Long Weekend Heartbreaks

So obviously I never posted a picture of my "Holiday Mirror".  That's probably because I didn't take one.

Today was a little heartbreaking.

Actually, a lot of this weekend has been a lot heartbreaking.

Two of the children I followed the updates of passed away this weekend.

Audrianna Bartol died at the age of 6 Friday evening at 5:45pm.  She fought Neuroblastoma for four years.  I knew about her and read about her progress for about three of those years, and even contributed to helping cross a few things off her bucket list by making a page dedicated to the list on Facebook.

Saturday morning, at 2:40am, Daisy Love Merrick also passed away.  Daisy had battled a Wilms Tumor for also nearly four years, three of which I had been following along with her journey.  Her cancer just kept coming back.  Her parents even took her to Israel to try and save her life and the stupid cancer just would go away.

Now I never got to meet either of these kids face to face, and I don't think you have to have been face to face with a person to know them.  I have had numerous conversations with the parents, including one with Audrianna's mom tonight.

I am just asking that you pray for these two families and the thousands of people who loved them near and far and prayed for their little girls.  And if you knew or knew about Audrianna or Daisy, I am so sorry for your loss, and I am here for you.


Today, EJ had clinic.  Clinic is supposed to be a one day thing.  You go, you get your labs or your one day chemo and  your other one day type of procedures or treatments and you get to go home, no bed required.

Not for EJ.

After being home for less than a week, EJ is now experiencing his second hospital stay thanks to stupid cancer.  His labs came back absolutely terrible today.  ANC was less than 12, Hemoglobin at 6.5, and get this people, his Platelet count? 1.  EJ had ONE platelet today.

So, he was declared neutropenic, and sent right upstairs, right back to room 809, where he spiked a fever.

Great.

Not only were his counts out of whack, he now had a fever.  So they put him on fluids and pain killers (which he had gone the weekend without and was in pretty bad pain", and they took some cultures and last I heard from Michelle he was resting comfortably.

It's bad enough for a kid to have cancer, and to have planned hospital visits, but to have an unplanned visit just makes for a situation double the difficult.

Please pray for my little buddy.   I'm hoping to get up to CHKD to see him and keep Michelle some company tomorrow.  We will be a sight with our germ protecting masks on around neutropenic EJ.




Also, my mother-in-law has Sciatica.   She can barely move since about four days ago.  Michaila and I have been helping her as much as we can and she's slowly getting better, but please add her to your prayer list as well.





I know this post is sad, but it is 100% true.  If we turn our heads from the sad things they will only become more sad.  In the great words of the Lorax, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not!"  No child should have cancer.  I believe there are cures to be found, and I care a whole awful lot, and I hope you do too.


Do not fret, however, if anyone is actually reading this.  I have some happy times and good news to share as well.  My father-in-law's birthday dinner was this weekend so I have photos of that I will share within the next day or so and I have an exciting trip announcement for my remembering purposes on this blog.


Before I go I just wanted to share this quote I saw on Facebook today:

"The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still."







Shine Bright,
<3 Stormy