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August 23, 2011
August 22, 2011
God is near to the brokenhearted
We have had a rough week at our clinic.
Sweet Maddie is one of the few children fighting rhabdomyosarcoma, the same cancer that Jed faced. She started her journey the same time as we did and has fought a tough year and half battle with this horrible disease. Maddie scanned this week and the news was not good. The cancer has spread rapidly and she is now home with family on hospice until the Lord decides to take her home or heal her.
Please remember Maddie and her family as we cry out to Jesus on her behalf.
Psalms 34:18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed
August 11, 2011
Check-up day at ACH
Our girls are gearing up for back to school which symbolizes an end to summer in my mind. I am certainly ready for some cooler weather here in Arkansas. We have had record breaking temperature (115!) for the past several days and have been without rain for quite some time. The idea of pumpkins, football, falling leaves and jeans with boots sounds super nice right now!
Yesterday we traveled to Arkansas Children's Hospital for Jed's clinic checkup. The girls came along with us since they would be starting back to school soon and would miss his next several appts.
He was a BIG boy for his sisters and even smiled a big smile when they pulled out the needle to access his port. Reagon's faced turned white as a ghost and she covered her head! Hard to see her little brother with a needle stuck in his chest but he sure acted brave for all of us.
There was actually no need for the face mask in clinic since Jed is no longer on chemo. He continued to play doctor in the waiting room and needed his "doctor mask" lol.....Doesn't Elizabeth look like a happy patient of his? lol She is such a sweetheart and played along so well. We just love her and her mom!
Morgan, in the black hat, is another girl that stole my heart. We were in clinic the very first day she came through the doors. It's amazing the bond you develop. You will rarely EVER see Morgan without a great big smile on her face.
I would like to ask all of you to please keep our clinic kids in your prayers. I would ask that you all pray especially hard for three fighters right now. Morgan, Joel and Jaxon.
Morgan, above in the wheelchair, is getting ready to return to MD Anderson for a clinical trial.
Jaxon, below (second from right) is another sweet baby who started his cancer journey just three weeks before Jed. Jaxon is fighting hard and needs our prayers.
Joel, pictured below with Jedidiah, is on his way to St Jude. His latest MRI results have us all heartbroken.
Please pray for their complete earthly healing. Pray that they will find joy in the midst of suffering. Peace in the midst of fear. Hope in the midst of uncertanty. Pray that each family and each child will never feel alone, even in the darkest moments. That they will feel the presence of our Lord and Saviour holding them through the fire.
My heart is desperate to see them healed!
Yesterday on the way back from clinic, we stopped off at our local hospital to see our Memaw who was in surgery to have her gallbladder removed. This was the first time I had walked back into the surgery waiting room since Jed's "hernia" surgery in March 2010. I walked into the waiting area and it felt like my chest was about to explode from within me. I sat down and Josh began to visit with his Dad and I tried my best to distract myself. The feelings and emotions came flooding back to me as I remembered sitting in that very same room just a year and a half ago, thinking my son was having hernia surgery. The doctor came out and asked Josh and I to step into a small room the size of a closet so he could discuss the results of the surgery. I remember thinking the room was closing in on me as the dr began to tell us about the "goose egg size tumor" they removed from our son. My hands shake even now just typing it. I remember Josh's parents hearing me cry from within the room and they both came, almost running, to the room. My mother-n-law hugged me as she cried too, crying because the doctors had to remove Jed's testicle, not knowing at that point that the tumor was a highly malignant form of cancer.
While waiting for Memaw's surgery to finish, I was trying to read magazines and discretely wipe away the tears that kept falling. Then I heard Jed's voice. He had walked up to the counter where the little old ladies sit and assist the families in the waiting room. He had taken a quarter from my purse and placed it on the counter in front of the women. "Ma'am, I would like a cup of coffee, please."........I cracked a smile watching him. They smiled and tried to ignore him but he was persistent. The lady looked at me and I nodded yes to her and she fixed him about three sips of coffee in a little cup. He stood at the counter like an adult and carried on the sweetest conversation with her and had us all laughing. It was at that point that I just wanted to stand up and yell at the top of my lungs..."Do you even know what the Lord did for us????" I wanted to tell them that just a year and a half prior, this sweet little boy was laying in an operating room with a tumor that was growing before our very eyes. A tumor that was so highly malignant and aggressive that very few children survive to finish their treatment plans. That we were the parents they helped that day. That now we have walked a journey very few people will ever walk and came out better and stronger than we were the day we sat in the waiting room chairs. But I didn't. I just watched as sweet Jedidiah drank his coffee and chatted with the ladies and hugged his Poppa goodbye. We walked out of the hospital with a whole new outlook on life than we had prior to that day in 2010.
Some of you have emailed and asked me if Jedidiah will be starting school or preschool this year. The answer is no. He is only four and is not old enough for kindergarten this year. We do have a fabulous preschool program and the teacher is actually one of our church members, but Jed will be staying home another year.
How could I stand to miss moments like this?
God bless you all for loving our son and our family!
Stay tuned for a new post coming soon about "The Jed Harper Foundation"....we are sooo excited to share this with each of you!
So my heart will sing to you. I can't keep silent. Lord, my God, I will give you thanks forever. Psalms 30:12
