Welcome to Travis's Web Page. It has been provided to keep people updated on how Travis is doing with his treatments

Travis was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia February 6, 2004.

IF I KNEW

If I knew it would be the last time
That I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for one more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise,
I would video tape each action and word,
so I could play them back day after day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I could spare an extra minute
to stop and say "I love you,"
instead of assuming you would KNOW I do.

If I knew it would be the last time
I would be there to share your day,
Well I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can let just this one slip away.

For surely there's always tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything just right.

There will always be another day
to say "I love you,"
And certainly there's another chance
to say our "Anything I can do?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much I love you
and I hope we never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, or a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their one last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
and whisper in their ear,
Tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear

Take time to say "I'm sorry,"
"Please forgive me," "Thank you," or "It's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.

Take a walk with me.

We’ll walk quietly
In memory of an aunt, a mother,
A friend, a brother.

Or maybe we’ll laugh out loud
In celebration
Of you, of me,
A father, a cousin.

We are all pieces of that big picture,
(the day where cancer will be nothing
more than a word safely sealed inside a history book)

We are all notes in the same song,
(that sings hope to each life touched by cancers hand)

We are all links in the same chain
(that works to bind cancers reach)

We are all part of the same journey toward a CURE.

Walk with me today.


The Ten Commandments for Cancer Survival

1. Thou shalt regard the word, "Cancer", as exactly that: a word. Nothing more, nothing less. For its original meaning has changed mightily over the years, as have such words as Smallpox, TB, and Polio, all once dreaded ailments, now non-existent as maladies. And thus, too, shall go thy Cancer. The answer shall come to those who shall be present to hear it. Be present to hear it when it comes.

2. Thou shalt love thy chemotherapy, thy radiation, and thy other treatments even as thyself, for they are thy friends and champions. Although they may exact a toll for their endeavors, they are oft most generous in the favors they bestow.

3. Thou shalt participate fully in thy recovery. Thou shalt learn all the details of thy ailment, its diagnosis, its prognosis, its treatments, conventional and alternative. Thou shalt discuss them openly and candidly with thy oncologist and shalt question all thou do not comprehend. Then, thou shalt cooperate intelligently, and knowledgeably with thy doctor.

4. Thou shalt regard thy ailment as a temporary detour in thy life and shalt plan thy future as though this detour had not occurred. Thou shalt never, at no time, nohow, regard thy temporary ailment as permanent. Thou shalt set long-term goals for thyself. For thou will verily recover and your believing so will contribute mightily to thy recovery.

5. Thou shalt express thy feelings candidly and openly to thy loved ones for they, too, are stricken. Thou shalt comfort and reassure them for they, too, needest comforting and reassurance, even as thou doest.

6. Thou shalt be a comfort to thy fellow-cancerites, providing knowledge, encouragement, understanding and love. You shalt give them hope where there may be none, for only in hope lies their salvation. And by doing so, thou providest comfort for thyself, as well.

7. Thou shalt never relinquish hope, no matter how thou may feelest at that moment, for thou knowest, in the deep recesses of thy heart, that thy discouragement is but fleeting and that a better day awaits thee, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps the day after tomorrow, but certainly it shall come.

8. Thou shalt not regard thy ailment as the sum total of thy life but as merely a part of it. Fill your life with other diversions, be they mundane, daring, altruistic, or merely amusing. To fill your life with your ailment is to surrender to it.

9. Thou shalt maintain, at all times and in all circumstances, thy sense of humor, for laughter lightens thy heart and hastens thy recovery. This is not an easy task, sometimes seemingly impossible, but it is a goal well worth the endeavor.

10. Thou shalt have enduring and unassailable faith, whether thy faith be in a Supreme Being, in Medical Science, in Thy Future, in Thyself, or in Whatever. Steadfastly sustain thy faith for it shall sustain thee.

"The Littlest Soldiers"
The medals on our chests
Are port-a-caths for meds
Helmets won't stay on
Cause no hair is on our heads.
Our weapons of destruction
We take every day
We fight the battle within us
While we struggle on to play.
We fight with honor and courage
No Marine could do as well
We are only little children
Living in this hell.
So bring on the medals
The Purple Hearts of Wars
The Gold Cross, The Silver Star
To place upon our scars.
For We are the Children of Cancer
No one has fought so hard
But every day we struggle on
Our LIFE is our reward!!!
Author: Cheryl Jagannathan

I watch you playing
Without a care,
It's hard to believe
The cancer is there.

You look so bright,
So happy and well,
If someone new met you
They couldn't tell.

Your strength is amazing,
Your courage so strong,
You've fought this disease
So well for so long.

It's from your strength
That I draw mine,
I know you'll come through this,
It'll just take time.
Carry on smiling,
I will too,
Through the hard times
I'll carry you.

You are my world,
The air that I breathe,
I know in my heart
You'll never leave.

Keep strong my love,
The battle has begun,
But with your strength
It will be won.

Lena Ford



"Some Things I have Learned
about Life, Leukemia and Love"

1. It is a shame that we take our family's love for granted until something as horrible as leukemia makes us realize how valuable that love is.
2. It is hard to look at your child's bald head. But when you are holding him tight it is warm and soft and makes you remember him as a baby.
3. True friends never say things like "I am sorry I haven't called but it is so hard for me to talk about it", true friends know that it is hard for ME to talk about it too but that I need to sometimes.
4. So much of what I used to consider important in life is now insignificant. You can't cuddle a big fancy car, you can't kiss a fancy wardrobe, and a nice house won't crawl into your lap, put their tiny soft hand on your cheek and say "I love you mommy".
5. I find that I no longer admire celebrities and sports figures. I admire doctors and nurses that work long hours to save your child's life. They are the ones that deserve millon dollar paychecks.
6. I learned that only a child would greet with a smile, hug and a kiss, the person that sticks a needle in their spine once a month. And only an oncology doctor or nurse is deserving of such admiration.
7. Heroes don't save lives on movie screens, they save lives by donating blood, platelets and bone marrow.
8. The most courageous story I know if is that of a young teenage boy who after a second relapse decided that he wanted to end the battle on his terms with dignity and so halted all treatment and died at home in peace.
9. The second most courageous story I know is of the mother that let her son choose to end the battle on his own terms and die at home in peace.
10. Just when you think you can't go on, God will throw you a lifeline. A hug from a friend, a phone call, a pat on the hand from a kind nurse.
11. There are many ways to cope when your child has cancer, but the very best is to hold them tight and know that love may not conquer all but for now it'll do.

"If Children have the ability to ignore odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other chance is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or fight like hell".
-Lance Armstrong

Little Children, Big Problems

There is a very special place
I have within my heart
It holds the little children
Who know what REAL PROBLEMS are.
I know we all have problems,
We all have a cross to bear,
But I'm talking "bout the little ones
With a GREAT BIG world of care.
A world of pain and treatments,
And a fear of the UNKNOWN
Sometimes these little children
Call their hospital room "home."
They often suffer daily,
But they rarely will complain
About the treatments they endure
Which cause most of the pain.
Sometimes these treatments are much worse
Than the sickness in itself
And can cause some complications
Which could jeopardize their health.
Although these little children suffer
And are often ill from drugs,
They always have a smile to share
And they give the BESTEST HUGS.
So, next time you have a PROBLEM
which you feel you cannot face,
Just think about these LITTLE ONES
And try to have just half their FAITH.
written by Rachel's mom, Susan!

Tiny soldiers do battle each day,
waging silent war against the unseen -
an inward enemy that plays evil tricks
on these soldiers' little bodies.
Still, they fight
Still, they smile
Their courage is unending.
Their greatest weapon is their laughter.
Boundless Hope is their captain,
the banner that they carry high.
Tiny soldiers, though often weak,
endure the tests and treatments
that drive grown men to their knees.
They boldly march toward their prize -
toward whole bodies
toward healthy lives.
Often found playing in their beds,
little pranksters they are at heart,
teasing their doctors and nurses,
living their lives to spite this war.
Tiny soldiers, how many have fallen!
Rivers of tears flow in their memory.
Their spirits live on in order to remind us
to continue in this costly, bloody war.
Fight the fight!
Find the cure!
Bring childhood cancer to its demise!
Sing this song for the young heroes gone before,
and ensure victory for the ones yet to come.
The unseen enemy must win no more.
Copyright © 9/18/2004 Tracy M. Ries
Used with permission
Mom to Tiny Soldier Stephen Ries

The Strength of an Egg
Parents of children with cancer, or really any serious condition, are often referred to or viewed as having strength "like a rock." Albeit flattering, it isn't quite true. It is more like the strength of an egg. An egg, you ask? Yes, an egg. If you think about an egg, you will see the point I make. An egg has a polished smooth outer appearance with no cracks or weak spots visible. It seems almost inconceivable that the inside might not be as smooth and solid as the outside. Most children, at some point in their lifetime, are shown the famous egg trick. An egg set at just the right angle can withstand enormous amounts of pressure and cannot be cracked or broken. Yet that same egg, tapped gently at an even slightly different angle will break. The contents, once so neatly concealed inside, will come spilling out, and the no longer perfect shell will be crushed. Then the shell looks so fragile that it seems inconceivable that it ever held any strength.

That is where parents of children with cancer are more like eggs than rocks. A rock is solid all the way through. If you tried to break a rock, it would be almost impossible. If successful, one would find that there was nothing inside but more rock. It takes a lot more than pure hardness to hold the hand of hope. These parents are not solid all the way through. They hurt, they fear, they cry, they hope. It takes a very careful balancing act to keep the shell from being shattered.

Balancing an egg while running a household, going for doctor visits and hospital stays, keeping the family together, and holding on to the constantly unraveling ties of your sanity can be very tricky indeed. Occasionally, the angle will be off and the shell will break, shattering hope and the neatly secured appearances of a truly fragile existence. Unlike Humpty Dumpty, though, parents of kids with cancer will pick themselves up and put themselves back together again.

by Juliet Freitag

Click to see Travis' Quilt of love made especially for him by Gramma Mimi Jean from Quilts of Love


A Mother's Wish
Music and lyrics by Renée Austin

When people ask me what I wish for
I find it hard to say
There are so many things I dream of, hope for
On any given day

I wanna be an NBA star,
Wanna have my own rock band
I want to act in movies, star on TV
Hold the world in my hand

But if you ask my mom about
Just what she wants for me,
She'd smile and sigh, with a tear in her eye
And this is what she'd say to me...

I wish for you a long life,
Happiness and little strife
Healthy legs to take you where you want to go
Strong eyes to see the whole world
Strong heart to find the right girl
And a promise that God will help you live the life you're meant to lead

My own dreams are simpler
I tend to focus on the fun
Eating candy, watching TV
Not answering to anyone

Maybe I'll be a doctor
And find the cure to all disease
Maybe I'll be the president
And work to keep our country free

But if you ask my mom about
Just what she wants for me,
She'd smile and sigh, try not to cry
And this is what she'd say to me:

I wish for you a long life,
Happiness and little strife
Healthy legs to take you where you want to go
Strong eyes to see the whole world
Strong heart to find the right girl
And a promise that God will help you live the life you're meant to lead

I heard my mother praying
In her bed the other night
She said "God, please help my baby
Please make him alright."

She wished for me a long life
Happiness and little strife
Healthy legs to take me where I want to go
Strong eyes to see the whole world
Strong heart to find the right girl
And a promise that God will help me live the life I'm meant to lead
That's a mother's prayer...
A mother's hope...
A mother's wish...

© 2005 Renee Austin

Click to hear the song and buy the cd.



BR>



*HUGS* TOTAL!
give Travis more *HUGS*

Journal

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 12:57 AM CDT

Travis went to have his medi port removed yesterday. he did great and everything went smooth. his appt was at 11 am so we left home at 8 am. they didnt have his surgery scheduled until 12:30 though but they didnt get him in until 1:30 so by the time he was out of surgery and ready for us to see him it was after 3 so we didnt leave pittsburgh until 5. just in time for rush hour traffic!! i was pretty scared. i guess it was the first time in the 3 years weve been going down there, every month sometimes more than once, that ive driven in it. so we got home around 7:30 and he of course went right out to ride his bike!!

Hospital Information:

Childrens Hospital of Pittsburgh
currently home

Links:

E-mail Author: mommy2mytnt@aol.com

---

 

Your gift will help millions of people stay connected with friends and loved ones during challenging times.

---

 

This page has been viewed 7190 times.

Note: The foregoing information was authored by the patient, parent or guardian, or other parties who are solely responsible for the content. Such announcements or their content are not necessarily endorsed by CaringBridge, Inc. or any sponsoring agent.  This information does not confirm that anyone is or was actually a patient at any facility.