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We have entered a new stage where my children seem to be coming up with some of the cutest, funniest, insightful or off-the-wall statements. So, I thought I’d share some of the gems I’ve been hearing.
One morning, I was asking the boys to forgive me for yelling at them the night before. I told them that I hadn’t used self-control like I should have and apologized if I had scared them. Luca looked up at me and said, “Yeah, Mommy… you were kind of like the Hulk…. the girl Hulk.” I have talked to him about how the Hulk doesn’t use self-control, so it was wonderful to hear that he actually listens (at times). It also made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. Such insight from such a little man.
Today, there were a couple of great ones. We were at the zoo and there was a guy there who was crazy buff. I think his shoulders were probably 2 1/2 times as wide as his waist. Anyway, Josiah saw him and said, “Mommy, that guy in the black shirt is really strong.” I agreed. Then, he asked, “Is he God?” Wow! I quickly told him that the man wasn’t God and that God is much stronger than we can even imagine.
After the zoo, we went through the drive-thru at Pizza Hut. (One of the coolest new things I’ve found, by the way.) The lady who took our order at the box was a southern african-american lady. I didn’t even notice, but when we were driving from the box to the window, Luca said, “Mommy, something that lady said sounded like the crows from Dumbo.” Another statement that I couldn’t argue with and was thankful that she hadn’t heard….
I’m so thankful to have these little moments with my boys.
Today, I spoke with someone in the surgeon’s office at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital. On October 6, Josiah will be getting his portacath taken out! It is amazing to have these wonderful signs that Josiah’s healing is really true. Praise God!!
The Song of Solomon talks about little foxes that spoil the vines (2:15). There aren’t always huge storms that try to destroy the fruit of our lives. Sometimes, it’s all the little things that try to eat away our perspective and joy.
Sunday, I sent out an email to some close friends sharing that we had received a definite “no” on an opportunity that Tony had for getting his own Chick-fil-A store. We had already started working on budgeting our finances now that Josiah’s hospital stuff has slowed down. Of course, this news makes us a bit more aware of how we handle our money.
So, the point of all of that is we have now had some little foxes show up at the Zapata home. Monday afternoon, I had loaded up the van with 3 kids (one with a freshly cut knee), a cooler, a pool bag, a gallon of tea, a pan of brownies… and a partridge in a pear tree. We were just heading down the hill to a friend’s house for a cookout. Well, I got it all piled in and went to start the van… and it didn’t start. It seems like it wants to start, but it just can’t.
I moved on with the evening and had an enjoyable Labor Day evening with some friends. We got home about 8:30 or so. I started putting the kids all to bed, figuring that Tony would be home soon. Josiah decided that he didn’t want to go to bed, so we began that battle. I finally went to bed around 10… and Josiah was still up. He wanted to go into our bed, but we’ve allowed that so much and he was really choosing to disobey. So, when Tony got home (finally) at 10:30… Josiah was still up. I think he ended up getting up at least every hour and a half, if not more, throughout the whole night. Needless to say, Tony & I didn’t sleep too well last night.
Today went alright. Naps went well. Josiah told me that he had prayed to God and He helped him sleep. (That’s the kind of thing I like to hear.) Luca had started complaining last night about his head hurting. It kept hurting off and on today. Then, his eyes started hurting. I started thinking that maybe we would need to take him to get his eyes checked. However, about dinnertime, he actually felt a bit warm. I took his temperature and, yes, he had a fever of 100.7. The icing on the cake of our 24 hour insanity.
Tonight, we had a wonderful bedtime routine and the children all went down easily. Not sure if it was the routine or if it’s just because they were all exhausted. I’ll take it either way.
In the midst of it all, I have chuckled in amazement and gotten quite irritated with those “little foxes”. However, I know without a shadow of a doubt that God is our Provider and He is where we get peace, rest and wisdom… so, I am reminding myself to keep my mind steady on the Source of all things.
I cannot believe that it’s been two days since our last visit to the oncology clinic and I have yet to write anything about it. Time to resolve that….
It was a little bit stressful getting everyone out of the house, but I wanted to have us all go and spend the time together. We took Josiah up to the cardiology floor first so they could do an echocardiogram. They’ve been doing them periodically throughout his treatment to make sure that his heart isn’t showing any damage from the strain of the tumor, the chemotherapy or the radiation. The tech was so friendly and interactive with Josiah, which is always nice. Everything looked good in the EKG, thankfully.
Then, we headed up to the oncology floor. It was so neat and wonderful to have all of the staff commenting on how big and strong Josiah looks… and how big the other kids were getting. The nurse took Josiah’s vitals. He’s up to 33 pounds – we have now surpassed his pre-diagnosis weight! Josiah also is now 37 1/4 inches tall, a full half-inch taller than he was in July.
The oncologist gave us the “schedule” for Josiah’s follow-up care. In general, Josiah will be getting a CT scan every 3 months or so, meeting with the oncologist the week after each scan and blood work every 6 months or so for the next two years.
They went ahead and did his blood work this week, which he was NOT happy about. I know he’s gotten used to not being messed with, but the doctor wanted to go ahead with it since Josiah still has his port in. Yes, they will be scheduling for his port to be removed within the next month!
This, of course, is so welcome and feels wonderful to know that he is done with treatments. It brings up some nervousness in regards to his upcoming scans because they will have to use a normal IV for his sedation. Not sure how that will go. The nurse did tell me that we could put the same numbing cream on his veins, so hopefully that will help.
Before the doctor left, we asked what his official word was on Josiah’s status. He said that there is no active cancer and is in remission. PRAISE GOD!! We are so thankful and humbled by Jesus’ healing of our little boy. It still feels a little unreal and I think that Tony and I are still a bit nervous about what lies ahead. We’re trying to rest in the peace of God and the truth of where we are right now.
It also makes my heart ache knowing that there are so many other children (and adults) that are in the midst of a longer, more intense battle. I heard this week that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Our family is now “aware” of this sad fact year round. Thank God that He is our Protector, Provider and our Peace.
Please continue to pray for our transition into normal life, as well as those families who are in the heat of the battle – for rest, peace, understanding and healing.
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