Update of Day 4

Second dose of chemo went well. Praise God!

Dempsey's body is tolerating the treatment "really well" according to the nurses. Praise God.

He is increasingly sensitive to temperature. Pray that this doesn't cause him too many problems and that he adapts.

He had is needle and dressing changed today. This was PAINFUL. Pray for toughened nerves and for his mind to forget the pain.
The silver lining to the new needle is that the lab draws are much easier which means no additional medicine is needed. Praise God.

He slept a lot today. This is normal. Pray that through his naps his schedule doesn't get too far off.

He at more today than yesterday. Praise God. Pray for poop. It's been two days since his bowels moved and we need it to be more frequent to avoid constipation. Thankfully he is fully hydrated.

He did NOT have a dose of dilaudid (really good pain med- also can cause constipation) today. Praise God.

He WALKED today!! Praise God. Not a marathon or anything but quite a few steps around our room. Praise God.

Bath time was a success. Praise God. Jake is AMAZING. How he can just "do" certain things amazes me. I'm thanking God for making us different in ways that compliment each other. It's a beautiful, albeit confusing, thing. On a related note, I survived being in the same room and even participating in bath time. My confidence level in this area had been nil... not it's just slightly more than nil.

Technology is still a key distraction. Praise God we have distractions!!

I finished reading the Batman story book a friend gave us. Little man is addicted to super heroes right now.

Dempsey said he hates me. Praise God for little boys feeling safe enough to voice even the harshest of feelings. By the time I asked him "Do you still hate me?" he was genuinely able to say "No, I love you again." as he touched my face with his little hand and we sat there, head to head. Sweet moments.

Prayer request(s): we are starting to crack under the weight of what it will require to care for Dempsey throughout this journey. We are feeling unprepared to bring a boy home who might still very well be on IV antibiotics. Not gonna lie, this mama is freaking out about that possibility. There is a strange comfort of being in the hospital when you've got tubes dangling. Continue to pray over our marriage. This is HARD. It's hard on so many levels and in ways we haven't even realized yet. Pray for Sawyer's heart. I know this is hard on him and he is handling it like a champ! Pray that the spoiling he's getting right now don't change his sweet, tender heart. Pray for his protection on all fronts. We never want him to feel forgotten, left out, unloved... Pray for our physical health. We NEED to remain healthy so we can care for Dempsey and remain in his presence. Pray for my physical being. The physiological manifestations of emotions run amuck are taking a toll. I remain healthy but feel exhausted all the time, no matter how much sleep I get. Pray for Jake and he bears the most time at the hospital. Pray that his sleep is always deeply restful and renewing. Pray that he is able to process all of this in his own way and in his own time. Pray that I am sensitive to his needs, voiced and unvoiced.

We love you. We need you. We are grateful for you. May God bless you richly as you support us and beyond.