Elation

Mike and I were able to enjoy a some time away in Lansing on Saturday night leaving Lisa in the capable hands of Maranda and Mike's sister Sharon. They all made it thru the night and kept up the endless routine of diaper changes and temp watch with Sharon assuring us that "It's nothing we can't handle". A great big thanks to Sharon and Walt (who watched Chrissy and Thomas) so we could get away.

I relieved Sharon late Sunday afternoon and was happy to hear that Lisa had been fever free for most of the day. With a bit of force, we convinced Lisa to walk to the elevator to bid Aunt Sharon and the others goodbye. She spent a good part of Sunday sleeping. At about 6:00 in the evening...Lisa was BACK. The fever was gone, her spirits were up and she was giggling and playing away. She kept doing this right thru the night until 4 a.m. "I'm not tired" she kept saying. I drifted in and out of sleep thru the night and heard various bits of conversation with Lisa and the night nurses....all of which ended with "you should be sleeping".

She finally went to sleep around 4 am and slept until 11 am. Once she shook off her sleep we played on the computer, talked with some visitors, went for a walk and did a craft. She ran out of steam around 4 pm and I let her take a 2 hour nap. We followed this with a craft and bath and an attempt to scare Mike and the other kids when they came off the elevators at 7pm.

Lisa has definitely turned the corner. Her fever is gone, her counts are up, she's feeling much better. I'm ecstatic. She looks great and it is such a relief. If all holds well, she's coming home Wednesday. It is amazing! I'm ecstatic...did I say that already?! I just can't believe it. Once she's home, if she doesn't spike any temps or have anything out of the ordinary happen, we're done with overnight stays at Motts. Can you believe it?! AWESOME!!! The rest of her treatment (radiation, vaccines, follow-up tests) is scheduled to be out patient. Yeah!!!

I am thankful to all of you who read and pray. I continue to pray and hope that you will to. There is a very small percentage of children who beat this cancer...and right now....I'm feeling pretty positive and BELIEVE she's going to be one of those children. I cannot imagine her not surviving. She needs to go on and be that beacon of hope for all of us who face adversity in life. I have every intention of making sure she starts kindergarten in fall....even if I have to push her in on a hospital bed with tubes intact. I have no intention of spending countless nights on Motts Floor 7 ever again. I believe that you attract things to you and I'm going to really focus on attracting sand, sun, beaches, princesses, fun.....and leave chemo, nausea, hospitals far behind.

Always praying...always hoping....believing God knows what is best and will provide me the strength to persevere.