Bennett had his monthly Dr. appt in St. Louis yesterday, Sid took him and all went well.  Dr. was pleased to hear that he hadn’t been sick anymore which were very thankful and appreciative!  All the nurses was happy to see him and chattered away.

My family has been donating snacks to the Ronald McDonald room at the hospital and also for the patients at the clinic where Bennett has his appts.  Both places appreciate it very much and I appreciate my families support in helping families and children enjoy a nice snack while in the hospital or at a clinic appt all day.  I remember when Bennett would look forward to see what snacks he was going to eat for the day, sometimes the little things are very important!

Thank you for your continued prayers, we’re blessed that Bennett continues to do so well, we never take it for granted.  Every night I ask God to keep Bennett in remission forever and Thank him for all his blessings.

Bennett had blood work completed yesterday. His ANC was 2,940 from 2,132 last month. His WBC were 6.0 from 5.2 and neutrophils were 50 from 41. His hemoglobin is 15.0 from 13.9 and platelets are 199 from 185. All his blood counts are Great and we are so thankful.

Bennett has been feeling well, we hope all the winter colds and flu are over with and he continues to stay healthy and feel good.

He has been busy keeping the time clock at Future Rangers basketball games.  He likes to do it, he knows the game well and sure likes the extra money.

Bennett & Hamilton went hunting with Grandpa Johnston today at a game reserve. They didn’t have school because of Casmir Polaski holiday.   Bennett got a hen pheasant and 6 quail and Hamilton got a rooster and 6 quail.  The boys enjoyed the hunt and had a beautiful day to enjoy it.

Bennett & Hamilton pheasant & quail hunting

Our friend Dalton is in the hospital in St. Louis with pneumonia in both lungs. We pray for his healing and that he feels better soon. Our other friend Jeremy was able to go home today after several weeks in the hospital after his stem cell transplant.  We ask for blessings and healing for all the children in the hospital.

“The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him.” Ezra 8:22

Dear Bennett,

The day you were born

Made us the happiest parents around.

Sidney Bennett Page IV

Was a long name to pronounce.

So we called you Bennett,

And we loved you every minute.

As you have grown older,

You have become stronger and bolder.

On your 13^th birthday,

Our world turned upside down

We didn’t understand and became very sad.

But you are in God’s hands

And you’ll always wear his crown.

Each day is a blessing,

Filled with hope, patience, and strength.

You keep the faith; continue praying,

And trusting in your dreams.

You are a special young man,

That we are so proud of,

I know God is watching over you,

So we can grow old together…

Happy 17^th Birthday Bennett!
We Love You!

It has been 7 months since Bennett took his last chemo medicine, We’re so thankful that he has stayed cancer free!  We continue to pray this prayer daily that God will keep Bennett in remission the rest of his life.  We’re celebrating Bennett’s life tomorrow for his 17th birthday! Amen!

Not only is tomorrow Bennett’s 17th Birthday but it is a day to reflect on all of God’s blessing’s in the last 4 years!

4 years ago on Bennett's 13th birthday in the hospital.

Bennett in 2008 getting chemo in the clinic.

Bennett lost his hair 3 times, Nothing can take the place of his long hair!

Cranial radiation treatments in 2008.

Alaska Hunt of A Lifetime Sept. 2009

Bennett & Lindy - Prom 2010

Bennett - goose hunting 12/31/10

Bennett is doing good.  He had a great Dr. appt last Tuesday.  He has had bad dry irritated skin on his arms that had spread to his stomach and chest. His Dr. thought it might be a fungal infection so wanted him to go to the dermatologist.  They believed on his arms and stomach/chest that he has Eczema and gave him a prescription cream.  It now has spread to his legs.  Dermatologist indicated that they’ve had a lot of break outs this year because of the extreme cold temperatures.

Hamilton’s 5th grade basketball team played in the Carlyle tournament this weekend and they got 5th place out of sixteen teams.  We really felt good about only losing one game with the teams from Effingham, Edwardsville, Teutopolis and Breese to name a few.    I remember when Bennett & his friends was this age and us going to several tournament’s and cheering them on. It seems like yesterday that Bennett was Hamilton’s age.  

We pray for all the children and families going through tough times and ask God to bless them with his grace.  I ask God to bless my precious two boys that mean everything to me that they will become Christian men and do his will.

CBennett’s ANC today is 2,132 from 945 three weeks ago when he was sick. The week prior to his sickness, his ANC was around 2,800. His WBC are great at 5.2 and neutorphils are 41.  His hemoglobin is 13.9 from 14.8 and platelets are 185 from 121.  While everyone else was worried today of who is going to win the Super Bowl, I was worried about Bennett’s counts.  So thankful that they are good, Praise The Lord!

Bennett is doing good, finally got over his infections after being sick a week about two weeks ago.  His next monthly St. Louis Dr. appt is this coming Tuesday.  We hope the weather holds out, seems we have had enough ice and snow.

Sid was gone a week working storm work with snow and ice in St. Elmo and Vandalia last week.  We’re thankful our area missed the bad stuff and everyone kept power around here.  Blessed Sid made it home safely.

Bennett and Lindy are going for a four wheeler ride this afternoon.  It’s 44 degrees today, much warmer than it has been.  Bennett has been keeping busy helping with Hamilton after school, taking him to practice and his basketball games.  We’re thankful he has his driver’s license.  In the next couple weeks, on Feb. 20th, he will be celebrating his 17th birthday and 4 years in remission!  Amazing!   God has given us much to be thankful for and were very appreciative.

‘It was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done.”  Deuternomy 11:7

Bennett is feeling better and went to school today.  He started feeling a little better last Thursday and Friday.  He had another fever Friday night of 101.5 and by Saturday it was gone and so far hasn’t come back.  We’re glad he’s feeling better and hope it stays away.  There is a lot of sickness going around.  We pray his counts go up quickly to help fight off any other infections.  We won’t check them again until the weekend of  his next St. Louis appt which is on Tues. Feb. 8th.

He was able to go goose hunting Sunday afternoon after church but no luck of having a good shot.     The season ends in a week so he hopes to be able to go again, hope he gets something to finish off the season with a BANG!

Thank you for all the prayers and support.  We’re thankful his illness didn’t get any worse.

Bennett is sick. Monday night he had a fever and his throat was getting worse. He woke up Tuesday morning with a fever of 101.5. I took him to the Dr. and he has a sinus infection and possibly strep throat too.  They did a culture and we won’t find out until Friday. Dr. prescribed amoxicillin for him.    He has ran a fever for the last two days, this morning it was 102.0 and went down after two hours to 100.8 with Tylenol.  He really doesn’t feel good at all.  He has a bad headache,  sore throat, coughing, body aches with fever.  He has been upset at his stomach too which might be drainage from his sinuses.  We pray he gets well soon!

Bennett is doing good.  He woke up this morning with a headache and a little sore throat but hopefully it won’t turn into anyhing.  It didn’t get him too down as him and Hamilton went goose hunting this afternoon.  After shooting their bows for an hour at the techno game hunt at Rend Lake Sporting Goods.  Their arms got tired but they enjoy shooting at different critters and practicing shooting their bows.

Bennett went hunting Saturday and Sunday mornings and afternoons too.  He saw a few each time and on the  Sunday morning hunt he got a goose.  Hamilton went a few times with him when he didn’t have basketball and baseball practice.   On Sunday they left at 5:30 a.m. and got home in time to change their clothes and go to church and as soon as they had lunch, they were back in the field hunting for geese.

Bennett’s Dr. appt went well on Tuesday.  She said he was doing Great.  The weather was looking pretty bad but we managed by driving slower and taking our time.  I think we got about 4 inches of snow but thankfully no ice though.  His Dr. said he will continue his follow up appts. on a monthly basis until July of this year and than we will go to every other month  for another year.  The next year we would go every three months and than every six months for another year so a total of 5 years of follow up visits.  She asked about his symptoms and how he was doing in school.  She reiterated that were going to know sooner than her if his not doing well by his symptoms.  Also the blood work is always a good sign on how he’s doing and we’re blessed to say they’ve been Great!  We’re thankful and praise God!!!!!

Happy 2011!  Can’t believe the first week of the New Year is already over.

Bennett’s ANC today is 2,898!  From 2,279 last month.  His WBC are 6.3 from 5.3 and neutrophils are 46 from 43.  His hemoglobin is 14.8 from 14.5 and platelets are 177 from 185 so All counts are GREAT!  We’re thankful and blessed with another successful report!   His next monthly St. Louis appt is this Tuesday. 

  Bennett has been keeping busy helping with Hamilton after school with homework and taking him to basketball practices.  He went goose hunting this weekend both Saturday and Sunday mornings early.  He didn’t see anything, we really haven’t seen very many geese flying lately, it’s been really cold.

  We pray to God to continue to keep Bennett in remission to continue to bless him/us with good blood counts and NO leukemia!  We ask God to be with all the children fighting this horrible disease.  The hospital’s unfortunately are always busy with new patients diagnosised.  We pray for these families that they will find positive things and become closer to God during this life changing experience.