Phinishing Summer, Starting Phirst Grade

Hey there, Phin phans! Dustin here with an update on Phin for July. There's a lot going on next month, since August is when Phin goes in for his bimonthly blood draw, as well as for a battery of tests and scans required by the chemotherapy experiment in which he was enrolled. Plus, August 17 is his first anniversary of ringing the bell and coming home, and you can bet we'll want to pause and reflect on that. But for now, let's get caught up on what Phin's been doing this summer!

Everyone who's reading this with a functional immune system, take a moment and let it know how much you appreciate it. Without it, stuff like bug bites, scrapes, and contact with dirt, sand, and untreated water would all be a lot more problematic. One of the biggest threats to people who have cancer besides, uh, the cancer, is infection. This time last year, that was all we could think about. Even after Phin left the hospital, we tried to be super-cautious. His immune system got rocked so hard through his chemo admissions that it took months for his counts to look normal again, and we heard many tragic stories of kids who had their cancer on its heels but then got taken out by germs that they would have been able to fight off if they'd only had stronger immune systems at the time.  

Needless to say, it had been a minute since Phin played at the beach or went in the ocean. This month, however, he made his return. His grandparents live very close to the beach, and Phin spent about a week earlier this month hanging out there with his cousins and other relatives for his grandmother's birthday. He spent his days digging in the sand, boogieboarding, splashing in the surf...basically just living his best life.  

I might be burying the lede here, though, because none of that would have been as cool if he hadn't learned how to swim this month! He made progress back in June, but in July, he got it. Not like, fight-a-riptide got it, but "got it" to the level that now it's no big deal when a wave picks him up or slaps him under. In the pool, he's advanced to the point that if he's dropped into deep water, he can swim to the side and climb out. This is a small victory, sure. But it's kind of like him getting to play at the beach because he has an immune system again. It's one more thing that he gets to do that we don't have to worry quite as much about for the moment. Something bad could still happen, but that's not as likely now. Any excuse not to worry quite as much, I'm for. I know I'm usually all about the hypervigilance because it's been my jam since this all started, but listen, this regular vigilance thing is just amazing. It's like, the same bold alertness flavor, same subtle notes of wariness and concern, but without the sparking wire of panic buzzing right between the teeth. 10/10 highly recommend!

Anyway, to get back to what's been going on in July, Phin's Granny is known for doing a whole lot of adventures and activities on her birthday week, and this year Phin got to be there for it. Kayaking...pirating...minigolfing.... He was in it to Phin it!   

 

Also in July, Phin lost his first tooth! I'll let him tell it. 

Finally, Phin started first grade this month...which, I know, it's still July. Let me just say that my generation would never have stood for this when we were kids and we 100% would have burned this whole mother down at the mere suggestion of going back to school in July, but apparently this is where we are now, and one day these kids will have to explain why they hung their heads and took it instead of answering the call to revolution.

That said, though, Phin had a really great first week at school! Here he is with his sisters (and Neesha) on day one. We're hoping it's going to be a good year! 

Medical Updates

None this month. Stay tuned, though. 

Thanks, Phin phans.