Thanksgiving Gratitude

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I would recount some of the things I have to be grateful for and to outline for all of those who are not near me, all that is being done for our family so your minds can be at ease that we are being cared for.

Our church has put together a spreadsheet with all of our needs listed. This is sent out to all those who want to do something to help. This sheet includes meals provided to us three times a week (and these meals are always sufficient to provide left overs for the rest of the week), house cleaning every Friday, rides to get my children or me to appointments and lessons, and people sign up and visit me every day. Not only do people visit with me, but they often bring me nice gifts and help me while they are here. Anyone who comes while I am cold sensitive usually gets to help me make some food (it is always nice when they are here around lunch time). Now, let me just note here that that does not mean that everyone who comes to visit needs to bring me gifts and come at lunch time! Should I say that again? That does not mean that everyone who comes to visit needs to bring me gifts and come at lunch time! 

I have a friend who comes every day to help me homeschool my children (and she is usually here at lunch time and also helps me with that, so see, you really don’t need to always come at lunch time).

We have gotten gift cards, cash donations, donations through a website a friend set up, and numerous people have been organizing fund raisers. The generosity is mind blowing.

We have an expert bread maker who regularly brings my family delicious dinner rolls and occasionally cinnamon rolls.

I got a free wheelchair and even people willing to take me for walks to see the beautiful world outdoors.

But, I am also getting stronger and stronger! I just took my kids on a field trip to see the American Indian Festival at the museum and did the whole thing without my wheelchair! Of course I sat down at every opportunity, but I was able to walk around all day carrying my little tank of oxygen set on level 3 while walking and 2 while sitting. That is a big drop from when I came home and was on level 4, which is much more oxygen.

For the past few nights I have slept in my bed propped by pillows and mostly LYING DOWN!! Yes, I have actually been sleeping! It felt so good. I can’t even tell you how happy this makes me. I only cough a little bit now.

I have wonderful family and friends who are willing to spend the time and money to fly out here to visit with me and do what they can to help. (Again, usually making me food.)

I have a chiropractor who has provided me with a juicer and then brings me organic fruits and vegetables once a week so I can juice and have healthy salads every day. He is donating all of this with the help of his other patients. 

I still have hair! But I also have some beautiful scarves and hats for when I no longer have hair and in the meantime, those hats are helping to keep me warm now that it has gotten unseasonably cold for NC and scarves are great accessories whether worn on the head or not.

I am feeling really well. I have had very minor side effects from the chemotherapy and it is clearly working since my lungs are doing so much better. 

Because of Thanksgiving I get an extra week between chemo treatments. I don’t have one this week! Yeah!!! (Can you tell I am really happy about that?)

Friends are letting us stay in their condo in Myrtle Beach during the Thanksgiving Break and a foundation has granted us a vacation that we will take over Christmas Break. (I’ll give more details about that later.)

I learned that they make a little oxygen compressor that I can take with me on these vacations which means I will have unlimited oxygen in a suitcase sized container that I can carry around with me. I was feeling so limited on what I could do because the oxygen tanks don’t last that long and I can’t carry them all with me all of the time. But now that I know about this handy gadget, these vacations will be much more fun.

I have people praying for me in practically every religion and all across the country. This makes me feel really good.

I have friends who have been taking care of my dog for months now. When I was in the hospital, Kevin decided to spend the night there with me and all the kids were off at friends houses and suddenly we remember Sadie! She was home alone and had no way of going outside. We called a friend and asked her to go pick Sadie up and Kevin would be by the next day to get her. Well, she has been there ever since. Of course I miss her terribly and wish she could be home with me, but with a very chewable plastic oxygen cord lying all over the house and people coming in and out every day, I know it is best that she not be here right now. I can’t take her on our usual bike runs and I have no way of getting her the exercise she needs, but what a huge undertaking to take this family member of ours on for such a long time.

We have had people take pictures for us.

People are doing special things for our family for Christmas.

Delicious fruit and gifts and cards arrive in the mail.

People are helping get scrapbooks finished for my children. I did such a lovely job of making a scrapbook for each child every year...until child number four came along. Then no one got a scrapbook any year and Rigel (child number four) didn’t even have one! That will all be remedied soon and he will have documentation that he really was born and did live for the past seven years. Actually, I have done some photo books for the family for the past three years, so I guess we will finally have proof that he lived for those first four years and didn’t just arrive on the planet as a four year old.

When we were denied pharmacy assistance we then applied for the manufacturers assistance for the chemo drugs. We got word from one of them that we have been approved so at least one of my four drugs will be free. Hopefully we will hear from the other companies soon. 

Okay, I know I am leaving something out. There has just been so many things done for our family it is hard to keep track. Thank you to everyone who is helping us, praying for us, encouraging me with cards or posts on Facebook. Every little word or deed you do makes a difference and we can’t thank all of you enough. It is a crazy journey we are on right now, I am just so glad I have all of you to walk beside us as we go.

Happy Thanksgiving

A fun little Kevin creation from last Thanksgiving