If there is anything that has made our transition to Washington easier, it would definately be having Dan's little sister Courtney and her family here. I haven't even had a chance to feel lonely, because it's like having a friend here with me all day, and I love it! Our kids love having Taylee here to play with, and Broden and Taylee have become the best of friends (aside from the occasional outburst of perfectly normal 2-year-old behavior!). Dan and I have also said it feels like we're having friends over every night to play games or watch our favorite shows with. We just wish the circumstances for their being here were different. A couple of days before graduation, we received the scary phone call from Dan's mom that Taylee had cancer. You feel so helpless being away from family during times like this, and it made us anxious to get home. We appreciate those of you who offered prayers in Taylee's behalf without even knowing her, and thought you might be wondering what ever happened. So, here's the update:
Taylee is an incredible little girl. She had a large Wilm's tumor that covered one of her kidneys. They brought her from Idaho to Children's hospital in Seattle. Shortly before Christmas she had surgery at Children's to remove the kidney and the tumor. The surgery was successful, and the tumor was contained and intact, which we were very grateful for. Taylee continues to amaze us. She recovered much more quickly than they expected her to, which meant we were able to have her home with us for Christmas. The next step is 6 months of chemotherapy. They have started the chemo here in Washington, and will most likely finish it in Idaho, after they work out some of the details that go along with it. Taylee is doing good, and I haven't even noticed many of the side effects that they predicted she would experience. She is a lucky little girl, and has great parents. I was able to go to the hospital with Court and Taylee a couple weeks ago for chemo. As surprised as I was at how good Taylee did, I was even more impressed with Courtney. She has such a positive attitude, and has so much faith. I have no doubt that Courtney's attitude is a huge part of how well Taylee's doing. We've learned so much from their little family's example, and are grateful that we've had this time to be with them. I know they are anxious to get home to Idaho, and I don't blame them one bit. They have a strong support system there with lots of family and good friends, as well as a beautiful home, and I know they are missed. I know it will be good for them to get back to a normal routine. But we have loved, loved, loved having them here and for now we will just enjoy them while we have them!
2 comments:
Jenni, you make me cry! Hope you know we are having so much fun with you guys too and hope you know how much we appreciate you and your family sacrificing what you thought your living situation would be to help support us as we are here. Tay can be a lot to handle and an instigator of trouble, but your kids and you and Dan are so patient and understanding. You are example to me with how consistent you are with things that are important and with how you spend time with your kids and help them feel special and important. We love you all and thank you for saying those sweet things.
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