Thursday, the 30th of August 2007

What a lovely day we had yesterday! It was Meggies Birthday and with the arrival of Meggie and Nanna to the ward was the arrival of Deqlans 7th tooth, we discovered as they arrived!

Meggie loved her presents ! Nanna and I arranged for a surprise brunch on the balcony of the oncology ward, it was so wonderful! Deqlan was in his element as we where outside - so he could watch the cars and the fresh air did him the world of good. Nanna went to SO MUCH effort - she even made us party boxes - was stunning

We all said that it was a wonderful and unfortgetable day and no matter where we are - at a fancy restaurant, at home or even an oncology ward it was so wonderful as we where together and are spirits high!

Dr De Jager gave Deqlan the all clear and we where told we could leave round 1800 last night.

Deqlan was nauseous during the day, which we havent really experienced before , but it seemed to get better during the day as he enjoyed the flings and other goodies Nanna had packed in his party box. DR De Jager has kindly delayed the 7th round by 2 days so that we are at home for Deqlans 1st Birthday on the 11th! Thanks to him - so we go back on 12 Sep for 1 night next time. Deqlan didnt even cry when we removed the plaster and porto cath needle ! We think he is definitley getting used to everything - what a star patient he is , what a soldier he is, im SO PROUD OF HIM! Dada took us home round 1830 last night and my little monster was so happy to be able to be crawling on the floor again and to see his beloved doggies!

Thank you to OUr Heavenly Father that all went smoothly this time and we thank you for your continued total and permanent healing of our precious boy, and your loyal soldier. We can do ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS US

Thanks so much for all the calls, sms, emails and posts - we are so Blessed to have you right behind Deqlan!

God Bless

Lots of Love

Mark, Samm & Deqlan

Tuesday, the 28th of August 2007

We had a good day - we have finished with the cisplatin and now getting 24 hours of rehydration - should be able to go home by 1600 tommorow!

Thank you all for your stunning emails, sms, posts and calls - we appreciate so very much- we are so Blessed to have the most amazing family and friends!

We saw Yolandi from CHOC today and she said the kids at Kalefong where in their element with their balloons and bubbles, many have never seen bubbles before and they were more interested in the bubbles then in their sweety packs! We cant wait to see the photos and to share them with you all

Another lady, by the name of Lois, a cancer survivor, comes to see Deqlan each time we are here, to see how he is doing and to pray with all of us for him- what a lovely and serene lady

Sister Felicitas also popped in this morning and this afternoon to check on our little warrior!

My friend Tracey from post natal classes also quickly popped in to say hi and check in on Deqlan! Her son, Luke turns 1 on 5 Sep- know him and Deqlan are also going to be great buddys!

Deqlan has been tired today - we didnt have the best nights rest - its always better to sleep in your own bed hey! But we do what we have to and he is catching up on the sleep today

He seemed a little nauseous at lunch time and then brought up a little this afternoon - first time ever from the chemo ,but it wasnt to bad thank Our Lord - he seems better now - they still give Kytril every 12 hours to try and help with the nausea - hoping he will eat a little better this evening

Tommorow is Meggies Birthday and we will be spending it with her here ! Happy Birthday my beautiful sister, i am so proud of you and for all you do for others - you always think of others first and you are always finding ways of helping other people - i admire you and look up to you so much - I love you very very much and Deqlan loves you with all his heart! Thank you for being the best sister and Godmother in the world! We hope you have a stunning day

Have posted some pictures of our new friend Ruan and Deqlan playing peek a boo through the window last night!

Thank you to Our Lord and Savior that all has gone great and will continue to tommorow - all glory and thanks to him!

Sleep tight, God Bless and lots of love

Mark, Samm & Deqlan

ROUND 6!

well away we go - Thank you Lord the counts where up and we are all systems go - Deqlan has had a good day - had a long sleep this afternoon as was on top form when he woke up!
We made a new friend Reoun - he turned 1 in July so very close to Deqlans age. He has a form of leukimia and comes for chemo every 3 weeks for 1 week at a time! He is gorgeous! He came to say hi to Deqlan through the glass door and they both oooohhhed and aaahhhed at each other and smiled and placed their hands on each others through the glass - was so lovely to see - Deqlan hasnt had 'contact' of any kinds with children since 25 May so we think he really enjoyed it . I took some photos and hope to put up on the blog asap

We are currently on cisplatin till about 1500 tommorow afternoon and then we will get another 24 hours to rehydration to prevent damage to kidneys etc - so far all great !

Deqlan giving us lots of excerise - as you know he loves to be on the floor and pulling on everything but here we are a bit restricted so we have to try very hard to entertain - he was all over the bed tonight keeping even Dada busy - we have to watch every move so as to make sure he doesnt stand or make a movement to pull the porto cath needle out! So lots of Baby Einstein and Baby Genuis videos where watched today and lots of new games created by Nanna out of her Mary Poppins bag

My spirits are a lot higher today and I thank you all so much for your continued love , support , encouragement and so so very grateful for your prayers! You are all in the army fighting this war on neuroblastoma with our gorgeous Deqlan - as always please continue to pray for our friends in South Africa and all around the world

Id also like to thank Mark for the most stunning message left to Deqlan and I - we love you so so so so much and we are so proud of you !

God Bless sleep tight and have a great week
Sacred Heart of Jesus we place our trust in Thee, all for Thee Oh Lord Oh My Jesus All For Theee
All our Love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan

Monday, 27th August 2006

The Great Physician Himself, our gracious Lord, has answered our prayers in that Deqlan's blood counts were substantially improved, with all his Hb (haemoglobin), Neutrophils (white blood cells vital for immunity and fighting any infection) and platelet (went from 29,000 to 203,000) levels increased enough to allow the 6th round of chemotherapy to commence this afternoon. The needle insertion into his portocath went well, without any signs of distress from Deqlan this time. Our brave warrior currently has a passion for anything that spins, so we are keeping him delighted with fans (which spin with a kaleidoscope of colours), cars (for their wheels), helicopters and planes (for their propellers) and laser beamed spinning tops. Having restricted space in the oncology unit means that our creative talents to keep Deqlan occupied are being thoroughly tested. His cot faces the parking area with the helipad a few metres away. so there is a lot of activity he can observe (cars and golf carts with wheels) all day long. I am sure he would be enthralled if he actually saw a helicopter land sometime during his stay (over the 3 days) this time !!!

God's richest blessings to you all and our loving thanks for all your prayers, concern and support, all of which are so very much appreciated by Deqlan, Samm, Mark and the whole family. Samm will update the blog later this evening. Have a blessed day and our love to you all.

Deqlan is a mighty warrior for the Lord, his "armour is devotion" and the "Gospel is his sword" (with kind permission from the song "Dominique" as sung by Debbie Reynolds in the movie entitled " The Nun's Story" (Gosh, now I AM giving my age away !!!!!

Posted by Nanna Bev

sunday, the 26th of August 2007

We celebrated Meggies Birthday yesterday - she had a little get together with the friends - we unfortunately couldnt be with her due to the risk of us picking up something and bringing it home to Deqlan - so I popped past to wish the best sister in the world a Happy Birthday!

Conrad surprised Megs by bringing a cake out with a picture of Nemo and Dori on - for those of you who dont know, Conrad has Christened their little one of the way Nemo - we find in in 2 weeks time if baby is a boy or girl, so Conrad put Nemo for a boy and Dori for a girl on the cake - he is so sweet!

We had a great weekend together in doors it was lovely to spend time with Mark, Deqlan and him had a ball together! Mark watched Deqlan while I popped into Meggie and got to the shops - im very proud of him - he is now the flavour of the day and I only come in when Deqlan wants some food or sleep ha ha ha ha ha

I must admit i was a little down at times over the weekend - but just reminded myself that this is in The Lords hands and I know he is healing Deqlan and he will never do anything to harm us, all his plans are to prosper us. I had to quickly get to the shop this afternoon and when i came back , i got the biggest smile, love and kiss and that cheered me up straight away

had to paste some more pics of today - my boys in their caps - Deqlan loved the game of him and Mark wearing a cap!

We are busy packing the bags for our 6th round tommorow - and Deqlan pulling various items out of the bag as i pack them in! He has a cross that Nanna gave him when we went into hospital the first time, which he just loves - great thing -he must know its Our Lord watching him all the time!

Will be in touch again tomorow to let you know all on track - have a great week

Thank you for your continued support, love and above all prayers!

Lots of love

Mark, Samm & Deqlan

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Saturday, the 25th of August 2007

We have just returned from meeting with Yolandi from CHOC

We gave her Deqlan Bubbles of Hope and Balloons of Bravery as well as some sweets for the Cancer Kids at Kalefong Hospital - they are celebrating the birthdays of the children that have had birthdays over the last 6 months and where not fortunate enough to have a party of their own

We wish we could be there to see the smiles on their faces but hopefully we will get some photos from Yolandi to share with you all

Im so glad that we could bring some joy to a few children - i cant not wait to be involved with more projects in the future - what an amazing feeling to know that we are helping other children by taking their minds of this dreadful disease even if its only for a little while. What brave soldiers they are - please pray that Our Lord will continue to protect them from all harm and heal them totally and permanently and that He gives their families the strength, courage and Faith to carry on.

Deqlan looks great today - he has more colour and his feet look a lot pinker - so im sure the platelets are climbing again and his HB improving - he is covered in bruises though, my little dalmation! He is crawling all over the show, and what a pace i must add, and he is standing up and trying to walk around the furniture so he has had a few falls - but the bruising also looks slightly better

He still has a terrible bruise where the needle was inserted for the porto cath , but im sure that it will disappear soon to

We are definitely keeping him in doors this weekend as the weather has gotten very cold - hoping it warms enough for us to take Deqlan walking in his pram so he can see the doggies and get some fresh air.

We are due to arrive at Dr De Jager at 11 on Monday - will be there till Wednesday evening

Its Meggies Birthday on Wednesday 29 August, so we wont be able to spend the day like we normally would, taking her for breakfast etc - but we will be together at the hospital with Deqlan and she has assured me that is where she wants to be - so we will still do everything to make it a very special day for her

Please pray that Deqlans blood counts are high enough for us to continue on Monday with the 6th round. Please pray that his immune system strenghtens each day and that we remains well. Please pray that the chemo continues to shrink the main tumor and pull it away from the blood vessels. Please pray for Deqlans total and permanent healing. Please pray for all our friends fighting Neuroblastoma and other cancers

If you didnt see the papers this week - their was an article in the Rekord and Pretoria News on Jayden- he is 5 years old now, he was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma last year Sep - the doctors didnt think he would make his Birthday in Dec - but he is still going strong, despite being given only a 5 % chance of survival. Reach for a dream has made it posible for him to record a song ' dance with my mother again' - an adapted version from Luther Van Dros' Dance with my Father again' He performed at the Pretoria Show last night and is performing at The Kolonade shopping centre next week Saturday - we plan to go and support him, please do to if you can! Please pray for the miracle in Jayden to continue and for strength for his parents.

Have a lovely weekend and will post again on Monday with an update!

God Bless

Sacred Heart of Jesus we place our trust in Thee, all for Thee Oh Lord, Oh My Jesus all for Thee

Lots of Love

Mark, Samm & Deqlan

Wednesday, the 22nd of August 2007

We thought we would post some new pics of Deqlan this week so enjoy!

We have been spedning our days at home, Nanna and Meggy coming to visit during the day and watching Deqlan whilst i try and work and continue cleaning ! They are AMAZING to say the least - I dont know WHAT I WOULD DO WITHOUT THEIR HELP - I have the best Mom and Sister IN THE WORLD and Deqlan the best NANNA AND MEGGY IN THE WORLD. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart for the endless hours of help, encouragement, prayer and all the great times we have together with Deqlan -i treasure them. I love you both so very very very much and Deqlan loves you just as much

Deqlan also has the BEST DAD IN THE WORLD - to Mark , thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your help and for always being there for us - You are truly the best Dad and Husband in the world and I admire how much Deqlan loves you - We both love you more and more each day!

We have been enjoying Deqlans DVDS that he loves so very much -Baby Einstein, Baby Genius, and a stunning DVD Grandpa bought him with 50 kids songs

Nanna has also invented the most awesome game as we have to seperate the pets from Deqlan - we put him in the pram and run alongside the fence with the dogs - they all love this game!

Deqlan seems to have a bit more colour todat and the bruising seems slightly better so im sure he is on the mend!

We are assisting with some gifts for the Birthday party for a few kids at Kalefong hospital this weekend so Meggy will meet Yolande from CHOC on Saturday to hand over Deqlans Balloons of bravery and Bubbles of Hope - we are so excited to bring some smiles to these very brave kids!

Please continue to pray for our little warrior that his immune system continues to heal, that the tumor continues to shrink and die and that he recieves total and permanent healing from Our Heavenly Father. Please also pray for all our dear friends and their families to.

God Bless and have a lovely week

Love

Mark , Samm & Deqlan

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Monday, the 20th of August 2007

Sorry for the late blog - been such a busy day!

We arrived at Dr De Jager at 10 and waited 2 hours for him to arrive as he had to attend a funeral.

We had minimum tears and distress with getting the needle into the port this time and we soon wiped them away by playing chasing games with my little soldier!

We met a lovely family, their little one, Keegan has a form of leaukimia and will be under going treatment for 3 years. He loved seeing Deqlan and they eyed each other out and a few smiles where exchaged! Keegan loved the toys we had for Deqlan today ! What another brave little soldier we met! We salute you Keegan and wish you a total and complete recovery!

Unfortunately, Deqlans blood count was just to low to go ahead with the 6th round today - his neutrophils where extremely low , his HB 9.1 , low but do able - so Dr was not happy to go ahead as planned. He is very happy with Deqlan otherwise, his eye looking great and all other vitals great and Deqlan even laughed when Dr checked for glands under his arms, he really has such a connection with this man - he is AMAZING and I always feel at peace with him. Deqlan is 9.5kg so stable from the last time. He is bruising easily as mentioned and these are definitely due to the platelets which are also very low - 29 - 20 and he would neet a platelet transfusion. He has given us more neupogen injections to try and aid the bone marrow healing during this week and we have planned to go back 27 August - Dr is sure he should be fine by then , as mentioned, he did expect Deqlans system to take a knock as the last round was very toxic.

This also means that his immune system is compromised even more this time around and we have to be extra extra careful this week - so i will move heaven and earth to ensure things stay as germ free as possibe and that even Mark and I limit contact with people especially children and those who are sick.

So we are home, happy to be home for our anniversary and watch Deqlan crawling around and laughing and talking - what an honour it is to spend our special day with him.

We accept that this is the plan the Lord had for today and we see it as an oppurtunity for Deqlans body to get even stronger before the next round ! We continue to give Our Lord thanks for getting us so far and for all his comfort and strength and renewed faith each day. How great he is!

Thank you for your continued love and prayers and support and we ask that you say an extra special prayer this week for Deqlans immune system to heal and for him to be strong enough to get the 6th round next week!

Sacred Heart of Jesus, we plus our trust in Thee, All for Thee Oh Lord, Oh My Jesus All for Thee

God Bless, Sleep tight and all our love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan
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A special packge arrived today

We recieved very special package yesterday! It arrived from the US and contained Kates Cure Bracelets! This pic is of Kate - isnt she gorgeous! She has the most amazing Mom, Karen who has produced these bracelets in order to raise funds and awareness for Neuroblastoma - she is also arranging a gargage sale next weekend in the US to raise even more funds for research ! I salute you Karen and Kate - you are an inspiration and you have inspired me to do whatever i can to help and raise awareness ! Thank you so much for taking the time and effort to send the bracelets to us - we wear them with pride and for Kate! We are proud to be part of THE CREW! For those of you who havent already gone to visit, please take the time to visit Kates Cure Crew Website http://katescurecrew.home.mchsi.com/ I look so forward to Deqlan and Kate meeting one day!

We also recieved Neuroblastoma bracelets from the Childrens Neuroblastoma Cancer Foundation , also based in the US and I wanted to list some facts from the brochure we recieved

Neuroblastoma is a solid tumor cancer that originates in the nerve tissue of the neck, chest, abdomen or pelvis, but most commonly in the adrenal gland. The term neuro means 'nerves' and 'blastoma' refers to a cancer that affects immature or developing cells.

It is the third most common cancer in children. It accounts for about 8% of all childhood cancer but 15% of the childhood cancer deaths.

Neuroblastoma is the most common cancer of infancy with an incidence rate almost double that of leukemia.

The average age at diagnosis is 2 years old. Approximately 70% of all children with neuroblastoma have metastatic ( spread to other parts of the body) disease at time of diagnosis.

It has one of the lowest survival rates of all paediatric cancers. Children with high risk disease have a survival rate of less then 30%.

There is no known cause or cure.

Shocking figures - we have to do something about this and cause more awareness and research to take place - there is unfortunately no research planned or happening in South Africa for Neuroblastoma but I would like to see what we can do to contribute towards research in the US and would love to plan some fundraising projects and ideas to see if we can help - I shall forward details after we have had a chance to put our thinking caps on! We have to fight for these children, we have to make a difference.

We are assisting CHOC ( Chilhood Cancer Foundation South Africa) with a Birthday party they are hosting for children at Kalefong Hospital - they host a party twice a year for these children with cancer that have Birthdays and are not fortunate enough to celebrate or recieve gifts . We have decided to start a programme called DEQLANS BUBBLES OF HOPE AND BALLOONS OF BRAVERY which we are going to give to these children and others that are stuck in hospital rooms for often lond periods of time - just small things to take their minds off their illness for a while and to bring a smile to their faces would be a great gift for us to witness - if any of you have any ideas or would like to contribute in any way let us know !

We have many other plans to assist CHOC with and our Christmas project this year will be to help them in anyway we can - we plan to assist in putting food parcels together - but we will keep you up to date and call on you to help us if you would like, closer towards the time

Deqlan has been well otherwise - he has eaten really well yesterday and today which i am very very happy about ! Got to get some nutritious food into our tough soldier! He loves his biscuits and he tries to get a sip from Nanna's diet coke glass whenever he can - we think he loves the bubbles in the cooldrink!

His eye is looking great to - it still waters a lot but we think its because of all the movement and moulding of the bones and Dr De Jager did say it could take a few months to get back to 100% - we are patient - I see the miracle happening before our eyes !

He is a little more pale then normal but seems to have more colour in his cheeks today

He is talking a lot - wish I could understand what he is saying ! We love listening to him and the new words coming out of his mouth , but the only word we can definitely make out is Mama!

You all know how he loves the washing machine - he sat on the kitchen floor last night watching it go round and round speaking to the machine at the top of his voice - mark and i laughed so hard and I was fortunate enough to get some of it on tape - a priceless moment!

He also take great delight in chasing the dogs around the house - during the day Deqlan and Otto have a ball spuring each other on, Deqlan laughs from the bottom of his belly at this game ! At home its Shelby and Stuffys turn and he is besotted by his Doggies and wants to jump out of my arms the minute we get home! He loves listening to them bark and laughs and chuckles with absolute delight! A new development is chasing our cat - they where never really interested in each other before , but they had a good time together last night - its quite difficult though to explain ' softly' to my gorgeous boy but we know in time he will learn and they will continue to be best friends! We have to wash hands and limit contact with the doggies hair as this could also compromise Deqlans immune system so we keep a careful eye on them - Deqlan is just like Logan - Logan LOVED our Dogs and Blue from the start and here favourite game was playing with the dog food - picking it up out the bowl and feeding to the dogs - Deqlan definitely going to take after her this way!

We are going to see Logan this weekend - Hooray - well at least Mark is going to fetch her and she is going to spend the night with Meggy and Conrad - where she will be spoilt rotten as always, we will battle to get her home again ha ha ha ! I am also hoping to pop in to see her to at least give her the hug i have been so wanting to give her and to see how she has grown - will show her pics of Deqlan and will take pics of her to show Deqlan

Another favourite at the moment are his tv shows in the morning - Big Cook Little Cook and Telly Tubbies ! Big Cook Little Cook reminds me so much of Mark and Deqlan - Mark loves holding Deqlan in the kitchen showing him what to cook and how to cook ' now we put some salt in this and then we mix it all together ' I LOVE IT !

Please continue to pray for our soldier that his blood is great for us to go ahead with our planned 6th round 20 - 22 August.Please pray that the main tumor continues to die and shrink and pull away from the blood vessels. Please continue to pray that his immune system stays as strong as possible and that he stays healthy and well. Please pray for all our friends that are battling neuroblastoma as well as other childhood cancers.

Thank you my dear friends and family - I cant not wait for you all to meet our Deqlan - I continue to tell him about you all every day - he knows how very special you all are and how Blessed we are to have you as part of our army

All our Love and God richest Blessings

Mark, Samm & Deqlan

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Monday, the 13th of August 2007

Hi All

Hope you are all well and had a great weekend?

We had another weekend of cleaning and sorting out! We are getting things ready to give to CHOC - they are opening a new CHOC house in Pretoria and we have decided to donate our tumble dryer and other odds and ends to them in efforts to help them help all the families with children with cancer. I have now added their link onto our website to.

We continue to clean and disinfect and wipe down and sweep and mop and dust in effort to keep Deqlans immune system as strong as we possibly can.

We celebrated him being 11 months on Saturday the 11th! Cant believe that we have 1 month to go to him turning 1!!!!!!!!!

Deqlan is crawling faster, pulling himself up quicker and trying to stand all by himself! We have to have eyes in the back of our heads as he is so quick and we are so worried he falls and bumps his head! I know its part of the learning process , but if we can prevent it and try and teach him, that will be preferable! He is also bruising very very easily at the moment, we think he platelets are way way way down , a Dr Dejager advised they would be after this round of chemo. Nanna still continues to give the Neupogen injections to try and help his bone marrow recover.

He seems to be a little pale and his eyes more red then normal , but all to do with his blood & platelet levels....

His appetite changes constantly - but he seems to be enjoying our food more - as soon as he see's his bowl and his spoon his mouth automatically closes, but if he see's us eating he will open his mouth to signal ' im hungry feed me!!!' as long as he is eating i dont mind! we take great delight in watching him taste things for the first time! 1 thing is for sure , he doesnt like pronutro!!!

Have posted same of the latest photos for you all to enjoy!

Please continue to pray for our gorgeous boy , that he remains strong and healthy and that the tumor continues to shrink and disapear and pull away from the blood vessels and that Deqlan recieves total and permanent healing from Our Gracious Lord,.

EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE TO THOSE WHO BELIEVE - MARK 9:23

Please also continue to pray for all of our friends in the battle with neuroblastoma and other cancers, Keira, Kate, Connor, Madelyn, Charli, Charlise, Miluska, Koketso, Yolanda, Ilse, JP , Bennie, Sarmone, Reoun, Hanco, Nthabiseng and all the other brave warriors in the world. We salute you! God will continnue to guide and protect you all. May he also continue to have his hands on your families and lead them to making the correct decisions and to always feel your love, peace and comfort Dear Lord.


God bless you all, lots of love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan

Thursday, the 9th of August 2007

Had a great day at home today as it was public holiday, so Mark was home with us the whole day was wonderful!

Dr De Jager was happy for us to leave yesterday - Deqlan delved into the chocolate mousse i had with my lunch and loved every bite of it! we where both covered with it by the time it was finished and had to change Deqlan before we went home !

He had another terrible reaction to the plaster - we definitely think he is allergic to them - i have been trying all different sorts including sensitive and hypo allergenic but they all seem to give him a terrible red rash when we remove them - shame, but i shall continue trying different things till we find the one that doesnt irriatate his delicate skin

As mentioned we got to be extra extra careful these next coming days and weeks to keep his immune system as protected as possible - we washed down all Deqlans toys and couldnt believe how much he had -we reminisced about each toy and who had given it to him - he decided it looked rather comfy in the bath where all the toys were sitting waiting to be washed! so we put him the bath with all his friends and he was quite happy to sit amongst them - hope to post a pic of this soon Mark and I had a real good chuckle!

Deqlan also LOVES the washing machine and tumble dryer and we have spent the evening in front of them as he takes delight in opening and closing the door and peering in side the machine! Perhaps he loves them so much as they are round and spin - as he has always loved wheels and watches them in absolute awe!

Nanna came around this afternoon to give the 1st of 8 neupogen injections - to boost his bone marrow ! Nanna doesnt like doing this as we know its not pleasant for Deqlan, but she is the best Sister Bev in the world and I couldnt imagine anyone else I would let give him these vital injections.

We can now see that Deqlans hair is definitely thinning out - we expected this to happen a lonnnggg time ago, Dr Dejager said within 3 weeks of starting chemo and its nearly been 8. But we are not saddened by this as we know its going to grow back even more beautiful and thicker then before! We love the red tint it has to it and hope this remains.


We will be back for round 6 20 - 22 August, our 2nd wedding anniversary is on 20 August so we will be glad to spend it with Deqlan in the hospital and will be honoured to celebrate with him!

I was very saddened to read about 3 children this week in the us that lost their fights of Neuroblastoma, Nathan, Christopher and Shania - although we did not have the privilige to meet these fine warriors , I ask that you all remember them and their families in your prayers - this is a horrible disease - these children are unbelievably and strong and courageous and i honour them. God Bless them all and lets continue to pray for all the children affected by cancer and all other diseases.

Back to work tommorow , luckily its Friday !


Hope you all have a great weekend and thanks for all the love and prayers and support, Happy Womens day to all of you - you are the best Moms, Grannies, Sisters, Aunties, Daughters, cousins , friends, granddaughters, neices

God Bless and all our love
mark,samm and deqlan

Tuesday, the 7th of August 2007

Great news! Blood work is all fine for us to go ahead with the 5th round of chemo!

Deqlans HP (blood) levels where 10.8 - so higher then last time!
His platelet count was 399 well within the normal limits!
His white blood cell count low, but expected
All else great so we got the go ahead!

We got other great news - the urine tests we did for VMA and HMA ( the bi products of the hormones that are secreted from the tumor) came back significantly reduced to - this means that the amount of hormones being produced is by the tumor is becomoning less and less as the tumor decreases in sign This clinical picture confirms what we heard last week from the scans - so the picture is that the treatment is definitely working, but we know its Our Lord and all the prayers that is the architect of this healing!

Deqlan now weighs 9.5kg so picked up a little weight from last time which i am SO pleased about and he is now 79cm long!

He screamed and protested this morning as sister Alida put the porto cath needle into the port - I was very grateful that Nanna was in the room with me this morning - he took comfort in her arms and Nanna managed to eventually calm Deqlan down by playing with a doggy teddy and singing to him - its tough watching Deqlan scream and get so upset during this process but its more because of us hoding him down then anything else - he hates being restricted - he even dislikes most clothes and shoes because of this reason!

It has been quite a day in our room 23 B - Nanna ,Meggy & I trying to keep Deqlan occupied with things that he can watch or play with sitting down - as usual he wants to get onto the floor and crawl which we cant do here!!! So very frustrating for him at times - but we try and disctract him with something else

Dada will come and visit us after work - i wish you could all see the look and excitement on Deqlans face when he see's his Dada!

Nanna just found the most beautiful qoutes
"True Faith involves doing all you can and then letting God take care of the rest"
"God will never send a thirsty soul to a dry well"
" Faith is not an emotion is objective trust placed in a very real God"
"Faith does not demand miracles but often acomplishes them"

Deqlan has already recieved vincristine, carboplatin and nearly done on the first bag of Etoposide - we done for the day - get 1 more bag of etoposide tommorow then we can go home! Got to be very careful with him more then normal due to the powerful carboplatin and because of the freezing weather at the moment

What a soldier Deqlan is ! I love him more and more each second and I am so very very proud of him - he is so strong and The Lord will continue to guide protect and heal him

Thank you "Army", for all your love, support, encouragement and above all prayers - wow - together we are making such a difference - Our Lord is listening s he always does, HE HAS NEVER LET US DOWN- may he Bless you all to in every aspect of your lives

Have a lovely evening
All our Love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

sunday, the 5th of August 2007

We had a lovely weekend as always - its great to all be at home together!

Mark and i were treated to a night out with Megs and Conrad on Friday night - we went to have supper at Monte Casino , so Deqlan stayed with Nanna and Grandpa for the evening - I was missing him before I even left him but he didnt even seem to mind that i had left and had a FANTASTIC time with his Nanna and Grandpa - kept them laughing the entire evening!

We came accross a wishing stream at Monte Casino - and Kate & Karen in the US immediately sprung to mind ( they through coins for us at the zoo) so we all stood and took tons of coins out and stood saying each childs and their families name praying for their total and permanent healing and for Our Lord to continue guiding them - Deqlan, Keira, Kate, Charli, Charlise, Koketso, Connor, Madelyn, Ilsa, Yolanda, Miluska, JP , Benny , Hanco, Sarmone and all the others battling NB and other forms of cancer.

Was lovely to fetch Deqlan on Saturday morning and see his face as i walked through the door!

Great Grandpa, Nanna and I went to church ( Megs went to a friends 30th) and we purchased a rosary for Deqlan that one of the little girls in the Holy Communion class had made, she was so proud we chose the one she made! Everyone came to chat to see how our little soldier is doing and they continue to Pray for our beautiful boy - thank you dear friends

We spent the rest of the weekend running after Deqlan as he only wants to be on the floor crawling and pulling himself up onto anything he can get his hands around - his playroom has gotten to small and he wants to venture into every corner he can get into! He got his hands into the dog pellets today!!! We tried everything to persuade him to go to different areas of the house - but you know how it is - they want what they cant get ! Dada eventually moved the coffee table out of the lounge to make more space for Deqlan to roam and get ready to start walking! We are so petrified he bumps his head or slips so we follow him everywhere so we are getting lots of excercise

He also tasted his first sip of milkshake which HE LOVED and couldnt get enough of! He has Mark and I in stitches of laughter as we watched him enjoy every drop!

Please continue to pray for our boy, that our 5th round of Chemo goes extremely well - we will be in hospital on Tuesday and Wednesday - please continue to pray that the tumor shrinks into the nothing it is and pulls away from the blood vessels and that Deqlan has no side affects and continues to be the happy , bright, gorgeous sunshine of our life!

Hope you all have a great and Blessed week - as always, our love and absolute thanks to you our " army" for standing with Deqlan and us through this journey - your love , support and prayers are so appreciated and we recieve them with open and loving arms.

Sacred heart of Jesus we place our trust in Thee, all for Thee Oh Lord, Oh My Jeses all for Thee

Good night, sleep tight and have a Blessed week ahead
All Our Love
Mark, Samm & Deqlan!!

Thursday, the 2nd August 2007

Hi All

Just a quick hello and to let you know Deqlan doing well
no more evidence of the carpet burns on his head so he looks good as new
As always loving being at home this week and enjoying watching Deqlan pulling himself up on everything he possibly can...walking is definitely AROUND THE CORNER!
Cant believe Deqlan will be 11 months old on the 11th of August -time continues to fly

Im at home with Deqlan today and tommorow as Nanna is at the CCMA for her case which we pray is resolved this time - please pray for succesful results and that we can finalise this and Nanna can let it go and relax

We go for our 5th round of chemo 7 August - although this round is around 28 hours - so not long in hospital , Carboplatin will be used - this is the very very toxic chemo to bone marrow - so we have to continue being extra careful with his immune system. He will also get vincristine and Etoposide - this will mark the half way mark of our 10 planned treatments!!! Hooray!

Deqlan hasnt been wanting to eat much the last few days , but hoping his appetite will return to normal shortly - but, he still enjoys his favourite , chocolate !!!! Like Dad and Mom , like son

We heard from our friends in the US - remainder of Keira's tumor hasnt grown ,size has stayed the same, which is good news, they are waiting to hear more from the official report . Charli's tumor has also decreased in size! So great news - thanks for all your prayers for the girls to!

Please continue your prayers for our beautiful Deqlan, that the tumor continues to shrink into the nothing it is and pull away from the blood vessels. Please pray that he continues to do so well and no side effects from the chemo! Please pray that he continues to grow and remains the happy, courageous soldier he is that we absolutely love and adore more then anything on this earth.

Lots of love and God Blessings to you all
Mark, Samm & Deqlan