Jude and I had his first appointment with his new oncologist in Dallas this week. We are so grateful to be in the care of a far more capable, competent and intelligent doctor and group of doctors. I am sad that we wasted any time trying to get Jude cared for in Amarillo. Live and learn. But the Lord has led us to the best place for Jude and I am thankful.
Mom and Dad kept James for me. He had a wonderful time as always. And the BEST news of all!?!?!? My amazing Mother finally managed the impossible. She POTTY TRAINED JAMES!!!!!!! I am so thrilled and excited! Such a major milestone.
The first night when James got in bed he got out the toy laptop Mom has and told Mom he had some blogging to do. He hears me say that a lot I guess.
He managed to con Mom into staying up late by needing just "one more drink" of water before bed.
I missed him so much while we were gone. I hate being away from him and from Brad.
Jude is a great traveler. I was proud of him.
When we got to Aunt Carrie's, Jude dazzled us with his impressive walking skills. He's getting better everyday. And since he had spent most of the drive down sleeping, he decided to keep me up all night.
Carrie and I spent the next day shopping which was so much fun. There is so much more to do there than here. I'm jealous.
Then came our appointment day. I was super nervous for some reason. I guess I just had a lot of anxiety over everything since we had such a bad experience here in Amarillo. I feel so betrayed and duped by the oncologist here.
We settled my nerves by a little pre-appointment lunch at la Madeleine. My favorite place in the entire world. Yum!
Jude loves it too.
I was told to be 20 minutes early to our appointment to check in. So we got there a little after noon. The waiting room was packed full of other pediatric cancer patients. I found out that everyone wanted to get in that day to get their chemo before Thanksgiving. There were two parents in particular that were very agitated and vocal about the long wait. I get it. But there was a Mom, Dad, and little boy sitting across from us that were not cranky at all. In fact, they were...dare I say it...joyful! Joy in the cancer ward?!?!? Joy sitting next to your bald child that is walking with crutches?!?!?! Yes, it was joy I saw. Joy, peace, cheerfulness, unity as a family, Mom and Dad talking sweetly to each other and to their beautiful son. I knew without even speaking to them where that joy came from. That kind of joy only comes from the Lord. They were there before us and I knew their wait was much longer than ours. They were called back finally. We were called back a couple of hours later. Our rooms were right across the hall from each other. The Lord knew I needed that. After a four hour wait I was getting tired and verging on cranky. Their door opened and I heard laughter. I heard that joy again. I heard a child with cancer filled with joy and peace. I heard peace.
A few more times when their door opened I heard more of the same. The more I heard the more it rubbed off. Infectious joy and peace in the cancer ward? How is that possible?!?! I know how.
Finally, the door opened again and the Mom, Courtney, and I started talking. I told her how their cheerfulness and pleasantness was such an encouragement to me. They never showed any impatience. They never spoke rudely to any of the staff or to each other. It was a good reminder. I will never forget what she said. She said, "This won't take my joy. How I act affects my kids." This precious woman was absolutely oozing the love of Christ. Every word dripped of her dependence on Him, her love for Him, her love for her child and family. In a short conversation I was so encouraged, educated, humbled and blessed. It didn't stop there. Her son, his beautiful bald head comically covered with a funny hat with hair, was so upbeat and adorable. He's 8. He has osteosarcoma in his leg. If the only interaction I had with him was talking with him, not seeing him or his surroundings, I never would have known he has cancer. He was cheerful and has an amazing sense of humor. What an honor to get to pray for this precious boy and his lovely family. Will you please join me in praying for him? His name is Tyler. He is getting chemo right now and will have surgery in December. Pray for the Lord to protect him from the side effects of the chemo, for his surgery to be a complete success, for his family and doctors, and for his perfect and complete healing.
We were there for about 5 hours yesterday. We didn't get to meet with the doctor I thought we were going to see but instead we met with two other doctors. They were wonderful. I believe that the Lord has His hand on all things and it was all for a reason. The wait, the different doctors. Dr. Plummer took the cd of Jude's latest scans over to radiology for them to read them and make sure they were good. These were the ones we had done at the end of October. The ones where they had to stick Jude 14 times to get an IV in. Well, the CTs were not done with contrast. Yet another confirmation that Amarillo is NOT where Jude needs to be. So we will have an MRI done next month in Dallas WITH SEDATION (thankyouverymuch). We will be able to have his monthly labs done in Amarillo with Dr. Honey...another answer to prayer and relief. We will go to Dallas for check-ups and scans. At least that is where I think we stand right now. We still have a lot of details to iron out but I have so much peace and relief that we are finally...after 8 long months...moving in the right direction, with the right oncologists. Thank You Lord.
My sister was so kind to give us so much of her time to drive me everywhere and sit at the hospital with me for 5 long hours. What a wonderful and supportive family I have. I'm so grateful.
Have you ever tried to keep a 1 year old pacified and happy at a doctor's office for 5 hours? Thankfully, Jude was an angel and I had Carrie there to help.
After a very long day I was ready to get on the road back to Amarillo to see Brad and James. We made it home LATE last night.
Tonight we went over to Mom and Dad's to wait for Christi, Cory, Will, Grant and Brock to get in.
Mom read to James while we waited.
They got in and we had a wonderful evening. I am looking forward to tomorrow. We have so much to give Thanks for.
Thank you for your prayers for Jude and I as we traveled to Dallas for his appointment.
Mom and Dad kept James for me. He had a wonderful time as always. And the BEST news of all!?!?!? My amazing Mother finally managed the impossible. She POTTY TRAINED JAMES!!!!!!! I am so thrilled and excited! Such a major milestone.
The first night when James got in bed he got out the toy laptop Mom has and told Mom he had some blogging to do. He hears me say that a lot I guess.
Jude is a great traveler. I was proud of him.
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| Out like a light before we were out of Amarillo |
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| Happy Boy |
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| He played with his toes to keep himself busy |
Carrie and I spent the next day shopping which was so much fun. There is so much more to do there than here. I'm jealous.
Then came our appointment day. I was super nervous for some reason. I guess I just had a lot of anxiety over everything since we had such a bad experience here in Amarillo. I feel so betrayed and duped by the oncologist here.
We settled my nerves by a little pre-appointment lunch at la Madeleine. My favorite place in the entire world. Yum!
I was told to be 20 minutes early to our appointment to check in. So we got there a little after noon. The waiting room was packed full of other pediatric cancer patients. I found out that everyone wanted to get in that day to get their chemo before Thanksgiving. There were two parents in particular that were very agitated and vocal about the long wait. I get it. But there was a Mom, Dad, and little boy sitting across from us that were not cranky at all. In fact, they were...dare I say it...joyful! Joy in the cancer ward?!?!? Joy sitting next to your bald child that is walking with crutches?!?!?! Yes, it was joy I saw. Joy, peace, cheerfulness, unity as a family, Mom and Dad talking sweetly to each other and to their beautiful son. I knew without even speaking to them where that joy came from. That kind of joy only comes from the Lord. They were there before us and I knew their wait was much longer than ours. They were called back finally. We were called back a couple of hours later. Our rooms were right across the hall from each other. The Lord knew I needed that. After a four hour wait I was getting tired and verging on cranky. Their door opened and I heard laughter. I heard that joy again. I heard a child with cancer filled with joy and peace. I heard peace.
A few more times when their door opened I heard more of the same. The more I heard the more it rubbed off. Infectious joy and peace in the cancer ward? How is that possible?!?! I know how.
Finally, the door opened again and the Mom, Courtney, and I started talking. I told her how their cheerfulness and pleasantness was such an encouragement to me. They never showed any impatience. They never spoke rudely to any of the staff or to each other. It was a good reminder. I will never forget what she said. She said, "This won't take my joy. How I act affects my kids." This precious woman was absolutely oozing the love of Christ. Every word dripped of her dependence on Him, her love for Him, her love for her child and family. In a short conversation I was so encouraged, educated, humbled and blessed. It didn't stop there. Her son, his beautiful bald head comically covered with a funny hat with hair, was so upbeat and adorable. He's 8. He has osteosarcoma in his leg. If the only interaction I had with him was talking with him, not seeing him or his surroundings, I never would have known he has cancer. He was cheerful and has an amazing sense of humor. What an honor to get to pray for this precious boy and his lovely family. Will you please join me in praying for him? His name is Tyler. He is getting chemo right now and will have surgery in December. Pray for the Lord to protect him from the side effects of the chemo, for his surgery to be a complete success, for his family and doctors, and for his perfect and complete healing.
We were there for about 5 hours yesterday. We didn't get to meet with the doctor I thought we were going to see but instead we met with two other doctors. They were wonderful. I believe that the Lord has His hand on all things and it was all for a reason. The wait, the different doctors. Dr. Plummer took the cd of Jude's latest scans over to radiology for them to read them and make sure they were good. These were the ones we had done at the end of October. The ones where they had to stick Jude 14 times to get an IV in. Well, the CTs were not done with contrast. Yet another confirmation that Amarillo is NOT where Jude needs to be. So we will have an MRI done next month in Dallas WITH SEDATION (thankyouverymuch). We will be able to have his monthly labs done in Amarillo with Dr. Honey...another answer to prayer and relief. We will go to Dallas for check-ups and scans. At least that is where I think we stand right now. We still have a lot of details to iron out but I have so much peace and relief that we are finally...after 8 long months...moving in the right direction, with the right oncologists. Thank You Lord.
My sister was so kind to give us so much of her time to drive me everywhere and sit at the hospital with me for 5 long hours. What a wonderful and supportive family I have. I'm so grateful.
Have you ever tried to keep a 1 year old pacified and happy at a doctor's office for 5 hours? Thankfully, Jude was an angel and I had Carrie there to help.
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| Aunt Care Care singing "There's Nothing Our God Cannot Do" with Jude |
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| Catching a few Zzzz's |
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| I stopped to get gas and woke up Jude. He wasn't thrilled. |
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| But in typical Jude fashion, he quickly cheered up. |
Thank you for your prayers for Jude and I as we traveled to Dallas for his appointment.
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