Ben & Toby

It’s been a while. Since Papi had passed away, it’s been difficult to get “back to normal” again. Yesterday was Papi’s birthday. He would have been 68.

We were able to rearrange a few chemo sessions to give Ben (and the family) a break. We went away to Disneyland for a much needed vacation. We spent 8 days at Disneyland. The weather was perfect and everything worked out as far as everyone’s health. We stayed at the Grand Californian, which is a great hotel right on the

Disneyland lot in Downtown Disney. We also spent a whole day at Seaworld in San Diego. As you can see from the picture above, both Ben (and Stephanie) were able to swim with the dolphins and teach them tricks (more photos in the “Candid” section of the Gallerie). Toby, the dolphin, was very tame and had lots of patience with the kids.

It was an amazing experience for everyone.

Ben was back at the hospital July 12th continuing his chemo. So far things are going smoothly and he is not having a reaction as he did with the ICU adventure. He is getting Benadryl, Tylenol, Gravol and hydrocortizone as anti-inflammatories around the clock to keep him from reacting to the ARA-C. So far so good.

He spent most of the day in the playroom building a castle out of popsicle sticks. He loves to create things. He’s written 12 books for far! He’s working on his 13th called ‘Sea monsters’. Great little books too including illustrations.

Besides my pneumonia which I caught from who knows where, our health is doing \ne and Ben, though his hair is patchy, has not caught a cold. I’d like to go camping sometime but everything has to be coordinated with the hospital.

I promise to write sooner next time. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. À la prochaine!