A Bright and Sunny Road Ahead

This post is #73 in a year-long series ... Through this series of posts I plan to share our family's experiences during our 17-year-old daughter's year-long battle with brain cancer, which began in February of 2008. My desire is to process through the events of that year from the perspective that a decade of time has brought ... for myself, really. But if you'd like to follow along, you're welcome to join me.

May 6, 2008

At this point in Hannah's treatment, we were really enjoying living a "normal" life.  We were nearing the end of the school year, and were fully involved in all the busy-ness that brings.  Between the two girls there were field trips, track meets, academic banquets, and cheerleading tryout meetings.  Hannah was in the high school choir, and they were preparing for a performance of Alice in Wonderland.  She didn't have a big role because she had missed so many practices ... but she was determined to be the best flower she could be!  Most of all, she and Bethany were excited about the Carrie Underwood concert coming up in Little Rock that Sunday evening (which also happened to be Mother's Day) ... a special treat we had planned to celebrate the end of Hannah's radiation treatments.  The road ahead at this point looked bright and sunny!

Here's my email from ten years ago today ...

There have been few “Hannah” updates lately, because thankfully, there has been very little to report! She had her weekly bloodwork done in Hot Springs yesterday afternoon (one stick!) and we received the results today. Her platelets have risen to 40,000; still far below the normal range of 150,000-400,000; but we are finally on an upward trend! She has been feeling much better since finishing her radiation treatments a little over a week ago. Her energy is slowly returning…not nearly as many naps in the recliner after school. Her appetite has been a little slower in returning…food still just doesn’t taste very good to her. The next big date on our calendar is May 19th. She will have an MRI that day, and we will find out a little more about the rest of her treatment plan.

Many of you have asked about how Bethany is doing, and I’m happy to report that she appears to be pretty much back to normal. She still has an occasional day when she feels tired and worn down, but those days are becoming fewer and farther between. We are so thankful that we are down to the remaining 2 ½ weeks of school…I think we will all really enjoy having some time off!

We are so blessed to know so many people who love the Lord and who love our family. Your prayers have really lifted us up and carried us through the last couple of months! God is truly good, all the time!

Jill and Brad