Prayers...

In April, 2010, when Andrew was 2 1/2, a tumor was discovered behind his eye. The tumor was removed, but it was found to be an aggressive cancer. He endured seven months of chemo and six weeks radiation. In December of 2010, the day after his last treatment, he was rushed to the ER with an almost fatal bacterial infection. He survived.

He is now seven-years-old!! I don't visit here much, because during the ordeal, this is where I dumped everything--my rage, my fear, my sadness, my ugly, my hope, my everything. But I want all of you who supported and prayed for us to hear his updates. You helped me survive, and I am deeply thankful. Every once in awhile, I will check in to let you know how he's doing. Please continue to pray that cancer will never return to his body. Thank you.



Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Three days of Mercy




I have been so busy, I haven't had time to sit down at the computer!
Which has mostly been a good thing.
A week ago, I was begging for some mercy.  Apparently God, or a friend, or both, heard my pleading.
First, our chemo was delayed a few days so that we can now be on a weekday schedule rather than a weekend schedule. 
Which in itself will hopefully be much easier on our social life. 
Lately we have had to ditch friends in the middle of dinner to rush Andrew to the hospital with a fever. 
Hopefully this change will allow us to feel a little more connected.
The extra four days also allowed us to plan a little vacation. 
 And breathe a sigh of relief.
This past weekend some friends of ours invited us to use their "cabin" up in Flagstaff
(northern Arizona, about 20 degrees cooler than Phx area). 
I pictured the standard cabin--drafty windows, rugged interior, etc.
and was excited about it. 

But then we got up there.  This place was a resort. 
There was a pool, kiddie pools, restaurants, golfing, a spa, and on and on. 
 And our friends (while not there) paid for all of it. 
We went out to dinner and got out our credit card, and were informed that
 "the bill had been taken care of." 
 I decided to splurge and get a massage. 
I got out my wallet, and was told the "bill had been paid." 
Everywhere we went they treated us like royalty.
They even paid for our gatorades and M & Ms out by the pool.
  It was truly amazing. 

And the scenery was absolutely gorgeous! 
We were able to relax, play, hike, take pictures, spend time together,
and try to take our minds off of our current situation. 

It sure felt like mercy.






And when we arrived home, we had two hats in the mail!
Thank you to the beautiful people in Georgia and Florida. 
Andrew is enjoying the packages and his fun new hats!
(His brothers are enjoying their goodies too. Thank you. So sweet.)






And now back to our chemo reality. 
But even then, there has been mercy.
We are at home.
Three hours in the clinic each day for 5 days, and then back home.
Back in our own beds, eating dinner together,
and trying to live as normally as possible.

We continue to be amazed by the generosity and thoughtfulness
of friends and "strangers." 
Mercy indeed.

14 comments:

  1. What a beautiful cabin and the scenery is so pretty!! Glad you enjoyed your little trip. All the pictures are great! I love the new hats!

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  2. Looks and sounds like a great time! You all really deserved that, glad you enjoyed it! :)

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  3. That sounds like an amazing weekend. You even got a massage in! Wonderful! I'm so glad that the scheduling is making things a bit better for you.

    I can't wait until it's my turn to send a hat. I'm scheduled for November. :)

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  4. So wonderful!!! It looks like you guys had a great time....The hats are totally cool!

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  5. What a grand display of love & mercy! I'm so glad you all got a little bit of pampering!

    Vera

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  6. Okay, that is ABSOLUTELY mercy! It's funny because we are never sure in which form it is going to come. What a great vacation for you guys - and definitely deserved and needed. The pictures are great :)
    Amazing friends you have!!!

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  7. Yay! I'm so glad to hear that you had a wonderful time on vacation. Friends are wonderful support, aren't they? Those unexpected surprises that make life a little more special are awesome... and those that provide are angels. (You know what I'm talking about.) ;)

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  8. What a wonderful gift your friends were able to give you.

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  9. God is great, isn't He?! When you need Him the most, He always pulls through and does something (either obviously on His own or through people) just to say he loves you.
    Love the pictures of those blonde cuties! Glad to see things are looking up this week. =)

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  10. What an incredible gift :) So glad you guys were treated like royalty for a bit! It must have been a nice change of pace!

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  11. What amazing friends. I am so glad you got some time to refresh and renew.

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  12. What an amazing blessing, I can't even imagin...you have some great friends!

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  13. Nothing beats mercy! That's such wonderful news!

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  14. Love that picture of your sweet boys holding hands. Glad you had a restful weekend full of M&Ms and swimming and family.

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