2nd Round Done....

John had a great week before we headed back to Childrens for his second round of High Dose Methotrexate. We kept ourselves busy with fun outings to the Oakland Zoo, the Academy of Sciences and Color Me Mine. I was checking John's pals out of school all week and I think the school secretary may be on to me.

On Thursday, Mike's company held a fundraiser in honor of John. They raised over 100K for pediatric cancer at their annual FSG meeting in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the weather was so bad that Mike's flight was cancelled and he wasn't able to be there to personally to express our gratitude to everyone at Aon who worked so hard to make this event happen. We'd like to say a HUGE thanks to Mike Rice, Steve Keogh, Paul Kim, Karen Black and Sara Merrick for all their hard work. We look forward to sharing photos soon.

The money will go into a fund in John's name at the Childrens Hospital of Oakland Foundation. In the upcoming months, we will get to work with John to decide more specifically how the money will be allocated. John's sickness has been a big adjustment for our family in many ways, and we have been very lucky that Mike's company has given him so much support and flexibility.

John went back into the hospital on Friday 1/22 and was released on Monday. It felt like a very long stay this time. We had two nights with a crying infant - luckily I was able to get us moved for the last night. But, my patience was definitely tested and Mike picked up a cold from lack of sleep. We also learned that the hospital has no activities scheduled on weekends. The playroom is closed and the school services are not there. We got home on Monday tired and exhausted.

John came home and developed mouth sores a few days later. It is so hard to watch him suffer through those -- he had several days where he could not eat or talk. But, he was a trooper as always (thanks, KC, for the balloon and roses - first time I saw him smile in days).

We are keeping our fingers crossed that he doesn't get worse so we can sneak away for a long weekend in Carmel.

Johnny Jam

This blog is dedicated to John's CYO Basketball Team, The Warriors, who are 8-0 this season. Thank you for making him feel so part of the team!

I apologize in advance for my shrieking voice in the video.

John was released on Saturday just in time to watch his Cal Bears beat USC. On Monday morning, he woke up with a very sore mouth. The day I had been dreading was finally here! I had been very anxious about the side effects of this new round of chemo and had been told that it can be tough. We spent all day Monday at the hospital where the doctors assessed his mouth sores, hooked him up to IV fluids, administered pain medicine and checked his counts. John woke up Tuesday feeling better and it improved each day. He was eating regular food by Wednesday.

On Thursday afternoon, Jimmy and John were playing in the backyard. The music was blaring on the outdoor speakers (The Beatles, of course). One of John's best friends dropped in for an unexpected visit. As I walked in the house, I could see the boys shooting hoops. I grabbed John's Nano and took the video posted here. For a moment, I forgot all about cancer, hospitals, chemo- it was just so PERFECT!

Phase 3 Has Begun.....

3AM HOME FROM ER VISIT - IT SNOWED IN ORINDA!!!

NEW ADDITION TO GOLDEN BEAR ROSTER!

JEROME RANDLE - JOHN RICKSEN - MIKE MONTGOMERY

JOHN AND CAROLINE

JOHN ATE THE ENTIRE CRAB!

OSKI, AUNT LINDA, JOHN AND CAROLINE - CAL VS. STANFORD

LAFAYETTE RESERVOIR PLAYGROUND

NEW YEARS EVE! 2010 IS GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR

CHRISTMAS EVE - BRUZZONE & RICKSEN COUSINS

CORDEVALLE

I did it again....I took another month to post! I guess we have been busy. I decided to post a collection of photos from the past month to share how well John is doing.

We just finished Phase 2 of treatment and it went very well. We experienced one ER visit (John had a fever from the flu) and two blood transfusions. All of this was pretty straightforward and to be expected.

John has been busy spending time with family and friends. He continues to do well with his school work and seems to be on track with his 2nd grade class. He was able to go back and visit his class before the Holidays and bring his classmates a Christmas gift bag.

As usual, the boys kept busy with Cal basketball games. Head coach Mike Montgomery and starting point guard Jerome Randle presented John with his very own Cal jersey with his name on the back. This was such a treat for John. He wears it everywhere and every day. He sleeps in it at night and it apparently qualifies as formal wear. You will see above in pictures from Christmas Eve - the jersey is on.

John continues to remain active - shooting baskets daily, playing golf with Dad and Uncle Casey and walking the Lafayette Reservoir (2.7 miles)!

My parents came up to spend Christmas with our family. We loved having them up here to celebrate with us. They even babysat so Mike and I could get away on an overnight with our close friends. We enjoyed a wonderful 24 hour vacation - complete with hiking, relaxing, good food and lots of laughs (thanks Brian and Laura)!

John was admitted back to Childrens Hospital on Tuesday morning to start Phase 3 (Interim Maintenance). Mike and I have been anxious for this phase since it will require a lot of time back in the hospital, which is hard for everyone. John received his intrathecal chemo and a 24 hour infusion of high does methotrexate. He could not be released until it was all out of his system. The doctors said this could take anywhere from 3-5 days. We are happy to say that it only took John 3 days and we were released Friday (a day earlier than expected).

John seems to be tolerating it well and we hope to remain home until Wednesday, January 20th. We will have this treatment four times over the next sixty days, which means 16-20 of the next 60 days will be at Childrens Hospital. We know that Kerry has started a meal calendar for us to help with this more intense round of treatment and appreciate all of you who continue to support us in so many immeasurable ways!