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Today being Wednesday, August 8, 2007, I was going to sit down after a week of intense school-preparedness and blog about the kids' first day back.

Things went well.

I feel a burden upon my heart today though b/c while I'm sort of celebrating four of my children being back in school, there is a mother and father in our church whose seventh grade daughter was diagnosed with leukemia this weekend.

I feel I need to post the struggles that Ginger (the mother) writes about everyday, though I have no idea why.

Maybe because life seems so small at times like these.

And you just go where the Spirit leads....do your part, as part of The Vine, without questioning.



First, to catch you up to speed:

Friday night the family was at a movie and the daughter complained about her back hurting; by the time the movie had finished, she was writhing in pain. They decided to take her to the Emergency Room as a precautionary measure. That's it. It was that quick.

They say they caught it very early and that it's a very treatable form of leukemia...but it's still leukemia...and she's just a little girl.

They are at St. Jude's Hospital now, as well as, for the next sixth months and from there, will probably transfer to the St. Jude's Annex here in Huntsville. They are being provided a hotel room free-of-charge, but it only covers up to four family members and they have seven. They are trying to figure out what to do.

They are a homeschool family so they are close-knit but this puts an even greater burden on Ginger (the mom) to nurse her sick child and educate the others.

We don't know them personally, it's possible we've met but our church is very large and I don't remember them. Regardless, Lori (their daughter) is just about the same age as ours and their lives were turned upside down in one night.

Her updates are very open, honest, insightful and interesting. I feel compelled to pass this on to whomever may read it so that they can receive as many prayers as possible and feel the power of the Spirit.


Today's Update:


Here is an update from Ginger Clements on Lori. Please pray!

-------Original Message-------

From: ginclements
Date: 08/08/07 04:42:10
To: WBCShomeschool@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [WBCShomeschool] Latest update

I'm watching the clock tick down on my timed computer session and wondering how to best use 26 minutes. Also I forgot to put my contacts in, so I'm missing a lot of errors--try to interpret my mistakes!Lori's fever peaked tonight at about 104 degrees. It's currently down to 102. Fever is an enemy they swat at viciously around here. It means infection somewhere, so they started a course of strong antibiotics, morphine for pain, tylenol for headache, ice packs for comfort...I can't count how many drugs this child has received since Saturday. This is just the beginning, though. Chemo begins soon (probably tomorrow) and that is a veritable soup of medicines, all with really nasty side effects. Good news--chemo is not as difficult as in the past--there is less nausea because of some wonderful preventive medicines they've come up with. We are under the direct care of the head of oncology and under the watchful eye of the doctor who has written most of the leukemia protocols (the guidelines as to what medicines to give and when). Because this is a research hospital, we are being asked to take part in a study that will include an enhanced protocol. We need wisdom before the morning to decide. There is little chance for harm and a slight chance that it will be a more beneficial treatment. The main benefit is to posterity and I think that we're here by the grace of God and the patients who've undergone experimental treatments for years before we got here. Anyway, I'm absorbing what this all really means and this is the bottom line--we haven't a clue what we're about to go through! This much we know--we will be here for at least six weeks. I'm not sure when the timer begins on that: yesterday or tomorrow or the end of the week. Many of you have volunteered to bring us clothes or belongings from home. I believe my mother, brother and sister-in-law are coming up this weekend and they will be able to re-supply us for now. My head is spinning when I contemplate re-arranging our lives for six or seven weeks. That is just the beginning, however. Possibly we will be coming back and forth for six months for intensive treatments and then at least 2 1/2 years with most treatments taking place in Huntsville. For the next 10 years, Lori will be under a physician's care for this disease.We await the results of a few more tests before we know just how the above schedule will really work. This is barring complications, such as the fever she's currently running. She's still a very, very sick girl. The staff here already loves her and they've started spoiling her and bribing her with gifts (I think she racked up about four new toys/crafts today). One of the nurses from Huntsville Hospital called to check on her yesterday. She's getting a lot of attention by her sweet spirit. Every time they check her temp (hourly), give her meds (every 2-4 hours) or draw blood, she says "thank you". She has a gentle spirit that is winning hearts and breaking mine.I haven't begun to cry over this. I've leaked a few tears when I get alone, but I'm not away from her for any longer than I have to be. The clock is ticking away and I haven't said anything about how wonderful you have been. I've gotten calls from old friends that I had lost touch with because you have forwarded the updates to friends who continued to forward. I'm here without my email addresses, so if I've left anyone off of this mailing, it's only because I can't remember my name, let alone anyone's email! I appreciate every call and I know some of you have left messages that I want to return, but my phone decided to completely die yesterday and it took hours to resurrect it. My fully charged battery only lasted 1/2 a day thanks to all the sweet phone calls I received. I appreciate them and actually I thrive on them. It is a blessing to tell Lori, "Mrs. Spain said this hug is from her" or "Mrs. James says that she loves you". I've given her those messages dozens of times and i'm hoping to get it together enough to compile a list of all who have called and keep it in a journal for her. She is buoyed by your love. She had a few moments yesterday when she felt well enough to talk to someone on the phone, so please tell your children that if they want to talk to her, call my cell and maybe she'll be able to say hello. I'm down to 1 minute and I haven't thanked the Gureaskos for coming by. What a JOY to see the faces of friends who held our hands and prayed with us. I love you all so much. Please continue to lift us up as we make the hard decisions.