A Roller Coaster

Y'all, this journey is a roller coaster, for sure!! One minute it's all giggles and the next it's stress. One minute you have friends over saying "hi" and the next you have to go inside because you've had as much people time as you can for the day (because of no immune system). One minute there's stress because the pill isn't going down and the next it's all joyous high-fives, bear hugs, and loud cheers because THE PILL WENT DOWN!!

So far, the biggest take away of this journey is: you must be in the present.
You see, if you spend even one second too many thinking about what's ahead darkness creep in and then you expend way too much energy trying to fight that beast back. If you take your focus of the Lord's blessings (however small) the darkness creeps in again and you waste precious energy fighting it. If you try to plan and something goes amiss, frustration opens the door for the darkness and you feel as though you have to fight it with your hands tied behind your back.

BUT, when you keep your focus in the now it's easy to be joyful, happy, dare I say content... When I say the now I mean the very moment you are breathing in. It's being mostly focused on what is at hand and only slightly considering what needs to happen next. It becomes about making a list and only tackling one thing at a time and in sequence. Men can do this with ease. Women? Ha! Mothers? Double ha! So, can you begin to comprehend the growth that is going on inside this mama? A lot, let me tell you. And it is hard? Tough? Painful? Refining? Not quite sure a word exists to accurately describe it. The closest might be sanctifying. Ouch.

I wish you all could have seen what took place when Dempsey FINALLY got the first half of the pill down. He raced out of the kitchen (like and old man who'd won the lottery) to Sawyer, almost in tears, to hug him and hear brother's congratulations. It was precious! *heart* Sawyer is always so good about encouraging Dempsey in these moments. As Dempsey walked over to me he was excited but I could tell his emotions had run away with him and he was kinda empty. A good empty. The kind of empty when you've just had the most awesome experience complete with an adrenaline rush and then the adrenaline is gone and you're wiped. He was the sweetest combination of proud, relieved, and stressed. Welcome to a 4 year old swallowing chemotherapy pills.

Jake took Dempsey to his two appointments today. First with the ENT follow-up. Dr. Houx gave him the all clear and set a six month follow-up and suggested a hearing test in the future. Praise God for answered prayers (in the affirmative). He rid Dempsey's body of that nasty mastoiditis and there appears to be no lingering damage. Amen!
The second appointment was his infusion of chemo at the CHOC Clinic. He had Charmaine for his nurse again. He likes her. She adores him. Well, they all do. While at the clinic he also had labs drawn since it's a long weekend and this chemo tends to make their counts drop. Dr. Huynh wanted that done- so, they got it done.

This morning at the last Friday School, Sawyer was given the Sportsmanship Award for 3rd Grade PE. So proud of our boy!! We are not surprised that he received this award, simply because of WHO Sawyer is. This award was the perfect thing to bring focus onto Sawyer during a season of life where it's Dempsey who is in the lime light and often seems like the sole focus of life. We work really hard to try and make Sawyer's life as normal as possible... some days we do better than others.
Today marks the end of Sawyer's 3rd grade year! How did that happen? On to 4th grade which brings a new school and new experiences. He is excited.

A friend brought us El Pollo Loco for dinner. It was a wonderful last-minute blessing for which we are truly grateful. It was encouraging to see her and her boys for a little while- those boys are growing so fast!


Please pray over the next few weeks of Dempsey's treatment. He has multiple LPs (lumbar punctures), multiple chemo infusions, many visits to clinic, etc.
Pray that his numbers remain high and steady.
Pray for no complications from the LPs or ANY part of treatment.
Pray against fevers.
Pray against pain.
Pray against complications.
Pray for travel mercies.
Pray for Dempsey and this swallowing pills business.
Pray for him to be interested in activities besides technology.
Pray protection over our family.
Pray our medical insurance issues get resolved in a timely and positive manner.
Pray against negative side effects of these drugs.
Pray that Dempsey will get restorative rest each night.
Pray against worry and fear.
Pray against stress and angst.
Pray for calm.
Pray for us to be ever-presently focused.
Pray as you feel led.

WE LOVE YOU AND ARE GRATEFUL FOR YOU- ALL OF YOU!!!!

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