September 2008 Archives

bri·gade     /brɪˈgeɪd/  -noun 

1. a group of individuals organized for a particular purpose

Marley and I want to thank everyone who supported Lucas yesterday. Some of his closest friends showed up at the Willow Springs clubhouse and, in turn, had their heads shaved so that he (Lucas) wouldn't be the only bald-headed kid in school. It truly made his day. Again, thank you so much everyone!

Also, I want to thank Rita Bowers for the donuts and soda.

And a special thank you to Traci Schroeder who volunteered her time to assist in the shaving of heads.

Here are a few of the photos from yesterday's event (click on any image to enlarge it), and, wow, even Lyndee Hudson (img #8) got Luc's initials shaved out of the back of her head. Now that's love!

Enjoy,

~Ron

We have been so blessed that Luc has done so well so far.  His blood counts have not yet gotten dangerously low, he has been eating well, he has been able to go to school a little bit.  We are so grateful that the Lord has seen fit to bless him in these crucial areas.

Sunday started a bit of trauma in his life.  I went to wake him up to get ready for church and, as I was running my hand through his hair, a ton of hair came out in my fingers.  When he woke up he put his hand through his hair and had the same results.  Within 3 minutes I had removed 3 handfuls of hair by just running my hand through it.  He was so upset.  We weren't expecting it this soon.  The doctor had indicated that it most likely wouldn't start falling out until after his next treatment.  He really wanted to have his hair for the hunt.  When I asked him why it was so important, he replied, "Mom, Panguitch is the only place where I feel I can leave all this behind.  If I'm bald when I am there, people will be asking me why and I won't be able to get away from it."  It is more than being bald that bothers him, it is what it represents.

He has some absolutely fantastic friends.  They came to us and asked if we could have a "head shaving gala".  They want to shave their heads too!  They can't go through everything that Luc is experiencing, but they want to share this with him and support him.  I am so grateful for their friendship.  This party will take place tomorrow afternoon at the clubhouse of our condo complex.  We are going to create some crazy & funny styles first before we completely buzz them.  I believe that this will turn this from a negative into a fun, positive thing.  I will post the pictures when we get them.

I also need to express our deepest gratitude to those incredibly generous and giving individuals who, this past week, have left groceries on our doorstep 3 different times.  We have felt overwhelmed at the love of our Father expressed by others.  He truly does take care of us in every way.  I have no way of knowing who it was, and I know that they want it that way so that we will give the glory to the Lord.  We thank Him with all our hearts and know that the reward for the charity shown to our family will be a hundred-fold.  That is exactly what we have prayed for.  Our kids are so excited for the opportunity we will have to "pay it forward" someday soon.

Marley

Luc is doing amazingly well.  He went to school Wednesday afternoon and is planning to go this afternoon, too.  His blood counts have been good and it has even surprised his nurse coordinator, Alyce.  Because this is his first round, and we don't know what to expect, she said to be cautiously optimistic.  His counts could still go down, but we are so grateful that they have been good.  He seems to be keeping up with his school work.  We ended up dropping his electives because, many of them, the work could only be done in class.  I told him that he will have 4 years to take all those fun classes.  It seems much more manageable to keep up on the work from his 4 core classes.  He truly is being blessed in all ways.

I need to thank the "angels" who have given so generously to help our family in a very challenging time, with Luc's health and Ron's unemployment.  We are overwhelmed by the feelings of gratitude.  It is affecting all of our children in a good way and, I believe, they will be so much more consciencious of others when they see others in need and will thus seek out ways to help them.  And I know this will be a part of them throughout the rest of their lives. 

Marley

Sorry that I haven't gotten around to updating since we got home.  The first few days Luc still felt very sick, but once he was able to start eating regularly he started to improve rapidly.  He even felt up to going to his grandparents for a barbeque on Friday evening.  Last night we went on a walk as a family.  It felt so good to be out breathing the fresh air and laughing.  Luc was back to his humorous self, making us all laugh.  He even said that if his blood counts were good enough he would go to school on Tuesday.

The nurse came and drew blood this morning (he will have blood draws twice a week) and, although his counts have come down significantly to those a week ago, they are still okay.  He was looking so forward to going to school tomorrow, but this afternoon and this evening has felt so weak that he has a hard time even walking down the hall.  I told him that we will see how he feels tomorrow.  He is concerned about falling too far behind.  His advisor, Mrs. Allen, brought him some of his work tonight.  If we can get into a routine here at home, I think we will be more successful in keeping up with his work.

I am so grateful that he has done so well after this treatment.  I feel that all of our prayers are being answered.  I know that there is purpose in all that the Lord has given us to experience.  We have more empathy not only for people passing through similar challenges, but for all who suffer.  I loved Elder Marlin K. Jensen's talk at the regional conference this past Sunday.  He spoke of people who are different and being mindful and empathetic of them.  When we were baptized we covenanted to "mourn with those who mourn and comfort those that stand in need of comfort".  He quoted the Primary song "I'll Walk With You", which is one of my very favorites.  He also said that, in some way, we are all different and all have need of the succor of our Savior.  We feel so blessed to be surrounded by true disciples of our Savior who do their best to comfort and succor us.  You have been His arms in lifting us, His mouth in encouraging us, His back in carrying us.  We will be forever grateful for this journey that we were not required to travel alone, but with those who truly are part of the body of Christ.

Marley

It feels so good to be home.  Luc was chomping at the bit to get out of the hospital this morning.  He didn't get discharged until about 12:30 this afternoon.  He is so glad to be back at home.  He is experiencing severe nausea most of the time, but just a few minutes ago he was able to eat some delicious soup that a family in our ward brought us.  It did my heart good to see him eat.  He lost over 6 pounds in the hospital.  His blood counts were good when we left.  The doctor said that in about 10-15 days his counts will bottom out.  He received a shot today that should shorten the time that his white blood cells (neutrophils) are at their lowest.  We had some really great nurses and techs up at PCMC, and the Childlife specialist, Mike, was so awesome.  He spent some time with Luc teaching him a technique to help him calm himself.  Luc is supposed to practice during times when he is not stressed so that it will be easier when he is.

Ron said that he could never be a single parent. When Zac got home from school he about plowed me over with the hug he gave me.  I think we are all glad to be a family again.

Marley

A few photos taken before and after hospital admittance. Enjoy. ~Ron