January 9, 2012

"God doesn't give you more than you can handle" Right! We sure don't feel that way sometimes.   On New Years Eve I was so excited that we had two weeks of a wonderful Christmas break.  But the first Monday of the New Year came with the craziness of the hemoglobin again.  Dr. Acelar called to let us know that Kass's hemoglobin was at a critical 6.4, but she was not really showing extreme signs.  So, we ran to a 24 Quest Diagnostics instead of the ER since we were just not up for a 7 hour visit just to retest her labs.  Her blood was taken again and in an hour we had the lab results and her hemoglobin was back up to 10.   We were so elated that we didn't have to take her to the ER for a transfusion, but we were wore out and just wanted to come home.  The emotional roller coaster is sometimes so exhausting.

Kass returned to school that week, but had to stay home the day after.  I could tell she wasn't feeling well because she knew if she missed that day she would have to miss her bowling match that day.  Her stomach was giving her troubles and she slept all day that day.  Thank goodness it only lasted a day and she was back to school the next day.

Also, during the week we had the chance to go eat a wonderful 5 course meal cooked by Chef Marc from Parma Restaurant located on Buffalo & Washington.  Nevada Childhood Cancer Foundation arranged for our whole family to eat at his restaurant.   We had a wonderful time and the meal was amazing.  Anyone looking for a good italian restaurant we suggest their caprese salad, brick oven pizza, & marsala chicken, they were all delish.  Thank you Chef Marc & Nevada Childhood Cancer.

Kassidy posing with Chef Marc 

On Friday before New Years, we had taken Kyle to get some routine labs that his college running coach asked us to do to make sure he's eating the right things since he's putting in some serious miles a week.  Well, the doctor called to speak to him since he's now 18 they would not talk to us.  He informed him that Kyle's iron levels are more than normal and his white blood count are below normal, that he would like to retest his levels again in a week before he might have to refer him to a hematologist.  WHAT!!!!!  Ryan & I were thrown for a loop.  Like I said, does God really not give you what you can handle, because at that moment our hearts sank.  Did God forget about us?  Are we even strong enough to worry about the health of another child? We called his doctor back after Kyle gave them permission to speak to us.  We also contacted some doctor friends and they told us to wait till the next battery of blood tests before we worried too much, so that's what we tried to do during this weekend.  Early Friday morning I took Kyle to get another set of blood samples at Quest, but during the weekend we tried to stay busy to forget about the crazy week.

Ryan and I decided it was time to have Kassidy redeem her Christmas gift which we had a very hard time deciding if it was the right thing to do.  She's been wanting a tattoo for the longest time, but after she got diagnosed she asked us if she could get a "Never Give Up" tattoo.  It took us a couple months to ponder the answer, but we decided that it would be a great reminder for her in the future on how to live the rest of her life.  That no matter what hurdle or problem she would come across in her future that she can press on and Never Give Up.

Kass & Chelsa in front of the Tattoo Place.  Their family friend did the tattoo & they also paid for it.

She said it felt like getting hit by a softball many times.  Being a catcher she said that was old news.

And there it is!

Kass & Jason after it was all done.

On Sunday, we also redeemed another Christmas present we had given the kids.  A ride on the Fremont Street Experience Flightline or Zipline.  Kids were a little nervous, but they had a great time.  It was a great way to end the weekend.

Before riding the elevator up to the zipline.  Looking a bit scared.

Kyle loved it & Kass glad it was over. LOL

Today, Kass had a good day.  She went to school and had a bowling match against Legacy High School, who are ranked pretty close to Centennial.  Well the first game was a nail bitter, but the Centennial girls won by 9 points.  The other two games weren't as close and Centennial won those as well.  It was great to see the girls compete so well.  Kass averaged a 158 today and she was pretty happy, since she feels her medicine backpack and bowling are starting to become one.

Tomorrow we are hoping for good news with Kyle, especially since he leaves for college on Wednesday.  We are leaving it in the hands of our Heavenly Father.  Keep us in your prayers!