Computer issues *edited Sept 26

I am so sorry to leave you hanging like that, but my laptop has been having serious issues-crashing all the time, like 7 times in an hour! It also won't post on the blog, it keeps telling me something is corrupt- yikes! I just thought I would let you know that God is so good, he heard all your prayers on our behalf and he really outdid himself! In one week we have had Noah's good friend come from Kamloops for the day and take us to Science World, gone to a Gala Fundraiser at the Four Seasons, gone to Dan and Sarah Hamhuis' house where Dan gave Noah a Canucks jersey and hat to wear to the Canucks game we were given tickets for the next night (!)  We had so much fun at their house; Noah is like a kid magnet - little kids just love him, and Dan and Sarah have a 3 yr old daughter with whom he got along so well! They played and played. She mostly wanted him to fall down and he obliged. It was very cute.
Wednesday Noah had chemo in the morning, and since he now remembered that the EMLA does actually work, he was much more calm than on that first Monday.  We had some visitors from our school while Noah was in the clinic and he was excited to show them around. Thanks for coming, Wilma and Paige! Then he had to have his Pentamidine, the inhaled antibiotic that he hates, which is preceded by a dose of Ventolin.  He was worried, because we had plans to go to a play with the Gr 12s at 2pm and the last time he had Ventolin, he ended up being admitted because it made his heart rate go up to 157 bpm.  He didn't want that to happen again! It was funny, because even his being nervous made his heart rate go up! The Respiratory Therapist had a good idea, though: he gave Noah the Pentamidine, and when his chest started to feel tight like it does with that drug, he gave him just one minute of Ventolin, which opened up the airway, but it wasn't enough to make his heart rate go up. It was a great solution, and Noah was very relieved.  He also gave Noah a pair of nose plugs to wear. He still hates the taste and the thick feeling the Pentamidine gives his mouth, but it was manageable with the nose pincher; he couldn't really taste it.  He needs that one every month for the entire 3 yrs of treatment - he better start getting used to it!
We went to the play in the afternoon, but left at the intermission; it was a bit heavy for Noah. I wanted to stay - I was really enjoying the singing, but when we left, one of the characters had attempted suicide, and I wasn't sure how the play would end, so we decided to go. Even though I haven't seen the end, I feel I can comfortably recommend it. It is called "Next to Normal"  Heavy, but good.
The evening show was better. Way better. It was called "Arnie the Carnie's House of Fun".  It was basically a magic show, which was right up Noah's alley. It was great; we came out of that one completely amazed at what that guy could do! He is an excellent magician, and could perform other feats, such as lying on a bed of nails with another bed of nails on his chest while his assistant put a plexiglass box on top, then a 20 pound cinder block, and THEN the assistant smashed the cinder block with a sledgehammer!  It was crazy! and the nails were sharp - we tested them by throwing bananas at them.  Unbelievable!
Thursday - wow, I'm only at Thursday- was probably the best day. Caleb and Kent Novakowski, good friends of ours who moved from Smithers to Kamloops, drove down for the day.  Kent and his wife Lisa had read how sad Noah was on Monday and decided he needed cheering up. It was so great! They arrived around 10:30 am, and Noah and Caleb played some foosball and some video games, then after lunch we went to Science World.  We watched a movie called "Dinos Alive" on the HUGE Imax screen they have there. It was pretty awesome.  We hung out there for the afternoon and on the way back to RMH, Noah "happened" to mention that the gelato shop we went to in July was close by... so Kent turned the car around, and took us for ice cream.  At 5:00.  We ate ice cream for supper.  It was awesome.  Chocolate peanut butter cup ice cream. mmmmm....
The day was not yet over, though! We still had one more play to go to: "As You Like It". Real Shakespeare!  (my favourite) We read the plot of the play online before we went, and again from the program, so he could follow along reasonably well.  He even said he liked it, and thought it was funny, which made me very happy.  It was in a kind of outside theater, so it was pretty chilly, but we brought blankets on the advice of one of the volunteers at RMH and I am glad we did.  Thanks to Chris Steenhof for the tickets and arranging all of that for us!  It was very fun!
Nosh has accumulated quite a collection of jerseys as well: my cousin Debbie asked the Oilers if they would send Noah something, and they sent a Tim Thomas jersey! I know, Tim Thomas has never played for Edmonton, but he did sign with them. In 1998. So it is old, but very cool. Then at the gala, there was a silent auction with loads of different jerseys, like an autographed Dan Hamhuis jersey, an autographed Gordie Howe jersey, lots of other Canucks jerseys and sticks, and one lonely autographed Jordan Eberle Oilers jersey that nobody was bidding on. So I bid $50 and started things off-we ended up getting it for $90, and Noah was thrilled! Then he got the Canucks one from Dan, which was so cool, but was hard for him to wear. He did say he would cheer for the Canucks, and he did, which was made easier by the fact that they were playing Calgary, and no self-respecting Oilers fan would cheer for Calgary! It wasn't natural, though, so we kind of unofficially cheered for nice goals, good passes, and hard hits. It was fun. He has been feeling really good this week and eating a lot! He was on the Dex for 7 days, off for 7 and now tomorrow he goes back on for 7. Hopefully he doesn't experience the same roller coaster of emotion he had the first week. Please pray with me that he tolerates it better this time. One very exciting thing (and yet another blessing) is that on Saturday morning Tom is coming for the weekend! Nosh is so excited! I think I might be more excited than he is, though! Well, it is quite tedious to post on a blog on this phone, so i am going to stop. Hopefully in the next couple of days I can figure out what is going on with my laptop so I can post more regularly! Thank you for your support, meals for our family, and most importantly for keeping us lifted up in prayer! "We are pressed but not crushed....struck down but not destroyed"!!!