This blog was started to update people on Cashy's journey with Brain Cancer. Cashy won his battle and passed away peacfully in his Daddy's arms on November 14th, 2012. RIP Cashy Michael Hyde 6/21/2008-11/14/2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Home and loving it!
Wow! We've been home two weeks already! Sorry I've been slacking on the Updates! Where has the time gone. We arrived through the blustery snowfall by the grace of god during the eye of the storm two wednesdays ago. We saw a semi tipped over and one about took us off the road trying to pass us. Thank god mike is a awesome driver in the snow because I was a nervous wreck!! He brought us all home safely.
It's so nice to be home and back into some what of a routine. Colten started school back up last Monday as Thursday and Friday were snow days!! Colty was loving all the snow! Coming from 80 Degree weather to treacherous snow and ice. It was quite the change! But we adapted well!
Cashy was really really skinny when we got home from all the radiation and the flu bug we all suffered from, it really put him down hard. Poor boy. But now that he's feeling better he has been eating like crazy and literally every hour. We can already tell he's put on a little weight so I know he will get stronger really fast. He's been playing and going and going like crazy! He rarely takes a nap if at all. Another thing we've noticed with him is his talking has really improved and we were really excited about that.
So far we haven't notice to many side effects from the radiation, besides your obvious ones such as hair loss, weight loss, and the small radiation burns (which was more like a bad sunburn) he had Which are completely healed now. We noticed from the conventional radiation his stomach which also got radiation due to it passing through all of his organs when they radiated his spine, that his whole stomach lining was fried and that's why he wasnt able to digest food very well. But in less than two weeks we were able to shed that lining of dead cells that the radiation burned with the cannabis oil he has been on. It literally rebuilt the lining of his stomach and shed the old sick lining and you could literally see it in his bowel movements (yes, I know a little graphic). Now he is doing great and eating very well. For the first week we were home he was getting tube feedings through his gtube (which is such a god send) at nights that way he was getting some extra much needed calories. No more tube feedings as he is eating and eating so well now.
Mike, colty, and I and mikes good buddy casey and his daughter skye all went skiing the last two Saturday's. We went to discovery and to lost trail. What a blast, we were waiting for this snow all year!! The kids did awesome!
Cashy stayed at home with grandma Julie the first weekend and grandma Vickie last weekend. Thank god for the grandmas! It's nice to get a break once in awhile!!
So other than taking it easy and trying to fatten Cashy back up, we really aren't doing much at all. Just enjoying being home and spending time with family and friends.
We will all be heading back to salt lake city on feb 21st for Cashys check ups and follow up MRI's. His mri will be on feb 22nd. So needless to say we are all very nervous but optimistic that Cashys tumor is completely gone and our second battle with cancer is nearing the end. Please keep our Cashy In yours prayers and thoughts as we get ready to do probably the most important brain scans we've done yet. Can you say scanxiety!
Were just hoping and wishing and praying that this can be all over once again. It's just not fair that he has to endure so much during his little life. I want nothing more than for him to grow old with my friends children and his brother and for him to meet his new little baby brother or sister that will be here in less than 3 months. He will be the best big brother ever.
Love you all and thank you for continuing to be so supportive during all of this. We couldn't ask for better family, friends and perfect strangers. We love you all and god bless your kind hearts.
It's so nice to be home and back into some what of a routine. Colten started school back up last Monday as Thursday and Friday were snow days!! Colty was loving all the snow! Coming from 80 Degree weather to treacherous snow and ice. It was quite the change! But we adapted well!
Cashy was really really skinny when we got home from all the radiation and the flu bug we all suffered from, it really put him down hard. Poor boy. But now that he's feeling better he has been eating like crazy and literally every hour. We can already tell he's put on a little weight so I know he will get stronger really fast. He's been playing and going and going like crazy! He rarely takes a nap if at all. Another thing we've noticed with him is his talking has really improved and we were really excited about that.
So far we haven't notice to many side effects from the radiation, besides your obvious ones such as hair loss, weight loss, and the small radiation burns (which was more like a bad sunburn) he had Which are completely healed now. We noticed from the conventional radiation his stomach which also got radiation due to it passing through all of his organs when they radiated his spine, that his whole stomach lining was fried and that's why he wasnt able to digest food very well. But in less than two weeks we were able to shed that lining of dead cells that the radiation burned with the cannabis oil he has been on. It literally rebuilt the lining of his stomach and shed the old sick lining and you could literally see it in his bowel movements (yes, I know a little graphic). Now he is doing great and eating very well. For the first week we were home he was getting tube feedings through his gtube (which is such a god send) at nights that way he was getting some extra much needed calories. No more tube feedings as he is eating and eating so well now.
Mike, colty, and I and mikes good buddy casey and his daughter skye all went skiing the last two Saturday's. We went to discovery and to lost trail. What a blast, we were waiting for this snow all year!! The kids did awesome!
Cashy stayed at home with grandma Julie the first weekend and grandma Vickie last weekend. Thank god for the grandmas! It's nice to get a break once in awhile!!
So other than taking it easy and trying to fatten Cashy back up, we really aren't doing much at all. Just enjoying being home and spending time with family and friends.
We will all be heading back to salt lake city on feb 21st for Cashys check ups and follow up MRI's. His mri will be on feb 22nd. So needless to say we are all very nervous but optimistic that Cashys tumor is completely gone and our second battle with cancer is nearing the end. Please keep our Cashy In yours prayers and thoughts as we get ready to do probably the most important brain scans we've done yet. Can you say scanxiety!
Were just hoping and wishing and praying that this can be all over once again. It's just not fair that he has to endure so much during his little life. I want nothing more than for him to grow old with my friends children and his brother and for him to meet his new little baby brother or sister that will be here in less than 3 months. He will be the best big brother ever.
Love you all and thank you for continuing to be so supportive during all of this. We couldn't ask for better family, friends and perfect strangers. We love you all and god bless your kind hearts.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Radiation complete and on our way home!
Cashy finished his 30th radiation treatment on Monday and the fam was loaded up (car is loaded to the brim) and we headed out right after treatment recovery was over. Cashy was feeling good from the lingering flu bug we all had. Poor guy lost a lot of weight getting this bug. Our job is to now bulk him up over the next 5 weeks.
We drove for over 12 hours yesterday and arrived in salt lake around 1130 pm. We were greeted by grandma and grandpa Jim and uncle sam and aunt Jen. They are all so caring and wonderful, were lucky to have them in our lives and here in salt lake as support and a open door (and yummy food) and to hear some good stories!
Today Cashy went to the outpatient lab to have his labs checked before we remove hid picc line, in case he needed blood or platelets. Luckily his counts were all good and within range of not needing a transfusion. And hes no longer immunocompramised. So we will pull out picc line tomorrow.
Cashy was finally feeling better today and ate some food and played a little. He crashed earlier and took a really long long.
Grandma catherine made a delicious lasagna and i tell you what I've never seen a lasagna plate go empty as fast as I did tonight, there were so many people we all scarfed it down standing up. So good! Cashy woke up about 1030 and ate his portion, he loved it, then back to bed he went.
So our next trek is to make it back to missoula in one piece, I think I've gotten like 10 texts to watch the roads tomorrow cause the storm is rolling in. Somehow during all our trips, we've always made it just fine, blizzards and all. One winter before Cashy got sick, we did tip the blazer in a ditch on our way home to Missoula in the winter, not a full tip, just sideways a little packed in the snow, luckily there were some guys with big trucks and chains and they pulled us out, that was scary, everyone was fine and car wasn't scratched. Haha.
We will return to salt lake city in 5 weeks for follow up scans, spinal tap, sedated hearing test. Keep clear scans in god thoughts for Cashy as these tumors often tend to shrink 4-6 weeks after the treatments are over.
There's so many emotions going through my head right now it's hard to sleep. It's almost like this is another new beginning to lives and I'm nervous for Cashy and his future and the thoughts of what really happens when you run out of options, which the reality is it happens to alot of families battling this horrific disease.
Cashy will not be another statistic though, I know that for a fact. He is meant for big things in this world. He's already done so many positive things in his life for so many people, be it teaching a parent to hold their babies closer and not waste life worrying about the small petty things, be it teaching Mike and I to be better more patient parents, be it showing the world that there is safer more therapeutic natural medications out there and the fact that these treatments needs researched, well Cashy will get that done. Hes done so much for everyone. He's the most powerful three year old cancer fighter out there!! Love you my sweet baby!
So everyone pray for safe travels and a nice drive home! Missoula, can't wait to be home!!
We drove for over 12 hours yesterday and arrived in salt lake around 1130 pm. We were greeted by grandma and grandpa Jim and uncle sam and aunt Jen. They are all so caring and wonderful, were lucky to have them in our lives and here in salt lake as support and a open door (and yummy food) and to hear some good stories!
Today Cashy went to the outpatient lab to have his labs checked before we remove hid picc line, in case he needed blood or platelets. Luckily his counts were all good and within range of not needing a transfusion. And hes no longer immunocompramised. So we will pull out picc line tomorrow.
Cashy was finally feeling better today and ate some food and played a little. He crashed earlier and took a really long long.
Grandma catherine made a delicious lasagna and i tell you what I've never seen a lasagna plate go empty as fast as I did tonight, there were so many people we all scarfed it down standing up. So good! Cashy woke up about 1030 and ate his portion, he loved it, then back to bed he went.
So our next trek is to make it back to missoula in one piece, I think I've gotten like 10 texts to watch the roads tomorrow cause the storm is rolling in. Somehow during all our trips, we've always made it just fine, blizzards and all. One winter before Cashy got sick, we did tip the blazer in a ditch on our way home to Missoula in the winter, not a full tip, just sideways a little packed in the snow, luckily there were some guys with big trucks and chains and they pulled us out, that was scary, everyone was fine and car wasn't scratched. Haha.
We will return to salt lake city in 5 weeks for follow up scans, spinal tap, sedated hearing test. Keep clear scans in god thoughts for Cashy as these tumors often tend to shrink 4-6 weeks after the treatments are over.
There's so many emotions going through my head right now it's hard to sleep. It's almost like this is another new beginning to lives and I'm nervous for Cashy and his future and the thoughts of what really happens when you run out of options, which the reality is it happens to alot of families battling this horrific disease.
Cashy will not be another statistic though, I know that for a fact. He is meant for big things in this world. He's already done so many positive things in his life for so many people, be it teaching a parent to hold their babies closer and not waste life worrying about the small petty things, be it teaching Mike and I to be better more patient parents, be it showing the world that there is safer more therapeutic natural medications out there and the fact that these treatments needs researched, well Cashy will get that done. Hes done so much for everyone. He's the most powerful three year old cancer fighter out there!! Love you my sweet baby!
So everyone pray for safe travels and a nice drive home! Missoula, can't wait to be home!!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Day 29 of radiation complete!! One more to go!!
Yay, Cashy just finished his 29th treatment of proton radiation. He was a little upset this am because he had a blow out in his pants and refused to let me change him, but I did and it just pissed him the eff off.
We've all (except colten, I'm sure he's next) battled some kind of flu bug this week and weve been throwing up and just feeling crappy.
Cashys counts are low again but not to where he needs any transfusions. White count is 1.1, so he is immunocompramised again but has been the last month or so.
We had our interview yesterday with LA 7 news yesterday, that went really, I get a little nervous on camera but Mike he is an amazing speaker and never fumbles his words. I'm proud of you babe! We then went to the hospital and delivered 3 reggae runners to the oncology unit and the recovery unit where cash is recovered everyday. It's a good feeling to be Able to put smiles on kids faces even during their hardest times. The unit directors were very excited to see how cool our reggae runners were!
We all checked out of the McDonald house, mainly because it's rough sleeping there and we all got the flu and that's a rule you have to check out. So were enjoying two queen beds!! Yay! Colten and daddy went swimming last night and burned off some of coltens amped up energy. An that kid is full of it.
Well cheers to the weekend and a successful last treatment on Monday am bright and early at 7:15! Thanks for all your awesome support and love for our family and our Cashy boy!
Homeward bound on Monday!! Can't wait!!
We've all (except colten, I'm sure he's next) battled some kind of flu bug this week and weve been throwing up and just feeling crappy.
Cashys counts are low again but not to where he needs any transfusions. White count is 1.1, so he is immunocompramised again but has been the last month or so.
We had our interview yesterday with LA 7 news yesterday, that went really, I get a little nervous on camera but Mike he is an amazing speaker and never fumbles his words. I'm proud of you babe! We then went to the hospital and delivered 3 reggae runners to the oncology unit and the recovery unit where cash is recovered everyday. It's a good feeling to be Able to put smiles on kids faces even during their hardest times. The unit directors were very excited to see how cool our reggae runners were!
We all checked out of the McDonald house, mainly because it's rough sleeping there and we all got the flu and that's a rule you have to check out. So were enjoying two queen beds!! Yay! Colten and daddy went swimming last night and burned off some of coltens amped up energy. An that kid is full of it.
Well cheers to the weekend and a successful last treatment on Monday am bright and early at 7:15! Thanks for all your awesome support and love for our family and our Cashy boy!
Homeward bound on Monday!! Can't wait!!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Day 26 of radiation!!! 3 more to go!!!
So Cashy has been doing great! It's so reassuring to see that he is doing so well during these last few treatments. He's been playing like crazy and eating alright as well.
His head is completely peeling from the radiation but from what I've heard from the nurses he looks better than any other patient they've had. One nurse asked us what we were doing differently, mike told them it was a secret and they would know soon! Lol.
Yesterday we talked with radiation
Oncologist and told her that Cashy wAs a medical cannabis patient, she responded by saying she new he was on it before but didn't know he was still....why would we quit giving it to him? Silly doctor!!
Tomorrow morning LA news station is coming to do a piece on cash and his treatment here at Loma Linda, were excited to also be giving away some reggae runners and wagons to the oncology unit and recovery room as well. We will post the clip when it's up!!
We are all very excited to be wrapping up this part of our cancer fighting journey, although he's not cancer free yet, we know and believe deep down that Cashy was given cancer for a reason and that reason is to spread awareness and to find a safer alternative treatment and to help encourage research into cannabis therapeutics so they can use this as a valid option over nasty chemotherapy and radiation. Cashy is meant to do big things in this world and his battle against cancer will be a thing of the past, soon!
Three more proton treatments to the tumor and we will be packed and ready to hit the trail Monday morning after his last treatment! Please pray that things continue to go smoothly for cashy and nothing gets in the way of us departing on Monday. Thanks for everyones continued support!! Love to you all!!!
His head is completely peeling from the radiation but from what I've heard from the nurses he looks better than any other patient they've had. One nurse asked us what we were doing differently, mike told them it was a secret and they would know soon! Lol.
Yesterday we talked with radiation
Oncologist and told her that Cashy wAs a medical cannabis patient, she responded by saying she new he was on it before but didn't know he was still....why would we quit giving it to him? Silly doctor!!
Tomorrow morning LA news station is coming to do a piece on cash and his treatment here at Loma Linda, were excited to also be giving away some reggae runners and wagons to the oncology unit and recovery room as well. We will post the clip when it's up!!
We are all very excited to be wrapping up this part of our cancer fighting journey, although he's not cancer free yet, we know and believe deep down that Cashy was given cancer for a reason and that reason is to spread awareness and to find a safer alternative treatment and to help encourage research into cannabis therapeutics so they can use this as a valid option over nasty chemotherapy and radiation. Cashy is meant to do big things in this world and his battle against cancer will be a thing of the past, soon!
Three more proton treatments to the tumor and we will be packed and ready to hit the trail Monday morning after his last treatment! Please pray that things continue to go smoothly for cashy and nothing gets in the way of us departing on Monday. Thanks for everyones continued support!! Love to you all!!!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
San Diego Zoo!
We spend the day at the San Diego zoo! Had a good time and now off to find a hotel for the night and meet up with cousin Latonya and her boyfriend moses! 
Thursday, January 5, 2012
23 of radiation done!
Cashy has just finished his 23rd radiation treatment, 4th proton boost to his tumor. 7 more to go and we are heading home!! His oncologist in salt lake doesn't want to do follow up scan until 4-6 weeks after last treatment, so scans, spinal tap, and sedated hearing tests will be scheduled at end of February.
We are thrilled will how well Cashy is doing as yesterday he played ALL day long, on the slide, the jungle gym and drove around in all sorts of little tykes cars. He was so full of energy and life and it was amazing to watch him, he was playing again like his did this last summer. It truly fills my heart with joy to see him so happy and smiley even though he's being put through hell every day. He's my hero, I wish I could be as strong as him!
We had a great weekend as we went to Disney Toy story 3 on ice. The boys loved it even though we were in the nosebleed section, lol. Then Monday we caught a movie---adventures of tin tin.
Now were just trying to consume our days with entertainment for the boys but there's not much to do around here. Maybe a family bowling night is in store.
I love my family with all my heart and we've all been going through hell, please continue to keep Cashy in your prayers and thoughts that he can breeze through these next 7 treatments without any complications, but also keep all of us in your prayers as well, for our marriage as we are struggling emotionally during this most crappy situation, and for our boy Colten as he is struggling as well.
The other night I was watching him writing in his notebook, and it said friends list, and he a list of his buddies wrote down, it was so cute and it broke my heart that he's not in Missoula playing and being a normal 7 year old, he's been consumed by cancer and it's evil ways of tearing families apart and away from their norm.
I couldn't ask for a better bunch of boys in my life. I love you guys.
Were all excited to meet this new addition in a few short months. (wow, can't even believe it either, such a surprise and blessing for our family.)
Thanks everyone for continued support! We couldn't do it without all your love and care. :)
We are thrilled will how well Cashy is doing as yesterday he played ALL day long, on the slide, the jungle gym and drove around in all sorts of little tykes cars. He was so full of energy and life and it was amazing to watch him, he was playing again like his did this last summer. It truly fills my heart with joy to see him so happy and smiley even though he's being put through hell every day. He's my hero, I wish I could be as strong as him!
We had a great weekend as we went to Disney Toy story 3 on ice. The boys loved it even though we were in the nosebleed section, lol. Then Monday we caught a movie---adventures of tin tin.
Now were just trying to consume our days with entertainment for the boys but there's not much to do around here. Maybe a family bowling night is in store.
I love my family with all my heart and we've all been going through hell, please continue to keep Cashy in your prayers and thoughts that he can breeze through these next 7 treatments without any complications, but also keep all of us in your prayers as well, for our marriage as we are struggling emotionally during this most crappy situation, and for our boy Colten as he is struggling as well.
The other night I was watching him writing in his notebook, and it said friends list, and he a list of his buddies wrote down, it was so cute and it broke my heart that he's not in Missoula playing and being a normal 7 year old, he's been consumed by cancer and it's evil ways of tearing families apart and away from their norm.
I couldn't ask for a better bunch of boys in my life. I love you guys.
Were all excited to meet this new addition in a few short months. (wow, can't even believe it either, such a surprise and blessing for our family.)
Thanks everyone for continued support! We couldn't do it without all your love and care. :)
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