Tuesday, August 21, 2012

[Tuesday, August 21, 2012] day 68

Kenton had an x-ray at a little after midnight last night to rule out any intestinal blockages.

This morning had a fever.
Again.
And a belly ache.
Again.

McKayslin and I headed to school so she could help me in my room and "meet" Mrs. Madsen.
She ended up helping Mrs. Madsen in her room and then leaving to go to lunch with Poulsens.

Kenton's day continued with all the normal meds.
And oxycodone for pain.

Counts came in as follows:
WBC:      1.3  yesterday 1.0
RBC:  4.28   yesterday 4.31
HCT:    33.7   yesterday 33.5
platelets:   22  yesterday 29
ANC: 0 still  


Dawn sent me the funniest text. . ."I'm ordering you a cheeseburger meal with no tomatoes, so unless you want something different, you'd better text me now!"
LOVE that my friends are taking care of me!!  ;)

She dropped off my lunch and took McKayslin home with her to play with the girls.

Kenton worked on finishing a project.
Impressed Carmen with his work.

Then he had a chest x-ray to rule out pneumonia.
And blood tests to rule out gall bladder issues and Pancreatitis.
And a stool sample to rule out C-Diff.

Carmen came back and brought Nicolini into Kenton's room to look at his projects.
He was drawing.  He drew them each a picture.
They stayed for quite a while and kept telling him excellente bebe!
So cute!

I met with LOTS of my new littles.
Getting excited and scared for the first day of school. . .

Luke e-mailed me to let me know that Kenton's blood work and x-rays came back normal.
No answers on the fevers and belly ache.
Grateful those tests came back normal.

Kenton decided to get another fever.
Sigh.

Some of us (moms in the crappy cancer club) were talking today about service.
How the phrase "let me know what I can do to help" is always the first thing people say, but is the hardest thing for us to know how to answer.

Do you remember that general conference talk?

Special Lessons by Elder Ronald A. Rasband.

Here is the part that we talked about a lot today. . .
. . . are surrounded by countless heavenly and earthly ministering angels. Some have quietly slipped in when needed and silently slipped out. Others have been at the door with food, doing the laundry, picking up the siblings, calling with encouragement, and especially praying. . . Thus another special lesson learned: If you come upon a person who is drowning, would you ask if they need help—or would it be better to just jump in and save them from the deepening waters? The offer, while well meaning and often given, “Let me know if I can help” is really no help at all.
We continue to learn the important value of being aware of and interested in the lives of those around us, learning not only the importance of giving help but also the overwhelming joy that comes from helping others.

It's so hard to accept service.
Those of you that know me personally know that when you ask what you can do, I will tell you nothing.

No, not true.
I'll tell you to pray.
Don't ever stop praying.

But. . .I won't tell you how you can help me.

Not because I'm trying to be difficult.

But because I really don't know.

That was pretty much the consensus among the moms I was talking with.
We get so overwhelmed and exhausted (you know, the super mom syndrome) we don't know what we need.

It might not always be a meal.
But it might.
It might not always be for you to take McKayslin.
But it might.
It might not always be a Diet Coke and a candy bar.
But it might.
It might not always be a hug.
But it might.

Blake reminded me yesterday that if there were no one to receive service, there could be no service given.
And the blessings that come are often more for the one offering service than the one receiving it.
I know that.
And, dang him, for being right.  ;)

One of the moms (thanks, Megan!) today said, "On the one hand - it's totally embarrassing to ask for help, but if you think about all the blessings someone will receive for giving service to you, it's totally rude to deny them of that! ;) I've learned to just let people help unless I really feel like I can do it all. I know I'll be able to pay it forward, and I will."


One of my dear friends stopped by with a little gift to help us have a fun family date night this weekend.  It's amazing how people listen and act and bless us in such personal ways.


I went to go pick McKayslin up from Poulsens.
Late.
Dawn didn't even seem to mind.
The girls had played and swam and sang and played and swam and sang.
Oh, and tossed the chickens off the tramp, lol.
They wore themselves right out!
When I got there, they were swimming in the cold pool water.  
Silly girls!


We were getting ready to go and Dawn hands me a bag full of dinner (french dip, rolls, cheetos) and a plate full of lemon poppyseed cake.



Could she have provided any more perfect service than what she did today?!

I think not.
So blessed. 
Doesn't make it much easier to be on this side, but one day, we will be able to pay it forward!


We appreciate EVERY offer of help.

We just really don't know quite what to ask you to do when you offer.
So please don't think we're being ungrateful.


Our family goal during this whole ordeal is to learn lessons of service from those that serve so when it's our turn, we'll be ready with a list of ways we can serve those around us as directed by the Spirit.



Thank you for helping us with that goal by being so generous with your service.



Ummmm, tangent.

Back to the day. . .

McKayslin and I Skyped the boys, had some YUMMY dinner, read a chapter of Alice in Wonderland, said prayers, and I put her to bed.

I was talking to Luke (messaging on Facebook - that's the extent of our conversations these days) and. . .drumroll please. . .
Kenton had a fever.
Again.
What a surprise.
Or not.

He's so tired of feeling yucky.
Crazy how the chemo didn't affect him too much, but the recovery sure is kicking his butt.

How can you help?
KEEP PRAYING!

Let's get him through this stage of fevers and belly aches.

Thank you for being willing to help with everything from Goose care to puppy sitting to garden weeding to lawn mowing to e-mail sending to feeding us to washing dishes. . .

And THANK YOU for the prayers.

It's been a pretty crazy ride thus far, but it would have been even MORE crazy without your constant prayers and sweet acts of service.

THANK YOU!

And that, my friends, is day 68.
In all its randomness, lol.




3 comments:

Unknown said...

Deb, you are so right in everything said. I wish that we weren't so far away.
You have been of service to so many up to now. I know that your friends are just trying to repay you. they are so awesome! And so are you :) Your pace is amazing. But please don't wear yourself out. Our Prayers are headed your way.

Rhonda Miller said...

I remember that talk and had some similar thoughts. Thank you for sharing. I will be praying.

luckeyfrog said...

I think you're exactly right- it's hard to know what will help. I remember when my dad died suddenly, so many people offered their help- but I didn't know how to ask for what I needed, because I was in survival mode. I wasn't thinking ahead- I was thinking about each moment as it hit me, and I'm sure it was the same way for my mom.

I feel like any offer for help is wonderful, but specific offers are more likely to be extra helpful!

Wishing I was closer to help, but Indiana's pretty far for some of those things. A package will be coming to you soon, though! :)

Jenny