St. Jude « Colin Loves Tractors

Summer Kick-Started with a Scan

Even on the cusp of summer, Memphis is unforgivingly hot, but the weather is nearly irrelevant when you’re back for check-ups at St. Jude, which we were at the end of June.

Full Circle

Colin returned home, nearly a year from the completion of radiation and two months short of his fourth birthday, with a good scan and no trach.

No, No, No, How are You Doing?

Perhaps I was naively unconcerned about Colin’s latest scan.

Survivor: Target House

There is no immunity challenge, and Jeff Probst doesn’t sit us around a campfire to discuss who is next to go, but living here is beginning to feel like a warped version of the Survivor reality show.

Happy Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is billed as an opportunity for fathers and children to express their gratitude for the other 364 days a year that mothers devote to their families.

Winding Down*

Our family’s time at St. Jude is drawing to a close.

Operation Radiation

Colin’s final radiation treatments found us at Methodist Central, an adult hospital not far from St. Jude in midtown Memphis.

Reset Button

Colin’s second week of radiation was grueling: vomiting, utter fatigue, dangerous aspiration and an unexpected stay in the hospital.

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled [brain tissue] yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my [high-energy photon] lamp beside the golden door!”

Predator vs. Alien

Since finding out about Colin’s blood clot, we have settled into a normal non-medically intense lifestyle punctuated by the possibility of crisis.

Please join us in helping St. Jude! On Saturday, November 19, we are participating in the New York City St. Jude Give Thanks. Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, though we originally registered for the one in Meriden, CT. (Confusing, I know, but we like to keep people on their toes.)

There are 80 walks across the country, and registration is free if you would like to participate. Support our team or create your own to help in the fundraising. Even a few dollars make a difference.

Our fundraising page: https://waystohelp.stjude.org/sjVPortal/public/displayUserPage.do?eventId=175950&programId=601&userId=678655

Colin has received the bulk of his care at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, which performs invaluable research on childhood cancers and other lifethreatening illnesses and provides its services absolutely free of charge to all patients. We ask that you consider St. Jude for your charitable giving to help reduce suffering and improve the lives of children across the world. St. Jude received a five-star rating on Charity Navigator!

Colin Loves Tractors

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