FORGIVING THE UNLOVELY You know it is easy to love the ones that are kind, that show they care, that believe the same way we do, that have a positive attitude but what about the ones that are unlovely? It is not as easy to love the person who has wronged us, who believe differently than we do, that have hurt us, that have mistreated us and that are negative. God says in His word, “Love your enemies, bless those…
Patience while we wait: When are you going to answer this prayer God? God can and will use our trials to grow us in trust and through that trust….patience! We would not have to trust god with our lives if we knew when things were going to happen, why certain things happen and how that prayer was going to be answered. Patience can be described as how we react, behave and trust while we are waiting for something to…
JOY……UNSPEAKABLE JOY! Joy is something that each of us truly long for but it can be difficult to achieve at times. As a Christian, experiencing joy should be a part of our lives because Joy is the fruit of the Holy Spirit that is produced by God’s work through us and it is God’s will for all of us to experience Joy. So many times I have been asked how I can have so much Joy when going through these…
Trust – God is teaching you to swim! Sometimes in the midst of difficulty when you are in a dark place it is hard to really see what God is doing. It’s hard at times to imagine that there could be something good that’s coming from our struggle and pain. It’s hard to imagine that this situation, this tragedy, this illness, this heartbreak could really be part of His plan. God has shown me something very real in all that…
ADDI JOY On August 19, 2018 Addi was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma Stage 4 High Risk Cancer after a visit to the ER where her parents thought she had appendicitis. Addi was immediately admitted to the hospital where testing began to determine the extent of her disease. Addi had a large tumor on her kidney that also incapsulated her adrenal gland. The cancer had metastasized to her skull, both arms, both hips, pelvis, lymph nodes, bone marrow and a small…
FAITH OVER FEAR God tells us in his word to walk by faith and not by sight. Sometimes it is hard to walk by faith when fear grips our heart and everything around us is falling apart, but it is a choice we make. Either we walk in fear or we walk in faith. We must obey God’s word with our actions. When we display faith in the face of fear, it causes us to grow spiritually. Fear is real and it can have a…
When your child is diagnosed with Cancer….. I receive many messages from parents or family members who have gotten that awful, unthinkable news….your child has cancer. I get asked many questions and I try to be as honest and open as I can. It’s a scary place to be especially when mom is supposed to “fix” all of your kids problems and you can’t. You feel like you can’t breath and that life will never be the same again. You…
SEPTEMBER……Childhood Cancer Awareness MonthI will admit, before Addi’s diagnosis I never supported childhood cancer research and I did not do anything to bring awareness. I saw the posts of the kids going through treatment, I cried tears for the families and children and I definitely prayed for them but financially support…NO, bring awareness, NO! Why don’t we support…..because we never imagine it could happen to our child, grandchild, niece, nephew, cousin or friend! Well, I never in a million years…
Cycle ONE of Antibody treatment complete at MSK……… I have not been blogging here lately and I need to catch up those up follow Addi’s Journey here. I apologize but life has been chaotic. Last week Addi had her first cycle of treatments in New York at Memorial Sloan Kettering. I have to admit after the first treatment last Monday I was second guessing if we made the right decision of putting her through more treatment. The treatment is very…
THANKFUL……I had a little breakdown this morning which is unusual for me. It wasn’t because of what Addi is going through which is a lot but what I saw in the waiting room and what so many other children and parents are going through. To see the world through the eyes of a child with cancer will change you. To hear the story of a parent who is fighting along side their child will change you. It will change your perspective and…
I have not blogged in a while and so I thought I would update those that only follow Addi’s story here. I apologize for not updating. Life has been hectic and I forget to post here. Addi has been doing very well. She is sassy, sweet, strong willed and loving. It is hard to believe that just a few months ago she was on deaths door and today I can hardly keep up with her. Addi’s doctors have referred her…
Radiation, Day 3……..May 22, 2019 Addi has done really well today. She’s slept a lot more than the past two days but she’s happy and no vomiting or other side effects. Although she cried and fought as they put her to sleep, it wasn’t quiet as bad as the last two days. That is the worst thing hearing her call for help but today she was a little more at ease. I’m praying she won’t be afraid as she sees…
Radiation Day 1….. Post from 5/20/19 Day 1 of radiation has went fairly well. We arrived at Emory at 7 am this morning. She was happy UNTIL she saw the mask coming for her. I hold her while the anesthesiologist puts her to sleep and it’s not a fun job. You would think I would be use to it as many times as I’ve done it but I’m not. I hate the look on her face as she looks at…
Great Weekend……. Post from 5/19/19 What a wonderful, busy weekend we had. Our friend Amber brought her horse to the house so I could finish up Addi’s 3 year photos. We had a great time and I got some perfect shots of our girl. This child has no fear and absolutely loved the horse and just walked up to her like it was nothing. She cried to ride and brush him. She loves animals in general but really connected with…
Our pink butterfly ice cream princess…… Addi is doing great and had a great week. She has been asked to be the ambassador for the March Of Dimes for our community. We went to our first meeting with the team on Monday of last week. We really enjoyed meeting everyone. Then she had to get some bloodwork at our local hospital. As usual she enjoyed seeing our favorite nurses. These wonderful nurses love Addi so much and we had the…
Day at the Zoo before surgery…… We enjoyed a fun day today at the Atlanta Zoo on Tuesday! We stayed in Atlanta so we could be close to the hospital since Addi had to be there so early on Wednesday for surgery. Addi loves animals so she was in heaven and had the best time. We are so excited after all this time to be out and enjoying life with her before next treatment starts. It is so awesome to…
HOME IS THE BEST MEDICINE……. I am a little behind on the blog and for that I am sorry. It has been one week being HOME and Addi is doing better than ever. She still has a lot of healing to do but it is amazing what being home will do for you! It’s really great seeing her smiling, playing and eating. She has played with every toy in the house, eating everything in sight and smiling and happy like…
FLUID DRAINING……. Well, not really a lot to report today except that the IR doctor was blown away by the amount of fluid that Addi drained in a 24 hour period. They drained around 2600 off of her stomach which equates to about 2-1/2 liters. That is alot of fluid on a little ones abdomen! The doctor wants to monitor for 24 more hours to see how she does with the fluid shift and how her electrolytes do so we…
BUSY DAY……April 1, 2019 Addi had a pretty busy day today and is now sound asleep. She has four teams of doctors overseeing her care so every morning begins with lots of doctors in and out trying to formulate a plan and get to the bottom of the mystery that is Addi. There are some conflicting opinions from the doctors which makes it frustrating on top of having a different team each week (they rotate so we have a different…
Perspective…….. Over the past 42 days I’ve experienced so much emotion watching all Addi is enduring and this never ending roller coaster ride. I’ve also witnessed the emotion of others……I’ve looked into the tear stained eyes of a mother who just found out her baby has cancer and heard her desperate cry. I’ve heard the sorrow in a fathers voice as he says there are no more options for his son and it’s just a matter of time as he…