Got Faith?

He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.  Matthew 8:26

I needed a miracle Monday night.  I needed to see God move.  I didn't deserve it, but I still wanted it.  I have been asking God for a LOT these days.  I am keenly aware of that, but boy was I begging Monday night.  Lucy was so sick.  She was as bad as she had been since Le Bonheur.  Over the weekend, she had vomited no less than 15 times each day.  And since she has not eaten for roughly 8 days (nothing at all), she was losing what little fluid her body was able to retain from the TPN.  She was primarily gagging on mucus that was collecting in her throat, which is very sore from the radiation. 

I knew that I was not taking her home Monday.  I had decided that I was going to go in to E Clinic and beg Dr. W to keep her in the hospital.  I HATE staying in the hospital, but there was no way I felt comfortable taking her home in that state.  But it didn't come to that.  When her labs came back her sodium level was critically low.  Low sodium can cause lots of harm to your body, including seizures.  That got us an express ticket to the 2nd floor.  The worst part about the whole situation was that Anesthesia would not sedate her until her sodium level was corrected.  It was far too dangerous to try.  It took more than 24 hours, but finally (after lots of intervention) her levels began to rise. 

Here's where the miracle part comes in.  In one night, her mucus secretions began drying up.  Her vomiting all but stopped almost instantly and her sodium corrected in time to only miss 1 RT.  This may not seem like much to you, but when you are living in this hell, it is huge.  I have been on cloud 9 all day.  I can't help smiling and saying "Thank you God" out loud when I think about how things changed from Sunday/Monday to today.  I seriously believe God intervened and laid his hand on my baby.  She is still super tired and can hardly hold her head up.  She sleeps more than she is awake during a 24 hour period but this is all to be expected.  It's part of her body healing and trying to combat all this radiation. 

GOD IS SO GOOD!

So....here's our exciting news.  And NO.  I am NOT pregnant.  If I were, I would be including my new address at the regional mental health facility.  I digress.

Lucy's last radiation treatment will be.....this FRIDAY!!!!  3 days shorter than we originally were told.  We are ecstatic.  This is huge.  3 days less of radiation, 3 days less of sedation, 3 days less of riding to Memphis every day, 3 days less of doctor visits.  Most importantly 3 days more of a break before Chemotherapy.  I am a worrier by nature.  I just can't help it.  However, I am going to try to enjoy every single day we have during our break.  The doctors have told us not to expect an overnight change in Lucy's energy.  The reality is that she will not be recovered before we hit her with 4 months of Chemo.  We are just going to pray every day that her energy and appetite will be restored as much as possible before June 19th.  We started Lucy on Periactin today so maybe she will start eating soon.  I am believing God will answer this prayer, too. 

God continues to provide strength when we are weak, hope when we feel hopeless, light when it seems dark and miracles when we need the most.  Thank you for your continued prayers.  This is only the beginning of Lucy's journey, but finishing RT is a major milestone.