6 out of 7

6 out of 7... 85.7% --not bad if your taking a school test-- but not so great when your counting days spent in the hospital over the last week. That's right, we're still here and will be here for at least another day, since Katherine had 102 fever again tonight. At times it feels as if we're stuck on Gilligan's Island. Everything looks good for getting out of here, only to be foiled at the 11th hour.

The good news- the hospital is less than a mile from our house. We're, once again, learning to ask for and eagerly accept help. We have medical insurance. We have Dr.'s and nurses who are caring and dedicated. I have a boss that is understanding and flexible. Most importantly, we have a God that knows us, cares for us, and has a purpose for us in/through all of this.

I (Dan) almost lost it on Tuesday evening. The stress of trying to lead our family through this trial, with all of the stressors and the unknowns that are un-researchable. The difficulty of trying to communicate with my wife while nurses are coming in and out of the room, and while our kids are needing constant attention for the 2 hours we're together each day. I felt like throwing a chair through the window for no specific reason that I could articulate.

Fortunately, we got a break mid-week that allowed me to go for a run around the park by our house and the hospital. A cool thing about the new Children's Hospital is that they have a spot light on the top of the building shooting straight up into the sky. We can see it from our front yard, and I can see it as I run around the park. For me it is somehow comforting, like the hospital is to be a light in a dark world.

As I was running, I was listening to a song by Aaron Spiro, "Begins and Ends with You". A couple of the lines spoke words I needed to hear.

in your peace we find our peace

in your strength we learn to stand

in your arms we find release

in your hands we are your hands

I believe that a purpose for this trial in our lives is that we learn to find our peace, strength, and release in Christ alone. That we can be the hands of Christ for others, after we fully understand what it means to be held in His hands.

Thanks for all of your prayers and support. For those who are interested, we've added a Calendar with Kateli's Chemo schedule (On the section to the right). The schedule is updated through this summer. After that we will begin the Maintenance portion of treatment that will go through 2010.