Thanksgiving Wish

Tis the week to give thanks and recognize the blessings in our lives. It is my hope that this Thanksgiving will be an especially extraordinary time where you see the good in your life and you can celebrate with joy the blessings that abound!

Well, last Monday I finished my 4^th and final treatment of Adriamycin & Cytoxan… the fancy double-dose cocktail of poison they have been injecting me with. On the 28^th I’ll begin the 12 weekly injections of Taxol. It has been a somewhat crazy week as far as feeling sick has gone.

• By about 2pm on Monday I was in bed feeling yucky.
• Tuesday I felt tired most of the day and was in bed trying to sleep away the nastiness of chemo blur.
• Wednesday was actually a good day and once the pain from the morning shot had worn off, I spent time with my sister watching ‘Adventures in Babysitting’ while the kids napped. (Amazing how much we both remembered the lines from that movie.)
• Thursday I was kinda okay but kinda yicky.
• And then Friday came… worst day ever. The neupogen shot went straight to my head and I could feel it working the marrow in my neck and shoulders. After getting dressed, I somehow found myself lying on the floor trying to escape life itself. It felt like a truck had parked itself on top of my body and was gently rocking back and forth, just enough to squeeze my brain under the tire. When I finally got up, I ran to the bathroom and well… tossed my cookies. The nausea medicine wasn’t working and it was just me and the chemo. As I wiped my mouth I thought to myself, ‘wow… this is the old fashioned way of doing chemo.’ I am so thankful for the medicine that I take and that in 2 months I had only 1 really bad day. I know that not that long ago patients did not have these amazing nausea pills to make it go away. I suppose this is what my Grandpa went thru. It was a no good very bad day.
• Saturday we decided that we would do the shot at night so as try to save the day. It worked. I was able to attend a small gathering with friends and while I had to sneak away for a rest and to calm my head, it was otherwise a perfect day.
• This brings me to today, Sunday. My mom kept the kids overnight so I was able to rest most of the day. I was saving all my energy for the Bunko fundraiser that several of our friends were throwing for us. It was a lovely, fun event. I found myself overwhelmed by all of the love and support that so many people have shared with us. Tears flowed several times throughout the night… I am blessed by the friends and family we have in our lives. Seeing the good in this cancer junk is made possible when I think of the amazing people we have surrounding us.

So in recognition of Thanksgiving, and my grateful heart to some special friends, I would like to share the little speech I was able to deliver tonight.

“Thank you to each and every person that has come out tonight to support, help and love on our family. Knowing that we are not alone in this fight, that we have an army of people praying for us, that there are hundreds of people lifting us up, is invaluable. The encouragement and hope that each of you offer is huge and I am not sure how I would make it through each day without it. Sometimes your encouragement is like a dare, spurring my competitive nature to be strong and fight for health and healing. Sometimes the hope offered bring peace in knowing we are not alone. And sometimes you all serve as God’s arms, literally reaching out and wrapping us in His care.

For this love, we are forever changed as a family and will be eternally grateful.

So many people have reached out and supported us in these past few months with meals, acts of service and gifts, but tonight I would like to recognize a few very special women that have stepped up to help us with watching and loving on our children.

The day I sat in the doctors office and he explained what our future looked life with cancer and chemotherapy I barely heard a word. All I could think of was about my kids and how would they do through this time. They wake up at 6am whether I am sick or not. Nathan is crazy busy and Leah is just a baby. People with cancer aren’t supposed to have babies. How could this be possible?

God has provided for this need and taken away my fears through the loving sacrifice of several incredible women. Each of these ladies has selflessly volunteered to be with our kids one day a week throughout this exhausting time. Thank you, each of you, for your kindness and sacrifice for our family. Surrounding our children with love and structure during this time is without doubt been the most incredible blessing of love.

(As I say your name could each of you please come forward):

Mrs. Monday = Monica Scruggs

Mrs. Tuesday Morning = Claire Bone

Mrs. Tuesday Day = Rebekah Bruns

Mrs. Wednesday = Katie Davis

Mrs. Thursday = Holly Kennedy

Mrs. Friday & Funday = Kris Randall

Also, we would like to thank a few people for putting together this fundraiser for us:

Megan Marcroft

Claire Bone

Joel Archer

This event is another huge blessing for us and we thank everyone who has attended. Financially, tonight will allow cancer to be a bump in the road as opposed to a pothole of despair.

Thank you everyone for coming out to play and loving on our family!”

 

Dear friends… may you find much to be thankful for this week and always. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Psalm 69:30

I will praise the name of God with song,

And magnify Him with thanksgiving.