We Are Finished!!!

Hopefully this will be my last post ever! I am very excited to write this... it's been a while since I have updated everyone. Layne has been able to complete all 12 rounds of his chemotherapy. We are all so proud of him. Sometimes at the end they have to adjust your medication so it is not as strong if the paralysis in your hands doesn't go away. Thankfully the tingling would go away in-between each cycle and thankfully there have been no hiccups since Christmas. We did get a phone call this week saying his white blood cell count was too low from the sample they took on Monday and if it didn't go up when they tested his blood again on Wednesday we would have to postpone his last round. They told us this was quite common at the end of chemo but we were all so excited for him to be done we really hoped the levels would go up. Thankfully they did and he was able to go ahead on Wednesday with his last round.

Starting his last round

Layne had a busy week this week. On Tuesday he travelled to Calgary for a PET scan with his Mom and Rusty. They do this scan to make sure the cancer hasn't spread while doing chemotherapy. Layne was able to get the results of that when he went in to his final appointment and get his bottle taken off today. The scan was clean! At this time there is no cancer showing anywhere in his body. We are all so excited. It looks like things are finally going in our favour. I was able to drop Layne off at his final appointment and Jackie, Rusty and Ty picked him up. They brought balloons and timbits for all the nurses. I guess Ty was very hesitant to give them up! haha

Registering for his PET scan

Getting ready for the scan

Thank you Jackie and Rusty for taking him to Calgary

Donuts and balloons!

Saying goodbye to the cancer centre (well for a month anyways haha)

He will now have to get the port in his chest flushed every month, get blood work drawn every three months, get a CT scan of his chest, abdominal and pelvic area every year and get a sigmoidoscopy every year as follow up. So we are not done with everything but we are glad he will be closely monitored. They say it takes 6 months to a year to finally feel back to normal following chemotherapy. So even though he is done today we still have a while before we can get back to normal life.

A final thank you to everyone who helped us out over the past 8 months. We are truly blessed to have such great friends and family. We have been well looked after. We could never repay all the help we have received but will try everyday. It's funny how trials like this make you more aware and sympathetic of all those around you. When you are looking, it is easy to serve others. I am so grateful to have a husband like Layne. He rarely got discouraged throughout these past 8 months. He has been an example to all of us. I am thankful that I have a belief in God, that I believe there is a purpose to this life. Because of this, we are able to find joy even in the darkest of times.

Things are seeming to work out for us. We have sold our house in Lethbridge. It looks like we have found a place to rent in Magrath and it looks like Layne might be able to do his final practicum in Magrath (fingers crossed). The kids and I are heading to Florida in 2 days with my family to visit all of my extended family. Layne is unable to travel to the US for 90 days, so i am being a mean wife and going without him. This will give him a few weeks to recuperate from his final round. It takes that long for him to feel somewhat normal anyways, so it will be a nice break for him. At the end of May if Layne is feeling up to it we are going to take a long road trip to BC to visit Layne's cousin and then travel back across through Seattle to visit his mission. This will probably be the only time both of us will be off work together ever in our lives (I love maternity leave), so we are going to make the best of this summer.

Today is a good day!

Amelia Maie Barnett

Two days after my last post our family welcomed a baby girl into the world. Amelia Maie Barnett arrived on her due date, January 11th. 7 pounds, 12 ounces. She came at Layne's worst time after chemo. I went into the hospital at 11pm at night. We were very sad Layne wasn't able to be there for the delivery. He stayed at home and my mom and sister in law Ciana were able to come in with me. Ciana was able to take pictures and take some video throughout the night. So, Layne is able to see how the night progressed and we got her first cry on video. I was okay that Layne wasn't there up until she was born. Then I was very sad he wasn't able to be there. Layne was able to come in about an hour after she was born and meet her, and then headed home to have a nap. Little things like that wear him out pretty good right now. I was actually a little relieved he didn't try to come to the delivery. He doesn't do well with me being in pain in previous labours. I won't get into details but dry heaving in the corner of the room is involved :) This labour was by far my worst. The pain was significantly worst than my previous two pregnancies. I was very happy to get an epidural and I know he would not have managed well with this one. Amelia is one sweet little girl. She is definitely a blessing in our lives right now. 

Layne first meeting Amelia

Layne was able to come back later on in the day to see the boys meet Amelia

Amelia gets to go meet all the nurses at the cancer centre tomorrow. Layne starts his next round tomorrow. He met with the oncologist today and he seemed pretty excited Layne is doing so well and getting close to being finished. It makes us excited. We also met with the surgeon today about Layne's hernia. He still isn't convinced Layne has one. He thinks it could just be muscle weakness. He will look at the PET scan that Layne is getting in March. It will give him a better look at his stomach and then he will see what it is. In the mean time he wants Layne to try and do as much strength training to build up his abdominal and back muscles as he can. He says he will not do the surgery until Layne is recovered from chemo and in good health. 

This weekend Layne celebrated his 31st birthday. It was fun to have my parents down to celebrate with all of us. Its good to have things to look forward to and fun things to do.

He got a gourmet meal of beef tenderloin for his birthday!

Singing happy birthday

First Sunday together! I love our little family!

Good Start To A New Year

Well I sit here 2 days away from my due date. Quite annoyed and uncomfortable. With both my other pregnancies I went early. But it looks like this little girl is quite comfortable where she is. I shouldn't complain too much because I was hoping for a January baby and I am so happy I didn't have her in December. I have an appointment with the Dr next Tuesday to make a game plan if she doesn't come this weekend. I had a Dr's appointment today and everything looks good right now. I am having a few more contractions tonight, that are getting a little more intense, so fingers crossed! I wasn't going to post anything until she was born but people have started to ask how Layne is doing so I thought I would give a quick update. 

His round right before Christmas went really well again. The boys were able to go and deliver candy canes to all the nurses and patients there. They had a blast. They dressed up as reindeer and went around the clinic. Everyone loved them and we really hope it brightened their day. I am glad that my children find joy in helping others, even at a young age. I think it will start a tradition in our family. We will try to do it every year! Layne finished his round Christmas Eve. We have a big family dinner and activities and nativity on Christmas Eve, and Layne decided to stay home. He didn't want to pick up anything from anyone. I don't blame him, and thankfully with everything thats going around out there, our little family still hasn't been sick. This is definitely a blessing in our lives.

Ready for the cancer centre

Ready to hand out their candy canes. They had "sweet ones and spicy ones", and people got to choose which ones they wanted.

It was a tradition for Layne to get 5 guys after each round of chemo before his second surgery. This was his last meal before his second surgery. He has been avoiding it because it brings back memories but he overcame that with his round before Christmas! We quite enjoyed the burgers!!

He just finished his 8th round this week. We are 2/3rds of the way done! He only has 4 more rounds to go. Things are still looking pretty good. With each round he just gets more and more tired. He could sleep forever I think but its nice he has 2 busy boys to help keep him motivated. He usually takes a long nap each day but is a wonderful husband and father and helps all that he can. His hands still bother him. They go numb on and off but it still goes away in-between treatments so they will not adjust his medication yet. He still goes to the hospital to get hydrated for 4 days after a treatment. This seems to work for him, so we are not going to stop doing it. I am glad things seem to be going so well and hope the last 4 rounds prove to be the same! I am excited for this year. I know what Layne is going through is hard but I have no doubt in my mind once he gets through this he is going to feel so much better than he has in a very long time! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

This year I have decided not to do Christmas cards. Life's a little chaotic and i'm always trying to save a buck, so we decided to just post a few pictures on here and do a little Christmas post. This will reach a lot more people than our cards would have anyways! Than I will update you on Layne.

I normally would update everyone on our year, in our cards but I think everyone is quite aware of the year we have had. So I have been trying to think of things that have happened that we have been very grateful for this year, that you might not be aware of.

1) Anyone who knows me knows I detest being pregnant. After having Ty I was adamant I was not having anymore children. Earlier this year we decided to broach the possibility of having one more child. In my life I have always relied heavily on prayer to help guide and direct me. This was a very serious decision for me as I am a high risk pregnancy due to having a DVT (blood clot) with my first pregnancy...and I hate being pregnant :) In our church we also have temples we can attend. Like in the days of the old testament, God commanded his people to build temples, that are considered sacred, so he can help teach, guide and bless us. So for this decision I also went to the Cardston temple looking for an answer to my prayers. I was able to receive an answer. I knew we had one more child ready to come down to meet us. I have never had an experience like that. So of course We were able to get pregnant right away but had a miscarriage at 6 weeks. I was wondering why it happened but we tried again and were able to get pregnant 2 weeks after having the miscarriage. I thought that was weird that it happened so quickly, I honestly wondered if I hadn't had a miscarriage. If I hadn't my due date would have put me right when we were back in the hospital with Layne's second surgery.  That would have been a nightmare. Right now it looks like life will be a bot more calm when the baby comes and Layne should be able to make the birth. I am thankful to be able to recognize these small blessings in our life. I am thankful we made the decision to have one more child, as had I not been pregnant when all this happened I would not have been having another baby. I am glad we listened to those promptings.

2) In May this year we were able to go on a family trip. I was feeling pretty anxious about spending some time with our family and having some fun when Layne was done his semester at school. My parents planned a trip to vegas for a week and invited my family along. We decided to go down a week earlier and drive from Vegas to California to spend some time there and have some fun there. We are very careful with our money and normally don't splurge but I am glad we did spend some money and enjoy time together. Layne at that time was having really bad abdominal pain and bleeding while we were down there but a few days into the trip it all disappeared while we were there and he was able to enjoy the trip without feeling sick. I am so glad nothing serious happened while we were there. Again I am thankful we were able to do this before the second half of the year happened. It was much needed for our family.

3) Speaking of money, I am glad I married a man who is "frugal" :) We have always been very careful with money. I am thankful for this. We would have a lot more stress in our lives this year had we not been financially okay. I am also thankful that we have family here who help us and Jackie and Rusty letting us live with them. This has eased our financial burden as well. I am thankful we were able to find renters for our house so quickly after making the decision to move to Magrath. I am so thankful to have a job where I can provide for our family if needed. I have always felt strongly about getting an education and keeping a job and my license as a dental hygienist. I now know why.

4) I am thankful for my Saviour Jesus Christ. I am thankful for the atonement. I am thankful for the scriptures and knowledge and understanding it gives us. I am thankful for this time of year and how we can focus on the birth of the Saviour. I am thankful for opportunities to serve others, to try to be the best we can be by following the Saviours example. There is a video that has been floating around this christmas season that I absolutely love. It's a beautiful rendition of "Angels We Have Heard On High". Here's the link,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrLoWt2tfqg


5) Lastly, I am thankful for my husband. I came across a quote that I think completely describes us.

"A strong marriage doesn't always have two strong people at the same time. It has a husband and wife who take turns being strong for each other in the moments when the other feels weak."

I have always said that I feel like Layne and I compliment each other. When I am not okay he always knows how to help me and has a good head on his shoulders about what is going on. When he is struggling, I am always able to help him and be level headed. During everything that has happened this year there have been times where this stands true, we have been there for each other. When Both of us are struggling together it has been through your prayers and concern that has helped lift us up. Thank you!

Merry Christmas From The Barnett Family!!! (see update on Layne below)

Layne has done well with another round again. He is starting to notice his hair thinning and its becoming more course. He won't loose it but he notices a change. This time he also had the neuropathy in his hands. After we left his treatment from the hospital we stopped at Costco for lunch and a quick grocery shop. We ate first because the boys and I were starving. Layne sat at the table with the boys while I got the food. When I got to the table I noticed Layne holding his hands funny. He couldn't move them or move his fingers. I ended up having to feed him his pizza. I wonder what people were thinking. Here I am 9 months pregnant, 2 crazy boys and feeding my husband. All I could do was laugh. The neuropathy would come and go over the next 4 days only lasting for about 15 minutes long. Usually touching something cold would trigger it. This is what the oncologist is most worried about. Eventually chemo can cause permanent paralysis of your finger tips. We have to monitor it carefully and make sure it goes away between treatments. If it starts to become more of a problem they will eliminate another drug. You can also tell after each round it takes him a bit longer to rebound from it. He gets a little more tired with each round.

Layne was able to get an ultrasound and was diagnosed with a hernia. It's tiny but will flare up every once in a while and be quite painful. He also thinks he is getting another one on the other side of his stomach, so we will be going in for another ultrasound most likely. He has an appointment with the surgeon at the end of January to find out what the treatment will be for that.

Layne's next round will be next Monday. He will get his bottle taken off on Christmas Eve. He isn't getting a break for Christmas :) Fingers crossed he will feel good on Christmas day. Blake came up with a great idea to hand out candy canes to all the nurses and patients that are at the cancer centre on Monday. That should be fun for them! I have an appointment on January 2nd with my OBGYN. He is going to see if he can get things started, as Layne will be on his "off week" that week and will be feeling his best. We are going to have a busy few weeks with family here and geting ready for the baby to come!!

This little nut got water on his pants and wouldn't wear them and then became obsessed with gloves and decided to put them on both feet and hands!

Snuggles with dad while he got his his bottle off and hydrated. 

Getting hydrated a few days after getting his bottle off. He had a nice snooze. He was TIRED!

Breakfast at Cora's

Layne was able to meet with his hockey hero Theoren Fleury almost a few weeks ago. I did not go with him as I was down in the states on a last minute trip with his sister, dropping off his brother/sis-in-law at the airport. I was able to get almost all of my christmas shopping done :) Rusty and his nephew Brock were able to take him and were invited to the breakfast. Because I wasn't there I had Layne fill us in on what happened!

"Theo Fleury has been my hockey hero for my entire life. When I was a little boy, he was my hockey idol, I wanted to be just like him. I was drawn to him because of his size (being small) and his hard work attitude that made him successful throughout his entire hockey career. A highlight of my life was when I attended his hockey school as a young boy. At the end of the week of hockey school, there was the “Fleury Cup.” My team ended up losing the game and I was devastated. When I went back to the dressing room, I was crying. Fleury’s wife noticed that I was crying and she told me that she had something special for me. She went out of the room for a few minutes and brought back Theo’s Stanley Cup ring and gave it for me to wear. It was very cool! Fleury was an excellent hockey player and even a better person. While I was in the hospital for the second time, my sister-in-law Paige, wrote a email to Fleury and explained to him the situation. His secretary got back to her right away and said that Fleury would be happy to meet me. It was arranged that we would have breakfast on November 23! It was really exciting to have something to look forward to while I was recuperating from surgery. The day finally came and it was fantastic. We ended up going to breakfast at Cora's in Lethbridge. We all sat down (Theo, myself, Brock, Rusty, Theo’s girlfriend and his assistant) and enjoyed nice conversation together. We talked about his days with the Flames and the infamous World Junior hockey game where he jumped on the back of the Russian and player. Brock was also able to get some good hockey tips from Theo Too! Theo was very kind and showed sympathy toward the situation and said that in times of darkness, you need to stay positive. Theo was a great hockey player, but even a better person! Thanks again Paige for setting it up!!"

Signing Layne's book

Theo tweeted about Layne after their breakfast

Layne's Nephew

Since then Layne has had another round of chemo. It went well.  He again had pretty extreme diarrhea but we were able to manage it. The night after Layne meet Theo, Blake started to have his abdominal pain again. I was going to take the boys up to Edmonton after Layne was finished his round but decided to take them up the day he started because we were up all night long for 2 night again with Blake. This way Layne's Mom and Rusty and Sister were able to help him and I was able to get help with Blake from my Parent's and Layne didn't have to worry about him and get good sleeps. (Of course he still worried but was able to sleep and get the rest he needed :) ) During this round of chemo Layne started to have the same spot on his abdomen hurting the same as before when he had the small bowel obstruction. Thankfully he had no other symptoms and has been able to pass gas and have bowel movements regularly. But he has developed a bulge on the right hand side of his surgery scar and could hardly stand up it hurt so bad. For the last week he has been complaining that it feels like stuff stops there and gurgles and bubbles. It finally clicked just a few nights ago that he has a hernia! We called the office of the surgeon who did his last surgery to see if we could get in to get it assessed and see if that was actually it. Surprise, surprise, nothing can be easy. His assistant said they have no record of Layne in their system because he was admitted through emerg and not through surgery when he was last at the hospital, so Layne had to make an appointment with our family doctor to get a referral. He thinks it is an atypical hernia, based on it's location. It is in behind his abdominal muscles so he couldn't get a good feel of it, but he says based on all other symptoms it sounds like it is one. So at this point we are assuming it's a hernia and are still waiting to get an appointment with the surgeon. Makes me mad how he has a post operative complication and you can't get in for a follow-up. We then called the surgeon who did his original surgery, his assistant was able to speak to the surgeon and he said most likely they wouldn't have to do surgery again until after Layne is done chemo, and even though Layne should be seeing the other surgeon he would see Layne to assess it. We are still waiting for an appointment there too. It looks like we won't be seen until the new year. We will see who can get us in first, but it would be nice to stick with the surgeon who did his first surgery,  as he will be doing all of his scopes in the years to come. Our GP said the only way they would do emergency surgery on the hernia is if it became "strangled" (I think that's the term he used). If not, then it could be 9 months to a year before we could get it fixed. We meet with the oncologist on Monday again to see if they will proceed with the next round on Tuesday. I hope something can happen and the surgeon and oncologist can co-ordinate and make a game plan. This is when I wish we had all the money in the world and just pay to get the treatment we need. Layne now has a belly belt and it seems to help with the pain a bit and he can walk a bit better. I hope it settles down a bit because I don't want him to deal with pain for the next 9 months. 

Hanging out with dad at the hospital just before leaving to Edmonton

Getting hydrated with his mom while we were gone

Can you see the bulge on the right side of his scar. It's kinda hard to see in this picture but it's definitely there.

Blake ended up having his tummy pain again for seven nights straight. I thought it would never go away. We meet with his paediatrician last monday to discuss what his follow-up ultrasound showed. The pain started again the night before his appointment. It showed the lymph nodes in his colon were still inflamed but we were told that the pain would be temporary. The thing is that day, he was not experiencing any pain during the day again. Once up in Edmonton and after night 3 of pain I decided to take him into the Edmonton children's hospital. I can't describe how hard it is to watch your child in such bad pain. At this point during the day he just laid on the couch all curled up in a ball and was complained he had a tummy ache but he wasn't having the extreme pain he was having at night. They again assured me that it was just the lymph nodes and it would get better. I still can't believe swollen lymph nodes can cause that much pain. By night 7 he woke up by 9pm and the pain was coming hard and fast. My mom and me took him in to the hospital again. They did a urine sample and an x-ray which still showed nothing. They again told me it was most likely his lymph nodes due to a virus he picked up. I guess I might always assume the worse now because it took us 5 years to have layne diagnosed and I feel like our health care system doesn't run the necessary tests. I explained to the Dr that she probably thought I was crazy but I don't trust Dr's. I explained to her Layne's situation and said I wanted to make sure they were certain and running all the tests that needed to be done to make sure this is actually what it was. She sat down and went through everything with me. I said how do we know it's not it's bacterial, or a parasite or celiac, or lupus or lymphoma. I won't bore you with details but after she was done I felt a lot better about things. Thankfully since that night he hasn't had the same pain. Occasionally he will complain his tummy hurts and still sleeps with a heat pad. (I think that brought him lots of comfort for those 7 nights). I pray every night that the pain won't come back, that it was just a virus. With our baby due in just under 5 weeks I really hope this will be long gone by the time she gets here. He was finally able to go to preschool for one day this week and skating. Hopefully we can get back into the swing of things. A big thank you to my mom, dad, and brother for helping with the boys while I was in Edmonton. I think I would be in the looney bin if it wasn't for you. My mom was able to help sleep with Blake so I could get some good sleeps. Thank you Jackie, Rusty and Ciana for taking care of Layne while I was gone because again, I would be in the looney bin! (Is that politically correct anymore haha)

Wouldn't even get off the couch to colour!

The red flush would come out on Blakes cheeks again when he would get tired. This is us waiting in emerg for 3 hours.

He even started getting the red flush all over his body!

This is how he spent his days on the couch

Last night of pain in emerg. He loved getting his back rubbed and would sleep like this with a heat pad squished in his tummy most of the night. 

On a positive note Layne was able to come to my work christmas party last night. After getting the belly belt he felt good enough to go. We enjoyed ourselves. It was good food, company and fun games. each year we play this money game. It is super fun. This year me and another girl tied at the end and one the jack pot. We decided to split it. I guess we are lucky that way! It's nice to get out with Layne!

Playing the game!

Big winners!

Cancer Perks

Layne is the first to attest that there are not many perks to having cancer but the term "cancer perk" has been thrown around at our house. Whenever someone goes out of their way and does something nice, we say "well that's a cancer perk". This week he definitely had a major cancer perk. Layne's dad along with the help of a few other's was able to get in touch with Kris Versteeg who plays hockey for the Chicago Blackhawks, as well as a rep with the Calgary Flames. He set up that we would be able to meet Kris in Calgary the morning before they played the Flames at their morning skate. Then we were able to meet some of the Flames players after the game that night. Let's just say the day turned out much better than expected. Layne is still on cloud nine.

The week started off not so nice. Blake had 2 nights in a row where he was having waves of severe abdominal pain. Let's just say after watching Layne go through such horrific pain and then watching our son have it as well, almost put us all over the edge. The weird thing was during the day the pain went away but you could tell he was not feeling well. On night 2 when the pain started again I was able to take him to our Doctors house and get him assessed to make sure it wasn't anything like appendicitis. He didn't have a fever and at that point no nausea. After he was assessed we knew it was nothing crazy at that point but he told me to call first thing in the morning if things didn't get better. We gave him gravel and tylenol and a heat pad which seemed to kind of help the pain. He did throw up once after a wave of pain. So by the morning I called the Dr again and he got him in to do abdominal X-rays, blood work and urinalysis. The x-ray showed nothing significant but he called the paediatrician on call at the hospital to discuss everything with her. They were concerned that perhaps maybe he had something called intussusception. (I would explain it but haven't researched it enough but long story short if he had it it would cause a small bowel obstruction and surgery may have been required) So she asked to see Blake at the hospital and ordered an ultrasound. At this point Blake was no longer allowed to eat or drink. Thankfully he didn't have an appetite or it would have been a much longer day.  We got there just after 11 AM and were there until 6ish. By the time the Dr came to see us Blake was ready to go home. The ultrasound showed he did not have intussusception. The only thing it showed was he had a piece of stool sitting right by his appendix (they could actually feel it when they were feeling around his tummy) which had a little fluid around it and he had some swollen lymph nodes around that area but after consulting with the surgeon they did not think it was appendicitis. She noticed it looked like he might have strep throat and said that can sometimes cause stomach pain in children. So she started him on antibiotics until we got the results back and said she would call if the swab they took came back negative, and then Blake could stop the antibiotics. We never got a call so he must have had it. So we went home. It took Blake a few days to get back to his normal self. He was wiped from having two rough nights but thankfully the pain didn't come back that night. He just had a follow up ultrasound today and we will meet with the paediatrician next week. Hopefully this was just some sort of nasty stomach bug and that's the end of it! I am so glad they ruled out anything serious and took us seriously. We needed it at this time of our lives. Again I am so glad we are living at Jackie and Rusty's house. We needed the help those few days. Jackie sometimes says that our family should be on a reality TV show... sometimes I think she is right haha.

For a few days when Blake would get tired his cheeks would go bright red

Looking around his room in emerge

Having a snooze waiting for the Dr to come

He got a sticker after his follow up ultrasound today

He had to fast for the ultrasound so Grandma took him for pancakes after his appointment! 

Thankfully Blake was feeling better and it didn't spoil Layne's exciting day.  When Layne found out he was going to the Calgary VS. Blackhawks game he was so excited and decided to invite me! I for sure thought he would invite someone who would be as excited as he was but he was adamant he was taking me. Between his siblings and some friends I thought for sure someone would slip something in my drink to take me out of the running to go with him. Thankfully everyone was nice and bit their tongue... for the most part :) Layne had a friend one night surprise him by dropping off a Blackhawks Jersey to take with him to get signed. People are truly kind and amazing. Because we weren't sure if Layne would be extremely tired after his last round of chemo, we planned to drive up wednesday night and stay at my Aunt and Uncle's house, get a good sleep and then go to the practice in the morning. We are so grateful for their hospitality and yummy food :) On the way up we were able to meet Layne's good friend Kevin for some supper. The first thing Layne wanted to eat after his last surgery was Famoso pizza and has been craving it ever since. So we decided that would be a good place to stop and catch up with Kevin. Layne has wonderful friend's. I am so glad he has kept in touch with all of them.

Thankfully Layne has done awesome after this round of chemo. He had a few days where he was drained and had diarrhea. His other brother and wife came home to visit him from Arizona and were able to take him to the hospital to get hydrated a few times. This really seemed to help. I am so happy Layne has such supportive family.

The big day finally came and we made our way to the Saddledome to go to the Blackhawks morning skate. While we were there Layne noticed Kelly Hrudey sitting across the way and decided to go and chat with him. He was very nice and Layne was glad he got to meet him.

Kelly and Layne at the morning skate

When the practice was over, before the players got off the ice they called Layne down to the dressing room area. Kris was the first one to come off the ice and introduced himself and handed Layne his signed practice stick. We got a picture and he told Layne not to go anywhere. That he had something for him and told him everyone else would be coming off and to get pictures with them and he would be back when he was dressed. At that point you could see Layne was ecstatic. I thought he might collapse haha. I was the official photographer and Layne got to get pictures with all the players as they came off and had a few of them sign his Jersey. All of them were so kind and wished him well with his fight with cancer. When Kris came back he brought Layne a Jersey that had been signed by the whole team. The back had his number, one sleeve had Kane's number and the other sleeve had Toew's number. I thought Layne would die. Let's just say this Jersey is going up in Layne's future "mancave". He was able to talk with Layne for a while. He reserved tickets for Layne and Russ (Layne's dad) and I for that night's game. We got to sit with his family and they were awesome seats. He was so kind. Thank you so much!

Layne and Versteeg

Layne and Toews

Layne and Carcillo

Layne and Kane

Layne talking to the assistant coach Kevin Dineen

Versteeg, Layne and Hossa

Layne and Seabrook

After that We went back to my Aunt and Uncle's house so Layne could have a nap. He was wasted after all the excitement from the morning. When he woke up we were treated to a nice roast beef dinner and then we headed back to the Saddledome for the game. The game was an awesome one to be at. Layne has been a diehard Flames fan all his life but after the morning he decided he would be cheering for the Blackhawks. I wore Layne's flames jersey so he wasn't completely cheating on them. The Blackhawk's won. Kris Versteeg got two assists. It was an intense third period. At the end of the period we went up to the top of the section to meet a rep from the Flames. Layne quickly switched his jersey. She took us downstairs and Layne was able to go into the Flame's locker room. Layne was in awe. He was able to meet a few of the player's. He was able to have Monahan sign his Jersey. Sadly no body hung around because they had lost. As we were driving home Layne still couldn't believe all that had happened that day. He slept like a baby that night and has been in awesome spirits since. A big thank you to Layne's dad for getting all this set up and for those willing to brighten his day and bring him some happiness during this difficult time. Thank you to all our family for watching the boys, so we were able to do this. This week isn't over yet. While Layne was in the hospital in extreme pain our sister in law Paige got ahold of Flame's former player Theoren Fleury. He is Layne's hero. She set up for him to have breakfast with him later this week. So we will be having another exciting post coming soon!

Waiting for the game to start

We were 18 rows up!

Walking into the Flame's dressing room

All of their sticks

Layne loved looking at all of their equipment

Layne and Monahan

Glencross and Layne

Layne and Hiller