Sunday was the Throw Your Cannonballs For Kayne Fundraiser

Hello friends and family- We are into the 7th week of classes and activity for Kayne. Kayne is off today and didn’t have any medical appointments so he has been able to rest. Monday September 25, 2017- Kayne wasn’t feeling well and only made it to two classes. Tuesday September 26, 2017- Kayne had speech therapy and his Avastin infusion during the day. At 4pm Kayne spent an hour at the imaging center for his MRI. After the MRI, we picked up dinner at Chipotle and at Kayne’s request we took it back and ate it at his room. We were expecting a call from the doctor regarding the MRI on Wednesday or Thursday, but received a call from Dr. Simms shortly after we finished dinner on Tuesday. Dr. Simms said she had to call us to let us know the scans did not show any new growth for all the tumors. There was a slight reduction noted. Now, this is great news but leaves us with the need for answers. As Kayne remarked, “I don’t understand how there is not growth with my symptoms worse!” We all agree. The medical teams were going to get with the other two teams in Florida and Cincinnati to discuss the MRI and symptoms. In the meantime, Kayne is going to work with physical therapy and speech therapy. He has been in the wheelchair/scooter for six weeks now and his legs have gotten weaker. They will try to build his strength up in his legs and the muscles in his face to help him speak. Perhaps, God is hearing our prayers and is slowly reversing the disease! I pray for this everyday along with thousands of people we have around the world following Kayne’s journey. Wednesday September 27, 2017- Kayne made up his mind to only attend half of his classes the rest of the week to try and recover his energy. He also has a cold with deep congestion so that wears on his body also. Kirsten worked on Cannonballs event stuff to get ready for the event. Thursday September 28, 2017- A friend, Lisa Laughlin from Florida arrived this morning so she hung out with Kirsten for the day. They took Kayne to physical therapy during the afternoon. Thursday evening, Kim Bowman with the Bella Bowman Foundation came to Kayne’s dorm room and cut his hair. We are so thankful for the kindness. Take time to read Bella’s story at www.bellabowman.org She was also a fighter of brain cancer, a neuroblastoma. We will beat this soon. Friday September 29, 2017- Kayne went to class and then he and a few of his friends went on a scavenger hunt around campus. It was an assignment for one of their classes and they had to go to different areas on campus and take a photograph. It was nice of his friends to join him. Kayne had several packages at the student mail center, so they helped him get the packages to his room as well. LSU had a swim meet at home. Kirsten and Lisa ended up working the meet because they were short on referees. I got Kayne there right at the time the meet was starting. He wanted to rest before the meet. LSU won the swim meet against Tulane and Loyola. The other neat thing about the meet, Kayne and Keagan’s good friend Jack Laughlin who swim for Loyola was there and we got to watch him compete. We also got to see a former Northern Kentucky Clipper, Lilly Morgan with Tulane swim. She swam with the boys when we lived in Kentucky. After the meet was over, the swim team played Kayne’s video and shared his story. The team then surrounded him and presented him with his very own letterman jacket. What an emotional moment as everyone was clapping and cheering for Kayne. Then the swim teams and coaches all did cannonballs in support of Kayne. Saturday September 29, 2017- It was family weekend here at LSU so Kayne’s suitemate’s parents were in town. Kayne’s friend from Florida, Juliana and her mom flew in for the weekend to visit him as well. We were going to go to dinner, but it is hard to talk to everyone in a restaurant with a large group. Angelle’s business, “The Cage” came to the rescue. We used her party space and had food delivered for a large group. It was a great time visiting with the new friends, our beloved host family and a few friends from Florida. We didn’t go to the game as Kayne decided he wanted to rest up for the big event Sunday. We picked a good game to miss. It was not pleasant as we lost to Troy 21-24. Sunday October 1, 2017- The day arrived for the Cannonballs For Kayne fundraiser. It was a great turn out. We had a great group of volunteers from the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. They helped set up, work the event at the cashier table, serving drinks, and tear down, clean up and pack it all up. What a great group! We had face painting, a bounce house for the kids, a home run derby, music, and of course great plate of Jambalaya. We also introduced a new tech shirt and I must say it looks and feels awesome. We sold a lot of shirts and we still have shirts available. The shirts are grey tech, short sleeve. Go to www.cannonballsforkayne.org once at the site, click on Events and order under Event T-Shirt to be shipped. Add to the cart and pay via PayPal. This event was successful due to the hard work by the Cannonballs For Kayne Foundation board member, Angelle Simon. She is the daughter of our host family and she worked tirelessly getting corporate sponsors, prizes for raffles and much more. We had other help with coolers and tables and much more. Deric Breaux also did a lot for us. Deric was a corporate sponsor, plus he stored drinks and supplies at his business Deric’s Heating & Air in Port Allen, LA. He iced down all the coolers and transported everything for the event with his trailer. He helped fill every plate off food. Over 600 plates! He also helped take everything down and hauled stuff back to his shop until items could be picked up. We would like to thank all the corporate sponsors, people and companies whom donated items and all the volunteers who helped make this event a success. After deducting all expenses for the event, we raised $9,000.00 for the Cannonballs For Kayne Foundation. Monday October 2, 2017- Yesterday, Kirsten headed home to Florida for two doctor appointments on Tuesday. That put me as the primary guy with Kayne. This was a rare opportunity for me because Kirsten like most moms will not miss anything. I wanted her to take a few extra days at home in Florida, but she booked her flight back to Baton Rouge for tonight (Tuesday) after her appointments. So, for me, I just drive and do the other stuff for her and Kayne. Kayne fell asleep right after he and I ate dinner in his room. The Moose fell asleep also with his head on top of Kayne’s face. Tuesday October 3, 2017- Kayne wakes up in the middle of the night usually for a couple of hours and then gets himself back to sleep. He was still asleep soundly when I came in his room this morning. He had a pretty good day. Angelle brought him lunch today and he had some friends visit him at his room. Kayne also had an interview for the LSU Ambassodor program. We wish everyone a great week. We appreciate all your support and prayers. Remember Kayne’s goal is to raise money for Pediatric brain cancer research and DIPG. That is the foundations goal and focus. You can donate online at www.cannonballsforkayne.org or mail a check to Cannonballs For Kayne Foundation to P.O. Box 1738 Ormond Beach, FL 32175