Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Good evening.

I got the following from our website support group. They are a fantastic
bunch of people who are on the same journey we are on, their children have
the same cancer, and they have been there for us throughout this journey.
Some are farther along than us, some are not as far as us, but we are all
there for each other. Some of the children are still fighting, some have
lost their battle, and some are doing well. They are our family, and we
love them all!! Anyway, this so exactly describes our life, so I thought I
would share it with you. Here goes:

Parents of children with a terminal illness are often referred to or
viewed as having strength “like a rock.” Albeit flattering, it isn’t quite
true. It is more like the strength of an egg. An egg, you ask? Yes! If
you’ll think about it, you’ll see my point. An egg has a polished, smooth
outer appearance, with no cracks or weak spots visible. It seems almost
inconceivable that the inside might not be so smooth or solid. Most
children, at some point are shown the famous egg trick. An egg set at just
the right angle can withstand enormous amounts of pressure and cannot be
cracked or broken. Yet the same egg, tapped gently at an ever slightly
different angle, will break. The contents, once so neatly concealed, will
come spilling out. The no longer perfect shell will be crushed. It looks
so fragile that it seems inconceivable that it ever held any strength. A
rock, on the other hand, is solid all the way through. To break it is
almost impossible. If you succeed, you will find that there is nothing
inside but more rock. It takes a lot more than pure hardness to hold the
hand of hope. Parents of [medically fragile] children are not solid all
the way through. We hurt, we fear, we cry, we hope. It takes a very
careful balancing act to keep the shell from being shattered. “Balancing
an egg” while running a household, going for doctors’ visits and hospital
stays, keeping the family together, and holding on to the constantly
unraveling ties of your sanity can be very tricky indeed! Occasionally,
the angle will be off and the shell will break, shattering hope and all
the neatly secured appearances of a truly fragile existence. Unlike Humpty
Dumpty, though, parents of medically fragile kids will pick themselves up
and put themselves back together again.
Anonymous

David is doing about the same as yesterday; eating wise. He ate a piece of
sourdough toast for breakfast, some chips and dip, and about 1/3 cup of
leftover Sour Cream Chili Bake (minus the sour cream) for lunch. He eats
dinner at Bible Study tonight, so we will see how that goes. Nita had a
thought. She said Chris still can't eat breakfast~~~the association of
chemo in the morning and not being able to eat. Maybe that is part of
David's problem. I know that having cancer and all the ramifications of
the treatment go very deep; especially in a child. *sigh* We will get
through this, somehow or other. Thank you for your prayers, and
suggestions. I appreciate all the advice and suggestions I can get.

Well, tomorrow we go to San Francisco, again! David is happy. He doesn't
want to go to S.F., but he is ready to have those staples out!!!! He can't
wear long pants; and it is COLD!! He is freezing! So after tomorrow he can
wear long pants. Woo-Hoo!! We have to leave at 8am! It will be a long day.
At least the Bay Bridge is fixed! But it will still be a long day. I don't
know if I will update tomorrow; it depends on what time we get home. I
will let you know how it goes, eventually.

Thank you for visiting and checking in on David and the Koury Klan. Have
a good night. God bless you all. We love you.

Kristi and the Koury Klan