Caden had his blood drawn on Wednesday, but his platelets were too low to allow us to come home. We instantly called my parents to come up to Seattle from Richland to spend time with Caden at RMH instead. Sue wanted to see if he could get his platelets up by himself. He had another blood draw this morning to check.
Doctor appointments mean a whole different thing to me now. It is not unusual for us to sit in a waiting room for hours. Today was no exception. We got to the Clinic at 10:00AM, blood drawn at 10:20AM, and waited...until 12:00 for the results. Just sitting in the same hard chair for hours. Seeing some of the same kids we've seen many times before. Meeting new kids whose lives turned upside down about the same time ours did. And just waiting. Gets very boring. And then the news- his platelets are rising, we're free to go home. And just like that our hearts are lighter.
We made it home at four to find a spotless house (Thanks Mom and Dad!) happy kids, and a family ready for time together. Even though this was a stressful Round, I am SO glad he didn't get a fever!! He didn't have to stay in the hospital any longer than necessary. He had more freedom in the RMH. After a few days of sunshine, I can now say I have a mantra going through my mind.
"One more Round! One more Round! One more Round!!!"
On Sunday, during Testimony meeting, Jan Salisbury gave a metaphor of speed bumps and Himalayas. Sometimes in life we are given trials the size of speed bumps, others the size of the Himalayas. Undoubtedly this is a Himalaya of a trial! And right now we are at a plateau on the way up. But you know what? The view is beautiful. We are pretty high on our upward journey. We are close to our summit. But the view is still beautiful from here. To look back would be to see sorrow, yes, and hard times, but also great beauty. Friends that I haven't talked to in forever came forward to say hi. People came out of the woodwork to give of their love and support. People have come to our aide with helping hands, words, and prayers. We have been truly cared for from the very first steps of our journey by those we love dearly. You! Our view has been steep at times, but we have never been alone. Our week (well 6 days now) of rest will be full of kisses and hugs, much like our other home weeks, but this time with a new perspective. A grateful heart for our climb. Because there has been JOY in our journey. President Howard W. Hunter said, "There is happiness to be found in this journey." and we plan to find it no matter how steep our climb!
All is well at the Dirks' house!!
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