Valentine's Day

Probably not many people can remember vividly what they were doing, thinking, feeling this day last year. For our family, this holiday will forever be etched with memories of things not so sweet. I remember sitting on the couch, taking the call from Dr. K, having him confirm what was at the time our worst nightmare. It's hard to believe that a year has passed, since that day when we were told our daughter had Leukemia. It has been a difficult year for sure, but one that has brought new perspective.

I never would have thought that I would feel fortunate that my daughter 'only has Leukemia', but this year I have. When you are around families that have children with extremely rare conditions with unproven treatments, you feel blessed that treatment for kids Katherine's age with 'ALL' is as good as it is.

I had never thought about the families that frequent the hospital that is less than a mile from our house, or for those who stay at the Ronald McDonald house while their kids have extended treatments in the hospital. But now it's nearly a daily occurance as we drive, run, or bike along 61st street.

I would never have imagined that the new Children's hospital would be such a blessing to our family. We are so fortunate to live in a country that has such amazing medical facilities. I guess I already knew the blessing of living less than a mile from St. Francis Hospital, since that is where Marleny lived for 2 months waiting for our beloved Katherine to arrive. I thank God for the Doctors, nurses, staff and volunteers that make our visits to the clinic and hospital as pleasant as possible.

I've learned that we can't do it alone, and we're really not meant to do it alone. I like to think that I'm extremely self-suffient, but this year I have come to know that I am completely insufficient to battle this alone. We've been blessed by our friends from church, from work, and by countless people all over the country. Thanks to all of our friends, family, and countless prayer warriors that have walked with us over this year.

The Lord has been faithful to sustain us in strength, to draw us near during difficult times, and to show us mercy and peace that passes understanding.

It was all about the shoes

Today was a beautiful day. We saw the sun despite the yucky forecast of clouds and rain this afternoon. In fact, we actually got out both this morning and afternoon. We did storytime at the library, lunch at Mickey D's (we contributed our little bit to support the Ronald McDonald House today), before heading to the grocery store for diapers--I am embarrassed to admit it, but somehow our supply of diapers this morning was down to a mere single one!! Luckily both kids held it until we got home from the store :)--what a relief. Anyway, today was all about the shoes for Kateli. She insisted on wearing her heeled shoes today, this morning AND this afternoon when we headed to the bridge to ride our bikes. She was out there pedaling her bike in Heels--what a girly girl!! It was fun to watch. After a little bit of biking, we hit the swings--at which time I warned Kateli that if she walked in the sand, she would end up with sand in her feet and she wouldn't like it. Guess what happened?? Let's just say, a picture speaks a thousand words :) take a look...



On another note, and as an update to her health. Our last appt we continued with great numbers, so high in fact that the nurse thinks they may have to increase her chemo dose. Kateli's ANC has been lingering well above 1500 lately, in fact last week she was up to 9900 or so....I was a little worried, as that's above the range for her age group and asked if it was some sort of "red" flag--but was very confidently told that it was not, and that it just meant they may have increase her chemo next time around if she was above 1500. So, I'm not sure if this is good news or not, I mean the increase in chemo. It's definitely GREAT news that her numbers have been high, especially during this season when there is lots of sickness going around. Please continue to pray for our little monkey as she continues on this treatment. Thank you for your visit to our page!!