Day +142.......living life, and enjoying every minute!!

HAPPY BOY!!

ABOUT PICS: Bath time is his FAVORITE time! He loves, loves, loves to splash around and get as much water out of the sink as he can!! He also loves to stick his feet in his mouth any chance he gets...even in the bathtub! The pirate pic is from a birthday party that we went to of a friend of ours, and he really liked looking at everyone in the silly hats. And my favorite pic is the one of him in his stroller with his "old man" hat on.....sooooo cute!! (Erik thinks he looks like a little Indiana Jones)

Hey guys!! We are doing soooooooo well!! We had a great few days in San Diego! We were able to visit the zoo and also Sea World, and also saw some family and a few friends. Dylan did really well on the drive there and on the way back, we drove at night, and he slept the whole time. He is such a trooper! Although he really did not seem too interested in many things at the zoo or Sea World, he did enjoy seeing all of the seagulls chasing after us, trying to get our food! He thought they were pretty funny! We hope to have a longer trip later, but we were very thankful for this time to get away.

We went to clinic this past Friday and received only good reports! PRAISE GOD!! It's so nice to consistently hear good news. I even talked the doctor into letting us have a whole week off!! We will be going next Monday, and hopefully we might be able to switch to going every other week. That would be AMAZING!! Friday, we also celebrated Abby's 1st birthday in the clinic. I did not get any pics because I was video taping her and Dylan together....but it was so cute!! She was covered in cake and icing, and when we sat Dylan next to her, she kept grabbing his cheeks! They are so much fun to watch when they are together. I love the way babies react when they are around other little ones their age. She is doing really well post-transplant and she is looking more vibrant every week we see her!! God has been so good to us, and its a huge blessing for us to see our good friends doing well too!!

In other news.....we were in the local paper!! A friend from church writes for our city paper and was doing an article on organ donors and blood/marrow donors and she was able to use Dylan's story for the article. We made the front page!! As far as I know, the article was circulated in the Surprise Independent, and also in the Arrowhead area. Just another way that God is using Dylan to reach out to others! AWESOME!! Another thing we are doing is setting up a link on AMAZON.com that will allow Dylan to get 4% of proceeds that come from people shopping on our link. I will try to get it set up this week....so if you are planning on shopping on Amazon.....hold off until we get our link set up!! Every little bit helps!!

We are hoping to get a confirmation this week on whether or not Dylan will get the state insurance.....please keep that issue in your prayers. We will be paying for our first month of COBRA this month....and hopefully it will be the last!!

Last, but not least............DYLAN IS OFFICIALLY ROLLING OVER!!! YAY!!! He has been doing it the past week when he is in his bed, but NEVER when I could see him! But yesterday and today, he has been showing off a lot and gets really excited when he rolls onto his tummy! He is a constant joy in our lives and we are so very excited to wake up with him each and every day!! Thank you all for your continued prayers and support....you are AMAZING!!

With love from our home to yours,

The Praskins

Day +132....what a funny little kid!

Ok, I am probably a tiny bit biased, but isn't he the CUTEST?!! He is full of so much personality!! Must take after his momma! HA!! This was one little photo session where he was proud to show off for the camera! We are doing good here at home and having new adventures everyday! He now has the spitting down pat, and is now working on puckering his lips....it is so funny! I think he like the sound it makes and of course the reaction that he gets from his admirers. I never know if he is going to do a fishy kiss or spit something at me....what fun!! As you can see in the pictures, he is growing A LOT of blond hair, and he is getting some chub on his legs to match his chubby cheeks!! His little arms are now little sausages too! I LOVE IT!! He is finally getting some fat on him that is real fat and not just him being bloated from too many fluids. His cheeks have started to dwindle due to his steroids being cut down, but as of our last Tucson visit on Tuesday, the steroids have been increased to help counteract his throwing up.....and so far it is working!! So I guess we will not be saying farewell to the huge cheeks anytime soon :) He has been doing really well apart from the throwing up. He is happy, playful, and such a good baby!! People always say that if your first baby is a good baby, then your second may be a handful or visa versa. Well....I was having a talk with God and asked if He could classify Dylan in the "handful" category, even though he is REALLY good....so we will see! Ha!! He has not been sleeping as well as before at night, and I think that was due, in part, to his throwing up and dwindled eating. Now that his steroids have been increased, he has been eating more,keeping it down, and sleeping almost through the night! The past two nights he has only woken up once, around 2am, to eat.....opposed to the 8+ times he has been up during the night the past week! I am VERY thankful for that!!

Please pray for me as I am always on edge about every little thing. I got scared a couple of times last week, because a few days he started to act different, he was throwing up a lot, and his stools looked strange.......all of these things freaked me out, and I assumed the worst! When we got to the clinic on Tuesday, I anxiously waited for his blood results.........and they were PERFECT. The Dr and Susan (our nurse) told me to stop worrying and that he was fine.......but I get scared. I am constantly looking for any little thing out of the ordinary that may show signs of my worst nightmare. I have to trust that God is in control and that my worrying will not do anything to help anyone. I need to focus on what is real and true at this moment, and not to focus on what could happen....this is a very difficult thing for me, so I would appreciate any prayers for this issue. There is a commercial on TV, I think it's for an insurance company, and it shows a little boy getting out of his minivan and he is going to soccer practice....his mom has him dressed in head to toe gear for protection.......it's a funny commercial, but that's how I feel with Dylan and I do not want to live in fear like that. Does this ever get any easier? :(

Last week Dylan had an evaluation done by the state to see if he qualified for physical therapy and developmental therapy. According to the specialists who "played" with him, he is more than 50% delayed developmentally and physically. This did not come as a surprise to us. I am not too worried about it, because if they would have evaluated him even a month ago, his delays would have been even more severe. He is catching up on his own time and enjoying feeling good in the meantime. Because of these delays, he qualifies for a program called DDD that will provide therapists once a week whether our insurance pays for it or not. Also, because he is qualified for DDD, this may also qualify him for government insurance. He has to get one more evaluation in the next couple of weeks, and then we will know for sure. But according to what we know so far, he is qualified! Praise GOD!! This is a huge praise and answer to prayer....because insurance is a HUGE expense. Please pray that everything goes well and that he will be able to be covered under the government insurance. That way, Erik and I can get our own insurance and not have to worry about having all of Dylan's expenses covered.

We were hoping to be in San Diego today, but God decided that we needed some rain instead :) So our trip is going to be postponed a few days. We are hoping to leave on Saturday and enjoy at least 2 sunny days in San Diego. It is a long overdue vacation and we are looking forward to just getting away for a short trip! Please pray that the roads are safe on our trip and that we do not run into any crazy weather!!

Loving life and thankful for every minute,

The Praskins Family

Day +121.....life is GREAT!

Hello Everyone!! Life is good!! Erik and I have decided that it is best for Dylan, and our family, that I stay home for the time being--so I will not be returning to work. We are excited that we are able to make this move, but also taking a leap of faith. Our insurance was through my work, and now we will be on COBRA, and the insurance premium is going from $400 to $1500. We are still trying to find other avenues of insurance under our business, but we want to make sure that Dylan is 100% covered during his recovery time. We know that God will provide one way or another....and we feel that it is best for all of us that I stay home and take care of Dylan. I am really excited to have this opportunity and am so very thankful that the Lord has provided for us thus far. We are all settled in at home and are beggining to build a daily schedule. Ahhhh....schedules....I LOVE THEM!! Dylan has been sleeping in his crib for the past 10 days!! And he is doing really well!! He is still only eating 2-3 ounces at a time, so he is not sleeping through the night yet, but that will come with time. The sooner the better....becasue I AM TIRED. He is even taking his naps in his crib now and loves to go to bed....AWESOME little guy!!

We are headed to Tucson tomorrow for our weekly visit. We are hoping to go down to two visits a month soon--that will be nice!! We are also hoping to be done with his IV meds by the end of the month, and at that time, we will take out his other line and they will put in a port. The port will go underneath his skin and will act as an access to draw blood for his labs. Then there will no longer be a "fun" line for him to yank on whenever he is undressed....he LOVES to play with his line! Also, we will be able to fully submerge him in the bathtub, and when the weather gets warmer, the pool! I cannot wait to see how much he will like the pool. He LOVES LOVES LOVES his bathtime, so I'm sure he will love a HUGE pool! So many things for him to experience.....and I cannot wait to try them all!

He is getting an evaluation on Wednesday by a developmental specialist, and also a speech therapist. They are doing the evaluation to see if he qualifies for early intervention therapy programs from the state. He may also qualify for state insurance if they feel that his physical development is delayed as per their standards. This could be the way God provides.......and if not, He will another way. (BUT THAT WOULD BE AWESOME!!) So please keep us in your prayers on Wednesday morning. Dylan has been growing more and more each day. He is always showing us something new! His new favorite thing to do is to shake his head back and forth as if he is saying NO. Daddy taught him this one afternoon and now he thinks he is hilarious!! It is quite funny!! The other thing that he discovered is that he can make noises with his spit. YES, he puckers his lips together and blows out anything that is in his mouth....mainly his meds!! But he will also do it when he is just laying down and playing....he really likes the sound! His two teeth that are coming in on the bottom are still making their way through. It seems as though they are close to breaking ground, but they are still hiding underneath his gums. Maybe next week! His hair is growing A LOT!! It is really blonde and very soft!! I love it!! I love to just smell his head....yes, I know I am strange!! He is full of personality and smiles, and every day brings us a new adventure! We are enjoying every minute with him and being home as a family. Thank you so much to everyone who is diligently praying for us every single day, you guys are AWESOME!!

Until next time,

Michelle

Christmas 2009 Pictures

Day +110.....movin and a'groovin

Hey guys!! MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR!! So sorry that I have not updated anything in a while. Just know that NO NEWS, is GOOD NEWS!!! We had an amazing Christmas (and I am now 29!! YIKES)....and our best gift of all was our baby boy!! I was watching a sappy Christmas movie, and just looked at Dylan and started bawling. The poor boy could probably hardly breathe because I was hugging him so tightly. He is such a HUGE blessing and I cannot express how happy we are to have him here. During this past week, we have been able to spend a lot of time with family on both sides, and even made it up to Flagstaff for a few days, where we celebrated Christmas with my immediate family at my sister's house. There was A LOT of snow, and it was FREEEEEEEZING....so we opted to enjoy the snow from the inside of the house!! It was beautiful to look at!! Our dog, Lily, came with us, and she LOVES the snow!! She was in heaven running around my sisters huge backyard full of snow!! She is a crazy dog!! We also were able to enjoy watching some silly squirrels fight over walnuts that my sister was feeding them. Who needs a TV when there is wildlife entertaining you?? During the summer, she also has chipmunks that join in on the fun! So cute!!

Dylan is doing really well! We went down to Tucson for clinic yesterday and all of his levels are great!! We are now down to one day a week for clinic visits, so we are very happy about that! Most of D's meds are oral now....and now, his tummy does not want to cooperate. For the past week, he has been throwing up his meds, almost immediately, and his tummy does not like it! We are trying to move around some meds and also give him a few more IV injections of Reglan that are supposed to help him empty his tummy. The Doc says that most babies have some sort of reflux....and babies that have been through chemo like D, have a VERY bad problem with reflux. This could be an issue for a few years until his tummy heals completely and matures more. Please pray that he can keep down his meds and that it does not hurt his little tummy anymore. Other than the throw-up issue....he is doing PHENOMENAL!!! He is SOOOOOOO happy! I have never seen a baby who smiles this much!! (besides his girlfriend Abby!) He is enjoying life and loves any attention that he can get!! He is now sitting on his own!! Well.....almost there!! He can balance by himself for about 5 minutes, and then he becomes a leaning tower of Dylan. He is trying though!! It is so much fun!! We also think he may be getting some teeth!! He takes his hand out of his mouth long enough to eat, and then it is right back where he likes it!! We think that he may have 2 bottom teeth making their way through....so we will see! He is STILL not sleeping very well at night....so fun for me! Ha!! But he still only eats 2 ounces at a time, so he wakes up often. The goal for next week is to get him out of the pack'n'play in our room, and get him into his crib. This is a hard step for me, because I have not been further than 6 feet away from him at night for 6 months, but it WILL be good for the both of us. Please keep us in prayer as it will be a tough transition. Pray that he starts to eat more and less frequently and that he will continue gaining weight. He has not gained a lot of weight since leaving the hospital, but it is not an issue at this point. He is now around 14 1/2 pounds and about 25 inches. He is a little guy! And he has the cutest tiny feet!! Almost the size of newborns!! I love to nibble on them! ha!! His site where his double line is all healed up and he now has a small scar. His single line is holding up well and will hopefully be out soon!! That will be SOOOOOOO nice!!

I think that is all that is new for now. I hope that someday, Dylan gets to meet everyone that has been praying for him and supporting him....you guys are AMAZING!! We love you and hope that 2010 brings you many blessings from the Lord.......we are going to have a FANTASTIC and PURPOSEFUL 2010!!

Walking by Faith,

The Praskins

Day +95....One broviac down and Leukemia FREE!!

Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

Today is a GREAT day!! The surgery went well and Dylan is a super trooper!! He did surprisingly well with not eating after 1am--he just wanted to hang out at 4am-so we have had a loooonnnngggg day. Dylan's double line was removed without any issues. He will have a little scar as a reminder of this crazy journey we have been on, and every time I see it, I will be reminded of God's miracles!! Even though I'm reminded of that every time I look at D!! He still has his single line and we will be taking that out in a month or so, depending on when we can go to all oral meds. His spinal tap results showed HEALTHY spinal fluid and his preliminary Bone Marrow results showed HEALTHY Bone Marrow--LEUKEMIA FREE!! We are so excited and relieved to get the good results!

It is a constant struggle to trust the Lord and not worry about his Leukemia coming back. He can still relapse at any time. Today I was reminded, yet again, that I CANNOT control any of this and I AM NOT in control of anything (even though I try!). God has been so good to us and has given Dylan a second chance at life! We will NEVER take that for granted!! None of us know how long we are going to live or are promised any amount of time here on earth-so I will CHERISH every second!! Even when D has me up all night, I will cherish the time I have with him. Dylan is doing phenomenal!! He continues to have great counts, all of his levels are good, and he is growing and thriving! What a blessing he is to us!! I still can't believe that it has been 6 months since he got diagnosed! Some days it felt like an eternity, but now, in the grand scheme of things, it was only a short time. During all of the hospital days, I had so many people tell me, 'This too shall pass'. And when they would say that, it would almost make me mad....because it felt like it would NEVER pass!! But guess what? It did!! The horrible days of crying all night and watching Dylan suffer are over!! Even as I write this I think, 'Well what if it comes back, what if the nightmare isn't over?' I know that IF the unimaginable were to happen, then God will still be here. He will carry us through as he has this whole time. He will never leave us or forsake us, and we can rest in that truth. Thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your support--we cannot thank you enough!!

***Reminder*** Hopekids will be hosting the Scottsdale Fantasy of Lights and a portion of the proceeds goes to support over 600 Hopekids, with Dylan being one of them! This is an amazing Christian organization that allows families to go to events that they would normally not be able to attend. The group is so supportive and wants each kid to live as normally as possible and they help us as parents stay sane in our otherwise crazy worlds!! You can go to Hopekids.org to find out more about this amazing organization!! Please join us on Dec 23rd or 30th at the Fantasy of Lights!! If you can't make it there one of those nights, please go and support the other kids that will be there. We still need some back-up volunteers for both nights, so if you are available, please let me know!

Love,
The Praskins

Day +93......Still Going Strong!!

Hello everyone!! I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun we are having with Baby D!! HE IS SOOOOO MUCH FUN NOW!! He has begun to enjoy toys! He has never really cared for any toys before, but now, he wants to grab at everything....and once he gets a hold of it, the toy is in the mouth! He is sitting up really well in his bumbo and is building his core more and more everyday. We opened his little einsteins jumper, and he is loving it! He is still having a hard time sitting straight by himself, but loves all of the things to look at, and loves to bounce up and down on his feet. His little legs are getting stronger with each bounce! He is full of energy and is feeling really strong! We are beyond thankful and blessed with how he is doing.

We are off to Tucson tomorrow for two days. We will be having our normal appointment on Monday, and will be spending the night at The Ronald McDonald House on Monday night. Tuesday, Dylan is going to be getting one of his lines taken out!! YAYAYAY!!! The docs have decided that we no longer need all three lines, so we are going to be taking one out!! The plan for now is to take out the double line and leave the original single line in. While he is under anesthesia, they are also going to do a spinal tap to check his spinal fluid and also a bone marrow aspiration to check his bone marrow. They expect to find both his spinal fluid and bone marrow to be healthy, but there is always a chance of the leukemia to be in there. As you can probably imagine, this is very scary and we are praying like crazy that the results come out positive. Please, PLEASE, PLEASE, pray that the results are normal and healthy!! Please pray that he does well going under anesthesia, and that there are no unexpected surprises when they take out his line. Pray that he is not in too much pain after the procedure and that his line site will heal quickly.

We are just one step closer to being line-free and we are excited!! In a few more weeks, when he is completely off of his IV meds and they are all switched to oral, we will be taking out the last line. He then, will get a port-a-cath which is a central line placed under his skin. This will allow the doctors to draw blood on a weekly/monthly basis, without having to poke him everytime to put in an IV. I am really looking forward to the day where we do not have to worry about him yanking on his lines and pulling them out (I have had nightmares about it!!), and that he will be able to take normal baths and be a "normal", healthy, 8 month old!! Can you believe that he is almost 8 months old??!! It's crazy!! He is still the size of a 4 month old, but he will catch up quickly!! Anytime anyone asks how old he is, and I tell them, they are always confused because he is so small and does not move like an 8 month old. So instead of explaining his situation everytime, I might just start saying that he is 4 months old!! HA!! That would be easier :)

Thank you for all of your continued prayers!! You guys are AWESOME!! I hope you all have a wonderful week!! It's beginning to look A LOT like Christmas at our house.....and we are loving it!!

We love you all!!

Trusting God in everything,

Michelle

Scottsdale Festival of Lights 12/23 & 12/30

Hello everyone!! Dylan and his friend Owen are going to be the Hopekids guests of honor at the Scottsdale Fantasy of Lights on December 23rd and 30th. Please come out and join in the fun and enjoy a beautiful display of lights. The cost is $15 per car, and for an extra $3, you can also get 3D glasses for everyone in the car (so bring the minivans!!) It is a great way to get out with the family and enjoy the Christmas lights display! For more information, go to--http://www.azfamily.com/good-morning-arizona/Holiday-Lights-Scottsdale-Fantasy-of-Lights-78863507.html

We also need 5 more volunteers for the night of the 30th to help direct traffic and greet people as they are coming in. If you are available that night and are interested in helping out for charity, please email Carrie Gauntt at wgauntt@cox.net and she can give you some more information. WE APPRECIATE ANYONE WHO CAN COME OUT AND HELP!!

Also, Owen's artwork was chosen by Phoenix Children's Hospital for their annual Christmas Cards!! There were only 7 chosen out of hundreds, so we are very proud of him!! Please go to pchkidsart.com to order cards. Every dollar goes back to Phx Childrens to help the kids!!

Merry Christmas to everyone and we hope to see you at the Fantasy of Lights !!

Day +86......We are HOME!!!

Wow....after 6 months of living out of a suitcase, in and out of hospitals (mostly in)......WE ARE HOME!!! Of course, I am still living out of a suitcase....because I have not had time to unpack yet....but soon that will be fixed! We have thoroughly enjoyed these past few days at home and are looking forward to many more. We are now on a twice a week schedule for clinic visits. Unfortunately, the first one is tomorrow....so we will be on the road at 7am, heading for Tucson. The next clinic day will be Thursday, so we will have a couple of days off in between. We are going to try to have a family member or friend go with me every trip....just to help with the munchkin, and keep me company on the 5 hours of total driving.

We arrived home on Friday afternoon to a house decorated with balloons and bows welcoming home Dylan, along with our friendly neighbor Carrie and her kids! It was a nice home-coming and we hope it is our last!! Dylan is doing really well and is enjoying the "new house" and all of the fun, new things to stare at! Lily, our dog, is not so happy that D is back....but she will get used to it....she just gets a little jealous when Erik is holding D, and not cuddling with her--she is a little spoiled!! But she is a great dog and will soon get re-used to Dylan :)

Well, I better get to bed because I have a fun day ahead of me tomorrow!! I will be posting some info on some Christmas festivities....so stay tuned!!

Loving life and thankful for every moment,

The Praskins

Day +83......We are moving home!!

Hello Everyone!! MERRY MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!! The Praskins Family is officially moving home!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!! We got the go-ahead from the Doctor yesterday and will officially be down to two visits a week starting next week!! We are going to move home tomorrow after clinic!! We could not be any more excited or thankful for the opportunity to move back home after almost 6 months! There is nothing that beats the comfort of your own home! WOOOO HOOOOO!!!

Dylan is doing wonderful!! He is happy, smiley, and feeling good! He still has some issues with his blood pressure. Please pray that the medicines are able to control his blood pressure and that it does not get worse or cause any problems. His platelet counts are jumping by leaps and bounds and are at the high end of the "normal" range. His blood counts are steady and healthy, and his white count is stable. He still has a very weak immune system and we have to be really careful with him. If we go out in public, we have to go at times where it's the least crowded. Most of the time, we try to keep him in his car seat with a blanket covering him, but he does not like that too much. He wants to be out and staring at everything around him. He loves to look around and watch people. He will just stare at you, with his big blue eyes, and look at you like he is trying to figure you out. Then, the huge smile comes. I love his smiles! He is a smile machine. And not just a smirk, but a wide mouthed smile!! Oh, it is so amazing and fun!! He is also getting stronger everyday. He loves to kick and move around. He is now scooting himself around on the couch, the bed, and anywhere that his little legs can get traction!! He is holding himself up much better now too. He loves to sit up straight-with help, and just look around at everything. He LOVES to stand up on my lap. He thinks he is so cool when he is standing on his skinny little legs! He loves to make noises, and talk, and laugh.....most of the time he sounds like a little
Ewok! Ha!! So cute!! He is even growing some hair!! He has little fuzz all over his head!! At this point it looks dark blond....but we will see!! I cannot wait to see what each day brings!!

On the flip side of everything going well with Dylan, there are a lot of families going through some tough stuff. One family just found out that there little 3 year old has relapsed. The cancer is back, and it is more aggressive than ever. He is not expected to recover. Please pray for Colton and his family. He has 5 brothers and sisters. They are all headed to Disneyland today from the Make A Wish Foundation, to spend some much needed quality time! Pray for a miracle for little Colton....we all know God has no boundaries!! I know that God has us here for a reason, but it is so difficult to understand why God allows these things. Please pray for them. If you would like to follow their journey, please go to caringbridge.org/visit/coltoncowell

We know that God is healing Dylan and believe that he will be a healthy young boy in a year. When Dylan first got diagnosed, the first things I wanted to hear were stories of survivors. I wanted them to tell me that babies could survive Leukemia, and that he had a fighting chance. But the survivor stories were few, and the odds were stacked against us. Well Dylan is now a hero. A hero and a light of hope to other families who get their worlds turned upside down. I know that God has a plan for Dylan. Every time I stare into his big blue eyes, I am reminded of the miracle that God is doing in and through him. He has been an encouragement to so many people. We have received countless stories of how God has used Dylan to bring them closer to Him. How amazing!! Thank you Lord for using our precious Dylan to reach out to others!!

One of Dylan's little girlfriends is getting her bone marrow transplant tomorrow, on Friday. Her name is Abby....and she is a DOLL!! She is 10 months old and has the same type of Leukemia as Dylan. Please pray for her and her family, as this is the hardest part of the whole process. It is scary and exciting at the same time. Please pray for minimal side effects and a full recovery!! Pray that those stem cells go in and make their home quickly and that baby Abby will grow stronger everyday!! Here is her website if you would like to follow her journey caringbridge.org/visit/abbymullen

I will post some other kiddo's stories later....there are many!! I have a little munchkin fighting for my attention, so i better go for now :) Thank you all for all of your love and support!!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

These are the awesome shirts and water bottles that were
donated for Dylan's walk!

Grandma and Auntie Karyna on Thanksgiving with cranky baby D

Day +79.....HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Happy Thanksgiving!! We hope that you all had a wonderful time enjoying time with friends and family while enjoying yummy food and giving thanks for all of your blessings!!

After a week of throwing up, followed by 4 days of pure crankiness......we FINALLY have our happy boy back!! He was given a patch to help with his high blood pressure last week because he was not taking his medicine well, and it turns out that the patch does more for D than lower his blood pressure! It also makes him sleepy, hungry, and EXTREMELY cranky!! He did not quite enjoy his first Thanksgiving and pretty much slept or cried the whole day. We took the patch off the next day....and 12 hours later......Smiley D was back!! He woke up at 3 in the morning, and as I was changing his diaper, I caught a smile....I almost cried!! I was so excited!! And he has been happy ever since. Now that he is off of the patch, he is not eating as well or sleeping.....but I'll take smiles over sleep any day! Ha!!

We drove up from Tucson on Wednesday night and will be driving back tomorrow morning. We have really enjoyed our time being home and look forward to being able to move back permanently! We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Erik's family on Thursday, some shopping with my sister on Friday, celebrated Thanksgiving with my family on Saturday, and are enjoying a relaxing Sunday at home before heading back. It was a jam-packed weekend, but also a lot of fun.

The plan is to go back to Tucson for the week. He will have another 3 clinic visits this week and then hopefully we can go down to 2 visits a week starting next week. If the doctor feels that Dylan is ok to visit only 2 times a week, then we will move home on Friday!! YAYAYAYAY!! Our lease to our condo is up on Friday also, so everything is working out well! We are soooooooooooooooooooooo excited to have an end in sight and be able to live at home as a family for the first time in over 5 months! 5 months!! It seems so crazy that it has been that long. The Lord has truly protected us so much over the past 5 months. We have so much to be thankful for this year.

It is easy sometimes to dwell on the negative things that are going on, and when I start to do that, I am brought back to the reality that my baby is ALIVE. He is here, with us, and we are able to celebrate this holiday season with him. God has been so good to us! Although our journey is not over yet, and we have a long way to go, we will cherish every moment with Dylan and be thankful for every second with him that God has blessed us with. I still have the daunting task of multiple meds 2 times a day, dressing changes, and the stress of staying ahead of the craziness........but we are COMING HOME!!!! YAY!! I cannot even begin to express how excited we are!! Please pray for us as we need to make some big decisions coming up regarding work and insurance. Our insurance is through my job, and I am only able to stay on LEAVE until Janurary 4th. I do not want to have to go back so early, but it is probably the only option we have right now. Our insurance costs will go up to $1500 monthly if I stay home. I have an amazing job waiting for me, along with my friends and co-workers, but I would much rather stay with Dylan for a little bit longer. He still needs a lot of attention and care, and it would be difficult to leave him at this point.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support!! We are thankful for such amazing friends and family! We love you!!

Day +70.............a little rough patch

Hey guys! Well, we have been having a rough past few days. On Monday night, Dylan threw up and it was the first time in over a month. He has been throwing almost everything that he has eaten and is not wanting to eat at all. We changed all of his meds BACK to IV, hoping that it helps his tummy a little better. He does not have a fever or any other symptoms of any viruses, and all of his labs have come back negative. The Dr. thinks that his stomach is still not all the way healed from the transplant and is having a hard time emptying and digesting properly. We are hoping that it goes away with time, but we are now on our 5th day of throwing up. Tomorrow, the plan is to increase his steroid dose to see if that helps at all. He is staying hydrated well with all of the IV meds he is getting. We are praying that he will start eating well soon so that we do not have to give him any supplements through his IV. It is hard because it feels like we are taking a few steps backwards. Just when we think everything is going well, something like this happens. It is hard not to get disappointed or frustrated, but we have to go back to realizing how far God has brought us. Dylan is CANCER FREE!! CANCER FREE!! What an amazing thing to say!! So why do I not trust God with something as simple as throwing up? He is constantly reminding us that He is in control....and we are NOT!!

On the positive side of things, we are still on schedule for leaving Tucson and moving home by December 4th. YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray that Dylan is able to be healthy enough to go home and that we are able to move back and be a family and be in our home. We will be going home for Thanksgiving and then will be back to Tucson for our final week. We have so much to be thankful for this year. We always have a million things to be thankful for.....but this year is so much different. Dylan has opened our eyes to the hurting world around us and how much we have to be thankful for.

Thank you for all of your continued prayers and we will keep you updated with Dylan's status. I can't wait for him to meet all of you someday! All of his prayer warriors!!

Taking it one day at a time, and trusting God with EVERY step,

Michelle

Light The Night 2009

The Light the Night Walk was a huge success!! Erik and I were completely overwhelmed by the number of friends and family that joined 'Dylan's Dream Team'! What a great reason to be overwhelmed!! We had our family, our closest friends, and new friends join us as we proudly walked in Dylan's honor. We had the largest group there, with a total of 125 people!! WOW!!! It was a sea of blue Dylan shirts!! As a group we raised $2400 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society--and THAT's AMAZING!!

A special thanks to the Davis Family for providing our special Dylan T-shirts, and also to the Pieters Family for providing special Dylan Water Bottles!! I will put a close up of the shirt and water bottle later. We cannot thank each and every one of you enough for coming out and supporting us! We are truly blessed with the most amazing support system!! Thank you for coming out and taking time out of your busy schedules to support our family and this great cause!! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!

For those of you who were not able to make it this year--there is always next year......and this time Baby D will be walking with us.....and every year to follow! We were so excited to be able to carry a "survivor" balloon down the dark pathway, lighting it up with every step we took. It was a very special night, a night we will never forget! We are looking forward to many more events and walks and want to help others fight this horrible disease.

Thank you!! We love you!!

The Praskins Family

7 Months old.....and CANCER FREE!! Dylan is at 100% Engraftment!!

Good Morning Everyone!! Well, today is a day to CELEBRATE!! Yesterday, we got the long awaited call. FINALLY!! The information that we have been waiting for sooooooooooooooooo long!! Baby Dylan is OFFICIALLY 100% Engrafted!! His cell counts came back as 100% Donor and 0% Dylan Cells!! Just as Dr G expected (he is so smart!) WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! We cannot even begin to tell you how excited we are about this amazing news and how thankful we are for God's continual healing! So what's next? Next, we pray that the Leukemia does not come back and that Dylan stays in remission. It is possible, not likely, but possible, for Dylan's leukemic cells to come back and infect the new bone marrow. But because Dylan had a 6/6 cord blood match, it is not likely to happen. Dr. G has not had anyone with Dylan's type of transplant relapse after hitting the 6 month mark. So after 6 months, the chances of Dylan's leukemia coming back are almost non-existent. After Dylan hits one year post transplant, he will be considered completely cured. HOW AMAZING!! We know that the Lord is healing Dylan every day and we believe that his cancer will never return! On April 16th, 2010, Dylan will be turning 1 and will be cancer free for 6 months!!! WHAT A PARTY IT WILL BE!!! Thank you all for your continued prayers. Please pray that Dylan's body will continue to embrace it's new cells and that the healthy cells will multiply and fill Dylan's body! Please pray that he continues to stay "side-effect free" and that he continues to feel better everyday!! We are rejoicing today, as with everyday, with the little life that God has blessed us with. Dylan is one of a kind and we could not have asked for a better son. His smiles keep us going everyday and his little personality is blooming! He is such a joy and we are so thankful for our little Dylan!

More updates of our fun weekend in Phoenix to come! I just wanted to get this information on here now so that you guys can celebrate with us!!

Walking by Faith,

Michelle, Erik and Cancer Free Baby Dylan