hi there! the weather here in washington is very different than in san diego…it’s been raining and sunny on the same day!

well, i got my cast off and now i’m wearing a splint. it’s hard to keep adjusting to the different things going on with my legs. but at least we can take this off for my bath and for bedtime i hafta wear it for another 2 weeks…which seems like a very long time.

when i was at the doctor’s they checked my blood count and it was very low (360 or something), so mommy and i have to stay home away from anything that might make me sick since it could happen very easily. remember when i was sick after i first got here? well, i haven’t really gotten any sicker, sometimes i have some symptoms, sometimes i’m fine. but everyone who has come by has ended up getting sick

daddy has been working very hard to take care of everything–work, our home, and running errands since me and mommy have to stay home. i think he’s really tired, but he is so strong and hard-working. mommy and me are so thankful for him! and it’s so nice to be together again so i see my daddy every night

oh, and since my counts are so low, the doctors stopped all my medicine so i can get better faster. that means no chemo or steroids! it has been nice and i’ve been able to sleep very well for the past 2 nights–better than anytime in the past 3 months!

mommy and daddy and i pray every night before i go to bed. first mommy prays, then daddy prays, and then sometimes i ask mommy to pray again – “pray nana” or “pray grapes” or something she’s forgotten to pray for. last night, i asked mommy to pray again-”pray angels” because mommy usually prays for angels to protect me and make me feel safe. i like it when she prays for angels, because i know jesus sends them to take care of me.

well, i’m gonna go ask mommy for a cookie–maybe she’ll say yes!

bye!

hi there!

i’ve been busy at my new house. there’s lots of room and everything is a little bit crazy with all of our stuff unpacked, but not all set up yet. a lot has been done thanks to lots of friends and family helping!

i’m doing better…i’m so glad that being sick didn’t last a long time! everyone says that’s ’cause of all the people praying for me, so thank you for praying

we met the new doctor and nurse practioner at seattle children’s hospital. they were really nice. they do things different there than they do in san diego. we like they way they do it in san diego better, but i guess we’ll get used to this way too.

tomorrow i have to go in for my treatment–more chemo and steroids i’m not looking forward to that at all. i’ve been moving around pretty well as long as i wear the bootie that goes over my cast and walk very carefully. it’s hard though and i’m still a bit nervous about falling down and hurting again. at least it doesn’t hurt so much any more.

i do like my new house, but have told mommy a couple of times that i’d like to go home. i miss my park, and our church and friends in san diego. i sure hope we visit a lot! plus, then i could go to the wild animal park and see all my favorite animals!

well, i’m gonna go for now. i think there’s some toys i want to play with, or explore my new house some more

bye!

hi there!

i got sick on the way to washington i have a fever and i’m coughing a lot. but mommy and daddy say i’ve been a trooper (i guess that means a good sport) about the whole move. i really liked it when they started taking my toys out of the box–it made it seem more like home to me and i had stuff to play with. it also helped to have lots of family coming through to visit and help. when mommy asked me if i liked my new back yard i said “yeah”. and then i said, “new house, new house” so she knew i understood that we would live here now.

we had to go to my first appointment at children’s hospital in seattle today. i will let you know how that went later!

bye now!

hi there! i’ve been letting mommy do all the writing because i’ve been busy! busy sometimes sleeping, sometimes eating, sometimes i just don’t feel like doing anything, and then sometimes i’m playing!

we’re moving away to washington where daddy bought us a new house. everyone keeps telling me that they’re gonna have to pack up my stuff too, so we can have it at our new house. it’s hard for me to see them pack some things, and today i saw them pack my winnie-the-pooh toy and even though i know why, i cried. everything is so busy right now, and i don’t feel good and it’s very hard to deal with it all. but i’m trying.

grandma and aunt deanna are here helping mommy and daddy get everything ready to go. and grandma sue came by to say hi today too. i like having my family together with me, especially having daddy here with mommy and me!

and guess what?! i broke my tibia and had to get a cast put on! i think maybe it would have been neat at another time in my life, but right now it’s kinda hard because my left leg is the one that’s been hard to use and now my right leg has a cast on it. i haven’t really been walking around at all, because it’s been hurting. i even asked mommy for some medicine ’cause it was hurting–and you all know how much i hate taking medicine! i was glad i did though, because it did help me feel better a little bit. so i tried walking again for the first time since i got my cast which i call my “pink boot”. i have to hold onto something, like the couch and i’m wobbly, but i know i need to try. sometimes i get scared though when i lose my balance and even if i don’t fall, i do cry. mommy and daddy and grandma are doing their best to help me and take care of me.

well, the big truck comes tomorrow and takes EVERYTHING out of our house! and mommy, grandma and i are flying to washington on sabbath morning! daddy is gonna drive a car and meet us there. i sure hope he gets there soon, and then we’ll all be together like we used to be without daddy leaving for all week and only seeing him on weekends.

i’m going to miss my friends in california. i’m going to miss our church and going to sabbath school with my friends in cradle roll. i’ll miss the wild animal park and the zoo. i want to say thank you to all of the people who have been so helpful to us, especially since i got sick. i hope we get to come back and see you again someday.

well, i’d better go and eat dinner! even though mommy says she doesn’t know when she’ll be able to update everyone since the computer is packed up, i know I’LL be updating you guys myself over the next couple of days and mommy will be so surprised!

bye bye! *waves*

Sigh!  There are those days when we feel like God is with us and then there are those days that we wonder.  Yesterday was one of those wondering days.  We took Sharmi to her appointment in the morning and then my mom and I needed to run a few errands.  Before we got home Dean called and told us that we needed to go back to the hospital because Sharmi’s x-rays came back and her tibia was broken.  With a heavy heart I turned around and headed back to the hospital.  I can’t explain the sickening feeling that was going through my body as Sharmi, tired from the long day was saying, “Go Home mommy.  Go Home.”  There was nothing that I wanted to do more, but with tears running down my face I drove back to the hospital.  Two and a half hours later we left the hospital with a hot pink cast up to her knee. 

She is so brave when they put the cast on, but she cried softly with a broken heart knowing that something-else was happening to her that wasn’t right, and she couldn’t stop.  It doesn’t matter how many times she says, “all done,” people keep doing things to her.

It doesn’t make sense from a mothers perspective.  Dean and I have both had experiences lately where God has protected us, so why does she have to get knocked down again.  She doesn’t deserve it.  I just hope that something good comes out of this fracture and that maybe she will be able to get oxygen treatment or a lighter drug regimen because of it.  God says that he can bring good out of everything, so I am watching for it. 

Her blood counts were low yesterday also.  She is not high risk yet but her immunity is below normal.  She will be exposed to a lot of germs in the next few days with the packers and loaders being here tomorrow through Friday, and then being on a plane on Saturday.  Keep her in your prayers please that she will handle the move well and that she won’t get sick.  We have been telling her that all of our stuff, including her toys, are going to be packed up in boxes and taken to the new house that daddy bought for us, but I am sure it will still be traumatic to see strangers take her things away.

At this moment she is playing happily in the other room with Grandma.  It is good to hear her happy chatter.  We haven’t had too much of that these last few days.  We treasure the moments that she finds joy. 

As I stated earlier, we will be moving this week and so I don’t know when I will have access to a computer again.  I will try to keep you posted.

Love to you all,

Cheris 

Good morning everyone,

We have had a lot of ups and downs in this house since I wrote last.  Sharmi overall been very needy, but has enjoyed walking around and playing a little bit the last few days.  Her Daddy and Grandma flew in on Saturday evening and she was very happy to see them.  On the way down to the airport she was talking about missing her loved ones and them missing her.  I told her papa (grandpa) wasn’t coming this time, and she chattered in her her car seat saying, “I miss you papa.”  Later she said “Grandma miss you,”  ” Daddy misses you.”  She has certainly heard them tell her that over the last few months. 

Yesterday she fell in the family room.  I can’t figure out how.  I was standing next to her but I didn’t see the fall.  She was in a lot of pain to the point that she asked for medicine. (She usually chooses to tough out the pain instead of taking more drugs.)  Her cry was much more intense than usual and scary for a mom.  The other thing that concerns me is that it is her right leg this time (the limp, bone damage, and previous injuries have been on the left side).  As of this morning she still hasn’t stood on it and she is complaining a lot.  She even cried when foxy (our cat) rubbed her head against her foot. 

This morning we go into the San Diego Children’s Hospital for the last time.  (We pack and move the last part of this week.) We are going in to get her blood checked, and sicne she is taking all of her chemo orally right now she won’t have to have any procedures.  This will be nice for all of us.  However, I am sure we will also do an x-ray to make sure she doesn’t have a fracture in her leg.  

We deal with Sharma’s health and care every moment of the day, and at times it feels very lonely.  However, God has kept reminding us that he is here.  He didn’t heal her to prevent her from having to go through all of this and she still suffers alot, but I am grateful that he reminds us that he is still there.  The last time we went to the hospital for chemo, I was driving a courtesy vehicle (since our car was in the shop).  My girlfriend Julie was with us and we were driving up the express lanes.  I was about half way up when the power was gone.  I knew immediately, without having to look at the dash that I was out of gas.  Dean had just put gas in two days earlier, so I hadn’t even thought of it, (but he didn’t fill it since it was a courtesy vehicle.)  I was able to pull over to the right side of the road before it stopped completely.  I called Dean back east to ask what I should do.  Julie pushed the flashers and she also called her husband.  Within just a couple minutes we looked over and saw a highway service patrol truck pull up next to us on the shoulder of the main highway.  I got out and went to his his window.  He was finishing up a call, but sympathetically looked at me and said, “do you need gas?”  I nodded and he said, “I have gas and you will be on your way in no time.”  A highway officer had also pulled up and after he confirmed that I was OK, went on his way.  I know that the service patrol man was just doing his job, and even though he felt like an angel to me, I am sure he was just a regular guy.  However, I also believe that God put him behind us on the freeway so that he would be exactly where we needed him.  As he was leaving he said,  “It is good thing you ran out of gas here, if you would have stalled a mile up I wouldn’t have been able to get to you.”  Julie and I both knew that God had orchestrated our help even before we knew we needed it.  It is moments like this when God reminds me he is still there that keeps me going. 

Well, I better run if we are going to get to Sharmi’s appointment on time.

 Cheris.