Update on Thomas from his Dad

"Hi everyone. I just wanted to up date you on Thomas and his trip to Orlando. He had a great time while he was there. He enjoyed Disneyworld especially Pirates of the Caribbean. He did say that all the walking made him tired and made his feet hurt, so he and another kid went to the First Aid building and were given cots to take an hour long nap. After that, he was ready to go again. That evening he said he and the kids sat in the hot tub at the hotel for about three hours. I’m not exactly sure if that is a good thing, but at least he had fun doing it. His last day was the best he says. He woke up late and had to hurry to make the bus to the Astros Training camp. While he was there, the kids got a chance to meet the Astros, eat ball park food, got an autographed Astros Hat and autographed balls, and enjoyed a game between the Astros and the Indians. The only low point according to Thomas was when he went to the bathroom. The Astros were losing by four runs at the time, and while he was in there, the Astros hit a homerun! It didn’t matter, though because Thomas said he had such a great time while he was there. He was even interviewed by a Houston TV station. If you go to http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/ you can see his interview. Search “Sunshine Kids” and you should get a picture of an Astro kneeling down talking to a kid in a red chair. Click on the picture to watch the story. I was excited to learn he was going to be on TV. Imagine my horror when I noticed he is being interviewed in the same shirt he was wearing when he left! Either the hotel they stayed in had room service to do their laundry or he has been wearing the same shirt for three days. I’m going to assume the former. While Thomas was gone, Lisa and I had time to spend together alone and with Bella. After we dropped him off at the airport we actually got a chance to have a quiet meal together and then see a grown up movie! We ate at Astor’s Ethiopian and then saw “Juno” at the Alamo Drafthouse. The next day we enjoyed a trip to the San Antonio Zoo with Bella. She had so much fun and remembered so many things from our last visit. She especially enjoyed seeing all the animals with babies! After the zoo we rode the train around Brackenridge Park and then went to the Riverwalk for a "touristy" boatride. We then had dinner at Mi Tierra at the Mercado. We were exhausted when we got home but is was great to do something with just the three of us. Bella has been such a trooper through all of this. She deserves some individual attention, and we were glad to have the chance to give it to her. Thomas went to the Dr.’s office yesterday (Friday) and his counts are great. We will be going to the Capitol for a picnic today (Saturday) which is one of the things on his “List of things to do when my counts are good.” Monday he will have day surgery to get a Bone Marrow Aspiration to make sure those cancer cells are not in his marrow. A portion of his marrow will be sent to the Mayo clinic for a specialized test which will help determine what treatment Thomas will get in the next two years. He will start more chemo on the 17th to keep him stabilized for now until Dr. Sharp comes up with a plan. Because Thomas is a rare case and is responding so well to treatment, we are hoping we can find a less toxic protocol to continue on that won’t have as many potential pitfalls for Thomas in the future. We hope you are all doing well. Take care and enjoy the day. Gary"