Bennett’s ANC is 1,925 with 2.5 WBC and 77 neutrophils!!!  Amen!  His hemoglobin is good at 12.2.  His platelets are pretty low at 87. Normal range is 150 to 450.  I have given him orders that he can’t be riding his dirt bike and jumping/ramping with it.  The platelets helps clot your blood and if he gets hurts, it would be bad.  I remember when he was first diagnosed and they didn’t even want him riding a biclycle but than his platelets were extrmely low most of the time.

 His platelets are probably low because of his continued daily, weekly, and monthly chemo he takes. they’ve done this before and than they go back up.  I’m worried though because I can’t remember what level his platelets need to be for him to have his spinal tap surgery.  It’s been a long time since he platelets have been low around this time.  It shouldn’t be a problem I don’t think because if they are to low, I’m guessing they would give him a platelet transfusion.   His bun is still high so he needs to continue to drink more to keep his kidney’s flushed. His liver levels are high but not too bad.

We went and checked counts in between Hamilton’s games today.  Hamilton’s team played Sesser and won.  We played Okawville for the championship game and they won!!!  We got first place!  The boys played awesome, it was very exciting!  They have really improved in the last couple weeks and it has been a lot of fun!  Their season is now over.  Now, on to baseball!!

We pray that Bennett’s spinal tap goes well on Tuesday and he doesn’t have any side effects from it.  He is really excited about baseball.  Friday at practice he had a ground rule double (which is where he hit it in the outfield, it bounced and went over the fence).   We pray that he can continue playing through out the season and doesn’t get sick.  We ask God to be with him and protect him!

An article that is unbelievable!  Please pray that God will guide this project and help find a cure to pediatric cancer!

Washington University that is listed is the Dr.’s that Bennett and all oncology patients see at Children’s Hospital in the clinic.   How Exciting!

ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2n ow.com) – Research is underway in St. Louis that could change everything for kids with cancer and their families. It is a $65 million joint project between St. Jude’s Childrens’ Hospital in Memphis and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The effort is unprecedented and researchers believe it could lead to breakthroughs in treating pediatric cancer, especially in patients in St. Louis.

“St. Louisans should be excited, because there are not many places that this could happen,” says Dr. Rick Wilson, director of the Genome Center at the Washington University School of Medicine.

“This will allow us, for each individual case of cancer, to perhaps understand what went wrong,” he says. ” It is a game changer.”

Judy Ciapciak, the Executive Director of Friends of Kids with Cancer, a non profit group in St. Louis, went to a funeral Monday for a ten month old baby who died of cancer. When she learned of Washington University’s undertaking, she could not contain her excitement.

“Its a dream come true!” she said, smiling. “It is exciting, it is huge.”

On a wall outside her office in West St. Louis County hang photos of children who died from this dreadful disease. She calls it the “special friends” wall. Friends of Kids with Cancer helps hundreds of St. Louis families, giving them things like shopping trips, sports or concert tickets, gift certificates, and toys during chemotherapy.

Its always, “‘Why?’” she says, of the parents she deals with daily. “Why does this happen, where does it come from?”

Wilson hopes to have an answer soon. “Were already underway with the first few samples,” he says.

He is directing the largest childhood cancer research project in history. Washington University scientists sequenced the humane genetic code almost a decade ago. Now, they will sequence the genomes of cancer tissue and normal tissue donated by 600 pediatric cancer patients at St. Judes in Memphis. They expect to be able to compare a normal cell to a cancer cell and see when, where, and why the cancer began. In the long term youd like to use that knowledge to develop new drugs that act as magic bullets to kill only the tumor cells, he says.

“Eventually we can use that information to be very smart about treatment from the first day,” he says. “Its almost a sure thing that these things will come out in the next two years.”

“The guys at St. Louis Childrens Hospital will hear about this and ask if they can do some of this now. Well be able to say, ‘Absolutely.’”

And then maybe Judy Ciapciak would never have to add another photo to her wall. Maybe Friends of Kids with Cancer would never even be needed, again.

“Go Wash U and St. Judes!” she says. “There’s nothing more than we want to do than to just close down.”

I honestly think that Bennett thought 2009 would be a easier year for him than what it was. He felt like since the hard intense chemo treatments were over that his body would accept the chemo and he wouldn’t have so many side effects.

Bennett had a great couple months with no problems but than in March he started feeling tired and had a fever with no signs of infection. He had a rocky mountain spotted fever test and other tests but thankfully they came back negative but no answers were found.

In April he had a CT scan because of uncontrollable severe headaches that lead to sinusitis surgery. After the sinus surgery, he didn’t have much relief so they did a more detailed CT scan looking at the nerves and for a tumor. It was a scarey time but was thankful all tests were negative. It took many weeks for him to feel better. He also had a spinal tap for his treatment that was possibly some of the cause of the headache’s he was experiencing. He spent over 2 weeks in the hospital and missed 2 months of school, it was difficult to see the end in sight. He missed graduation practice and all the year end trips but was able to attend 8th grade graduation ceremony.

He was fortunate by being asked to play at Busch Stadium with the highschool baseball team in June and played great! We found out later that he probably hurt his ankle in this game by sliding into second base. The MRI’s showed he had a stress fracture and it was in the opposite ankle as last years problemed ankle. He played not feeling the best and his counts very low. Just eight days after this unbelievable game, he was at the hospital having a bone marrow biospy to check to see if his leukemia had returned. Many signs pointed that it might be but God answered our prayers with a clear report. His counts had been low and his body fatigue for too many weeks with no chemo or explanation.

In June we lost our buddy Ethan that we became so attached to over all the Dr. visist’s and hospital stays. Bennett really reached out to this little boy and was just always in amazement just watching him and hearing him talk. He was one of a kind and a truly blessing to know.

Bennett was in the hospital again in July after his spinal tap from side effects of headache and also had a fever. The Dr. determined that his headaches earlier in the year were mostly from the spinal tap and that unfortunately his body doesn’t accept the chemo or the procedure anymore without side effects.

Bennett was on crutches all summer because of the stress fracture in his ankle and missed the summer highschool baseball traveling season. It was hard for him to do any outside activity while on crutches. It was a long boring summer.

We went to Ryan Coe Memorial fishing derby and enjoyed visiting with everyone but it was a tough and sad weekend for Bennett. He missed his friend that is the only friend that he had that really understood his situation. The emotions were difficult and Bennett needed some time to mourn.

Bennett had a breath taking and amazing Once In A Lifetime hunt to Alaska’s wilderness in September. His dream hunt came true with shooting a moose that weighed 1,500 pounds and had a 50 inch rack. He experienced and saw many beautiful mountains, glaciers and skies. It took him away from the world, hospitals, and Dr.’s to enjoy God’s beautiful scenery!

Bennett started high school and is an honor roll student. He has been so fortunate to keep from having to be home bound. He made the freshman basketball team and before his last illness was one of the first players off the bench. He is able to practice and keep up with the other players.

Bennett started dating his girlfriend Lindy and attending high school dances. We are so thankful to have her in his life She brings so much happiness and fun times. We are so grateful that he can finally experience teenage emotions and relationships.

Bennett had a couple more spinal taps and each time the side effects made him sick for about a week and/or a flying trip to the E.R.

We were blessed that Bennett did not get the H1N1 flu that was spreading furiously. He did have a bad sinus infection and early stages of pneumonia that got him down for a couple weeks but were thankful it didn’t turn into anything worse.

He continues to take approximately 29 pills daily. Some of them are chemo pills, steroid pills, vitamin supplements, and meds to help with side effects. He only has 7 more months of treatment left!!

Bennett has had a few bumps this year. We are grateful for what God has given us and treasure those moments and things.

We hope through these experiences that we smile a little more, laugh a little more, and our more appreciative. We thank God for all his blessings. Thank you for all your prayers throughout the year; and being with us.

May God continue to bless Bennett giving him the strength and courage to finish this journey in 2010!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

Hamilton - age 10 and Bennett age 15 - Christmas 2009

One year ago today, Heaven gained the most unselfish person we have ever met. Ryan was a true fighter and was always concerned for everyone else instead of himself. We lost a special friend and we miss him dearly. Please say an extra prayer today for his family.

I came across this that Bennett wrote about Ryan, He really makes us think about the family, friends, and time we have today because tomorrow it may be gone. Live today as if tomorrow never comes….

Monday, January 19, 2009 6:29 PM, CST

As I laid in my bed last night and couldn’t sleep, I was thinking about Robert Ryan Coe. Still to this day his death is still hard for family, friends, and even people that didn’t know him. His story makes everybody think about life and what you have. The air that you breathe and the good health you have now. It makes us all think of why this happened to a young man.

Some of us don’t think about his passing any more probably because it was really hard. But we should all think of it as what we all do have and what we all have to give.

As I feel good, it hurts because I wanted him to have one last day to feel great. Anytime, I would trade places with him to give him his dream of enjoying life.

Just remember if you think you have had bad things happen to you, always look at yourself and think how would Ryan deal with this. Because he dealt with stuff that people in their life time would never dream of or think about.

Remember RRC, we all miss you!

Bennett Page

Ryan and Bennett playing in the hospital hallway. True friends that know what it is like to fight for your life and lose the life as you used to know it instantly. Ryan won by receiving eternal life with no pain, suffering or sadness. He left us here to Pass it on.

Bennett’s ANC is 2,644 from 3,744 two weeks ago. His WBC is 3.6 from 5.2 and neutrophils stayed the same at 74. We expected his ANC to be lower because of the increase of chemo pills he is taking. His hemoglobin was 12.4 from 13.0 and platelets were 210 from 211 so all these are great. His liver levels were little high at 64 and 148. The total bilirubin went down to .90 from 1.10 which is good too. We are thankful everything is good!

We are so amazed that he has kept from getting sick, what a blessing! It’s such a relief but we never relax or rest because we know any day our life can change. I wished I could put this all in God’s hands and never worry but it’s too difficult. I pray God gives us all peace and trust to enjoy each day.

He told me the other day that this Thanksgiving was the best ever and he slept most of the day so he didn’t do anything majorly exciting. I think he is just so thankful for who/what he has in his life and he is really happy. (which hasn’t been the case in the last three years even when he said he was).

Bennett’s first basketball game is Tuesday night at home. We’re really looking forward to it, we pray for no injuries. He really has been keeping up with the other players during practice. Also his favorite thing is not running but he keeps up with everyone else and does everything just like the other players. That is so amazing to me that he can endure this all while on chemo. He really is an inspiration to many.

Thank you for checking in and hope everyone had a blessed Thanksgiving weekend!

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Bennett got up at 2:00 a.m. and went duck hunting with Bob, Scott and Mason at Shelbyville which is about 2 hours away. He had a great time. It’s youth season and him and Mason got five ducks total. The Red Head is an unusual duck that is hard to find and they got three. Also, a blue teel and shoveler. There was a duck flying by and Bennett looked up and shot and got it! I think everyone including Bennett was surprised.

Duck Hunting is his favorite type of hunting. He has been practicing all summer his duck calls and he really does sound like a duck!

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