Thankful for cheerios & you

As Larry happily announced...we have our daughter home. We know that your prayers, visits and kindness helped to carry us though our first chemo series. We are so very grateful.

Friday we spent the day finishing our last bag of chemo. Little by little we began to see longer stretches of time when the nausea was controlled; although when the waves of it hit, they were difficult.

Amanda had been unable to tolerate anything orally since Wednesday. We had to begin using her IV line for pain medication as well as a sleep aid to get her though. We knew that she would have to be able to tolerate oral intake or she would not be able to come home. Prayers on that were specifically offered up by the dear girls of her 9th grade class at CFS. (Larry shared with you the story of them coming to the hospital to pray.) Friday morning, Amanda decided to try and eat a little. She was very tentative. A little bowl of dry Cheerios was her first attempt and as she ate a few and they stayed with her...I found that I was more thankful for Cheerios than I ever thought I would be. They could of offered me gold at that point and I would have stayed with the Cheerios.

Afternoon came and Amanda was able to eat a some mashed potatoes and a couple of bits of chicken. With each hour that passed, the longer she was able to tolerate the food, the more likely we were to be dismissed. She had some nausea in the afternoon, but was able to make it through without getting sick. Early evening the nausea returned, stronger. Together Amanda and I prayed, sat quietly and waited for it to pass.

Amanda finished her final chemo and the following flush around 6:30. Due to the nausea, we stayed on and let Amanda rest until she felt more stable. Around 7:30 she felt better. For the next little while we played some cards and sipped on cool liquids. Finally, a little after 8 we held hands as they unhooked her port from the IV machine and we were free.

After loading up a cart with all of the wonderful symbols of the love and care that so many of you blessed our daughter with during her stay, Amanda and I stopped for a moment. Standing with our arms around each other and our heads together we thanked God for each and every person who loved & prayed for Amanda while she was here and for each Doctor, nurse and worker who cared for her while she was in this room. Then we prayed for the next child and their family who would come to this room, that God would be with them, comfort them and care for them.

Then we headed home.

It is now Saturday morning. The trip home, the first emotions of being back home...all of it was little overwhelming, not just for Amanda but for Larry and I as well. Home is suppose to be safe, secure...and now we struggle with the emotions of knowing that we have been invaded. Amanda was tired and after some much longed for time with her two favorite dogs, Belle & Tucker (who were THRILLED to have her back home), she got ready for bed. I am thankful to say that she was able to get to sleep fairly quickly and sleep until 5:30 a.m. A little break in the night for meds and then she was able to get back to sleep and slept until 10:00 this morning.

My prayer request contain both praises and concerns:

1) That God would use this time that Amanda has been sick for His glory and that soon now He would choose to completely heal my little girl.

2) (And should God choose not to heal Amanda at this time) pray for Amanda that she would find that each day she regains more strength as she rests & recuperates before the next round.

3) For our children Joshua, Haley, Abby, Anna and Caleb. That God would comfort them and re-assure them during this time (and remind each of them how very much we love them).

4) For Larry and I. Perhaps our battle has just begun. Pray for us that we would not give into fear and frustration and that we would be prepared for however long we need to fight this battle and to do it well. Pray also that we would set a tone of grace for our home and for others as we all deal differently with the emotions, fears and love that we all share for Amanda.

5) For each of you who continue to stand in the gap for us as we take this journey. We couldn't do it without you. Thank you.

6) For the girls from Tri-City who travelled to Menorah Medical to try and find Amanda and encourage her. Wow. What a testimony to the kindness and the love that is found among the Christian schools of our district. Thank you. You cannot imagine what it means to us that you would do such a thing. How honoring hearts like that are to God. Thank you.

7) For Kevin. Kevin is a 6th grader in our school who is currently battling leukemia. Unknown to us he was in the room next to Amanda. His mother was so kind to me at the hospital, totally unaware of who the each of us was. After talking for awhile we discovered our school connection and I was able to share with her that I had been praying for Kevin since we learned of his diagnosis. Pray for Kevin's healing and comfort for him and his parents at this time.

8) To the makers of Cheerios. Thanks.

Thankful for the blessings that God has shown us through each of you and still pleading for His touch of healing,

Denise