It was a Great Gala Weekend!

We arrived fashionably late on Friday night after spending the day at Arnold Palmer getting tests to see if Taylor needed blood because his counts were low. We got the green light to go to the Gala at 4:30 and were on the road shortly after that!

Dressed and ready to go!! Notice: standing without holding on!!!

After the Gala dinner guest were ushered to a tent were the Spinners were performing and the waitstaff was serving sliders and fries!

We made it to the Gala just as dinner was being served. Dick talked about Taylor and his super courageous battle! Taylor was really happy he was able to go!

Fancy Desert. Yum! It was delish.

On our way to Dick Vitale's House for the Cocktail Party by the pool.

Highlight of the weekend! Coach Holtz was an honored guest of Dick Vitale. He gave a awesome speech on Friday night!  Finally we were able to catch him at Mr. Vitale's house on Saturday for a quick picture!

These kids are the reason Dick Vitale is raising  money for Cancer Research! "No child should have to go through what these kids have had to do!"

Taylor with Tampa Bay's new coach, Greg Schaino and Dick Vitale

Taylor and Jay Wright Villanova's Coach

Spencer and Sammy enjoyed the weekend too! Here they are on Dick Vitale's patio. Beautiful Home!!!

Taylor will be an Honored Guest at the 7th Annual Dick Vitale Gala!

Well, looks like its for Real! Got the tickets in the mail, hotel confirmation for five at the Ritz (compliments of the V Foundation) and, two calls from Mr. Vitale himself!!! We hope to be on our way "Baby"!

Taylor Update: Taylor currently has a fever and his throat hurts. We're hoping he sleeps it off by tomorrow or we may have to cancel the festivities. It will be a tough call, but Taylor's health is most important. 

We know you all are keeping him in your prayers.

Happy 17th Birthday Taylor!

If you've got to have chemo on your birthday, it's nice to be in a hospital where everybody knows your name! Arnold Palmer Doctors and Nurses are wonderful. We are Blessed to be in their care!!

I love my boy!

Dr. Sutphin will always be a part of our family!

Dr. Levy is one of Taylor's favorites!

APH 4th Floor Nurses are so special. Thanks ladies!

Taylor's cousins are right down the street from APH and wouldn't have missed his bday for the world!

Taylor was happy to have a surprise shorter chemo!! And cousins and best friends the Thurstons showed up to cut the birthday cake! (luckily the nurse stopped me before I lit the candles) who knew you couldn't light a candle in the hospital? Sprinklers on the 4th floor at APH would not have been welcomed!!! Hope Taylor made a wish anyway! 

Happy 17th Birthday Big Man! 

We love you!

Relay for Life — Thank you Team Taylor!

There would not have been a "Team Taylor" if it wasn't for our good friends and neighbors, the Hebelers. Lauren—Taylor's long time friend and classmate— wanted to do something to support Taylor along his road to recovery, so she and her best friend, Alex, and sister Veronica signed up for  The American Cancer Society's "Relay for Life" race. Their team, "TEAM TAYLOR" raised over $1000 for The American Cancer Society. Way to go girls!

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY12FL?team_id=1052342&pg=team&fr_id=37642

Lauren Hebeler (right) and her sister Veronica (left) with Taylor at the Relay for Life Walk

We all know that behind every wonderful leader there is an equally wonderful Mom!! Thanks JoMarie:)

The whole Team Taylor Gang! 

All these wonderful friends and more set up camp for a night under the stars and took turns walking for Team Taylor. What a wonderful show of support.

Painted Mustaches were a hit during the Walk! (That's Tyler on the Right—the mustaches were his idea.)

When Tyler pulled out his mustache painting supplies and yelling, "Painted Mustaches for a dollar!" as all the Teams passed by our tent, we all thought it was kind of lame, but surprisingly mustaches quickly became the "must-have" for the night! Tyler's hair brained idea raised almost 100 bucks for Team Taylor! And guess who was the number one customer— Taylor himself. He sported a mustache, beard and eyebrows, saying it was nice to have some hair again!

These guys and gal took a break from walking for a game of late night football. 

The "crazy's" come out after 2:00am!!! This was the "beach and bikini" lap!

A long day for the Grandparents, but they wouldn't have missed it for the world!

Like so many other days along Taylor's Road to Recovery, Ya-Ya and Pop-Pop's love and support never cease to amaze us. Their day started with a 9:00am Auction decorating session at St. Andrew Catholic School that ended up lasting all day! Then we quickly headed home to pack up camp and relay supplies! Before we knew it, it was 12:00am...Ya-Ya and Pop-Pop walked many laps, got mustaches, set up tents and chairs! Mom and Dad have been our rocks, we are so blessed to have them here to help with everything!!!!

It was a fantastic event. Thanks so much to Team Taylor!

Taylor will be checking in Monday morning bright and early for his next round of chemo (a 5-day stint). Please keep him in your prayers. God bless!

WE ARE TEAM TAYLOR!

RELAY FOR LIFE WALK, CLERMONT FLORIDA— A crowd of friends and family gathered at Tent #8 to cheer Taylor on as he and other cancer survivors made the first lap around the track. It sounds kind of weird saying that Taylor is a a cancer survivor, even though he's in the midst of his treatments, but he is a survivor! He has been through so much in the last seven months, and his attitude is fantastic. He was all smiles at the Walk and really enjoyed being out and mixing it up with his friends.

Melissa and Spencer stayed the night with the Relay for Life Team. Stay tuned for more pictures!

Easter Weekend with the Family!

Taylor and Melissa arrived home last Thursday just in time to spend the holiday weekend with family! The Thurstons made this cool welcome home banner for Taylor.

Taylor joined us at church on Sunday and then the whole family had a wonderful dinner together, prepared by Sam and Cheryl! Thanks Ya-Ya and Pop-Pop!

T got a little Basketball in.

 A family that prays together, stays together!

And finally, we celebrated cousin Kaylee's 9th birthday!

It was a very Happy Easter indeed!

Taylor went in for his 2-Day chemo session this week and was sent home because his white bood counts were low. Hopefully, they'll come up over the weeknd and he'll be able to get back on track on Monday.

What are low blood counts?

Many of the chemotherapy drugs temporarily stop cells from dividing, especially the cells that divide quickly. Blood cells; red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are made by the bone marrow. These blood cells divide quickly. Chemotherapy may lead to low blood counts, causing the possibility of a variety of symptoms. like fever, fatigue, etc. 

Thanks for keeping Taylor in your prayers!

Proton Radiation Therapy Complete!

We're so glad to have accomplished this milestone! Six weeks in Jacksonville away from the rest of the family was tough, but we made it through! Just wanted to share some pictures of the actual Proton radiation therapy Taylor went through six days a week for 6 weeks.

Proton Therapy has been used as a form of Radiation since 1954. Since then more that 60,000 patients worldwide have received proton therapy. It is a form of radiation that uses protons which are easier to control instead of X-rays. The UF Institute is one of the busiest in the world. They have treated over 250 children within the past 3 years.

Taylor would lye in a customized body mold for each treatment. Lasers would align the beam so that proton therapy is delivered precisely to the tumor site each time. His daily treatment would take 45 minutes. Most of this time is spent replicating and verifying the correct body position for treatment. The average time to actually deliver proton therapy is only one to three minutes. During this Taylor did not feel or see the proton beam. 

Pretty amazing stuff!