Saturday, July 19, 2008

A Fitting End

"Your day has come to strike the bell,
Your silent heart has much to tell,
And much to toll this proud new day,
Treatment done, you're on your way!"
--poem next to the radiation bell



Yesterday was a day that we'd looked forward to for a very long time. Henry's last day of treatments - not just of radiation, but the duration of all prescribed treatments for Henry's cancer. We will have regular visits to the clinic for monitoring, particularly for his blood and immune system recovery. We will also be checking the response of the cancer to the entirety of his treatment as well. Our first check will be on August 7th.

But yesterday we celebrated. Tara and my mom arrived before Henry's final radiation treatment. Things went as planned and Henry wailed on the bell...four times! He received plenty of applause for each one too. The staff got him the Curious George T-shirt you see him in as well as a box of pop-tarts, these gifts were to match his habits of watching George each morning while waiting and gobbling pop tarts afterward.


The party then traveled to the Baltimore Beltway Chick-fil-a to meet Aunt Karen and Henry's cousins, Reuben and Clara. Little did we know that it was Customer Appreciation Day there. I think Henry thought it was decked out just for him. They announced his name as a special guest and presented our 'party' with little toy cows and balloons. It couldn't have been more fitting timing!


Our next stop was back down in Canton for a ride on the water taxi and then...a Pirate Cruise! For the most part, the pictures speak for themselves. There were water cannons, games, singing, dancing and a lot of Arggh'ing.




That pretty much wore everyone down for the day and it was so much fun. Tara and I lagged behind to clean up the place at St. Casimir for the last time. It was truly like a home away from home. The Believe in Tomorrow Foundation will always hold a very special place in our hearts. We checked out and headed home.

And now we'll try to figure out what our lives should look like now...and wait until August 7th.

9 comments:

rlbates said...

What a wonderful day! Love the pictures.

Anonymous said...

Looks like a very fitting celebration!!!

Nancy S.

Anonymous said...

What an awesome day! So glad you are all home now!

We love you all.

Cousin Susan, Kendall and Cody H.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing these great pictures! It looks like you all had a wonderful day and had so much to celebrate. Welcome back home Henry. So happy for you all!

Love, Julie, Brad, Patrick, Andrew and Samantha

Anonymous said...

Henry,

Remember Folly Beach the the Pirate Master party?

You were a handsome pirate with your eye patch and silver earring and bandana.

We really had fun at Cousin Fran's house.

Anonymous said...

Henry, like your granya I was remembering when you were a pirate once before. So glad this is behind yall and you can be together and enjoy the rest of the summer. Your pictures were great! Keep us posted.
Hugs and Kisses,
Susan P. Vallotton

Anonymous said...

Congratulations of completing radiation and completing all of your treatments for cancer. Hooray!!! Now you can get back to a more normal life, spending more time outside playing than inside getting treatments. Enjoy everyday.... don't even pause to think about August yet. Have a great rest of the summer. (Do you know Dr. Chen, the BMT doctor at John Hopkins? He's the brother-in-law of Sophia's music teacher at Camp Sunshine.)

Sending you lots of celebratory hugs and kisses!

Love,
Wayne, Shirley, Sophia, and Fiona

Anonymous said...

Love the photos - what a great day you had!! Time to enjoy being home and enjoying the rest of summer - 104 here - yike! Hope you are keeping cooler.
Hugs
Linda and Val

Anonymous said...

Congrats to Hero Henry and the rest of the Shecks. Thx so much for sharing the pictures.
nance