About Me

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Bakersfield, CA, United States
Hans was a busy, happy, sweet and fearless three year old when he was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. He fought his disease like a "gladiator" for nearly 6 years. Hans was an animal lover to his core. He was 'guarded' at home by his three cats, Black, Orange and Cotton. He also had his Golden Retriever, Honey, to keep him company. Hans enjoyed swimming, biking, gardening, grilling (he had his very own grill!), horseback riding, playing video games, building Legos, and flipping between Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Animal Planet. Hans loved all members of his family and he was a loyal friend. He had to go through a lot of treatment in his life. But Hans powered through it. His attitude was let's get this done! His motivation was always to get back home, to his family, pets, favorite foods and pool.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Kickapoo Kamp

Hi -
Sorry to go so long b/w posts! I was running around busily this past week. I got to help Carmen celebrate her 40th b'day with a couple of fun events. Our usual Mom's Night Out, and then we pulled off a surprise b'day lunch at her mom's Friday. Happy Bday Carm! I seem to hit it off really well with Tauruses - so we have a lot to celebrate this week - My BFF Kerry turned 38, My dad turned 62, Papa turns 89! And Joshua turns 2. Happy b'day to all of you. You are so fun to be with - it must be in the stars that we get along so well!

This past weekend Elle and I joined our friends Sheri and Caley for a mom/daughter weekend at Kickapoo Kamp in Kerrville Texas. It was pretty AWESOME. I wished all our friends could have joined us for the fun. We rode a water weenie (a big banana pulled by a speed boat), did a huge water slide and I fired my first rifle (didn't do so great/can't close my left eye) but I got a bulls eye in archery:) Elle and I mostly had a very relaxing girl-time in the pretty Texas Hill Country. We slept in cabins and all meals were prepared for us. We did have some rain on Saturday morning, so we missed out on the horseback ride, but we took a nice hike on Sunday before packing it in. We both want to go back next year. If you are looking for a first rate camp for summer - check it out at www.kickapookamp.com. Kevin and Hans hung out back at home and were so very sweet about letting the girls go off and have all of the fun!

Hans has been doing GREAT. And then today, a little not-so-fun thing happened. He had a dental surgery scheduled for one cap on the front tooth. And, he did, in fact, get a few more. (I actually can't even bear to type out the number of caps he got today, not quite yet!) We have been trying to schedule this surgery over the entire past year. It kept getting cancelled due to situations like - being inpatient for chemo/being in Philly for scans/or being inpatient for Rota virus. Today we finally were able to go through with the surgery. When the dentist got in there and did xrays, there was a lot more going on than they had originally thought. It was a little bit brutal, and I had one of my signature emotional breakdowns. UGH. But, as usual, the staff down at TCH is there for us. I actually just picked up the phone and dialed my pal, Breanna, from child life. She was there within five minutes and sat with Hans and I for at least an hour and walked us into a stable recovery. Hans was having some pain after intubation. I haven't actually seen him like that before. A huge thank you to Breanna for going above and beyond her job description. She's supposed to be there to support the kiddos, but today she was truly there for me.

I owe you pics, and I will try to post tomorrow. I'm going to try to get to bed early. I was up way tooo early with a surgery arrival time of 6 am today. Hans is doing better now and he is enjoying a new Wii game with his doting daddy. Thank you, Kathryn Hallberg, for sending Hans such a sweet gift!

Lara

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, I am so sorry Hans had SUCH a time in the dental chair...and that his sweet mother was distressed! I am glad you both had support, and all is well.

CAMP! Sounds like a fun time to me!

Is school out there??? We have 5 more days...they will zip by!

The boys on their own????! HMMM...I wonder what kind of mischief might have occurred!?

Love, hugs...and smooches!
Aunt Susy

Anonymous said...

Man, I'm sorry about the dental surgery bit, but I'm glad Breanna and Wii were there to help soften the ordeal.

Super cool about the kamp trip! I looked up the location, and wow, what a beautiful part of the hill country, near Kerrville yes? My heart is in that country, it's just so beautiful.

I'm in awe of your archery skills, Lara. I'm totally erratic with a bow, wish I wasn't.

Thanks for the post - was wondering about y'all, and my mind is now at ease. May Wii continue to soothe the un-fun of having one's mouth messed with.

Vickie said...

I'm thinking (oops, I don't really mean to add more to Elle's already very full and satisfying plate) that Elle would be awesome at History Day. It's like science fair, with more options: performance, documentary, exhibit, individual or group. Put it on her horizon for 6th grade.

IBy the way, I am having a riproaring time visualizing you on a WATER WEENIE, especially because I've never seen a water weenie and it is pretty much fun to visualize that. Adding you is like whipped cream and a cherry.

Anonymous said...

Hi Guys,
Wow, I am so glad you and Elle got some fun girl time in together! I am sorry to hear Hans had a hard time at the dentist. Thank goodness for the great staff at TCH, especially Breanna! She has helped us out alot. Have a good weekend, Claire

Anonymous said...

Glad you and Elle had a fun time! Nothing like mother/daughter time!
Don't worry about the rifle thing tho, I was bragging to a guy in Atlanta about how good I am with a rifle. His comment to me was...Well normally people with low iq's are better with rifles...it doesn't take alot of concentration! I shut up really fast! and thought oh thanks for the compliment!
Glad Hans' dental ordeal is over. What are the plans for summer?
auntie debi