Day 5

Myla's ANC was 858 today, which, as it turns out, means nothing much at this point given that the chemo will take it back down to zero once it kicks in. The bottom line today is that Myla is doing well and has been smiling lots today. Life is good.

This afternoon, we got a visit from Becky and Leah, who attend my inlaws' church. They visited this afternoon and dropped off a couple of great food baskets. Afterward, Melissa did a good job of changing the dressing for Myla's central line, and I played a supporting role in holding Myla's hands.

It's Christmas Eve, and things are fairly quiet here in the cancer ward, despite our room being sandwiched between patients who [this part of the entry has been deleted to protect the privacy of these patients.].

Thankfully, a number of families and organizations have brought in lots of food to both Ronald McDonald House locations (there is a 6-room RM house here in the hospital in addition to the much larger house that we stay in.) So, the food has been plentiful. We have also had the privilege of meeting a number of wonderful people, some who have walked down our path. On Saturday, I met Brad and Cheryl Stanley, whose son survived AML. It was their son's idea to found an organization to provide help to families dealing with childhood cancer, so they have run with that vision and now provide a ministry of support to those in need.

Thanks to all of you who have wished us a Merry Christmas. Your prayers, e-mails, and gifts of many kinds, and greatly appreciated. We are overwhelmed with blessings, both large and small. Each day I'm amazed that the Kennedy's gave us their Volvo, that the Sears transported it from Florida to Indiana, and that my friend Mike picked up the tab for the U-Haul car carrier. This has been such a blessing! We are also so thankful for the gas cards from Bible Baptist Church in Kokomo and from my C391 Cyberculture and Community class. Thanks also for special gifts from my parents, my Grandma Canez, my cousins in Tucson, the Andersons, Fred Hakes and the staff in the Continuing Studies at IU Kokomo, and those of you who have given anonymous gifts to us. All of these gifts have been meaningful first, and useful, second. I have been personally touched by the generosity of my colleagues, both faculty and staff, at IU Kokomo. You have been so helpful and supportive from the beginning of our situation.

Thanks also to the Greenwalds, a family who once spent Christmas here at Riley. They dropped off a gift and a kind note of encouragement. I also want to voice our thanks for the anonymous family connected with Riley who gave us a generous gift package, including a Wal-Mart gift card that enabled me to put new tires on the car. That turned out to be an interesting experience. Several customers and garage workers were standing awkwardly around the service counter at the Wal-Mart in Lafayette when the manager addressed the workers: "Uh, these people here (pointing to three customers) are from a funeral home. (Insert awkward pause). They were transporting a body (Insert pause) when they got a flat tire. Now the deal is that the body is not in a casket. (Insert another pause, during which I turned away to keep from bursting out in laughter at the wonderful awkwardness of the situation). The body is in a bag in the back of the van. Is anyone going to have a problem with this?" I took a picture of the van on my way out, so I might post this when I get my hands on it. To make the evening more bizarre, I got blocked in by a semi trailer bearing a new camouflaged military Hummer. The ENTIRE back parking lot was empty, but this guy (or woman) had to park in front of my car. :)

I am inevitably running the danger of not thanking someone in the blog because there are so many of you to thank for all that you have done, but we'll send our thanks to you the more traditional way. :)

Here's a picture of us tonight along with a shot of Myla and Raul Matthew with Grandpa Byrom.