Cade The Warrior

Our hearts are very full today because life is back to normal. Cade is off treatment this week and home from the hospital after a 10 day stay. My parents were here for all but one day of the stay, and we (in some ways) feel like it flew by. I found it really encouraging how familiar everything felt during out stay, including the nurses and staff at the hospital. We feel so known there, and we genuinely like so many of the faces we routinely see. Cade at one point in the hospital had several things going on (pneumonia, swimmer's ear, RSV) but he really left totally normal. He was bouncing off the walls and being a crazy man. Having him back in his own bed and living life without his "tubey" in (as Haven points out every day) is doubly refreshing. We are now back to separating screaming children fighting over toys and demanding ice cream after dinner. It's normal chaos and I love it. Thank you for praying for our family and for Cade. We go in Friday for another coun...

It is official: if Chad doesn't make the video, no one is there to cut me off and I ramble. Thank you for letting me take up 13 minutes of your life. We are inpatient right now with Cade after he started a fever last Thursday. He has tested positive for three viruses, including RSV, and has a slight case of pneumonia and a pretty painful swimmer's ear infection. Wow! But overall, he is doing good. His lungs are clearing, when his ear isn't hurting he is feeling energetic and full of life. We are thankful it is nothing more serious. We would love for you to continue to pray with us for: 1. Cade's quick and full recovery from ALL the viruses in his system, the ear infection, and the pneumonia. We want his whole body healthy and ready to come home. 2. Cade's white blood cell count to come up at the right time so he can come home and enjoy summertime! 3. Cade's spirits to stay encouraged, his heart to stay strong, and his whole body to be ready for all the...

It's another fasting Tuesday around our house and we are excited to have you with us! Cade wrapped up his second to last 5 day intensive chemo this past Friday. It is THRILLING to know that we only have one more on the protocol to finish. Of the 13 weeks we have left, only 3 are chemo groups that lower his counts. The rest are either off or smaller chemo groups with less side effects. That is good news! We had a great weekend, filled with lots of normal family activities and a trip to the zoo in the rain. Cade was doing better than we had ever seen him do, until Sunday night when he began to get sick. We aren't sure what's causing it, but we certainly are praying that today he stops getting sick, and is able to keep ALL of his food down and eat normally. Usually after these 5 day treatments we have historically been admitted for a fever by Thursday of this week. We are hopeful that with this dose reduction he either will not be admitted, or will not have a long stay. Hi...

We are beginning day 2 of a 5 day treatment today, and I am thankful we get to fast today. After we made this video last night, Cade did end up throwing up in the middle of the night, and all the same anxiety and dread seemed to sweep over all of us. I find myself always praying the most childishly simple prayers, "Holy Spirit, help us", over and over again. I read a book last week that was fascinating and insightful, if not a little bit hard to even believe. Either way, I've noticed how this author's perception and gift of "seeing" in the spiritual has affected how I am relating to life. There is an entire reality beyond what we can see with our two eyes, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, the authorities, the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly places," as Paul says. I've heard that verse for so long it can become normal, but if I really READ it, I am stunned. I am compelled to learn, to ask God for help, ...

Hospital stays are so useful in reminding me why normal life is so stinking awesome. Good coffee, time with Chad before and after kids wake up or go to sleep, making meals, having to do laundry, etc.  We got discharged last Tuesday night (OF COURSE it was on a fasting Tuesday)and our hearts are still pretty happy about it. Cade is doing SO well! We even woke up to him spreading out a long line of triscuits on the ground at 6 am, so you know he’s back in action. We are incredibly thankful. We begin another 5 day this Monday, so we have a few prayer points, and a quick video devotional because it is Tuesday and we love our fasting Tuesdays around here. 1. Please pray Cade would enjoy his time swimming, running and playing this week and would be able to be as all boy as possible. 2. Please pray his kidney and bladder and body would be prepared for this reduced dose of chemo next week. Pray the reduction in the dose results in less blood transfusions, less platelette transfusio...

It's fasting Tuesday again! I am expectant for God to move in our hearts, and in yours. He "longs to be gracious to us, and rises to show us compassion," (Isaiah 30:18) and He is always willing and eager to hang out. He is the best friend! Life has been a whirlwind for the past 13 days while Cade has been inpatient for neutropenia. His white blood cell count is taking longer to recover, and while his energy and enthusiasm are uninhibited, we can't go home until his bone marrow shows us he is recovering. In the past two weeks, my sister and my cousin came to help, and that was a huge blessing. I keep coming back to the idea that God makes a way in the wilderness, and opens up pools of water there that keep our hearts sustained. It's still the wilderness and the desert, but there is a way for us! We are thankful. We are still expecting to start a five day chemo this next Tuesday after Memorial Day but that will all depend on his counts this Friday. The good ...

Happy fasting Tuesday! Above is a video devotional for this week, not specifically an update or with details about Cade, but more just thoughts we (I) have had recently. I hope these random thoughts can encourage you in some small way in whatever is on your plate personally. We have officially completed Week 21 of chemo. We are on the downhill slide and we could not be more excited about it. This week Cade is currently inpatient waiting on his counts to rise. His spirits are up, his stomach feels good, and he is getting a little antsy in a hospital room. My sister and cousin came in town to help with the girls, and it has been a very encouraging week, filled (for me at least) with a lot of laughter. That is such a gift! We are hoping Cade will be discharged in the next few days. We are anticipating that his next 5 day chemo will be delayed until the week after next, and I am looking so forward to a week of having him home without any chemo. Here are some practical prayer poin...