November 13, 2010 in Uncategorized with 4 Comments

When we had Gray’s blood counts checked on Tuesday they were high! So, he was  approved to attend Youth Pastor’s Retreat with us this weekend at Turner Falls! We were so excited to get out of the house! Gray had fun “ruling the roost” at camp. He always does. He even showed off his Guitar Hero skills! We do have another change in plans for Gray’s upcoming hospital stay and treatment schedule. He is still set to be admitted to the hospital this Monday for his bone marrow harvest but instead of being released and re-admitted the following week for inpatient chemo he will just stay in the hospital and start his third round of chemo directly following the marrow harvest. Please pray for our family this week. It’s so hard to explain but even with the constant doctor’s visits, daily medications and seeing our bald little boy everyday we can still sometimes “forget” he’s so sick. It’s not that we forget he has cancer or that we forget our current circumstance but we just seem to settle back into a form of home life so resembling normalcy that cancer seems to slip to the back of our minds. Then suddenly, during weeks like these, we are jolted back to reality. It’s almost as if we’re hearing the news of Gray’s cancer all over again. It socks us in the gut nearly as intense as the first time. THIS is our reality. THIS is really happening. It’s not a dream afterall. Our son really does have cancer. It really is serious. When Gray goes into the hospital this week he will have to undergo surgery to place a new port into his groin and then will have to be transported by ambulance to the transplant center for his bone marrow harvest. And like I said before that is immediately followed by his third round of chemo, his first as inpatient since his initial round. It’s so easy to say the words “bone marrow transplant” and “chemo treatment” but when the doctors actually lay out the entire procedure and give us details we didn’t know existed the process becomes so complex and overwhelming. We truly covet every single prayer you can offer. Please stand with us and please stand with Grayson over the next 8 days as we walk through a new challenge and a new fire as a family. We are praying for comfort and minimal side effects for Gray, understanding and peace for us as his parents and peace for our older son Seth. We’ve recently had to approach the seriousness of Gray’s illness with Seth and while it’s not a conversation we want to have we know we have to answer his questions. Please pray that Seth will have peace and also faith, even at his young age. We’re still happy to say, above everything else, that Gray is doing so well! His energy is up, he’s still eating well and his attitude is an encouragement to us all! We say all the time that he’s doing better then any of us! We’re sure it’s because he doesn’t know he’s “supposed” to feel sick. He truly is teaching us the meaning of life each and every day.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9