Well, our first weekend here at St. Jude has come to an end. It was a change of pace not to have to visit the hospital, but at the same time, just sitting around makes us anxious because we fell like we are not getting anything accomplished as far as treatment goes.
We spent the weekend at the apartment that my parents are renting (just 2 miles from our hotel) and Sophie really seemed to like being in a different environment. Her physical symptoms are unchanged, but her moods have been a little better.
Saturday Sophie agreed to stay with Grandpa so that I could go to Target with Grandma to get some things we had forgotten. I realized I didn’t have my purse, so we made a brief stop at the hotel to get it. Upon entering, the kind lady at the front desk asked me to confirm my last name. I had two surprises waiting. One was a nice bouquet of balloons with a teddy bear for Sophie (from the Thals – thank you) and then she told me I had “guests” waiting for me in the “family room.” Imagine my surprise when I saw 3 of my very dear CRHP “sisters” from my old church in Cincinnati!!!! These 3 very busy ladies with families of their own had driven 7 or more hours to surprise me with a visit! Not only was I (and my family) blessed with their company, but they also came bearing gifts…many gifts. Rubbermaid totes full that they had put together with the help of my other CRHP sisters and some of the ladies from our old subdivision. Tissues, magazines, chocolate, and more chocolate, DVDs, books, stickers, cards, prayer cards, a prayer shawl, note cards, stamps, zucchini bread, markers, coloring books, CDs, disposable cameras, lotion, lip balm, and many more things I know I am forgetting to mention. My Mom and I obviously nixed our Target trip, and we all spent the afternoon together, and shared pizza for dinner. We marveled at the fact that God must have planned for me to forget my purse so that I would actually go back at the hotel to see them (they had no number to reach me, and I did not know they were coming.) It was an awesome moment, and an outpouring of generosity, kindness, love and SUPPORT! Thank you IHM – Cincinnati community. I’ve seen the work of that church before, but never on my behalf. I am overwhelmed and shocked by the level of spiritual support that this faith community has provided.
Sophie is still clingy, but she has her moments of reprieve where others can distract her enough to give me a short break. I actually took my first shower ALONE this morning before we went to church. We planned on leaving Sophie here with Grandma and Grandpa, but she said she wanted to come, and of course we weren’t going to deny her a chance to be in God’s house!
We even ventured to Wal-Mart, after a short afternoon nap, Sophie in tow. She said she was tired, but did pretty well. We convinced her to wear a pull up tonight, telling her they were special “sleeping underwear.” Hopefully that will make tonight a night of not having to change the bed sheets.
Tomorrow we will be up early. Sophie has her first appointment at 8:00am, followed by yet another sedation for the PET scan, which was postponed, from last week. I hope tomorrow morning will not be too bad because she won’t be able to eat again, and she has been eating up a storm. We are trying to monitor what she eats, but it is difficult to tell her no. We are hoping that the radiation will begin Wednesday at the latest.
Thanks again for the continued prayers and support. Keep them coming. We certainly do need them.
We spent the weekend at the apartment that my parents are renting (just 2 miles from our hotel) and Sophie really seemed to like being in a different environment. Her physical symptoms are unchanged, but her moods have been a little better.
Saturday Sophie agreed to stay with Grandpa so that I could go to Target with Grandma to get some things we had forgotten. I realized I didn’t have my purse, so we made a brief stop at the hotel to get it. Upon entering, the kind lady at the front desk asked me to confirm my last name. I had two surprises waiting. One was a nice bouquet of balloons with a teddy bear for Sophie (from the Thals – thank you) and then she told me I had “guests” waiting for me in the “family room.” Imagine my surprise when I saw 3 of my very dear CRHP “sisters” from my old church in Cincinnati!!!! These 3 very busy ladies with families of their own had driven 7 or more hours to surprise me with a visit! Not only was I (and my family) blessed with their company, but they also came bearing gifts…many gifts. Rubbermaid totes full that they had put together with the help of my other CRHP sisters and some of the ladies from our old subdivision. Tissues, magazines, chocolate, and more chocolate, DVDs, books, stickers, cards, prayer cards, a prayer shawl, note cards, stamps, zucchini bread, markers, coloring books, CDs, disposable cameras, lotion, lip balm, and many more things I know I am forgetting to mention. My Mom and I obviously nixed our Target trip, and we all spent the afternoon together, and shared pizza for dinner. We marveled at the fact that God must have planned for me to forget my purse so that I would actually go back at the hotel to see them (they had no number to reach me, and I did not know they were coming.) It was an awesome moment, and an outpouring of generosity, kindness, love and SUPPORT! Thank you IHM – Cincinnati community. I’ve seen the work of that church before, but never on my behalf. I am overwhelmed and shocked by the level of spiritual support that this faith community has provided.
Sophie is still clingy, but she has her moments of reprieve where others can distract her enough to give me a short break. I actually took my first shower ALONE this morning before we went to church. We planned on leaving Sophie here with Grandma and Grandpa, but she said she wanted to come, and of course we weren’t going to deny her a chance to be in God’s house!
We even ventured to Wal-Mart, after a short afternoon nap, Sophie in tow. She said she was tired, but did pretty well. We convinced her to wear a pull up tonight, telling her they were special “sleeping underwear.” Hopefully that will make tonight a night of not having to change the bed sheets.
Tomorrow we will be up early. Sophie has her first appointment at 8:00am, followed by yet another sedation for the PET scan, which was postponed, from last week. I hope tomorrow morning will not be too bad because she won’t be able to eat again, and she has been eating up a storm. We are trying to monitor what she eats, but it is difficult to tell her no. We are hoping that the radiation will begin Wednesday at the latest.
Thanks again for the continued prayers and support. Keep them coming. We certainly do need them.
1 comment:
Emily-
I am sending restful thoughts your way in hopes that you are able to sleep well tonight. As always, thank you for taking the time to update the blog. I know for me, reading Sophie's blog is very therapeutic. I am so grateful for all your wonderful friends and family and all the support you are receiving. Please give Sophie a big hug and kiss for me. Tell her how much I love her.
Love, Leslie
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