Saving Sarah

Sarah started another round of chemo today.  Camden and Daddy brought us to the hospital.  I thought having Camden here would help Sarah adjust to being back.  They were cute little friends-playing Xbox, coloring on the window, playing cars-It was great…until it was time for Camden and Daddy to go home.  He was pretty heartbroken we weren’t coming back home with them. Nathan took him to see his work and bought him a new hot wheel car on the way home, so he was good. The chemos Sarah gets this round are the same as last time.  We are back to three sponge baths a day to prevent skin burns from one chemo. She screams and fights, we hold her down so she doesn’t pull the line out of her chest….it’s extremely vulnerable!   As diligent as we’ve been to keep her skin clean, she has a tan and dark spots where her skin was extra sensitive. Overall Sarah is doing really well!  It was so nice to have a two week break at home (with the exception...

I wear flip flops every day at the hospital, even in the cold weather.  They are so much easier to manage when I am getting in and out of bed with Sarah throughout the day. I get many comments on them, but today I got one that made me think...."Eternal hope for Summer".  Yes!  I have an eternal hope for brighter days ahead, and that hope keeps me going, it lets me put one foot in front of the other.  It makes me think of a talk Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin gave years ago. " I think of how dark that Friday was when Christ was lifted up on the cross. On that terrible Friday the earth shook and grew dark. Frightful storms lashed at the earth.....On that Friday the Savior of mankind was humiliated and bruised, abused and reviled. It was a Friday filled with devastating, consuming sorrow that gnawed at the souls of those who loved and honored the Son of God. I think that of all the days since the beginning of this world’s history, that Friday was the darkest. Bu...

Monday!  We have been here for almost two weeks.  Two weeks for sweet Sarah to be confined to her hospital room, but she has been handling it SO well!  It's hard, but it seems like nothing when you see other kids who are confined to their room for 100 days after bone marrow transplant. I stayed here with Sarah for the first 8 days, but I went home on Friday to spend some time with Hannah and Camden.  I really wanted to see them, but it broke my heart to leave Sarah. It was a nice weekend home.  I loved playing cars with Camden, and talking with Hannah about school and mermaids, and cuddling on the couch watching some of their favorite shows.  On Saturday night I called Nathan to check on Sarah.  I starting crying to him as I now thought of leaving my other two angels.  Hannah said, "Why are you crying?"  I really didn't want them to know I was crying.  I don't want to make it harder on them, so I try really hard to just be tough ...

Sarah had her stem cell transplant today!  The staff did a cute little celebration for her.  They came in and sang a "bone marrow transplant birthday" song,  made her a darling banner, and gave her presents.  Getting the cells back was a piece of cake compared to when they had to retrieve the cells back in September.  When they retrieved the cells it took about seven hours and she had to lay still in bed.  Getting the cells back was just like getting a platelet transfusion, it only took about 30 minutes and she didn't have to hold still. Primary Children's Hospital is an amazing place. The people here are wonderful, and you can literally feel the angels surrounding these kids. You make new friends who are going through similar situations and you help each other through it.   The staff becomes like family, always trying to make Sarah's day better.  Whether it's coming in to wish her Happy New Year, play music, give hugs, or get mommy a Diet Cok...