Odette's Wish

Many of you know that when kids are faced with a life threatening illness, they are allowed to participate in a make-a-wish program. Well, Odette was not ever old enough while in treatment to be able to participate. So, I decided to do my own wish for her and the other kids. Luckily for me, my brother moved to California last summer so we were able to have a place to stay.
For our wish, we went to California because sunshine always does the body good! (Sorry the pictures are all in reverse order of what we did and the one above is from the cheese factory that we stopped and ate ice cream on the way home.)

THE BEACH
We went three different times. It was so warm and nice. Odette was hard to keep out of the water. I thought she would be a little scared, but would keep running straight for the water. Forget building a sandcastle for her!

The bigger kids, along with Uncle Ty went in to brave the deeper water. They made it out so that Brandt was getting covered and they all loved it. The kids are not like their mother when it comes to water. I prefer the sand.

SEA WORLD
It was the perfect day for going to Sea World. Nice a sunny...I think this was the day it was snowing back home.
Hanging out on the cool Shamu Volkswagen.

The little kids enjoyed all the rides in Elmo Land while I took the older ones to ride Atlantis. Now that, was one way cool ride!

Odette at the Shamu show. She loved yelling Shamu with the audience and waving her hands like the tail of the whale.

Our favorite show was the dolphins. We sat in the splash zone, because that is cool when you are a kid and guess what? We got wet! Not just a little bit either! Of all the places the whale splashed, it was right in front of us!

MORMON BATTALION
Went to the newly renovated Mormon Battalion visitors center. It was very cool. The show they put on was very neat. Josselyn made a friend with the tour guide. We enjoyed panning for gold, "driving" in a wagon and checking out the canons. Brandt even got to be part of the show and dress up in what the men wore.

KIDS EXPLORATION MUSEUM
The kids enjoyed this day. We went to a museum that was all toys for the kids to learn and explore with. There was bubble things, one even that you could pull and you would be inside of the bubble! Building with all sorts of stuff. Lots of pretend play where the kids did puppet shows, played school and opened a fruit stand. There was even a room that you could paint on the walls! Josselyn loved this room.

MORE BEACH
Ok, so I might not like water, but some of my favorite pictures are on the beach. Kathleen spent most of her time collecting shells. She got some really cool ones. Josselyn thought that she had a shell and it ended up being a clam!

M&M WORLD
On the drive down, we stop in Las Vegas at the M&M factory. It was four floors of chocolate yumminess! There was even a 3D movie to watch there. The kids each picked out a color of candies. No matter the color, they were all tasty!

To many people, this might just be another vacation, however to me it was so much more. It was wonderful to see Odette doing things that just last year at this time she wasn't able to do and might not have ever been able to do. I absolutely adore and love my children and can't wait to go on another adventure with them!

A Dinosaur

When Odette finished her chemo treatment the doctors told me to be prepared.
She was going to get sick a lot.
Any kind of immunities that she had already had would most likely be gone and it would be like having a new born baby.
Do you know how many colds a new born is expected to get in the first year of life? Like 10 or more!
However, I had high hopes. I think if you didn't, you would drive yourself crazy with worry. Don't get me wrong, I worry my fair share.
Anyway, Odette has had her fair share of colds, which I think were causing her ear infections.
Once we got tubes I figured that some of our health issues would be resolved.
How very wrong that figuring was.
I thought that today would be the third ear infection. Nope, just super bad congestion which causes very low oxygen levels in the blood.
So, Odette got to be a dinosaur today and get a breathing treatment. The doctor said we would have to do these at home and asked about if I felt comfortable doing "doctor" stuff at home and if I knew what a home health company was. I about fell off the table from laughter! This, would be a cake walk.
Now we get to be a dinosaur at home, to which Josselyn is so very jealous! Maybe I will save the mask for Halloween for her!

Slideshow

This video was played at the ACCO Revival that spotlighted the cancer survivors.  It is amazing.  If you have tear ducts like mine, you will need a tissue.  The video might have been all about kids with cancer, but I think it relates to all people.  The quotes are wonderful.  Hold those little ones close and give them all your love all the time because they are the things that matter so very much in this life.

Survivor Story

We are in a different part of cancer fighting now.  When I first heard the word survivor-ship I wasn't sure that I understood what that meant.  I am on the board for the American Childhood Cancer Organization.  We were putting together an activity-a Revival of sorts.  They wanted to put together survivor-ship stories.  Then the light turned on.  Duh!  We aren't fighting cancer anymore, we, Odette, survived it!  There is a photographer that has put together a cancer photography project called For my Mama.  There is a group of photographers that do photo shoots of cancer patients and their families.  Kay volunteered to take the pictures of all the children we wanted to spotlight.  Odette was one of them.  Brought tears to my eyes when they talked about her as she stood up on stage.  Yes, she is a big girl and can stand there all by herself.  She is such a ray of sunshine in my life.

ENT

ENT stands for Ears, Nose and Throat Specialist.

This is the doctor that we took Odette to yesterday to see how her ears had healed after her tube surgery.

First off she had to have a hearing test.  I wish I had remembered the camera.  Usually I leave it in my purse because you never know what cute, silly thing the kids may do, but today I had left it on the counter because I had just used it for that very reason.

She is the best patient ever and let the lady put probes in her ears that they just left while doing the hearing test.  She sat perfectly still with the cutest smile on her face.  Then we went into a sound proof room.  There would be noises that she was suppose to look towards and then something fun would light up if she looked in the correct direction.  After she looked the right way three times, she layed back in my arms, starred up at the ceiling and began sucking her thumb.  She obviously thought that this was a boring game.  It was hard for me to not laugh.  You know I am suppose to be quite so she looks at the right noise, and I am definitely not the right noise at the moment!  The nurse quickly caught on and said, "Well we did get her to do some so I guess that's better than nothing."

Ends up that for the most part she passed her hearing test.  The ear she has had the infection in, she had some difficulty.  However, they weren't concerned and said she was fine.  Something I am sure I will be checking up on in the future.

Then we had to wait for the doctor.  She found a drill in the toy box and put it in her ear and was walking around with it like that.  Just like what the nurse had just done for her hearing test.  She was cracking everyone up!

Then we saw the doctor.  He looked in her ears.  Said she looks awesome.  Asked if she had gained weight...we all know the answer to that ...no.  He said, well hopefully she does.  She sure does have plenty of energy!  Come back and see me in a year!  Yes, an entire year!  Not a four or six week checkup like most tell me.  Maybe we won't spend all of our time and money at the doctors office in the near future!

Peace

Every time I hear that someone has passed because of cancer my heart breaks.

Doesn't matter how well I knew them.

Doesn't matter how old or young they were.

It still just hits home to me.

I could have been in their shoes.

Emotions are always on the surface.

Tears are inevitable.

My heart aches.

However there is one thing I have begun to grasp.

To understand a little more fully.

The ability to gain peace a little more quickly.

A little bit easier.

A conversation had with a friend comes to my mind.

Remember the Plan of Salvation.

Know that they are free of pain.

Know they are with our Savior.

They are happy.

It is really just us left behind that are suffering.

Keep your chin up.

In time we will all be reunited.

And what a grand and beautiful day that will be.

Oh how true those words are.
With these thoughts, I have hope.

How they speak peace to my heart.
Where there is hope, there is peace.

Farewell to a friend, may you fly high and your family be blessed with Peace with you gone.

GI visit

Well Odette made it to the GI doctor today.  I was worried about what he was going to say.  He asked me, "What do you think?"  I think she is doing well and is healthy.  She is very active and burns off all that she eats and I think it is fine if she eats cucumbers!  Guess what?  He agreed with me!  He said that she looks healthy and even has a Buddha belly.  Whatever is causing her to be little isn't a nutrition issue.  This is good and bad.  Glad she isn't malnourishment at all, but what is causing her to be so little and not grow?  Guess we might be doing some x-rays at the next oncology visit because it could be a lack of growth hormones.  Chemo doesn't just get rid of cancer cells.  It can screw up a whole bunch of other things.  For now though...eat whatever you want Odette...even cucumbers!

Calmed Fears, More Concerns

Over the last week I have been really worried about Odette.  She has been waking up at night crying and saying "owie".  When I ask her where, she would point at her legs, arms or joints.  She would even tell me this during the day time.  Of course my mind was going where it never should go...its back.  I knew that we had our regular oncology doctor appointment yesterday, so I didn't make one to go in before then.

I was put at ease when the nurse practitioner came it to talk to and examine Odette yesterday.  She handed me the lab report and said, "Her numbers are awesome!"  What a relief.  And then she looked in Odette's ear.  "Umm, didn't she get tubes?  She has an ear infection."  Just lovely.  I know that tubes aren't suppose to prevent ear infections from ever occurring, but I honestly figured we'd have a few months free of them.  Evidently not.  However, I am very grateful that it is an ear infection causing all her pain.

Then the doctor came in and said how beautiful she was.  That was the extent of niceness from her.  Odette, has lost weight once again.  She had been 10kg and is now at 9.5kg.  The doctor is really worried about this because she should be getting bigger all the way around.  She asked what Odette ate and I listed a bunch of stuff.  When I said cucumbers, which is Odette's new favorite food, she said, "Cucumbers are good for you and me, but not for Odette."  The doctor is going to be talking to our GI specialist and seeing what he thinks.  If she isn't growing by next time she has a list of tests/x-rays to examine her growing plates to see if anything is wrong.  Personally, I think it is just going to take some time to play catch up from being so sick for so long.  (But what do I know?  I am just her mother.)  Her sick days of life still are more than her healthy days.  Today we go to see the GI doc so hopefully he will have some better ideas.

Odette's favorite part of the appointment, as always, was getting her blood drawn so she could pick a prize out of the drawer.  Lucky her, she got Minnie Mouse and Bambi! 

Hope Minute

A few times each week, I get what is called a "Hope Minute" in my in-box.  It is an inspirational message sent to help give hope and inspiration to those who are going through hard times, specifically cancer or life threatening illness. It is amazing to me that each time I receive the message how much it speaks right to my heart, or expresses something that I have been feeling so very perfectly.  I would like to share one with you:

"Cancer opened my eyes. I certainly didn’t consider it a blessing when I first heard the words "you have cancer." I must admit it never occurred to me to ask, “Why me?” but there have been times this past six months or so that I have been tempted to ask, “Why STILL me?” I can’t tell you how many people I have known over the last six and a half years who have started and then finished a similar journey, moving on with their (healthy) lives.

My question was always, “Why NOT me?” To us mere mortals life is random. Stuff happens. But to God, there is a plan. A divine plan. And while I don’t believe for a minute that God GAVE me cancer, I invited Him in from the very beginning, and He has been transforming this journey on a daily basis.

First He transformed fear into faith.
Then He transformed control into trust.

Next, He transformed doubt into belief.
After which, He transformed anger into joy.
Following joy, He transformed insecurity into peace.
And finally, He transformed a cancer journey into a privilege and a blessing.

The diagnosis isn’t a blessing. The cancer isn’t a blessing. But the journey is a blessing, at least for me. . . because God did some amazing things with me during this journey. My life had been filled with fear, control, doubt, anger and insecurity long before I received a cancer diagnosis. Today I am filled with some awesome changes. It still amazes me that He was able to turn those old characteristics into faith, trust, belief, joy and peace."

This has been something I have been thinking and feeling lately, I just couldn't put it into words.

I have been extremely blessed.

I know my Heavenly Father loves me.

I am thankful for the experience of cancer in my life.

If you would like to receive inspirational thoughts, click here and go to subscribe.  You won't be disappointed that you did!

I DO HARD THINGS

Recently I took the kids to an American Childhood Cancer Activity.  At the activity one of the other cancer kids had on a necklace that said "I do hard things".  I instantly knew that my kids, not just Odette, needed this saying on something they could wear or see every day.  Lucky for me, I have a friend that makes charms.  Check out her site here.  She does way fun stuff that you can customize as well!  She made necklaces for each of the girls in their current favorite colors and Brandt got one he can hook on his jacket or scripture case.  I am absolutely in love with them.  Guess I should have ordered a green one for me!

I actually think that everyone needs to have one of these.  We all do hard things each and every day, no matter who we are.  To some cancer may seem harder than anything they have ever done, but there are lots of hard things:

• Get up every morning.
• Send a husband away for a time to serve our country.
• Take care of lots of little ones.
• Say No, when Yes would be easier.
• Resisting that candy on the counter.
• Changing diaper after diaper.
• I think you get the idea...

  I think it is a great reminder that YOU DO HARD THINGS.  There is no can about it.  YOU DO!