No Mask!

Today, we had David's first in office eye exam. He did great, and the results were also great - no visible tumors!! This is a big step for David as before these exams had to be done under anesthesia. The doctor was very impressed with how cooperative he was, so no more exams under anesthesia for us!

Now, that being said, it doesn't mean that David won't have to have more anesthesia for other things. The doctor is not really satisfied with how David's eye looks, and neither we nor the ocularist are satisfied either. We will go sometime before Christmas to have a new eye made, and if we can't get things to look better, then we may have to have some eyelid surgery to help the prosthetic to sit better in the socket. We would appreciate your prayers that the occularist can fix most of this problem just with a new casting of the eye and some adjustments from that standpoint.

The doctor also gave us some new eye drops to try when David's eye gets really really gunky. Hopefully these will help him to be able to keep his prosthetic in more - which is good for the development of his facial bones.

Tomorrow, David and I are off to get a new pair of glasses. This will be the next big step for us - getting David to wear his glasses all the time. Because the lenses are not corrective (only protective), this could be a bit of a struggle. We had been doing very well getting him to wear them, but his old (expensive but comfortable) glasses broke. I got him an new cheap pair, but they are very uncomfortable for him. So, we have decided that we will just have to go and get a new pair of the comfortable ones and try to be diligent in guarding them from the destructive habits of a very active 4 year old boy.

David's next MRI will be September 23 at 8am. We will follow this with a visit to the oncologist on the same day. We appreciate your prayers for both of these visits.

God bless you all!

-Kim

Flying

Time has flown by since I posted last. I thought the school year was busy, but the summer has put it to it's sorry shame. I admit that I am looking forward to school starting again just so things will calm down a bit.

We have had a wonderful and busy summer, but it's been great having the kids home all day. In just a few weeks, I will be by myself all morning long as Hannah and Isaac will be in school, and David will be in preschool. I don't know what I will do with myself!

All children are continuing to imitate weeds and grow themselves out of every article of clothing in their closets and drawers. Hannah is nearly taller than me (not that this is a difficult feat, but impressive non-the-less). Her hands are already bigger than mine, and I bet that before another year passes, she will indeed be taller than me. Isaac has enjoyed having his friends at home this summer and is putting on a brave face at the prospect of going back into public school this year. I know that he will do great, he's such a happy and friendly guy. David is a bundle of energy. He's so excited about going to preschool, and will be stylin' with all his John Deere gear (backpack, tshirt, and hat). I think it will be great for him to be around some kids his age, and I know that he will learn so much.

I am enjoying my job at the church! Our youth are such amazing people, and my boss is also a great guy. It's a great outlet for me, and I love knowing that I am doing something long lasting and meaningful.

Rob continues to do well at work, and we have enjoyed this period of relative stability in our lives.

Events that are coming up:
1. David goes in for his first in office visit with the eye doctor on August 25. We would appreciate your prayers that this would be a smooth visit and that David will be docile and cooperative with the doctor so that our days of exams under anesthesia can be over. This day also happens to be the first day of school for the big kids, and also Isaac's birthday.
2. David's next MRI will be sometime in September. I am not sure of the date yet, but will let you all know asap. As always, prayers for a smooth sedation for David and great results are coveted for these.

Thanks for your prayers and caring!

-Kim

4 Years

Last Monday, May 30, we celebrated David's 4 years on this earth! We find it hard to believe all those 4 years have held for us, but we are so grateful that God has allowed us to have our little guy for that long!

As of right now, things are going very well. One of our biggest challenges right now is getting David's eye to stay in and stay comfortable. He is taking it out about every 36 hours or so, and no matter how much lubricant I put on it, it seems to be uncomfortable. This is pretty frustrating to me, but I am trying to keep things in perspective. We will hopefully have an appointment with the eye doctor in the next month or so, and we are hoping that he can give us a little help on this issue. Other than that, though we may just have to bide our time until we can get a new eye made (we have to wait a few more months in order for insurance to pay).

Our second big challenge is that David is wetting the bed most nights. I know that a lot of this is because he plays so hard in the heat and he sleeps so hard once he gets into bed that he just doesn't wake up.

We would appreciate your prayers for both of these issues to be resolved in the near future.

Hannah and Isaac are both doing well. Isaac did very well on his homeschool testing, and will be returning to public school next year. Hannah is about to finish up school, and she just performed in her first piano recital! She did such a great job!

Rob and I are just enjoying this period of relative normalcy!

Thanks for your prayers and partnership,

-Kim

Polished

Tomorrow, I take David to the ocularist to get his eye all polished up. I think he will probably do a little fitting as well. Hopefully this will help David to be more comfortable with the eye. It is really bothering him lately, and spends more time out than in. I have a feeling this has a lot to do with the amount of pollen in the air and the fact that his eye doesn't make tears, but who knows.

Other than that, we are doing well, and are only one month away from celebrating his 4 years on the earth!

Hope all of you are safe today and that none of you were affected by the storms of yesterday and last night.

-Kim

Aaaaah!

I can't believe I didn't update you all on David's last MRI.

It was CLEAR!!

The whole process this time was much smoother. David took the "Happy Medicine" before they tried to put in an IV, and although he still cried, he was much less worked up when they started to run the sedation. This meant that they didn't have to use as much of the medicine this time as they usually do, and he woke up much easier. All of his bloodwork was fine too.

We know that people were praying for us that day as there is no other explanation for why things went as smoothly as they did. David is growing like a weed, and will turn 4 years old next month!

As to other prayer requests, I had some dental work done and was on an antibiotic for my swollen glands. So far, this seems to have cleared everything up! I am very thankful since I was beginning to be in a good deal of pain.

Hannah and Isaac are doing really well. Hannah is in her last quarter at school, and she is doing amazing! Isaac is also about to finish up his year of homeschool, and he is doing so well. I really feel like he is going to move on to next year with a great foundation in the basics. As of now, he will continue to homeschool for one more year, and then we will re-evaluate.

Things continue to be busy, but good. We appreciate your prayers so much!

-Kim

March 1

Hi everyone,

I wanted to give you all an update on how things are going.

David is doing really well. He is growing and learning so much. He had a very short bout with the flu in January, but he seems to have recovered quite well. He goes in for his next MRI and oncology follow up March 11, so we would appreciate your prayers about that. Right now, he is enrolled to go to preschool next year at our church! He is very very excited.

Hannah is enjoying school and doing very well. She made friends quickly and is learning so much. We are really proud of her. She is also going to have a speaking part in her grade's play on March 15, and she is having a piece of artwork sent to an art contest!

Isaac is really working hard in homeschool and doing very well. I am pleased with the progress he's made this year, and we are planning on homeschooling him again next year. He is doing well in Cub Scouts, and is very helpful to me around the house and with David during the day. He loves to read and study history!

Rob and I are doing well. I have been having some trouble with some swollen glands. After having them checked out, it seems that I keep fighting off infections one after the other. I would appreciate your prayers for these to subside since they do cause me some discomfort. Rob's job is still great!

I'll try to update again as soon as we get the results from the MRI!

-Kim

Begin

"He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God."
Psalm 40:2-3a

Tomorrow we will have completed the first full week of a new year. It's hard for me to believe that even this first small piece has gone by so quickly.

David did not end up having an MRI in December. After the change in oncologists, we got onto a wrong MRI schedule. His last one was done 3 months early, and instead of making him go through all that again, we are just going to keep him on a wonky schedule. I am glad. MRIs are no fun for anyone. David is becoming quite anxious before his doctor's visits too, so it's nice to have one where the worst thing that happens is a finger stick for bloodwork.

As we go into this new year, I feel like I am starting to emerge from a cloud. There is still a little haze, but I am starting to see things with a little more clarity again. I guess for the past 3 years I was just trying to make it through, but I didn't even really know what that meant. Everything was starting to shut down: my brain, my body, even my soul. It was a very dark time for me in every way. My prayer every day was, "Just let me make it to bed tonight." I couldn't finish my thoughts, my sentences; in many ways, I couldn't even pray. Not because I didn't want to, just because that fog so inhabited my brain that I simply couldn't complete those tasks.

I am feeling a bit better now.

I know that this isn't over. We still will have the same stress and anxiety each time we take David in for an exam. And we don't know what the future holds. I do know that this will not be the last valley we pass through in our lives.

I am thankful for those of you who have prayed and continue to pray in our stead. I am thankful for the love and support you all gave to us. I am thankful for people I don't even know who have lifted my gaze out of the valley through deed, word, song. I don't know how people can live without the Body of Christ around them.

Rob and I have been running together for the past 6 months or so. This is nothing new to him since he ran in both high school and college. It is a new experience for me, however. One of the things I notice is: it doesn't take much time or work to run down a hill into a valley, but getting up a hill is another story. Your muscles burn, you can't get enough air in your lungs, your pace gets slower and slower, and mentally you feel like you can't take another step. But once you crest that hill, your pace quickens, your lungs fill with air again, your muscles feel strong.

So, I guess as we begin this year, I feel like we have crested this hill. I know we couldn't have done it without all of you at our backs.

-Kim