Unfortunately due to a Saturday treatment we were unable to make our way home this weekend. We have decided per Daddy’s request to hold off and celebrate another day when we are all together. So we made the best of it, went to dinner with pap pap and had Tanner’s favorite – sushi!! Tanner ordered his favorite octopus salad, some phili and california rolls and filled his bellie. And yes, Tanner made pap pap try the octopus!!!

Shortly there after we returned to the Hope House for a few smiles and laughs, play video games and add a few flame stickers to his new wheelchair.

Today started off very rough for Tanner. The steroids are really messing with his emotions, physically draining him from the extreme mood swings. He did not wish to do his dive, and put up a huge fight….eventually the dive crew persuadeed him and five minutes later he was laughing.
If there is one thing that does make Tanner very happy is his food!!!! He has maintained an extremely healthy appetite and has gained 7lbs since we’ve been here. Not only do the steroids increase his appetite, they say the dives as well will increase his will to eat. Got to love those chipmunck cheeks!!!!

We finally heard back from Dr. Wagner from the sleep disorder department today who confirmed test results showing Tanner has had several delayed breathing in which his stats drop very quickly however recovering just as quick. We need to continue practicing with his mask and early next week we will have another sleep test…so we continue to practice!!!!

Last night was a little rough for Tanner and I. Unfortunately he was extremely restless with stomach pains and unable to fall asleep till way after 12am. During the night Tanner also began to show difficulty with his breathing again, and of course I kept him close by with one eye open all night. Both of us were extremely tired….Thanks to pap pap, early this morning he let me get a little extra sleep. Dr. Smith will be contacting the sleep disorder / pulmonary Dr. so that we can get Tanner started on the cpap mask as soon as possible. During Tanner’s sleep study test this past Sunday results showed delayed breathing throughout the night which now requires him to wear a mask to bed to assist in his breathing.

As the day went on things got a little brighter, his dive went well, then later he visited the butterfly rainforest then ended the evening with a youth group playing bingo and checkers!!!! and of course he beat all of us……

Hey everyone, we finally got the computer up and running here at the Hope House. Tanner has reached the halfway mark with his treatments and officially has 11 dives under his belt and only 9 more to go (so we hope). For those of you who don’t understand what we mean by “dive”, we are talking about his hyperbaric chamber treatments where Tanner is taken in a tank to 45ft below sea level and given high doses of pure oxygen to introduce new capillary bed growth to the damaged tissue in the brain and spinal cord caused by radiation necrosis.

Tanner as always, has been a real trooper and continues to smile and play jokes on everyone. Even though the high doses of steroids are constantly changing his mood, he still finds a way to make the best of everything. He truly is my little hero.

We had the pleasure of spending a few hours with Tanner on Saturday. The Dr’s let him come home for the weekend, so we got to meet over at Nana and Grandaddy’s for lunch. Tanner even got a little time in the pool.

As you can see from the pool photo, Tanner is minus his 2 front teeth. But have no fear, the “Tooth-fairy” made the trip all the way up to Gainesville to make “Tooth-fairy” payments to Tanner for being brave.

Tanner & the entire Family send their Love and Thank You’s for all of your supportive and kind emails, and your Thoughts and Prayers.

Uncle Harvey

Hi Gals and Guys,

Tanner, his Mom (Chrisanne) and his Pap-Pap Tom (Grandfather – Chrisanne’s Dad) have now relocated to the American Cancer Society’s Winn-Dixie Hope Lodge.

Because of Tanner’s treatments, the Ronald McDonald House seemed a little to hectic for them at this time. He gets kinda wiped out after his hyperbaric treatment, but is doing OK, and they send their love to everyone.

PS… Tanner lost his two front teeth, and as usual, the “tooth fairy” visited with some extra cash … I think Aunt Kris took a photo of Tanner’s “toothless” but still handsome grin … if I can get it, I’ll post it !!

Attached are a few photos of Tanner, his “cousin” Frankie and Aunt Nonnie playing checkers…and relaxing and watching some tv… These were taken last month.

Love to all,

Uncle Harvey

Recently Tanner and I visited West Palm Beach to spend some time with Family. During our stay we met a friend of the family, Brian Fox. Brian, a husband, father has been also battling brain cancer for three years. Brian recently made arrangements to stay in Boston to have Proton Radiation Therapy just like Tanner. Things have been extremely rough for him lately, and Tanner thought we should meet him so that he could give him a hug and tell him it would be okay. We would eventually meet up on Monday with Brian and then make our way home on Wednesday. Unfortunately Brian took a turn for the worst late Wednesday night and had to have surgery this morning to reduce swelling and pressure on the brain. Brian returned from surgery around 7:00pm and is doing well. The Doctors were able to remove part of the tumor, how much is yet to be known. I am asking if everyone could please include Brian and his Family in your prayers for a strong recovery.
Thank you,
Chrisanne

As many of you may know when we returned home from our Dream Trip in January, Tanner needed to return for his routine MRI. Later that evening the Doctors informed us that 4 lesions were showing on the MRI – 1 in the brainstem, and 1 in the lower cerebellum which the doctors believed to be radiation necrosis, as well as 2 new lesions in the upper cerebellum which concerned the doctors and thought to have been new tumor growth. Although these two lesions were very small, a biopsy could not be done to determine if they truly were tumor growth. Our Doctors informed us that Tanner would need to continue the steroids as well as bump his MRI up to every two months with Oncology appointments every two weeks. After tapering Tanner off the steroids almost 3 weeks ago, to much of our surprise the headaches, off gate and weakness disappeared!!!! Tanner returned again on March 20th for another MRI, and our prayers have been answered!!!! Our Oncologist informed us that three of the four lesions had become stabilized and the fourth was smaller. The Doctors truly believe we were dealing with Radiation Necrosis and the steroids helped keep it under control. Tanner no longer has to take the steroids, continue his Pentamidine treatments and even got the ok to have his infusie port removed .His MRI has now been moved to every three months, and we have decided to wait till then to remove the port. Thank you for all your love, support and most of all your prayers.
The Page Family

Shortly after our breathtaking adventure with the dog team we would make our way down to the Lone Mountain Ranch for our very own sleigh ride. Once again greeted with warm smiles and friendly faces we stepped up into the wagon and made our way through the ranch to have hot cocoa and fresh homemade cookies……
As Steve, Tanner and I snuggled closely with lots of blankets, Mackenzie made her way to the front of the sleigh and helped guide the horses through the trails

On Friday, January 11th we made our next adventure with the Spirit of the North Dog Adventures for our first ever dog sled tour. If anyone ever has the opportunity to experience this adventure, I would highly recommend this. As we were greeted by our friendly guides, we were then introduced to the team. Shortly thereafter we were given lessons on how to guide the sleds and work as a team with the dogs. Steve would be our driver as Mackenzie, Tanner and myself would sit snuggly together in the basket. The view was simply breathtaking as the dogs pulled down, around and up the valley as the snow fell….