Why Today?

This morning Maddy woke up to the horn of the fire engine honking.  Uncle Travis was here to pick up Brendan, Aaron and Atticus for a Fire Truck Ride to Hyrum.

 Up until 1/2 an hour before Travis arrived, Brendan was unsure about whether he would be up to riding or not.  Pain is pretty intense in the morning and so is the fatigue.

 But Brendan rallied and made it!

Brendan made it to the parade but just missed getting soaked by the Fire Trucks.  (Travis knows where we sit!)

 Afterwards, it was dinner at Grandma's house.

 What?  All this good food, and Brendan's eating pizza?

 After a long nap, Brendan woke up with a lot of shoulder and back pain.  "Why today?" Brendan asked.  He found it frustrating to want to do all the traditional holiday activities, but was hampered by weakness and pain.

After more resting and some pain management, Brendan made it to the Hyrum fireworks.  Landon helped him set off his birthday fireworks.  He said he was glad he made it.

 After returning home, the pain again increased.  Brendan has blood draws tomorrow and is scheduled for radiation set up on Wednesday.  They hope to radiate the areas of his worst pain.  He may have to return Thursday to finish up the painful spots on his side, shoulder, and knee.  It is so nice to know there are things we can do to help his pain.

While it wasn't the same 4th of July Brendan is used to celebrating, he was still able to do more today than he has done most days recently.  It's getting harder for him to participate in activities, have the energy to join in, and even just be places.  When the pain hits, Brendan just wants to be home.