It's Friday morning! What a week. Rex has had an exceptional week, overall. Yesterday, he spent most of the day nauseous. He has still been able to eat; he just hasn't wanted to eat because of the nausea. Rex was pretty quiet Thursday most of the day. He doesn't complain at all. His nurses have been great! They have all commented that Rex has been a delight to care for through this week.
He is so ready to come home and get in his own bed. I think he has plans to come home and sleep 24 hours without anyone sticking him or taking his vitals.
The next two weeks are expected to be harder on him than this week as this chemo takes his body to a low. He really hopes to be able to come to church Sunday. Pray that he will be able to do that. The most critical time will be 7-14 days after chemotherapy -- that's when his immune system will be the weakest. If he comes to church or goes out in public, he has been strongly advised to wear a mask.
I got to spend the night with Rex Thursday while Erin & Amber were at a friends' house (friends of theirs and ours) and Lindsey spent the night with my sister-in-law. We had a little excitement Thursday evening. Amber in her total excitement of being with friends fell down and got a nasty little gash above her eye. The good things is that I didn't have to go far to meet them for stitches. :) She has officially been initiated to turn 7. She now has seven stitches on her head, one for each year she has blessed us. She didn't want to stay with mommy; she was ready to return to her friend's house after being stitched up.
I was feeling a little down through the night as I spent a great deal of time awake watching Rex and thinking. When it's apparent to me that he is very uncomfortable, I get discouraged a little because I can't do anything to make him comfortable. I also tend to get ahead of today, and I have to remind myself to take one day at a time; God has given me enough grace for today; He hasn't given me the grace for tomorrow yet.
I read Psalm 8 this morning. That certainly lifted me as I pondered the Excellence of God. -- O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who has set they glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Whatever you face today, will you stop and thank God for being who He is? -- the Master of the Universe and our Loving Father!
Donna Meadows
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Wendesday, January 25, 2006
I wanted to update you on Rex at the halfway point in the hospital. He has tolerated the chemo extremely well so far. He has had very little nausea that has subsided after eating. Can you believe it? He has eaten every meal! He even had the munchies Monday evening and ate Doritos! He hasn't eaten anything crunchy in a few months, so this was a big thing. We can sense everybody praying for us. It is a wonderful peaceful place to be.
Dr. Tate is delighted that Rex is doing so well. He's optimistic that this chemo/radiation is doing some work on the cancer.
Overall, Rex has rested, as well as can be expected in the hospital. He did better on Tuesday than on Monday. I didn't get much rest Monday night, but I did Tuesday night.
I've had good support this week. Family and friends have been so very helpful as I have gone back and forth to the hospital. I even had a volunteer take our dog this week, so that I wouldn't have to worry about letting her out and feeding her. I really couldn't ask for more. So many of you have been so gracious and have offered to help in any way possible. Believe me, this is the beginning. I will be surprised if I won't need help in the future. I have your names down, and I will let you know when I need help.
Erin had a little breakdown last night. She spent all afternoon on Tuesday by his side in the bed, and didn't want to leave. She is planning to spend the night with her daddy tonight (Wednesday). I could tell that she had a look of urgency on her face all evening on Tuesday. She didn't say much when she broke down; she mainly cried. These are first tears that any of my kids have shed since all of this started on Jan. 4th. She told me that she wasn't scared; she just wanted him to get better. I told her that I did to, and that we had to pray that God would make him better. I also told her that no matter what, God loved us and He would do what is best for us. She has a pretty good understanding, I think, because she then told me that God let people get sick so that we would learn to love Jesus more and so that we would care more about other people. We stopped and prayed for Rex right then. I want Erin, Amber, and Lindsey to be able to express their fears and doubts so that I know how to help them through this.
Amber's 7th birthday is this Saturday. Pray that Rex' health would be good enough for us to have a little celebration for her. She usually does a countdown to her birthday; this year she realizes that there are other things going on and shelved her birthday on her own. I asked her if she would like to do something for her birthday, and she lit up and said that she would like to go to a restaurant. So, my hope and prayer is that daddy(Rex) will be well enough to go eat out to eat on Saturday.
I am so very thankful for all of you caring and praying. It may seem redundant when I keep saying that, but I really, really appreciate it. It means more than words could ever express.
Have a great day and God bless you.
Donna Meadows
Dr. Tate is delighted that Rex is doing so well. He's optimistic that this chemo/radiation is doing some work on the cancer.
Overall, Rex has rested, as well as can be expected in the hospital. He did better on Tuesday than on Monday. I didn't get much rest Monday night, but I did Tuesday night.
I've had good support this week. Family and friends have been so very helpful as I have gone back and forth to the hospital. I even had a volunteer take our dog this week, so that I wouldn't have to worry about letting her out and feeding her. I really couldn't ask for more. So many of you have been so gracious and have offered to help in any way possible. Believe me, this is the beginning. I will be surprised if I won't need help in the future. I have your names down, and I will let you know when I need help.
Erin had a little breakdown last night. She spent all afternoon on Tuesday by his side in the bed, and didn't want to leave. She is planning to spend the night with her daddy tonight (Wednesday). I could tell that she had a look of urgency on her face all evening on Tuesday. She didn't say much when she broke down; she mainly cried. These are first tears that any of my kids have shed since all of this started on Jan. 4th. She told me that she wasn't scared; she just wanted him to get better. I told her that I did to, and that we had to pray that God would make him better. I also told her that no matter what, God loved us and He would do what is best for us. She has a pretty good understanding, I think, because she then told me that God let people get sick so that we would learn to love Jesus more and so that we would care more about other people. We stopped and prayed for Rex right then. I want Erin, Amber, and Lindsey to be able to express their fears and doubts so that I know how to help them through this.
Amber's 7th birthday is this Saturday. Pray that Rex' health would be good enough for us to have a little celebration for her. She usually does a countdown to her birthday; this year she realizes that there are other things going on and shelved her birthday on her own. I asked her if she would like to do something for her birthday, and she lit up and said that she would like to go to a restaurant. So, my hope and prayer is that daddy(Rex) will be well enough to go eat out to eat on Saturday.
I am so very thankful for all of you caring and praying. It may seem redundant when I keep saying that, but I really, really appreciate it. It means more than words could ever express.
Have a great day and God bless you.
Donna Meadows
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