Blood Drive

I am sitting in the school gym, watching the last few members of the community donate life giving blood. What an amazing and powerful show of support for Simon and our family.

Bob has taken the kids home and I am waiting to help with the clean up. Before Simon went home, he watched the flow of people into the gym. He was very moved. To think that so many people care enough about him to make that gift. The teachers and parents who have never given blood, but because of Simon, they stepped up!

Simon's teacher from 4th grade gave blood for the first time. When we passed out aplastic anemia awareness ribbons to the school, she was talking to her class about the fact that she was going to be donating blood for the first time. She was a bit apprehensive, but was more than willing to do it for Simon. (One of her students made a comment about "If you survive the blood drive. . .) She still donated!

The special friend who is terrified of needles and all things medical. She is the one who organized the blood drive. I held her hand while she gladly made the sacrifice for Simon. (I thought she was going to break my hand, but she did it.) She put a side her own fears and made the sacrifice. When it was over, she said she would be willing to do it again.

I started this post a life time ago. Or at least it seems that way! The blood drive was after spring break, and now summer has come and almost gone. The kids will be back to school in less than 2 weeks!

I am so grateful to so many who gave so much. Giving blood is giving life and hope to someone in need. While Simon has only had 3 transfusions in the 6 months that we have been dealing with aplastic anemia, many suffers need transfusions weekly. Words fail to express the gratitude I feel.

It's Been a LONG Week!

It is Saturday night, and I am just waiting for the kids to go to bed, so I can head there myself! I am watching the freezing fog roll past the windows and trying to remember that it is April and tomorrow is Easter.

All in all, it was a good week. With Simon back to school, I was able to work again. When I can, I am a substitute teacher at the kids' school. It is a job I absolutely love! I have all the fun of teaching, without the chore of lesson planning. The kids at the school are great. When I am there, I feel like I have found my calling in life. I feel as though I am home!

In the 2 months before spring break, I was unable to work more than a few days. As much as I love the work, this week wore me out! I would come home and just want to collapse. (I actually did that one night! I told Bob the kids were his to feed and get to bed, because I was going straight to bed!) Being a mom, that is RARELY an option. I would get home and have to face dishes and laundry and try to figure out what to feed the kids.

On Wednesday, I took Oliver and Ezri to the doctor before going to work in the cafeteria. Ezri had a slight fever and a sore throat, and Oliver was still running a fever as well as having an ear ache and pain in his chest. Luckily, they did not have strep, but Oliver did have a severe ear infection as well as walking pneumonia. Doctor put them both on antibiotics. Ezri was back in school the next day, but Oliver was out all week. Today was the first day he actually started to feel human again!

Simon made it through the first 3 days of the week. By Thursday, he was exhausted. His throat was beginning to hurt, so he stayed home. On Friday, he was still drained and his throat was worse, so I kept him home. I called the doctor on my break, and they said to bring him in. I was afraid that his counts had begun to drop again.

When the doctor looked at his counts, he wanted to throw a party! Definitely a cause for celebration! Simon's platelets are reaching closer to the middle of normal range. His hemoglobin is just below normal, and his granulcytes are slowly creeping up! It looks as though Simon is on the mend!

Simon will go back for another check in 2 weeks, and another bone marrow test in another month. If the bone marrow is improving, we will start to look at weaning him off of the immune suppression medication he takes twice a day.

We still do not know if any of the other kids are bone marrow matches. The office got the results of the tests back, but there was a problem. Simon's test results came back in the normal format, but the results on ALL of the other kids was gibberish! Dr. Cook had to send them back, so they could be readable.

Tomorrow is Easter. The holiest day of the year. The day Christ rose from the grave after being crucified to pay for MY sins. Tomorrow will be a day of celebration. As we celebrate Easter, we will also celebrate the new chance at life Simon has been given.

On Wednesday, the community will come to the school for a blood drive, a show of support for Simon. How blessed we are to have so very many people who care about Simon and our family.

While I am breathing easier after seeing Simon's counts on Friday, I am also aware of the fact that they could start to drop again just as rapidly. I am taking every day as gift from God. I am cherishing my children and giving thanks. We will continue to pray for healing and continue to pray for strength, no matter what tomorrow may hold.

Back in the Saddle

Okay, so maybe not actually the saddle, but we are getting back to normal, with all its up and downs.



Yesterday marked the end of spring break. It also marked the end of Simon's exile from any kind of life outside of home and doctor's offices. I will admit, I was terrified of his transition back into school life, after being the center of attention for the last two and a half months, and being able to do a whole lot of nothing. Simon himself wasn't too sure about going back.



The day got off to a rocky start, and my fear grew. Simon had a melt down and Beau was full of tears. (Beau couldn't wait to get back to school, but was having trouble with the early morning and having to move faster than a snail!) I can't remember what set Simon off, but I did not take it as a good omen for the day. Oliver had a fever and a sore throat. I prepared myself for a rough day!



By the time we reached the school, Beau and Simon were both happy. I hung around the school, waiting for Simon to appear in the office. By the time lunch arrived, I still hadn't seen Simon. What a relief! I worked in the cafeteria and on the playground, so I saw Simon at lunch and was thrilled to hear he was having a great day. Kids who had really gotten on his nerves before he got sick were being nice to him. He was feeling great, both physically and mentally. The rest of the day continued in the same fashion. His teacher was also very pleased with how well he was handling being back.



At one point during the day, I spoke with a co-worker about how well the day was going. We talked about the fact that it was like a honeymoon period. While I was pleased, I also wondered how long it would last.



Today, both Oliver and Ezri are sick. Sore throats, achy, fevers. The crud has hit our house, but I am thankful that it waited until Simon's counts were up! Bob is working from home, so I am able to be up at the school. Today I subbed in a 1st grade classroom for the morning hours.



As I was working with a reading group, Simon's teacher came in. My first thought was, honeymoon is over. The first word's out of Mrs. H's mouth were, "Honeymoon's over." (Great minds think alike!) Simon had an issue with his math homework. More precisely, he hadn't done it. It meant missing recess. Often with Simon, once one thing upsets the balance in his life, he falls apart. He fell apart over the math, but once he got through that, he was able to turn his day around. He even went to PE, which is not his favorite subject, and he was given the choice to sit it out. That was all I heard from or about Simon, until the end of the day.



Beau and I took a load of our things out to the car, while we were waiting for Simon to be done with class and for orchestra to begin. We were heading back into the building when Simon came out of the building sobbing. It broke my heart. I held him and inquired about what the problem was.


One of the kids in his class had said some very hurtful things to Simon. He was broken hearted. We talked through the falseness of what was said as we returned to the building and looked for his teacher. It was the end of the day and Simon was so upset that he left the classroom as the class was preparing to leave. He left without a word to his teacher or anyone. Mrs. H promptly dealt with the issue, and Simon was reassured, but still feeling a bit bruised in his heart.

He remained sad through orchestra. When we picked up Warren, Simon told Warren all about it. Warren wanted to go to the school and defend Simon's honor! Of course I stopped that idea, but I was also proud of Warren for wanting to stick up for Simon. Warren doesn't see much of a need for other people, and usually sees Simon as more of a nuisance than anything. As their mother, I love to see those rare instances that prove they really do love each other!

I started this post on Tuesday, but was just too tired to finish it. Falling asleep at the computer suggested that I should call it a night and I did!

After the Snow

One of my favorite things about Colorado is the way we have four seasons. I grew up in the northwest where the seasons all kind of blended together. In Portland and Seattle, we had the drizzly season, the cold rainy season, the rainiest season, and the hot rainy season.

In Colorado, it is different. During the summer, the days can get fairly warm, but there is always relief in the afternoon. Just when it is starting to feel a bit too warm for comfort, the winds come in and cool the air. Our first summer here, we had a thunderstorm almost every day. The heat of the day would disperse as the thunder clouds would build up. The storms could be pretty intense, but they were short lived. They moved in and right back out again, leaving the earth smelling clean and fresh. Colorado has been in drought, so we have had fewer showers the last few summers, but the thunderstorms have still been a part of summer.

At the beginning of summer, everything is green. The fields and meadows are covered with green grass and wild flowers. As summer progresses, the fields lose their color, changing from vibrant green to yellow to brown.

As autumn moves in, everything goes dormant. The world is brown, except for the evergreens. I love to drive up into the mountains during the fall to watch the colors creep down the hillsides. While we do not have the brilliant reds of the fall maple trees around here, we have mountains full of aspen forests.

Aspen trees have a beautiful white bark and leaves that sing in the wind. In the fall, we drive up to Wilkerson pass and watch the progression of the season down the mountain. The color change starts at the tops of the hills. Aspen leaves turn golden before dropping to the ground. Early in the fall, the tops of the hills have a few golden trees interspersed with the evergreens. As the season progresses, the gold moves down the mountain, until it reaches the roadside.

Sometime during the fall, we receive our first snow fall. It can be a light dusting or a heavy blizzard. Through out the fall and winter, the world alternates between white and brown. Gray clouds come in with the snow, but rarely last for more than a day. Sunshine is the norm, rather than the exception. Days can be cold, and nights even colder, but the sunshine takes the edge off.

Following winter, we have the spring. March is actually our heaviest snow fall month. We get a phenomenon known as thunder snow. The loud claps of thunder in the midst of a snow storm. It is quite impressive!

Before the spring snows, the world is brown, void of signs of life. And then the snow comes. We have had a blizzard every other day for the last 2 weeks. None of the systems have dropped large amounts of snow, but the winds have caused white out conditions. The snow comes in and covers the brown, and when it leaves, the world suddenly springs to life. It is as if the snow has washed the earth.

In place of the brown that covered the ground before the snow, the surface is covered in green. This is our fifth spring in Colorado, and I am still amazed at how rapidly the change in color takes place. It literally appears to happen over night! The ground is green and the shrubs are full of buds.

As I type this, I am reminded of how Jesus washes away our sins. We are covered in filth, all brown and dirty. The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has given us the ability to be washed whiter than snow. As the snow washes away the brown, Jesus washes away darkness in out hearts.

This year, more than any time in my past, I am appreciating the newness of spring. As spring brings the world back to life, so Simon's rebounding blood counts are bringing him back to life. The bone weary exhaustion he was experiencing has been replaced with abounding energy. The fear of illness or infection because of his low white counts has been replaced with a zest for life.

The snows of spring have washed the brown from the earth and Jesus has given me back my bouncy, nonstop Simon, washing the fear from my heart.

And I give thanks.

Getting Back to Normal

Today was a good day. Make that a great day! The sun was shinning. (We are between blizzards.) Simon is healthy, and we were able to leave the house! It amazes me that my spirits can be so lifted by just getting out and doing something besides visiting doctors!

I feel like is getting back to normal. What an incredible feeling!

Because of the snow storm that blew through last night, Warren had a 2 hour school delay. On Thursday, he only has one class, which is second period. Rather than have Bob take him into Falcon for the bus at 8:30, I just took him to school. He didn't need to be there until 10:55, and I was going into town anyways.

First stop was the bookmobile. From there, we drove across town to Warren's school. Next stop was Focus on the Family. For those of you who have not had the privilege of visiting, it is a phenomenal place to take the kids. They have a 3 story slide that the kids think is the greatest. (I love the fact that they have to climb up 3 flights of stairs to go down it!) There are climbing toys, secret passage ways, a life size airplane, a puppet theatre, dress up clothes and a stage for performing on. We met up with friends, and I was able to visit with a dear friend while the kids ran around and had a ball! (Only Simon, Ezri, and Beau were with me. Oliver is in California for a youth conference. He spent today at Magic Mountain.)

We all started to get hungry, so we picked up Warren and headed to McDonald's for lunch. The kids were able to have happy meals, Warren had his favorite chocolate shake, and I just enjoyed being out with the kids. (I had a burger and fries too.)

After the meal, every one was in good spirits, and I didn't want the day to end, so we went to a movie. "Inkheart" was playing at the cheap theatre, and I love going to movies with my kids. Beau wasn't thrilled about going, but as I couldn't leave him in the car by himself, he grudgingly came along. We got our popcorn and sodas and thoroughly enjoyed the show. Even Beau decided it wasn't so boring after all!

When the movie was over, we headed home. After dinner, Grandma opened her birthday presents and we had Italian Cream Cake. A near perfect ending to a near perfect day!

Now perfect days in this family are any thing but normal! But it was a day free of doctors, a day not dominated by Simon's illness, and a day to be joyful.

Once we got home, Simon started bouncing off the walls. He was very hyper and in every one's face. Now that is normal and I give thanks! The kids are all now in bed and it has been a good, but long day, so I am calling it a night.

Tomorrow will be another good day, but of a very different kind. I am taking a mom's day out. I'll start start at Starbucks, having coffee with a friend I haven't spoken to at all over the break. Next, I am getting my hair trimmed, which always lifts my spirits. Next, it will be off to tea at the Glen Eyrie Castle with some dear friends. After that, 2 of those friends and I are going to visit a knitting shop that I have not yet been to. I am looking forward to tomorrow with great anticipation. My kind of perfect day!

And I give thanks!