Well there will be no chemo until at least the middle of next week. Caleb's platelets are taking their sweet time coming back up. I figured it up today and if he goes in next Wednesday, he will be short one day of a month since the last time he went in for chemo. This is the longest it has ever taken for his counts to come back up. It's been so long that his hair is coming back. I have been keeping up with the updates all day for the little boy named Truman, reading his mama's thoughts is like going back in time and reading my own. I ache for them, and for us. She said it is the hardest thing they have ever had to go through and I would have to agree with her. It takes me right back to that day. Please continue to pray for them, I know the road and it is not a smoothly paved one, it is bumpy and has big potholes and only the presence of Christ makes it any easier. He is the shock absorber that we all need. I think I've been listening to my boys to much, I am using car analogies! ( rolling my eyes here) Tomorrow there is another little boy having his leg amputated, his name is Sam, please, lift them up also. My heart is breaking for these families, but they all know Jesus, so they do at least have that comfort. I have said it before and I am saying it again, I could not do this without Christ to lean on. Something I noticed when reading about Sam was that they asked people to remember Sam's sisters, that is a very good idea. Jacob's wants and needs have taken a backseat to Caleb's and it has been hard for him. It is getting better, I think. So, that is something else to put on the prayer list. Psalm 34:8 Tase and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that takes refuge in Him.
Sorry it's been so long since I updated. The Monday after we got home from the hospital they came to fix our bathroom for Caleb. They took out the tub and put in a walk in shower for him, we are just now finishing it up. I textured and painted it a soft blue, it's very calming. We had to get a new toilet also, the old one was shot and gave out a couple weeks before they started on the bathroom, you had to take the top off to flush it from inside. So it is like having a brand new bathroom. All of that work in the bathroom was donated by a company here in Ponca that does not want any credit, but we so very much appreciate the work they have done on our home to make it easier for Caleb. The house is still a wreck because I got so far behind and now I am playing catch up, I feel like I am chasing my tail!It is well past time for Caleb's next chemo, his blood counts were down and his platelets still hadn't come up as of Monday. Tomorrow he goes back for cbc's again and if they are good then he has an appt. for Friday morning for his pre-admit and he will go in on Monday for his next to last treatment. This treatment is a short one so we will go home on Tuesday. (From my mouth to God's ears.) He slept until after 4p.m. yesterday and 10:30 this a.m., and the only reason he got up then was to get ready for physical therapy. I am praying all of this rest will help bring those counts back up! He has lost some weight, he is down to about 92 lbs I think. He still has a cough and runny nose, of course he's had the runny nose since he started chemo. I'll post as soon as I know what's going on.I've really been struggling with my emotions lately and the devotion that this came from really hit the nail on the head;"It was as though God was giving me a personal object lesson of what 'storms' can do in our lives," he said."In the middle of the storm when the wind is gusting, the lightning is popping and the storm clouds are getting darker, it's difficult to believe that our troubles are purposeful. But God may allow a storm in our lives to clear out the deadwood so that new growth can occur. And isn't it interesting how fresh the air feels after a storm is over?"I am so very ready for the storm to be over, but it isn't yet and every time I think I have it pulled together I fall apart again. Tonight I got an update from carepages and I read about a 9 year old boy that is having his leg amputated tomorrow and I completely fell apart. I know how his mama is feeling, I know the look in that boys eyes, what she wrote... it was like reading our own story. I am praying for them. I know what they will go through tonight, and tomorrow, and for months to come... I am looking for the rainbow...I am praying for that family to find their rainbow also. His name is Truman, please hold him and his family up in prayer.He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:29-31
Before I start I need to tell you the date of posting is wrong on this, I am actually posting on Sunday at 1:52 pm. Well, we are in the hospital right now, Caleb had a cough all day yesterday (Saturday) and it got worse as the day wore on, then my dad called to let me know Jacob had a fever over 101 so I took Caleb's temp and sure enough he had a low grade fever, so we watched it the rest of the day and around 8:00 pm it hit 101 so we ( mom and I ) brought him to OKC to the ER and they admitted him. They tested him for flu and that was negative, did a chest x-ray and that was ok, his blood counts were low though so they gave him a platelet transfusion, (his first) and a blood transfusion. He is still getting blood but as soon as it is finished I think we are supposed to get to go home. So that is the latest update. Sometimes Caleb actually has something to say on his own on facebook, in case you ever want to hear from him. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10
Thirteen years ago I was laying in a hospital bed in Enid, Ok. holding a precious baby boy!!! Thankfully, we are home today and not in the hospital doing chemo. He was due to go in Monday for a treatment but his counts are down so it will be at least Tuesday if not later. This will be a short treatment and it is the next to last one!!! We are so excited!!! We had a quiet evening at home, just Caleb, Jacob, Scott, myself and my dad. Daddy bought pizza and we had a giant cookie and I got Caleb a cake shaped like a dog. It was too cute to pass up. He wanted a party but part of the family is out of town, Colt has fever, Grace had the flu mist, so we decided to put it off for awhile. I told Caleb that after chemo is over and all of his next scans come back clean and his counts are up we will throw one HUGE party for him!!! He is looking forward to it. He asked if we could invite the whole world... Right this moment, I feel like I do Christmas night, the presents have all been opened, everyone has gone home, the kids are asleep and I am sitting quietly thanking God for all the blessings in our lives. For the last two days Caleb has been putting on his leg without being prodded, he is walking around the house without any crutches or help of any kind, he did fall today, but he was horsing around and he did not get hurt, although, he does have a very purple bruise on the end of his stump. That could have to do with just wearing it, or it could have been caused by the fall. He is in bed asleep right now, this is how I know his counts are low, he is usually up way after I go to bed! I think he had a good time tonight, I think just turning 13 was enough for him, he is very excited about being a teenager! I am not so excited. My last baby... Where did the time go? How did I let it slip past me so quickly? I missed so much, I wasn't paying attention. I still catch myself not paying attention, letting it slip by...it needs to stop. I need to... Time is too short!
And to stand every morning to thank and praise the Lord. . . .
— I Chronicles 23:30
I thought I would share one of devotions from today. We would all be so much more content and at peace if we would just follow this advice...Oct 9 - Your First and Highest Calling
"God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord."(1 Corinthians 1:9)
Dear Cindy,Do you know what God wants you to do more than anything else today? He wants you to fellowship with Him. He wants you to walk with Him and talk with Him. To discuss the things of life with Him. He wants you to draw near to Him and partake of His very nature. So many of us get so caught up in striving to please God in the things we do that we forget our first and highest calling is just to be in fellowship with Him. That's right. God longs for us just to want to be with Him. Have you ever considered how much it would mean for you to just come to God and say, "Father, I didn't really come today to get anything. I've prayed about my needs already and Your Word says they're met according to Your riches in glory by Christ Jesus. So I just came to be with You. If You have anything You'd like to tell me, I'm ready to listen...and I want you to know that whatever I see in Your Word, I'll do it. I'll put it into effect in my life." Why don't you tell that to God today? He's waiting to have fellowship with you.
Scripture Study: 1 John 1:1-7
I know, I haven't done a very good job of updating lately...We are in OKC right now for chemo. This is a 5 day treatment and we have been here since Monday, so we get to go home tomorrow. Caleb's blood counts are good so he doesn't have to have a blood transfusion before we go home. He started physical therapy last week so he can learn to walk properly with his prosthesis, he won't wear it though so we are having quite a few arguments about that, he'll never get used to it if he doesn't wear it. This trip hasn't been too bad, yesterday one of his nurses got another nurse to stop at Wal-mart on her way to work to pick up BBQ-chicken for him! Can you believe that? Today we have had nurse Amy and she is just as ornery as Caleb so they've been at it all day! They had a sword fight with crutches, she pretended to draw a line down the back of his head, because then we could call him "butthead", I know, not nice, but they have fun and it's good for him, she got him to really laugh!!! We are so blessed to have such good nurses!!! He only has 2 treatments after this, so we really are on the count down. I find myself feeling at a loss, this has become our life, everything has to be scheduled around treatments and Dr.s appointments, cbc's, and now therapy. It's very unsettling... I feel like there is something I need to do but I have no idea what it is...This came from one of daily devotionals, " I will never think of success, fulfillment and contentment the way I used to. Cancer has swept the veil away from my eyes—has given me a new way of looking at life and rethinking everything. It is an unexpected gift. ", please don't misunderstand me, it is horrific that Caleb has had to go through this, but so much good has come out of the bad, and all of that good is an unexpected gift. I read this the other day and it really fits...My life is but a weaving, between my God and me, I do not choose the colors, He worketh steadily, Oftimes He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride, Forget He sees the upper, and I the underside. Until the loom is silent, and shuttles cease to fly, Will God unfold the canvas and explain the reason why. The dark threads are as needful in the skillful Weaver's hand, As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned. I know whom I have believed and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 1 Timothy 1:12
Well these loaded backwards but I'll try to tell you what they are... This one was the day they formed his new leg... Right above is Caleb and Mrs. Heather doing school work...Next to it is Caleb's birthday cookie and his cake ( because he wants a dog)...The first one is tonight at the church for the Hulabaloo. He wore a mask and had a stethoscope, he had on his school I.D. for a badge. He got a boat load of candy so he is happy. Jacob didn't go with us and he keeps trying to steal Caleb's candy. Well I think that's it for now, right this moment, all is right with my world. Thank you Jesus for moments of contentment.
