May 16, 2013

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 1^st 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 1^st 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.