July 8, 2000

Dear Family,

Last Saturday morning while I was out surfing I had somewhat of an
accident. The point of my surfboard struck me a crushing blow
under my left eye. I am recovering well; but on Monday we were
struck with a far more crushing blow regarding our grandson Skylar.

We left for Atascadero on Sunday afternoon after dropping our dog
Coco off at Debbie's house. We arrived late in the evening and
greeted Suzanne and Skylar. Skylar had waited up to see Nana and
Papa and Uncle. Although we had lots to chat about, we prepared
for bed as quickly as possible because we had to rise very early
for a trip to the children's hospital at Stanford.

Some time before five AM on Monday I carried a sleepy Skylar with
his oxygen tank down the steps, fastened him into his car seat, and
we were on our way. I drove as far as I could and then Uncle Chris
took over while I snoozed in the back. We arrived a little early for
Skylar's 8:30 AM appointment for a CT scan. With Skylar in a
wheelchair we took a walk through a garden outside, around a parking
lot, and then back to the hospital. On the way to Radiology we
passed the model train set and Papa pressed the button to play
Skylar's favorite sound effect, the caliope.

A nurse gave Skylar some contrast-enhancing fluid through
his NG tube. Too much fluid going into his stomach at once makes
him uneasy, so I tried to distract him. "Skylar, what do you do
with a toy?" I asked. "Play with it" Skylar replied. "Does Papa
play with you?" I asked. "Yes" he answered. "You must be a toy,
then" I said with a smile. "I am not a toy!" Skylar insisted.
Finally the fluid was all in and we went in for the scan.

Skye did a good job holding very still as the giant machine whirred
and spun around his skinny body. Uncle and Papa watched, covered in
a pair of lead aprons. Before and after, while we waited for the
scans to be checked, we joked around. There was a skull embedded
in plastic sitting on the counter nearby. I picked it up and made
faces at Skylar. When the scan was done and checked, Skylar was
allowed to get up from the table and was rewarded with a small toy
of his choice, a battery-operated truck.

We then headed for the clinic, where Skylar was weighed and measured
and where we waited interminably to see a doctor and to hear the
results. One doctor visited the small examination room and looked
Skylar over; everything seemed to look fine so far. Finally, after
one PM, the doctor returned with Skylar's oncologist and a social
worker. The oncologist began by talking to Skylar and telling him
that he looked good, better than when she had last seen him. Nothing
could have prepared us for what she said next.

"Skylar's scans show that the cancer is back. All of the tumors are
growing rapidly again, in his abdomen and in his liver and in his
lungs, and there is a new tumor in his spleen." A flood of shock
washed over me. We were all stunned. Nana and Suzanne began to
cry. "Do you have any questions?" We were too much in shock to
ask many questions. "Don't cry, Mama" Skylar said, not really
understanding the gravity of the situation.

"We don't want to weaken Skylar any more" the oncologist continued.
"Although there are a couple of chemos I could perhaps try, we think
it would be better to let Skylar alone to enjoy as much as possible
the time he has left with his family. We will do our best to help
manage his pain."

At the last, some blood was drawn for testing, we left the clinic,
got in the car, and drove home. It was a very sombre ride home. I
will tell you more of our week in some upcoming messages.

"Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases." Psalm 115:3

"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
Matthew 6:10

Your prayers for Skylar are most earnestly requested.

In Christ,

-Dann (for us all)