Some people never meet their Hero. I gave birth to mine...

Is that a little strong to say? Not in the least. Have you met Evan? He just completed round 11 of his now "maintenance chemo". This young man is defying all the odds. In my eyes, he is an absolute miracle. There's no other way to describe it when you know the physical shape he was in and with all the tests showing how much it had spread. He has worked dang hard and has gained 40 pounds back. And that cough that was so constant and violent, is virtually gone. 

Evan is a dedicated athlete and works out at the gym 7 days a week, 2 hours a day.  He eats a strict diet for body building along with his friend Zac. He "looks" like a healthy and strong young man. And yes, he still has cancer. But you won't "see" it.

One day, he rode his bike to the gym, did his workout and then rode back home. It was a super windy day and a little rough on the return home.  We heard him cough a couple times. Dale and I looked at each other and had this "aha" moment. We realized that he literally has not been coughing at all and that was the first time we heard him cough in quite some time. That is huge. He is doing phenomenally. Evan is like his old self. It's truly incredible. He will probably indefinitely have to continue his chemo maintenance every 3 weeks. There is a chance that his body will become immune to the treatment at some point and then he would need to switch to an alternative treatment. It's kind of like when a certain antibiotic no longer works for you and you need to switch to another kind.

Evan and Braden - Concert time

A question he, and all of us, gets asked all the time is if he is in remission. The doctor says no. That it never will be. On the bright side, he says, we are treating this like Diabetes.  You take the necessary  care of your body the way you would with that. If one medicine stops working for you, you try another. And, he reminds us that many people live long  productive lives as long as they keep a handle on their Diabetes. New meds and treatments are always coming out and that is what has allowed those with Diabetes to live "normal"  and longer lives. Well, it's the same for Evan. The chemo is doing it's job and has shrunk the cancer. It will not completely go away, but it has brought it to a "manageable" stage. And, most importantly, Evan is living life almost like before his diagnosis. They found one new spot on his brain, however, the doc's are just watching it because it is so small. And, it could very well be just a bunch of blood vessels that have adhered to each other. It's also not in a place that is concerning to them. In June, he will have another brain MRI to followup on that.  He will also have another Pet scan to see how the cancer is doing. But as of right now, his blood cancer markers continue to go down. That has slowed down a bit and that is exactly as expected.

So what else is Evan up to? He got to take a trip of a lifetime with Braden, Jordan and Parker to Germany, Amsterdam, London, Paris, and the Eiffel Tower.

They got to see a friend serving on his mission. Justice Santiago, on the far left, a long time baseball buddy. Then pictured is Parker, Jordan, Evan and Braden. 

He completed this last semester at Dixie State University and has decided to take the summer off. He's joined a bowling league this summer with some of his buddies and guess what he bowled last week. 
A 279! Can you believe that? SO close to a perfect game of 300.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation

This organization was extremely generous to Evan. They contacted Steve and worked out a "Hunt of a Lifetime" experience for Evan. It's supposed to be a sure thing that he will get a Deer. It's extremely hard to get your name pulled in the lottery nowadays. He had no idea and was quite surprised. Now, he can't wait for that time to roll around. That brings back great memories of hunting with his dad, brothers and grandpa Moss.

Evan and Garrett-humoring me with a picture while they work. Paul's in the background on his computer. 

Garrett and Madi have moved in with us and this has been a real treat for all of us. Evan moved his work station back home and works downstairs with Garrett. It's great that they get to be together.  Jackson is loving having them here as well. They are so good to him too. We absolutely love having them here. 

The last couple months we've also had 2 of Evan's step-brothers get married. Pretty fantastic days as well. 

Tyler and Laurel 

C.J. and Noelle

More days to celebrate! We are grateful all the way around.