What's the Story?

As I sleepily trudged to the nutrition room to make myself a cup of Earl Grey this morning, I caught a peek into a neighbor's room. There was another mother attempting to take in a few moments of rest on the hospital room couch. There was another grandmother sitting up watching over a sleeping baby, just as both my mom and Chris's mom have done for us.

I've caught snippets of conversations in the hallways and elevators and cafeteria. Mothers and fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers, concerned families and friends - all focused on one child and how their whole world has shifted and their perspectives have changed. Some of them have been here for months, have had to return countless times, or even have more than one child here.

There are so many stories. Stories of hope. Stories of loss. Stories of fear. Stories of sadness. Stories of despair. And stories of faith.

I hope, most fervently, that our story will be marked by hope and by faith.

Though yesterday was not quite as good as Monday, we were still blessed with the sound of sweet Willow Grace's voice asking for family members, talking about what she wants to do when we leave, and crying for a Dora the Explorer coloring book. Our loving nurses here made sure that baby had some Dora pages to color. They brought several pages printed off the internet four different times, and then later they brought a whole coloring book with stickers for her. She was able to sit up a couple times and color, but she wants someone else to color with her. Even in her current state, she's quite sociable.

We had a couple scares yesterday. It seems like every day brings new challenges and more to learn. At one point, she woke up in a sort of crazed state. She was frantic and unable to answer any of our questions. She looked wild, and her eyes were shooting all over the place, quicker than I would have thought possible. After several long minutes, possibly ten minutes, our nurse paged the doctors, and I was astounded at how fast they arrived. After a few minutes more, however, we were able to get her calmed down and focused, and she responded well to all questions asked and little actions she was asked to perform. The nephrologist said that Willow Grace was just responding to the morphine and had a bit of delirium because she has been so sick. Other than that, the big events of the day were another blood transfusion and a new dialysis machine after the first one decided it was tired and started sounding an alarm every other minute. There are times when the dialysis is very painful for her, and we just try to soothe her and distract her as much as possible until it passes.

Today Chris returns to work. Please pray for him as I know it's going to be hard to be away from her all day after all that we've been through and watching over her constantly for the last seven days. We are so blessed to be in a position where I don't have to make that decision between staying here with her and losing my job or going to work and leaving her alone all day. It breaks my heart that there are so many children here who spend all day alone because their parents can't afford to be here. I can't imagine leaving my sweet girl all alone in this room all day. I've said it for years, and I continue to say it now, "I love my job. I love the people I work with, around, and for. I am so blessed to be at CPA." My sweet friend, Megan, from work, brought me some requested supplies, and yesterday morning I was able to make a bunch of colorful scripture signs to post all over the room. I have the Word of God all around me, constant encouragement straight from my Heavenly Father.

For those of you who have asked, a couple of my coworkers/amazing friends arranged a website for people who want to bring food. Here's the link if you want to see what nights are available: http://www.takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=YBXL2103 Thank you so much for all the ways you've supported our little family, for the prayers, calls, texts, visits, food, care packages, and love. I will never be able to adequately express what this has meant to me and how deeply you have touched my heart, but I hope you know how deeply grateful I am. I hope your day is blessed with laughter, joy, and peace.

Good Day to Live

Upon being asked how I was doing earlier I happily replied, “It’s a good day to be alive!” “Why,” you may ask. Well, this morning before I left my mom’s house, Willow Grace laid her sweet head on my shoulder and gave me a hug. What a great send off for work!

And just a few moments ago, I had the most delightful conversation with Jimmy Gentry. What an amazing story teller! I know that many (most) of you probably don’t know who he is, but he is certainly a person worth knowing. Today he is speaking to the eighth graders, and they are in for a treat. He was already in full story telling mode, and it was almost as if my soul breathed a sigh of joy as I listened to him. I first met him when I was in seventh grade as he taught my Tennessee History class. He had lived so much of the history he was teaching us, and it was absolutely fascinating to learn from him. After our lessons (and sometimes before or during), we would beg him to tell us stories about growing up on his farm in Franklin, Tennessee, and he would regale us with tales of hunting, fishing, and mischief with his brothers and friends. Sometimes he would tell us about some of his experiences during WWII, but it wasn't until years later that I learned that he was actually in the company of men who liberated the concentration camp of Dachau. In recent years he has written a book about his life, and a documentary was made as well—both of which I highly recommend. In addition to this, he just told me, much to my delight, that a feature film is being planned. These days he tells his story to all sorts of groups and also runs a farm complete with a summer camp and lots of autumn activities. We can't wait to take Willow Grace to see the pumpkins and all the farm animals this fall. Go here to read a bit more about his life or here to find out about the documentary. His story certainly helps to bring some perspective to our own lives.

Despite all the trials and frustrations that we experience along the way, it's important to remember that life is precious. That little hug I received this morning was a significant moment, and it served to remind me that it truly is a good day to be alive.