When I was in high school I had to work on this huge semester long term paper. Every fiber of my being was concentrated on that paper. The week before it was due, one of my classmates dropped a Big Gulp on the folder that held ALL of my research and what was done of my paper. The look she gave me said “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!”
I was blow-drying my hair this morning when Nathaniel popped around the corner with that exact same expression on his face. I didn’t even want to think about what he was going to tell me because he obviously realized it was bad and that’s pretty serious.
“What?”
“I have a report due tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow.”
“Yes.”
“Did Mrs. McDaniels just call you and tell you about it right now?”
“No.”
“How long have you known this report was due?”
“Ummm….maybe 3 weeks…before spring break…so yeah, 2 or 3 weeks.”
“And you’re just NOW telling me?” This is when my voice started to get a little higher.
“Yeah.”
“Do you have the sheet on what you’re supposed to do?”
“Yes. I need posterboard.”
“Son, why wouldn’t you tell me about this being due? We could have done it over spring break. You need to give me these papers!”
“But it’s not due until tomorrow.”
“Nathaniel, you need to leave this room right this second. You need to get out of here. Just GO!”
I still had the blow dryer in my hand and seriously considered throwing at him for just a second, but I refrained.
I could feel a ticking behind my eyes, as though my brain was counting down to a complete explosion. Thankfully, by the time I finished getting ready, I was calmed down and able to cope with, if not understand, my 10 year old’s brain fart.
Peyton’s peripheral blood smear, which is where they take a look at her blood and see if anything is apparently wrong, came back nice and clear. The bone marrow aspirate is more in-depth, but this gives them a general idea if anything was abnormal. So, YEAHHH!!!
However, her liver enzyme level came back elevated. Not that it’s a good thing by any means, but our friend Zack had just been through this issue and his mom Tina had shared with me all the information. In an essence, the liver is the body’s garbage disposal and everything goes through it and when it gets backed up or overloaded from something it has to work extra hard to process….say, like chemo…it can cause the liver enzymes to be elevated. Liver enzymes help speed up all the chemical reactions that go on in the liver and help in removing toxins. So basically, her liver has been working over time to cope with all the chemo and I guess it’s just tired. It’s nothing terribly serious at this point, it can be, but it’s a pretty normal issue for these kids. They haven’t said to hold her chemo, which is sometimes an option to give the liver a break, so I don’t think it’s elevated to a dangerous level. When we go back to clinic in two weeks we’ll be accessing her port for more blood instead of just her normal fingerpoke.
Please keep the [url=http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/mathewjgliddon]Gliddon family[/url] in prayers for comfort, strength and peace.
f.r.o.G….fully relying on God
–Anissa
on Apr 17th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
10:15 pm tonight, th Willis household. Zachary should have been long asleep. So, why on earth was he now standing in my family room with that same look that I imagine Nathanial had telling me he needs a shoe box by tomorrow morning at 7??? BOYS! 🙂
on Apr 18th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Hi Anissa,
I'm so sorry about Matthew passing away. My heart is breaking. I will keep the Gilddons in my prayers, of course, as I have these past few weeks.
Hang in there, Anissa. I imagine it's hard for you and all the moms, but it's awesome that you guys have each other for these difficult times.
take care, love,basi
on Apr 18th, 2008 at 6:18 pm
Hi, Peyton! It was so good to see you at the golf tournament today (and your mom, too!). I just LOVED your pony tails. They are so, so, cute!