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Brady had a big day! He got up three times and took his first steps. He is doing really well! We still hope to be able to leave tomorrow. He is getting stronger every minute, and he is playing on his ipod now. That is a postive sign! Thanks for your prayers and love!
We just left Wake Forest on our southern tour of hospitals.
This morning I took Jack to Bristol Regional to have an ultrasound on his abdomen. They checked out all the organs. When she told him they were going to look at his aorta next, he informed her that he had been learning about that in school. Thank you, Mrs. Campbell!! The test took a while and we will have the results on Thursday. He is suffering from fatigue. I say suffering because at least two weeks a month he is just not himself. His blood work came back fine, and we pray these pictures show everything else is normal, too.
Then we left to drive down to Wake Forest. I didn’t really advertise the fact that I was going down for some extra scans. Last month I was having a pain in my arm, and they noticed a slight abberration on the x-ray. They scheduled an MRI to check it out. Boy, I forgot how loud and annoying those things are.
So we had to meet again with the first cancer doctor that I ever met. He is an orthopedic oncologist and was the first to diagnose my cancer 6 years ago. In January, no less. Not that I am superstitious, but I just wish I could run into him in any other month for any other reason.
But this time, I couldn’t even impress him with my x-rays, and he didn’t want to perform any horrible needle biopsies. He said I have a “whiff” of bursitis (Can anyone say Bengay?) and perscribed some PT. He is going to recheck everything in 2 months.
Whew.
So now we are in the car, and I am trying to type on Matt’s computer because mine died. We treated Brady to PF Chang’s (OK, actually it was my request!), but he enjoyed it. Matt is STILL driving! We got the call today that Brady has to be at the hospital at 7:00 am, so he will get to even sleep in a little.
Thanks again for ALL your help and prayers!! We are blessed beyond belief to have so many friends to help us lift our burdens so we can cast them at Jesus’ feet. We will update you regarding Brady again tomorrow!
OK. Here is where I admit that I secretly mocked all of my friends who sent long lists of their illnesses out in lieu of a Christmas letter. Or maybe it was their letter, I just got lost in the gory details.
So here I am sending out medical information in the form of a blog post. I am no different. No better.
We so much appreciate your prayers and concerns! I hope to have more time to respond to each of you individually when we make our next two treks to NC. I am super busy trying to get all my lessons finished for next week.
We leave on Thursday afternoon to drive down to Raleigh for Brady’s pre-op appointment and tests on Friday morning. We will get to meet the surgeon and eat Mongolian BBQ 
if Brady’s organs behave and smile pretty for the camera.
Then we will make the next trek down on Tuesday, the 24th, and his surgery will be on the 25th. We expect to be there at least two days and will hopefully be driving home on Friday or Saturday.
We appreciate all the love and support. I wish I could tell you that Brady has just poured out his heart to us, but that isn’t quite his style. I think he is curious and desires more than anything to be relieved from pain and to walk normally again.
I told someone that I can only relate it to being 9 months pregnant. You just want the baby out. You don’t really care at that point how it gets to the other side. Brady just wants to move on. . .or just move. So I think he has accepted that this is what has to be done, and he is up for it.
We all have a measure of peace that so many doctors have looked at his case and considered the best course of action. We have been to 3 hospitals, three local doctors and also sent Brady’s x-rays to a family friend who is a team doc for the Miami Dolphins.
We trust them, but most importantly trust God that this is the best we can do for Brady. Your prayers have made a tremendous difference. I truly don’t believe I would still be putting one foot in front of the other without them. Please pray for our boys who will be at home, their grandparents who will be caring for them (Grammy’s been sick–pray her well!), my students and my substitute at school, safe travels, and especially Brady. Thanks so much! We will keep you posted!
So what was Brady’s one prayer request this week?
That when we go to the doctor at Duke we will get out of our appointment in time to go to his favorite Mongolian BBQ restaurant.
Well, we did. I wish that his next meal was all he had to think about. Isn’t that what being a teenage boy is all about?
But for Brady there are bigger issues.
Dr. Lark told us that he had conferred with lots of doctors and shown Brady’s x-rays around. He confirmed what the doctor at Shriner’s Hospital in Greenville told us last month.
“Normally,” the Shriner’s doc said, “99% of the cases that come into our clinic, we have seen it before, treated it before and can say based on research this is the best treatment and outcome you can expect. But your child falls into the 1%.”
So Dr. Lark told us there are two options. One is a valgus oseotomy. Out of the studies that he found only 7 out of 10 or even 1 out of 5 patients had good results. His recommendation was to replace the whole hip. Whole hip replacement has a good outcome nearly 100% of the time.
Hmm.
That wasn’t what we were expecting.
Total hip replacement actually is an easier recovery he said. And he says that we will probably be able to get an appointment with the surgeon within two weeks.
So we will wait some more.
While we were sitting in the waiting room a mom came in with 3 small children. I told Matt that when our kids were that age, I was very grateful for the kindness of strangers. But we are also grateful for the kindness of our friends and family both near and far. Your prayers and encouraging words have been such an enduring blessing over the last 10 years during my treatment and this new ordeal.
And so even in the midst of this trial, we still have much to be grateful for.
Today we headed down to Duke to have Brady’s hip checked out. For the last 5 weeks he has been struggling with hip pain. The doctor confirmed the diagnosis we had gotten at Wake Forest. Brady has protrusio which means that his leg bone is protruding into his pelvis. At this point only his right hip is hurting even though he has the same protrusio in each hip. The doctor was more concerned that Brady could have a hip infection so he called over to the hospital and got Brady in to have a hip aspiration. The doctor numbed Brady’s hip then stuck a needle into the joint to retrieve any fluid that may be built up there. The doctor had warned us that if he found any infection he would have to do surgery immediately. Due to Brady’s hip position he had to stick him 3 times instead of one. Ouch. But thankfully, there was no fluid and no infection was found.
The doctor did say that it is rare to see protrusio in someone Brady’s age. Brady will have to have some testing done to rule out Marfan syndrome, which is a genetic disease of the connective tissue. (Many people think that Abraham Lincoln had this syndrome.) We will go back to Duke in January. Brady will then be scheduled for a separate surgery for each hip. The doctor will go in and reposition the leg bone so it is not pushing on the pelvis.
Thanks for your prayers and encouragement. We are blessed to have all of you praying for us!
I realize that I live with 5 males. I am also aware of that I am the only person in the house that likes the part of the basement that I painted pink. ( And, yes, they made me promise not to paint the entire basement pink. )
But occasionally I forget. I ask a question. I anticipate a reasonable answer. But I am totally caught off guard by the response I get.
The other day George’s class went to see the Nutcracker. I was disappointed that parents were not invited to go because I love to see the costumes and stage settings. I love the music. It really puts me in the Christmas spirit.
So I asked George on the way home what was his favorite part of the show.
“It didn’t take too long to kill it,” he replied.
“What???”
“Yeah, just a couple of stabs, and it was all over.”
“You know the part when they kill the mouse king,” Will reminded me.
Sure I remember that but in my mind it was always upstaged by all the dancing food that I never noticed that a war was being waged.
So the other night at dinner I was surprised again.
I asked the boys to tell their great grandmother about The Elf on the Shelf book that I had just bought. I buy them each a Christmas book every year. Even though they are getting older, I still pick a children’s book to add to their collection.
I fantasize about them sitting and reading them to my grandchildren and reminiscing about all those “epic” Christmases of their childhood. I realize that they are a little too old for elves and all that being good for Santa stuff, but I thought it would be a fun way to give them little gifts and notes over the holidays.
“So, boys, tell GG about The Elf on the Shelf.”
“He’s freaky,” was the first response.
“Yeah, and he has cardboard legs.”
“Really. . . That is it?”
Apparently so.
Who knows what they will remember about their childhood.
Now I am picturing them all playing pool in the basement when they return for Christmas with their wives and kids.
“Remember that year mom gave us the freaky elf with the cardboard legs?”
Norman Rockwell and Hallmark—we are not.
Congratulations! I am going to award two winners! Midge entered the first correct response in the comment section of the blog, and Sarah entered the first correct response on Facebook.
Epic is apparenty the word of the year. I found it on the web describing songs, restaurants, games and a contest to win a Norwegian Cruise. (Sorry folks that contest is over too.) And as I was typing this I just saw a commercial for the DVD release of Eclipse and it, too, is “epic.”
Unfortunately, cupcakes don’t mail well. I didn’t realize that I had such a far flung readership. But I will send you both something that won’t melt or crumble in the mail. (You can always still claim your cupcake on your way through town.)
Thanks so much for playing! I am going to go put up some more Christmas decorations so my house will look truly epic this year. Hope you have an epic Christmas, too!!
We keep 4 chore charts posted on the wall just inside our mudroom. On a perfect day each son grabs the chart and begins his chores immediately when he arrives home from school. They are not hard tasks—hang up jacket, pack lunch—but they are things that need to be done. They know that there will be no TV or computer time until it is done. Mom or Dad has to sign off on it when they are finished.
The other day I was signing one of the charts when I noticed that this particular son had added something to the top of his chart. In addition to finishing homework and putting up laundry he added another chore to his chart: “BE AWESOME!” and checked it off like it was something he needed to be reminded to do.
Apparently that is also on every Mom’s chore list for this holiday season too. Have you looked at the cover of magazines lately? How to make the perfect meal. . .Give the perfect gift. . . Cook just like Tyler Florence this holiday. Apparently we didn’t do such a good job last year so this year the editors have added “Have the best holiday EVER” to our list of things to do. I better read that article on holiday stress first. They have added something to the top of our list—Just Be Awesome.
I was feeling a little overwhelmed. And I thought I just don’t think this is the way I am supposed to feel as I celebrate the most important event in history. In fact, I can’t think of anywhere in the Bible we are told to be awesome. It is not a fruit of the spirit.
Every time awesome is used in the Bible it refers to the deeds of God not man. Like when he smites people. Awesome describes His house, His works, His being, His glory, His miracles, His wonders, His greatness, His Covenant, His name, His deeds, His majesty, His presence, and His appearance. Only God, never us mortals.
Now I do realize that this word became totally degraded in the 80’s when we added “totally” in front of it to describe how fantastic our new leggings were. Our generation may bear some blame for this one.
But I do not want to degrade this holiday. This Christmas I want to reflect on our awesome God! This year as I am enjoying the lights on our tree, the smell of gingerbread, the first snowfall—all the sights and sounds of Christmas—I want to see Him and stop trying to be awesome and sit in AWE of his SON.
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. “ Philippians 2:6 and 7
So I think I will have to have a talk with my son about our inability to be awesome. That is reserved for God.
But just like me high-fiving still instead of fist bumping, I may have caught this trend too late. I noticed that right above “Be Awesome” he has added another word. The word he has chosen means heroic; majestic; impressively great. It is also unattainable on a daily basis.
But in the spirit of giving, I will buy a cupcake for the first person to guess what he wrote and everyone who comments will be entered to win a special holiday treat.
Merry Christmas from our house to yours!
The other night as we walked out of Chuckie Cheese I remarked to Lesley that I felt like I had sold my soul to the devil.
“I gave Chuckie Cheese my email address just so I could get some coupons.”
Well, it has been two days and no bombardment of Chuckie Cheese emails.
That’s good.
But the sad part is that I am not sure that we will ever go to Chuckie Cheese again.
We have outgrown Chuckie Cheese.
When we sat down Matt (that would be my 40-year-old child) said, “Oh this isn’t the place with the laser tag, is it?”
No.
For a while they were all enthralled with the large gorilla that would shock you for tickets. (Are you serious? Who thought that was a good idea:?) Matt said the something similar happened to James Bond one time.
I am pretty sure though it was not at a Chuckie Cheese.
They have added a ticket grabbing machine. You know one of those things that you stand in and air blows the tickets all around you while you try to grab them. But that was only for birthday boys and girls not the moms.
So we played skee ball, arcade basketball and Deal or no Deal. Those were fun.
I think the boys had more fun finding tickets and tokens that smaller children had dropped on the ground. It was like a treasure hunt all night.
The reason that we found ourselves at Chuckie Cheese on a Friday night was that George reached his reading goal. But he didn’t have as many tickets to cash in at the end of the night. I guess he wasn’t following around the most careless children. So before we left I bought him an extra big sucker like the one I got at Disney World when I was a kid. It was only $1.49 or 40,000 tickets. Fortunately, I had the cash.
So, Chuck, it is time to say goodbye. Thanks for the memories and all that stuff from China that cost 14 times in tickets what I could have bought it for on the street and didn’t even make it out of the car because the kids had broken it before we got home.
We are now going out with laser tag and go carts.
But it is not you, it’s us.
Don’t worry there are other parents in the playground.
But it is time for us to move on.
(Here is a bonus. This video from Tim Hawkins that gives a shout out to Chuckie Cheese. Well, it is more like shouting about Chuckie Cheese, but it’s funny. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_pzd_w1sS4 Enjoy!)
No, that is not where I feel that I am on my 41st birthday. I am extremely happy and content.
But No Where is exactly where you get by being mean to the cupcake girl.
Y’all know that I am working at my friend’s cupcake shop. It is a fun job most days. I have a huge new respect for all small business owners. I would give you all a tax break.
So the other day a lady calls 15 minutes before we close. She wants to know what we have left and I begin listing off the cupcakes we have. It was a busy day, and we were almost sold out. I love it when we sell out. It is like you exactly anticipated your customers’ needs and there is nothing wasted (or waisted!!) at the end of the day.
“Well, that won’t do. I NEED 4 almond joys, “ she gruffs and hangs up.
If she hadn’t hung up on me, I would have been happy to pull out lecture #34. This would be the lecture my dad gave me on many occasions.
“But, Dad, I need the Top Gun Soundtrack.”
“No, you want one.”
“But, Dad, I need ____________________.” Fill in the blank here: some Calvin Kleins, a Polo shirt, some more add-a-beads, another Swatch watch. Yes, it was the 80’s.
Apparently, this woman did not hear lecture #34 as many times as I did because she misused the word need. You need water, you need fuel when your car is running low, you need love. You don’t need an almond joy cupcake.
Now it would have been most appropriate to say any of the following:
“I wanted 4 almonds joys.”
“I was craving almond joys.”
“I am disappointed because I cannot have what I want, but you know sometimes in life you can’t always get what you want. That song by the Rolling Stones changed my outlook on life and now I really strive to be content in all situations. Have a nice day.”
“Wow. I am so happy for you. It is wonderful to see that a small business is thriving in our community. Thank you for the service you provide to us and the happiness you do bring to so many people each day. I’ll call earlier next time.”
I’m just saying. . .she had some options at that point in the conversation.
So I thought about writing a book about all that I have learned in two short months working at the cupcake shop. Here are some topics:
Cupcakes: Bitesize Bliss
Yes, you can have your cupcake and eat it too!
Confessions of a Cupcake Shopgirl: Do you really want me to answer that question honestly?
Cheating on Chocolate with Vanilla Bean
No, we don’t sell a sugar free cupcake. Sugar is sort of our signature ingredient.
Which leads to the next chapter: Ode to Sugar
And Lastly: I’ll bring the cupcakes; You bring the Feather Boas.
But unfortunately since I have a job, I don’t have time to write. Except on my birthday. I am treating myself. And next time you are in downtown Abingdon, stop in to say hi and treat yourself to some almond joy.
