Drinking it in

Its been a crazy day, but in the midst of it all I found myself observing a humming bird. I sat outside the hospital waiting on some lab results and in front of me appeared the tiniest, most amazing creature. The rain was falling all around, but it didn't stop my little hummingbird from drinking in all the nectar it could find. It hummed from flower to flower enjoying the sweetness of the garden and paid no mind to the rain drops or to me. What a gift!

As I watched the little bird I thought about my Ashley Kate. Such a tiny gift from God who is determined to drink up every bit of joy and sweetness she can find in her life. Her spirit amazes me. Her strength encourages me. Her determination to enjoy everything inspires me. She may be struggling with the side effects from her chemotherapy, but just like the rain that fell around my little hummingbird today she pays it no mind. I love her so much and she brings such perspective to my life. She is a gift!

Our morning began with a call from Omaha. Concern over yesterday's labs was our topic. We repeated the labs this morning and I have tried not to become overwhelmed with worry. Her white blood cell count is jumping all around. This should be her "nadir" period with a severe drop in WBC that causes her to become extremely weak, tired, and susceptible to infection. Instead of registering low they came back very high. How can this be while undergoing chemo? In addition to the confusing WBC her liver enzymes are very high. Extremely concerning to find them so out of range. She continues to stay awake and tremor and her nausea is really severe. If she sits up she throws up. This has caused her to have to lay down for most of today. Rather than fussing about her predicament she has used it to her advantage. I actually saw her grabbing hold of her toes this morning. This is so huge! She is also rolling from side to side and has gotten so close to rolling all the way over. She is clapping her hands and playing patty cake today. She is giggly and happy and smelly. She has thrown up so much that it has become difficult to keep her clean. I grabbed her little feet to place kisses on her toes and almost threw up myself. Oops, we missed the fact that she hit her feet with the last episode. She will be getting a very thorough bath in just a few minutes.

In between my frequent trips of running back and forth between grandma's house, the hospital, and our house, I did manage to get us closer to moving home. Only two more rooms to rid of sheet rock dust and then we will be good to go. I can't wait to take Ash home. She is going to be so excited to see it again. I am so looking forward to it.

I hope to get back to my regular blogging schedule once we make it home. Things have gotten so crazy this past week trying to get the house ready. Thank you for your patience and your continued presence. Your prayers for our sweet Ashley Kate are so appreciated. I am praying for her numbers to return to a more stable and reliable place so that we can all relax. The liver numbers are the most concerning at this time. I pray that your week is blessed and that your children are as happy as ours to have a little break from their classes. Blake and Al have enjoyed sleeping in the last two days. Good night and God Bless you all. Trish