A New Chapter Begins

Tomorrow officially marks the beginning of a new chapter for Team White.   I leave for the Island of Hawaii to begin my new position with the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai.

Heather, Carmen and Trevor will remain on Kauai until December 1st.  I will be traveling back to Kauai at least three times before the full move.

The last three weeks have been an incredible blessing.  I have been off work, in transition, for the entire time.   This has also been a down period in Carmen's treatment.  We have been able to spend the last three weeks just having fun and enjoying this wonderful island of Kauai before we leave for the Island of Hawaii.

There have been a few going away parties to say farewell to our extended ohana here on Kauai.

We spent a night at the Grand Hyatt Resort, enjoying their amazing pools and Carmen was able to ride the "big girl" water slide.  

The highlight of the three weeks was spending two nights at this amazing place on Kauai called Waimea Plantation Cottages.   The entire resort is made up of several rustic seaside cottages that used to be homes for plantation workers for the Sugar Cane industry.  It was so quiet and peaceful, full of laughs and fun.

The first week hiatus in Carmen's treatment has been amazing.  She has completely bounced back to her old self.  Quick to laugh and full of endless energy.  Her numbers have all been terrific and Carmen is as strong as ever.  All of this is perfect timing to prepare Carmen for the beginning of her next phase of treatment on October 3rd called Delayed Intensification, which is expected to be difficult on Carmen.  The Doctors refer to this phase as a "re-shock" to Carmen's system to emulated the first 30 days of Chemotherapy.   The leukemia cells are smart and will adapt to the chemotherapy treatment, therefore the theory behind Delayed Intensification is to outsmart the Leukemia Cells and blast them into submission.  

It is unbelievably painful for Heather and I to see our little daughter back to her old self but knowing what is about to happen to her over the next 56 days.

So far, the Tough Little Princess has fought through this with courage and we are confident that she will do the same for this phase.

Of course it is painful knowing that I will not be here for Heather for the majority of this difficult phase but we are looking forward to welcome several visitors over the next few months.   Cousin Aly arrives on September 29th and staying to November 20th.  Julia and Scott arrive for their honeymoon on November 4th and we just got news that Uncle Chris and Aunt Judy arrive on November 13th and will be staying to December 10th.  

Tonight we were having a nice dinner before the trip to the airport tomorrow.  Carmen disappeared from the table and returned a few minutes later.  In the palm of her hand was a little Angel coin that her Auntie Debbie gave to Carmen to watch over her.  As the incredible giving and beautiful little girl that she is, Carmen opened her hand, looked up at me and said, "Daddy....here....take this angel.  She will watch over you when you are on the big island and I will always be around you".  Then she grabbed my cheeks and gave me a big kiss and hug, saying, "Daddy...good luck.....I love you".    Oh my.....not a dry eye in the house when she said it or now that I write this.

We feel so blessed and fortunate to have such incredible support from our loved ones.  Thank you to all.

Images and Videos

Daddy sunbeams!

Wow!  A photograph of mommy!

Go for it Trevor!!!!  Such a funny guy.

Our seaside cottage at the Waimea Plantation Cottage.

The Kiddo's at the Waimea "Candyland" - as they heard it.  

Seeing a natural wonder and sad there was no Candy.  "Where is Candyland"

Waimea Canyon, Kauai

Cheeeese

So happy!

Having fun at Jo Jo's Shave Ice

Sharing...

Shaka!!

Shave Ice at Jo Jo's

A Kauai institution

 Beach Dancing

Tossing it back

Daddy....I have a crabbie in my mask

Living the life of leisure

A Day that Changed it All

While I begin to write this post for my daughter it is impossible not to think of the lives that were changed forever 10 years ago today.   This blog post is dedicated to the ones who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 and to the police, fire and first responding survivors who's lives have been changed forever.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends who lost loved ones on that day and since.  Most importantly, we pray for the brave men and women of the armed forces who have lost their lives and continue to fight for our freedom, allowing our children the privilege to live a life that they are not able to. 

Aloha everyone,
We have some big news to share with you.   It is unexpected and somewhat surprising even to us, to announce that we will be leaving Kaua'i and moving to the Big Island of Hawaii, early December 2011.

I was offered a terrific opportunity to be the Director of Marketing at the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai, located just north of Kona ( www.fourseasons.com/hualalai ).  There are many beautiful resorts in the world, including the St. Regis Princeville Resort that I was working for, but there are some resorts that are truly best in their class.  Hualalai is one of these resorts.  This is a fantastic opportunity for me to grow my career, while at the same time allowing us to stay in Hawaii continuing Carmen's treatment at the amazing Kapiolani Hospital.

This move will not change much regarding inter island travel and still requires Carmen and Heather to make the journey back and forth from the Big Island to Oahu.  However, the Big Island is still a relatively small community providing us with more control over Carmen and Trevor's exposure to a big city, large groups of people and a healthy environment - which is still critically important to Carmen's recovery.   Although not impossible, it is something that would have been more difficult had we moved closer to the hospital on the island of Oahu and Honolulu.

Of course, there is the incredibly sad side of this move.  Leaving a community that has provided so much to Team White over the past 3 and a half years is hard to imagine.

We have been honored by your Aloha.  The word Aloha is the purest word that can be used to define the unconditional love, support and devotion that all of you have provided to our family since May 26th.   We are incredibly fortunate to have experienced Aloha in all its glory and are stronger because of it.

It is important for us that you all understand the decision to leave Kauai was incredibly difficult for our family to make.  Only time will prove if this was the correct decision but so far, Team White has done pretty well and need to follow our path as a strong team - wherever that path may lead.

I will be moving ahead of the family, leaving for the Big Island on September 25th.  Heather, Carmen ,Trevor and Roxy will be following in early December to allow Carmen to complete the next phase of her treatment called Delayed Intensification,  which will be the toughest part of these first six months.   It is expected that Carmen's numbers will drop significantly, preventing her from going to school during this period and making it impossible to facilitate a disruption, let alone a move.  I will be traveling back to Kauai several times during this time and our cousin Aly Thompson will be arriving on September 28th, staying to November 21st to help Heather.  Julia and Scott will also be on Kauai for their honeymoon, November 4th to 12th.

Heather and I have been drawn back to this wonderful island twice already, which is why we feel comfortable knowing that this is not good bye.   A Hui Hou, Aloha and Mahalo to all of our special friends of Kauai.

For those of you on Kauai, we will be having a Get-together, Open House style party on Saturday September 17th from 2pm to 7pm.   Please stop by 4130 Kekaulike, Princeville.  We would love to see you.

The Kauai Marathon was last Sunday.  We would like to thank Auntie Teacher and Cee Cee for their support while running in Carmen's honor.   Congratulations to Auntie Teacher for finishing with the amazing time of 4:20!!!!  (I am not sure how fast Cee Cee ran but I am sure it was great)

Carmen's appointment on Tuesday of last week included a sedation with a lumbar puncture and chemotherapy.  There was the usual fight to access her port (I don't blame her) but mostly no tears...and no need for a child life specialist to come and help as in the early days.  Mama says, "I got this!"  Sad that sweet Carmen is getting used to hospital procedures.  She had a great week and was feeling awesome and able to attend school which is wonderful!  She will go to Oahu the end of this week for day 41 of Interim Maintenance, Phase I and then will have a break for two weeks until starting Delayed Intensification when her blood work clears around the first of October.

Below are a lot of images to keep you updated.

Carmalita Ballerenia

Arrrrggghh.......Billy.

Tough Little Princess

This was the first time Carmen let me face paint her since returning from the hospital

These are the amazing wrist bands that Auntie Teacher and Auntie Cee Cee organized for Carmen.  All proceeds from selling the bands goes towards Carmen's recovery.

"Smile and Be Happy"....on one side.

"I love Carmen"....on the other side

A beautiful Plumeria in our back yard that made Carmen smile.  "Look Mommy, what a cute little flower!"

An amazing Money Lei given to Carmen by Uncle Hobie's mother.

Horseback Riding at Silverfalls Ranch

No fear

Home on the range

Trevor man makes easy work out of riding!

Petting the baby goat after the horse back riding.

 Carmen was very excited about the pink collar!

Happy on the ranch!

Carmen...in front of the Pink Palace of the Pacific.  "The Pink Hotel...The Royal Hawaiian

This image was from last month.  Carmen with her favorite Child Life Specialist, Kelly.

It's been a while

Aloha to all,

This has been our longest period between posts since we started documenting Carmen's progress on May 26th.

Many of you have told me that you enjoy reading the blog and I appreciate all of your kinds words of encouragement to keep the blog going.   As I reflect back on the early moments of finding out about Carmen and starting this blog it is clear that writing to all of you was as much therapy for me as it was informative to you.  Both Heather and I, have tried our best to bring the best and worst moments to life for you.  It means a lot to us that you continue to follow Carmen's journey.

The main reason for the long delay between posts is due to very good news.

Carmen's response to her treatment is amazing and she is fighting the fight every day like the TLP that she is.

All this means we are as busy as ever.

This post is longer than usual to bring you up to speed.

As always your thoughts and prayers continue to inspire our family and give us strength.  Team White would be no where near strong enough without your love, support and quite honestly your generosity.

Nothing proved this more than what happened this weekend.

Two amazing young ladies, by the names of Kaitlin and Megan have truly touched the hearts of our family by their generosity towards Carmen's journey.

Each year, Kaitlin and Megan hold a fundraiser to support the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and this year, they  decided to put their money towards "Friends of Carmen" and created a "Carmen's Angel" Bookmark to sell at their fundraiser. These incredible ladies have never met Carmen or our family.

Yesterday, Kaitlin and Megan attended the Whitby, Ontario Soccer Minifest and raised over $600 for Carmen.

From the bottom of our hearts, we would like to thank Kaitlin and Megan for their incredible support to our family.

See a few pictures of Kaitlin and Megan below;

Back on Kaua'i, this weekend we were also blessed and honored by the generosity of the "Ohana Momma's", which is an amazing group of Mommy's on the island of Kaua'i who are celebrating their three years.  Thank you, to Roberta, Sharol and all the Ohana Mommy's for organizing such a terrific day at Poipu Beach Park.  It was a fun day had by all.

Images of the day below;

It is hard to believe that Grandma Sandy and Auntie Debbie's visit is coming to an end this week.  It has been so amazing having them here.   Not only it is incredible having them here and wonderful for Carmen and Trevor but they have been a tremendous help to Heather and myself.  Things have been so busy but we were finally able to visit the beach tonight for a sunset.

Grandma Sandy and Auntie Debbie have also allowed Heather and I to get out a few nights.  One of these nights was an incredible evening of music.   Our friend Amy Fraizer invited us to an amazing concert called Love, Hope, Strength, featuring artists who come together around the world to support the global fight on Cancer.  Previous locations for this group of artists, prior to Kauai, has been the top of Mount Fuji, the base camp of Mount Everest, and the top of Kilimanjaro. A night like this is extremely rare on our little island and we made the most of it.   Thank s for the fun night Tiff, Chris and Amy!  Below is an image of John Oats as he got ready for his set.

All of the proceeds from the concert went to raising funds to create awareness and starting Bone Marrow Donor facilities.

Obviously this cause is close to our hearts as Bone Marrow and Stem Cell are two of the most critical methods of treatment for Leukemia and other blood cancers.

Many of you may not know how easy and pain free it is now to provide Bone Marrow.   Finding a match for a patient in need of a Bone Marrow transplant is still less than 50%.  This is mainly because most people do not put their marrow on the "list" due to the unknown.   Many people think that providing marrow is painful and difficult.  This is no longer the case.

Heather and I have learned a lot about this cause and truly hope that you will consider getting on the list.   Being tested takes about 2 minutes and you can literally save multiple lives just by getting your name on "the list"

To learn more, I encourage you to visit,

www.lovehopestrength.org

I just spoke to Ferdie Gabat from www.bethematch.org and he gave me this code to put in when you register.  aughi11  When you register, answer the questions, put in the code aughi11 and they will send you a swab kit.  That is all you have to do!  This is for U.S. Citizens 18-60 living in the states.  Multi-ethnic children and adults have a 3% chance of finding a donor match.  I think this is horrible!  50% of people who are discovered as "matches" end up saying no!  Horrible!  There are 10,000 people a year who need bone marrow transplants to live.  Half will not survive.  Unacceptable!

Please sign up, get swabbed and help save a life!

Love to all of you,

Team White

Some more photos to end this post...

Sweet Girl...

Auntie Deb and Carmen dancing

Heading in...

Aqua Man!

Beautiful Anini...

Having fun at Anini!

 

Smooch!

Remembering Trevor's hair....

 

Children's cancer patients are given the oppurtunity to create these beautiful

"Beads of Courage"

These beads are all gorgeous, unique, glass, ceramic, wood and terracotta beads.

They range from a bead every time she is poked with a needle to a bead when she got medivacd to Oahu, to a bead when she gets a pint of blood.

She has over 100 beads now...it is a beautiful way to show her story.

Santa gave this dollhouse Christmas of 2009.  We almost sold it because she was not really playing with it until she came back from the hospital in June.  Carmen created all of this in a couple of weeks.

It's so cool!

Down by the cool of the pool!

Carmen had her Chemotherapy appointment at the PAU on Monday and was swimming today!  She inspires us everyday and is giving us so much hope.  It's sometimes easy to forget she has Leukemia because she is just being her sweet, innocent 4 year old self everyday...

It's a BEAUTIFUL thing.

My Aunt Debbie is visiting here from Belmont and my mom is coming from Portland this week.  It's great to have daily swims at our visiting families pools!  And great to have extra hands to help!

Happy Birthday Uncle Erich!!  We miss you!

With Love and Aloha,

Heather