High Point, Low Point

Hello sweet friends and family! One of my favorite things we did as a family when Ben and Madeline were little was to play "high point, low point" each night. Sometimes this happened around the dinner table, sometimes it was when we were tucking them in. It's a good reminder that good and bad things happen to everyone through the day, but that you can't let the low points outweigh the high points. We are also blessed with one child who always had an abundance of low points and another child who could name an equal number of high points of the day. Always an interesting conversation that now I wish I would've recorded. 

So...High Point was last week. Outpatient chemo was awesome, efficient, and fabulous. We arrived at 9:30 and were home before noon. We enjoyed every minute of it! Madeline barely made a dent in her homework before it was time to leave, and I'm sure the nurses thought I was crazy that I packed such a big bag of things to entertain ourselves because we were there for such a short time. 

It was Ah-mazing! It was kind of how I imagined this process would be, and we were so grateful to be home every night. 

Low Point - yesterday. Madeline had a clinic visit at 2pm. This is just a little check up and some blood work. We left the house at 1pm and didn't get home until after 10pm! Turns out Madeline's numbers were really low. She honestly seemed fine, maybe in hindsight a little more tired and pale, but nothing out of the ordinary. The doctor decided she needed blood and platelets before we could leave and I was completely unprepared - no chargers, no iPad, and no snacks!!  Timing put us in a bad position where the outpatient area was closing and there were no openings on the oncology floor so I think everyone kind of dragged their heels hoping we would become the other person's problem. I didn't ask the right questions before we left the clinic which delayed things, and the doc ordered the blood over a much longer time than other transfusions she's had. We had to juggle to get Ben home from track practice and fed - thank goodness he is so self-sufficient and for meal delivery!! Thank you Jenn & Shelley for SAVING us. Madeline was so patient and sweet through all of it. She was happy to have American Idol to watch to help pass the time, and very relieved to crawl into her own bed last night. 

We will be back for inpatient chemo (aka spring break medical city) on Tuesday. Lucky us! 

My picture today was sent to me from the most thoughtful "moms in prayer" group. I am so thankful to them for praying for our family, and for letting me know we are prayed for. It means so much!

I have three friends right now who are facing the loss of a parent. It's hard to believe that I have already arrived at that stage of life, but today I am so thankful for my mom. She literally dropped everything and came to Texas to help us when Madeline was diagnosed. She makes sure Ben is well taken care of, that we have food to eat, and that our household keeps going. She is headed back to town on Tuesday to help and I am so thankful that she is coming. I can't wait to see her and give her a big hug. Last time when I picked her up at the airport we were dressed alike - it was so funny! So if you haven't hugged or called your parents today, you should!

Please pray that Madeline's body recovers quickly and that she doesn't suffer from any side effects. We are so thankful for this weekend together, and pray that the upcoming week of chemo goes smoothly for her. Please also pray that I can be patient while we wait for her body to clear the methotrexate. This is getting harder and harder for me each time. I'm thankful that we only have four more weeks of it, but ugh, I'm already dreading it. 

I will update again next week.  Enjoy the weekend!