9-4-16

Well more time between updates continues to mean good things for Drew! He continues to get better and stronger each day. He's up to a little over half the goal for his feeds, which is good progress, even if he has gotten sick a handful of times since we've started them back up. The TPN, then, is on half rate and will probably be taken down tomorrow. He's still gaining strength after being in bed for over a week, but is enjoying getting up and playing again. He's even been able to leave the unit and go outside on the courtyard since his counts are up! The plan is still to be released on Tuesday with his PICC line removed, and he'll finish up the course of antibiotics for his infection orally. We'll be at home the rest of the week recovering, before he'll have several outpatient appointments which will include a follow up checkup from transplant, having more permanent central line put back in, having his hearing examined, and meeting with the radiation team. Sounds like if all goes well, we could be starting our radiation treatments as early as Sept 19th! Pray for that to be the case, and we can keep moving forward!

It's so great to see Drew well again. He's so happy and adorable, I could just eat him up!! It's a great reward, after such a tough last couple of weeks. But during those tough weeks, God really lead me to a powerful truth, I feel I must share. As I was watching Drew endure such pain last week, I thought of Jesus and His suffering on the Cross. And how, at the height of it, he called out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?!", breathed His last, and yielded up His Spirit. I thought, see, even Jesus, who was without sin, felt alone, abandoned, even angry as he was going through such agony. Yet He didn't give in to those feelings, but remained obedient and finished it. It was comforting to remember that Jesus felt the same feelings I do as we go through this with Drew. I need to be like Christ, even through the feelings of despair that come as we walk through this dark world of childhood cancer, and finish it anyway. Find my "inner Jesus" I told myself, to get through. Then, I really feel, God corrected me. No, not my inner Jesus, the closest Heidi can get, but find the REAL Jesus that is in me! He will be the strength I need to get through. It was such an encouraging and freeing train of thought, I felt like I had to share for anyone else who is going through hard things. Whatever our situation, and however we feel, we can push through because we have the real Jesus in us, giving us the strength. I'm sure I'll feel alone and angry again as we continue in Drew's treatment, and that's okay. But I can't give in to those feelings, and instead rely on Jesus to be my strength to finish. And finish this we will, all the way to the end!

Here's some pictures from the weekend. Drew outside, Molly and I at her first ISU football game in Ames, Josh and Drew cheering from the hospital, and then the two of them today as we went to visit our boys. Thank you for all your prayers as usual, pray we bring Drew home in just a couple days!!

~Heidi