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Today’s update is brought
to you by the word “norovirus.” :-)
Sometimes it’s hard to
come up with a new blog entry when we really just want to post positive, feel
good information. From time to time
though, we have to wait a few days after we hit a bump or two to put ink on
paper at the top of the hill, not the bottom.
That’s what happened this week.
That’s why this is so tardy. It
just took a little longer this time to climb to the top, that’s all.
Last Sunday was Mother’s
Day. It’s a day where mommies normally
get to be pampered and lavished for being the one person who packed us around
in their tummies and on their hip, wiped both ends of our leaky bodies, fixed
our boo-boos, mended our broken hearts, patched our clothes, defended our honor,
ate cold meals for years and did it all on four hours sleep a night. Mother’s
Day is the one day of the year when we collectively decide that our moms get to
sleep in, at least until the first dish breaks.
It’s the one day where they have to clean up only after we’ve already
done a poor job of it, but they smile because this time the mess was made out
of the efforts of love, instead of selfishness.
It’s a day where they get to spend time watching the fruits of their
labor play and make over them with jelly kisses and crayon hearts.
Mother’s Day is the true celebration of life. Think about it. It happens in the spring when God reminds the world that new life makes everything better. It shouldn’t be
complicated by fears and tears….but this one was. It really started Thursday when Jessi came
down with the norovirus, which is a really antagonistic and nasty little bug
that’s responsible for over 60% of hospital virus quarantines in the past few
years. Its sickened thousands and killed
hundreds…and we got it. Somehow we
picked it up at Children’s, where there’s an outbreak. Jessi got it first. Then I came down with it and several days
later we’re still not completely over it.
On Sunday, Kathy got up quietly and went to Church alone. She wanted her family to rest and she needed
to be alone with God. There she could
quietly weep and beg him to heal her boy.
The reality that something inside your child is trying to kill him can
suddenly sneak up and kick you….hard.
Just
when we thought we’d gotten past it, the norovirus or something like it hit
Garrett yesterday. It was pretty spooky
because he cannot afford any bugs right now.
He needs all his strength to for the fight he’s already in. He was a very sick kid yesterday after pheresis.
Now Kathy has it today, but Garrett’s on
the mend. As for Sunday, we still tried
to make the day special for her, recognizing the incredible blessings that are
ours. I think her real Mother’s Day will
be after Garrett’s July biopsy comes back PERFECT! That’s the goal and anything less than
victory is unacceptable.
After a few more days of
treatment this week we’ll head back to Denver soon for three more days. Tomorrow is the 1st Annual
Douglas Brigham Foundation Gala event in Pennsylvania. Jessi and I were supposed to be there, but
for obvious reasons we cannot. Doug was
a powerful force in our lives. He and
Garrett shared a very special bond, born of warriors’ hearts. We lost Doug suddenly in a helicopter crash
last October. He was like a brother to
me and one of the most giving people I’ve ever known. In his honor and in keeping with his love of
helping others, his incredible wife and friends have started a foundation in
his name to help the families of 1st responders with medical
bills. I wish I could be there in
person, but rest assured we are there in spirit. Love ya, Doug B!
They say when it rains…it
pours. We’ll continue to rest when we can;
knowing our all loving Father has things under control and our job is just to
ride the storm with courage for Him. We all know the adage that it takes a good
rain to make the flowers bloom, so for now we’ll just Cowboy Up under a bigger umbrella
until this passes.
As you hit your knees
tonight, please also remember a little 7 year old boy who was kicked in the
throat by a horse yesterday. He needs
warriors to pray for him and his family.
Thank you.
