7-26-16 - Update

As stressful as this adventure has been, it has been relaxing at times when Ian or other family members are visiting to allow us an escape. The biggest issues continue to be living out of a motel room and getting from point A to point B.
The Ronald Mcdonald House is only about 3 miles from OHSU. This seems like it would be a quick zip up the hill and be there in 5 minutes situation.... No... Pretty much everything in Portland takes nearly an hour to accomplish for whatever reason but mainly because of traffic and lack of knowing where we are and trying to listen to GPS constantly.

There have been lots of close calls and many U-Turns but we always seem to eventually find our way.
On Saturday, Ian was back in town so it gave us some time to go out and tour Portland for the first time. We went to Pioneer Courthouse Square which seems to be a central chillout spot for many locals and tourists alike. I enjoy playing footbag and Camille has loved Greenleaf Juicing Company (which is right across the street) to fulfill her nutritional needs as well as people watching. You pretty much get a taste of every walk of life just by hanging out for about an hours time.
On this occasion we were greeted a couple different times by 17-18 year old kids that were traveling from out of state and spreading the word. We told them why we were there and they immediately offered up kind words and thoughts for our daughter. It was very nice getting support from complete strangers.

I was again approached by another gentleman and he informed me that he wanted to interview me on what my thoughts were pertaining to Portland and it's level of "weird". Being that I lived in Seattle in the early 90's as well as Boise Idaho for 12 years, I have noticed that every city has a level of weird and Portland was no different. These days the most outlandish, strange or out of the ordinary is usually worthy of big points when it comes to shock factor so nothing is usually to off the wall to be surprising.
After the interview was over, he discussed a few things with his team (there were about 15 of them involved in this process). He proposed they would like to spin the story to discuss footbag instead. They then mic'ed me up once again and had me answer some more questions on the topic of footbag. It was very flattering they would consider it but after talking with me he said I inspired him on how much I loved the sport and he wanted to share my persepective. All of these kids were in the 18-25 range and were preparing for a coastal trip from Portland to San Fransisco where they would be traveling through North Bend. It was awesome to provide some sites of interest for them to check out along their way as well.

After about 15-20 minutes they were finished. We wrapped up by telling our story once more as to the reason for us being there. The next thing that happened made our day complete. Once they heard about Mayliegh and all the things we had gone through, they all immediately gathered around us and asked to pray for us. We told them it would be fine and it was an honor they would consider taking additional time to think of our daughter.
His heartfelt and kind words for Mayleigh were very emotional to say the least and the love that we felt from those 15 or so kids was exactly what we needed. We had just gotten the news that there were no cancer cells in her brain tissue and now this amazing experience that showered our daughter with loving thoughts from complete strangers continued to signify that things were going to work out for us. We were blessed to have been there at that exact moment in time and it was an experience neither of us will forget. They even had the interview ready before the weekend was over. They are teen newscasters trying to find interesting stories around the city and I couldn't be more proud of their achievements and care for humanity. They are definitely worth checking out~ www.htvbuzz.com. Feel free to check out the video too! Larry's Footbag Interivew

That evening we came back to enjoy the first of a series for the summer called "Flicks on the Bricks" and it allows everyone to come and relax and enjoy a free movie in the square. The movie was Big with Tom Hanks which was always a favorite of mine and we had a great time relaxing in the cool summers night. Bricks aren't the softest seats though so after nearly 2 hours of sitting it was nice to get off our tushes and move about. If you ever have a chance to be here when a movie is playing I would highly recommend taking advantage. It was well worth it. Just remember to bring a pillow or something comfy to sit on!

In the next couple of days we continued to have pockets of relaxing down time and one other thing we were able to enjoy was the new biking system called Biketown. This allows people to rent bikes for a one time ride, day pass or monthly fee and drop off or pick up a bike from many different locations throughout the city. It was a great experience to have and the bikes were very easy to operate. They even have an app to find out where you can drop off/pick up as well as add money to your account. We rode about 3 miles and for Camille and I, it was one of the first times riding in over 15 years. It is true what they say about bikes though and there were no crashes, bashes, or blunders to be had that night. We did have an unfortunate event in that I lost my wallet :( . I immediately jumped back on and re-rode the 3 miles in double time searching but came up empty handed. Guess I'll be visiting the DMV whenever we get back home. Thankfully I never carry cash so I just had to cancel our credit cards and hopefully everything else will work itself out. I'll make sure I zip it up tighter next time!

As we start to count down the days to getting Mayliegh out of here, we are continuing to stay positive and hopeful that she will be released on or around the 5th of August. This would be 30 days and complete the induction phase of her treatment. At that point she will do another bone marrow aspiration where we will then find out the effects internally. On the outside she is still looking much better and we are very happy with those results. With every ones thoughts and prayers and doctors positivity we can't help but be confident that they are going to say she has succeeded in remission, the cancer cells have dwindled to nothing and she will be released shortly after.

With all that has happened, we find ourselves astounded by how well she has reacted to the treatment and with little to no side effects. We honestly keep waiting for something to happen including losing her hair and still she seems as if the drugs they have given her have done very little to effect her (in a negative way). We would be a horrible benchmark for cancer treatment in that it is an absolute miracle she has made it over half way of this induction phase without any major issues. This is a childrens treatment regimine and it is very intense. This is one of the reasons we were told it needed to be done at OHSU. Additional treatments will be done in Eugene most likely. Coos Bay/North Bend does not have the facilities for this treatment unfortunately. This will include trips 4 times a week during the first 2 months and tapering for up to 2 1/2 years.

I again have to owe much of this success to the amazing staff at OHSU and the constant thoughts and prayers from loved ones and strangers. We are forever in debt to your gratitude and love and can't say it enough... Thank you for all you have done for our daughter and ourselves!
It continues to be mind boggling how out of the blue, people offer up their condolences and thoughts. We are a greater nation than what we see and hear about everyday. The stories and media that is being shoved down our throats is nothing but a facade compared to how many good deeds and acts of kindness actually exist. Peace sells but no one is buying was a popular saying at one time. I understand completely what that means these days and unfortunately the biggest seller is pain and suffering. Do not believe what you hear, just see the world for yourself. From my perspective, there are plenty of good willed, self-less, caring individuals that are more than happy to sacrifice their time and money to help someone in need. In some ways it's another blessing to have our daughter to focus on as the outside world is being painted in the most nasty and ugliest of ways.
Well I'm happy to say that love and kindness is curing our daughter and if more people shared in this phylosophy we would be able to achieve anything we put our minds to. We, at this moment need to focus on our daughter and what it will take to succeed our goal; and that is to beat cancer from whence it came. The only way to achieve this is to continue to think positive, connect with as many people as we can that share in this optimism and complete the goal by seeing remission as the only possible solution. We need your thoughts and prayers more than ever as we move into the last stages of induction where most patients find their energy levels and condition draining them of their strength and courage We are optimistic she will find this strength and courage through each and every person putting their thoughts, prayers and energy into her recovery. We feel the love, see the finish line and have complete confidence our goal will be achieved!~