One year ago today we got news that totally flipped our world upside down. It left us angry, depressed, sad and with so many questions. The last year has flown by and it's amazing how far my husband has come in that amount of time and what a strong man he truly is to be dealt with such a blow at 25 years old. In 2 days we will celebrate his birthday and it will be that much more special. Christmas will be that much more special this year too not having such a heavy burden on his shoulders. I love you Chad for the man you are and for being a fighter and pushing through this battle and ultimately, kicking cancer's ass![...]

Our dear friend Robert Castro is putting on a golf tournament on August 31st to raise money to help with Chad's medical expenses.

You can view the flyer here: http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/1867/92f7.png[...]

This was our first year participating in Relay for Life. We had so much fun that we decided to make it a yearly event. Chad participated in the Survivor's Walk to kick-off the opening ceremony. I have posted pictures under the photos tab.[...]

Chad finished up his chemo treatment yesterday (5-6)! He spiked a fever last night but as of this morning it is gone. Hopefully he will start to feel better soon. He is set to go back to work on May 15th as long as he is feeling decent by that time. We cannot thank the staff (especialy the nurses & his oncologist) enough. The people at Compass Oncology in Tualatin are simply amazing. The nurses don't treat you as if you are just another number; everybody is treated as a person and they are so kind. I am so glad that Chad had such a great team on his side through this.[...]

Today Chad started his third (and hopefully final) round of treatment. His last day of chemo is set to be May 6th. Today was a new face in the treatment room - a 17 year old high school football player with the same cancer as Chad. It was his first day and he was unsure of exactly what to expect. Chad sat down and talked with him and answered all of the questions he had and hopefully, made him feel a little bit more at ease. Chad was able to sympathize with him, knowing the uncertainty of what to expect so it was really nice that he was able to "mentor" this kid a little bit. He's a varsity football player in his junior year of high school. It's really devastating to know how much he is missing out on at this prime time in his life.[...]

4th Plain Tavern is hosting the tournament with Joni Delano & Machelle Amore running the fundraiser/tournament.Registration is at 6pm - the tournament will start at 7pm.[...]

Amber's Dad along with his friend Kristy are doing an online raffle that starts on April 22nd. Items include gift certificates, sports memorabilia and other awesome items.[...]

We have AMAZING supporters in our family & friends. We have several fundraising events coming up in the next few months that our family & friends are putting on to help Chad & I with medical expenses. I will be posting details about the events in upcoming posts.[...]

Chad's doctor called earlier today with great news! Prior to starting treatment his levels were at 12.1 and now theyare .02 which means they are in normal range! This is great news and is such a good sign that this grueling regimen is working![...]

Yesterday (4/8) Chad went in for the last day of treatment for his 2nd cycle (he is doing 3 cycles total). His white blood cell count is almost down to 0 again (0.6 to be exact) despite the fact that he had 3 neupogen shots last week to prevent this from happening. His doctor was not comfortable with doing treatment yesterday so his treatment had to be postponed to next Monday. What this means is that his treatment is being extended a week so instead of being done April 30th he will be done around May 7th. Last time Chad went in for a Monday treatment and his white blood cell count was close to 0 the nurse went ahead and administered his chemo and apparently was not supposed to do that - hence the reason Chad ended up in the hospital later that evening. Chad's doctor was not aware that had taken place until reviewing the notes yesterday and she was pretty upset that the nurse did that because they are not supposed to administer the treatment without talking to the doctor first when a patient's white blood cell count is that low. So basically Chad probably would not have ended up in the hospital had they not administered the chemo treatment that day knowing that his white blood cell count was almost at 0.[...]