Hope4Peyton

Saturday night Pete and I had our eyes opened to the least amount of clothing a person can wear while still being legally considered decent. Our eyes were definitely open and frankly, we were rudely and purposefully gawking at the display of flesh. Held at the Hard Rock Hotel poolside, the Blue and White party was one heck of a party. It is hosted by Ian Beckles, a former Tampa Buccaneer and sports radio show celebrity, and benefited the Children’s Cancer Center.

Many of the families in treatment were invited to come and celebrate VIP style. We got to enjoy the music, watch the dancing and just sit back and take people watching to a whole new level. It was a great time with some awesome friends and just another wonderful night given to us by the Children’s Cancer Center.

Today was Peyton’s clinic visit for her monthly finger poke. Because she just came off of her steroids her counts were high. Her ANC was 2200, her hemoglobin was 12.6 and her platelets were at 215,000! It’s awesome to see these great numbers, but they don’t want them quite that great. If her counts don’t stay suppressed to a certain degree it means that she’s not getting enough chemo. So, if they see a consistent pattern of high counts, they will raise her dosage of chemo. It’s needed occasionally because kids grow and put on weight.

Overall, she’s doing so wonderfully. Her hair is still coming in, thick and soft, long enough now that she gets wicked bed head! It’s even long enough to work into a little spiky mohawk during bathtime. She’s wearing her panties full time, except for bed and steroid week, and the potty thing is going well. Her binky is needed full time during steroid time (you see a theme there?) but otherwise she needs it less and less.

We had a long talk about school and what that meant binky-wise.

“You know, when you go to school you can’t take your binky.”

“Yeah, I can leave it in the car.”

“We could even leave it at home.”

Pause. Looooong pause.

“If I leave it at home, you aren’t going to throw it in the trash are you?”

She knows me too well.

I tried to talk her into donating it to some poor kids who need it. Her answer was that SHE needed it. I offered up the “Binky Fairy”….for each binky she gave to the fairy, she was sure to get a rocking present…she didn’t warm to that idea either. My hope is that with the whole school thing she’ll just get used to having it less and less and eventually give it up on her own. Much like the potty-training, she’ll do it in her own time.

She’s writing all sorts of things, she draws non-stop and her great love is still play-dough. She has a birthday coming up soon, she’ll turn 4 on December 5th. And before anyone gets any ideas about sending her a present, please don’t!! The child doesn’t need any more stuff. In fact, in preparing to organize a birthday party we’re planning to ask that instead of presents, donations be made to the Children’s Cancer Center. Her time there is so precious, they have been one great joy of her life and the place itself is a gift. If you want to make a donation in her name to the center, it’s a blessing to each family that is a part of it.

It’s not hard to remember the feeling of despair when I considered whether or not more birthdays were going to be part of her future. Would she make it to 3? 4? 25? But I have learned that each day is the gift God grants us. And as learned through the loss of so many precious loved ones, it’s not the amount of time, but the impact made in that time. Peyton has plenty of that.

Atlanta is still looming ahead of us. There are many things that have to be finalized, so we just ask for a lot of prayer through these days and plans.

f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
—Anissa

*Two things to share

1. A fantastic lady named Jennifer Riviera is hosting a fundraiser at her restaurant in Kansas City. She has offered that anyone who brings in a box of Christmas ornaments will receive a free margarita, then she is decorating the bulbs with photos of cancer kids plus a brief bio. She will be displaying these in her restaurant and selling them for 5$ each. All the money raised will be donated to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation to further the search for a cure. Is that awesome or what!!?? If you’re a cancer parent (in treatment, out of treatment, or an angel) and would be interested in participating as….I guess we could call them “ornamental children” (that would be slighly different from my oriental children)…please just shoot me an email at Anissa (dot) Mayhew (at) Gmail.com and I’ll make sure you get Jennifer’s email address.

2. I’m updating “our friends” and I need your help! If you have a child on our page, or would like for me to put them on there, I need some info. I need a photo, diagnosis and date, hospital of treatment, info on remission, NED or end of treatment, and I’d love to post your favorite quote of your child. Email me at Anissa (dot) Mayhew (at) Gmail.com.

Thanks!!

There are great universal truths.

You always run your stockings when it’s your last pair, you have no time to get another pair, and you haven’t shaved your legs.

Your kids will tell you that they’re supposed to take cookies to school 10 minutes before bedtime.

Fishermen lie.

They may not lie on a day to day basis, but something about the sound of their line hitting the water just drains away all ability to tell the truth. The smell of the water weakens their moral fiber, it demolishes their beliefs in right and wrong. They lie.

Peyton is a fisherman now. Offically and truly, to the core of her being. She’s a fisherliar.

The Fishing Derby is a fun event set up for the kids by the Steve Yerrid Foundation. He holds a weekend of fundraising for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation that includes the Fisherman’s Derby where the grown ups lie to each other, the Kids Fishing Derby where the kid get the chance to learn to lie from the pros who come in the pretense of teaching them to cast and stuff like that, and then the Fisherman’s Ball with the opportunity to spin your fishing stories while others are too busy eating and drinking and bidding extraordinary amounts on auction items to notice your fibs.

Fishermen lie.

I know this because yesterday was the first time Peyton had even held a fishing pole. Yet, when asked the size of the fish she caught, she swung her arms as wide as they would go and announced “It was THIS big!!”

The 400 lb marlin that she apparently pulled in while no one was looking!

Liar liar, pants on fire!

What do YOU wear to fish?

Fish #1

Fish #2

But the two little fishes she caught thrilled her to the depths of her soul. She squealed, screamed, danced around, jumped up and down and even touched it. So for those around her who knew the true size of her fish, we couldn’t possibly be the ones to shatter her very first fishing story.

Besides Peyton’s budding Pinochio tendencies, we had a tremendous day of fun at the derby. We got to fish on the docks in St. Pete. They really stacked the deck in the kid’s favor by throwing chum and bait in the water and giving the kids the best chance to catch something. Most of the kids caught at least one fish, Nathaniel caught one and Peyton caught two. Rachael didn’t catch anything because she couldn’t be bothered to hold a stick over the water for long. Booooring! Instead, she flittered around and chatted up her friends.

I caught one fish as well…..it was THiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiS big.

We were invited to attend the Fisherman’s Ball as guests of the Bertoch’s. I’d heard about it, I’d see pictures, but nothing quite prepares you for watching people with bottomless pockets dig deep for a cause. I can’t think of a better reason for someone to bid 00 for a puppy, than to hand it over a sweet little girl who’d successfully battled cancer AND knowing that the entire amount goes to cancer research. People bid and won a Mercedes Benz, weekend getaways to Jimmy Buffett’s house (ohhhh, guess who was just dying to bid on that one?), a freshly painted picture of Mike Alstott, autographed by the A-train himself on stage, hundreds of auction items went up for bid and were taken home by generous souls. The Pediatric Cancer Foundation took another huge leap forward in funding the research and clinical trials that keep getting us closer to cures.

Peter and I spent the night not bidding on anything, just cruising and eating and having fun with the friends we had there. I have to share one of the highlights of the night.

Now, I missed this altogether, I can’t believe it because I’m sure it ranks up there as one of the funniest things Peter has ever done. Pete was strolling around, checking out the auction items, and he came across a beautiful piece of artistry. Awed by the carved fish and crabs, he reached out and asked “Is this wood?”….just seconds before his hand touched the sand and he realized what he had just done. As reported by Cody Bertoch, who was there to see the whole thing, there was a fantastic slo-mo moment when Peter was reaching out to touch, the sculptor was waving his hands in a “NO! NO! NO!” moment and then he made contact.

Only one fish was slightly damaged and the sculptor was able to carefully repair the touched spot.

I can’t really mock him because I’m the type of person who’s most likely to be found with my tongue stuck to the ice sculpture just because I couldn’t help myself.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa

—Noteable fact,

CNN just announced that a discovery in the porcine family. It is stealthy, it is known to find it’s way into an already claimed territory and mark it as it’s own, and as a self-preservation tactic, it has a high pitched squeal.

It is known as the BED HOG

I’ve gotten this same email 4 times today!! Trying to tell me something?

Often the great things people do are only great in the eyes of the person whose life is touched. Occasionally a person goes above and beyond and we are all grateful to see that commitment and dedication acknowledged in a special way.

A young man in the Tampa community has done something tremendous and I want to ask all of you to take a moment and help him receive that acknowledgement. Pat Pedraja is an 11 year old boy with Leukemia, and his heart was touched by a friend who was unable to find a bone marrow donor in time to save her life. Pat learned about the great need for minority donors and he thought up and executed the Driving for Donors” program over the past year. His goal was to drive nationwide, raising awareness of the need for donors, especially minority donors. He wanted 2007 new donors registered in 2007 and ended up registering over 5000 in just 3 months! The first match was made here in Tampa, between a donor and a lymphoma patient. He is saving lives in a very crucial way.

Pat and his vision has been highlighted on a myriad news outlets and he was nominated to be a CNN hero. The voting for this award is open through this coming Monday and we want to see him win!! The announcement of a winner will be on December 6th at 9PM. It only takes a moment to go to the CNN website and let the world know that there are kids out there capable of changing the world before them and to give Pat a wonderful “thank you” for his hard work. If you can share this info with others, the more votes we can stir up for him is appreciated.

Tomorrow starts another busy weekend for us. The kids are skipping school to go to the Steve Yerrid Fishing Derby in St. Pete. Steve Yerrid is a HUGE supporter of the pediatric cancer community and a generous man who gives of his time and money to fund research. One of the events that he hosts each year is a weekend-long even that involves a golf tournament, followed by the fishing derby for the kids that allows them to go out with fishing celebrities (who knew??) and local celebrities for the afternoon, and then tomorrow night is the Fisherman’s Ball at Tropicana Fields. Peter and I will be attending the ball in the evening, enjoying some super food and fun with all proceeds of the weekend benefiting the Pediatric Cancer Foundation.

Saturday Peter and I are heading over to the Hard Rock Casino to hang at the Ian Beckles Blue and White party that benefits the Children’s Cancer Center. This is another annual fundraiser with food (oh the things I will do to not have to cook!), drinks and fun. There is a fashion show and apparently the big players of Tampa come out to rock out at this event. I wouldn’t know a player of Tampa if one whacked me in the face with a 2×4, but I guess we’ll get to see them in action. Many of the families of the Children’s Cancer Center are going to be there, so it’ll be a grand time.

I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures to share with you!

On the flip side of the hero coin, Rachael has found new and interesting ways to torment her sister. A piercing scream came from the bathroom tonight and the frequency of those kinds of sounds is now to the point that it takes Peter and myself a good 2-3 minutes to even bother to look up from whatever we’re doing. Usually either Peyton has devised some new way to drive Rachael insane or Rachael has gone out of her way to do something remarkably evil. Poor Nathaniel.

Tonight was Rachael’s turn to show her tendency to the dark side. I go to the bathroom after a couple of eardrum shattering screams come, signaling that there is no chance that the girls are going to find a resolution to whatever problem there is. Last night’s big conflict ended with a resounding “THUD” and more screaming….that actually got us up and running pretty quick.

So, let me set up this scene for you.

The girls are in the bathtub. Rachael’s sitting on the side with the tap looking utterly serene. Peyton’s standing on the far side of the tub, howling to bring down the house. The tub is 70% full.

Both girls take one look at me and start defending themselves.

“Peyton’s being snotty to me and…..”
“Rachael won’t let me sit on that side and….”

Ok. Obviously it’s an extinction level crisis we’re dealing with here.

Rachael is firmly defending her right to sit on her side of the tub and Peyton is equally put out that she won’t move. No biggie, right?? Then I stick my hand in the tub.

The water was so cold that the entire cast of “March of the Penguins” could have floated by at any moment!

Rachael had filled the tub with icy water and then started the hot water….her sitting in the incoming warmth and leaving her sister to sit in a polar ice cap of a bath. Then to top it off, she’s sitting in such a way that as little warm water as possible will filter over to Peyton’s side of the tub.

Oh, she’s good.

This is one of those moments that Peter will look at me and say “That’s YOUR daughter”. Yeah, probably.

As a quick lesson, I dumped an entire bowl of the frigid water over Rachael’s head, causing her to start bawling.

“Mommy, that’s cold!!”

You think? Duh!

I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to.

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa

Ok, first things first.

No, I don’t know if Eddie is single. But I promise to find out. Thank you for your overwhelming concern for our big buddy’s social schedule! You know who you are.

Anyways…..

Peter and I have made a big decision to put Peyton in preschool when school starts back up in January after Christmas break. I know that she’s going to love every minute of it, she’s so ready. However, I am going to have to get used to being without my little shadow. I’ve had her by my side more or less non-stop for the past 16 months and now she needs to start back down that road to a normal life. I guess that means that I do as well.

When she was diagnosed, all future plans went on a sort of stand-by as we fully concentrated on the here and now. I know there are families who never skipped a beat and the kids were able to stay in school during treatment, but she’d never even had the chance to go. I couldn’t picture her going to school when she was so sick, I wasn’t worried about her making it to class, I was worried about her making it to the end of the week.

She still has many months of constant chemotherapy, spinal taps, pokes and prods, but this is a huge step into a life beyond the cancer. She wants that play time, she wants to be with the other kids, to carry her lunchbox and proudly sit at a desk with her friends. I want her to have it.

I spent the day without her because Wednesday is her day to go with her Grandma and I thought about what it’s going to be like when I have ALL THIS TIME! Whatever will I do with myself? Oh, that’s right, box up all our belongings and get ready to move. No pressure there, right?

So, I’m figuring that I have about 6 months while Peter’s gone to Atlanta and I’m here packing up the home front. I have set goals! High reaching goals meant to keep me very busy while I’m missing my husband.

My goals are:

1. Lose 20 pounds….did I mention that I’m a comfort eater? I eat to comfort myself and I eat when I’m comfortable, it’s a vicious cycle.
2. Pack lots of boxes, throw away a lot of stuff and have the mother of all moving yard sales…this is going to go so much more smoothly without Peter to swear that he NEEDS so much of the stuff clogging up our limited storage space.
3. Write a book.

Yeah, I’m actually going to sit down and write something besides this blog. I’m not planning to rewrite the blog. I can’t picture doing that until Peyton’s fully out of treatment. I guess I feel like I’d be tempting fate by doing that.

But I have plans, I have an outline, I have a great potential for writer’s block! Ahhhh, goals. As I get my idea more firmed up, I’ll share it with you all, many of my cancer parent friends will be getting their brains picked, to be used for this book idea. Part of me hesitates to announce this book undertaking…what if I slack and someone asks me how I’m doing with it? It’s like having 1000 editors breathing down my back. On the other hand, if I have encouragement in writing this, I may get beyond the outline phase!

Peyton’s finally coming down from her steroid high. She didn’t want any breakfast. I always heave a huge sigh of relief the day she turns down food. It’s over for another three weeks. Her swelling is already going down and she’s still grouchy to Rachael, but that’s pretty normal.

A wonderful friend told me to check out this song “Somewhere In The Middle” by Casting Crowns, and I just loved it. I want to share it with you, but like more cockroaches and a comeback of 80’s hair, a YouTube video of me singing is something this world just doesn’t need.

But these words really touched me, I hope they touch you as well.

Somewhere in the Middle by Casting Crowns

Somewhere between the hot and the cold
Somewhere between the new and the old
Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Somewhere between the wrong and the right
Somewhere between the darkness and the light
Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me
Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Fearless warriors on a picket fence, reckless abandon wrapped in common sense
Deep water faith in the shallow end and we are caught in the middle
With eyes wide open to the differences, the God we want and the God who is
But will we trade our dreams for His or are we caught in the middle
Are we caught in the middle

Somewhere between my heart and my hands
Somewhere between my faith and my plans
Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar
Somewhere between the altar and the door
Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more
Somewhere in the middle You'll find me

Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender without losing all control

Lord, I feel You in this place and I know You're by my side
Loving me even on these nights when I'm caught in the middle

f.r.o.G…fully relying on God
–Anissa

ps…I feel another movie-making session coming on so I can use this beautiful song.

pss….Ok, so I had too much to do to actually make a movie with picture and all that fun stuff….so, just imagine that I put in a lot of pretty black things on a black background.

Very avante garde.