 minutes walk from our house) and after I calmed down dad left me to watch TV with Arie and he went to replace Batya. Mom got to the delivery room at 05:00 and she had very very strong contractions. At 06:05 she got her first dose of Epidural, by ~06:40, the Epidural started to affect and by 06:59 Boba was out. Dad said mom was a big hero, she pushed Boba out side like an expert and all was simple and easy. During the 30 minutes when she waited for the Epidural to take effect she suffered from terrible pains and she shouted a bit, but she was amazing. Boba came out and she cried immediately. She looked very well and all the signs were good. She even started to eat after 15 minutes or so. Mom and dad asked to collect Boba's cord blood as may be (hopefully we will not need it) it might be useful for me at some point in the future. at around 09:00 mom and Boba were moved to their room. They got a nice room at the 17 floor of the Mount Sinai hospital. Mom share the room with another mom but it is a very nice facility. Most important is that from mom's window she can see our house and we even, at the night, flashed one to the other with lights. For lunch dad brought mom a big delivery of Sushi and she enjoyed it a lot after 9 months with no sushi. Along the day Boba ate quite well. She still need to improve and there is some chance that her tongue is tied (I had it too and it is not a big deal, look at me I am a perfect kid now....), but in general she is a serious lady. Her weight was 3210 gram at birth and quite amazingly she born exactly on the due date predicted by the Dr. Now mom and Boba are at hospital and me and dad are doing a boys party at home. If all will be good, they will come back home tomorrow and I'm not sure what kind of party it will be then.
You can see some pictures of boba in here.
Good night. By tomorrow she will have a name.
Tuesday Mar. 05/13:
After a good night sleep with my hairless head we woke up at around 07:30. Dad and I got organised (ate meat balls) to go for hospital to check my blood. We got to the clinic and they poke my finger to take some blood for testing. While we waited for the results I was very anxious and unhappy because I was afraid I will have to get blood transfusion. Happily, my blood values were high enough and there was no need for that. We got back home at around 10:00 and I was very hungry and we made pizza and Alluenta and we heated up the meat balls we did few days ago. I ate a lot of the meat balls and some Alluenta. After that we all went to have a short nap. Then dad worked and I played with mom and we also made a yummy chocolate cake. Then Arie and Batya came. They brought some food groceries and most important they brought more olives. At 18:00 we went down to eat dinner at the communal kitchen as again volunteers came to cook for us a nice meal. Then we got back home and mom and dad dressed up as they got tickets that were donated to the Ronald Mcdonald house for a national Geographic talk about Vietnam. I stayed with Arie and Batya and we watched TV together until I went to sleep. When mom and dad returned they woke me up (as they promised) and I ate few more meat balls and olives. Now we are having fun all together.
I was sweet today. In general I grew up a lot lately. I already do some simple math calculations, I know to read and write few letters and I do many things that I couldn't do until recently like cutting fruits with knife, cut very gently with scissors and so on.
Monday Mar. 04/13:
I woke up dad at around 08:30 when I told him "dad - there is hair in the bed" so dad told me, "yes, its probably from mom" and he turned over to keep on sleeping. Ten minutes later when he really woke up we saw the bed is full with short and black hair. My hair. After more than 7 months of treatments, my hair really started to fall today. When we showed it to mom she gave me a big kiss and went to have a shower. I didn't know that, but in the shower she cried and took her time to process the news. Then she came back with a big smile and said that we will use this special day to celebrate. All day long when ever someone passed his hand in my hair he ended up having a bundles of hair in his hand. Beside that I felt quite good. After I woke up and ate few meat balls Noa Gluzman, an Israeli friend, came to visit me and that was nice. After that I wanted to eat Pizza and meat balls, but it was a beautiful and sunny day and mom and dad wanted to take me out for a walk, so we decided to go and look for a restaurant with meat balls and pizza. At the end we found a nice Italian restaurant that served both of them. We ordered it but I didn't like the pizza and the meat balls were too spicy. We got back and then I ate the real good meat balls I made with mom yesterday. However, I enjoyed the walk. At home mom, dad and I had a nice after noon, I played with mom and went with dad to do some arts at the craft room. At 18:00 dad went to do Yoga and Arie and Batya came to visit me. They brought some food (but I ate again the meat balls) and we had fun together. At around 20:00 the most important point of the day has arrived. Mom and dad put me on a chair in front of the TV and they shaved my hair with dad's hair shaving machine. Arie and Batya (mainly Arie) were quite overwhelmed from the event, but I was mainly concern from the TV show and from few hairs that got into my nose. Dad's job was to keep my nose clean. After that mom gave me a bath and while doing so, I looked on my self at mirror and I was quite amused from my new look. Now I am in bed; Clean, happy (because I look like bold grandfather Shalom), and for the first time in my life, I look like a kid with Cancer.
Tomorrow we are going in the morning to check my blood at the hospital. The treatment I am receiving now takes down my blood values, so they need to check it up and to see if it is not too low.In addition, tomorrow is my last dose of steroids, for the next few weeks and we are happy about that. Good night.
By the way, we uploaded new pictures; check it out.
Here you can see pictures of my new hair style.
Sunday Mar. 03/13:
We all woke up at around 10:00 and then we got organised as we had to be at 11:00 at my grandparents' house for an 'Iraqi breakfast'. Also The shlosh family (liran, Keti, and the kids) was invited and I was excited about that. I was very happy and I told dad when we got organised; "dad - I am so happy we are going to have breakfast with Arie and Batya. I am hungry" and then I said "but dad - let's eat something small now, before we go. If I won't like the food there. Only something small". After going over the fridge I end up eating 3 meat balls. Of course, as you know, this is the steroids effect. The breakfast was very nice, even though I didn't eat too much (luckily I ate the meat balls) and I was a bit grumpy, but still it was nice and I enjoyed playing hide and seek with Gony and Sarel. At around 13:30, on their way home, Liran and Keti drop me and dad at the big super market and we did some shopping. The main reason for the shopping was that we had to buy the products to make more meat balls. We got back home at around 15:00; mom was still with Batya and Arie and I watched movies on my Ipad and dad fall asleep on the sofa. After some time mom returned and me and her prepared more meat balls. I ate 3 balls as soon as they were ready and at 18:30 we went down to eat ice cream in another "ice cream party" that happened at the communal kitchen. The ice cream was good but the party was less successful. I was the only kid in the party. After the ice cream we got back home and it was already time for dinner so I ate few more meat balls and took all of my evening medicines. Then I did a shower and now I am in bed almost half asleep.
Saturday Mar. 02/13:
Today was a nice and simple day. However, the steroids I am taking are working in full power; it makes me very hungry all the time. I woke up last night at 03:00 and dad gave me fish with Soy sauce. I woke up at the morning and ate 3 meat balls, and then some pancake and then more meat balls and more fish for lunch, rolled in a spring roll, olives all the time, Cereal every once in a while, "all the time cereal every where" as I have just said to dad; and chocolate cake that mom made and more and more and more. In addition, as you know, my mood is not very stable, though I was sweet most of the day today, and my skin is very sensitive for touch. As for today: we woke up at around 08:30 and at 10:00 we went down to eat breakfast that was prepared by a family that was hosted in the house few years ago. At around 12:00 Dan and Keren and their parents Miki and Guy (with the baby Ela) came to visit me, It was fun having them and actually their visit improved my mood a lot. After they went mom, dad and my self went to have a nap. We woke up at around 18:00 and I mainly ate and played with mom all the evening after that. Now it is almost 23:00 and I am in bed. Good night.
Friday Mar. 01/13:
Hooray !! A new month started today. I had a very good night last night, but for dad it was a bit more tougher. At around 03:00 I pee in bed so dad moved me to another bed and he did laundry to the sheets and the blanket. It took him until 06:00 in the morning, then he went to sleep (in a very clean bed). Luckily he had some work to do in the meanwhile. Nothing too much special was happening today. Arie and Batya came to play with me and Batya cleaned my house. I was quite grumpy and tired and I had a nap at the afternoon. At the evening we went with Arie and Batya to our friends Liran, Keti and the kids. It was nice there, but I was very upset and cranky and I didn't love the food. This is all because of the chimo I am taking that makes me unhappy and change my taste in the mouth and makes me very sensitive to smells. Now we are back home (21:00) and I will go to sleep soon. I had today few philosophical sayings about kids and family that I would like to share with you:
1) "Mom - do you know why there are father and mother? That way I will never be alone. If mom is away dad stays with me and the other way around."
2) "Do you know since when I know you? Since I got out of your belly."
3) "What a mother?! I have never seen a mother like that."
and 10 minutes after that:
4) "I want to be only with dad."
Thursday Feb. 28/13:
Last night dad woke me up twice to go to pee. It worked and I didn't pee in bed. I woke up with dad at around 10:00 (mom was awake already) and the only thing I care about was to be with dad. I didn't want mom to be around me, nor any one else. For breakfast I asked for Pizza and meat balls and Alluenta. Dad made for me the all three, but at the end I hardly eat anything. After that I wanted to be with mom so we played many games at bed and practiced in numbers and letters. At around noon Arie and Batya came to visit me and they brought all kind of fruits, vegetables, and other food groceries. I asked them to bring me a specific cane of olives that I like and I ate today more than half of the olives. I played and had fun with Arie and at 15:00 we went down to the kitchen to participate in a (kids) cooking class. We did some cake and it was fun, even though I didn't like the taste too much. After that we went to the basement to ride my bike. After Arie and Batya left mom read me a book, but I fall asleep while she was reading. I woke up at around 19:00 and I asked for food. Dad and I went to Baldwin street to bring something to eat. We took "take away" of Burger for me and dad brought some vegan food for him and for mom. They enjoyed their food, but I didn't like my burger. Then mom made for me Cuscus with meatballs, but I didn't eat too much of it either. However, I ate a lot of olives. Now we watch my favorite TV show, Toopy and Binoo and after that I will go to have a shower. Mom was OK today; she still feels pains and contractions, but she is slightly better than yesterday.
Wednesday Feb. 27/13:
Today me and dad woke up at around 08:00 and I was all wet from pee. In the last two nights I pee and it is probably related to the chimo. Mom was afraid that I will pee tonight, so she went to sleep in my bed, as my "poisoned" pee is very dangerous for the pregnancy You may ask how come I was in their bed, but for the last two weeks or so I sleep with mom and dad. I like it and they like it too. Our deal was that when my sister will come I will go back to my bed. Let's see if I will stand in our agreement. After the pee issue was solved me and dad moved to my small bed and we joined our big mom for another 2 hours of sleep. Finally we woke up at around 10:00. I had breakfast and we spent all the day at home. It was half rainy and half snowy today so we didn't really wanted to go out. I was very happy and sweet with mom and dad, but I didn't want to meet Arie and Batya and I also didn't want to talk in Skype too much. That was my mood today. We did a lot of fun at home; we played and watch TV, and dad play on the recorder and I sing along with him. Mom was very tired today as for the last two days she is having contractions every two minutes. Even though most women are giving birth in this stage, my mom is special and beside the contractions nothing else is moving down there. It was similar with my pregnancy (Mmm.. is it a good sign??). Therefore, she was in bed most of the time. For dinner I went down with dad to the communal kitchen as nice volunteers came to cook for the house. After that me and dad went to do wood craft at the craft room and I did a beautiful blue dinosaur. Then we returned home and we started to watch with mom the movie Hook. We haven't finish it yet but I like this movie a lot. That's all for today. A simple and nice day. Good night.
Tuesday Feb. 26/13:
Mom and I woke up at around 07:00 and we got organised to go to hospital. We got to the clinic just before 09:00; mom was half dead from the way in the wind and the big belly she is carrying these days, but after some time she got back to her self. We went to the IV room to access my centre line. Before I got into the IV room I decided that I don't want to cry today, even though usually I do cry when they push the needle into my chest. Indeed, I didn't cry was very proud on my self. Then we saw the Dr. but nothing special happened there; the rash from last night was disappeared. At around 10:00 we got a room and soon after that dad came. I got my chimos and all went well in that aspect. For lunch dad went down to the new Falafel place that was opened in hospital and he brought Flafel for him and mom and pita with tomatoes for me. I ate very nicely my pita. At around 14:00 we were back home and dad had to work and me and mom went to visit Arie and Batya in their house. I did there fun and I prepared sandwiches to mom. I ate some vegetables and chicken, meat balls and Vanila ice cream for desert. We got back home at 18:00; dad wasn't at home so we went to the Gym and saw him running. I insisted to stay out side of the Gym's glass wall and to look on him for almost 10 minutes until he finished the practice. After that we did some house things like laundry, shower, and dinner. I took all my drugs and now I am reading book about the arctics with mom. Tomorrow and the next few days we have nothing in hospital. I will get all the treatment at home. My blood count from today showed that my immune system is very very very weak, due to the chimo, so I need to be careful not to catch any bad bacteria's or other infections.
Monday Feb. 25/13:
Dad and I woke up quite at around 08:00. I ate my Cereal and we headed off to the hospital. There was some mess in the hospital and it took some time until I got the chimo, but at around 13:30 I got it and then we had to wait for another two hours for inspection. Beside the few seconds of the injection, all was OK and I was happy. We got back home at around 15:30. When we got home, mom took me to the craft room and we did together some art work. At 18:00 dad went to do Yoga and Arie and Batya came to visit me, When dad returned from the Yoga we went all of us to eat out side. I didn't feel very well and 2 minutes after we entered the restaurant, I fall asleep on Dad's laps. We returned home at around 21:30, I woke up just before we entered the house. Mom gave me a quick shower and I am in bed already. I am quite all right, but not 100%. I am more tired than usual, I am very sensitive to various smells and many smells makes me to feel like I need to puke. Now mom saw that I have some rash on my skin, we will ask the Dr. tomorrow about that. Good night.
Sunday Feb. 24/13:
Today we were lazy. Dad and I woke up at around 10:00. Mom was awake all ready in bed, but she had some pains and general bad feeling so she stayed some more time in bed. I ate my Cereal and also some Bacon that dad made for me. Then we played, watched TV and had fun and at around 11:00 Arie and Batya came to our place and I played with Arie. At around 12:00 they took me to their apartment and mom and dad stayed at home. I did a lot of fun with Arie and Batya, we played and I cooked fish with Batya. At around 17:00 mom and dad came to take me and to eat nice dinner with us. By 18:30 we were back home and we ate ice cream at an ice cream party that was happening at the communal kitchen. Now I am after shower and soon I will go to sleep. I am crying very hard now, only because the Pyjama I wanted to put on is at the laundry. Also yesterday I had a "crazy" crying episode at the evening. It could be that the combination of the tiredness and the drugs makes me a bit cranky. Tomorrow i will go with dad to hospital to get another injection.
Again, like yesterday the red section is the real report of Rotem about today, word by word:
Today I'm eat pokoleks with choko and then I played and then Arie and Batya come to visit me and then me and Batya and Arie go to them house and then momy and dady come and I watched TV and eating and then me and mom and dady go home. and now I'm in the bed.
Saturday Feb. 23/13:
Me and dad woke up at around 09:00 and not like yesterday that mom made for me pancakes, dad gave me dry Cereal, though I asked for that. After that I watched some TV. Batya and Arie came at around 10:00 and mom took them for a guided tour at the neighborhood. I stayed with dad and we played and had fun together; I also wrote on the computer. I was amused to see that you can write METEOR only from the letters of my name. For lunch we did Alluenta and I ate it quite nicely. Then I watched TV with dad and then go to the basement and after that mom came and me and dad go down to the ground floor to eat and after that me and my dady go to the movie but I don't like the movie and then so me and dad go home and play with Arie and Batya. And then I eat chocolate and then we do bath and then brush teeth and then I'm put my pajama in my self and now mom and me and dady in the bed. All that red section was dictated (in English) now by me (Rotem) and dad just typed it, word by word. In the basement I played very nicely with a nice kid named Josh and for dinner we had a very good meal (one of the best we had) that was prepared by nice volunteers. For dinner we waited for Batya and Arie but they were late and dad and I went down alone. On the way I asked dad where are they and he said something like "this family is always late" and I said "yes - the Cohen's are always late". On the line for the food I got "crazy" a bit and I cried and shouted and hit dad. You know it is not typical for me and we blame the drugs that makes me a bit moody. Another nice anecdote; before shower I went to the toilet as I had to poop. I went alone as dad was in the middle of his shower and wanted to do it by my self. I sat naked on the toilet, but after a minute I got down and went to bring a book and I read to my self the book of Diego while sitting on the toilet. Beside that Mom is big and she is having a lot of pains and small contractions today. I hope my sister is OK in there and that she will come out soon; in the meanwhile I'm very sweet and I try to help my mom.
Friday Feb. 22/13:
I woke up with mom at 08:30 and she did for me Pancakes. After that Arie and Batya came and we went with them to the hospital to get my injection. These days it is Purim in Israel so I went to the hospital dressed as Batman and I brought chocolates and treats and I gave them to the nurses and some other kids. It was hard for Batya and Arie to see me getting the injection, while crying; but I believe they will get over it. However, it was fun having them with me, at some point I wanted scrumble egg and Arie went to bring me one from a restaurant out side of the hospital. I ate it with big apatite We got back home at around 14:00 and after some time at home I went with Batya and Arie to their place. I have been there the all the after noon, playing and having fun. At around 19:00 dad came to take me to Liran, Keti, and the kids. We took a taxi and picked mom on the way. There Liran made very good steaks and I wanted to eat them but I couldn't because of the drugs that change my taste. Instead I ate two corns. I had there good time with the kids and we played very nice together. We got back home at around 22:00 and I ate some more Alluenta. Soon I will do a shower and will go to sleep. Good night and happy Purim.
Thursday Feb. 21/13:
Last night I to join dad and to go to Bring Batia and Arie from the air port; so dad woke me up at 06:00 and we took the car from the Ronald Mcdonald house and headed toward the airport. I was very tired and I fall asleep on the way, and also at the terminal while we waited for them. Any way, I was awake when they got out and I ran toward them and I was very happy and excited. We got back home at around 09:00 and I got from them several nice presents. After that mom and I went with Arie and Batya to their apartment to arrange all kind of things. At around noon I met Didi at my house and she also brought a big present as this is our last day together, before she is going back to Israel. Mom and Didi went to eat Sushi together for lunch and I stayed to play and have fun with mom. At a moment of sentimentality I told mom "Isn't it nice to be only you and me for a change?" at the afternoon all the available grandparents were in my house and it was a bit hectic, but fun. For dinner we all went down to eat another dinner cooked by volunteers. Now it is 19:00, Arie and Batya went to their place and I watch Peter Pan with Didi. The only Peter Pan version we could find at YouTube was in Greece, so Didi explains to me what she thinks the characters are saying. I will spend some more time with Didi before she will go and then I will go to sleep. Tomorrow I need to go again to hospital to get my last injection for this week.
Wednesday Feb. 20/13:
I woke up with dad today at around 08:00. I knew we need to go to the hospital to get another injection so I tried to stay more and more in bed. At the end, dad took me out of bed and I was quite upset, but we had to go. In hospital we got a room quickly and after 30 minutes Noa (The volunteer that comes to play with me every once in a while) came to be with me. I played with her, while dad was reading.I got the injection with out any special events, I cried a bit, but it was OK. After that I had to stay for another 2 hours, but Noa was with me and it was fun. We played and solved mazes and build puzzles. At around 13:00 the nurse said I am good to go and I and dad went to meet mom and Didi at a restaurant at Queen street. I ate there some fries and Bacon and then I went with Didi to the Art Gallery Museum. We had good time and we spent there almost 3 hours. We got back home at around 18:00 and we went down to eat at the communal kitchen, as again nice volunteers came to cook for us. But - today the smell of the food made me sick and I went up with dad with out eating anything. These days I am very sensitive to smells and audors due to the drugs I am taking. Dad and I went straight up to the craft room and we did some wood crafting like every Wednesday. After that we went back home and I watched TV and played with mom and Didi. I got a package from Israel with a new book that Shalom made for me and dad read it to me and it was fun. Now mom and Didi are giving me a bath and then I will start to do my way (mental way) to bed. In the last week or so I started to kind of stutter. It happen to me mainly in the beginning of sentences, especially when I am excited.For example, I can say "dad" or "mom" in the beginning of a sentence up to 10 times before I organise the sentence and start to talk. It is not a big deal and it has some charm in it. I just mentioning it here to have the things documented. Mom is thinking it is because there is some gap between my speech and my thoughts.
Mom reminded me to mention that yesterday when I was with her at the hospital, Lori, the nurse that took care of me was a bit worried. In order to cheer her up I sang her few songs in English and she was very excited and said that I made her day. I was happy to hear that.
Beside that tomorrow my grandparents (from mom's side) Arie and Batya will come. I haven't seen them for more than a year and I am very excited about that.
Tuesday Feb. 19/13:
Last night at around 03:00 I woke up and asked dad for food as I was hungry. He warmed up the Salmon with some Alluenta and I ate quite a bit of it. After another course we went back to sleep. We (mom and I) woke up at around 08:30, we got organised and went to hospital to get my chimo. The clinic was very crowded and it took a lot of time to get a room and to receive the drugs from the pharmacy. Dad worked over night so he stayed at home to sleep and to do some more work; Didi came to be with us at the hospital. I was a bit grumpy at hospital but when we got back home at around 14:30 I was happy because I went with Didi to meet dad at my favourite Ramen place. I was talking about my Ramen all day long. Once we got there I got a VIP service and all the waiters knew me and were very nice to me. I ate Gyoza and Ramen and then we headed back home. At home I played with Didi all the after noon. For dinner I went down with dad to the communal kitchen as again nice volunteers came and did for us a nice Pizza dinner. I didn't eat too much but I got some nice surprises. After that I went with dad to ride my bike at the basement and now I watch TV with Didi and soon (hopefully) I will go to sleep. Mom didn't feel very well today, and she is sleeping now. Good night.
Monday Feb. 18/13:
I woke up today at 06:00 and asked for food; I was hungry and this is due to the steroids that I get these days. Mom gave me some Cereal and it calmed me down. At least for the next week I have some time off from the steroids. At 07:00 mom called to the oncology department at the hospital (Dept. 8A) and they told her that we can come at around 10:00 to get the Erwinia Asparaginase. Everything was OK with the injection and after that we stayed some time for observation but all went very well. After that we did a little walk in the down town as it was a sunny and nice day (~-1oC). We met Didi for a small lunch at the restaurant next to her hotel and then we got back home. I spent some time in bed and at around 16:00 we took the car and went to our friends Miki, Guy, Dan, Keren, and their new sister Ella. Ella is very sweet and beautiful but today (really tomorrow) is Dan's birthday so we came to celebrate it. I had good time, even though I was slightly tired. By 20:00 we were back home, I had a bath and after that I said again that I am hungry. Dad made for me some Salmon, but I didn't eat to much of it. Now I am in bed, watching TV and soon I will be a sleep. Tomorrow we have another visit to the clinic to get some more chimo. Good night.
Sunday Feb. 17/13:
The general improvement in my condition is continue. I woke up today happy and energetic. Mom made for me Bacon (Turkey Bacon) and omelet. After that Didi came and I played with her. Mom didn't feel very good today; she is very big now and she had a lot of back pains and every once in a while she is having some contractions. But she is also a big hero and doesn't complain at all. For lunch Didi, dad, and I went to meet Raly, Dora and their family at a middle eastern restaurant. I ate a lot of fries. Mom didn't come with us because of her bad feeling, so dad took some food from the restaurant. But - my funny dad forgot to take fries for mom, so I asked the waiter to put also some fries for her. Then we got home and mom enjoyed the food, but then we got a call from Liran that invited us to join them to a bowling game so dad and I went with them. In the beginning I enjoyed playing but toward the end I was a bit tired and grumpy. At around 18:00 we were back home and I was very happy to meet mom. Mom, dad and I were playing on their bed, but dad fall a sleep and mom made for me another meal, like the one she did in the morning. I ate quite well and in the meanwhile dad woke up. After dinner I was sweet and helped dad to clean and organise home. At that time we played a game where me or dad are Dr's and we try to help mom with her pains. We did it in English and I said that my name is Dr. hug and I heel people by hugging them. Now it is almost 22:00 and I will go to sleep soon. Tomorrow is the family day in Canada so the hospital is not working by 100%. In the morning we will call them and we will see if they will be able to accept me at one of the cancer departments to to give me the Erwinia Asparaginase injection. If not I will have to be with my family at the family day and to get the chimo on Tuesday.
Saturday Feb. 16/13:
Today was a much better day than yesterday. After a good night sleep with mom and dad we woke up and went with Didi to have a breakfast in our favorite restaurant Valens, which is at Baldwin Street, two minutes from our home. I ate some of mom's omelet and some Bacon. I didn't eat a lot, but not too bad. After that we got back home; it was cold and snowy and I was very cold. It seems that I am a bit more sensitive to the cold, now with the medicines. Since mom and dad had a tough night with me in their bad (I slept very good) they went to sleep again and I stayed to have fun with Didi. We did some crafting in the craft room and I watched with her Toy Story 3. It was my third time, but Didi never saw it, so I explained her many things. In the afternoon mom took me to do some occupational activity in the house with a special guide. It was nice but I didn't had too much patience for that. The rest of the afternoon I passed with mom, dad, and Didi. We played and had fun. I didn't sleep this after noon to show you that indeed I am much stronger today. At the evening mom and Didi went to see a flamenco dance show and I stayed with dad. We went to see a movie at the cinema room of the Ronald Mcdonald house, but I was too afraid from the movie and we got back home after 30 minutes. Then I made Pizza with dad and took all my drugs. At the end I ate the cheese and the olives and dad ate the dough. Then we did a shower and now (22:00) I'm watching TV in bed.
My dad is very proud on me about few things that he would like to share with you. Here I explain (in Hebrew) what happened to the Dinosaurs and how we became out of the monkeys; and here its a new page my dad opened where he puts some of my art work. I hope you like it.
Friday Feb. 15/13:
Today was a very long day. We woke up at around 08:00 and went to the hospital to get another injection into my leg. Nothing too much special happened at the hospital. I cried a bit when the nurse injected the chimo, but in general all went well and fast. Mom went to see her Dr. at around 12:00 and dad and I got discharged from hospital at around 13:00. I wanted to eat Fallafel so we went to get Fallafel at the hospital food court. As we entered the food region I almost puked from the smell and I asked dad to run away from this place before I will vomit. So dad took me to another place of Fallafel out side of hospital and we bought 4 dishes of Fallafel and brought it home to eat with mom and Didi. When we got home I was very weak and didn't feel well and at the end I didn't eat nothing. I spent all the after noon lying on the sofa and sleeping in bed. At around 18:00 Didi made for us a very good dinner of potatoes and steaks and other good things, but I ate a bit of the steak, some Alluenta and a lot of bread with butter. At dinner time I felt very cold and I was shivering for some time. To warm me up dad opened the kitchen oven and I sat next to it. After that I felt very bad and I was completely exhausted. Mom and dad weren't sure what to do and after calling the Dr. on call at the hospital and consulting with Liran they decided to take mo to the emergency room. I cried all the way to the hospital and I said that I don't want to sleep there. At the emergency room they examined me and did to me a finger poke and took blood for blood counts. After almost two hours the Dr. came and said that my counts are good and my weakness and all the bad feeling is due to the "poisons" that I host in my body these days. At 24:00 we got discharged from the emergency room and did our way back home. It was surprising to me how dark and empty the street is. I was very happy and I sang songs with mom on the way home and said that tomorrow we need to celebrate. Just to give you a sense of the amount of drugs and other things I am going through these days, I will give you a quick list of what I took today:
2 shots of steroids, taken oraly morning and evening.
2 shots of antibiotic, taken oraly morning and evening.
1 injection of chimo, to my leg.
2 shots of new medicine to fight the high acidity in my stomach, resulted by the steroids.
1 finger poke for blood work.
Impressive - isn't it?
Now I am tired and happy, lying with mom and dad in their bad. Dad have just shown me some movies and pictures of the meteor heated Russia today. I find it very interesting. Didi is sleeping with us today and tomorrow we will try to do some fun. Good night.
Thursday Feb. 14/13:
Today I was at home all day. I'm still grumpy and moody and my apatite is not stable. Some times I feel very hungry anf after that I can't eat nothing. I woke up today very early, at around 05:00. I woke up dad and we passed the time until 08:00, half asleep, half watching TV and at 08:00 I had my cereal. Most morning I was moving between my bed and mom's and dad's bed. I was very needy for mom and dad and Iwanted one of them to be next to me most of the time. Didi came at around 13:00 and she made me a tasty soup, similar to what I ate yesterday, but I didn't eat too much. After lunch I went with mom and Didi to the Ronald Mcdonald house library. At around 16:00 I got again into my bed, this time with Didi and I fall asleep until 18:00. When I woke up I made Alluenta with dad and I ate quite well at dinner. I had the Alluenta and Didi went to the Japanese restaurant from yesterday and brought me some tasty Gyoza, which I enjoyed eating. After dinner we went down as there was a party for Valentines Day. There were all kind of activities and treats and fruits and cookies. I was there for 20 minutes and then I asked to go back home. Now Didi went and I am alone at home with mom and dad. I ate some more Alluenta and I seems to be quite tired. Tomorrow I need to wake up quite early again as we are going to hospital to get another injection into my leg.
One cool thing that happened today was that at the afternoon we got a phone call from the reception and they said that a big box is waiting for us at the reception. Dad went to bring it and got back home with this huge box and few more bags. It was a brand new stroller we got for my new sister to come, some beautiful toys for me, and some more nice cloths and presents for my sister. We got it from good people (Daryl and Derek Erdman and Norman Erdman) We met these amazing people when they came as volunteers to cook for the house last week. They came with their company, Multy Home. They talked to us about me and my condition and about mom's pregnancy and they asked if they can help somehow. In spite of the fact that my mom didn't want them to do so, Tali and Didi told them that we need a stroller to the baby. They said they will be happy to help and today we got this wonderful stroller. Isn't it amazing? This surprise really made us happy and will help us a lot, and we thank the Erdman family from the bottom of our heart.
Wednesday Feb. 13/13:
The chimo is keep on working. I was pretty exhausted today. Mom and dad woke me up at around 08:00 to eat breakfast, then I took my steroids and we started marching to the hospital. The day was clear, warm (slightly above zero), and beautiful. At hospital I got a room and we waited a bit until the chimo of today arrived. Today I got the chimo Erwinia Asparaginase which I hate because I get it by injection to my leg. The injection is not very pleasant and the substance is very sore once it was injected. I need to get 11 more injections like this in the next two months. I cried quite a bit when the nurse came with the syringe and dad had to hold my hands and mom hold my legs, because I moved a lot. Any way, two minutes after I got it I got calm and I continue watching TV. After that we had to stay another two hours in hospital to see that I have no reactions to the drug. Soon after the injection mom went to visit Miki, our friend that gave birth last night to a new little baby girl (Mazal Tov Miki and Guy!!). I stayed in hospital with dad and we played and tried to have some fun. Dad and I got back home at around 14:00, but mom was still with Miki. We played at home and even went to the basement to play, but after five minutes I asked dad to go back home because I didn't feel very good. When we got back home I asked dad to get with me into the bed and to have some rest. Whoever know me, knows that resting along day time is not something typical for me. Mom came but I was really depressed and I fall asleep. Mom and dad woke me up at around 17:00 and Didi arrived and brought me a custom of Spider-men and Bat-man but it didn't make me too much happy. In addition I had some stomach pains, probably as one of the chimo side effects. Dad went to the pharmacy to buy some pain killer drug for me and I went back into bed. At 18:00 mom went down to bring up some food from the dinner that was prepared in the communal kitchen by the volunteers. 15 minutes later mom and dad came with the food and with Tylenol against my pains, but more important they arrived with a huge, colourful duck. A real huge duck. As part of the dinner at the kitchen the volunteers brought a funny men that was dressed like a duck to make the kids happy. Mom told him that she has a sad boy in bed and if he could come up to cheer me up. Of course he agreed and he came to my room and made me happy. That was my first smile of the day; Didi was so happy (and touched) that she started to cry. After Louis (that is the duck's name) went I got out of bed and mom gave me a spoon of the Tylenol. I didn't eat nothing from the food that mom brought, but at least I felt OK and was a bit more happy. Then dad suggested to go and bring me some Ramen soup from my favourite Japanese restaurant. I thought that it was a great idea. So great that I suggested to go to the restaurant. In one minute we were all dressed and ready. Full with energy and good mood I lead the way to the restaurant. We waited almost 30 minutes until we had a place and then I ordered my Ramen soup. I ate it with a huge smile on my face. That was the first thing I ate today, beside a half of an apple at the afternoon. I ate my soup with the noodles and the meat, and I ate may be 5 Gyoza and that was great. Then on the way back home dad and I bought some ice cream and brought it home and I ate it with a lot of joy. Now I am after my evening dose of steroids and after shower, watching Toopy and Binoo with dad in my bed, God knows when I will go to sleep after the nap I had at the after noon.
One last comment: When I went with dad to wash my hands in the restaurant I looked at the mirror at told him that he looks like Shalom; dad told me that people are saying that I looks like him (like dad). So I did the math and told him that it means that I looks like shalom too. Am I smart or not?? Good night.
By the way - New photos were uploaded.
Tuesday Feb. 12/13:
Indeed the new chimo started to kick in. Beside the fact that I vomited last evening, my apatite is tend to zero, I hardly ate anything since last night. In addition, I'm kind of moody I was quite grumpy today and cried over things that usually don't bother me, Last night I slept with Didi and also before I fall asleep I cried for mom and dad and in the morning I was quite sad as well. However, all in all I had a nice day with Didi today. We spent most of the day in her room, watched TV, read books and played. Around 16:00 she brought me back home and I played with her and a bit with dad at home. Mom was in town, making some shopping for my baby sister to come (soon). For dinner we went down to eat another dinner that was made by nice volunteers. It was a very good dinner with good salads and potatoes and chicken breast, but I drank some chocolate milk and ate only cookies. When I and Didi came back home, Debi, the very nice lady from the reception of the Ronald Mcdonald house told us that there are two tickets for tonight NBA basketball game between the Toronto Raptors and Denver Nuggets. Mom came back at around 18:30 and Didi and dad ran to the game. In the meanwhile I had fun with mom at home. Dad have just came back home now, He said it was a good game and that the Raptors won by one point. Now I am in bed with dad and soon I will go to sleep. Tomorrow I have to be in hospital as I need to get the chimo Erwinia Asparaginase by injection to my leg. I don't like it too much, but I don't really have any option. Do I?
Monday Feb. 11/13:
Hooray!! My blood count was good and I have started the treatment today. We woke up early, went to hospital at around 08:00 and after seeing that my blood was good to go I started to get the chimo. I started today the final stage before entering the maintenance. This stage name is Delayed Intensification and it is going to last for the next two months more or less. I saw Dr. Alexander today. She is a very good Dr. and she talked to us for long time and it was a good talk. My first chimo today was Intrathecal methotrexate that I got into my spinal cord. Of course I got this chimo under full anaesthetist. Dad entered with me to the surgery room; I was pretty cool, I walked by my self into the room, said hello to the staff and dad put me on the bed. I knew I need to sleep so immediately I closed my eyes and tried to fall a sleep. I heard dad and the surgery's talking and laughing about it and I laughed too. After 10 seconds I was all asleep, but I think the sleeping drug did it and not my own efforts. After the procedures ended (15 minutes) they took me asleep to the recovery room and I slept there for another hour. After that hour mom and dad woke me up and I ate Bamba and talked on Skype with Shalom. We waited there for some time and after another hour or so I got through my centre line the chimos VinCRIStine and Doxorubicin. The Doxorubicin is being pushed into my self over an hour so I went with dad to the play room to pass the time. At around 15:00 we were back home and a good meal, made by Didi, waited for us on the table. I didn't eat too much. At the after noon I went with mom to the craft room and at around 17:00 mom gave me Ondansetron against nausea and after that I tried to eat an omelet with cheese. However, while eating I puked everything. I guess the chimo is starting to give its signs. Then I drank a glass of milk and took my last chimo for today - Dexamethasone. This drug is the steroids I took in the beginning of my treatment more than 6 months ago. At that time it made me very hungry and grumpy. Lets see what would be it effect this time. I need to take it in the next few weeks with few breaks in the middle. After my last chimo I went with Didi to her hotel and I will sleep there tonight. I'm sure it will be fun, as long as my body won't get crazy with the new chimos.
Sunday Feb. 10/13:
Today was a very pleasant day. Mom and I woke up at around 09:00 and we decorated the cakes for Sarel Birthday. At around 11:30 we took the subway up north to the birthday party. It was in a Bowling arena, with special courses and special (small) balls for kids. It was fun and after the game we had pizzas, surprises, and the cakes I made with mom. The cakes, by the way were very good. From there we went to Sarel's house, with other Israeli friends (Sari and the kids and Dedi). We spent there a nice afternoon. For long time we (the kids) played (in fighting) at the basement, while the big ones were up stairs. At around 17:00 Liran took us back home and at 18:00 Didi came and also gal and mary who are also from Israel (at least Gal, Mary is from Japan) and Didi brought them few things from home. After that we went down to an "ice cream party" at the communal kitchen. I ate some ice cream and Didi, mom, dad and my self went to eat dinner in a restaurant close to our place. I ate very well in spite of the ice cream (Salmon, small burger, tomato and desert). Then we got back home, I did a shower and now I am in bed with dad, writing what I did today. Tomorrow is an important day, I hope my blood will be OK and I will start the treatment.
Saturday Feb. 9/13:
After the snowy day of yesterday, we woke up today to a shiny, beautiful day. The streets were all snowy and we took my snow slider to the park near the place where Didi sleeps. We met her there and we enjoyed playing and sliding in the snow. After some time there I went to Didi's room and mom and dad went back home. I had fun with Didi, we read books and played the piano. At around 16:00 mom and dad came with the car of the Ronald Mcdonald house and we all went to buy some food for next week. While mom and dad were at the super, I went with Didi to a Toys R' Us store that was close to the super market. I got many presents from Didi. After an hour we met again and went to my friends Dan, Keren, and their parents Guy and Miki. Like always, I enjoyed Guy's food. Tonight it was pasta with tasty meat sauce. I played very nice with Dan and mainly with Keren. We got back home at around 22:00 and now I am after a shower and I make cakes with mom. Tomorrow we are going to the birthday of my friend Sarel and we will bring few cakes. I will let you know tomorrow how the cakes came out; good night.
Friday Feb. 8/13:
Today we woke up to a white day. It was all covered with snow. We are in the middle of a big snow storm, the temperatures are around -7oC and Toronto is getting crazy. Roads are blocked, the airport was shut down for few hours, flights cancelled and the streets are empty; all that for a relatively regular weather in Saskatoon. We enjoyed the day at home, we played, watched TV and read books. In the evening dad and I went to ride my bike in the basement and after that we went to eat dinner that was cooked by nice students from University. Tali (Revital) came to visit me at around 13:00 but due to the panic in the airport she left early and took a taxi to the airport. It is now 20:30 and she still not sure when her flight to Montreal will leave. Tomorrow we hope to have a nice weather and to go to do some snow sliding.
Thursday Feb. 7/13:
Today we all woke up quite late at around 11:00. Since yesterday mom is having contractions that comes and goes; so after we woke up mom went to see her Dr. Happily, nothing is moving down there and for now my sister is in place. Didi came at around 12:00 and I spent the all after noon with her, as mom and dad went for lunch with Miki. Mom and dad came back at around 15:00 and at 16:30 I went with dad to do some activity at the craft room. For dinner I went with mom, Didi, and Tali that joined us to the comunal kitchen for dinner. After that I played at home and now Tali is giving me a shower. It was a very cold day today and a snow storm is expected to take place in the next few days.
Wednesday Feb. 6/13:
Another nice day off hospital. We all woke up at around 09:00. I had my cereal and I poured mom's tea on her computer, but a quick respond of mom and dad prevent any damage. Mom didn't feel very good in the morning, she had some contractions (not giving birth yet) and back pains today, so she took it slowly and Didi took me to the playground on McCaul street. We went there on my bike. Then we got back home, but dad was busy with his work so I played at home with mom and Didi. When dad finished to work, Didi and him cleaned up the apartment, while I watched TV. After that I read some books with Didi and at 18:00 we went down to eat dinner that was cooked by volunteers from CIBC bank. It was a really good dinner today. After that I went with mom to do some wood crafting, like every Wednesday. Now Tali arrived and I eat Cereal with her and after that we will play.
Tuesday Feb. 5/13:
A small turn over in the plot. We woke up early and went to hospital (actually I was asleep on the way to hospital). We registered at the clinic and went to the IV room to connect my centre line. It's been a while since I last was connected to the centre line but I sat on dad's laps and we count to 20 while the nurse put the needle in. I didn't cry at all and I was a brave boy. After that we went to be seen by the Dr. who said I am looking very well, but then the blood counts arrived and unfortunately my immune system was not high enough to enable me to start the treatment. The Dr. said it is not a big deal and it is very common to have these delays in my stage. Mom was quite upset because any delay of the treatment means that we will have harder and busier days around the birth of my sister. Any way, this is the situation and I'm sure all will be all right. We will be back in hospital next week and hopefully I will start the treatment then. To cheer us up we called Didi and we went all of us to eat breakfast in a nice place close to our place. After that dad went back home (to run and to work) and mom, Didi, and I went to buy food in China-town. Then we spent the after noon at home; I played with Didi and went with her and mom to the basement and had fun. In the evening dad and Didi went to eat together and I stayed with mom. Tali, mom's sister is in Toronto this week and she came to visit us and brought me presents; I played with her and showed her how I build my puzzles. So - to conclude, I had a good day and I earned another 6 days of vacation. Good night.
Monday Feb. 4/13:
As I told you, today was my last day of the long vacation off hospital; tomorrow I am going back to another cycle of treatments. I think I did use this day properly. I woke up at around 09:00 and I had a nice morning at home with mom. Dad was working. At noon mom and I went outside and we met Didi and Miki in a nice restaurant on Bloor street. After lunch Didi, mom and I went to the famous shoe museum of toronto. It was a nice museum and I liked it. Then we got back home and I spent the evening at home with Didi, mom, and dad. I am playing these days a very nice thinking game made out of wood and I solve there all kind of riddles; I am quite good on that game. At 18:00 dad, Didi and I went down to eat dinner that was prepared by more volunteers and after that dad (he didn't eat) went to do Yoga and I went to the Kids Gym with mom. I took my bike with me and I had great fun. Now I am in bed, watching TV. I need to go to sleep soon because tomorrow we need to be at 08:00 in the hospital.
Sunday Feb. 3/13:
I woke up first today so mom and dad took me to their bed and I watched there TV while they keep on sleeping. When mom woke up we got out of bed and ate Cereal, played and talk on the Skype. Dad woke up after that, again he work most of the night, and Didi came at around noon time. At 12:30 we took a taxi to an Italian restaurant on Yonge street. We met there Raly and Andrea and I had a lot of fun with Andrea. After that we got back home on the subway. As we got home I took dad down to the basement to ride my bike. Didi came after some time to replace dad and then I spent all the afternoon with her. We played and watched TV together. Now it is evening; mom and dad are (partially) watching the Super-Bowl and Didi made French Toast for me. Soon she will go back home and I will meet her again tomorrow. Tomorrow is our last day before getting into another cycle of treatments on Tuesday. I hope we will use this day properly. Now it is the break in the Super-Bowl and Beyonce is giving her show. I am very impressed by her and by her show; I have just said: "I can't believe how beautiful she is". Good night.
Saturday Feb. 2/13:
Last night I woke up at around 03:00. I complained on stomach ache and mouth sores, but dad checked my fever, looked into my mouth, and touched my stomach and as a doctor for hydrology he decided that I am OK. Then dad kissed and hugged me and I went to sleep again and I slept very good until around 09:00. Then I spent the morning with mom. Dad woke up at around 11:00 and we had a good breakfast that mom made. At around 14:00 Liran, and the kids and another friend of Liran from his work picked us and we went to the climbing wall. It was the same climbing wall I went with dad some time ago (Nov. 15). We spent there few hours and had a great fun. We got back home at 18:00 and we went straight to the communal kitchen with mom and Didi to eat a very good dinner that prepared by nice volunteers. We ate until 19:00 and then we went to the cinema room of the house to watch the movie MegaMind. It was a very nice movie with few frighten parts. Now we are back home and I am dancing with Didi. We listen to a song of Yael (my aunt), but I sing and do the moved of the Gan-Gam style song. Shower soon and then to sleep. Good night.
Friday Feb. 1/13:
I had no nightmares on Mammoths this night and I slept well. Nothing special happened in the morning; dad slept a lot after he worked in the night. Didi came at around noon and she brought good food from the market in China-town. With Didi I did a lot of fun, we ride the bike in the street and after that at the basement. For lunch Didi made for me a good steak and rice. After lunch we went again to play at the basement and we had fun together. At the late afternoon I read books and played a bit with dad. For dinner we went to Liran, Keti and the kids and I played there with Sarel, Gony, and Romi which was a great fun. We played being policemen, and we built a tent. We got back home at around 22:00 and now I am in bed, and I will fall asleep soon.
Thursday Jan. 31/13:
My day started at around 03:00 in the night. I woke up and called dad; when he came I asked him if Mammoths are dangerous. He told me that they are like elephants, eating plants, therefore they are not dangerous. I told him that they have horns, but he explained me that it is not horns, rather the Mammoth teeth and then I was really relief and went back to sleep. After that I woke up at around 09:00, ate my Cereal and played with mom. Didi came later on and I played with her too. For lunch we went out side to the restaurant of the AGO. These days there is a big campaign in town where many restaurants give lunch and supper for cheap and fixed prices. That restaurant was in that deal too and we enjoyed it a lot. It was cold and very windy and snowy today, yet I insisted to ride on my bike to the restaurant; so indeed, I ride all the way in both directions. It was cold and fun. When we got back home I went with mom and Didi to the communal kitchen to participate in a cooking class. We did S'mores cookies and it was very tasty. After that I played at home and for dinner I went down with dad as again volunteers came to cook for us. At 19:00 I went with mom to the house library and a nice lady read many stories for me. I was the only kid and we were there for more than an hour. When I returned home with mom, I immediately took dad to the basement to play and to ride the bike. Now it is almost 22:00 and I am in bed, prepare my self to dream on Mammoths. God night.
Wednesday Jan. 30/13:
As I told you yesterday, we woke up very early today. Actually, because we went to sleep early last night, dad woke up at around 05:00 and he went to run at the Gym, and I woke up at 06:00 and went to mom and dad bed. At around 07:00 we went down to eat breakfast that was served at the communal kitchen. Then, at 08:00 we went upstairs to one of the empty rooms and we were interviewed into one of the local TV stations about the Ronald Mcdonald house. It was a very quick talk, but still I was on TV. After that we got back home and rest for a bit. At noon Didi came and took me to a cool indoor play ground. This place is quite out of town; we took the subway and another bus, but after more than an hour drive we got to this place that was full with nice things for kids. We were there for few hours, played in the various carousels and slides and many other cool things. At the end we ate hot dog and fries and ice cream and started to do the way back home. At around 18:00 we got home and went for dinner, cooked by volunteers, at the communal kitchen. After that dad and I went to the craft room to do some wood working and from there we went straight to the basement to ride my bike. Now I am after shower, watching some TV in bed. Good night.
Tuesday Jan. 29/13:
After a good night sleep with Didi I woke up to a rainy day. We played and had fun at Didi's room and then we went to walk in China Town. We ate lunch in a Vietnamese restaurant and around 14:00 we got back home to mom and dad. I was happy to be back home and I played with mom and built a wooden dinosaur with dad. At around 16:00 mom took me to the basement to ride my bike and after that we went to read books at the library of the Ronald Mcdonald house. At 18:00 dad joined us and we went to eat at the communal kitchen as again nice volunteers came to cook a good dinner. After that I played a bit more with dad and then I went to have a shower. Now it is 20:00 and I am in bed already. Tomorrow we need to wake up very early because the Ronald Mcdonald house staff asked us to interview into a TV show that will come to the house in the morning. Dad is next to me at my bed. I watch a DVD on half of his screen and he is working / writing this page.
Monday Jan. 28/13:
I woke up at around 10:00 and like every morning I ate my cereal. Then ,y friend David called and asked if he can come to visit us. After ten minutes he arrived with a huge snow slider, that looks a bit like a snow mobile. He took me to a ride out side in the snow and that was fun. At noon time Didi came and we went down to the basement to ride my bike. Mom didn't feel very good today and dad was working. At the evening I went with Didi to her place to have a pyjamas party (sleep over). Mom and dad went at that time to a basketball game between the Toronto Raptors to the Warriors from Auckland, California. We lost 114-102. Any way my parents enjoyed the game a lot. At around 24:00 I fall asleep at Didi's place.
Sunday Jan. 27/13:
Today was an interesting day. We woke up quite late, at around 10:00. I ate some Cereal and then we got organised as we went to a snow walk. Liran, Keti and their kids came to our place at around 11:00 and we were suppose to go straight ahead to the short trip. However, while they waited for us downstairs, Sarel and Goni played hide and seek and Gony, by mistake got out of the house and couldn't get back in and she walked in the street for short time. She was a big hero but we were afraid that something bad happened to her. At the end a police man found her and Liran got to the same place after two minutes. After this experience we headed to our trip. We drove to the Rough Park and we did there a nice walk in the snowy forest, along the Rough river. From there we (only us) went to eat in a nice Arabic restaurant named "Jerusalem". We had there good salads, hummus, and Falafel, like in Israel. We got back home at around 17:00; I went to the basement with dad to ride my new (old) bike. Now we are at home and all of us are very tired. We are fighting ourself not to fall asleep too early. But I guess we fought to hard as now it is after 21:00 and I am full of energy, after riding my bike with mom, helping dad and mom with the laundry and eating dinner that was cooked by nice volunteers. Now I am in bed after reading a book with dad. Good night.
Saturday Jan. 26/13:
Horray !! Dad is back. I went to sleep last night with mom, in her bed. However, when I woke up, both mom and dad were sleeping next to me. I was very happy and I woke them up. We took the morning very slowly, stayed in bed, read books, and watched TV. Then we did a big breakfast and after that just played and had fun. Dad brought me many nice presents from friends in Saskatoon (Aki, Theo, June, Sun, Hadar and Gili and others) and he also brought my bikes from home. I was so happy, and I ride them all day in the house. At the after noon Didi came and we played a bit and then we took a taxi to our friends Guy, Miki, Dan and Keren. I played with the kids and had a lot of fun. On the way back, and in general, I talk a lot about super heroes and I mention all the time that super heroes are never sick. I told dad that Spider-Man took the hand of Captain Hook from the crocodile belly and brought it back to Captain Hook. But then I mentioned, that after that they changed the captains name, and I guess you know why.
Friday Jan. 25/13:
My dad is still in Saskatoon and I miss him. He will come tonight and then we will start to give more detailed reports. I am all well, enjoying my time with Didi and the fact that I am off hospital. In the evening we went to Liran, Keti and the kids, for dinner. It was nice, even though I was a bit grumpy and I wanted to talk to dad. Will talk to you tomorrow after dad will be back.
Thursday Jan. 24/13:
My dad is still in Saskatoon so excuse me for the limited reports. All will be fixed soon when he will be back tomorrow.
Wednesday Jan. 23/13:
Shortly, because dad is in Saskatoon and he need to go to a hockey game soon: I went with mom and Didi to the Royal Ontario Museum and after that we ate in a close by restaurant. Now it is early evening, we are back home and probably will play, eat, watch TV, and will go to sleep.
Tuesday Jan. 22/13:
Today was a nice day. It was cold and snowy so we couldn't do too much out side, so Didi and I took the subway up north and we spent few hours doing shopping in the big mall in the north of town. After that we got back home and again we ate dinner that was cooked by nice volunteers. I Didn't let Didi to leave at the evening and I cried a bit, but in the end she left and I enjoyed the rest of the evening with mom.
Monday Jan. 21/13:
Last night I didn't want to go to sleep. Mom and dad were in their bad already and I watched TV in my bed. At around 01:00 I turned the TV off and came to mom and dad bed and slept with them. When I woke up at around 10:00 dad was already on the plane to Saskatoon. I hope he will have a productive week. When I woke I told mom what happened last night: "Batman and another bad guy came at the night and looked on us (mom, dad, and I) but they said we are beautiful and they went". Mom told me it was a nice dream but I insisted it really happened. At around 10:30 Didi came and she brought a fresh bread from the bakery. I was with Didi all day and it was great fun; we played, invented stories on pyrates and spider man, and In the after noon mom went to do all kind of arrangements and Didi and I went to the Kids Gym at the basement and played there for almost three hours. At the end I said to Didi that "playing with her was as fun as getting a present". Now we are after dinner and I am in bed with mom and she try to convince me to go to sleep. To stay awake and amused I invented a game called (and I named it in English) "Hide and sick". Mom was sure it is hide and seek but my game is that one of us is healthy and he need to look for the other one who is sick.
That's all. We had a cold day in Toronto today, but it was much colder for dad in Saskatoon (-30oC). Good night and a successful voting day for the guys in Israel.
Sunday Jan. 20/13:
Last night I slept like a log; apart of a small wake up at around 07:00 to pee (in bed) I slept until almost 11:00. I (and dad) woke up to a good pancakes breakfast that mom made. Then Didi came. At the after noon few people from the Royal Ontario Museum came to the house and did with us all kind of activities and games. It was very nice. In the rest of the afternoon I spent with Didi, we made meatballs together and played and read books. For dinner we went to try a new restaurant in our neighbourhood which was very nice. I ate quite well and had fun, even though I refused to get out side of home in the beginning. Since dinner time I am hugging dad all the time. I do it because he is going tomorrow for five days in Saskatoon. He said he need to do some work but I think he just need a vacation.
Last nice story form this evening. After shower I ran naked to my bed. Dad wanted to dress me up but I wanted to stay in bed to warm up. Then dad told me to call him when I will be warm and ready to get dressed. Few minutes later I called him and said that I am warm so he said "good, lets get dress". But I told him "I am only warm, but you said I need to be warm and ready. I am not ready yet" Few minutes after that I called him and said I am warm and ready and we dressed up. I just wanted to make sure my dad is obeying his own logic rules.
Saturday Jan. 19/13:
After a good night sleep (for me only) with mom and dad we all woke up at around 09:00. We ate breakfast and Didi came around noon time. Dad stayed to work at home and mom, Didi and I took the street car to Allan Gardens which is a nice botanic garden in a big greenhouse in town. We spent there almost two hours and I had great fun. Most of the time we played hide and seek and I had much more energy than mom and Didi. There was there a little pond that people throw money into it and ask for wishes. I had my own wishes: First I asked for quick heal and second I asked for a lot of money. Money is important because you need it in order to ask wishes. From there we walked to a nearby play ground and then went to the Super Market to buy some food. When we finished with the shopping, dad came and took us with the Ronald Mcdonald house car back home. At home I played and had fun with Didi and at around 22:00 Didi gave me a bath and then I got into bed. I am not asleep yet, but hopefully it will happen soon.
Friday Jan. 18/13:
Hooray!! I am back home. As planed with no delays I got released from hospital today. Everything went well with no special events. In the morning Noa came to play with me and it was good fun. She also made for us a good Challa bread. By 16:00 we were back home; after 4 days with no shower, from my own will I ran into the bath and had a very long and enjoyable wash. After that I got into bed with dad and I watched TV and dad slept for 20 minutes. Didi came to my house at around 17:00, we opened some more surprises from Israel and then we got organised and went out side. Today it was the birthday of my friend Gony, so we met her and her family in a nice restaurant for pasta. It was a big and noisy restaurant, ideal for kids. After food we (the kids) played and run and had fun. Now it is after 22:00. I will take my pill soon and then will go to sleep. I think I will sleep with mom and dad today as a treat after the 4 3 nights in hospital.
As for my treatment. I have finished today the interim maintenance and I have now more than 2 weeks off before starting the next phase of treatment. Lets try to enjoy them !!
Thursday. 17/13:
After a fun night with Didi mom came to replace her at around 08:00. In the morning mom asked to see a Dr. because I have some blinking "attacks" every once in a while; not to often, but may be once or twice a day for an hour or so. The Dr. checked my eyes and it seems to be OK. She said that it could be related to the dryness of the houses during the winter. Dad joined us at around 14:00 and dad, mom and I had a nice day together. We played and did some crafting and had fun. Didi came at 18:00 and she will do the night with me. Soon I will take my pill and dad and mom will go home. If all will be OK I am planed to be back home by tomorrow afternoon. I will let you know..
Wednesday Jan. 16/13:
Today was another regular and good day in hospital. Mom came at around 09:00 to replace dad and Didi joined us at around 10:00. I was with both of them in the hospital all day. We played, read books and had fun. The heart Ultra Sound results from yesterday arrived and as my parents told me, I have a good heart; everything was OK with the test. Tonight I am alone with Didi, we are doing a pyjamas party.
Now when my parents had some time for them self, they started to think and thinking in our condition is bad thing to do because most of the thoughts are quite depressing. From the three kids that arrived on the same week to hospital six months ago with Leukemia , I am the only one that is in remission (For mom: טפו טפו טפו בלי עיו הרע). For a girl in my age and another kid few years older than us the cancer didn't disappeared. All the way their condition was worst than mine but in more than one or two points along the way they were sure that everything is OK and that they are on the golden road for healing. They still have other treatment options and I hope for them everything will be OK, but these things emphasise how fragile and uncertain is my condition. Well, I guess the conclusion is not to think. Good night, I am going to enjoy my party now.
Tuesday Jan. 15/13:
Two good things happened today: (1) Didi arrived; and (2) my blood counts were good a I have started my last cycle of chimo for the interim maintenance phase. I am admitted now in hospital, for few days to get my chimo. By Friday I hope to be back home and then I will have one or two weeks before moving to the next stage of treatment. As preparation for the next stage I went this morning through an Ultra Sound examination of my heart. Some of the chimos I get may damage my heart,so they monitor it every once in a while. We didn't got the results yet but my parents said I have a good heart any way and they don't need the Ultra Sound to prove it. Beside that I have my regular chimo of this treatment through my centre line. Didi came and met us at the hospital at around noon and she was with me all day. We played and read books and had fun. During the day dad went home to work and rest and I stayed here with mom and Didi. Mom took advantage of the fact the Didi is here and took a nap on my bed at the afternoon. Now I am alone with dad, we will do the night together. At 19:00 we went to do some cowboys activity in the playroom and it was fun. I have taken my pill already and I will go to sleep soon. Good night.
Monday Jan. 14/13:
A quiet day at home. I woke up early at 06:30. I watched some TV in the morning until mom got used to my early wake up call. After that we played and had fun together. We went to mom's pregnancy clinic since we had to take something from there. At around noon I went with dad to do some grocery shopping. We got back home and mom made a good lunch. After that I played more and went down with mom and dad to the basement to play and get out energy. In the evening I went again with mom to the kids Gym as like every Monday there was a kids sport activity. Because I woke up so early I went to sleep at around 20:00. I felt today very well. I was very active and happy and ate a lot. Tomorrow we will go to hospital and if my blood condition will allow it, I will start the last cycle of Chimo for the current stage of treatment. More important, Didi will come tomorrow; I'm waiting to see her.
Sunday Jan. 13/13:
This morning was a very lazy one. At 06:30 I woke up crying because I wanted the chocolate cake I did with mom few days ago. Dad brought me a little piece and I returned into bed. When I really woke up, at around 10:00 I read books with mom and we made pancakes after that. After the late breakfast (At around 12:00) I went down with dad to play in the outdoor playground at our building. At around 17:00 my friends Dan, Keren and their parents Guy and Miki came to visit us. We went all together to the playground in the park on McCaul street. We played there and had nice time and on the way back we ate pizza in one of the Italian restaurants at the Baldwin street, which is a nice street, 5 minutes from our house, that has many restaurants in it. After that they came to eat with me some more of my chocolate cake and then they went home. I had a quick shower and now I am in mom's and dad's bed, watching some TV and soon I will go to sleep.
Saturday Jan. 12/13:
Today was another fun day with Aharon. For some reason I insisted to call him Gal; probably due to Gal's visit last week I got used that an uncle=Gal. As long as Aharon reply when I call him, either Gal or Aharon, I don't care.
Dad and I woke up at around 09:00. Mom had a very bad night, and she hardly sleep because of the pregnancy so she stayed in bed for some more time. After we woke up Aharon came and brought more presents and surprises. We played and had fun together and at around 13:00 we went out and headed East to the St. Lawrence market. It was a nice day today; sunny and warm (+8oC) and the St. Lawrence market, which is a very big and nice farmers market was very crowded and lively. We walked over the market, enjoying the various booths and shops. The meat booths made me hungry for a Salami, so we went outside and went into an Italian restaurant that had in the menu a special course of various salamis. We had a good lunch, with other Italian dishes and then we keep on walking East to the Distillery district, which is a nice and trendy zone, that once was a big distillery and now is full with galleries, fancy shops and restaurants. There we saw a police man on a police horse, and like the fire fighters from few days ago he gave me a card with the picture of the horse and other details about him, For example, his name is Simcoe. We got back home at around 18:00 but of course I had no plans of finish the day. Once we got home I took Aharon and we started to play in my games and to build puzzles together. Now it is almost 22:00, I will go to the shower soon and hopefully will go to sleep after that. Tomorrow morning Aharon is leaving us; it was nice having him around for the week end.
One anecdote from today: In the evening I played being a knight and I had my knight dress on me. Dad called me to take my antibiotic so I took off my knight equipment. Mom asked me why am I taking off the knight stuff and told me that I can take the medicine with the sword and everything and then keep on playing but I took off the things and told her that "knights are never sick". I hope to be a real knight soon.
Friday Jan. 11/13:
Today was a very nice day; it started when I woke up at 10:00. I got out of bed and mom and dad were awake all ready and Aharon, my uncle was waiting for me as well. He brought me many presents from my family in Israel and it was fun opening all the presents. All morning we played with the new presents and for lunch we went to eat in a nearby restaurant. I ate very nicely a tasty Salmon. After that mom went to her monthly check up at her's Dr., to make sure everything is OK with my sister to come (everything is OK). Meanwhile, I and Aharon went to the basement at the Ronald Mcdonald house to play and to ride the new electric car. Then we got back home and we played more with my new toys. For dinner we went to eat at the Ramen place that I love; I shared a Ramen with dad. After desert in a different place we got back home at around 22:00. Now I am after a shower, waiting for the two hours to pass before I will take my pill and then I will go to sleep.
Thursday Jan. 10/13:
I woke up today at around 09:00, had my breakfast as usual and played with mom and dad. I did some Skype with Shalom and then dad and I built a rubber gun from Lego. Around noon mom took me for a walk. It was a very sunny day today and relatively warm (warmer than Israel). First we went to the playground where we played for a long time and had a lot of fun. After that we walked in the streets and ended up eating late lunch in one of mom's favourite coffee places. After that dad joined us for a short a walk and another quick visit at the playground. We got back home, and at 18:00 we went to eat dinner down stairs as again nice volunteers came to cook for us. After dinner mom got back home to clean it a bit and dad and I went to the basement to take out some more energy. Yesterday someone donated to the house a big car on batteries that two kids can ride on. We were 6 kids in the basement, doing turns on the car and on the bikes. I drove the car quite well. I'm still having some hard time with the steering but I operates the gas and the brake very well. I and Mayson drove together and it was great fun. At around 20:30 we got back home. Now I am in the shower, after that I will take my pill and there is a good chance that I will go to sleep soon, because I look quite tired, but you can never tell.
Aharon, that was suppose to come today is still in the air. His flight was delayed and he will come at around midnight. I wait to see him tomorrow.
Wednesday Jan. 09/13:
Today was a very nice day. For a change I woke up with dad today. First thing I saw a cartoon on the Ipad of Captain america. Mom doesn't like that I watch these cartoons, but dad let me see it when she is asleep. Then mom woke up and we had a big breakfast of Hummus that dad made. It wasn't as good as real Hummus in Jaffa, but it was quite good in a Torontonian scale. At around 14:00 we went to the AGO, which is the art gallery of Ontario. It is 5 minutes walk from our house and it is quite an impressive museum. We spent there almost three hours. We watched a beautiful exhibition of Frida Khalo and Diego Rievera. Then we walked to some of the other sections of the museum and at the end we saw a beautiful display of ships (boats) models. After that I and dad got back home and mom went to do some shopping. At home I watched some more TV and at around 18:00 we went to do our Wednesday wood crafting. I did a car and a dog. After that I had my dinner (Salmon fish and potatoes) and then I played with dad until mom came back. Once mom arrived she and dad had their dinner while we all watched the movie "midnight in Paris" I fall asleep on dad after 10 minutes. Tomorrow my uncle Aharon will come to visit me and I am happy about it.
When I woke up this morning I a philosophical mood. Few days ago dad explained me about the dinosaurs extinction. So I asked dad today "If all the dinosaurs died, how come people are alive?" Then dad explained me something about few mice that survived and that eventually they became us. I'm not sure how convinced I am about that?!
Tuesday Jan. 08/13:
Another quiet day. Mom and I woke up first (as usual) and I ate for breakfast 3 bowls of Cereal. Then, when dad woke up I ate another bowl of cheerios. In that time I talked to Esther, my grand grand mother in Skype. She has the flu these days and because I know a thing or two about medicine I examined her with my Dr. kit. I gave her some drugs and she will be OK soon Beside that nothing special happened today. I played with mom and dad and we did a lot of building in Lego. After dinner dad had to go to meet someone and mom and I went for a short walk out side to drink hot chocolate milk and to eat cake. After that dad joined us and we went to the basement to take out some energy. I met there my friend Mayson and we drove the bikes and had some fun together.
Here is a nice story from yesterday that I forgot to tell you about: I was sitting on dad's shoulders at the street, waiting for mom that was in one of the shops. While we were waiting a huge fire truck passed us at the road and I waived the fire fighters for hello and they waived me back. The truck moved on and we were looking on a bicycle shop window. Suddenly from behind someone called me and said "Hey mister". We turned back and a very tall fire man (I was on dad's shoulders and he was taller than me) said hello and gave me few stickers of the Toronto fire department. Then he said "bye bye" and returned into the truck that was waiting for him down the street and drove away. They were so nice; they stopped in the middle of the street just to give me the sticker and to make me happy. Isn't it nice?
Monday Jan. 07/13:
I woke up at around 09:00 and spent the all morning playing with mom. Dad woke up at around 12:00 after a night of work. Then we went to do some shopping in the down town. It was cold today but I enjoyed the day. Nothing special happened until the evening when I went with mom and dad to the Kids Gym at the basement. I had there great time, I played with the volunteers and talked a lot of English. At some point my friend Mayson came and we played and had fun together. Now we are after dinner, I am playing in my toys and my Ipad and in an hour I will take my pill and hopefully will go to sleep. I am very sweet and happy today. Good night.
Sunday Jan. 06/13:
Another nice Sunday. Today, after going to sleep last night at around 01:00 I woke up and woke up dad at 10:00. Dad made a good breakfast and after that I made with mom yummy cookies made of Tahini and chocolate. At around 14:00 we took the car and drove with our friends Liran, Keti, Sarel, Gony, and Romi out side of town to a place called Hilton Falls, where we did a short walk in the snowy forest. I had a slider and I enjoyed sliding on the snow. Mom did it on a plastic bag and it worked quite good as well. Unfortunately, mom and dad had to bring the car back home quite early so we didn't had a lot of time to enjoy the place, but it was nice any way. On the way back I fall asleep in the car and we got back home just in time for dinner that was again cooked by nice volunteers. Now I am playing with mom and dad in one of the nice games I got from dad's friends. Because I slept in the car no one has any expectations about me going to sleep soon. Luckily (for you), you only read about it; my parents need to do something about it. Good night.
Oh - new pictures were added, including pictures from the trip today.
Saturday Jan. 05/13:
A relax (compare to yesterday) and nice day. I woke up with mom at around 09:00. We made Pancakes paste and woke up dad to do the frying. After that we had a quiet morning at home, moving from the bed to the TV and played a bit. At the after noon we took the subway and went to our friends Guy, Miki and the kids. It was fun there, I played with Dan and Keren and ate dinner quite well. Guy took us back home and then dad and Guy went to see a movie. I was very upset that dad left me and I waited for him awake in bed until he came back at 12:45. Once he came he hugged me in my bed and I fall asleep in two minutes.
Friday Jan. 04/13:
First an update for yesterday: the huge presents suitcase was sent from dad's friends from the army. He's team members from his days in the army arranged this amazing delivery. I thank them very very much and I guess I need to salute them as well. Now for today. Today was a very nice day. I woke up at around 09:00, ate my Cereal and got back to bed to be spoiled with mom and dad. At around 11:00 dad and I headed out. Today a huge (really huge) motorbikes fair started in town. The fair is in a big conference centre after the airport; quite a long distance. We took the subway all the way to the west, where the buses to the airport depart. However, to the conference centre we had to take a different bus, and we had to do our way back and we lost more then an hour due to dad's bed decision of assuming he know how to get there, rather then read the instructions at the web site. Any way, after all it is just an hour and at around 14:00 we arrived to the fair. By then I was very hungry, so first thing we went to look for something to eat. We found a booth with a very good Falafel. Almost as good as in Israel and we enjoyed it a lot. After filling our bellies we started walking around the fair. It was amazing. Thousands and thousands of bikes; big motorcycles, small motorcycles, old ones, the most modern ones, custom bikes, regular bikes. What ever has 2 (and some times 3 or 4) wheels and an engine was there. I most liked several small bikes of Yamaha, that were small enough, that kids like me can ride on. We spent there more than 3 hours and enjoyed every minute. Dad said that back in Israel, when I was very young I used to look on a big book we had with photos of special bikes. These bikes from the book were presented in the fair and dad (and I) enjoyed seeing this exhibition. In a far corner of the show there was a booth with blonde, half naked girls that one could take a picture with on a heavy motorbike for $20. When we passed near that booth dad asked me "I wonder what these girls are giving in here?" and I said "I think they are giving them self". Dad was very amused by my answer. I'm not sure why. At around 17:00 we took the bus back home. I fall a sleep on the bus; you can find some pictures from the bike fair at this link. At the bus I fall asleep and dad said that while I was sleeping we took another two subways. I woke up back in down-town, but instead of going home we went to the house of Liran, Keti and the kids. we had there nice dinner and I played with the kids. I had there a good time and the sleep on the bus filled me with energy, so I was happy. At 22:00 we got back home. I took my pill and I'm watching TV now. That's all for today. I guess it is enough. Isn't it?
Thursday Jan. 03/13:
Finally at home! I woke up at around 09:00 and had breakfast with dad. After that, at the Dr's round they said that I will go home at the afternoon. Mom came at around 11:00 and we played a bit out side the room at the playroom and ride some toy cars. At around 13:00 dad and I went to sleep and at 15:00 the nurse woke us up to take out my centre line and to release me home. We arrived home and as I got home a very big suitcase waited for me. It was sent to me from Israel by friends of mom and dad. It was great; a huge case with many games and Lego, and puzzles, and other surprises. I know that Omer Burstein organised it and that Galia, brought it from Israel, but I think more people took part in this great surprise, but I have no clue who are they. I will figure it out and will thank all of them soon. After opening the suitcase and playing with one of the toys dad and I went to do some sport and to play at the basement. After 4 days of not doing to much it was refreshing. Then we went to do some crafting at the craft room and after that dinner, shower and now I am waiting to take my pill. In general I feel good. I was a bit tired today but I'm quite all right.
Wednesday Jan. 02/13:
Another regular day in the hospital. I woke up at around 09:00, had pancake for breakfast with mom and dad. Then Gal came and dad went home. I played with Gal all the day, we read a pyrates book and had fun. At the after noon dad took Gal to the airport and now we are all alone again for some time. All was good along the day without any exciting good or bad surprises. Happily the tests they did today showed that tomorrow I will go home and this is great. That's all. It is night now; mam and dad are both here with me. Now I am being spoiled with mom in bed. Once I will fall asleep she will go home and dad will stay with me for the night.
Tuesday Jan. 01/13:
A new year has started. Isn't it exciting? Actually I was awake last night at 24:00 and dad and I watched on the clock crossing the 00:00 line. A bit after that I fall asleep. Today I slept until around 10:00. At around 11:00 mom came and we ate breakfast together. Then dad went home to sleep and I stayed with mom. I wasn't at my best today. Medically I was 100%, but I was a bit grumpy and tired. At the afternoon Gal joined us and spend the afternoon with us. Lazy dad took his time at home, slept, went to the Gym and did other things and at around 18:00 he came to the hospital. He and Gal went to bring us pizza for dinner; it was good pizza but I didn't touch it. I did eat some chicken that mom made in the weekend. Now it is night already, Gal and dad are here with me. Tomorrow it is Gal's last day with me. It was fun having him around and we had good time together.
All the tests done today, showed that I am doing well with the treatment and if things will continue like that, I will be back home by Thursday.
Monday Dec. 31/12:
Hooray, I have started the treatment today. We woke up early and mom took me while I was asleep to the hospital. They checked my blood condition, by poking my finger, and once the results came back and showed that I am good enough to start the treatment, they attached me to the centre line. Then they took me to the operation room, since today I had to go through the lumbar puncture operation as I got the chimo Intrathecal methotrexate straight into my spinal cord. After that it took me more than an hour to wake up and then we moved to my room for the next 4 days. At the room I got the chimo VinCRIStine through the centre line and after that I got the high dose methotrexate, also through the centre line. Along the day Gal mom and dad were with me in the room and we had fun. At around 17:00 Aki and his father came again and it was fun playing again with Aki. We built a puzzle, played as pyrates again and had more fun. When Aki left, at around 19:30 mom and dad went out to eat something and I stayed alone with Gal. We saw together the movie Chitti Chitti Bang Bang; we saw almost all of it. I still need to see the end. Now Gal and mom went home and I am all alone with dad for the rest of the night.
I will use this opportunity to wish all of you a happy new year. And I hope for all of us, and especially for my self, that 2013 will be a bit better than 2012.
Sunday Dec. 30/12:
Today was a great day. I woke up and all I could think about was Aki. I went to the window and looked for him. After more than an hour of waiting dad turned on the TV and I went off the window. Around 12:00 Aki (and his parents) arrived. It was great. Immediately I hugged him, I was so happy; and he even brought me cool presents from Disneyland. We ate Pancakes for breakfast and after that his parents went to do all kind of things and the two of us left alone to play and have fun. We played in Pyrates and we built a ship at the basement and played hide and seek and many, many, many more games. We played really nice and we shared the toys like two good kids; needless to say that we talked English between our self and it was a good and enjoyable practice for me . At the evening his parents returned, we had big dinner together, that mom cooked, and then we played a bit more before he went. You can't believe how happy it made me. Tomorrow I will go again to the hospital and hopefully I will start the treatment. Today I was a bit warm, around 37oC, while usually I'm more in the area of 36.5oC. I hope it is not a bad sign that I have caught some stupid bacteria or Virus. Any way, we will see tomorrow. Happily, I will see Aki also tomorrow either in the hospital or at home, where ever I will be.
Saturday Dec. 29/12:
Today I have a bad news. Aki didn't come. He and his parents were stuck in the airport, because their plan was broken. All day they waited for the next flight (poor guys). They landed in Toronto only at midnight, more than 12 hours after their planned landing. It is very annoying. I wanted to see Aki so much; I will see him tomorrow, but still, we could have fun all the day today. I guess we will have to do a double fun tomorrow.
Beside of this disappointment, today was a nice day. We all woke up quite late, at around 10:00. We took the car and went to buy some food for next week. After that we got back home and I played with Gal. The only advantage in Aki forced delay was that at around 16:00 we drove to the airport to meet our friend Gili from Saskatoon. She had a quick connection in the Toronto airport and we took advantage of that and went to visit her. Also her flight was late so we didn't see her too much, but we had time to drink hot choco together. Toronto is very snowy in the last three days and all the flights are getting crazy. After that we got back home and had big dinner with Gal. The evening was fun at home. We played and danced the stupid GanGam style dance. Now, even though I tried to wait for Aki I fall asleep, I will see him tomorrow.
Friday Dec. 28/12:
Today I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that I wasn't admitted today for the treatment, because my blood counts are too low to start another session. The good news is that I wasn't admitted today for the treatment, because my blood counts are too low to start another session. It is bad because it means that again everything will be postpone in few days, probably until next Monday, but it is good because tomorrow my friend Aki from Saskatoon will come to visit me for the weekend and now we will be able to hang around and have fun out of the hospital. It is quite pity I wasn't admitted today because all the details were prepared. Dad worked all night so he will sleep during the day and will be ready for his night shift. Gal moved to our place so he will be ready to help whenever, mom packed all the things and I really wanted to start the treatment. We left home very early, go to the hospital, got connected to the centre line, and all that just to see that I can't get the treatment. They disconnect me from the centre line and by noon we were back home. Dad went to sleep and I joined him for a short nap. After that I played with Gal all the afternoon. At around 17:00 Gal was tired and dad went with me down to the basement. Soon we will eat something for dinner and then I will start to count the time until Aki will come tomorrow.
Thursday Dec. 27/12:
Today I woke up to white day. It was snowing all night and the street was all covered with snow. We ate some Cereal for breakfast, then had some spoiling time in bed with mom and dad, and then we dressed up; I put on my snow suite and we went out to play in the snow. We thought of going to the park but the yard of the Ronald Mcdonald house was all covered with snow. So we played in the yard, throw snow one on the other and had fun in the snow. After 30 minutes more or less we got back home and then Gal came. We had lunch together and after that mom and dad went to sleep and Gal took care of me. We played and watch TV and had fun. At around 18:00 Gal went and mom dad and I went to my friends Sarel, Gony, and Romi. Sarel called to invite me to their place. It was nice, we played and had fun, and the funniest part was when all the kids danced together the stupid Gan-Gam style dance. Now we are back home, we are waiting for the two hours to pass before I will take my pill. I asked dad to explain me many things tonight. I asked him: 1) How planes fly; 2) How do we grow up; 3) Why winter tyres do not slip on the snow; and 4) why Cowboys hat has rough edges? I got reasonable answers for the first 3 questions. Soon I will go to have a shower and then I will take my pill. But - I will not go to sleep after that because dad promised me Marshmallow after dinner and I can have it only 1 hour after the pill. Even though he promised it to me long time ago. I didn't forget it and I make sure everybody understood that I will get my Marshmallow today. Have a good and sweet night.
Tomorrow by the way I am going to be admitted again for 4 days of treatment. Today I said that I miss my centre line, so may be it is good time to go back to hospital.
Wednesday Dec. 26/12:
Regular day at home. We woke up at around 09:00, I ate my Cereal and then played in various things. At some point I asked dad to go back to bed to "be spoiled" and to watch TV; so we did it. For lunch dad made (mom's idea) for me Vietnamese spring rolls with Salomon, Avocado, pepper, noodles and fresh basil. I ate two of these rolls with Soy sauce. After that Gal came and I played with him all the afternoon. The best part was when we went down to play at the video games room. I enjoyed it a lot, even though I still need to get improved a bit. When we had enough of that we got down to play and to do some sport at the basement. At 18:00 we got back home and Gal was very hungry. So Gal, mom, dad and my self went to a restaurant close to our place. I ate a burger with fries and I most enjoyed from the desert that was a chocolate cake with ice cream. While we were eating, a strong snow started and I liked it. Now I'm playing with Gal at home and probably I will go to do a shower soon and may be I will go to sleep after that.
Tuesday Dec. 25/12:
Today we all woke up early and went down to eat breakfast that was prepared by volunteers. On the way down, when I open our door, a big pile of amazing presents waited for me. Santa brought it to me (and every other kid in the building) in the night; it was beautiful to see all the doors with piles of presents. Any way, for breakfast we dressed up with our best outfits (Jeans and T-shirt) but when we got down we saw most of the people were still in their pyjamas. Apparently in the Christmas morning you stay with your pyjama for a while; we will remember that for next Christmas. We had a nice breakfast, but the important part is that at 09:00 fire fighters from the Toronto fire department came with their own Santa and brought the kids more presents. The even more important part is that after that they took the kids to do a round on the fire truck. We really drove in the streets of Toronto on the truck, turned on the siren and horned the big horn. I was so happy that after that I kept on dancing and jumping for few minutes. After that we got back home and played, talk in Skype and had fun at home. Dad was working a bit and I played with mom. Gal came at around 14:00 and mam and dad gave him the responsibility on me and went to sleep. While they were asleep we played in many games, read books and had fun. At 16:30 mom and dad woke up and we went down for a Christmas dinner that was prepared by other volunteers. It was nice dinner too. Now I watch Madagascar 2 with Gal and at 20:00 I will take my pill and may be after that I will go to sleep, because I am quite tired all ready.
Monday Dec. 24/12:
Merry Christmas to all of my friends that celebrate Christmas. Today it is Christmas Eve. I woke up quite late today, at around 10:00; I had a good breakfast of Cereal with 3 strawberries and after that we played and had fun all the morning at home. Mom and I were on the soffa and read few books. Then I wanted to tell her a story and it went like that: "When I was big, I was riding my bicycles and on the way home I got to a big (huge) ascent. I thought what to do to find a solution, and then I had an idea to take a kite. I tied the kite to the bicycles and it lift me up to the skies and brought me to the roof of my house. I let the kite off and jumped with the bikes down and got in to the house". The end of the story!! Then, mom, dad and I made meat balls for lunch. Gal came at around 14:00 and we had quick lunch together. At around 15:00 we headed off to the Rogers Centre which is the biggest arena in Toronto and we saw there the show "Disney on ice". It was a show of almost two hours with the famous Disney stories. All the show is on ice, and everything is done by ice skating. It was very nice; both the stories and the ice skating. I most liked to see my friend Woody and Taz from the movie Toy Story. After that we were looking for something to eat, but the town was dead. All the places were closed, because of the Christmas Eve. At the end we found a Japanese restaurant, close to our place that worked. I ate there a lot. Tofu and another Ramen Soup, with all the noodles and the meat. It was very tasty. For desert I had Mango ice cream. I really enjoyed that meal. Now we are back home. Gal went to his place and I need to wait two hours before I will take my pill, and then (hopefully)I will go to sleep.
Sunday Dec. 23/12:
After last night adventures I woke up quite late today, at around 11:00. Then I ate my Cereal and played in my games. Around 13:00 Gal came to our place and we went with him to have brunch at a nice Italian place. I ate butter and a Belgian waffle. After that dad got back home and me, mom, and Gal went to the Eaton Centre mall to buy something for Gal's computer. From there we did a long walk in Down town, to show Gal where we are. it was a bit chilly, but we had a good time together and he and mom had a serious grown-ups talk. Then we got back home and I played with Gal all the rest of the afternoon. I watched with him the movie Toy Story 3, and we read books and played in many other things. In that time mom and dad prepared a good dinner. Of course I didn't eat anything from dinner and at the end I agreed to eat some tomatoes, salami, and chocolate cake. The cake was done by mom, for Gal's birthday that was few weeks ago. After that I had a shower and did all the things I do before going to sleep. Gal went back to his room and me and dad went to sleep together in my bed. I'm waiting for tomorrow, as we will go to see the 'Disney on ice" show. I will tell you all about it after that.
Oh - By the way, mom added a new picture album, with nice pictures from our vacation with Shalom at the cabin up north and other pictures. Check it out in the Pictures link.
Saturday Dec. 22/12:
It is 00:40 now and I am writing to you from my bed. That was a long and joyful day. I woke up in the morning, at around 09:00, I ate my Cereal with dad and after that mom woke up. Then mom and dad changed shifts and dad got back to bed and mom and I went for a real breakfast in a lovely coffee place at our street. We shard a Quiche (I ate the French fries) and French Toast. We had great fun together. We took videos of our self and laughed a lot. The people in the restaurant asked mom if she is my aunt and how long we haven't seen one the other because we were so excited and happy. It was really nice morning. Then we got back home and woke up dad. Then me and mom did all kind of crafting at the craft room. We worked there for more than 2 hours and it was fun. After that I went with dad to do laundry and to play in the basement. When we finished that we took the Ronald Mcdonald house car and went to do some grocery shopping. We bought a lot of things. All the time I was sitting in the shopping cart and gave dad orders, and reminded him to buy things that he forgot (for example: Corn, olives, bread....). While doing that I ate salami that we bought at the deli section. We got back home at around 20:00. We threw all the things on the floor, put the cold things in the fridge and ran out again as we had to go and bring Gal (dad's brother) from the airport. All the evening mom didn't feel very well, she has some headaches and general feeling of weakness. I hope she will be better soon. Any way, she need to start taking things more easy these days as she is really entering the last stages of my sister pregnancy. At 21:30 we picked up Gal. From the airport we took Gal to his hotel (a room in a small house close to our place). We drop his things and came with him to our place. I remembered the house is very messy because we didn't organised the things after the super market so in a polish gesture I told him that "the house will be a bit messy and he should be prepared for that". We said hello to mom and ran out side to eat something. It was a bit after 22:00 and we went to a Ramen bar close to our place. It is a very "cool" place full with people and loud music. Needless to say I was the only kid there. I shared my Ramen soup with dad, but I ate a lot of it and I really enjoyed it. I drank the soup and ate the noodles and most enjoyed from the meat. When we got out (after 23:00) dad asked me if I want to go home or to eat desert and of course I choose desert so we went for a place with good deserts. I choose Chocolate cake and I ate most of it; it was yummy. When we got out (24:00) dad asked me if I want to go for a beer or back home, but I was tired and I asked to go home. So now it is already 01:00. We washed hands and face quickly, got into bed, and hopefully I will be asleep soon.
Friday Dec. 21/12:
Today was a relax Friday. Nothing special in the morning, just spent some time with mom. At 11:00 mom, dad, and I went down to the first floor and Micki and Mini mouse came to visit us. Real Micky and Mini, in full size came to have fun with the kids at the house. It was fun indeed and we got more presents and we got tickets for the show 'Disney on Ice', that we will go to see in few days. After that I mainly watched TV and drove mom crazy. I was a bit cranky and demanded to get Mcdonald fries. So at around 16:00 we went out to get the fries and after that we went, with the fries, to a near by Indian restaurant. I asked to have also some chicken, so mom and dad ordered it to me, but I didn't touch it; I only ate the fries. My parents were upset on me and they told me that at home I will be punished. After the restaurant I went with dad to a one hour tour to organise something for the Disney on Ice show and when we got home mom gave me another chance to eat something and to get away from my punishment. I asked for an apple and dad cut me a nice apple, but again I didn't touch it. So, instead of playing and having fun with my parents at the saloon, I had to take a quick shower and to go to be alone in my room for hour and a half until I will have to take my pill. I don't know why, but I was quite amused from this punishment. First I was playing with my wood plane on my bed and after that, for more than half an hour I collected all the beads I have from hospital (few tens of them) and I beaded them one after the other on a long string. I was sitting, all quiet taking bead after bead putting them on the string. Dad was worried from the quietness so he picked to see what I am doing and when I saw him I told him calmly and quietly "I'm making you a surprise". He called mom and both of them melted down. I think they gave me the pill few minutes before I was planned to, so I won't think my emotional trick worked on them, and then they let me get out of the room. After the pill I lied down on the sofa between mom and dad while they watched a film about Frida Kalo and I was falling asleep on mom's hands.
Thursday Dec. 20/12:
Last night was a funny night. At the middle of the night I woke up, and half crying I said "dad - you are making me problems". When dad told me that I was dreaming I told him "no - it really happened". After that dad took me to his bed and I slept with mom and dad together. I slept very well, but they had a bit harder night as I was moving a turning all over in all directions and all dimensions. All of us woke up at around 10:00 and mom took me to hospital to check my blood. Happily it was very good and the blood values were great. I brought chocolates to my staff in hospital and they all had a huge smile on their face when they saw me entering the room with these chocolates, while saying "happy holiday" and "merry Christmas". When we got back home we had lunch together and then I went with dad to the communal kitchen as there was there a 'kids cooking class'. We decorated today ginger bread cookies, which is a big deal in Christmas. When we got back home mom saw what we did and she took me back down as she wanted to make another cookie with me. After that I went to play with mom at the basement and we build a big boat and played with my friends from Israel and Saskatoon, pretending watching together a movie on the boat. After that we did some crafting at the craft room and then dad joined us for supper, which again was made by volunteers and was very nice. The Christmas festival is far from ending and Santa came again today and again plenty of presents waited for us under the Christmas tree. After dinner I went down with dad to the basement to show him and to play in my boat. I added a button to the boat that by pressing it the boat can turn into bicycles, or a truck and so on, so we played in driving with various kind of vehicles. Then we got back home and got organised for the night. Dad read me books and told me stories, and then mom joined us and told me another story, but I couldn't fall asleep. After some time mom and dad told me that I have to stay alone in the room until I will be asleep. I talked to my self and got bored. After some time I called dad because I had to pee. It worked, he allowed me to get out of the room to pee. Five minutes later I tried it again and I told them I need to pee again. But they are not stupid and they didn't allowed me to go out this time. So I tried another tactic and I told mom that I am sad, so she told me to sing to my self. I sang for a minute or two and told them it didn't help. Then they told me to tell my self a joke, so I told my self the joke about the horse that got into a bar and asked for Coke with a lot of straw. Even though I was laughing on loud, it didn't resolve my (fake) sadness. Then I told them I am still sad, and they had no other solution rather than let me joining them at the saloon. There I fall asleep on the sofa, after some time. More updates about the coming night - tomorrow.
Wednesday Dec. 19/12:
Today was a simple, yet a nice day. In the morning, Noa the volunteer that comes to play with me every week came, but today she came with her 2 years old son. It was nice and I was very friendly. Following the holidays spirit I wanted to give him presents all the time. At the after noon I went with dad downstairs and we played at the basement and at the outdoor playground of the Ronald Mcdonald house. In addition, some volunteer came with his dog and I played with the dog and took it for a walk. At the evening I went to a short walk with mom, to buy some bread at the bakery. I got there several buns from the workers of the bakery that liked me. After that I went to the wood craft class, like every Wednesday and then got organised to sleep. I had some hard time falling asleep, so at the end I went to the saloon and fall asleep on the sofa after two minutes.
Medically, I am very well. Last night the coughs were much better and tomorrow we will go to the clinic to do a test blood, just to see how am I doing after the last treatment and if I need any blood transfusion.
Tuesday Dec. 18/12:
I love Christmas (and my mom hate it); but about that later. I had a rough night with some bad coughs. Luckily dad was working all night so he could bring me water and hug me when needed. In the morning, at around 07:00, when dad was already dead in bad, mom came to me after a bad coughing attack and I slept on her for 3 hours until 10:00. After that I spent the morning with mom and I talked with Shalom and Didi in the Skype. At around 13:00 dad decided to wake up and to join us. Then dad and I got organised and we headed to the Royal Ontario Museum. We have been there all ready, just when we arrived to Toronto, but today it was much more successful visit. The museum was relatively empty of people and I was very patient. We saw the dinosaurs exhibition and I asked dad why did they extinct and he explained me the story about the meteorite that hit the Earth many million years ago; it was very interesting. After that we went to the forth floor where there is a huge exhibition of all the animals of the world. From the jungles and the deserts, the oceans and the Arctic, I really liked it there. We were there for almost three hours. At around 17:30 we were back home, and apparently, while we were doing fun mom (with her big belly) cleaned and organised the house. So in order not to disturb in the cleaning effort, dad and I went to do laundry and after that we went to play at the basement. As I used to do with Shalom, we built a house. Dinner again was downstairs, but today due to the coming Christmas the volunteers did a Christmas dinner, with the turkey and everything. The food was very nice and I really enjoyed the Turkey, but the important thing was that toward the end of the meal a real big Santa Clause arrived. He was fat, just in the right sizes, and had a deep voice. After saying hello (more like Ho Ho Ho..) to everyone he sat below the Christmas tree and each and every kid from the house got a present from Santa. The floor under the tree was all covered with presents (more than 100 I think) and a name was on any present. Each kid in his turn came to sit on Santa and to get his present. I was second in line so I got it very fast; I received a working tools set. It was great. I think I love this Christmas. After that I went to dad and told him "Marry Christmas dad". Then we got back home, we helped mom with the finishes of the house cleaning and now I'm waiting for my pill and then hopefully I will go to sleep. Marry Christmas to all of you (Sorry mom. Happy Hanukkah).
Monday Dec. 17/12:
After a rough night with relatively more coughing than the night before I woke up at around 09:30. Mom exactly came and we had breakfast together. My last blood test from the morning showed that the I have no more chimo in my blood and I am ready to go home. I could know that also from my pee. While the chimo was in my system my pee was in a florescent yellow colour, and once it get back to its regular colour (non-florescent yellow) it means that it is out of my system. Of course, mom organised all the things and prepared us to go back home, while dad was doing like he is helping. I really didn't want them to disconnect my centre line, because I know they will reconnect it in two weeks from now, so I tried to save another unpleasant moment. Mom and dad told me (and I verified it with the nurse) that even if I will stay connected, any way they need to replace it every week so I will have to be poked any way. In addition, mom brought me again the pillow and I put my anger on the pillow and then I was quite relaxed. At around 12:00 I was disconnected. I was very happy. Imagine yourself being in a 15 square meter room for 5 days, without the option of going out and all the time I was connected by the 2 meters tubes to the pumps and fluids pole, also known as "Biper".I was so happy to be free again so I ran all over the department and more than that, I turned over my self again and again, because, this is something you can't do while being connected to Biper. Mom had to go for her Dr. at 14:00 to do another ultrasound so in order to pass the time and to celebrate my freedom we went to eat in a vegetarian restaurant below the hospital. Then I got back home with dad and from my own will I asked him to have a shower, after 6 days of sponge showers. Then we watched TV in bed. Mom came back (everything is good with my sister) and we went to a little walk to talk with the owners of the Inn where Gal, my cousin, will stay next week. They were very nice and gave me a Christmas present. I like this Christmas. Then we ate dinner at the communal kitchen, as again volunteers came to cook for us. Dad ate in 2 minute and ran to his Yoga class. Since then I am playing in the house, mainly just with my self. I did some Play-doh and some Lego. I will take my pill soon and then will go to sleep. Good night.
Sunday Dec. 16/12:
Last night I couldn't fall asleep. Mam stayed to sleep with us, but she was very tired and she was asleep much earlier than me. I watched TV in bed until midnight more or less. The night went quite all right, I had some 10 minutes of bad coughing while I was asleep, but beside that everything went well. Dad was awake all night, he worked and woke me up every two hours to pee. At 07:00 mam woke up and dad went to sleep. I woke up at 09:00. Dad was at home most of the day, while I was having fun with mam. We played and made movies in the Ipad and did many other funny things. Due to the Croup , I'm not allowed to get out of my room, to breath some fresh air or to play in the play room, but I am quite all right with that, enjoying my time in the room. I had a breaking point at the after noon, so mam gave me the pillow and told me to shout on it to beat it. I did that and I felt good after that. It was a smart trick. I did with mam many colouring and other crafting and my room door is all covered with the draws. I also played the memory game today with mam and I won her. So I told her "Mam - how come you lost to a 3 years old kid?". Dad came back at around 18:00 with dinner from a near by Italian restaurant. We had a picnic together and after that I did a sponge shower. After that I built with dad in the mechanical Lego, we made a robotic arm. Mam went back home after that and now I am alone with dad. I will take my pill soon and we will see when I will fall asleep.
Saturday Dec. 15/12:
The night passed quite good. Dad woke me up every 2 hours to pee (because I am connected to the fluids) and for the entire night no pee went in the wrong time, beside of the 05:00-07:00 shift. Because in these nights, when I am connected to the fluids I sleep with dipper, no harm happened. At around 09:00 I woke up, ate a cereal and half of a Pancake and got back to sleep until 12:00. At 12:00 mam, and another 3 aunts that wear a Santa Clause hats woke me up, These ladies are from an organization called 50 million smiles, that brought me a huge teddy bear and a 100$ voucher for ToysRus. The bear is really huge I weighted it on the same scale the nurses weighing me and it weight 2.6 Kg (mine is ~12.2 Kg). After that Dan my friend, the son of Miki came to visit me and we had lunch together and played for more than an hour. When he left dad also went back home to rest a bit and I stayed with mam. We played and watched TV and had fun. At around 18:30 dad came back with some dinner that he bought and we did a picnic. From noon time I am off the chimo and now I just get fluids to flush it out of my body. After dinner I built with dad in a new mechanic Lego that I got from Israel. I think it was dad's best part of the day. Now I'm playing Taki with mam and soon she will go back home to sleep and I will stay with dad.
As for my appetite, I ate today quite all right, though my menu included mainly Bacon, butter, peanut butter and other side dishes like the pancake, some Tacos with meat and other good tries of my parents. I am very happy and feels very well.
Friday Dec. 14/12:
Finally, I started to get the chimo today. As you know Shalom did the night with me but at around 09:00 mam came to replace him and he went home to take his things and then he flew to Israel. It was nice having him around. The all day I played and had great fun with mam and dad joined us at the late after noon. I am not allowed to leave my room, due to my Croup . I didn't eat today too much so dad made me some Alluenta, but I even didn't touch the Alluenta. Again, the chimo is "playing" with my appetite. The hospital staff decided to start with the chimo today because I woke up and I looked quite well. I was strong and happy and there was no reason not to start the chimo. So at around 12:00 I got the VinCRIStine through the centre line and after that I got the high dose methotrexate, also through the centre line. the high dose methotrexate is being pumped into me over the next 24 hours, while they monitor my pee, as it has to be in a very specific degree of acidity. At around 18:00 Liran, Keti and the kids came to visit me at the hospital. It was nice seeing them here. Usually we go to their place on Fridays, so today they came to me. They brought some pizza and we had a nice dinner, even though I didn't touch nothing. after they went mam organised the room and went to sleep at home and dad will do the night shift. It is now almost 23:00 and I am still awake and quite active. Dad tried to watch an action movie, but I didn't like it so I told him "Dad - you don't want to make me problems - right? Don't do me a problem". And I gave him the right look so he stopped it immediately. Now we are lying together on my bad and we write this day story.
In respect to the Croup virus; they took some samples (mukus) from the deepest parts of my nose in an unpleasant way, in order to analyse it and to see if I have any additional serious-bad and nasty virus, but happily they didn't find any thing dangerous or special. I am still coughing every once in a while, but it is much better than the previous days. And when ever I cough I cover my mouth with my hand as expected from a coughing boy with a contentious virus.
Thursday Dec. 13/12:
As Meir Ariel said, "Once you are screwed up, it is very hard to get out of it" (my own bad translation), and indeed I am following this phrase for the last few days. After a reasonable night with sporadic coughs due to the Croup we woke up and mam, me and Shalom went to the hospital, hopping to be admitted and to start my chimo. However, we got there and they still had no room and they told us to come back at 14:00. Shalom and I went back home and mam went to her Dr. for general check up of the pregnancy. At least in the pregnancy side everything is OK more or less. Mam has some pains in the lower stomach but it is normal for this stage of the pregnant. In the last week she grew up very much and she is very fat now. Any way, Shalom and I went back home. Dad joined mam and we went down to play in the basement. We did a lot of fun. We built two houses and played all kind of games. After that we had a small lunch and at around 14:00 dad came to take me to the hospital. At that stage I was very cranky and I didn't want to go with dad. He took me any way, we met there mam, but the room wasn't ready so we went down to have another lunch. Mam and dad ate, but I was very anxious and unhappy, until mam took me into her arms and I fall a sleep on her shoulder. I didn't feel very good and I had a glaze look. At around 15:00, while I was asleep, we got our room. I slept for more than two hours, in that time they connected me to the fluids and prepared me to get the chimo. But - I looked to them too sick because of the Croup and they decided to wait with the chimo for tomorrow. It is really annoying and every delay now, will postpone the end of the treatment, which we want to come as soon as possible. Dad went back home and I stayed with mam, when I woke up I felt better and we had fun. In that time Shalom and dad went to eat dinner and they came to the hospital after that. Shalom took charge on me at around 19:00. It is his last night with me tonight, so mam and dad took advantage of the babysitter and went to have dinner (second one for dad) in a good Japanese restaurant and then to see the movie the life of Pi. They had a good evening, even though, me, my Croup , and my cancer were with them all that time. Now it is 01:00 in the night. I am asleep for hour and a half already. I enjoy sleeping my last night (for now) with Shalom and I hope that tomorrow all the annoying "bumps" will end and I will start to get my chimo as planned.
Wednesday Dec. 12/12:
A beautiful date today, though the day it self wasn't perfect. I woke up the house at around 07:00 with terrible coughing that sounded like a barking hoarse dog. I had a dry - heavy breathing with strong gurgling noises. Immediately Shalom and mam and dad jumped and brought me water. We put some blanket on my face and it helped a bit. We got organised and by 08:00 we were already in the cancer clinic. Dr. Punnet examined me and said I am having Croup which is inflammation of the upper parts of the throat, caused by a Virus. It is not dangerous, just not pleasant. She gave me Dexamethasone which is a steroid that suppose to relief the unpleasant feeling in the throat. After seeing Dr. Punnet I was admitted in the day hospital since they wanted to keep an eye on me for few hours. Indeed the steroid worked very well and by noon time I was quite all right. This virus does not affect my chimo treatment, so I can start it as soon as possible. How ever, also today there were no available rooms, and after that they said that they are short in staff because many of the nurses are sick (Croup??). So again my treatment was postpone for ,at least, another day. Mam was very anxious about it and tried her best all morning to talk to the various people and to see what can be done, but unfortunately, by the early afternoon we were back home. Since, not like my parents, I have no time constrains, I enjoyed the day with Shalom. We played at the hospital, and then played at home, while mam and dad went to hang out and to buy me a humidifier for my new Virus. At the afternoon I went down with Shalom to the Kids Gym and we had a great time riding the tricycle and building a beautiful house from the different things we could find there. After dinner we invited Mayson my friend and his family to our apartment to light the Hanukkah candles with us. After that I went straight into bed and by 21:00 I was all asleep. Lets hope the Croup won't disturb me tonight and that tomorrow I will start my treatment.
Last thing: When we got back home from hospital a big package from my friend Erez from Israel waited for me at home with great treats and other things from Israel. It made me (and my parents) very happy.
Tuesday Dec. 11/12:
As you know I was suppose to be admitted today at the hospital for another 4 days of chimo treatment. We woke up very early, got organised and marched to the hospital, while it snow was falling around us. The nurse accessed my centre line and took some blood to check it condition and to see if I am ready for the treatment. Since it was long time ago since the last time I visited hospital (~2 weeks) I was very unhappy to go to hospital today. So at the enterance to the hospital I tried to convince my parents to turn back and at the nurse station, when she accessed my centre line I was really crying and shooting and unhappy. Luckily she did it very fast and the all drama lasted for few very short minutes. My blood values were very very good and I was all ready for the treatment. However, after all that they told us very gently that they have no available room for us and we better go for an hour and then come back and hopefully there will be some room available. So mam, dad, and my self went to a near by diner to have breakfast. I had a big pancake and a scramble egg. Then we got back to the clinic and still nothing changed, and they asked us to go back home and they will call us if and when there will be an available bed. It is almost 22:00 now and we are still at home. I hope tomorrow something will change. Any way, any day off hospital is a good day. Well, good for me; mam hate it when the treatments are being delayed and she was upset about that today. Shalom waited for us in our house when we got back from the hospital and I had fun with him the all day. Because we waited for the call from the hospital we stayed at home but we played and did a lot of fun. In the evening I went down with Shalom to the kids Gym to do some sport and we had a good and joyful practice. After that we went to eat dinner that was cooked by volunteers from a software company, but they brought a real chef to do the cooking. He was a nice guy and a good cooker and he gave us his cooking book. Mam, that was still upset from not getting the chimo as planed stayed to sleep at home and we brought her dinner to the room.
After dinner we played a bit more and then we lighted the Hanukkah candles. I even have a short video of me doing that. After that we all watched a nice documentary movie about planes. When it finished I took my pill, had a sponge bath (because I am still connected at the centre line to a short tube) and now I am in bed and Shalom is reading me a book. I just hope tomorrow they will have a room for me and I will be able to start the treatment.
Monday Dec. 10/12:
Today was a scientific day. I woke up at Shalom's hotel and had a big breakfast that included Cereal, bread and butter and Banana. We came back home to get organise and at around 12:00 we took the subway and the bus to the Ontario Science Museum. I have been there already few weeks ago with mam and dad, but when we were there it was very crowded. Today, because it wasn't the week end, we were all alone and that was great. We spent few hours only at the kids activity area, where I played, built, and explored many things. I was very active and tried all the things. I didn't eat there and all I wanted to do is to see and do more and more things. We got back home at around 17:00. The house was empty. Dad was in the Gym and mam went to hang out in town. At 18:00 I went with Shalom and dad to eat downstairs. Today the volunteers where from the Maple Leafs, which is the Hockey team of Toronto, and they also gave me a shirt of the team. It was a nice B.B.Q. dinner. I ate quite well, some tomato and a lot of Bacon. Don't know why, but recently I really like Bacon (even though mam doesn't like it). After dinner I went with Shalom to the Gym, as there was a kids sport activity. At that time dad went to the Monday Yoga class and mam was still exploring town. Now I'm after a shower, I asked to light the third candle of Hanukkah, so we will do it soon. Then I will take my pill and hopefully will go to sleep. Tomorrow we start another session of admission in hospital that will last for ~4 days. All about that in the coming days.
Sunday Dec. 09/12:
Another nice day... I woke up at around 08:30, but today in addition to my Cereal, mama made some kind of a mini banana pancakes. Even though mam and dad didn't think I would love it, I ate 2 or 3 pieces. Then we played and read books and at around 12:00 Shalom came and after that Raly and Andrea came too. As always it was fun playing with Andrea. After that we went with Shalom to see the Kensington Market, but on our way there we saw a Vietnamese restaurant that looked very good so we got in. Indeed it was a very good place. We eat a lot and I mainly ate Shrimps. From there we did a short walk in the Kensington Market and then we separated from Shalom. He stayed to see the market and we went to a birthday party that we were invited to. It was for Yaheli, who is the son of Moshe and Anat, which are leaving now in Toronto, but many many years ago they worked in the Jewish community of Saskatoon (Schlichim). It was nice there, and I enjoyed seeing so many kids. We got back home at around 18:00, but I got organised very quickly and mam took me to Shalom's hotel, as I am going to sleep there tonight. May be my parents will use this night off to go out, but there are some chances that dad will prefer to work; we will see. In general I'm feeling very well and my appetite is quite good as well. I ate today few sandwiches, the shrimps at the restaurant and some pizza in the birthday party. It is very good, because on coming Tuesday I am going to start another session of chimo.
Saturday Dec. 08/12:
Today was first day of Hanukkah, and some parts of the day are related to that. As always I woke up, had my Cereal and played with Dad. We did some Play-doh, read another book in bed and then Shalom came. I played with Shalom; mam was in bed as she was still not feeling very well and dad was working. At around 13:00 I went out with Shalom, to buy a Hanukkah present. Safta Esther, my grand grand-mother sent me money with Shalom for Hanukkah. We went to a toys store at the Eaton centre, which is a very big mall in down town Toronto. My dad asked me to buy few more Lego kits, but I preferred to buy a terrible machine gun, that shoots bullets on air pressure. Not only that, it makes a disturbing noise of a robotic laser gun. I love it and happy having it, but my parents (especially mam) are less supportive. Any way, I enjoyed this shopping afternoon. Before we went to the mall I asked for some food so dad gave me a sandwich, banana, and yogurt. In order to eat it we connected the plastic lid of my Lego box to the stroller front and I was eating on our way to the mall. It was like eating in a jumbo jet. We got back home at around 16:00; Shalom went back to his hotel and we got organised to go to our friends Miki, Guy, Dan and Keren. We lit there the first candle of Hanukkah, had a nice dinner and I played very nicely with the kids Dan and Keren. We dressed with many funny hats and customs, played Taki, and just had fun. I also ate there quite well. On our way back home (Guy took us) I felt asleep. Therefore I missed my antibiotic that I was suppose to take, but it is not a problem, I will get a double dose tomorrow morning.
Friday Dec. 07/12:
I woke up today at around 08:00. I ate immediately 2 bowls of cereal. Then I played with dad a bit, until Shalom came at around 10:00. From that time till around 16:00 I was all alone with Shalom and it was fun. We went to the public library on College road. It is a cool place with a big section for kids. We read books and had fun. From there we went to a near by fire fighters station to watch the fire trucks. I love fire trucks. Then we went to Shalom's room in his hotel and there we spent the afternoon in playing and having fun. At around 16:00 we got back home and went with dad to a near by Italian restaurant because I asked to eat. I was really upset that dad joined us and broke the harmony I had with Shalom, but dad was stubborn than me and I gave up. However, even though we ordered a very good pizza, I end up eating 4 packages of butter. Then we got back home, I played a bit more with Shalom and at around 18:00 Liran picked me and dad and took us for Friday dinner at their place. mam stayed at home because she is a bit sick; Nothing too much serious, just feeling weak and having a small cold. It was fun with the Shloush family (Liran, Kety, Sarel, Gony and Romi), though I wasn't very friendly today. Still, we played Taki, and did some drawings and played other things. In terms of food, I ate there only ice cream, even though there were good meat balls. We got back home at 21:00 but I had to wait until 23:00 to take my pill, so I watched some TV with dad (Spider-man cartoon from many years ago) and read books. Then I took my pill and went straight to bed. Good night.
Thursday Dec. 06/12:
Today was a relatively quiet day. I woke up around 08:30, had my cereal and played at home with mam. Shalom joined us around noon and played with him until 15:00. Then mam, dad and I went to visit Lea at JIAS. JIAS is an organization that help us a bit in our situation so we went to say thank you and Lea wanted to give me a present for Chanuka. I got a doll and Play-doh. We got back home straight for dinner, that again was cooked by nice volunteers. Shalom joined us for dinner and then I had fun with Shalom: we did some crafting at the craft room, played in my new Play-doh and we played being pilots in my plain models (that I built with him). At 21:00 I tokk my pill, too a shower and went to bed (with Shalom of course).
Wednesday Dec. 05/12:
Today was a musical day, but first thing first. I woke up the house at around 08:30 with a demand for Marshmallow. Dad reacted fast and brought me 3 pieces of Marshmallow and then I was happy. After that I had some cereal and then I played with mam. Around noon we went to the Toronto Opera Centre to listen to a concert. Few times a week there is there a free concert to the public. We met there Shalom and we listened to the concert. Today it was an Arabic music. It was really nice but after four or five songs I asked politely to go out. Dad told me to be quiet in the concert and when ever I want to say something to raise my hand and he will come to listen from close. I was sitting on Shalom and when ever I wanted to say something I followed the instructions and raised my hand. As I told you after 4 songs I raised my hand and asked to go out. We went to have a brunch in a near by Crepes place and from there Shalom went back to his hotel and we got back home. At home we didn't do too much, we were in bed and watched TV. In the afternoon dad took me to the Gym to do some sport and then at 18:00 Shalom came and we all went to have dinner at the communal kitchen, as again nice volunteers came to cook for us. After dinner I stayed alone with Shalom; we did a lot of fun, we played, we did the wood crafting, like every Wednesday and we read books. We were alone because mam and dad went to a Leonard Cohen concert. I'm asleep all ready but they had a very good time.
Tuesday Dec. 04/12:
This night went well, I had no nightmares regarding my apple juice. Thanks to yesterday shopping I had milk today for my cereal, so all is good. We did nothing special in the morning, just played at home with mam. Around noon David, my friend took mam and my self to another event that Odet invited us to. It was nice and again I got many nice toys. We got back home at around 14:00 but dad was working the all afternoon and I wasn't happy about that, though I waited patiently until he finished. Then I played with dad and mam made a very good supper. Shalom arrived at around 17:00, we had supper together and since then I am playing with him. Lately I love to build puzzels and I'm doing it very good. Soon I will take my pill and then I will go to sleep.
In general I'm very well these days. Happy energetic and feeling good. It is not trivial considering the chimo I got last week. Lets hope it will stay like that.
Monday Dec. 03/12:
Today was a great and interesting day. It started around 05:00 A.M. I was crying in bed, calling my dad. When he came I explained him why I am crying: Last evening we bought Apple Juice in the vending machine. I was very happy about it but for some reason I didn't drink it, probably because I was playing and forgot about it. Then, at 05:00 A.M., may be I woke up or may be I dream about it I understood that the apple juice is still waiting for me. I guess I went too far with my reaction but I really wanted my apple juice. Luckily, dad came immediately and we went out of bed and had cereal and apple juice. We had no milk for the cereal so I asked dad to put it in tea instead of milk. That's what he did and I ate my cereal in hot tea. I ate it all. After this early wake up we played and read books and talked. At around 08:30 mam woke up and took charge on me and dad went to sleep a bit more. While dad was asleep I went out with mam. First we went to have breakfast in a diner on College street. I ordered Pancake but I didn't like it too much. Instead I ate a lot of butter with a spoon (4 packages). As you can see, my taste is probably being affected by the chimo I am getting. From there we went to buy food at the big super market. We had great fun and along shopping I ate ice cream and some Salami. Meanwhile dad worked at home and at around 14:00 he came to pick us with the Ronald Mcdonald house car. After that we got back home, mam organised the things and I went with dad to the play ground in the street. On the way I told dad what I will do when I will be big. First I said I would like to be a fire fighter, and then I said I would like to be a manager (of a play ground and of a house) and then I said I want to be regular, which means to leave with my mam and dad and to do nothing. Dad said it is OK and that I can stay living with them for ever. We got back at around 18:00 and went straight to eat dinner at the Ronald Mcdonald house that was prepared by volunteers from the RBC bank. We had very high expectations from this dinner since RBC is our bank in Canada. We thought we will eat back all the commissions they took from us. Of course we have no right to complain, and every one that come and help in the Ronald Mcdonald house is blessed, but - how to say it gently, we had better dinners. On the other hand, may be it is a good sign, showing that RBC is responsible bank that manages it money very carefully and doesn't spread it easily. After dinner dad went to do Yoga and mam and I went to the kids Gym to do some sport. At 20:00 we all met again at home and organised for the sleep. I had my pill today and after that I went to bed with dad. Tonight I bought another apple juice and again I haven't drink it. Lets see what will I dream about tonight...
Sunday Dec. 02/12:
Today the meteorological forecasts promised a warm day. We fantasised on going out to the parks; indeed it was a warm day but very rainy and cloudy, so we didn't walk in any park. As usual with my lazy parents, I woke up first (around 09:00), ate my Cereal and after that dad made me some kind of pancake. We had no milk, so he improvized and it was something between omelet and pancake. The rest of the morning we spent in playing Lego and other things. At 13:00 I went with dad downstairs to the main lobby and we helped in decorating the Christmas tree of the building. It was (naturally) our first time and it was great fun. I made a snow man and we hang it on the tree. To balance the Christmas experience we went in the evening to a Chanuka party that was organised by the Chai-life line organization, which help to sick kids and their families. Noa the volunteer that comes every week to play with me is from that organization. Any way, the party was in the very west end of town and because the subway was under maintenance (almost like me) we did part of the way in buses and it was a long journey. Long but very rewarding, It was organised in a place with all kind of special games so I played in various video games, and mini-golf, and had to fight in a laser gun arena, and they brought all kind of animals that I could play with like Flamingo (my favourite bird), Ken-guru, Parrots and all kind of strange creatures. In addition they gave me presents and I was very happy. It really was fun. Then we did the hard way back home, I had some more Alluenta at home, read 3 books with dad and then went to sleep with mam. We still have no plans for tomorrow, but we will do something probably. Good night.
Saturday Dec. 01/12:
Today was a cold and wet day so we didn't get out of the house. Shalom and I woke up first and we organised the things for Shalom as he had to go to the air port to fly to New York for few days. Don't worry, he will be back in 4 days. Mam and I made breakfast after Shalom went and I ate Cereal and some omelet. In the rest of the day we played in Lego, read books and saw a movie about Knut, a famous Polar Bear from the Zoo of Berlin. At the after noon I made Hummus and Brokoli soup with dad. I didn't like either of them and I ended up eating my Alluenta. After that I went with dad to the Kids Gym and we played there, and I rode the tri-cycle. Dad brought a radio helicopter we got from Carmel and Eran from Israel and we flew it. Dad can control it quite well and I found that if I press on a certain button at the controller, the helicopter is landing very good. So when ever dad wanted to land it down he called me and I did it for him. After that we did the regular things we do in the evening, I ate some Halva and more Alluenta, had a shower, took my medicines and read a book in bed. Tomorrow should be rainy but warmer day. We will see what we will do..
Friday Nov. 30/12:
After another good night with Shalom mam and dad came to the hospital at around 11:00. We didn't do anything too much special, just played and watch TV. At 16:00 the nurse disconnected me from all the tubes and I went back home as a happy kid. For now the side effects of the last chimo haven't shown up, but usually they say it takes few days and now I have 11 days off from anything in the hospital. At the evening we went for dinner at my friends Sarel, Gony, and Romi and it was fun. Eventhough the food there was very good, I ate mainly my Alluenta (that we brought from home) and some rice. We got back home just before 22:00, we played a bit and I went to sleep. I started again to take the pills, but that's not a big deal as you know. Tomorrow Shalom is going to New York for few days and I hope mam, dad, and my self will do something fun.
Thursday Nov. 29/12:
Anther day in hospital and hopefully, if everything will continue as it is I will be back home tomorrow. As the last two days I had a great night with Shalom. Mam came in the morning and dad joined us before noon. Ali, our Iranian Pyrate friend from Saskatoon came to visit us today and it was great seeing him. I really love Ali; I used to go to swim at the pool in his building in Saskatoon. He brought me a very nice pyrates book. We had lunch together and he stayed with us until 15:00. At 15:00 he went since he had to catch a flight. With dad and Ali I went to the play room and Ali played the Guitar and I played on drums and it was very funny. Shalom came at around 17:00 and we were all together until 18:00. Then mam and dad left and I stayed for the night with Shalom. Medically I'm doing quite well, I'm feeling good and I ate Alluenta today and few other things. Dr. Hitzler came to visit me, just because he was around, he is not my Dr. at all and he is very nice. He was very happy that my lumbar puncture from Tuesday went well and he said that SCF pressure of 29 (cm of water) is normal and good. I still have no side effects from the current chimo, but everybody worn us that usually few days after that some moth sores may appear. We will see.
Last thing, it is my uncle Gal birthday today. Happy Birthday Gal!!
Wednesday Nov. 28/12:
Today was a regular day in hospital. I had a good night with Shalom. Every two hours he woke me up to pee, since I am connected to fluids. Mam came to the hospital at around 09:00 and dad and Noam joined us at around 11:00. Noam brought me very cool presents. We played and had fun in the room and Noam went at the afternoon, but it was great having him around.I kept on getting the high dose methotrexate until ~16:00, and since then I am connected only to fluids. For lunch I ate Pasta with meat sauce but for dinner I had no appetite, probably because the chimo start to affect my taste and appetite. At the evening I watched with mam and dad a beautiful nature film from Israel that Noam brought to me. It was fun as we watched the movie and covered with a warm and beautiful blanket that Dalia, Noam's wife made for me. At the evening Shalom came again to spend the night with me. Mam and dad went to see a movie (ARGO) and then home. Tonight my dad will make Alluenta for me, so may be I will eat it tomorrow.
Tuesday Nov. 27/12:
Hurray! My blood was good today so I could move on to the next stage of my treatment. We went early to the clinic, where we met the Dr. and did the blood test. Once we saw I'm good for the treatment we waited for my turn to get the Intrathecal methotrexate straight into my spinal cord, with the full procedure of anaesthesia. This went quite OK. They gave me some strange and new material at the anaesthesia, so I woke up immediately as I got out of the operation and I was strange and I spoke Gibrish and I had a strange look in my eyes. This is not regular, as usually after this procedure I'm very calm and I remain asleep for quite long. Once I have done with that I went to department 8A, where I will stay for the next 3-4 days to get the treatment. The treatment I started today call interim maintenance and it's going to last for two months. Today after the Intrathecal methotrexate I got VinCRIStine through the centre line and after that I got the high dose methotrexate which is actually being pump into me at this moment as I need to receive it over 24 hours. After that I'm going to stay in hospital for another ~48-72 hours as they need to monitor my blood to see that all the medicine is out of my blood before I 'll go home. All day mam and dad were with me and now I'm with Shalom that will stay for the night. Noam, dad and mam friend from Israel came to visit, so they went with him for dinner and tomorrow I will see him. I love to have guests from Israel.
Another medical point: At the lumbar puncture operation they measured my spinal cord fluid pressure. It was 29, which is high. They weren't too much concern but we will keep on investigating it.
Monday Nov. 26/12:
Last day in the cabin. I woke up last, at around 09:00. Dad was still in bed and Shalom and mam were fully awake. Immediately I made Pancakes with Shalom and I ate 3 of them. After that we organised the house a bit and at around 11:00 we moved; it was really wonderful 2 days in here. During the night it was very snowy and the path to the house, which is ~1 km long was full with ~30 cm of snow. The car did the way quite easily and we felt like doing ski in a legendary forest. The public small road after that 1 km was cleaned off the snow, but in some places it was very slippery. There was one hill that we couldn't make in the first run so we had to reverse back down and to do it again with some more speed. After a short drive on this road we arrived a bigger (still quite small) road that was completely clean and safe. On this road we took the long way back to Toronto, through all kind of small lakes and nice villages. In one of them we stopped for lunch in an Italian-Greek-Canadian restaurant. As strange as it sounds, it was quite nice actually. From there we headed straight to Toronto (Funny, in the first time I wrote this sentence, before I read it again I wrote Saskatoon instead of Toronto), beside a quick stop in Tim Horton since I had a 'Bowel movement', as they call it in hospital. We got back home at around 17:00. Shalom and dad went to do Yoga at 18:00 and at 19:00 we all met down as there was a nice dinner that was cooked by volunteers. After that I went with Shalom to the Kids Gym to do some sport. Now I'm after shower, will go to sleep soon. Tomorrow is an Important day. We hope my blood will be OK and I will start the treatment again.
Sunday Nov. 25/12:
We are still in the cabin at the lake. It was snowing all the night as well as most of the day; it is beautiful. In the morning we went for a short walk downhill to the lake shore. At the shore there is a beautiful boathouse with benches and a short deck along the water. As beautiful as it is now, I'm sure in summer it is a great fun to be here. I surely hope to be back in Saskatoon by next summer, but I wouldn't mind to check this place also in summer. For breakfast I did with Shalom pancakes and for lunch dad made me rice. For dinner Shalom improvised and prepared me a variation of the Alluenta, based on chick-pea, with out the lentil. We played and had a lot of fun and I'm very happy. We played in the snow and I did a snow fight with mam. Now I'm playing Taki with mam and Shalom and soon I will go to sleep. Tomorrow we will head back home.
Saturday Nov. 24/12:
I'm writing to you from the middle of the forest from an amazing cabin two and a half hours north of Toronto, at the Rosseau lake. It is a fully equipped cabin, all alone in the forest. Last night there was some snow, so all is white around. We were invited to this cabin that belongs to our friend Odet. We are here all alone playing games, enjoying the hot tub and tomorrow we will wonder around in the area. On the way up north we stopped in a very small and dodgy restaurant for refreshment. The idea was to drink something and to go to the toilet, but I insisted to eat a chicken soup and I ate one and a half bowls of a tasty, healthy soup. Before we left Toronto we stopped in another interesting event, that Odet invited us to. In that place there was a huge room with amazing games and toys, all new in the packages. I had to fill one bag with toys for my self and another bag with toys that will be donated to a sick kid somewhere in Canada. I guess in my case the donation is double. Well, I'm going to sleep now, Shalom is reading me a story. Tomorrow I'm sure will be a beautiful and joyful day. Beside that, in general I'm feeling very well, happy and energetic. Good night.
Friday Nov. 23/12:
Today my parents had another day of vacation; I was playing with Shalom all day. We read and wrote stories, played chess, played with my toys, ate Alluenta and had a lot of fun. In the morning mam went to do some shopping as it is 'the Black Friday' today and dad tried to work. In the afternoon mam and dad went to mam's Dr. to see how my sister is doing. She seems to do all right, mam is gaining weight and the baby pulse sounds OK. In the evening all of us went to eat in a near by restaurant. I didn't eat too much as they don't have Alluenta. Any way, I'm much better this week than the previous one. I'm eating more, and have a lot of energy and happiness. Tomorrow we are planing to go up north for few days to a cabin of Odet, which is one of our new Toronto friends. We will stay there for a night or two and I will tell you all about it from there (if there will be internet).
Thursday Nov. 22/12:
I woke up late, after sleeping with Shalom. We went to eat breakfast in his inn. I ate mainly bread since they had no Alluenta. In the night I ate the Alluenta that we took from home. We got back home at around 10:00. We played, ate some more Alluenta and around noon I went with Shalom for a short walk. We went to the University to fly a kite (Kifka) and after that to the playground. Around 16:00 Shalom brought me back home and he went to rest in his inn. I stayed with mam and dad and we had fun as well. I ate some more Alluenta and Hummus and played in the Lego. After that I "worked" with dad on the computer, we typed all kind of things, and played with mam. At around 18:00 both me and mam fall asleep on the sofa. Mam moved me to my room, and for now I'm still sleeping. Dad and Shalom went for a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner.
I had two funny expressions today: (1) When I wanted to play with dad and he was working I told him "dad - you don't want to play with your little son?" and of course it worked and dad came to play with me; and (2) I gave mam a condition today, for the first time in my life. She wanted me to do something so I told her that in condition to do so - I want her to do something else.
Wednesday Nov. 21/12:
Today the report will be a bit speculative as I was alone with Shalom most of the day, with out my secretary that types in my story. Anyway, lets begin, and actually lets begin last night at 02:30. I woke up and called dad; I was hungry. After two weeks of hardly eating anything, my apatite has returned and now I eat much more than I ate last week. Dad didn't feel very well last night, so poor mam had to come and take care of me. It is quite hard for her to do it during night time, with my sister in her belly. Any way she did it perfectly and fed me and amused me until 05:00. Then I went to sleep again until 10:00. When I woke up I ate a bit more. Even though I eat quite a lot now (not as much as I ate with the steroids) I mainly eat the Alluenta and some Cereal. Shalom came at around 11:00 and we played in Lego and had fun. Around noon I was hungry again but the Alluenta was ended so I taught Shalom how to do Alluenta and I ate more of it. After lunch I went with Shalom for a walk. It was a shiny day and we went to watch some interesting machines in a construction site and then we went to play in a playground. We got back home and at around 18:00 we went down again, this time with mam and dad, to have dinner that was cooked by more volunteers. After that I went with mam and Shalom to do wood crafting, as we do every Wednesday. Tonight, I gave my parents a vacation and I went to sleep with Shalom at his hotel. To be on the safe side we took some Alluenta with us....
Tuesday Nov. 20/12:
A disappointment! Today mam and dad took me while being asleep to hospital. I woke up for the finger poke to check my blood. Sadly, my blood neutrophil values weren't high enough to enable me to move into the next stage of treatment. It was quite expected and it is not a big deal. It only means that my treatment is being delayed in another week and I (my dad) doesn't like it. On the other hand in means that the next week is completely free. No hospital, no medicines, or something alike. Just enjoying with Shalom in Toronto. Today, since we got back from the hospital at around 10:00, I have played with Shalom. Mam and dad went to have fun in town and we stayed home and did a lot of fun. I ate today quite good, though like yesterday it was mainly the Alluenta. Mam and dad went to listen to a free concert at the Canadian Opera Company. For dinner we went down, as another dinner was cooked by volunteers. I didn't eat too much but my parents and Shalom ate.
So - I will go to sleep soon. Tomorrow is another free and probably an enjoying day in Toronto. Good night.
Monday Nov. 19/12:
I will start form the end today: Dad and I went to pick shalom from the airport two hours ago. He came to visit me and to be with us for the next three weeks. I am very excited about it and now Shalom is making me a shower. now lets start from the beginning. We woke up, and as usual I had my cereal. Noa, the nice volunteer that come to play with me every week came at around 10:00 and played with me for more than two hours. It is very nice with her and my parents are happy because in this time they are free of me. Mam cleaned the house and dad went to run in the Gym. I think it is a fair division of the house hold missions. After that, when Noa left, dad and I cooked lunch. We did white rice with a special sauce which we invented and we call it "Alluenta". I can't give you the exact recipe as it is a secret but in general it made of tomatoes, chick-pea, and lentil. I love it and today, after several days of practically eating nothing I had quite a bit of the rice with the Alluenta sauce. After lunch I went with mam to hang around and dad stayed at home to work. We went to do all kind of arrangements and after that we went to a playground. We had a lot of fun and we got back home at 17:30. Then we ate some more Alluenta, and at 19:00 we went to the airport to pick Shalom. Shalom brought me all kind of surprises, and Burek from Esther, my grand-grand mother. We are all happy now after eating the Burek.
Tomorrow I'm having an important day in hospital and mam is quite anxious about it. We will start the day with a blood test and if my blood will be in reasonable condition, then I will get a very strong chimo, to my spinal cord. After this chimo I will have to stay for few days in hospital as it require some supervision and getting all kind of other drugs to take care at the bad side effects of this chimo. There are some chances that my blood won't be on its best tomorrow and then I will get back home and the treatment will be delayed for next week. As much as we afraid from this treatment, we prefer to get it tomorrow, because we want to finish with it as soon as possible. Will see....
Sunday Nov. 18/12:
I woke up at around 09:00 and had my half bowl of serial. We passed the morning playing Lego and at around 13:00 we went to see the Santa Claus Parade, which is a huge parade going over the down town, with many marching bands, clowns, customs and other interesting things. It was nice and we got from the Ronald Mcdonald house a special tickets for a VIP tribune along the parade route, so we could see it without too many people around us. It was nice, but after almost an hour I had enough, event though it was far from being end. We went back home (10 minutes walk) and I fall asleep on the way. As you probably know, in the last few days I'm not eating very well and I have some nausea, so mam gave me today a new medicine against it.
This medicine name is Gravol and apparently, one of it side effects is to make you very tired. After 3 hours I woke up and now I'm playing with mam. I probably will go to sleep very late tonight, and dad is going to see a movie soon (the new 007), so I'm going to have a nice evening with mam. As for the nausea, the gravol didn't help too much and I haven't ate today too much, with or with out it, and I have some diarrhoea. We think that the Erwinia Asparaginase caused these side effects, and hopefully, now when I'm off the Erwinia Asparaginase, I will get my appetite again.
Saturday Nov. 17/12:
Today I woke up at 05:00 and I was all wet. I pee in bed. I called my dad "Dadi - My cloths are wet" I told him. He changed my cloths and took care of my bed and put me to sleep with him and mam. Next time we woke up was around 10:00. Mam and I made pancakes and we pulled dad out of bed when it was ready. Until 15:00 we played at home in the Lego, talked to people in Israel in Skype and had fun. It is hectic days in Israel now as there is a small war in Gaza. I'm not sure what is my opinion about what is going on there, but I'm pretty sure I'm happy to be in Canada now. Around 15:00 we went for a walk in the Kensington Market, which is a nice area to hang around in. At 16:30 we got back home as Rally, Dora, Andrea and Enrike came to visit us. It was nice having them here and I played with Andrea for the entire time. The funniest part was when I read with her my Neil Armstrong book. After they left we went out again. I asked mam and dad to eat Salmon so we looked for a restaurant that has some salmon. After some walk we found quite a fancy place that has Salmon. My parents ordered me one. But two minutes after, I decided I want Shrimp. So we changed the order and I ate 1.5 pieces of shrimp. My dad ate the rest of it. After that I ate all the bread they brought us with butter, and when the bread ended, I ate just the butter with a tea spoon. I ate quite a bit of butter. From there we went to the Toronto City hall, as a beautiful fire works show took place there to mark the beginning of the "Christmas Festival". When we got back home at around 21:00 we took from the reception the film "Madagascar 2" and I'm watching it now. After that I will go to sleep at my parents bed since dad still need to do my laundry.
Friday Nov. 16/12:
As I told you, today we went to hospital, to get my last Erwinia Asparaginase for this cycle. Nothing special happened at the hospital and we were back home at around 15:30. As we got back dad and I made Pizza as that what I wanted to eat and I really ate 2 slices. After that we played in the Lego that we bought yesterday. I did a blood test today and I'm in reasonable condition, beside the fact that my immune system is very low. Therefore I need to be careful these days and to wash my hands as much as possible. Practically today was the last day of the consolidation phase. Next week I am suppose to start the next phase, though upon my blood test from today, it might be postpone in few days until my immune system will get recover. We still have no specific plans for the week end, but I believe we will find good things to do. Soon we will go to our friend Liran, Keti and their kids for Friday dinner and then I hopefully will go to sleep early.
Thursday Nov. 15/12:
Today is first year birthday for the Ronald Mcdonald house, in it current location, therefore all day was full with surprises. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HOME!!!
I woke up dad just before 09:00 and we ran down to eat the very good breakfast that was prepared for the house birthday. They brought a catering that prepared great pancakes with fruits and cream, and other good stuff. I ate almost 2 pancakes. After food we went out side to play with a real police motorcycle that was brought for the occasion. A real policeman took me on the bike and showed me how to turn on the flushing lights and it was cool. Then we took some food for mam and got back home. At home we got organised and dad and I went to hang around out side. We took a taxi that took us quite east on Dundas street to a rock climbing club. It was a very big place with many walls. I put on a special harness for kids and I climbed on one of the walls to a height of ~5m. Dad secured me with a rope. After that wall we went to practice climbing in few other smaller walls, without the need of using the harness. We were there for almost 30 minutes and then I asked to go home. From there we walked back west to down town. On the way back I was hungry so we stop to eat lunch in some restaurant. I ate 1/4 of a burger and then I had enough. These days, probably due to the Erwinia Asparaginase my appetite and taste is very strange. Then we called mam and we took the tram to meet her at the Eaton Centre, which is a big shopping mall at down town. While we waited for mam I ate some more fries and chicken nuggets at KFC. After we met mam we went to buy all kind of things, including some Lego for me. We got back home straight to a party that was done to the volunteers that help in the Ronald Mcdonald house. Again the motorcycle police was there, as well as a police horse, I played with both of them again. Then we went to do some laundry and just after 18:00 we went down again for a special birthday dinner. They brought good pizzas and other good food prepared by the same catering from the morning. We got back home at around 20:30, I got prepared to bed and I fall asleep before 21:00. Tomorrow is another day in hospital to get my last Erwinia Asparaginase (for this cycle).
Wednesday Nov. 14/12:
Again, like every day I woke up the house at around 08:00. Dad gave me my cereal and then mam woke up and took care on me as dad went back to sleep. I went with mam at around 09:00 to the hospital to get the Erwinia Asparaginase. Today there were no rooms available, so I got it in a big communal room, where each kid had it's own chair and we were all getting our drugs. Luckily, Noa, the volunteer from Chai-Life came to play with me and spent with me all the morning. By 13:30 we were back home. At the afternoon I played with dad, we built in Lego a Helicopter that can land on a special truck. Before dinner we went to do some sport in the Kids-Gym room; I got really improved in Hockey. From there we went to the communal kitchen, as again nice volunteers came to cook for us. Even though the food was good, I hardly ate it. In general I'm not a big eater these days, and I have lost some weight. In few weeks from now I will start again with the steroids and then I will eat a lot. I just make some space...
After dinner I went with dad to the craft room to do some wood crafting. It was fun. Now I'm watching Dora in my Ipad, I had a shower and I'm starting to think about sleeping. tomorrow another free day, with no plans for now.
Tuesday Nov. 13/12:
Today was a simple and good day. We woke up and had a quiet morning at home. I played with mam and we saw pictures that Shalom and Didi took from my house in Israel. At the afternoon I went with dad to the Kids Gym and we played Hockey and other games. For dinner, again a group of volunteers came to cook for us. It was a very good meal, though I ate mainly bread. Now we are watching Toy Story 3 and after that I will go to sleep. Tomorrow we have a quick visit to hospital to get the Erwinia Asparaginase and then we will try to do something fun. Good night.
Monday Nov. 12/12:
As I told you yesterday, today we had a long day in hospital. We were there at around 09:30, until 16:00. I got the Erwinia Asparaginase shot into my leg and VinCRIStine through the centre line. It was quite busy today in the hospital, but beside a long waiting at the beginning, everything went well. When we got back home I went with dad to do some sport at the kids Gym. Then dad went to run and I played with mam. At 18:00 I went down to the Kids Gym again as there was there a gymnastic class. I drove a tricycle and had fun. At 19:00 dad went to do yoga in the Ronald Mcdonald house. He said it was nice, it was only him and the teacher and in the end of the class he fall a sleep on the floor. After that we ate in our apartment but it was good food that was cooked by volunteers for the entire house. I was very tired by the end of the day and I went to sleep around 21:30. Tomorrow should be a free day. I hope we will do something fun.
Sunday Nov. 11/12:
Today was a nice day, sunny and quite warm (~15oC). Therefore, at around noon we went out; we took the subway to Queen street. The town was very hectic today, full with people in the streets, many street artists around and the shops were busy. It is also today the memorial day for the Canadians died in wars; so in addition to the happy people that were in the restaurants and in the streets, we saw many people with uniforms and flags and signs that were on their way to various ceremonies. At Queen street we bought for all of us CROCKS and mam was looking for boots. I was most of the time on dad's shoulders. While mam was looking for the boots, dad was quite bored so he had many thoughts. Some were related to work and some were related to me. At one point he had some thoughts about what will happen if worst comes to worst with my situation; what will be the right thing to do, what can be done, and how bad (very bad) can it be. Exactly at that minute, out of the blue I asked dad "dad - When will we die?". My dad told me "when we will be old" and that satisfied me. I don't think I'm feeling that my life are in danger these days, however, death is something I am curios about lately. It was interesting that both dad and I had some apocalyptic thoughts at the same time, but I guess great minds think alike. Or it is just our reaction for boots shopping. Any way, after that I asked to eat some Pizza and I went with dad to see a bike shop and mam understood we are bad partners for shopping and she gave up on the boots hunting. From there we took the tram to a nice area called Kensington Market, which is not too far from our house. It is a very nice area with two main streets, connected by several smaller streets, with interesting shops from various types, small restaurants, bakeries, deli's, and other colourful corners. From there we took again the tram and the subway (at the locomotive of course) to our friends Miki, Guy, Keren and Dan. As usual we had good dinner and nice time. Again dad got a cake for his birthday, and we brought a present to Miki which had her birthday a week ago. Now we are back home and I'm watching TV in my room. Tomorrow another busy week will start; more Erwinia Asparaginase and other chimos. All about that later on this week.
Saturday Nov. 10/12:
Mmm..... Even though the forecast promised a sunny day, it was a cloudy and dark; it wasn't raining but it wasn't a nice day for a stroll. Like most cloudy days we didn't do too much. Tali came in the morning and spent with us the all day which was fun. Around noon I went with her and mam to play in the video games. We played Toy Story 2 and we enjoyed it. After that we went to eat in a nice Italian restaurant in Queen street. I ate there quite good; I had a veal in good sauce and beside that I ate a lot of bread. After that dad and I got back home and mam and Tali went to do some grocery shopping for next week. Now I'm after shower, watching TV and I will go to sleep soon (we all hope).
Friday Nov. 9/12:
Today, like every other day, I woke up and ate my cereal (Rice krispies with chocolate milk). Then I went with dad to the hospital as I had to get the Erwinia Asparaginase. From some reason it was very busy and crowded today so we had to wait a bit more than usual. Some of the patients were sent to other departments because of that. However, for me, the nurses saved a room and said that they won't let me go to another department. They really love me there. Because I forgot my pillow at home, mam joined us with the pillow at some point and dad went back home. Beside the Erwinia Asparaginase they also checked my blood to see if I need any transfusion. Happily, my blood was OK. They took the blood sample by poking my finger with a small needle; from this poking I'm not afraid at all and it doesn't disturb me at all. At around 15:30 mam and I were back home. I was very tired from hospital so I crashed in front of the TV. By the way, my favourite TV show these days is Toopy and Binoo. At around 18:00, like most Fridays we went to Liran, Katy, and the kids. This time Taly joined us and it was nice. On top of that, tomorrow is my dad birthday, so mam made a very good frozen cake and they brought also a cake and bought dad a present and we celebrated his birthday. On the way back home I fall a sleep. Tomorrow I hope we will do something fun. It should be a nice and shiny day.
Thursday Nov. 8/12:
Today was a shiny day. Temperatures were around 5oC, and I had nothing to do in the hospital today, so we decided to have a walk in town. I woke up around 08:00, ate my cereal and played with mam until around 11:00. Then we got organised and went out. First we went to the parliament of Ontario. We didn't know but it is five minutes walk from our house. It's a beautiful building, 120 years old. We did a quick walk in the first floor of the building and we decided that we will be back in a rainy day for a full guided tour in the building. For today it was a shame to waste the beautiful sun. From there we kept on walking north to the 'Queesns Park' which is a nice park attached to the the parliament. From there we went to Bloor street which is a big street in Toronto, full with fancy shops and restaurants. We had a small lunch in a small caffe at a small street near by. From there we went to buy some food for the week in the super market and returned home. At 18:00 we went down as there was a pizza night at the Ronald Mcdonald house. At that point of the day I was quite cranky and tired. BUT - then Tali, mam's sister came to visit us. Like magic I was Superman again. She brought me presents and I was so happy. We played, read books, and had fun. Tali did me a shower and now I'm watching with her this stupid song which apparently is a big hit in you-tube (more than 675,000,000 views) and I'm dancing like this crazy Chinese. It is very funny. I hope we will play a bit more and then I will go to sleep. Tomorrow is another day in the hospital to get another Erwinia Asparaginase .
Wednesday Nov. 7/12:
I woke up my parents at around 08:00. I ate my cereal and went with dad to the hospital to get the chimo Erwinia Asparaginase. As you already know I get this chimo by injection to my leg; even though it is so simple I have to be admitted in the hospital as after the injection I need to be observed for at least two hours to see that I am OK. In total we were in hospital from around 10:00 to 14:00. In that time I watched TV, played with dad checkers and did some crafting. After that I went with dad to a short walk in down town as we had to go to the bank. Then we got back home and the house was all clean and tidy. That's what happen when mam stay home alone. As we got home I went with mam to do some crafting at the craft room in the Ronald Mcdonald house. Dad went to run in this time. After that we had a quick dinner, I read a book with dad and by 18:30 I was asleep. It is very early to me to go to sleep at that time. I guess there are two reasons for that: first is the winter clock that brings the dark very early at around 17:00. Second, these days with the Erwinia Asparaginase are the hard days for me. I don't like this medicine that requires a lot of painful injections. Mam and dad says I'm a hero, but still I cry a bit when ever I get this medicine. Tomorrow should be another free day and I hope the weather to be nice so we will go outside to have fun. Beside that I'm in a good condition, feels OK, happy and energetic most of the time. If you will look closely, you will see my hair is diluted a bit, but still most of it is in place.
Tuesday Nov. 6/12:
This morning I woke up and played with mam, then my friend David came to visit and brought me more magic tricks. Dad, as usual woke up late and joined us at around 10:00. It was a hospital free day today and the weather was chilly, so we didn't find a good reason to get out side. We did many things at home and in the building. We painted, played the Lego, did sport with dad at the Gym, played video games, watch TV and read books. For dinner another group of volunteers came to cook and it was nice. Aroma, the Israeli coffee chain that has branches in Toronto contributed the desserts and the coffee, so there was a small "home" flavour to it. For now I'm done with the pills, so no need to fast today. I will go to sleep at some point and tomorrow I will go to the hospital to get the Erwinia Asparaginase.
Monday Nov. 5/12:
Today was a hospital day. I woke up with mam and we went to the hospital. For some reason there was some mess and it took several hours before we got our room for the day. Around noon dad joined us. He was working in the night so he stayed to sleep a bit more. After dad came we got a room. Mam didn't feel very good so she went home and I stayed with dad. We waited for the chimos to arrive from the pharmacy and I got VinCRIStine through the centre line and the Erwinia Asparaginase by injection into my leg. It was painful but I didn't cry too much. While we were waiting in the hospital I started to ask dad all kind of questions about various illnesses and death. My hypothesis was that small kids have small diseases and big people have big diseases. That's why old people die, because they are very big and they have very big illnesses. My dad said that this theory sounds quite reasonable. Then I asked dad how someone decide when he want to die, so dad said that when ever you feel you have done most of the things you wanted to do you can go. Then I said: "so people are dying once they decided they don't want to be here any more?!" and dad agreed with this statement too. So to conclude the discussion I said: "I still want to be here, and I'm a small kid so I have a small disease" and I was very happy. Then I went to watch Diego at the computer.
We got back home at around 17:00, we ate dinner and now I'm having a shower. I need to wait until 21:00 to get my pill and then may be I will go to sleep. Tomorrow is a free day, I hope we will make some fun.
Sunday Nov. 4/12:
Today was a nice day. We woke up slowly, ate some pancakes for breakfast and played. Around 13:30 Branko, Aki's father and our friend from Saskatoon came to visit us. It was strange that he came at 13:30, because he said he will come at 12:30, and usually Branko is arriving at time. It took dad some time to figure it out, but apparently in the last 4 days we were leaving in a parallel universe. In November first the Time in Toronto was shifted to the winter clock. However, no one told us about it. We have two clocks that we are leaving upon: one is the clock in the Micro-wave oven at our kitchen and the second is the clock at dad's computer. Naturally the micro-wave clock is not smart enough to update it self when moving into winter. However, you would expect the computer clock to update it self automatically; but, dad's computer clock is still set on Saskatoon time and in Saskatoon they don't move the clock. They have the summer clock all year around. I guess they said that if they don't really have a summer, at least they can have a summer clock. Any way, it is good to get back to reality after 4 days of being ahead of time.
Any way, once this was sort out we went with Branko (originally from Yugoslavia) to a Balkan deli and restaurant in the north east side of town. It is a very basic restaurant, attached to an authentic deli that sells all kind of balkanian food, cheese and meat. At the restaurant they serve Kebab like we have in Israel, and Burek. All very simple and very good. For one hour we felt like being in Jaffa, eating our Favourite Kebab. After that we bought some cheese and other good stuff to take home, including some Halva from Israel. Then we got back home, dad and Branko went for a walk to see Toronto down town and I stayed with mam to build a big Lego truck that I got from Aki. Now it is 19:30 (in winter time), it is strange because it got dark early today. I'm in the middle of my fast now and I have no clue when I will go to sleep. Tomorrow should be a long day in hospital. Good night.
Saturday Nov. 3/12:
We woke up just before 09:00; I had my cereal and we got organised for our day trip. We took the car and drove to meet Liran and the family. We went with them to buy coffee in the AROMA caffe, which is the same AROMA as we have in Israel. Then we drove to a nice park called the Dundas valley. It is a very nice park, near Hamilton, 1 hour out of Toronto. We did a 4 km walk in the forest. The trees were in nice autumn colours and we walked along very nice creeks and small water falls. It was a bit cold, around 5oC, but we were well dressed and we had fun. The plan was after that to go to Sari and her family in Hamilton, but they called and said that their daughter is slightly sick and we preferred not to take the risk, so we didn't go to visit them. Instead we drove along the Ontario lake shore and we stopped there for dinner in a nice restaurant. We got back home at 20:00, I took my pill already and I watch TV now. Probably will fall asleep soon.
Friday Nov. 2/12:
I woke up and went with mam to the hospital to get my last chimo for this week and to disconnect the tube from my centre line. We got back home around noon and a gift from Noa Gluzman, the sister of Ofer that visited me few weeks ago, waited for me at the Ronald Mcdonald house reception. It is a great Lego. She was suppose to meet us but dad didn't hear the phone when she called. As I know him - he probably was at the toilet. When we got back we had a good lunch and we played in home all day, since winter is here and the days are cold. In the evening, like most Fridays Liran picked us for dinner in their house. As usual it was very nice. I didn't eat too much but I enjoyed playing with the kids. Now we are back home, we are waiting for my 2 hours of fasting to pass so I can take my pill. To pass the time I watch some TV. Tomorrow we booked the car of the Ronald Mcdonald house and we plan to go visit Sari, Ehud and their kids. They live in Hamilton which is one hour out of Toronto. Will tell you all about it tomorrow.
Thursday Nov. 1/12:
Another rainy and cold day in Toronto. We woke up late, after 09:00. I had my cereal and then dad took me to hospital to get my chimo. We waited 30 minutes in the hospital before they called me to get the medicine at the I.V. room. In that time I did some crafting with Adam and Kathy which are volunteers that come to the hospital to have fun with the kids. After hospital we went to take Dads' new eye glasses and then we met mam for lunch in a small restaurant near our house. From there we got back home; I watched TV, mam rest and dad worked. Later on I Skyped with Shalom and Didi and Ester, my grand-grand mother. Just before dinner I went down with dad to do some sport and to play with balls. We played some hockey which was fun. For dinner we had again nice volunteers that came to cook for us. Today it was a really good group that did a very good and healthy food. Probably because of that I didn't eat too much but my parents liked it. After dinner me, dad, Mayson and his dad stayed down and played for another hour. Now we are back in the room, I'm playing and waiting for my 2 hours of fasting to end, so I will be able to take my pill.
Tomorrow is another quick visit to the hospital, but they should disconnect the tube from my centre line, so I will be free for the weekend. Good night.
Wednesday Oct. 31/12:
After a good night sleep, we woke up and went to the day hospital. I got my chimo quickly and then they connected me to get the blood transfusion, due to my low Haemoglobin . Today is Halloween and all the hospital (as well as Toronto) looked like a one big party. All the staff was with customs, and treats and presents were given in every corner. It was really fun. Of course, my mam didn't let me to miss the party and I came to hospital dressed like a Pyrate. I wear the best and latest fashion trend of the pyrates out fit (~1820), and I had a sword and a treasure and all what a real pyrate need. Funny enough the nurses of the day hospital were dressed like pyrates too and they made me their captain. At around 15:00 we got back home, with a bag full with presents and we went immediately to the Halloween party at the Ronald Mcdonald house. There we got more treats, and all the kids were in customs and it was very nice. When this finished we got back home and mam and my self got organised as we went with Sarel, Goni, and Romi (and their father), and more friends of them to another Halloween treats collection operation. We went to one of the neighbourhoods in Toronto; we were all in our customs and we went from door to door, and asked for "treat or trick". I got a huge bag of candy's and my parents will not let me eat most of it. On the way back home we had a pizza and now I am after a sponge bath (still connected to the centre line), waiting for the 2 hours of fasting to finish and then I will take my pill and hopefully will go to sleep.
One thing that I learned today is how do you know if you are welcome to do the "treat or trick"? So - if there is a pumpkin out side of the house it means they are playing the Halloween game. If not, they are not nice and they are grampy people.
Tuesday Oct. 30/12:
Mmm... The free days are ended and we reported at the cancer clinic at 10:00 A.M. A nice nurse tried to access my centre line. In the beginning she had some hard time to get blood out of it; she managed to flush it (push liquids through) very easily but no blood went out. It is a problem because they can't take my blood for analysis and it means that something is wrong there. She consulted the other nurses and they decided to connect me to fluids and to hope for the best. However, while she prepared the fluids something moved there and when she tried again, just before getting connected to the fluids she got the blood. So that was a relief. I got my chimo quickly and we went home quite fast. My blood work showed that I have low Haemoglobin values, so tomorrow I will get blood transfusion. We got back home and because it is a rainy day we spent the afternoon in the house. We did some colouring and other games. Before dinner I went with dad to the Kids Gym to do some sport. For diner we went down as again nice volunteers came to cook for us and it was a very good meal. As usual in these meals we set with Mayson and his mam (Tami). After dinner we went to the library to listen for some stories that were read by a nice lady and then we got back home, get prepared for night and by 21:00 I was asleep all ready. If you read this diary for some time, you probably know this is quite early for me. This is probably due to my low Haemoglobin . Tomorrow should be a long day in hospital because I will get the blood transfusion.
Monday Oct. 29/12:
My day started late today because we had a tough night. It was tough because dad woke me up (last night) at around 23:00 to take my pill. Because I was half asleep my (stupid) dad decided to dissolve the pill in water and to give it to me with a syringe. I did swallow it, but after that I found out what dad just did and I was very angry about that; I can and want to take my pill as grown up. I am not a baby! I was really angry and I cried a bit. Once I calmed down I was completely awake. Since I was after 3 hours of sleep, as well as more than 4 hours of fasting due to the pill restrictions, I was very energetic and hungry. So I started to play and to climb on dad who tried to work. At the end I watched TV and ate a big bowl of Cereal with milk. At 01:00 I was asleep again. Sometime later in the night I moved to mam and dad bed and then, probably due to the big cereal and milk that I had around midnight, I peed in their bed. So all of us moved into my room at around 05:00. I slept with dad in my bed and mam slept at the other bed. At the end we all woke up at around 10:00. Soon after that a nice student named Noa that volunteers in the 'Chai Life line' organisation came to play with me for two hours. Even though she was born in Israel and she speaks Hebrew, my parents asked her to talk to me in English. We had fun; we played in pyrates, and did some colouring and other cool things. Just before she left I showed her how I make Pizza, and that was my lunch. After that both mam and Noa went. Mam went to do some arrangements and I left with dad. We played and did the laundry from last night. While we waited for the laundry we did some sport at the Kids Gym room and after that we played with Mayson. Now I'm after my pill and after dinner. Shower soon and we will see when I will go to sleep tonight.
Sunday Oct. 28/12:
I start to feel uncomfortable as after you will read what I did today, I'm afraid that other kids would like to have cancer as well, because it seems like I am doing fun all the time. So - no. It is not easy this struggle with the cancer. However, if I can do some fun in the meanwhile - why not. So this is how my day looked like today: I woke up my parents at 09:47, we dressed up quickly since we knew some volunteers are suppose to come and make breakfast at the communal kitchen. When we got down we found out that the volunteers are real fire fighters from the Toronto fire service. They were all in their uniforms and they made scramble eggs, and pancakes, French toasts, good potatoes, and some good meat; I ate it all. We sat for breakfast with my friend Mayson and all the kids got a fire fighter helmet. After we finished the food we saw that out side there is a huge fire truck. We went there and I climbed on the truck, sat in the driver sit, and checked all the cool things they have there. It was GREAT!!! After that at around 13:00 Sarel, Gony, and Romi, and their father Liran came to visit us. I like it when they come, and with them we went to do some activity in the Ronald Mcdonald house, as volunteers and guides from the Royal Ontario Museum came and showed us all kind of interesting things about animals. After that we arranged the house and at 16:30 we took the subway to my friends Dan and Keren and their parents Guy and Miki. They invited us for dinner and it was fun. I love the way to their place in the subway, I love to play with the kids and I love the food over there. Today I ate a Salmon and rice. Guy took us back home, and I fall asleep on the car. Now I'm still asleep, but dad will wake me up soon to take my pill.
That's all for now, but don't worry kids - tomorrow should be a normal day and on the day after that I will start another 4 days of tough chimo. Cancer is not all about fun.
Oh - check it out. More pictures were added.
Saturday Oct. 27/12:
Today was a rainy and dark day, however, it was a very busy one. We woke up around 10:00 and ate porridge that mam made. Then we made puzzles, played and had fun in the house. At around noon time we took the Ronald Mcdonald house car and went to do food shopping for the week. On the way back, dad put mam and me at the subway station, where we set in Tim Horton Cafe and ate lunch while he took the car with the grocery's back home. Dad arranged the things at home and came to the Tim Horton. Then we took the subway (In the locomotive of course) to the Ontario Science Museum. It was very nice in the museum, we saw a nice exhibition about space and space crafts and played in a huge "science activity room". We were there for 2 hours and had fun; the only problem was that it was quite crowded for a kid with low immune system like me. We tried to avoid the more crowded places and washed our hands where ever we could. At 17:00 we took the bus and the subway back home and got just in time (18:00) for a dinner that was cooked in the Ronald Mcdonald house by a family that was once living in here. They made a nice pasta meal. After dinner we went to the cinema room at the house and saw the movie 'Secret of the wings'. In the movie we ate popcorn so we had to wait after that for two hours before I took my daily pill. At around 23:00 dad put me into bad, read me a book and then I fall asleep. Tomorrow should be another busy day, but lets wait for tomorrow to hear about that.
Friday Oct. 26/12:
Again and for the last time for this week I went with mam at the morning to the hospital to get the chimo Cytarabine . In the hospital we met Gabriel my old friend from the days I was admitted in the hospital. After that we got back home and I watched some TV. At the afternoon mam went again to see her obstetrician and I stayed with dad. I did some Skype in this time and we played. Since mam didn't get back from her Dr. in time I went with dad at 16:30 to a near by optometrist, as he is buying new glasses. At 17:00 we met mam at the glasses shop. From there we went to buy some donughts in a good bakery in our street. We bought these donughts as dessert for dinner at my friends house: Sarel, Goni, Romi and their parents. At around 18:30 Liran picked us and took us to their place for dinner. As usual I had there good time and I played with the kids. We got back home at 22:00, but I had to wait 1 hour before I could take my pill. Immediately after the pill I went to sleep with mam in my room. Tomorrow is a hospital free day. I am disconnected from any tubes in the centre line and I am free and happy. The weather seems to be problematic over this weekend, but I guess we will find what to do.
Some general update: My parents say I'm sweet and brave and wonderful, but in addition they say that I have become a bit spoiled in the last few weeks. They say I don't love to hear "no" as an answer and I find my self cry a bit more than I used to. I believe it is kind of a new habit as, after all, for the last 3 months my parents are around me all the time and take care of all my needs and they are very concern about me. So these days they are trying to put me back into line in respect to my spoiling. They are not too harsh with me but they try here and there to put some borders and to insist on various stupid ideas. For example last night I wanted Pizza at 22:30. My father said "no" and that I can have an apple. I cried for almost an hour and insisted to get my pizza. However, this time my father was stubborn than me and after all I fall asleep sad and without my pizza. My father was happy for winning in this fight, BUT: At 05:00 I woke up because I had to pee. I knew it is a hard time to my father and I asked again for my pizza. This time my father broke and gave it to me. He went to sleep and I ate my tasty pizza alone in the saloon. Once I've finished it I got into mam and dad bad and slept with them until we all woke up. So - the conclusion is that if you know you will want a pizza at 05:00 A.M., make the needed preparations at 23:00 the night before.
Thursday Oct. 25/12:
Today mam and dad waited until I woke up by my self at around 08:30. I ate some cereal and at 09:00 dad took me to the hospital to get again the chimo Cytarabine . In that time mam went to do all kind of things and tests for my new sister. Mam met us at 11:00 and we went to look for new glasses for dad and after that I took them to eat lunch in a place I know from Shalom who took me there when he was here. I ate Chinese rice and chicken. Around noon we got back home, dad tried to work and mam cleaned the house. The weather was worm and beautiful today so at the afternoon we took the tram to 'high park'. High park is a huge park in the west side of Toronto. We walked there for few hours, saw the trees in their autumn dress, played in the playground, and had fun. From there we took the subway to an nice Hungarian restaurant on Bloor street. We got back home at 19:00 and I need to fast until 20:00 to take my pill, so to pass the time I'm watching now Toy Story 2. After that I promised my parents to have a sponge shower. I am doing sponge shower these days since I am connected to a short tube at the centre line. Tomorrow I will be disconnected from that tube and then I will do a proper bath after 4 days of sponge showers.
In general I'm quite well, happy, and strong and even my appetite is quite big in the last few days.
Wednesday Oct. 24/12:
Today we woke up early and I went with mam to hospital to get a quick chimo (Cytarabine ) to my centre line. After that we got back home, we played and had fun and at around 12:00 mam went to see her Dr. and to do another Ultra-Sound for my sister. We decided on a belly name for my sister which is 'Boba'. So Boba looks well, and everything seems to be OK. After mam went, I stayed alone with dad and we played, watched TV, did laundry and other fun things. At 15:00 we went down to the communal kitchen as there was there a cooking class. We made tasty cookies in a pumpkin shape, for the Halloween. In the cooking class two very nice kids cooked with me and they are originally from Iraq, so it was nice practising my (well - my dad) Arabic. After that I played with a dog called Amber that came with his owner to the Ronald Mcdonald house, to play with the kids. That was nice and I told Amber about my dogs 'Steno' and 'Nika' in Israel. In the evening people from 'Sony' came to cook for us, and it looked like a very good dinner, but I preferred to eat hot dogs in my room. These days, after dinner I need to fast for 2 hours before I'm taking the pill Purinethol. So, to pass the time, like every Wednesday, after dinner we went to do some wood crafting at the craft room. Soon I will take the pill, but then I need to fast for another hour before I can eat anything. My parents try to push me into bad, but I know they want me to go to sleep since they want to see Dexter. I will not let them to have fun without me...
Tuesday Oct. 23/12:
Yael has left today and now we are again alone; mam is pretty sad about that but she will get over it. We woke up early, actually, mam and dad took me asleep to hospital. I gently woke up as we arrived to the cancer clinic. They accessed my centre line, and took some blood to check my blood condition. Happily, it was in reasonable state and I started to get my chimo. Now it is another intensive phase of the consolidation that involves many chimos and daily visits to hospital. We asked Dr. Sheila Weitzman about my legs pain and she said it is OK and that I looks quite good and she is happy with my condition. For the all day, from 08:00 to around 17:00 we were in hospital and I got two chimos today through the centre line and after that I had to be connected for fluids for 4 hours, that's why we had to stay in hospital for so long. We got back home at around 17:30 and then we played and ate and passed the time. One incident that we had today was that the tube which is connected to my centre line was complicated in a chair handle and when I went to the toilet it pulled out and disconnected from my port. It was not very pleasant and the nurse had to reconnect me, and since I didn't had the freezing cream, it was pretty painful. For dinner few volunteers came to cook for us a nice Mexican dinner (long time no Mexican, so it is OK...) In addition I start today again to take the pills that I swallow. Tomorrow I will visit the hospital again for a quick visit to get some more chimo.
Monday Oct. 22/12:
Today is our last day with Yael as she is flying back home tomorrow; in addition I was feeling well, and we had no plans for hospital today, so we headed to the Niagara falls. We rented a car and at around 09:00 we started going south along the Ontario lake. At half of the way more or less, we got off the high way and started to drive in a beautiful country side, scattered with wineries, pastoral vineyards and amazing trees in brown - red colours. We drove slowly in this nice area and at around 11:00 we got to the Niagara falls town. In contrast to the pastoral way, the town is very noisy, hectic, and touristic. First we did a short walk to see the falls which are quite impressive and after that we got trapped in the tourists traps. First Yael, dad, and me went on the Niagara Sky Wheel. This is a huge ferris wheel that stuck in the middle of town and rises up to ~55 m above ground. We did several rounds and the view over the falls from above is beautiful. Mam that stayed down, looked like an ant. After that we went to eat in the 'Hard Rock Cafe'. The grown-ups had some thoughts of eating in the wineries region, but I wanted my lunch, so I asked, very politely, (with some tears, to be on the safe side) to get it now ! After that the grown-ups said it wasn't too bad. From there we went to play in a huge room, full with video games and then we got back to the car and headed east to the 'Niagara on the lake' town. This town, again, is in the quiet and pastoral area. On the way we stopped several times to see various things, including a huge clock, made of flowers, that dad and Yael visited more than 25 years ago. At the town we had a good ice-cream, the girls did some (small) shopping and after that we went to play on the shore of the Ontario lake. Dad made stones to jump on the water and I collected sticks and throw them into the water. From there we headed back to Toronto. In Toronto we did a quick shopping in the Super-market and at 19:30 we were back home. Yael and I made Pizza and salad for dinner.
Now Yael is doing me a shower, it was nice being with her for the last 10 days. Tomorrow she will go and I will miss her, but we can always Skype.
As for me: In general the last few days were quite al-right. I didn't puke and ate more or less OK. I'm still very skinny, but Dr. Weitzman said it is OK for now. Today and yesterday I complained a bit about some sores in my legs. We hope it is due to the treatments and not due to the disease. Tomorrow we should have a busy day in the hospital and I'm sure we will get answers (hopefully positives) for our questions and concerns. Of course, I will update you. Good night, Bye Bye Yael....
Sunday Oct. 21/12:
We woke up late, as usual with dad. Actually I woke up at 09:00, ate some corn-flakes and went back to sleep with dad until around 11:00. Then mam went to get a free haircut at the Ronald Mcdonald house. Some lady (hair dresser of course) came to give free cuts for the mothers. She made mam very beautiful. After that we went for a brunch at a near by diner. We had good food, though I focused on the fries. After food mam and Yael went do some shopping and dad and I went back home. We did laundry to dad cloths which were full with mud after the field work in Saskatoon. Beside that we read books, watched TV and spent some time in the craft room. Mam and Yael got back for dinner and now Yael is reading me books in bed. Mam and dad hope I will be asleep soon. I can't promise that....
Tomorrow we are planed to go to the Niagara falls. I hope it will work out; will let you know.
Saturday Oct. 20/12:
O.K., so dad is back and now we can get back to our routine of updating every day about our adventures. I had a very good day today, I felt good, I was happy and had a lot of fun. We woke up quite late, after the busy night we had yesterday. Yael made for us a nice breakfast of French-Toasts. At 11:00 we went down to sculpture pumpkins for Halloween which will be next week. We enjoyed it very much, and every one of us made one pumpkin. After that we took the car from the Ronald Mcdonald house and we went to see the Niagara falls. However, as we started driving we saw the 'Check-Engine' sign blinking. So we changed our plans and instead of driving 2 hours to the Niagara falls we drove 10 minutes to the Casa Loma castle. The Casa Loma is an old castle built by a rich guy many years ago in Toronto. This is a beautiful castle as one can imagine from the legends. We were there for almost two hours, checking the rooms and the various machines, arts, furnitures, arms and other interesting things that are being presented there. After that we headed back home, we got organise and at 17:00 we took Yael to our favourite Spanish (may be Portuguese) restaurant, Adega. After that Yael went to sleep in her new hotel (5 minutes from our home) and we went back home. Now I'm playing with mam, after that a quick shower and good night...
Friday Oct. 19/12:
Tonight dad will be back and I will start to update here properly. Anyway, today I got the last Erwinia Asparaginase for the coming weeks, the next cycle will be in 3 weeks from now. At the evening we went to Liran, Kati and their kids house. It was nice, but I was very tired. At around 20:00 I asked to go back home to sleep. Dad return at midnight and he woke me up to go to the toilet. Dad was very surprised to see how much weight I lost. He said it was really "easy" to lift me up. Since I was awake all ready, dad gave me great presents from Saskatoon. I got several presents from my Saskatoon friends: Sun sent me a DVD and a math book, Lili, Illya, Ben, and Anya sent me a beautiful book about animals and another nice trick, dad brought me a special issue magazine about Neil Armstrong and June sent us tasty Cinnamon buns. We ate the buns and dad read me the Neil Armstrong magazine and I fall asleep with it (and some more TV). From tomorrow full updates will be give; I promise.
Thursday Oct. 18/12:
Having fun with Yael and mam. Puking every once in a while, loosing weight.
Wednesday Oct. 17/12:
Last evening Yael started to feel not very well, and this morning when I went with mam to the hospital she stayed at home. In hospital the blood test showed that I'm still not ready for the next cycle of Chimo, so I got only the Erwinia Asparaginase. Yael went to sleep today in a hotel as she is still sick. In general it was a hard day today, both for me and mam. I think I had enough from this disease. I didn't feel very good today and it was pity Yael couldn't help mam. While we are straggling in Toronto, dad is enjoying the life in Saskatoon. He is working in the field every day and go to restaurants in the evenings with friends.
Any way, this evening I puked out my dinner. Recently I puke more and more and it is due to the treatments, it is far from being perfect as the aim is to gain as much weight as possible, so I'll be able to get higher doses of chimo. I hope it will be better soon. So - as I said, tonight Yael is in the hotel and I'm alone with mam; and this is also fun. I love mam a lot and we hugged each other all the evening. I know dad miss me, and I think I miss him too. I hope Yael will be better tomorrow and that she will be back here to play with me.
Tuesday Oct. 16/12:
I'm sorry for the update is in a 24 hours delay, and that it will be very minimal, but my secretary is away. I will do my best. So today it was a day off from hospital. I played with and had fun with Yael, and I taught her how to make meat balls, as I learned from Didi.
Monday Oct. 15/12:
I woke up today and dad wasn't at home. He left very early and flew for 5 days of working in Saskatoon. Because of that the reports this week will be quite limited. Any way, Yael, mam and me went in the morning to hospital get Erwinia Asparaginase. They tested my blood and it wasn't perfect so they decided to postpone the chimo that I was suppose to get tomorrow to the day after (hopefully). Beside that I had some pains in my back today and they X-ray my back. I still didn't hear about these results, In addition, I was today a bit gloomy and I asked mam "when it all over? When I'll be your age will I be healthy?". But Yael is here and I enjoy playing with her. Another special event was that I got a box today from Hamburg - Germany. Mam and dad friends: Olaf and Maribel sent me a great box with toys and other good things. It made me very happy. More updates tomorrow...
Sunday Oct. 14/12:
Today was a nice and quiet day. Dad brought Yael at 09:00 from the airport and I waited for her downstairs. It was great seeing her, getting some new presents and mainly receiving a fresh delivery of my grand-grandmother Borek. That was so tasty...
We played in the house all day as it was a bit rainy. At the afternoon, the sky's got clear and we went for a short walk and a tram ride to our friends: Liran, Kati, and their kids. We had there a nice dinner and we played very nice and for long time. In the last few days I started to puke a bit, usually just after eating, I don't puke a lot and It probably related to the chimo. I hope I won't suffer from this for too long. Beside that it was an easy day. I feel good and happy and ready for the coming week. It should be a tough week, with a lot of chimo, and long days in the hospital. Tomorrow morning dad is flying for a week to Saskatoon, to do some work. I hope it will be a fruitful week for him and not too hard for mam and Yael. Will see...
Saturday Oct. 13/12:
I had quite a boring day today. I guess in a way it is good news. The weather was pretty cold and rainy and we didn't get out side. David and Galya came to visit me in the morning and that was nice, but besides that I haven't done too much. I watched TV, played with my trains and other toys. David and Galya brought me few nice magic tricks that dad did to me and I tried to learn by my self, with limited success. Mam and dad are a bit worried as I haven't ate too much in the past few days. They try to convince me to eat in various ways. I just don't feel like eating. I (they) hope my apatite will get back to me soon. In the evening some volunteers came and did for us a nice dinner, but I ate mainly the desserts. In general I was very happy and sweet today, and much more energetic compare to the last few days. I'm asleep now; I asked to sleep with mam and dad and of course they said yes!
Tomorrow Yael (dad sister) is coming and I'm very excited about that. I hope she will arrive soon...
Friday Oct. 12/12:
I'm happy to say that I had today a good and relatively normal day. I had to get the Erwinia Asparaginase in hospital, and it took few hours, but everything went smoothly with no special problems. I went only with mam to hospital, as dad stayed at home to do some work and laundry. We got back home at around 16:00 and then we just played and paint and had fun in the house. At 18:00 we took the subway up north. We went to our friends Miki, Guy and their kids Dan and Keren. We met there another nice family with kids and we had a very good dinner. At the end Guy took us back home and now, after washing my teeth and organizing for the night I watch Spider man with mam and dad. We still have no plans for tomorrow, but I'm sure we will have a nice day.
Thursday Oct. 11/12:
Hooray! I did the MRI .
I slept very well last night and I woke up at around 09:00. At 10:30 they called me to the MRI . Since the test is lasting for ~40 minute and you are not allowed to move during the test, they put me into sleep, so I can't tell you too much about it. Then I woke up and I went back to my room with mam and dad. I was pretty tired and grumpy after that, both because of the sleep and due to a general tiredness I have in the last few days. It might be related to the low haemoglobin levels in my blood. At around 17:00 the Dr.came and said that the MRI indicated that my back swell is due to some licking of the spinal fluid outside, as result of the lumbar puncture. He said that by now the lick is sealed and that it looks OK. In the next few days the licked liquids will diffuse out and the swell will disappear. We got back home and had a dinner in the communal kitchen as again nice volunteers came to cook us dinner. I didn't eat too much, but I played with Mayson. Now I'm resting with mam in front of the TV, watching a documentary about polar bears; Very interesting!
Tomorrow I will visit the hospital again, hopefully for a quick visit to get my chimo and to go back home. In the last 2 weeks, every week had it's own medical adventure. I hope next week will be less challenging, as dad is going to be in Saskatoon.
Wednesday Oct. 10/12:
Last time I wrote you was yesterday at around 23:00 from the emergency room, due to the swell in my back. Various nurses and Dr's examined me and it was decided to connect me to the centre line and to get me preapered for a MRI scan, to see what is going on in my back. Since they didn't know when the MRI will happen I stayed in a private room at the emergency room and mam went back home, while dad stayed with me. At around 03:00 they moved us to a bigger room at the hospital (at the orthopaedic department). At that point there were no news regarding the MRI and we keep on sleeping. Mam came back at 08:00; I was still asleep and she woke up dad as he had to go to do some work things. I woke up at 10:30 and still there was nothing new about the MRI. It was quite annoying as I had to be fasting all that time. More and more Dr's and nurses came to see me and to consult with mam what to do, as the MRI is not moving and in addition to that I have to get my Erwinia Asparaginase chimo. The problem was that after the Erwinia Asparaginase I need to be watched for two hours, so they didn't want me to get the chimo before the MRI, in case I'll be called to the MRI. So we were in an awkward situation where it is not clear what is going on with the MRI and on the other hand it stops me from getting my chimo. Mam, which was very concern about my back took me at around 12:00 to the Oncology department and asked Dr. Punnet to have a look on my back. Dad came back then and met us there. Dr. Punnet, for the first time today, helped us to better understand the situation and the options we have; and we decided to keep on waiting for the MRI. At 14:00 mam went to do another Ultra Sound to my sister and I stayed with dad. Shortly after that, Dr. Hitzler, who is a very nice person, a good Dr., and the one who did to me the lumbar puncture yesterday came to see me and to talk with dad. Dr. Hitzler said he believe my back is OK, but still we better do the MRI. So we waited (while fasting) and I saw with dad the movie 'Moby Dick 2010', which was a terrible and amusing movie. Moby dick, the giant whale ate nuclear submarines and helicopters, and huge cargo ships. I don't think it is possible....
Any way, at around 16:00 the nurse came and said they had an emergency at the MRI and that I can eat. Immediately dad brought me some Corn-flakes. Five minutes after I started eating, the nurse came again and said that now they have a place in the MRI. But now, because I ate I can't do it. It is good that mam wasn't there as she could kill the nurse in this moment - I think. At least they came and give me the Erwinia Asparaginase, and that went smoothly, with no allergic reaction, which we had a small fear from it too. In this time of the day at around 17:00 it was clear that I wont have the MRI today, but at least I got my chimo. We ordered dinner and then mam came back from the Ultra Sound. At least with my sister everything seems to be OK, for now. Now I'm playing with mam and soon I will go to sleep (at the hospital). I'm here as there is still some hope that I will do the MRI tomorrow.
I hope it will happen. I always loved magnets...
Tuesday Oct. 9/12:
Again dad didn't woke up at time and mam took me at around 08:00 to the hospital. We did all the preparations for the lumbar puncture operation, as I had to get again the chimo Intrathecal methotrexate. After that I got the VinCRIStine to the centre line. Today I got for the first time the chimo Erwinia Asparaginase which is the replacement for the Pegaspargase, that I was allergic to. The Erwinia Asparaginase is being injected to the legs mussle and it's not very pleasant. Unfortunately, I need to get these shots 6 times in the next two weeks and many times later on. However, I was quite brave and didn't do too much of a fuss about it. I just cried a bit. Luckily, I didn't react for the Erwinia Asparaginase, which is good news. My mam saw a noticed I have a little swell in my back, where they did the lumbar puncture. At around 15:30 we got back home, after Dr. Punnett checked the swell. Shortly after we got back home, Dubi came to visit me and brought me a professional set of brushes and colours. Dubi is a professional painter and he helped me to draw some very nice pictures. After he went, dad made a very not successful dinner and at the bath mam and dad saw that the swell in my back got bigger and more than doubled it self. Even though it is not bothering me, we called to the hospital and they told us to come to be checked in the emergency. So at 22:30 we did our way to the emergency room. Even though mam took my stroller, I insisted to sit on dad's shoulders. Funny enough we met at the emergency Gabriel my friend. It's start to be late and I'm still in the emergency with no conclusions for now. I will update later on or tomorrow what happened. Any way, it looks like there is nothing to worried about.
I owe you another update from few days ago: My brother is a sister. Mam's new baby is a girl I'm happy with that!
So - I'm going to spend the night in hospital as they want to open an eye on my swell. Good night.
Monday Oct. 8/12:
Another quiet and relax day. It is today 'thanks giving' holiday so it is a day off for the Canadians. I woke up and played with mam, while dad was asleep after a long night of working. At around 12:00 we took the subway down south to the Toronto Island. I was there already with mam and her sister, Reut, few weeks ago, but for dad it was the first time. To get on to the island we took the ferry. We spent there few hours and it was very nice. The weather was a bit cold, but the sun was out and that helped us to enjoy the day. We did a lot of fun; I showed dad where I've been with Reut, and beside that I ran after the sea gulls, played hide and seeks, did a picnic with pizza and cake and wondered around. After few hours we took the ferry back to town. There we took a bus to the nearest tram station and then we took the tram back home. For sure it was an interesting day transportation wise. In the bus I told mam and dad when we should get off the bus, as I listened to the driver who said the stations names and I knew we had to get off at College street. We got back home at around 18:00. Andrea and Dora brought us fresh Borek they have just made for dinner and that was a great treat. Hopefully I will go to sleep soon as tomorrow we have a long and busy day in the hospital. It's about time to get some chimos.
Sunday Oct. 7/12:
An easy day to report on, yet a very enjoyable one.
I woke up quite late at around 09:00 and we spent the morning talking in Skype with our Israeli friends and families. At around 12:00 Liran picked dad and me and took us to their house and mam stayed at home to prepare some food for the week. We had there good time, we played at a nice playground with Pyrates ship and after that I played with Sarel, Goni, and Romi for more than an hour at the basement, while the grown-ups stayed up stairs. From there we went on the subway all the way to the final station in the north end. We did all the way at the front coach, looking on the subway tunnels and at some point the subway driver opened his door and I could see how he drives the train. At the final station we met mam and we went together to have a dinner at the house of Gabriel, my friend from the hospital. Also there I had good time, playing with his bigger brothers. We had a good B.B.Q. and then we took the subway back home.
Health wise, I'm very well, strong, happy and feeling good. Next week I'm going to get some more "strong" chimos, so it's good I am strong and "ready" to get it.
Saturday Oct. 6/12:
Today I woke up first (at around 08:30) and then I woke up dad. We had cereal for breakfast and then we woke up mam. We prepared our self for going out as at 11:00 we took the car of the Ronald Mcdonald house and we went with Liran, Kati and their kids to St. Jacobs. which is a Mennonites town 1.5 hours outside of Toronto. The town is nice, small and pastoral, and every once in a while you see a horse with a cartridge crossing the street. However, we went to the local farmers' market which was very crowded and not too impressive. Any way, it was nice hanging around with the kids, we also met there Naomi and Uriya, the kids of Sari and Ehud, our new friends. On the way the trees along the road were in beautiful autumn colours. Another nice thing we saw was two small and pink pigs, that tried to steel corn from dad's hands. On the way back Sarel and Goni were with me in our car and it was very funny. We invented jokes and had fun. After that we took advantage of having the car and we went to do some shopping for the house. Tomorrow it is another free day and I'm not sure what are the plans yet, but you will know....
Friday Oct. 5/12:
Mam and I woke up quite early and we went to the hospital to have a quick blood test. It was OK and we got back home quickly. At home dad prepared us a good lunch and we spent the rest of the afternoon in playing and talking in Skype with Israel. At 17:00 we went with Liran and his kids to have dinner in a Suka at a close by Jewish community centre. That was a strange (I try to be polite here) event. We got out of there quite fast and then Liran and the kids came to our house and that was great fun. It was nice having Sarel, Goni, and Romi at my place and I enjoyed playing with them. Now its late all ready, I'm in bed and tomorrow we will meet again with Liran, Kati and the kids as we will go to a trip out side of Toronto. Good night!
Thursday Oct. 4/12:
As I hoped, I had today a quiet and nice day. We woke up slowly and played at home until 14:00. Then we went to the hospital. BUT - this time it wasn't for me. We went with mam to do an ultrasound for my little brother (or sister). It took some time, but it looks like everything is O.K. in this front. They want us to come again as they couldn't get a good enough image of the baby heart, though it should be O.K. We already know its gender but you will have to wait few more days before I will get a permission to tell you. All I can tell for now is that it is what mam wanted it to be. After that we got back home, had a quick dinner and at 18:30 we went to hear a concert at the Ronald Mcdonald house. It was strange, yet lovely concert. A nice guy with beautiful voice came and sang for us various songs; from Leonard Cohen, through musicals, to Italian love songs. We were there approximately 15 kids and few parents, and at some point all the kids went up to the singer and we danced. You can imagine a group of sick kids, some of us with different bandages at different places and some of us bold from the chemotherapy treatments but we were all dancing with a huge smile on our face.
Now I'm back home after a shower and mam is reading me a book and hopefully soon I will be dreaming. Tomorrow we will go for a quick check up in the hospital and in the evening we will meet again with friends.
Wednesday Oct. 3/12:
After yesterday "trauma" I stayed in hospital most of the day to be under supervision. In the morning my lips were quite normal and I felt very well, but to be on the safe side they wanted me to stay till the afternoon. It was a nice and easy day in the hospital. From some point they disconnected me from all the tubes and cables so I could run, play, ride the tricycle (there was one there) and do what ever I wanted. A very nice student named Kristin came and played with me for almost two hours and that was fun for me and for dad who could do some work and mam went to arrange various things. At around 18:00 we were back home, but we quickly organised and went back to the hospital. If you remember, few days ago I told you about the Leukemia night walk. We went to the 8th floor of the hospital, which is the Haematology / oncology floor. many kids sick like me came too and we all gathered at the big windows that view over the street. Each kid got a flash light and when the walking people (few thousand of them) passed below the hospital, we waved with the flash lights. The people in the street had thousands of balloons with small leds in them; so the street was full with blinking balloons and we waved our lights in the 8th floor windows and that was very nice. we were really overwhelmed by the amount of people that went down there, just for me and other people with my disease.
After that, to celebrate our small victory over the small (yet frighten) challenge we faced yesterday we went to have a very good dinner in a near by Spanish restaurant. That was a good finale for two relatively bad days. My mother insist to mention that even though these days were not easy, and I had some very bad physical reactions, I was still happy and smiley, and sweet. Now I'm disconnected from the centre line, and for the next few days I'm free from any drugs or other unpleasant activities.
Tuesday Oct. 2/12:
It is only noon now, but to save some time, I will update about my Chimo for today, as any way we are at the hospital and there isn't nothing else to do. So we got quite early to hospital (with mam, as dad stayed home to sleep a bit). First they gave me the Intrathecal methotrexate straight into my spinal cord, with the full procedure of anaesthesia. After a short recovery I got the VinCRIStine , and Pegaspargase. Now its 21:00 and I'm still at the hospital. To get the Pegaspargase I had to be connected through the centre line for few hours, so to pass the time I was chatting with Shalom and Didi in skype. However, 15 minutes after I started to get it into my centre line I started to complain about right hand and mouth pains. This chimo is well known to have bad allergic effects so a nurse was sitting in the entrance of my room to be there when needed. When she heard me complaining about these pains, in a second she disconnected me from the pump that injected the chemo into me. Then I asked for some water, my dad lift me on his hands, and then I puked all over dad and the bed. By then two Dr's and four nurses were in the room, pushing me all kind of injections and various materials to reduce the allergic reaction. At this moment mam wasn't with us, as she went to see her obstetrician, but she got just in time, after I puked to change my cloths and to calm me down. Another reaction I had is that my lips were getting swollen, but the different medications ceased the lips from keep on swollen, stopped my puking, made me feeling better and made me very tired so I felt asleep in mam hands. Because of my reaction I'm not going to get the Pegaspargase any more and next week they will give me 6 shots of a similar, but different chimo into my leg mussels. They said this reaction is quite common and that we shouldn't be too worried.
To be on the safe side I will stay tonight with dad at the hospital. Since they don't have available beds in the regular department I'm admitting in usually (8A), they put us for the night in department 8B. This department is hard core. It meant to serve kids with Leukemia that need bone marrow transplant. All the rooms are isolated, small with automatic doors that close and open. We have no bed in the room for dad (we have some small folding sofa), no sink, nor toilets. They were quite surprise to hear I'm not using the dippers any more, so they brought me a wheel chair with a hole and a bucket in the middle. I guess I will have to control my needs tonight... As bad as it is, it is still better than being at the emergency room, which is the next option if 8B is full.
Now mam is playing with me and soon she will go and I will stay to sleep with dad. I hope the night will go smoothly and that I could go back home tomorrow. Moreover, I hope not to return to this department in the future, and if to return here, so only as a guest that need a bed for the night.
Monday Oct. 1/12:
As I told you we went first thing in the morning to the hospital to check my blood. As expected, my haemoglobin values were below the lower limit and I had to get some blood transfusion. So they connected me to the centre line and gave me some blood. The blood transfusion is a long process of three hours, and after that you need to stay in hospital for some time, so we end up being in the hospital the all day. It was OK. For lunch dad brought some food from below, but I most liked the simple sandwich I found in the day hospital kitchen. Before the blood transfusion I felt quite well, but my skin colour was relatively pale. With the fresh blood, my 'reddish' colour immediately got back to my chicks. It was interesting to see how fast it happened. We got back home at around 18:00 and I went straight to the basement since there was there a sport class.
I am still connected to a short tube at my centre line as tomorrow is another day at the hospital to get a nice dose of various chimo's. But details about that will be given tomorrow.
Mam put some new pictures in the album so you are welcome to have a look. Another interesting fact is that in two nights from now there will be a walk in Toronto to raise money and awareness for Leukemia. We think may be to join it, though we are not sure yet; will see.
Sunday Sep. 30/12:
Actually I didn't woke up too late. I woke up at around 09:00. I played with mam and talked in Skype with Shalom and Didi, Batia and Arie and Ori, Oren, and Reut. Ori taught me to build things in Lego and we talked for long time. At 11:00 we went to the hospital, but as guests today. Gabriel my friend, who has Leukemia, like me, had 1 year birthday today. The hospital and his parents organised a very nice birthday party. Many people came and there were many activities, and good food, and cake. The coolest thing was a huge Elmo (from sesame street) that was there and played with the kids. At around 13:00 we got back home and Liran and his kids picked mam and me and took us to a trip out of town. We went to a beautiful park with a river and we walked along the river and played and had a lot of fun. We got home quite late, at around 20:00. We had dinner and now I need to wait 2 hours before I'll take my daily pill and then I'll go to sleep. Tomorrow we are going to hospital to check my blood condition, and if needed I may get some blood transfusion.
But will see....
Saturday Sep. 29/12:
A lovely Saturday, full with friends.
As usual in our free days, we woke up late; dad made pancakes for breakfast and after that we played and had fun at home. At around 14:00 Rally, Dora, and most important Andrea came to visit me. I'm always happy to play with Andrea, who is very nice to me. Dora brought us good and fresh bagels, as well as good Borek and my most favorite thing – cream cheese with smoked Salomon. I had a Borek and Bagel with the Salomon cheese, it was very tasty. At around 16:00 we went to visit new friends: Michal, Guy, Dan and Keren. We took the subway up north and they took us from the subway station to their home. I had there great time and I played with Dan who is bigger than me and Keren, who is a bit younger than me. On the way in the subway I asked mam and dad to be in the locomotive, so we went to the first coach and we stood at the most front window, so I could see all the tunnels and the subway system. The driver was sitting in a small cabin in our right side.
Now we are back at home. I will take my medications soon and then (hopefully) I will go to sleep. Health wise, I'm still happy and strong. Now I just saw I have some bruise on my leg but considering my low platelets it is reasonable (I think). We will check it tomorrow with our friend Liran who is expert in my illness. Will update you about that and all the rest tomorrow. Good night.
Saying all that. After taking my pill, my parents took me out as it is today a "white night" in Toronto. All the restaurants, galleries, and other attractions are open throughout the night. We went to the Art Gallery of Ontario and we saw there interesting things. After that we just walked in the streets for some time and saw the action. On the way back home, around midnight I fall asleep in my trolley. I guess tomorrow is going to be another late wake up...
Friday Sep. 28/12:
Today we woke up quite early and I went with mam to the hospital, and dad stayed at home to do laundary. They gave me the last Cytarabine for this week and they detached me from the tube that was connected to my centre line at the last four days. Beside that they tested my blood which is not 100% O.K., due to the chemotherapy that I get. However, it is still in reasonable condition and for now we decided not to have any blood transfusion. We decided not to do the blood transfusion because at the moment the "most problematic" thing in my blood is that I have low Haemoglobin values. Consequently, I suppose to be very tired with headaches, and general bad feeling. Since I have none of these, we decided to wait with the transfusion. Moreover, I think my parents wouldn't mind that I will be a bit more tired...
After hospital we got back home and I did a good bath, after not having a shower for four days. Then mam went to see her Dr., regarding her pregnancy and he said that everything is OK. At that time me and dad went to a walk in the Toronto university. We got into the Earth Science department and we saw beautiful rocks and minerals. We finished our walk with a tasty soft vanilla chocolate ice cream.
Now we are back home and soon we will go for Friday dinner at my friends (Sarel, Gony, and Romi) house and after that it will be late and I will go to sleep.
Tomorrow - should be a nice and quiet Saturday, I'm sure we will do something interesting.
Thursday Sep. 27/12:
Another regular day.
We all woke up late, at around 09:00 and mam and my self went to the hospital to get my daily Cytarabine . We did the way to the hospital with my friend Maison, who went to visit his brother at the hospital. All went well in the hospital, but we spend there some time, hanging around, to give dad some time to work. I went to play a bit at the day care at the hospital but didn't stay there too long. We got back home at the after noon and we had a nice time at home. Before dinner I went with dad to the craft room and for dinner we went down, as again lovely volunteers came to cook for us. After dinner I played for almost two hours with Mayson. Then we got back home, I took my pill and now I'm playing Ibad (Ipad in bad).
Tomorrow we will go forst thing in the morning to the hospital to get the last chimo for this week and to disconnect the tube from the centre line, to be a free kid for the week end.
Wednesday Sep. 26/12:
Happy birthday to my Grand-grand mother - Esther. She is 83 years old today!
Besides that we had a normal and quiet day. It was Yom Kipur but we didn't feel it too much. We woke up early and went to the hospital to get my daily chimo. I was first at the operation room and they did to me the lumbar puncture operation, to give me the chimo Intrathecal methotrexate. As I told you they put me to sleep before the operation and after that I slept for another ~30 minutes. When I started to wake up I open my eyes slowly and before getting fully awake I whispered to my mam "Did they finish? Can I wake up?" Luckily she told me it was finish so I woke up and dad went to bring me rice and chicken as I was fasting since last night. After that they gave me the chimo Cytarabine , and then we went home. The weather today was quite gloomy so we didn't get out. We stayed in the room and played and watched cartoons. In the afternoon I went with dad to do some wood crafting, like every Wednesday.
I am still connected to a short tube at my centre line and tomorrow we will go again to the hospital to get some more chimo.
Oh - I almost forgot - I got a huge package from Israel today, with cool games and toys and good snacks from Israel. I got it from Yael and Yuval (and their dog Jaya) - our friends back home. Mam was very excited from a very simple chocolate with a picture of a cow on the wrapping paper; I don't know why. Any way, I told her she can have it all, but I will have all the rest....
Tuesday Sep. 25/12:
I'm sorry for building high expectations but today was a short and easy day in the hospital. They were busy today so I got the chimo Cytarabine , very quickly, through my centre line and then I went home. Tomorrow I will be back there to get again the Cytarabine , and the chimo Intrathecal methotrexate straight into my spinal cord. This will require a short operation, including putting me to sleep. Of course I got again the Purinethol at home. Today, not like previous days I swallowed a full pill. In the previous days I had to take half pill each time, but I managed also with the full one. From the morning I have my centre line connected to a short tube which will used them in the next 4 days to give me my chimo.
Any way, after hospital we bought some good and fresh fruits, cheese, and bread at the farmers market, that operates every Tuesday below the hospital and we went home to have a good breakfast. After that I went with mam to the Mt. Sinai hospital synagogue (2 minutes from our place). We went to the synagogue because it is Yom Kipur eve today. We were there only mam, my self and the Rabi. It was pretty strange but mam was very excited, especially when the Rabi gave me a blessing for my health. Mam was crying and I felt strange. When we turn to get back home the Rabi gave mam a 'siddur', for self use at home. Since then she is reading in it and she told me that's her way to communicate with god and to ask him to give me and my brother (or sister) to come, a good health. Dad said that when she will talk to him (the one up there) she can tell him that if he will ask very nicely, my dad may forgive him this year. My mam is quite sad today because of this Yom Kipur and she miss her family in Israel but I'm sure she will be better soon.
Beside that I played a lot with dad today and in the evening we had a wonderful dinner cooked by nice volunteers. After dinner I played for more than an hour with my friend Maison who also live now with his family at the Ronald Mcdonald house.
Now mam is in bed and I will go to see a movie with dad soon. He told me that's what you do in yom Kipur.
G'mar Hatima Tova to all of you!
Monday Sep. 24/12:
Another really regular day. We woke up late and spent the day at the Ronald Mcdonald house. In the morning mam played with me outside and dad tried to work. In the afternoon I did Burek with mam and after that I went with dad to the kids Gym to play with other kids. I'm still strong and happy and looks good. I think most of my hairs are still on my head, in spite of the brutal hair cut my parents did to me. At the evening I took again the Purinethol, simply by swallowing it, which means that yesterday wasn't just beginners luck. Tomorrow we will go to the hospital first day in the morning as I need to get again my chimo through the centre line. A full report about it will be given tomorrow.
Now it is night and I am playing chess against my Ipad. It says "CHESS" all the time and my father is insisting that it is the computer doing chess to me but I am sure it is me that is threaten the other king. Well - may be dad was right. Good night.
Sunday Sep. 23/12:
Just another day in Toronto. We woke up and took Reut to the airport with the Ronald Mcdonald house car. On the way back we stopped in a dodgy supermarket, apparently in a bad neighbourhood to do some shopping. After we got back home Galya and David, our friends from Toronto came to visit us and that was nice. In the afternoon I went with dad to the gym at the Ronald Mcdonald house. Dad wanted to run a bit but I didn't let him to do so. Instead I used the walking machine and we rode together on the spinning bikes. That was fun for me but a bad training for dad.
As you remember, these days I'm taking one pill at home every night. This pill is Purinethol, and in order to take it they explained us at the hospital how to dissolve it in a syringe and then how should I take it. It's an annoying and time consuming process, so today I thought - why not to take the pill straight into my mouth and to swallow it with out all the "fuss" around it? So I asked dad if I can try to swallow it. Mam and dad explained me how to do it, and we prepared a small bowl handy, in case of failure. Dad put the pill on my tongue, a sip of water and that's all. No failure and no big deal. Dad said I am doing it much better than him, and mam said that in hospital they told her that only kids from age of eight can swallow the pills. I hope they right in the other assumptions and decisions they are taking there at the hospital...
Saturday Sep. 22/12:
Another nice day in Toronto!
This morning mam and Reut left early for a "girls" day and dad and I left alone to sleep. At 10:00 I decided that it is too much and I woke up dad. Two minutes after that, Liran - our friend from yesterday called and invited us to join them to a Safari out of town. The Safari is ~70 km west of Toronto and it calls the African Lion Safari. It's a beautiful safari with many many animals, all over the world, and mainly from Africa. We saw lions, elephants, zebras, various birds, giraffes, and many many others. We saw an elephant show, where the elephants stood on their head, carried big logs, played football and basket ball and did many other tricks. I saw a talking parrot, and birds of prey hunting. It was great. Beside Lirans' family we were with Sari and her kids and Saris' brother family. We were 8 kids all together and that was fun. Oh - we cruised in a small boat between islands with ,monkeys! A funny thing was that dad knew Sari from the army. At around 19:00 we got back home, we met mam and Reut and had dinner together.
Tonight is the last night of Reut with us. It was great having her here and now I am going to be all alone with mam and dad until mid-October, when Yael (dad sister) will come. I hope they will be OK with out any help from Israel. I believe it will be OK.
Friday Sep. 21/12:
What a nice day.
Beside a short visit to hospital in the morning, where I took my last chimo dose for the week (beside the one that I get at home every evening), it was a nice day. After that chimo they disconnected my centre line as I will not need it until next Tuesday. After the hospital Reut, mam, and me went to a walk in China town. At the afternoon Liran, who is a friend of a friend of Reut came and take us to his house. Liran is a Dr. specialized in blood diseases and he is doing a research in Toronto about Leukemia.
Liran, his wife Ketty and their kids Sarel, Gony, and Romi are very nice, and it was good fun playing with them. I played chess against Sarel but he was much better. But he is also twice bigger than me so I guess it is OK. They made for us a nice dinner and we had a good time. Mam and dad (well, mainly mam) asked Liran tones of questions about my disease and she got many answers. Funny enough, Ketty is a gynaecologist, exactly what mam needs. So it was a good social and professional evening.
Oh - I forgot to mention that dad returned from the conference and he joined us at their house. We got back home and I saw with dad videos of the Niagara falls, and after that some videos of planes doing aerobatics, and then I fall asleep on Dad and he is happy.
Thursday Sep. 20/12:
I woke up early and we went to hospital to get my chimo for today. It was very quick and easy, as I am still connected to the centre line. Yesterday I took for the first time a pill. This pill is going to walk with me for the next 3 years. In order to take it we dissolved it in a syringe, and then I drank the solution. After hospital we took the subway down south and then we took an hour tour boat to the Toronto Island. There we stayed for an hour. We had fun in a nice playground and we saw beautiful birds. After that we went back home. Mam tried to convince me to eat out side, but I insisted to eat at home. I ate pasta and Burek and liked it a lot. At 17:00 I went to meet the Olympic team that came to cook for us. I didn't eat their food, since I wanted to eat at home. But I met members from the Olympic team which was very nice. They were very friendly and they talked with me a lot and we had a great fun. They signed me on a piece of paper and Brian Price signed me on my special blanket (the one that Kate did to me). Brian Price won with the rowing team of Canada in gold medal at Beijing and in Silver medal at London. The important detail about him is that at age of seven he got the same Leukemia I have. He was treated until the age of 12 and now he is perfectly all right. We really had a good time together, so now all I have to do is start practising my rowing.
Wednesday Sep. 19/12:
It will be short today to prevent the effect of a "broken phone". Since dad is still in the conference he Skyped mam to get updates about today and to put it here. We (mam Reut and me) woke up early and by 08:30 we were in the hospital to get the missing chimo from yesterday. At 13:00 Dr. Uri Tabori came to visit us. Uri is a Dr. in a different department at the hospital and he is very nice to us and try to help when ever he can; so today he just came to talk with mam a bit. I am still connected to the centre line, as I have to keep on getting some chimo through it in the coming two days. For the chimo I need to drink a lot all day, in addition to the fluids I get through the centre line. So I try to drink as much as I can and to make sure my pee is as clear as possible. I miss my father (really) and I talked to him in Skype many times today. Reut is very good with me and she helps mam a lot. I forgit to tell you but few days ago we got a special package from Peru. My friend Gilad Leiba, who is with his family in Peru sent me a special 'Rosh Hashana' package. That was cool getting it!
Tomorrow I should have another short visit to hospital and in the evening members from the Canadian olympic team will come to cook for us!
Will let you know about their cooking skills tomorrow.
Tuesday Sep. 18/12:
After almost 10 days of a perfect vacation in Toronto the day has come; I have started another session of chimo today, A.K.A. consolidation . This part is going to last for 8-12 weeks with a lot of chimo and hospital visits. A serious fall of hair is expected soon and many other "goodies". Today we woke up early and went to the hospital to meet the Dr. Sheila Weitzman who is the "Big" Dr. who is taking care of me. Every one says she is one of the best Dr. in the world to deal with Leukemia and I have that feeling too. She checked me and said that I look very good and that my tests are very very good, and I'm in the best condition possible. My blood count was great as well, though it is going to drop down soon with the chimo. After that I went with Reut to a walk in the hospital and mam and dad left alone with Sheila and they talked for more than an hour about the near future. She explained them in details the meanings of the consolidation stage and all the possible side effects and complications. After that we went to the day hospital to receive the first dose of my new chemo. Even though I was planed to get today 4 different medicines today, at the end I got only two of them. Today I got the Mercaptopurine, through the moth, at home and Cytarabine through the centre line. I insisted to push the medicine by my self to the centre line. So the nurse hooked up everything but I pushed by my self the medicine from the syringe into my self. The nurse Lori which is one of the more senior nurses said she never saw some one giving it to him self and she was quite amused from the situation. My father is wondering if I feel the flux of the medicine in my self while injecting it, but I didn't bother my self with his stupid thoughts. For the next 4 days or so I am going to stay hooked to a short tube in the centre line, as I have to get a lot of chemo in the next coming days.
Tomorrow I will report again to hospital to get the missing shots. I didn't get the other chemo as there was some time pressure and the operation room wasn't available for the lumbar puncture operation, which was needed. As well, my pee was too condense (I haven't drank enough), which is problematic for one of the materials.
After that we went back home and dad headed back to the conference, until Friday (if I will behave). For dinner guys from Mcdonald - the restaurant came and did for us good steaks.
I'm still happy and strong, but I am expected to get a bit weaker in the next few weeks. Any way, we will see and I will update.
Monday Sep. 17/12:
Today was a good day indeed; as it should be at the last day before the chimo that is going to start tomorrow.
In the morning I played and hang around with Reut, after eating the healthy breakfast that she made for us. After that I wanted to meet my new friend David. David is my very nice friend since Monday last week (10/12). So mam did some phone calls and we went to a wonderful Rosh Hashana lunch at the house of a nice friend - Odet. Odet is a good friend of David and his wife Galya that were in the lunch, as well as many other nice people. It was a wonderful meal with great food. I did a lot of fun with David and during lunch time I set on him. He also gave me a great presents - a fishing rod just for my self. Now I can go fishing with my parents and we won't have to fight over the rod. Odet's house is quite amazing. It is in a very high building, 23rd floor, with an amazing view of Toronto. On the way there we took the subway which is nice but not as big deal as it was a week ago. However, on the way back we went on the trum and that was exciting.
Dad also surprised me and he got back from to conference to sleep with me. Tomorrow is a big day at the hospital and I guess dad wanted to be there with us.
So - tomorrow might be the start of a challenging 2 months. I hope it will pass easily, but you can never tell.
However, as you know, I will update you on a daily basis about my new chimo adventure.
Sunday Sep. 16/12:
Hello, and sorry for the late update of today. You'll have to excuse my father who is my typing secretary these days, as he is in a conference for the coming week at the Niagara falls.
Any way, I had another good day today. I woke up and spent some time with mam. At around 10:00 I jumped on dad in his bed and woke him up, after he prepared, in the night, his talk for the conference. Then I played with mam, dad, and Reut and in the after noon the Ireson's from Saskatoon came to visit me. I always happy to meet them and their lovely daughter, Alliyah. Sadly, they took my father with them to the conference and I stayed with mam and Reut for the next coming days. It is Rosh Hashana (Jewish new year Eve) today, so in the evening we went to have a proper Rosh Hashana dinner with my friend Gabriel and his family. Gabriel is younger than me and I met him in the hospital. He has the same thing I have and his father is Israeli, so immediately we became good friends. Gabriel is living in Toronto so their friends brought to the hospital all the needed things for a "Kosher" Rosh hashana meal. We got a room from the hospital, and we had a very nice evening. I met for the first time Gabriel brother and sister which are in my age more or less and it was fun playing with them.
Tomorrow should be another quiet day, hough it is my last quiet day for now as in Tuesday I am going to start the next cycle of chemotherapy; I hope to use this day properly...
Saturday Sep. 15/12:
From medical point of view nothing is new today. Still happy, strong and feeling good.
Today morning Ofer Gluzman, a friend from Israel, came to visit me and that was very nice. I played with him and we built together in my K'nex. After he left I went to hang around in town with mam and Reut. Beside Ofer I got another surprise from Israel today, as I got a cool package from my friend Negev from Israel. I got there nice books and game and most important - Bamba.
In the evening I went to an Italian restaurant with mam and dad. That was our new year Eve. dinner (the real Jewish one is tomorrow) , as tomorrow dad is going to a conference in the Niagara falls, and he won't be here with us to celebrate it.
Beside that, today was a special day, as today is the Kids Cancer Awarness day in Canada. So please be aware. For that they did all kind of events, including lightning the CN tower, the one I climbed on at September 6th, in golden lights. I see it directley from my room now. That's all. Tomorrow another nice day will come and I will tell you about it in 24 hours from now.
Friday Sep. 14/12:
Another quiet day. In the morning mam and Reut went to make some arrangements in town and I went with Didi to the big mall in the north of town. I love the ride in the subway up north, so I asked Didi to go there, in order to buy Shalom some cloths. In the end we didn't buy nothing, but I enjoyed the ride and we ate something. When ever I want to go on the subway I ask to go up north and then every body knows that we need to take the subway. Around noon we got back home and I said nice good bye to Didi who went to the airport to fly back to Israel. I spent some time with Reut and after that I was all alone with my parents for few hours which was fun as well. For dinner, again, nice people came to cook for us and the other tenants of the Ronald Mcdonald house. After dinner I went with mam and Reut to do some crafting in the craft room. It was a nice and peaceful day, and a bit rainy. I will miss Didi a lot, but I have the feeling she will be back soon.
Thursday Sep. 13/12:
Happy with yesterday news I woke up to a nice day. Since Didi is flying back home tomorrow we did fun together and had a good day to separate properly. To start the fun she stayed and slept with me in my room last night and today we went (all of us) to the Toronto zoo. It's a very big zoo, with beautiful animals. I most liked the white lions, the polar bears, the penguins and the fox that reminded me the fox from the cartoon of Dora. I am still very strong and happy and feels very good. After the zoo we took Didi back to Raly and Dora, and we spent there some time, I played with their daughter Andrea, which I love very much. From there we went straight to the airport to pick Reut. I was really happy to see her after not seeing her for 10 months. We did all these trips with the great car provided for us by the Ronald Mcdonald house.
An interesting anecdote regarding this car is that in the morning it fuel tank was 1/3 filled up (2/3 empty). As day passed the fuel gauge climbed up and by the evening, when we returned the car the tank was already half full. Needless to say that we didn't feel it up! I have no clue how it happened, but I will take it as a sign and analogy for the things in the Ronald Mcdonald house, that start their way quite empty and as time pass on they are being filled up....
Tomorrow is Didi really last day with me, for now, so I will spend the last few hours with her as much as I can and then she will go back home and Reut will start her shift. I hope she'll have an easy shift.
Wednesday Sep. 12/12:
I promised to tell you about the bone marrow results. It has arrived and it is negative, which mean no Leukemia cells (or better to say below the detection limit) in me. I am in REMISSION!!!. Full update on today will be given in the evening.
So - it is evening now. We are happy with the good bone marrow test results and now we have a quiet week until next Tuesday, when the consolidation part will start.
In the morning we went to the hospital to show the Dr. some rush I have on my skin, in the places where they put different plasters. It seems that I am kind of sensitive for the glue of these plasters and next time they will try to use some other bandages. After that we got back home, and Rabbi Azriel, who is a good guy that helped us coming to the SickKids hospital came to visit us and to say "Shana Tova" (Happy new year for the Jewish calendar). After that Didi came and mam and dad went to hang out in town and to visit the Toronto film festival while I stayed to have fun with Didi. In the evening I did some wood crafting in the Ronald Mcdonald house. Every Wednesday a nice carpenter is coming and do with the kids these nice wood works.
Tomorrow - hopefully another boring day and Reut (mam sister) should arrive to be with me for few weeks. I'm waiting for her.....
Tuesday Sep. 11/12:
I start to be afraid that my devoted readers will stop reading this diary as the days start to look similar and I haven't reported on nothing exciting for the last few days. Generally, no news is good news I guess, but we are still waiting for the bone marrow test that is refusing to come, and next week I am going to start another session of chemotherapy, which will probably be a reliable source for more stories.
Any way, as you understood we have no results yet, but my parents are off the walls now. They are in the stage of apathy. We also didn't see any Dr. today and we hope to do so tomorrow. Since I had a free day and I'm still feeling very good I went with mam and Didi to do some shopping in town. We took the subway up north to the Yorkdale shopping centre. The subway ride was long and cool. Part of the way the train went above ground, and then back underground. We bought dad and mam cloths, and then we ate in a nice restaurant that called the "Rainforest cafe". The restaurant looks like a real jungle with thunder storms, and animals and fishes. An interesting place!
I would end this day with the general line of the last few days: "Good night and I hope to have some good news soon", but I will not do it as I don't know any more what is going on with this test.
Monday Sep. 10/12:
The bone marrow results are not here and now, both of my parents are climbing on the walls. The hospital said it might not be even tomorrow; the problem is that we are living in a small apartment and my parents are going to run out of walls soon.
Beside that small detail, I still feel very good. Today a very nice friend, called David took me, mam and Didi to a nice tour in Toronto. We went to see some botanical gardens, and many other beautiful things in town. We did it in a car with no roof, or better to say a convertible car and that was cool. After that I had nice time at home. Dubi came to visit again and I played with mam, and Didi. Dad is trying to work; though I'm not sure how well he is doing.....
Tomorrow should be another quiet day, we might go to hospital for a check up, and may be we will get the results. It is not sure yet and we will talk to them in the morning. Dad said I have another blue bruise on my hip. It is very small and not too worried, but we will show it to the Dr.
Good night and I hope to have some good news soon.
Sunday Sep. 9/12:
Today was another quiet and calm day. Nothing special happened and I feel very good. In the morning I played with mam at home and in the afternoon we went mam, Didi and me to hang around in Toronto. Dad stayed home to work a bit. We went to Bloor street by the subway; It was my first time in an underground train and that was fun. In the evening I spent some time with dad before going to sleep, while mam added new pictures to the web album. Tomorrow I should go to see Toronto a bit more with a nice friend of mam and dad, I will tell you more about it tomorrow. Hopefully we will get some positive results from the bone marrow test from Friday.
Saturday Sep. 8/12:
Another nice day at home; Nothing "big" happened. L played with mam, dad and Didi and talked to people in the Skype. It was a rainy day so we couldn't go out. June, our friend from Saskatoon came to visit us in the morning and Lisa, also from Saskatoon came in the evening. It was nice seeing them and getting their presents. Like yesterday I felt today very good and energetic, and I hope it will stay like that. Tomorrow should be another quiet day.
Friday Sep. 7/12:
So: The hospital day was very easy. My parents even didn't wake me up, as they took me asleep at around 08:30 to the hospital. I woke up there and in general, everything went quite fast and easy. One hard part was at the beginning, while the nurse tried to access my centre line. As you probably know I have two ports in my centre line, which mean that I can be poked in both of them and I can have both of them connected simultaneously. The nurse tried to access the outer port and when she flushed fluids through it, it all went in easily. However, when she tried to pump out some blood from the port; nothing went out. She explained us that the ports can be clogged every once in a while and that there is a special solution that can be injected in, in order to open it. I think there is something similar to open blockages in the home sewage system, though I hope they are using different materials. Any way, since I have another port they decided not to struggle with it for now and they just poked me at the other access and everything went well. After that I waited a bit until the operation room was available and then I went in with mam. They put me asleep and then mam went out, they did the bone marrow test and injected the Intrathecal methotrexate into my spinal cord. It all took not more than 15 minutes, but after that I stayed asleep for an hour more or less. As I woke up we went back home with no special pains or anything else.
At home I met Didi and we went for a short walk to the Ontario art museum. We went in for a short and nice visit. After that we played and had fun and for dinner we did a very nice B.B.Q. After that I went to hear a story at the library of the Ronald Mcdonald house, and after the story, we took from the reception the movie Toy Story and I watched it with my parents. Dad was asleep half of the movie, but I really liked it.
One bothering issue is that we were suppose to get some preliminary results from the bone marrow test today, but we didn't get it; I'm not sure why. Now we need to wait until Monday or Tuesday before we will know how good or bad is my condition. Apart from that I felt today very good. I climbed with dad the stairs to the 4th floor of the Ronald Mcdonald house and I am very happy. On top of that my blood counts are starting to go up to resanoble values which is very good.
Whether my bone marrow test results are good or bad, today was my last day of the induction session, which mean that I have finished the first stage of my treatment. Now I have one week to rest and then I will start the consolidation part which is tough 8 week of chimo treatments with few nasty substances, but that what has to be done.
That's all for now, I told you all I know. Tomorrow should be a nice Saturday day and I think June and Lisa from Saskatoon will come to visit me. I love the Saskatoon visits.
I know you are worried for my bone marrow test results, but believe me I am even more worried and my mam is climbing on the walls. My dad forgot about it, until he found mam on the wall.
Thursday Sep. 6/12:
Today was everything beside boring!
Though happily, I had no medical issues; I felt good and strong.
Today we went to the NC tower, which is the highest tower in Toronto, and the highest tower I have ever been on. Around noon Didi, my parents and I walked on foot to the tower which is 30 minutes walk from the Ronald Mcdonald house. We climbed up the tower in crazy fast elevators, it was so high as so fast that we felt the changes in pressure at our ears. At the top of the tower there is a wonderful view of Toronto with a very nice restaurant. We had there tasty lunch and wondered around for more than 2 hours. I really liked it, mainly the part where I stood on glass floor at 350m height. After that we walked back home, I played a bit with a friend at the Ronald Mcdonald house play ground, then I had a small dinner and hopefuly I will go to sleep soon as tomorrow is an important day.
Tomorrow is the last day of the induction session. I am going to have a small operation, where I will be asleep, and they will give me the chimo Intrathecal methotrexate straight into my spinal cord. Beside that they will take a bit of my bone marrow, from my hip, to see how good I'm doing with the treatments. Hopefully they should not see any Leukemia cells in my bone marrow by this stage, and if they will find any, it is not an encouraging sign. I sure hope everything will be OK. Since it is Friday tomorrow, I might know the results only on Monday, but I promise to update you as soon as I will know. Good night for now, I'm sure I'll have sweet dreams tonight.
Wednesday Sep. 5/12:
Another boring day! Isn't it wonderful?
Well - not really boring, I had a lot of fun with Didi and mam, but medical wise it was a boring day with no special events. In the morning mam and dad went to buy food in a big supermarket and to pick some money from another nice organisation that give help to (Jewish) families in our situation. This organisation is the Jewish immigrant aid services. My parents did all these things with a car they took from the Ronald Mcdonald house. Apparently, there is a brand new Subaru Forester that is available to the Ronald Mcdonald house guests when ever needed. They even don't want us so pay for the fuel. It is crazy; we really live from charity these days. At least in Israel, mam was doing the same thing for other people in tough situations, so our conscience is OK.
My parent's hope I will fall asleep soon, but they know I have some super powers in the nights. We all hope for another "boring" day tomorrow.
Tuesday Sep. 4/12:
As I suspected, today the "big" Drs' came after the long weekend, and immediately they decided that I can go home. It took some time until we got out of hospital, but by lunch I was at at home. Today it was a rainy day but dad found a special underground way from the hospital to our house. After lunch I cut dad hair and mam cut mine. Now both dad and I have not too much hair on our heads. After that I played with mam and Didi all the after noon and I got some more presents, including one very special playmobil that I got from my friend Rotem Bar-Shalom from Israel. I forgot to tell you, but at the hospital I discovered many interesting buttons in my bed and all the day I changed my bed angles and height. That was cool. Beside that I beaome an Ipad expert and I call by my self to people on the Skype, and operating the various games and App's. Tomorrow hopefully will be a free day at home, with no fever or other distractions.
Monday Sep. 3/12:
Still in hospital. Nothing too much to report on. Mam is still a bit sick so I haven't seen her and I miss her a lot. I've been most of the day with Didi and now dad is here until tomorrow morning. Didi brought me today good bagels, with cream cheese and Bureks from Dora. I had a nice day and my dad hope that I will go to sleep soon but most chances it will take some time. The reason I am not going home is my low immune system. They hope it will recover a bit and then I will go home. Tomorrow the "big" Drs' are going to come, after the long weekend, and I hope they will send me home. I will let you know.
Sunday Sep. 2/12:
Another day in hospital has passed. Nothing special to report on; I had a little diarrhea, but it is probably due to the antibiotics. Mam is a bit sick these days so I don't see her, as she stays at home not to expose me to other illnesses; I miss my mam, but she sent me a nice letter with dad that make me happy. In the morning Didi came and dad went back home. A funny story that happened today is that at the Dr. visit, she told me that my wounds in the mouth are much better than yesterday. The thing is that I have no wounds in my mouth. These wounds are one of the side effects of the chimo, but happily for now, I don't have these wounds, and the Dr. confused me with another patient. It gave me some hope that may be my Leukemia diagnose is another confusion of someone. But probably not. I played with Didi all day and had great fun. We even went out of the room to play with the big elevators, as well as playing in the play room. Now it is evening, dad came to be with me and tomorrow I will meet Didi and may be even mam. Good night!
It is almost 23:00 now and I'm far from going to sleep, so I will share with you some of my "wisdom". I have just told dad that mam is very miserable because she is sick now. So dad ask me if I am also miserable because I am sick (to remind you I'm at hospital, with two tubes entering my chest), but I immediately said NO. I am not miserable. I feel good and I'm having fun. And then dad told me that even though I feel fine, I'm still in hospital since my blood is not 100% well and that the war between the good and the bed cells is still taking place in my body. Then he added that the good ones will win at the end; but I told him that he is wrong. Not the beds, nor the goods will win. I told him that I WILL WIN! Don't know why, but I got a big kiss on my head after that.
Now it is after 23:00 and my father really try to convince me to go to sleep as he need to work, but I'm having fun playing my Ipad.
Saturday Sep. 1/12:
Mmm.....
Nothing has changed since yesterday. I'm still at the hospital, getting antibiotics, fluids and other "good stuff". They gave me 180cc of blood today as my Haemoglobin was a bit low. I'm quite happy and feels very good, even though I am connected to two tubes that are jammed into my chest, through the centre line. I feels 100% all right, but they afraid to send me home as my immune system is too low. I really think I can go home all ready, but it is a long week end now and all the big Drs' are probably at their cabin on the shore of some beautiful lake, so no one can take the decision of sending me home. At least the hospital is not so bad, there is good food and good television. The nurses are very nice and they give me all kind of small presents. Today I spent most of the day with dad. I had a goon nap in the afternoon and we watched a lot of cartoons on television. At the afternoon Didi and mam came to play with me and dad went to bring some food for him self. He brought Sushi and I wanted to eat it, but as I and you know, I can't have Sushi and I had no problem with it. But beside the Sushi he brought sashimi of Salomon; and no one tell me I can't have Salomon sashimi. And I wanted this Salomon so much... I asked dad to give me some and he didn't agree to give me. I cried and really bagged to get it. And I don't understand why, dad refused to give me my sashimi Salomon, I say again - it is not sushi. At the end dad understood he did a mistake and he went out and throw all the sushi and the sashimi (at least that what he wanted me to think). I ate pizza for supper and that was tasty too. Now I'm playing with Didi and dad is going to stay with me over night. Since I had a good sleep at the afternoon I'm not sure if I will fall asleep easily this night, but I don't care, dad is here to play with me.
I will let you know tomorrow if they will send me home, but probably it wont happen before Tuesday.
Friday Aug. 31/12:
As I promised I'm updating you again after my chimo session. The chimo went well; I got Daunorubicin and VinCRIStine , through the centre line. Unfortunately, just before I went home they measured my temperature and it was 37.7oC. I guess for any normal kid this wouldn't be a big deal, but since my immune system is very weak these days they are very concern with every high fever (above 37.5oC) I have that might indicate on infection. Therefore, I will stay in hospital for at least 48 hours, to get antibiotic and monitored carefully by the nurses. Because I have a double centre line, with two entrances I got another poke and I am now connected through the two entrances as each entrance need to get the antibiotic, to make sure the infection is not there. Since today is my real birthday, I got many presents today from the hospital and many other people and even one funny clown and many kids here from the department sang to me happy birthday songs. I was very embarrassed, but that was fun. Now it is evening, I haven't got yet my room for the next 48 hours, so we wait in a temporary room. I watch the lion king movie and having fun with Didi. It looks like my parents are going to have a vacation tonight and Didi will stay to sleep with me. I hope mam and dad will have fun tonight, they thought may be to go to see a movie or to hang out with Andrew, Theo and Aliyha that will come soon to say hello. I will let you know tomorrow how the night pass. It's going to be Didi first night in the hospital with me, I hope she will behave upon my standards.
Thursday Aug. 30/12:
You'll have to excuse my father. I wrote yesterday (it's the 31 now) and my dad forgot to hit the save button. So I will try to write quickly on my yesterday adventures. I will do it quite quickly, as we are about to leave soon to hospital to get my Friday chimo session. So - yesterday was a hospital free day, which is always good. Few "first time things" happened yesterday. For the first time for the last few weeks I didn't wake up in the night to eat and for the first time, since everything started I asked for chocolate, and I even enjoyed it. As you remember, few days ago I stop taking the Dexamethasone, which is kind of steroid that made me very hungry and changed my taste a bit. It made me to like oily and salty food, while I didn't want to have any sweets. Happily, now - until the next time I will have to take the Dexamethasone, I can enjoy sweets again. My parents were never so happy for me asking chocolate....
Yesterday I spent all the morning with Didi, which was great fun and in the afternoon my Saskatoon friends; Theo, Andrew, and Aliyha came to visit us, which is also great fun, especially to my parents. I watched a very nice cartoon movie, called Rio, which is funny and scary movie about endangered birds trying to escape form bad hunters. While seeing this movie I finished full basket of Pop-Corn. Another good surprise was that I got two big boxes with presents and other good stuff. One box was from Tami and Roi Bittan from New York, they sent me wonderful pirates boat and from Israel I got a huge box from my friends Erez and Ziv and their parents; Dagan and Hagar and Gony and Omer, full with very good Israeli snacks, and good books. These boxes made me happy!
Well, now I really need to go to get my chimo. Mam put the freezing cream on my port and hopefully I won't feel the poke of the centre line. I will update you soon how was it.
Wednesday Aug. 29/12:
It will be short today as I want to see a movie with my parents. We brought a DVD from downstairs and dad made me Pop-corn. Today morning I went with mam to the routine check up at the hospital. It took very long time, I don't know why; but they said I am OK and that for now I don't need any blood transfusion. After that I went back home and cooked meat balls with Didi, while mam and dad went to see mam's new obstetrician. Happily he said that for now her pregnancy looks well. In the afternoon I played with Didi and in the evening we went to eat pizza in a near by restaurant. Today I really felt good and strong and I even walked by my self from the hospital back to the Ronald Mcdonald house. My hair start to show some signs of "diluting" and mam and dad said we will have a hair cut soon.
Tomorrow is another day with no hospital and I hope to do something interesting. May be Andrew, Theo, and Aliyha will come to visit me again.
Now It's time for movie. Good night.
Tuesday Aug. 28/12:
I want to be healthy, I want to be happy, I want to have many brothers and sisters, I want to play with my friends, and I want that all my dreams will come true. You probably wonder why do I ask for all these things? I ask these things because I am feeling lucky. Remember I asked few days ago (Aug. 23) that the next volunteers who will come to cook for us at the Ronald Mcdonald house, will not make any more mexican food? So my wish came true. Today very nice volunteers came and did B.B.Q. for us. It was tasty and just in place as since morning I wanted to have an hamburger.
Beside that I had a good and boring day. I said good bye nicely to uncle Aharon and Shalom who went back to Israel, and I played most day with Didi. In general all is good. Today, for the first time, since Aug. 5th, I didn't get any medicine. I still eat a lot, even though I don't take the Dexamethasone any more. It probably will take few more days before I will loose my big hunger resulted from this medicine.
Tomorrow is another check up day in hospital and I hope all will be OK. Will let you know tomorrow. Good night.
Monday Aug. 27/12:
Today I opened the morning with two pieces of chicken at around 09:00. After that I went for a check up at the hospital with Aharon, Shalom and dad. They poked me in the finger again, which wasn't a big pleasant, but after that everything went well and quick. Before noon I was back home and not too long after that, my friend Tazman and his family, from Saskatoon came to visit me and celebrate with me my birthday. After that Raly, Dora, Andrea and Nathan, my new friends from Toronto came, as well as Heather, Theo, Andrew and Aliyha from Saskatoon. It was a very nice party, with good food and plenty of presents, but I was a bit tired so I sat most of the time on the sofa, enjoying the attention of all these nice people. At the part of the cake and songs I was VERY happy! Taz was sweet and he was very nice to me, even though I didn't really play with him. As I said, I was tired and overwhelmed from all the people. Beside the many and the very nice presents I got from the people that came to the party, I also got a lot of presents from my friends in Saskatoon. Andrew and Theo brought with them many things from our friends in Saskatoon.
After the birthday I had a nice and quiet afternoon with my family and around 18:30 I went to sleep. At 21:00 a very strong siren woke me up and dad took me out of the bed. The fire alarm was on and all the tenants from the building had to go out to the (rainy) street. After few minutes 2 fire trucks came and brave fire fighters went out of them. That was very exciting and mam and dad showed me their trucks from very close, in spite of the rain. One of the fire fighters gave me a sticker because he saw me so happy for getting them as my birthday present. Apparently it was a false alarm and after 5 minutes we were back in the room. I took advantage of this unexpected wake up to have some more rice. Tomorrow both Aharon and Shalom are going back to Israel. I will miss them a lot, it was great fun having them around. At least Didi is staying around for few more weeks. I told my parents that tomorrow I will spend the morning only with Didi, Shalom, and Aharon, and they (mam and dad) should find for them self something else to do; I don't need them around to take my attention out of Shalom and Aharon.
Beside that tomorrow should be another quiet and boring day and that is all I can ask for.
Sunday Aug. 26/12:
Last night, at bed, I watched TV with dad. All the channels talked about the death of Neil Armstrong, the first man to be on the moon. I asked dad many questions about Neil and the Apollo 11 mission. It was very interesting and before I fall asleep I said that "I don't want to go to the moon; I don't want to die". Then dad explained me that Neil didn't die because of going to the moon and that happened to him because he was a sick old man. That calm me down a bit, but still I decided that I don't want to go to the moon because I have no friends up there. Apart from that I was very sorry for Neil death and I said to dad that "I feel sorry for him, being so sick". Dad asked me what do I feel about my sickness, and I said that "I am OK. I feel quite good and I'm not really sick". I don't know why, but dad had a big smile on his face when I told him that.
Beside that today was another regular day. In the morning dad and Shalom took me to the Royal Ontario Museum, to see an exhibition about dinosaurs. It was very crowded and noisy, so I didn't like it too much. After that we got back home and Didi made me a lot of food, and I most liked the chicken soup. The rest of the day I spent at home with my family, and in the afternoon I went to sleep in my mam hands, which was a good treat.
Another important thing about this day is that this evening was the last time for the Dexamethasone for the coming future. The Dexamethasone was the drug that made me so hungry and a bit moody in the last few weeks. I hope now, without it, I will get back to my original dimensions. Tomorrow I am going to have a general check up (with finger poking) at the hospital and after that few friends will come to celebrate with me my birthday (the real date is Aug. 31). I will tell you all about it tomorrow.
Saturday Aug. 25/12:
Today is my grand-grandfather 97 birthday; something to inspire for....
Nothing exciting happened today, I was a bit tired than usual, but my apatite was still big. During the night I woke up to eat some rice and meat balls, and I had some more of it around 07:00 and at 09:00 (AM) I took out my parents and Aharon to find a restaurant that will give me some chicken soup. I really wanted chicken soup! We walked in the streets around the house and we couldn't find any chicken soup. At the end we found a nice place that served sweet potato soup with some chicken in it. I enjoyed eating it with fresh bread and butter. Beside that there isn't too much to report. Shalom, Didi, and Aharon were here with me all day and helped me to pass the time. I hope tomorrow will be another boring day...
Friday Aug. 24/12:
Hurray !!
Another day of chimo passed. It was long, boring and the poke of the centre line wasn't a big fun. However, there were no complications or extreme side effects, so all in all it was OK. As I suspected, they also gave me platelets, which was another time consuming procedure, but beside that it all went well. Few exciting things happened today; my grandmother Didi and my uncle Aharon came to visit me and brought me many presents. On top of that we moved today to a bigger apartment in the Ronald Mcdonald house with a big kitchen, two bed rooms and a nice living room . This is a big improvement in our conditions.
Beside all that I had a normal day; ate a lot, as usual and had fun with Shalom and Didi. Tomorrow and the day after I am going to have free days of hospital and that makes me happy. I'm going to sleep tonight in my new bed at my new room, I will let you know tomorrow how was it. Good night.
Thursday Aug. 23/12:
Happily, another boring day; no hospital visits or something else important to report about. Mam and dad left at around 10:00 to do all kind of arrangements in town and I was left to have fun with Shalom. As the last days, my main activity was thinking about food, talking about food and eating food. This evening again a group of very nice people came to cook dinner for us. That was really very nice but AGAIN it was Mexican food! I humbly call for non-mexican volunteers to come and cook for us at the Ronald Mcdonald house in Toronto!
My grandmother Didi should arrive tonight to Toronto and I will meet her tomorrow. I'm really excited about that. Besdie that tomorrow is another important day as I'm going to get another big shoot of chimo at the hospital. If everything will go easily, with no complications, I should be back home by the afternoon after I will get Daunorubicin, VinCRIStine , and probably platelets, all of them through my centre line. Two nice things to tell, so you won't say I give you only bad news: first, last evening we got beautiful flowers for mam birthday from my friend Ayelet and her family from Beit Kama. Second, the reason mam and dad disappeared this morning was to bring me this photo. Isn't it cool??
That is all for today, will talk to you tomorrow after my chimo.
Wednesday Aug. 22/12:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAM! I'm sorry I took the focus from your birthday this year, but I will fix it next year.
Beside the fact it was mam birthday today, it was an important day as I went again to do a check up at the hospital. Happily they found me in good condition and sent me back home without any extra blood transfusion.
But first thing first; I woke up at 07:00 and asked dad to make me a pizza. As a good father he made me Pizza on Mexican tortilla and I ate all of it. After that I went for a little nap again and at around 08:30 I was ready to open my day with a bowl of cereal. Then we met Shalom and at around 11:00 and we went to the hospital. Before entering the Dr. a nurse is poking you at the finger to get some blood for their tests. As she poked me with the very mini little needle, a 40 cm spray of blood pooped out of my finger, like a sprinkler, and spread my blood on the floor, my mam hands and my shoes. The nurse said she never saw such a thing. I guess it is related to my low platelets, but I don't really know. After that it took some 20 minutes until that little poke stopped to bleed. The Dr. checked my general condition. I was found to be in a good condition, and the only concern was my low platelets count (21). For platelets count under 20 they usually give transfusion of some more platelets. Since I had 21, and after a short discussion with my parents, it was decided to wait with the transfusion to Friday, as in Friday I am going to get any way the chimo through the centre line and they will give the platelets at this opportunity. By doing so I saved from some nasty poking today at the centre line. Now when I'm low in platelets I need to be careful not to fall or getting any injuries as it is very dangerous if I will get internal bleeding in my brain. For this low platelets condition I call "Plateless". Beside the plateless condition my immune system is still very weak and my parents need to make sure I won't get close to any sick (some people still call flew a sickness) person, and it is important to keep on my hygiene. Apart from my medical condition, today Theo, Andrew and Alliyha, my friends from Saskatoon came to visit me and my parents and that was great fun. We did with them a small birthday party to mam (and me), that included another pizza (a proper one this time, not on tortilla), some pasta, and tiramisu. That was at around 16:00. That was just in time as it helped to cope with my hunger until 18:00. At that time the Toronto blue jays team came to cook us dinner. Like yesterday it was a Mexican dinner, but I liked it a lot. After that some more time with Shalom and good night - I go to sleep. Mam asked me to thank all of you for writing her all the happy birthday emails. That made her so happy, and she miss and love each and every one of you. I'm sure she will reply to each one of you soon. I love you mamy - happy birthday.
Tuesday Aug. 21/12:
It is still morning but for now I have eaten cornflakes, small Pizza and now I went down eating with Shalom. Today dad asked me if I have any pains and I told him that I feel my belly because I eat too much. I told him: "I think I ate a stone, or a wheel, or may be even a full bus, and that is why I have this belly ache". I Will let you know in the evening how was the rest of my day.
So the rest of the day was pretty nice. I didn't do too much, and kept on eating. For lunch I had rice and Avocado and some burger and for supper - few volunteers came to the Ronald Mcdonald house and made to all guests tasty Mexican food. Beside that I played with Shalom most of the day and Dubi - Shaloms' friend came to visit me. After lunch I went for 2 hours nap and who ever knows me will tell you that this is not something I do usually. I believe this is because of my blood poor condition. Tomorrow I'm going again to hospital for check up and I wont be surprised if they will decide to give me some blood and platelets to improve my blood condition. I hope they will not do it, but you can never tell. Beside that tomorrow is my mam birthday so you are all welcome to email her with happy birthday emails.
Monday Aug. 20/12:
Happily, I had a good day today. It wasn't trivial as we started our day at the hospital to recheck my blood and my general condition. I was very anxious before going to hospital as I was afraid they will poke me again to take some blood out of me or to give me blood and other things; but luckily, my condition was good and they didn't had to do nothing. They poked me at the finger and took few blood drops to test it, but this is nothing after all the pokes I got in my hands and chest in the last few weeks. After the hospital I was very hungry (after I ate in the morning schnitzel and cornflakes), so dad went to buy some chicken and we did B.B.Q. at home. Beside that it was a nice day with Shalom. We did some painting in the craft room and for dinner we went to friends house. Tomorrow is another free day, dad ask to have some time off to do some work, so I guess I will spend my day again, with great joy, with my grandfather. I will let you know tomorrow how Shalom behaved.
Sunday Aug. 19/12:
Today was a very nice day. The main thing I can tell is that I am hungry. Last night I woke up 3 times and at each time I ate cornflakes. As I said, this is one of the side effects of the steroids I am getting. After the cornflakes night, I wole up at 07:00 and mam made me an omelette. At around 11:00 I was hungry again so dad made me Schnitzels and mam made potatoes. All day I went down to the kitchen, every hour, and had some more food. Even though I was happy today I was also a bit tired. Since we are out of hospital, no body checked my blood, but I believe that my haemoglobin is quite low and that is why I am so tired. At 13:00 there was some activity about dinosaurs at the Ronald Mcdonald house which was nice. In addition, the clown - Ronald Mcdonald it self came to visit and that was funny. Shalom was with me all day and he and Dora did some shopping and brought us many good things (including the chicken breast for the schnitzels). Tomorrow I am going for check up at the hospital and I hope everything will be OK. I will update you, don't worry.
Saturday Aug. 18/12:
Hello all!
I'm writing from my new house for the next few weeks / months. It is 5 minutes walk from the hospital and it's called the Ronald Mcdonald house. It is a special house for families like mine that need accommodation while getting medical treatment away from home. This place is quite neat and we have a nice room with a very big television. Tali, Shalom, and Raly and Dora bought many things for us and the room is full with presents and other unimportant things that mam and dad need for the house, and for our life in Toronto. Beside that there are many playrooms and playgrounds in the complex. The Dr's. decided that I can go home after they didn't find any Leukemia cells in my blood and they saw that my general condition is good. The biggest problem now is infections as I have zero immune system at the moment. Therefore, my parents need to be alert about my fever and general condition over the coming days / weeks / months. I will get the Dexamethasone at home and next Friday I should go back to hospital to get the "heavy duty" chimo through the centre line and by the lumbar puncture operation. Any way, next Monday I should go again to hospital just to be checked and to make sure I'm still in a reasonable shape. Another good news is that the the genetic inspection of my Leukemia showed that my Leukemia cells are from they type that is relatively sensitive to the chimo which is indeed the Leukemia that some one would like to have. I am still on the high risk protocol and nothing is guaranteed for now, but it looks like I am on the right track.
Tali is going back home to Montreal today. It was good fun having her around. I liked to play with her and to get all the presents she brought me; and she helped mam a lot. I hope to see her soon. Now it's evening and I'm in my new bed with my grandfater. We watch cartoons and soon I will fall asleep. Tomorrow is a new day where I can do what ever I want; this is great. I forgot to tell you but I am also free of any tubes / pipes and other instruments that were connected to me in the last few weeks. Now I can run, jump, swim, have a bath and do what ever I want. (as long as I careful enough not to get heart. Good night, Rotem.
Friday Aug. 17/12:
Today was also a very nice day. The best part was when Taz, my friend from Saskatoon came to visit me and brought me many presents. Parts of the presents were from my friend, also from Saskatoon, Ali who is a certified Iranian Pyrate. Between the other presents I got a Pyrate custom with a special sword. Before Taz came I went through a little operation. They gave me the chimo Intrathecal methotrexate straight into my spinal cord. Before doing it, they put me to sleep and I had a good nap between 11:00 to 12:00. Because of this small procedure I was fasting from midnight of the night before; so as we got back to the room we ordered for lunch fish and chips but I couldn't wait for the food because I was so hungry so I sent dad to bring me Pasta from below. That was good! At around 13:00, while I was playing with Taz the nurses came into the room and gave me another chimo into the vein. This one was VinCRIStine and I got it through the centre line. That wasn't a big deal as I am used to get things through my centre line. Today both mam and Shalom had a little sore throat so most of the day I was with dad. in the Evening Tali, my mam sister came to play with me and that was fun. I also had a shower after 2-3 days without any significant cleaning. At a rounf 17:00 I was hungry again so I sent dad to bring me burger from below and I ate most of it and at around 18:30 I ate some chicken soup and Pizza. The Dr. said this hunger is a side effect of the steroids I receive. For tonight and tomorrow nothing special is planned but you can never tell, right?
Thursday Aug. 16/12:
So - my blood count today showed some increase in my Hemoglobin, therefore I was much more energetic today, compare to yesterday. Of course this increase doesn't indicate on anything, beside the fact that I got some blood two nights ago. As a matter of fact, the decreasing numbers of my blood count are the encouraging numbers as it shows that chimo is working. The chimo is fighting the Leukemia cells which are being formed in my bone marrow. While fighting the bad cells it also destroy the little good blood cells I have. By the blood transfusions the Dr's. maintain my blood values at reasonable numbers and when ever another push is needed I get another shoot of blood, and / or platelets. Any way, I had a good day today, I was happy and sweet. Since yesterday they changed my treatment protocol to the high risk protocol, therefore I got today another "strong" chimo through the centre line. That chimo was Daunorubicin and it is in red colour and since then my pee is red as well, but beside that I wasn't affected by this medicine (I hope the Leukemia cells were affected). Beside that as part of the general treatment I get here in the hospital they took me today to see a dentist who checked my mouth and teeth. Happily I have no cavities. During lunch time we did a picnic on the room floor. Dad ate Sushi, mam had salad and I had Burger and chips. I wanted some of dad Sushi but he explained me that in my condition I can't have raw fish. It was very insensitive of him to eat it in front of me like that, but I forgive him. After that I went to play at the playroom. In general I had a very good day. Tomorrow is going to be another important day (like every other I guess) where they are going again to do the lumbar puncture operation. More details about that - tomorrow. Good night Canada, good morning Israel.
Wednesday Aug. 15/12:
Last night I slept with dad. It was a good night, I slept from around 21:00 to 09:00. Dad also slept most of the night beside the times when the nurses got in to check me. Today I didn't get any special "chimo" beside the Dexamethasone. The only problem with Dexamethasone is that it makes me a bit moody, but it is natural and expected and every body still say I'm sweet. The most exciting thing today was that for 1 hour today I was free from the centre line. Not sure why, may be for maintenance reasons they unhooked the tubes from my centre line, so I could run and play for 1 hour like a normal kid. During this hour they put some freezing cream on my chest so at the end of the hour when they pushed the needle into my centre line again it was supposed not to hurt. However it hurt. Another big deal today is that they (the staff and Dr. Weizman) decided to change the treatment protocol from the "standard risk" to "high risk". We are still waiting for few more tests to arrive but to be on the safe side it was decided to put me on the high risk treatment. The main differences between the treatments is that the high risk includes much stronger "chimo" with a bit more days in the hospital. Today mam and dad decided that once we will get out of the hospital (hopefully in few days) we will move to the Ronald McDonald house which is a special "hotel" for families of sick kids that need somewhere to put their head over night. As bad as it sounds it should be a cool place with a lot of playgrounds, cinema, gym, toys and other kids with centre line. What else? I had again Taco for lunch, Pancake for breakfast and Ravioli for supper. The Dexamethasone makes me very hungry. For tonight and tomorrow nothing special is planned. I hope all will go on the good side. Talk to you tomorrow.
Tuesday Aug. 14/12:
I wrote a very long post and detailed post today (yesterday) but my father forgot to press on the "save" button so it all lost. I found out about that after I got few text messages asking about my condition from people that were worried me not updating my page. So - in short: I had a reasonable day yesterday. I was quite tired as my red blood cells were very low. In additions my platelets were low so during the night I got both platelets and some more blood. The most important thing is that they gave me a very strong "chimo" from the kind of Pegaspargase. It is a very serious medicine with potentially bad side effects but I passed it in a reasonable way. Mmmm...... Its hard to write about yesterday, so I'll start to write on today.
Monday Aug. 13/12:
Last night I stayed with dad. It took me some time to fall asleep (around 01:00) but after that both of us slept very well. We woke up at around 08:00. During night the nurse who checked me every few hours did it very gently without waking me or dad. She even change my dipper in the night which is the work of dad for sure! In the morning mam and Shalom arrived and I was happy to see them. In the morning they took me to do ultra sound to my heart. It is a routine here and not related to my disease. Not surprisingly this check showed I have a good heart. Beside that my blood counts are much better and the Dr. is saying I'm doing quite well. Physically I'm feeling much better. I managed to walk quite a lot today and I am much stronger. Still not as strong as Saba Lutek, my 97 years old grandfather, but much stronger compare to my conditions yesterday. I even went to play with Shalom at the play room in our floor. For breakfast I had a tasty Pancake and Taco for lunch. Not sure about supper, but I can update you later on. In terms of the treatment it was an easy day today, I got only dexamethasone to fight the Leukemia, and other stuff to fight infections and other bad feelings. I didn't get today any pain killers which is wonderful. The Dr. said the dexamethasone will make me a bit moody. But I think I'm doing not too bad. I might be moody but I guess I'm allowed to be. Well, that's all for now. Will talk to yo tomorrow.
Sunday Aug. 12/12: In hospital
As said, mam and dad went to sleep at our friends (Raly and Dora) house. I stayed with Shalom for the night and while I was eating the Hospital food they ate at a very good Italian restaurant. The night was busy. I had to pee a lot and I did feces 7 times during the night, probably because of the many drugs I get. Today I am much better than yesterday. Got some more presents, I did a shower for the first time in Toronto. Moreover I stood for few minutes in the shower and sit by my self which is two things I haven't done since Friday. I start to be a bit Chubby, probably from the medications and all the fluids I get. The Dr. says I start to have pains from the Leukemia it self as my bones start to sore. Today I get only Dexamethasone by the mouth to fight the disease and many other things to fight potential infections and the side effects of the treatments. It is only noon now but it looks like a not a bad day. Will update tomorrow.
First day of treatment (Saturday, Aug. 11/12):
So - after telling my short recent history let me start the real time reporting. Today I woke up (after not really sleeping) to my first day of treatment. Around 14:00 they took me to the operation room, put me to sleep and injected Intrathecal Cytarabine to my spine and gave me VinCRIStine through the centre line and Dexamethasone by the mouth. I am still suffering from some pains, mainly from the operations done on Friday, but I'm OK more or less, and my parents says I am very sweet. I am in bed most of the time. Tonight mam and dad will go to sleep at our friend (Rally) house and I will stay here with Shalom. Tomorrow we continue with the treatments and I will try to update again. Good night - Rotem and the family.
Toronto:
as I said we got to Toronto yesterday, Friday, Aug. 10. I was accepted very warmly at the SickKids hospital. The first results of the bone marrow and the spinal tap arrived and showed that I have the ALL Leukemia, Type B, which is the most common type of Leukemia and usually the one with the best recovery (I really hope so). The last night wasn't easy mam and dad slept with me and helped me along the night. I had to pee a lot, almost every 30 minutes and I had many pains from the surgery's.
How it all started (Written at Aug. 11/2012):
Now when we are looking back all the signs were there for some time. In the end of May I (Uri) did a Marathon. As our friend Hadar says: "I almost got last". After the Marathon my legs were sore and Lihi and Rotem did me a massage. From that point Rotem started to complain on pains in his legs. He was saying "I did a marathon, my legs are sore. Do me a massage please". We were amused by the funny way he choose to be spoiled. Few weeks after that he started to complain on repeated stomach aches. We went with that to the family doctor who said it is common for kids in this age to have these pains. 15 days ago Rotem's left testicle was swollen. We went to see the Dr. again who sent us to do an Ultra sound for the testicle and the conclusion was that it is an infection and he got Antibiotic for 7 days. Last weekend, after the Antibiotic treatment ended, his other testicle was swollen again. Together with some strange blue marks on the back and legs and swollen lymph glands we went to the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon at Sunday, August the fifth. Few quick checks and blood tests didn't leave to much space for hope and I (rotem) was diagnosed with Leukemia.
We were immediately hospitalized at the paediatric department. At this point we didn't really know what to do. To stay in Saskatoon? To go back to Israel? The families from Israel started to do their checks and after few days it was decided to move Rotem to the SickKids hospital in Toronto. It took us 5 days to arrange a place in Toronto, while in the meanwhile the wonderful staff at Saskatoon and Dr. Mpfou took care of me, monitored my blood, gave me fluids, Antibiotic, blood, platelets and other "good stuff". At Thursday, August 9th, Dr. Mpfou sampled my Bone marrow and my Spinal tap to have better idea on my Leukemia type. In addition they put a small apparatus, called centre line under my skin at the chest to enable easy access to my veins in the next few years of treatments. Yesterday on Friday the 10th I was flying with mam and dad in a special ambulance plain to Toronto. Shalom (my grandfather) that came to Saskatoon couple of days earlier followed us in a regular flight.
In the time being in Saskatoon many many friends (Gili and Hadar, Ana, Andrew and Theo, June, Lilly and Illya, the Katzmans, John Katzman, Josh, all the friends of dad from work and the friends from the Jewish community, Ido and Ayelet and all the rest that I forgot) helped me and my family and visited me at the hospital. I love them all and will miss them a lot but I hope to see them soon. Also in Israel and Toronto I know many people helped in various ways and I thank them all.