Celebration of Life

We can't wait to see everyone who is able to come out Saturday to Shaun's Celebration of Life. I hear the turnout will be HUGE and I can't wait to share some good food, funny stories and wonderful memories. For anyone coming from the central time zone, remember it starts at noon EASTERN time, 11 am central.

See you Saturday!!

Thank you

Its almost been one week since Shaun passed yet it feels like a lot longer. This has been one of the longest and hardest weeks of my life. But I am so thankful for all of the friends and family that have supported the Thistlethwaite family, Bryce and myself. Thank you to everyone who sent cards, flowers, facebook messages, thoughts, prayers and even spouses (thanks Jen Straub and Scott Larimore!). We appreciate all of the love and support through this difficult time.

One of the key lessons Shaun teaches in his book is about the importance of picking quality friends. It would be an understatement if I said Shaun had good friends. We are so lucky to have such AMAZING friends. The IU gang took Bryce and me to a pumpkin patch and we genuinely had a great time. I'm sure other people thought it a little strange that there were 9 adults and only 1 kid, but obviously that is one very loved child! I only regret not taking a group photo with everyone. But I love the suggestion of making it an annual event to both catch up and also reminisce about our fun times with Shaun.

I also want to send a heartfelt thank you to Jen Larimore. She kept me sane these past few days and I'm glad she will always be here for me. A trip to Atlanta is obviously in the works and way overdue. Love you!

Information on Shaun's Celebration of Life will be posted once date and time has been arranged. We look forward to seeing so many of Shaun's friends and family at it.

Arrangements

Per Shaun's request, we will be having a small gathering of close friends and family at the graveside for a little ceremony on Friday afternoon, 2pm. More importantly, he wished to celebrate his life and share all the good times we had with him. Everyone who has been touched by his goodness and wants to attend is invited. The arrangements are still being worked out for the Celebration of Life party but will be posted when finalized.
Since we will just have a graveside service and not a full wake and funeral, in lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Bryce's college fund instead. Any memorial gifts will be handled through the funeral home...Thanks...

Lauterburg - Oehler Funeral Home
2000 East Northwest Highway, Arlington Heights, IL 60004 | 847-253-5423

Shaun William Thistlethwaite

It pains me to say Shaun passed this morning. Everything is too raw right now to formulate pretty words to describe him or to honor him properly so I'll leave that for later. Just wanted his friends and family to know.

Brilliant Author, Shaun Thistlethwaite

As many of you might know, Shaun is amazing with words. He is able to speak well and write even better. When I have papers to write for work, I often go to him to help me edit them. Even though he doesn't understand the science, he can always make things sound better (and more grammatically correct). But more than that. He has a way of conveying a message succinctly, with honesty and directness. He doesn't need flowery filler or pointless soliloquies to make his writing good. I bring this up because he wrote a book. Its called Letters to Bryce. I think you can guess what its about. Although Shaun is talented at writing fiction, this is an honest account of what Shaun has been dealing with these past two years since being diagnosed with cancer. It shows the amazing bond he has built with Bryce despite the pain and terrible ordeals he's been challenged with. I think its an amazing gift to Bryce to be able to learn about his dad and have a tangible object that encompasses who his dad is. It includes Shaun's thoughts and philosophies on life and a clear message to Bryce. This is what he believes, but more importantly, Bryce is to think for himself and make his own beliefs and philosophies. Another theme in the book is Shaun's gratitude and love for his friends and family. If you buy the book, you probably will find your name in it somewhere! Even though the book is a personal account of our family and Shaun's inner most thoughts, Shaun would like to make the book public. Therefore, he and his dad published it and made it available to everyone. Whether it be just for friends and family or if other families struggling with cancer find inspiration in it, either way, we are happy to share it. Please check it out.

https://www.createspace.com/3652857

or

www.shaunbooks.webs.com

Everything is fun at the ZOO!

Yesterday the weather was predicted to be beautiful....and it was perfect. So we are so glad we took advantage of it and went to the ZOO! Over the weekend I had made the mistake of telling Bryce we were visiting friends who live by the zoo. By being the key word. Apparently, he only heard visiting and zoo. To make amends and since Shaun was feeling up for it, I took the day off of work and we all went to the zoo, Shaun, Bryce, Nana and me. It was a perfect trip. We got to see fun animals out and about and no one really cared if any were sleeping since it was such a beautiful day. It was just so nice to be outside. Shaun did great with Nana pushing him in the wheel chair (only a few bumps and almost spills). And Bryce loved every minute. I think its one of his favorite places to visit. Makes it extra special that Shaun got to take him there one last time before the weather turns too cold. One of the fun times was when Bryce was being chased by a seal. Actually, I think both the seal and Bryce were probably chasing the cute little girl running along the tank, can you blame him?

Having such a wonderful day as a family is bitter sweet. We don't know how many more special days, hours or fleeting moments we have left as a happy little family. But we will cherish each one as if its our last.

Giraffe Thistlethwaite, Nice ring to it?

Bryce had his 2.5 year check up with the pediatrician. Other than the obvious fact, Bryce is awesome, she confirmed that he is really really tall. He is >99th percentile in height at 40 1/4 inches (~3'4"). My dad read somewhere that if you double a kids height at this age, you get the projected adult height. If thats true, do the math with me, Bryce will be 6'8". So I think the nickname of "Giraffe" will suit him if he chooses to play golf (or any other sport I guess). Other stats, he is 32 pounds (80th percentile) and has advanced verbal skills. I guess the doc wasn't used to carrying on a conversation with a 2 year old and being able to understand every word. His vocabulary is always expanding including, adventure and obstacle course. Oh and if DJ Nurre reads this, he can recognize the show Bar Rescue and asks to stay up and watch it with us. The commercials on that channel are really not appropriate (A Good Old Fashioned Orgy movie promo?)

Bryce is doing really well on the toilet training front. He's had several successes (both kinds) and minimal accidents. Overall, I'm pretty impressed with how quickly he caught on. No more diapers at night and nap time will be the next challenge.

Shaun has had some challenges lately: mainly fluid drainage issues. His legs and feet are really swollen and water pills don't seem to be enough to get rid of it. Poor guy can barely walk because his feet are 5 times their normal size. Thankfully we got a wheel chair from Chris Dunn and an electric chair from the Buckwinklers. Shaun can ride around the neighborhood in style now. I think it will be great for him. He'll be able to get outdoors again and watch Bryce play more. He can go to the library or Walgreens if he wants to. He hasn't been able to drive since being put on a pain pump so this will hopefully help his regain some of that freedom. Shaun's mom has also agreed to stay with us during the week so Shaun can have someone with him during the day to keep him company and take care of anything he needs. Hopefully these measures will make Shaun more comfortable.

The pictures are of Bryce's clay creation he calls his sea monster.