Fevers...

Seriously, as soon as I hit "post" on my blog, as soon as I thought that it was safe to say that Daniel was out of the woods, for now, he got a fever Tuesday night! Fevers... darn those fevers. Fevers are not good when your blood counts are low (especially, your white blood cells). Although Daniel's blood counts are rising, any type of fever is still not good. Fever= Infection (Not the equation that we want). Turns out, that a neussiance (Daniel thought), was a bigger problem than he thought. I'm not going to go into details- :-). Anyway, a 102.6 fever was not a good thing. Blood cultures were drawn, a minor surgical procedure (in the room, that is how minor it was), and a whole lot of pain later, we are still here in room 6937. Definitely where we weren't planning on being tonight or tomorrow! Anyway, the attending physician was by earlier this evening- told us that if Daniel tolerates his medication in pill form (up to today, he has had mostly intravenious forms), then it looks like we may be home Saturday!!! Sounds good- right? It is for the most part. The next several weeks will be filled with Dr. appointments, blood draws, and a bone marrow biopsy. The lady that is helping us with the bone marrow donor told us to go home and make it as good as it can be- because there is no reason to dwell on our circumstances. So, that is what we are going to do.
Keeping our fingers crossed, we will venture home. Y'all have no idea how much this will help Daniel's spirits. Of course, it is going to help my spirits too. But Daniel, he needs this. We are on Day 33 at the hospital. He has missed a whole month of his kiddos growing up. I know that this is just a small fraction of the time that he will have cumulatively spent- but, you get the point- eh? Anyway, last night Ashlynn was staying at my in law's house and she retreated to the bedroom. She is a little "techie", and she was, what they thought playing on the internet (She likes pbskids.org). An hour later, she was found crying. Crying because she had navigated her way around and found the video of the fish fry. When asked what she was crying for- she replied "I miss my daddy and I want to see him". This was the first time, that she has been pretty emotional about it- to anyone. I guess that she is a whole lot like her Momma. I run from problems, and try to ignore their existence. In my own little world, I dwell on the problems, in my own space, and I try not to let anyone know that I really am not as strong as I may appear to be. My heart was crushed today when I learned of this. It is still crushed.

Moving on... this trip home, we will be trying out a new way of living - Simplify! Our new "normal, requires us to simplify- a whole lot. Less going, less doing, more living! We will be enjoying nights at home- 7x a week. Well, there are a few exceptions, such as gymnastics. Daniel, he won't participate. It is so important that we keep any sicknesses away. Eating out- not as a family. Carryout is okay, no buffets (of any kind). Fruits and veggies, must be cooked. If eaten in raw form, they must be washed really good. No public places. If going around people- a yellow face mask must be worn. All of the above mentioned things, apply to Daniel's new life. Atleast, for the next year, or so. Are you jealous yet? We are so happy that Daniel is doing so well. You all have no idea, REALLY. Maybe, this weekend I can get a picture of the "bald guy". I think that I like the look! The look on Ashlynn and Avery's face when their daddy gets home- will be PRICELESS!

For the hundred acts of kindness that have been offered once we get home, we are so grateful. If there is one thing that we have learned in this process, it is that we are surrounded by phenominal family, friends, and, a community that everyone should get a chance to live in. We are so grateful for everything. I worry that I am not responsive enough. I have a stack of thank-you cards that are ready to mail, some that need addresses, and many, that I am positive, that I forgot. I am so very sorry. Our entire family, is so humbled by the support that everyone has shown us. Please continue to think about our family, and most importantly, keep your prayers going up. We have several more humps through this journey. The next biggest hump- the bone marrow biopsy. At this point, we will know if Daniel is really in remission. The next hump- finding a bone marrow donor, and so on. Look at what your prayers have already done- I believe, Daniel will beat this, we just need a little more help, and this is where you guys are very important. Look for a blog post early next week, as we plan on settling in over the weekend! XOXO