Alicia's birthday was yesterday. She took the boys over to her twin brother Cam's house to celebrate, and I stayed home with Everly for a "Dad-Daughter Day." We both felt bad for her that she was stuck at home  not knowing that the rest of the fam was having a birthday party somewhere else. It was hard on Alicia too. At one point she texted to see how we were doing and she lamented, "At least this is only for a season for each of these occasions." 

Eli was the first to experience what a birthday party was like after her diagnosis in September. Hopefully, we made it extra special and memorable in different ways. It was my turn in October, and Malachi's in January. Everly had her own unique birthday celebration in February complete with a procedure, and multiple chemo treatments. Now in April Zeke and Alicia have had their birthdays celebrate in the midst of her treatments. Different doesn't inherently mean bad. This is the kind of different that makes us cherish the birthdays even more, and also miss the normalcy that is so fleeting with leukemia.

Who knows what this week will look like, but it seems like we are headed for another hospitalization. The chemotherapy that Everly has received throughout April has essentially wiped out her immune system. Her counts have been dropping for the past several days. Last week she received both a blood transfusion and platelets on separate visits. She had another minor reaction to the platelets. Everything went fine at the hospital, but once she got home, she had a rash that was over most of her body and spreading. Alicia rushed back to Children's with her. Praise the Lord it never worsened to impact her breathing, but the girls didn't get to leave the emergency room until after 10pm that night. She's getting more platelets today (Monday), and has been on the verge of running a fever (99.0-100.0) all morning so we are all praying that she's able to receive the transfusion without issue.

In the past when Everly's immune system is depleted we run a fever in the evening and have to navigate the emergency room to get admitted to the Cancer Floor for a 1-2 week Hospital Stay. We don't want to go to the hospital, but if that's what's best for her this week, then we would at least like to avoid the added frustration of time in the emergency room. We should know in the next hour or so if she will be staying in the hospital while her counts improve.

On Friday, Everly got her chemos from the day clinic. It was a long day because the chemo was transfused over 2 hours and then we had to be observed for an hour afterwards. So we got there before 8am and didn't leave until after 5. She made it fun like she always does. Her giggles echoed in the halls as she ran all over the 5th floor waiting for her chemo to be ready. 

Afterwards, she asked if we could explore for a while. So she hopped in her stroller and I pushed her around. We walked outside the hospital, and made sure to wave up to our friend Kenley who is still on the Bone Marrow Unit. She was supposed to go home and had to stay longer, but right after we waved up to her they got some encouraging news that her transplant is grafting exactly the way they want it to.

Then as we walked back to the parking garage to load up and head home, we ran into Ben's mom. Ben was diagnosed about a week or two after us with a different cancer. He just recently finished his treatment, got to ring the bell and go home. Ben is close in age to Everly and they would play tag in the halls a lot. I asked how he was doing and she showed me a picture of a little boy with a full head of hair. She said he was getting his hair cut that weekend for the first time since treatment. Looking at the pictures and seeing them made us so happy for them, and made us long for that season in our own lives.

This morning on the way to school as the boys and I prayed for Everly not knowing if she'd be in a hospital bed by day's end, we listened to Psalm 40. Here are just a few verses I wanted to share with you:

Psalms 40:1-3 (NIV)

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
    he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
    and put their trust in him.

It makes me sad thinking about about all the holidays and birthdays we've had to celebrate differently to protect Everly from complications. But it is only for a season. We can wait patiently for the Lord. We can wait for all of these chemical concoctions to do their work and completely eradicate this leukemia. We are ready for that new song though. We are ready for a new pair of dancing shoes. 

Here's how you can be praying:

• Please continue to pray for all of our other friends of all ages who have ongoing cancer treatments. Pray specifically for our little buddy Jackson. His family moved here from Atlanta after his diagnosis. He's still just a little baby. He's going to be experiencing many of the same things Kenley did when she received her Bone Marrow Transplant. It's been tough stretch for him and his parents though due to infections and other complications.
• Pray for our friend Avery. She missed counts again last week and is still waiting to continue treatment. Waiting can be so discouraging and stressful.
• Please pray for our friends in Kenya. One of the school communities of Mission of Hope International in Nairobi, Kenya experienced flash flooding that caused significant damage. Homes were destroyed, lives were lost, and the vocational school there experienced significant damage. You can read more about it HERE.
  • Our church is going to be taking a group of people to serve in Kenya this fall. My buddy Cory Clark will be leading the trip that will have a special medical focus. If you are interested in possibly going in September to visit the school where our family sponsors Veronicah. You can email him at cdclark31@gmail.com
• Pray for our family as we will likely be pulled in a lot of directions the next few weeks as Everly tries to avoid a long hospital stay, and the boys have sports. Pray that regardless of where Everly has to stay, that she will get the care she needs and that the treatment will be completely effective in destroying the leukemia, without causing her any complications.
• Praise! The other Everly got to go home last week and experience some normalcy!

#4Evers4Ever