August 11th Update

I've been severely lacking on my blogging duties!  I apologize for that, but no news is good news!
Briley had an Cooks appointment this past Thursday.  Alicia & the kids went to the appointment and then they went to Alicia's sister house over by Tyler for a few days.  So it's just me in  a quiet house.
Briley's appointment went well.  Her ANC was at 910.  It has been slowly declining over the past couple of months and 910 is the lowest it's been since the start of maintenance.  There's no reason for concern at this point, but the doc wants to check her counts again in a couple of weeks.  Below 500 is considered neutropenia, but I imagine that they will withhold chemo or change dosing if it gets below 750.  I guess we'll see what it is in a couple of weeks.  Her platelets & hemoglobin were both great!
Briley's walking has been improving slowly.  She still has a noticeable hitch in her step.  Since we are around her all the time, it's hard for us to notice how much she has improved walking over the past couple of weeks, however, other people that doesn't see her often can really tell how much better she is!  It's been really good hearing that!
She will start school coming in less than a month!  We are excited and scared for her.  She won't be able to play like "normal" kids do.  I don't know how that will affect her socially.  I hope that her classmates will rally behind her and not leave her behind.
The loss of Gloria is still heavy on everyone's heart.  Alicia seems strong on the outside, but really, she's still trying to cope with the loss.  I think the same can be said with all of the kids.  It's definitely been an adjustment.  Glenn is still having a rough go of things.  Gloria was such a presence in everyone's life, from her husband, to the kids, grandkids, her mom, brother, and sister, and people in the community.  One thing we realize is that she's not missing us.  She's rejoicing with the Angels in Heaven. She was an angel to us here on earth and I can't imagine that she's anywhere else but with the Lord.  Death is terrible for us here on earth, but live your life right, obey God's commands, and believe, then death isn't so scary after all.  Our goal in life should be to do everything possible to make it through the gates of heaven.  This earth is only temporary.  Heaven is eternity.  We just have to get there!  Once we are there, then oh-boy!!!!!!  We've made it!!!!!!  That feeling wouldn't even come close to comparing to winning an Olympic gold.  It will be so much bigger than that!  We just got to do what we can here to get there.
Ok, I'm done preaching.   Here is a reminder.  The CureSearch walk is about a month away, Sept 15th.  If you've been thinking about signing up or donating, now is the time to do it!  Go to www.curesearchwalk.org and click on the Texas on the map.  You will then see the Wichita Falls walk and click on it.  Then you will see Team Briley.  You can click on it to join our team or you can make a general donation.  Alicia & I have been on the planning committee for a while now.  This is something near & dear to our heart as 94% of the money raised will go to research and education.  I can tell you that there are some exciting research out there that the COG is partially funding that will cure kids with cancer WITHOUT chemo!  And this is only a small part of what Curesearch & the COG is doing!  Please think about donating to this wonderful cause.  If you have any question, please feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them!  
We appreciate each and everyone of you that takes the time to get on the blog and reads my gibberish.