Cowboys Chemo Celebration

- COWBOYS CHEMO CELEBRATION - 12/23/09
I had mentioned how Brayden's local Oncology Nurses take such good care of him! Going forward in his treatment, we'll be there each week and only be in Little Rock once a month. I'm so thankful for such wonderful nurses. We've come to really trust them and rely on them. Sweet Deanna has gone above and beyond. She's reassured me, offered her expertise, shared her personal cell phone with me and checked in on Brayden when she knew how incredibly frightened I was to take him to the local hospital for his blood transfusion. She's confided in me how well she preps and cleans/sterlizes the room before Brayden comes in for blood work or treatments! I guess that was to reassure me I don't have to come in and clean a second time with all the days he's been Neutropenic! She even has learned to wipe down the light pull because she knows how ancy Brayden is and will TOUCH EVERYTHING! She's learned to laugh as Brayden counts for her to access his port and puts up with him wanting to sit up to be accessed instead of laying down. She's SO patient with all of his questions each and every time. We're SO thankful for her! As if that wasn't enough, she decided to do something special for Brayden. To celebrate his finishing all the High-Risk aggressive chemo regimen the last 8 months and finishing Radiation to where he can move onto Maintenance Chemo, she knew what she wanted to do. She went so above and beyond and contacted the Dallas Cowboys to get Brayden an autographed picture of Felix Jones. Her letter moved me to tears as I read how she felt about our Brayden and how she wanted to surprise him with this reward of all that he's endured while still maintaining his smile and sweet personality. She had gone above and beyond to organize this little celebration for him, made him a Cowboys blanket (now he didn't have to fight Dad for his!) and had these two autographed pictures framed for him!


I was so glad Brayden agreed to wear his Cowboys stocking hat just for me. The nurses all loved it and when we came around the corner, they were all cheering and clapping for him! He was so amazed and kept saying lots of "WOW!"s and "COOL!"s. They definitely made his day.
Sweet Katie and Brayden have a special relationship. He instantly loved her sarcasm that he can equally share. She's discovered his love of the Cowboys and he's discovered how to tease her about her beloved Chicago Bears. She knows how much he can't stand Hannah Montana so she's used that against him oh so many times! It's gotten to where I'm sure Brayden has a little crush on Miss Katie. We've finally gotten him to where he'll at least tell her bye again. But his teasing her is relentless and he had gotten so embarrassed to where he would run out the back door when he was done to avoid her teasing back! So precious. I love that even these visits can make him smile and laugh.
These ladies have hid quiet tears while treating Brayden. They've had to give the awful Asparaginase shots in his legs twice now. They've grown to love our sweet boy and I'm so thankful for them!!