Sunday, December 18, 2011...Collin turns 3!!!

Today marks three years since I gave birth to the sweetest little boy, who stole my heart and has become my hero. Thank God he is is so strong; he has now been fighting cancer for over half of his life. We are blessed to be able to celebrate another birthday with him!

We celebrated the day with a small family party. Collin had a lot of fun, and all day he found immense joy in everything he did, whether it was opening a card or a gift, blowing out his candle, or eating cake. He spent the day smiling, clapping, and cheering "Yay!" everytime something made him happy. It was a perfect day!





Friday evening we received a phone call from Collin's oncologist to update us on his treatment plan. This Tuesday Collin has a consult with the neurosurgeon who will perform the Gamma Knife procedure. Hopefully then we will know when the procedure will take place. After that appointment, he will be seen in the clinic and we will get the maintenance chemo and other medicine that will be part of his metronomic therapy. His oncologist doesn't want him to go for too long without anything keeping the cancer in check.  She has sent his most recent MRI to the doctors at MSKCC, who will review it Wednesday when their tumor board meets. Then as long as they agree to let him into the study, arrangements will be made for the test and procedure he needs to have to start the trial. It seems unlikely that he would start any treatment at MSKCC before the later part of January.

The treatment at MSKCC brings with it other concerns besides whether it will help eradicate Collin's cancer. We will need to travel quite a distance, and stay overnight for one or more nights, every week for a while. This involves costs for travel, lodging, and meals. It is possible that some or all of the treatment may not be covered by insurance, and even if it is, we face higher deductibles, copays, and out of network costs that will add up very quickly. Collin has already had over $1 million worth of medical care; thankfully between our insurance and the Four Diamonds Fund, we have not had to pay anything up to this point. But that will all change the minute Collin starts receiving treatment at a different hospital. Because of this, friends have set up the Fund for the Cure and Care of Collin Kratzer. If you would like to contribute to this fund, you can click on the PayPal button at the top of this blog, or send a check to The FCC of Collin Kratzer, C/O Mary Rebuck, 262 Lincoln Avenue, Harrisburg, PA , 17111.  There will also be fundraising efforts in the new year. Any help and support you are able to give is very much appreciated!