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.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Back in TX

Some pics below, a window into why we still get homesick after living out-of-state 9 years now...


Hans making jam with my grandpa (Papa)

Hans (and a little of me) on the Edmonds-Kingston Ferry

Elle on the Twilight tour in front of the Bella Italia Restaurant, Port Angeles, WA

Hans and Elle hiking in the Hoh Rain Forest with Grandma Stephanie

Elle and Hans in the Hoh

Volunteer Beaders Beading in Ellensburg! Thank you beaders!

Hans on Zippy with G'ma Kathy and Elle


We're back. Well, two out of three of us anyway. Elle seems to be the lucky little traveler! She was getting so sad at the prospect of leaving WA, that I actually called Continental to try to push her ticket back a few days. It was definitely cost-prohibitive to make the change at the last minute, so I didn't do it. She was disappointed, but she rolled with it. But then, when we got to the gate, they were looking for passengers to give up their seats! We went ahead and pushed her flight back to Thursday night. So, she gets to spend a few more days in Seattle with Grandma Stephanie for free:)!

Hans had a great flight and is happy to be home with Honey and his daddy, and all of his Transformers! I have a lot to do around here, just getting unpacked, grocery shopping, and figuring out Hans' schedule. We are trying to figure out when he needs to go back in for his echo and for counts. I'll keep you posted.

We shared the row on our trip back up with a grandmother and 1 year old Kaya. Kaya was going back to Alabama with Grandma as both of her parents are being deployed for this next year. Can you imagine? I am well aware of what struggles pedi cancer families go through, but then every once in a while I am reminded that we are not alone in our difficult journeys.

Thanks to everyone that welcomed us, hosted us and visited with us while we were in WA. We feel incredibly fortunate that we have been able to enjoy a truly relatively normal and action-packed summer. Thanks for checking up on us. Lots of love as our summers all begin to wind down.

Lara

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Lara,

Looks like a great trip. I love the pics- beautiful spot. Hans looks great.
Margot

Vickie said...

I have to agree with Margot, Hans looks great!

The beading workshop looks great too! Thanks to all your friends for jumping in and beading their fingers to the bone.

I look forward to talking to you when you have caught up around the house.

VB

Anonymous said...

Lara,

We had such a great time beading last week. I think we are all looking forward to the next workshop!

Kelly Bacon

Dennis Pyritz, RN said...

Each Wednesday at Being Cancer.net we feature a Guest Blog. This week we are highlighting neuroblastoma with two guest posts. The first is by Connie Powell, mother of Miss Madelyn, who recounts what the experience of diagnosis was for her and her family. In the second a twenty-four year old NB survivor, Erik Ludwinski, reflects on how cancer has affected his young life. I know that neuroblastoma has a strong blogging family. So thought you might be interested in visiting. Also please visit the “Neuroblastoma” section of our blogroll, Cancer Blog Links, to see if your site is listed. www.beingcancer.net
Take care, Dennis

suzanne said...

welcome back! looks like you all had a great time.

Kim Tyler said...

Delightful to see the WA photos, and hear about your vacation. Megan and Des were thrilled to get to see you up here. We are cheering for Hans and all of you, and read your blog faithfully, even though you don't hear from me so often. Sending love, as ever,
Kim

Anonymous said...

OH, how I wish I had been there, too! Looks like great fun!

Great photos...Hans is growing up, more handsome each day!

Elle...you are lovely!

Love and hugs,
Aunt Susy