All things grow with love

Shania was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday night, her blood counts were coming up, pain was coming down from the radiation. So we were very excited about all of this. Karen and I had to talk to Shania about letting us help her. She was in so much pain for the last five weeks that she didn't want us to help physically like: lifting or supporting her. But we said that if she is coming home that she would have to let us help her because if she wants to go swimming and to sleep in her bed she would need some help. She agreed and was just so happy to be able to be coming home. Once Shania let me carry her and realized that the pain wasn't to bad she was more relaxed about us helping her. Shania still cannot walk because it is still to painful for this, but she didn't let this stop her from doing things that she likes, like playing with her dolls,toys, ect... Thursday was a beautiful day out and Shania said she wanted to go outside for a walk. We had a new wheel chair for Shania to use(smaller and more her size plus it can be folded). So around the block we went, what a feeling it was to do this even though Shania was in a wheel chair, it was great to just be able to do this with her again. Watch and hear the birds, feel the breeze blowing all the sweet smells of spring blooms, feel the suns warmth, all of the things that we take for granted in our day to day life's. Shania was enjoying this so much she asked if we could go to the store and buy a Popsicle. Which sounded great to us so we popped back to the house and got some money and off we went to the store for a Popsicle. Shania got a orange creamsicle which is her favorite. On the way home She said that she wanted to see the new kindergarten playground at the school, which Shannon had been telling her about. Once there she asked if she could go in and see all of her friends at school. When we went in the school the Principal Mrs Porter gave Shania a beautiful glass plak with Shania's picture on it, this is what it Say's. Celebrating Student Success 2007 Certificate of Achievement presented to Shania Johnston who personifies student excellence and exemplifies student success in York Region from Bill Crothers (Chair of the board) and Bill Hogart( Director of Education) Also she showed us a mail box for Shania that is at the front entrance of the school, it was full of letters to her so we emptied that out and then found out that all of the primary grades had gone to a play downtown and weren't coming back for another hour. So we went looking for Shannon who was with Ms Long Shannons teacher, we met them in the hall along with Mrs O'niel Shania's grade one Teacher and now Librarian, she took us in to show us all the books that they had for the book swap that they were going to have that day after school. She loaded Shania and Shan up with some books and by that time the kids had come back from the play and it was off to see her classmates, everyone was so happy and surprised to see her because we hadn't planned this visit. Shania was getting tired by now and we headed off home. The School board had invited Shania to a "Applause ceremony" that the school board has for students whom receive the York Regions Citizen of Character Award. We asked Shania if she still wanted to go to this ceremony because we knew she was tired from everything that she had done that day, and she said that she still wanted to go to it that night. Later Mrs Porter came over and up to Aurora we went, this being where York Regions School Board's Headquarters are. We went into the board room where they have the board meetings and were called up where they read out the students achievements and then give them an applause in recognition of there achievements and take there pictures. Karen and I would like thank everyone that has supported Shania and her cause and helped her with this dream to find a cure. Shania woke up in pain Friday morning around three and couldn't fall back to sleep. Friday night she couldn't fall to sleep still, so we called the hospital and they doubled her dose of morphine, which didn't seem to help. By Saturday morning we called the hospital because her pain just seemed to be getting worse. They said that they would try to get her a bed for her instead of having to go through emerg again. But the room wouldn't be ready until three o'clock in the afternoon, Shania was in so much pain that I called back and said that we would bring her right away and by the time we got there they had managed to get a room for her. The pain team doctor came straight away and got her set up on a stronger dosage of pain medication and said that he would come back at dinner time and see how she was doing. Shania was still in huge pain, so he upped her dosage again and said to call if she wasn't able to sleep. He felt that the combination of the pain and lack of sleep were making everything worse and that she was having neuropathic pain, which is what she had before. She has the same symptoms as before,pain from the top of her right leg all the way down to her toes, so we are thinking that it's this tumour that has come back in her pelvis/ spine and pinching a nerve again. I asked the nurse to call the pain team back at four in the morning because Shania still couldn't sleep because of the pain. He came by and upped to the maximum dosage that he could safely give her. And this seemed to finally allow her to fall asleep. Around ten o'clock Sunday morning she woke up and seemed much better. I asked her if she would like to say anything in the blog, which I have done many times before but that she hasn't wanted to do because she is busy playing, which is what eight year old should be busy doing in there free time. But this time she asked me if it was fathers day tomorrow, and I replied that it was today. So she promptly said "yes I do want to right something dad". I got her a pen and paper to write what she wanted in the blog, she started writing and stopped again, then asked if could write down what she say's. So here what she said:

Hello Everyone, how are you:)
On Thursday Tanya the stamp it up lady from my Fun Fair came to my house. Me and Shannon made cards for Fathers Day. We couldn't wait to give them to him, so we gave it to him when we were finished. and mine said " You are the best Dad" and "Happy Fathers Day"
with pictures of flowers stamped on it, and it said on the outside of it "All things grow with love" , all in stamps. At this point Shania started to doze off so I asked her if there was anything else she would like to say and this is what she wanted me to ad: I'm going to sleep right now and I'm dreaming that I am at Great Wolf lodge resort and I'm surfing, Splish splash I'm having a blast at the surfing party in the water. Surfing away. Love Shania. and then she fell back to sleep wow sounds like she is having happy dreams, instead of the nightmare that she is going through with all of this pain. Last week we got some more bad news before she came home. The Neuroblastoma spots on Shania's lungs had more than doubled in the two weeks since the last CTscan. Hopefully this drug can slow it's progress down, I've got to get back to the hospital
I do believe in Shania I do I do!
I do believe in Shania I do I do!!
I do believe in Shania I do I do!!!
Sincerely with love,
Shayne,Karen,Shania&Shannon.