October 30, 2016 ~ Weekend trip

Cole had his two day chemo 10/19-20 which went well and he was able to come home that day 2 which was great. He then had one day treatment in clinic on 10/27. We knew with the nasty two-day chemo it would be a week'ish before the major side effects popped up so we wanted to enjoy every moment at home.

Cole was invited by Coach Beaty & the program as a special guest to travel with the KU Football team to play Oklahoma this weekend which was very exciting. He had not been feeling too well all week but he felt he still wanted to make the trip. He had a lot of questions about traveling with the team and it was neat for him to see what it's like on mom's trips so I was happy to see him experience it with me. They took very good care of us all on this trip and it was such an honor to have Cole as a special guest. We continue to see how loving and supportive this program is to us, and I am beyond blessed and grateful to work at such a special place with amazing people.

We received such a warm welcome and many staff were very generous with hospitality. Coach Stoops came over to meet Cole which was cool. He was also invited to participate in their "special spectator" program which happened to be that day with the childrten's hospital. Cole was invited to tour the facilities, eat dinner with the OU recruits, and visit the lockerroom after the game. Unfortunately, he just wasn't feeling well enough to participate but it was such an honor to be invited. We got to hang out on the sidelines during warmups and watch the Jayhawks. Several players and of course Coach Beaty came over to chat, high-five, etc. with Cole and made him feel so special. There was even a nice little surprise segment on TV we didn't anticipate that was very thoughtful. My mom happened to record the game at our house so we were able to see it when we got home. 😊 We sat in the stands until midway through the first quarter. Our academic friends at OU were so gracious to offer office space for Cole to watch the game comfortably inside at any time so we spent the remainder of the game inside where he fell asleep. 🙂 He was a trooper on the bus and plane ride home. We got home a bit before 2am and he went straight back to sleep.

I'll have to say that Cole was so incredible this weekend for how poor he felt. He was good on the plane, pretty much slept at the hotel Friday night and most of Saturday, and got sick once on the bus traveling to the stadium. We did start seeing the beginnings of the evil mucositis this week which contributed to him feeling so poorly, but he was so tough, of course.

It's been so nice to have Cole at home and we are praying the mucositis doesn't get as bad as last time he was hospitalized. We don't have the next steps for our new plan yet but are continuing with scheduled treatment and working hard to help him feel as good as he can right now.

We appreciate the continued thoughts and PRAYERS! 🙏🏼

#TeamCole🎗