We are in a time of waiting.
Waiting for Avery's body to recover from her last Chemo treatment enough to start her next chemo treatment. 🥴
These waiting periods should be joyous times of normalcy. They aren't. Our normal right now is clinic visits and treatment, so when we don't have that we almost go into shock and don't know what to do. We feel uneasy and unsure of what to do. We don't know when our 'normal' will start again and how long we have of just waiting.
These waiting moments are also often when Avery's body is in it most vulnerable state, according to the doctors. So we play things more carefully and limit exposing her to things. For many patients these times of waiting mean extra hospital visits because they get a fever or catch a bug. Because their immune systems are at their lowest they need extra help and support which is why a mandatory 48 hour hospital stay is your reward for a fever. We have never and will never have these unexpected hospital stays. Avery has stayed healthy between treatments even when others in the house have had stomach bugs or colds. She remains strong and untouched. This is part of the mental battle that happens during times of waiting. We know she is healthy. We know she is God protected from sickness and desease through the blood of Jesus. We know she is happy and acting as a normal two year old. BUT, when you are constantly hearing from doctors and nurses their expectation and warnings, it takes a mountain to move those thoughts. So a lot of time during the waiting period is spent praying and quiet as to not speak or repeat negative remarks about Avery.
The waiting can be anywhere from a week to several months.
Every time the waiting is over, Alex and I always reflect back and say 'oh man we should have_________'.
This time we knew the waiting was coming. We knew we were finishing our part 1 and would need to wait before part 2. And although we knew it was coming, this last week has just felt weird. We know we have a little more to wait according to Avery's blood results this morning before we continue on to part 2.
Instead of continuing on in this sense of unknown, we are choosing to make the most of it and not have to look back and say what if...
So today we asked the doctors and got permission to head to the cottage next week!! We will do our waiting at one of our favorite places on earth. We have permission to play in the lake and go to the parade and just be normal, with the caution of knowing where the closest ER is and bringing all of our medications and records and clinic phone numbers just in case 🤦🏼♀️.
We are headed to the cottage and plan to enjoy our family vacation.
Happy 4th of July everyone. God Bless the USA. We will share pictures of our waiting period and us soaking up every second of joy and not having to someday look back and say 'what if' when we get back next weekend!
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