Nate and I were recently challenged with having to grasp these harsh realities. Those who know us, know that we've been through great challenges with the health of our daughter Elizabeth. We've been extremely blessed, all things considered, in her struggles with epilepsy. After a long and unpredictable four years, Elizabeth has been seizure free for a year! I thank God every day for, not only her healing, but also for her courage and strength and the many things that she has taught us through it all. She's a rock star!
And we have again been forced to discover an inner strength as we broached the thought of sickness in our second child.
I took Abigail in to have the doctors look at a lump that had been growing on her foot for a few months. She hit the top of her foot on the corner of a baseboard a few months back. It bruised a little, swelled a little, and then went back to normal. After a few weeks, we noticed that a lump was starting to form. It wasn't bothering her and we kept a close eye on it (per doctors orders) for a few months.
Not only did it not go away in that time, it continued to grow. So, it was time for another visit to the Pediatrician. They were stumped, so they referred us to Children's Hospital where we met with a Pediatric Orthopedics Doctor. She too was stumped. She ordered an x-ray, which was relatively quick and painless. The results came back and there was cause for concern.
Mass.
MRI.
Oncology.
Cancer.
What do you do when you hear the doctor ramble these words off one-by-one? You do what any parent does; you collect them in the giant ball growing in your throat and you swallow it down. You choke on it for as long as it takes, because you don't want your six-year old daughter to experience the fear that you are experiencing. When you're child is sick, you just want to take their discomforts and bare the burden for them. Unfortunately, that's not possible. So, you drown your emotions and you tap into strengths that you never knew you possessed.
You're stronger than you know!
So, we took off on a journey that would teach us a valuable lesson about the fragility of life. Abby is fine and healthy and happy. She had a vascular malformation on the top of her foot that caused blood to clot, hence the lump on her foot.
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We spent the night before her surgery doing whatever Abby wanted to do. She wanted to be with friends, so we went to dinner with friends. She wanted to paint rocks, so we did just that! She could have asked me to buy her a pony and I probably would have! Because when you realize how fragile life is, you stop saying no. So what if painting rocks is messy; you only live once. Who cares that we were on a budget; we wanted to surround ourselves with people that we knew supported us so we called them out to dinner.
Life is too short to say no. We aren't on this Earth to work, sleep, work, and die. We were put here with intention and each of us has purpose. Not only are my kids growing quicker than I can stand, their lives are precious and fragile. As you know, neglecting the daily grind and responsibility is much easier said than done. Yes, I still say no...a lot. But I'm much more conscious of why I do and if it's necessary.
We dodged a bullet with Abby, but there will be others. That's life. Today we count our blessings and are incredibly thankful that we have two healthy, beautiful and strong girls. They have taught us about the value of life and how to appreciate the moments we have here on this Earth.
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