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April 4, 2003 - Whew! Another week of radiation done. Only 2 more treatments to go!! Aidan is feeling really well, running around the house playing with his wooden sword and shield (okay, it's really a metal pot lid, but don't tell Aidan). We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend with no radiation/chemo/shots/7:00 am appointments/etc.  

April 3, 2003  - Only 3 more radiation treatments to go!!! This morning went extremely smooth. Aidan's mouth sores haven't gotten any worse; in fact, they seem to be improving. This is all, in my opinion, due to Corinne's excellent care. She makes sure he gets his various mouthwashes and medicines around the clock. Way to go Mommy! The 2 new pictures are Aidan's favorite video games right now...  :-)

  April 2, 2003 - Only 4 more radiation treatments to go! Aidan is plugging through like a real trooper these days. Despite all the pain and discomfort, he's not really complaining too much. We are really proud of him.

March 27, 2003 - The mouth sores continue, but the doctors prescribed him some new pain killers to help ease the pain until radiation is over on April 8th. Aside from that, he's doing pretty well. His face is staying red where the radiation is applied, and they say it will get darker each time. It looks like a sunburn now. Fortunately, the skin coloration is only a temporary thing. The mouth sores may take more time to heal, but they too are not permanent.

March 25, 2003 - Aidan is feeling pretty lousy today. He has a bad cough and runny nose (probably from the radiation). To make matters worse, he's gotten to where he can't take any oral medicine without throwing it up. The mouth sores are getting really bad too. They seem to go away over the weekend, but come right back when radiation starts again. Come on April 8th! That's his last day of radiation.

We added a new picture to Butch's Place, so check it out.

March 20, 2003 - We are sitting in Texas Childrens watching the Iraq "A-Day" action on Fox News as Aidan hydrates from yesterday's chemotherapy. This morning, he got to ride in an ambulance over to MD Anderson for his radiation. They make them ride the ambulance so they can keep the IV hooked up. He did really well, and I'm sure he will enjoy a few days off from the radiation. He starts back on Monday. All in all, he's feeling okay, but the radiation is starting to cause some sores in his mouth. Poor little guy. I know it must hurt him. Thankfully we have some "magic mouthwash" that numbs him so he can eat/drink.

We're all here in the room (me, Corinne, Adam, Carrie, Liam) with Aidan, and we're having fun playing video games, watching movies, and eating too much junk food! Adam just solved his GameCube game, "Star Fox Adventures." Carrie made a cute sock puppet for Aidan. Also, the Hightower High School baseball team came by and gave the kids some balloons and balls. That was really cool.

(Carrie and Aidan show off their basketball hoop they made together at Texas Childrens)

March 17, 2003 - We removed our home phone and address from the site for security reasons. If you need that information, just Email Aidan to ask for it.

Aidan is feeling well today. Adam and Carrie are on Spring Break, so the whole family (except Dad) is going to radiation each morning. I'm sure the kids would rather sleep in instead of driving to the Medical Center at 6:45 each morning, but they aren't complaining.

March 12, 2003 - "Dr. Evil plots to take over the world..."  :-)
(In case you don't know, Dr. Evil is the bad guy from the Austin Powers movies. We just thought this picture was funny since he looks like him.)

March 11, 2003 - I want to thank everyone who has been sending email to Aidan.  It means a lot to us. Aidan is doing well these days. He started radiation last Thursday and has not had any problems yet. Since he started treatment, he has grown 1.2 inches but lost around 1 lb. No wonder he looks so tall to us! The doctors are not concerned about his weight loss since he was such a hardy little guy when this all started. Of course, any sustained weight loss would be cause for concern. Only time will tell. Thanks again for all your support and for reading Aidan's Journey.

March 7, 2003 - I added a new page called Butch's Place to the web site. You will have to go read the page to find out the meaning of the name. We have lots of pictures we want to post on the site, and Butch's Place is one way to do that. Go check it out.

March 6, 2003 - We got the results of Aidan's CT scan back today and they were ALL CLEAR!! The spots in his lungs were just little air pockets that were not completely filled with air...nothing to worry about. Needless to say, we are all ecstatic. I plan on posting some new pictures soon, so check back in a day or so.

March 4, 2003 - DONATION UPDATE: As of today, Aidan has 30 blood donation credits at the blood center. We want to thank every one of you who donated in his name! So, THANKS A LOT!

On a personal note, I donate in what is called a "directed donation", where they actually use my blood for his transfusion. In last week's transfusion, they used my blood for the first time. It was a special feeling to know part of me was helping him pull through. Since I can only donate every 8 weeks, your donations will ensure he has an adequate supply.

 Finally, in case you were wondering, the little pictures all over this site are things that Aidan likes or is into at the time...Also, if some of the graphics don't show up, just hit Refresh (the MSN servers are slow at times).

March 3, 2003 - Aidan went in for his overnight chemo treatment last week. He also got fitted for his radiation mask. This mask fits tightly on his face and has the directional markings on it so they don't have to tattoo his nose to guide the radiation beams. They ran a bunch more scans again for the standard 12 week check-up (CT, MRI, chest x-ray). We are waiting to meet with Dr. Mueller on Thursday to discuss these scans. The CT scan shows some questionable readings in his lungs. We start radiation treatment this Wednesday for the next 6 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for Aidan!   

February 18, 2003 - Many thanks to the fine folks at the Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center for holding a blood drive at work. They listed Aidan's name on the donation slip, and tons of people signed up to donate blood in his name. I'll get the actual numbers later this month. Even I decided to roll up my sleeve (for the first time) and donate for my little buddy. We anticipate a great need for blood in the coming weeks, so every drop counts!! Thanks again to everyone who donated for Aidan. We really appreciate it! If you want to donate for Aidan, just tell your donation center you want to donate for Aidan Higdon at Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston, TX. They should be able to work things from there.

February 10, 2003 - Wow, I can't believe it is already February. Well, Aidan is taking his treatment like a Pro now. We just finished our 4th overnight stay for the VAC meds (3 types of chemo drugs). He seems to always run a fever the day after his treatment, so that means we have to hang around Texas Children's for a few days. Sometimes he needs a blood transfusion too. All in all, he's doing well. We start radiation in 3-4 weeks, which won't be much fun...  :-(    Finally, below is a picture of Aidan with his CareBears from this weekend:

December 10, 2002 - The spinal, bone marrow, and MRI returned negative! This means the cancer hasn't spread to anywhere else in his body (at least from what they can tell from the tests). Also, the pathology report determined that Aidan's cancer is in fact Stage II Rhadbomyosarcoma (Avolear type). He has been placed on a 42 week protocol including chemotherapy and radiation. The little guy is doing well, and goes in for his second chemo treatment today. 

 November 26, 2002 - Results of the bone scan and body CT scan show no traces of cancer anywhere in his body!!! We still have to do the spinal tap, bone marrow test, and head/neck MRI, but we are very happy to get this news today!!! Now if we could just get the pathology report...

November 20, 2002 - Aidan goes into Texas Children's Hospital to have a suspicious mass removed from his nose.  The doctors performed a frozen biopsy on it and surmised it to be a rhabdomyosarcoma (a rare childhood cancer). The full pathology report will tell exactly what it is.