December and February checkup
I haven’t written an update in a while. But I still count every day as a miracle. We are never promised a day. Reminded of this in reading psalm 39 as a family that day. Even those of us that are textbook healthy- I got my bloodwork back the other day – are not promised a day. We were reminded of that this week as a dear friend of ours Gabriel at age 7 went to be with Jesus. His mother had texted me during church to ask for prayers in the ER and in same message telling me that his pulse was gone. Life is ever so fleeting. We know not our days. But Gabriel’s life made an impact on us again that day. Be kinder to one another, slow down and be more present.
I’m writing this headed to our March checkup because I have Mac napping on me- time to pray, reflect and yes write.
On our December trip, Evelyn joined us and it was very cold. Mac is notably growing and we are closely monitoring has EBV (Epstein Barr levels). Being on high immunosuppression can allow dormant viruses like EBV to resurface. Thankfully he has none of the typical side effects. A huge blessing that his lymph nodes have remained normal and activity level high.
We lost our sweet dairy cow during this trip. She went down due to a trauma in the field the day before this trip and our community rallied around us to get her up, fed, lifted by skid steer for daily pt and we thank them all. We returned and nursed her back to health as much as we could with daily pt and then sent her to UT that had a float tank to help her regain strength without her weight. She did amazingly the first two days up the entire time unassisted for hours in the tank. Unfortunately, the third day she tore a knee ligament and we had to say goodbye to her.
Seems funny to share a story about a cow. Now make no mistake Mac loved Clara and Clara loved Mac- he calls her his “lala”. But we noticed something interesting when caring for Clara. Yes we could’ve put her down from the beginning, but we fought so hard as a family (the community did too) and in those quiet moments in the barn the kids wrestling in the hay cheering her own, Andy learning how to lift her by skid steer with a hoist borrowed and myself doing manual pt on her legs with red light a few times a day…It produced endurance. We knew the likelihood would be our Clara wouldn’t make it- the odds were against us- but we worked hard, loved hard and we grew as a family. None of it was in vain and, if anything, our kids will remember that when we grow old and feeble and by our bedside rubbing our legs and spending time with us. Serving God independent of the outcome our heart desires. I hope that can serve you in the diaper changes, computer work, dirty dishes – your work is seen by your Maker. Do it joyfully.
The victory isn’t always in the outcome but the journey. God doesn’t always see us solving the problem but standing in the role, filling it in the way He would see fit.
Our February trip all children joined along and it was the actual best trip ever. We had so much fun and many kinks got in our way but we enjoyed it anyways. Mac’s EBV levels rose again please continue to pray for those to normalize. Otherwise his kidney is showing it is happy and healthy I believe it was 2 inches he has grown in height since transplant back in December. It was so snowy and icey and we slipped and slid all over those sidewalks but we made it. We got stuck for my birthday and it was the sweetest most restorative day. We did workout videos, played games, and had chocolate mousses to celebrate.
We are almost to Pittsburgh for our March trip. Thankful to our air angel pilot John Greco. If you’ll pray this visit is safe, Mac is thriving and EBV normalized, Eddie and Dad stay safe back at home, and all our farm animals stay safe too. Our dear friends the Tallons are having their daughter Laina’s kidney transplant in Pittsburgh this Friday we would love to cover them in prayer. Their story is remarkable if you’d like to read it here: https://cota.org/cotaforlaina/
Here are pictures and a video from the last few months.
