HI HO, HI HO...IT'S TIME TO GO

snow white is tired of sharing her great big convalescing couch with...

sleepy, dopey and wheezy & itchy, bashful and grumpy

snow white has decided enough is enough
HI HO, HI HO...IT'S OFF TO SCHOOL YOU GO!

i wish.
sighed she.

itchy, bashful and grumpy (taylor) is significantly recovered.

itchy, bashful and grumpy is nicely crusting over - he had some new spots crop up yesterday but if no new spots have appeared overnight then hopefully he can go to school on friday. we are fortunate that the doctor we saw started him on anti-virals and so his pox haven't been as bad as they could have been. of course, he contentiously argues that. he thinks it's been pretty bad.

sleepy, dopey and wheezy (parker) is not recovered. every few days or so, he seems to be rallying but any improvements are short lived. yesterday afternoon, we sent him to school for 2 hours. this was not an easy thing for us or him to do. he is pretty dopey from all the meds he is on and is weak as he has lost about 9lbs in the last 2 weeks. but at this time, we feel that he needs to have a little bit of normalcy - and he misses being with his friends - we are very proud of him for sticking it out even though he feels so sick.

at this point, all we can do is wait on all the test results. we are waiting on the results of multiple blood work ups, the chest x-rays and tomorrow morning he has an appointment at the hospital for an abdominal ultrasound. currently, his symptoms are suspect for several different conditions. we are praying that all the test results will be accurate and definitive...and that IF there is a diagnosis that needs to be made, than God would clearly reveal it. and IF there is a bridge we need to cross, that we would have peace and strength to walk it. right now, we are just taking it one day at a time. it is incredibly difficult but we are trying not to worry about what tomorrow may bring. today is challenge enough.
AND, until proven otherwise, we are choosing to believe that he has just had a really bad run with a nasty viral infection that unfortunately has just really knocked the stuffing out of him.

my littlest dwarf (avery) continues to thrive amidst the microbes swirling through her environment....

in my books, she'll always be the fairest maiden of all.

and how is snow white fairing in all of this?
well, the fact that i am correlating our family to a fairy tale might suggest that i am somewhat delusional or in need of an escape from reality.

after experiencing a positive climb in my White Blood Cell count, this week it all came crashing down to flagged and low numbers.
this was very discouraging.

i continue to be very symptomatic but we are managing to keep my symptoms at manageable levels. everyday i live with episodes of uncontrollable muscle twitching, night sweats, shaking chills, air hunger, fatigue, word retrieval and memory issues, noise sensitivities and pain, pain, pain...but,
all things considered, i am doing remarkably well. as wierd as it may sound, i have a sense of well being that i have not felt in years. i am being able to function at a level that i have not experienced since getting sick. for this i am grateful. my boys have needed me and i have been able to be there for them.

of course, there is tremendous concern that the stress of what we are dealing with will undermine my progress. stress even in the healthiest of individuals weakens the immune system and can be detrimental.

but along the way i've learned that TRUST in God is a phenomenal stress reliever...

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.- phil 4:6-7

hi ho, hi ho....it's off to God i go.