Home Sweet Home

Clays buddies came to his suprise welcoming.

There was alot of people there. Thanks everyone!!!

Nate, Elloitt, and Clay

Nate and his bone marrow donor and Clay with his bone marrow donor. Friends for life.

Those two had so much fun together.

The host with th most and the hostess who has the mostest.

The awesome and famous Grandma and Grandpa D. Thye hosted my family since Feb.

Lily planted potatoes with Grandma in the spring. She is proud of her plant.

My true heros. Brenda and Hilary. Our Nurse Practitioners. They helped him and me through some long days and long nights. The best!!!

Dr Paul. He kept Clay sain or insaine, depends on how you look at it.

I have been so good about posting but this week we have been so busy. Oh well you will get used to it. Now I am home I get to be a working Mom again. I also hope that there are not very many changes and not much to update. I will do my best to update as often as needed. My mom always says that sometimes no news is good news. So here is the update from the last week....

Saturday Clay had his 100 days cancer free. We celebratied with a party at Nick and Heathers. It was nice to see all the family and some friends. Clay had a nice suprise, well not a suprise he knew about it. Nathan, the boy from the hosputal that Clay was a penpal with, he and his family came all the way from Ogden to celebrate with Clay. Nate is a little short of half way from his 100 days and I am glad he is healthy enough to play. The kids jumpe on the tramp and played like kids. I loved seeing two recent BMT boys be normal boys. They are amazing kids and we can all learn a lesson from thier resilncy. Thanks Nick and Heath for being the hostess with the mostess.

Sunday we came home. Aaahhh, It is so nice to say I am home. Clay is healthy enough to be home. Our family can be one again. It is going to be quite an adjustment to get back into reality for both Clay and I. Also Cole and Lily need to get used to Mom being here. Dad can be some what of a push over in the punishment dept. Anyway, The ward/neighborhood planned a huge welcome home thing for Clay. They filled the park with cheers and laughter. There were signs made and balloons. My Bro in law Dave said he stopped counting at 125 people. It was a complete shock to Clay. All he could say was holy crap are all these people here for me? Tad couldnt stop the car fast enough. Clay was greeted at the car door by a million little kids and his two buddies. Gabe, Clays best friend was there to hug him. Clays soccer coach and family came over too. I have a great pic of Clay and Cody giveing each other the man hug.

I am so grateful for an amazing ward, great friends, family, and some people I dont even know but follow this blog. I started this blog as a way to release and keep in contact with some people in Vegas. I didnt know how many lives Clay would touch. He is a stud and he has handled this trial like a pro. I am honored to call him SON.

Thanks everyone. See ya all soon.

Tab

Love and good night. Im going to sleep in my bed tonight.

Tab

A Week of Lasts

This week , I have decided, is going to be weird. It is going to be a lot of lasts.

Today was our last appointment at Primary. Well, its hard to say last because it really isn't our last. We still have to come up once a month until March for follow up care. But last as far as this long stay. Clay had an amazing appointment today. We got some awesome news. I will start with the best and go down.

1. He can eat out again. We still have to be very cautious but yummy. He wanted an In & out burger. We got it with no lettuce or tomatoes and a chocolate shake. It was heaven.

2. He can get his line out as soon as he can prove he is drinking and eating enough. That means we can go swimming as soon as it is healed.

3. He can go to school in the fall. He should be off all his meds and be "normal" again by mid September.

With all of this there are still several risks and worries. We still stay away from sick people and still have to wear a mask out in public. He still can get GVH but his risk decreases the farther we get away from transplant day.

I am so excited for him. He has a little bit of weight off his shoulders today. This has all happened because of you guys, the ones who have fasted and prayed for his match, recovery and over all happiness. I feel truly blessed by all that the Lord has given us. He held our hands the whole way through. He picked Clay up and carried him through treatment. We are so lucky to have an awesome group of people to lean on for help, love and support.

Thanks for being so amazing.

Tab

One week left

Almost There

Okay, lets have a visual lesson today....

Look down at your fingers. How many do you have? (fingers and thumbs, I know some of you to well) You have 10. That is how many days we have left. We are almost there!!!!!!

A short Clay update

He is getting anxious to go home. He has had fun playing this week with Alex. They went toad hunting. We found out from the docs on Monday that he WILL keep in his line when we go home and he WILL stay on fluids while he is on the anti rejection meds, so next Marchish. He will be on a 6 month taper of his anti rejection pills and then have another 3 months for the pills to get out of his system. Once he has done that he can get his vaccinations again and go to school. So we are looking at March until he is "out of the woods". He had the biopsy on Monday and we get those results back this coming Monday.

We miss everyone and cant wait to sleep in our own beds.

Love Tab

13 Days Left :)

We only have 13 more days. Can you here my jubilation. The days are starting to drag a little but I keep us busy and entertained.
Today Clay has his final bone marrow aspirate. This will be number 6. He had 4 at home and 2 here. Lets hope its his last forever. They would only have to do another one if his blood work ever comes back with elevated white blood cells like in the beginning. But that's not going to happen. We will get the results from this bma next week at our final consultation and lab work.

We have planned the party for Clays 100 days celebration. I sent out a facebook message and Nicki and I are calling the heads of families. I know there is a wedding for our family that weekend so if some cant make it that is fine and we wish Dave all the best. So here is the info. Please rsvp to me so I can get a fairly good head count so we don't have a lot of left over food or not enough....

Saturday June 25, 2011

4pm-8pm

Nick and Heathers House

13993 S Corner Ridge Ct

Draper, Ut 84020

RSVP to Tabitha 702-413-2285

leave a message or send a text

Love to all,

Tabitha

This week in photos

We are going to miss these peeps. Jill and Trevor are staarting a new adventure in Mankota, Mn. We love you and miss you already.
Candence turned 7. She is so darn cute and full of energy. Happy B Day Cutie.

The more he drinks the less fluid he is on at night!!!

Boys will be boys

Uncle Dave is the best Uncle for my boys. Go get em.

19 days and counting

Today is day plus 81, which means there are only 19 days left until Clay and I can touch our feet on the scalding hot pavement of Las Vegas. We can play with Logan, ride go carts, play on the schools brown prickly grass and touch the hands and faces of our friends. That is the thing I am looking forward to the most, well the second thing, Logan is the first, I really miss our Logan. I can feel it now, all my friends hugging me. The hug from your spouse on a bummer day is an amazing feeling, but the hug from your bestest friend in the whole wide world seems to make everything all right. The knowledge that she is by your side encouraging you and rooting in your corner makes all the difference. I am so lucky to have several of those friends. You know who you are and I cant wait to be with you again. I cant wait to be with my family and lay down next to my kids and listen to music and fall asleep, to watch them ride their scooters, skateboards and bike on MY road in MY neighborhood. I have given myself some goals for when I get back home. First and for most I want to be a better Mom, I want to stop yelling so much and be more patient and understanding. I want to be a better listener to both the kids and Tad. I WILL stop rolling my eyes at them and be more responsive to their needs. This trail in our lives has given me time to think and has given me a chance to start over and be a better me.

Our last appt for Clay is June 20th. Since Tad cant get off work in the middle of the week we are here until the 26th. He and the kids will come and get Clay and I the following weekend. So the plan is kind of staying the same. I'm thinking of having a 100 days of celebration for Clay that Sat the 25th but I'm not sure, more info to come if we do. I think it would be a fun send off to him and a way we can all say how amazing he has done and how strong and brave he has been. It has been a long road for all of us but mostly him and he has done it with such style and grace. I am proud to have been such a huge part of it and I am grateful Tad was able to work and hold down the house in Las Vegas so I could be here to experience this miracle with Clay. Thanks Babe you are the best.

With all this going home talk and stuff its almost like he is done and cured and there are no more worries. Well that is not the case. Clay will still be on meds for the rest of his one year (next March) He still has to go to the dr twice a month and once a month in Salt Lake. He still is masked and immune compromised. He is just at a little bit less of a risk. Every 100 days he gets better. This is a long road, one that isn't over when we go home. He will be on the journey for several more years, a journey we will all be by his side for.

Once again, you are all amazing people and I love each and everyone of you,

Loves, Tab

Primary Children's Telethon

Baby Andrew, He has AML.

Today and tomorrow is the annual Primary Children's Telethon.

I am so grateful we have good jobs and amazing insurance. We also have generous friends and family who have donated to Clays medical fund and bought bracelets (they are still for sale).

There are some families out there who have horrible or no insurance and can not pay for the needs of their sick child. This telethon will help kids who are fighting for their lives, either cancer or some other ailment.

Please take the time today or tomorrow and donate to this great cause. If you do so you can do it in honor of Clay Shurtleff.

Here is the link if you want to donate on line.

As always, thank you and we love you,

Tab

So it is ending up to be a three time a week visit this week. We had to go into clinic today because Clays line clogged last night and we couldn't use it. I know it doesn't seem like a big deal and it probably could have waited until Friday but I actually couldn't. It was the line he gets the blood drawn out of. If it was clogged for too long they would have to start poking him again for his bi weekly labs. It was an in and out appointment. The nurses are so good with clogs and stuff. I still don't like to mess with the line and try to figure it out. I think it is better to go into clinic and let them figure it out. We still have to go to or appt tomorrow for labs but that shouldn't be a big deal either. The best thing about this mornings impromptu appt is that we were able to weigh Clay and he gained a half a pound. He has been eating so much better since the NP scared him into eating.

The nurse gave us some paperwork and a schedule for our exit. Yep, we are getting everything in order to go HOME!!!! There is a possibility that our last appt will be June 20th. Wouldn't that be awesome. We could come home a little early. However, don't hold your breath or get too excited, things can change at the drop of a hat and the plan can change.

It has become such a lovely week here in Salt Lake. Sunny and breezy. This is why people stay in Utah, the amazing however late, spring. The flowers in Grandma D's back yard and exquisite, they bring a smile to my face and my nose.

We love Utah and love all our peeps.

Tab and Clay