Phin's Newphound Summer Phreedom

Welcome back, Phin Phans, as we wrap up month ten of Phin (and Aspen, if you're wondering) in remission. Saying or typing that will never ever get old.

And what a month this has been! Phin and his Pepop (my dad--Neesha here, btw) spent their first actual birthday together since Phin's third birthday. The last two years they've been doing battle with their own respective forms of cancer but this birthday they blew out their candles together and in remission. The birthday celebration was for them, but it felt like it was as much for the rest of us, as well.

With his newfound summer freedom, Phin wanted to do everything, make up for all the fun he couldn't take part in last summer. Because he missed his sisters' shows last summer, he wanted to see every single performance this summer; because he was in the middle of a soccer season when he was diagnosed with cancer last year, he wanted to return to the pitch this year. In the spirit of this, he attended soccer camp the first week of June with his oldest sister, then caught every performance of Frozen Jr. to cheer on Obelia that weekend.

Two weeks later, he attended almost every performance of Avonlie's. He only missed one because the same weekend Av performed in Lion King Jr., Phin's good friend Miles turned six, too. (June is a pretty special month, right?)

He and Obelia also attended Oatland Camp. It was at about day two of that, as he climbed into the backseat during pickup he asked, "How many more days do I have of Amazing Animals camp?" 

"About three more?" 

"But, Mama, why didn't you sign me up for more? For the whole summer? For every week?" 

To absolutely no one's surprise, he loved it. In our defense, you can only sign up for two weeks at Oatland's summer camp. Next year we will most definitely be signing him up for the max.

Phin is also, to his dismay and occasional delight, learning to swim. He can kick and paddle with impressive strength, even managing to keep his head completely out of the water as he swims from the middle of the pool where he can't stand to the side, screaming the whole way that he "wants to hug Mama" because, let's face it, who wouldn't rather hug their mother than stick their face in the water when one really hates putting one's face in water? 

He hasn't broken his swim instructor's will to keep teaching swim just yet, so we're hopeful he'll be face-in-water swimming before the summer ends.

Seeing Phin in water like this is another thing that never gets old. A year ago today, Dustin had just returned to stay with Phin in the children's hospital to tag out Aunt Seale (forever our hero!) after spending a week in quarantine, I was on my second week isolated at home with his two then-Covid-positive sisters, and it had been almost 90 days since Phin had bathed with anything but antiseptic wipes, much less taken a bath with actual water or been submersed in a pool. Such was the level of caution we needed to observe to maximize his odds of survival in his immunocompromised state. For a boy who hearkens to the siren songs of puddles and water balloons, it was a time of great austerity.

But now, look at him back in the water. Look at him go!

Phin also got to catch up with his buddy Miles, who also celebrated his 6th birthday this month. Miles arrived in the children's hospital for his first round of chemo as Phin was starting his final round, and the two were next door neighbors last July and August. Their treatments are different (Miles was diagnosed with ALL; Phin was diagnosed with AML). The kind of treatment Miles has to do is spread out over several years. He was shaking off the effects of a spinal tap when we rolled up to his birthday party, which should tell you just about everything you need to know about the strength and resilience of this individual. Phin had a wonderful time helping him celebrate. It's always a good time when they get together. 

Also, big congratulations to Miles and his brother for earning their orange stripes in karate this month. Awesome job, guys!

Finally, at the end of June we were honored when Rik Zortman, the humanetchasketch™, and his wife, Lisa, visited, and Rik ran Phin's name on the streets of Savannah. Rik lost his three-year-old son, Armstrong, to brain cancer in 2009. Since then, Rik has honored Armstrong's memory by running the names of others affected by cancer, using GPS to trace the letters in the path Rik runs. He has spelled names in all 99 counties in Iowa and in two other countries, and now he is out to do all 50 states in the U.S. Meeting Rik and Lisa was an absolute delight, and it was extremely cool to be a part of what he's doing. Phin was absolutely thrilled when he saw his name. Check out the news story about it here. 

And if you'd like to request a name for Rik to run, you can do that here.   

Medical updates:
There are no medical updates to speak of this month. Phin's next scheduled clinic visit is at the beginning of August, just after school starts again.