Times and Tides and Tears

Two years. Two long and short years have passed since I last posted on this blog. Back then, Emma was doing so well. She was nearing her 5 year remission mark, meaning she would be considered "cured". Instead, at that 5 year mark, she was being diagnosed with leukemia. Less than 1 year later she would be in Heaven.

Sometimes, I want to write about things. Feelings and thoughts and anguish. Generally, I shove those wants aside. Recently, though, I've been thinking of writing them down here. So, I decided to give it a shot. My posts will generally happen as I feel the urge, so probably not on any set schedule. They'll mostly be on ways I feel and things I might be learning from those feelings.

If anyone reads them or if no one reads them, *shrugs*, I still want to write them down. I hope to post my first update soon.

Book Collection a Success!

I want to give a great big THANK YOU to everyone who donated money or books, and to everyone who shared about the book donation collection for kids with cancer. We collected over 100 books for the small children, middle grade readers, and teens at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital!

Once again, I'm reminded of the giving hearts of others. The patients and their families are going to enjoy many hours of joy and entertainment from your loving donations. This is only a third of the books we collected, with two more full boxes of books!

 

 

Books for Teens with Cancer

Hi everyone. I’m going out on a limb here, and giving something a try. Before you continue I want to ask 3 things of you. Please consider each one!

1.     Read this entire post to the end, even if it doesn’t go any further than you just reading it.

2.     PLEASE share this post, with an encouragement to others to get on board, even if you can’t help the cause yourself.

3.     Prayerfully consider donating here: http://www.gofundme.com/h74i30

OK, so you’re probably wondering what this is all about. Most of you know two things about me. First, my daughter was diagnosed with cancer at 3 years old and was treated at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Second, I am a writer. My books are generally geared for the young adult crowd.

 

 

During the first week of January we will be returning to St. Jude in Memphis for Emma’s 2 year off-treatment checkup (she’s been in remission for 4 ½ years now!). St. Jude treats upward of 5,000 kids a year, including teens. Many of these patients are in Memphis for long stretches of time (sometimes 2 months, sometimes 9 months, it just depends). What I would like to do is take a box of my young adult books and hand them out to the teens who are being treated while we’re there. My goal is 50 books, but I can’t do it alone. It costs me roughly $10 per book. If I can get 49 other people on board who would donate $10 each, we could take 50 books to give to the teens who are fighting cancer right now. But I will take whatever number I can get—if we get 10 donations, I’ll take ten books. On the flip side, if we get 100 donations, I’ll take 100. I want to stress, I won’t make a penny off this. Also, if you are a writer, and you’d like to donate some of your own books, feel free to contact me about that. I’d be happy to bring more.

Sharing is vital to the success of this idea. If I share it with all of my friends, and even half of you share it with yours, it will reach so many more people. These teens are fighting for their lives, and they’re isolated from their friends and normal life. A box of books isn’t much, but it’s something, and books are what I know.

If you feel even the slightest pull on your heartstrings for this idea, I hope you’ll consider not only sharing about it, but also donating. Again, you can donate here: http://www.gofundme.com/h74i30. Thanks so much for reading!

NEGU! The Story of Joy Jars

When Emma was going through treatments, we heard about something called a Joy Jar. All I knew at the time was that it was some type of charity that sent jars of goodies to kids fighting cancer. I signed Emma up, and without too much of a wait we received a jar full of fun toys and games for Emma.

Fast forward a few years. Sometime over the summer I was contacted to help promote a book during September--Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. I said I would be happy to help promote the book, which was touted as "an inspiration that would motivate a person to do something when they read the story of the girl behind this movement of hope."

I received the book in the mail at the beginning of September, and I started reading. Low and behold, it was the story of Joy Jars! I started reading it that very night. I shed tears, but I also smiled. What an inspiration this little girl was!

I can't recommend it enough, and I hope you'll check out Never Ever Give Up: The Inspiring Story of Jessie and her Joy Jars.

Superhero Fun Day!

Did you know? September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month! Families across the country have been working hard over the last few years to raise awareness and funding for pediatric cancer research, and local communities have slowly been getting behind the effort. I am excited to announce the tireless efforts of many families in my own community, and I hope that even if you're not local to me, you will work with others in your community to do the same! September 12 will be superhero dress up day, and we encourage folks to take a selfie and post it on social media to spread the word. Then, September 13 will be the official Superhero Fun Day. My own girls are excited to be part of the fun, as you can clearly see! To learn more, I encourage you to check out the Superhero Facebook page or the official Superhero Fun Day website.

LOOKING BACK

The other day I was digging through a cabinet looking for the salt (true story!). It is the same cabinet I store my cookbooks in, and I noticed a pink notebook shoved in among the cookbooks. Curious, I pulled it out. It was a pretty little notebook (see picture below). Again, I was curious. What was this notebook, and why was it with my cookbooks?



Well, I still have no idea why it was shoved in with the cookbooks, but I now know what it is (and I can't believe I ever forgot). When Emma was diagnosed back in 2010, someone gave me this notebook to jot down my thoughts.

I read through the notebook, and there were actually only a few entries, many only a few sentences long. But after I read it I was a little bit surprised at the thoughts I'd had, and I decided to share them with you today.

* I understand the whole "asking for the grace to get through the day -- the moment -- " thing. I feel like I need God's help to get through this sentence.

* The only thought that keeps me from being angry is that God can do whatever he wants. He's the almighty God of the universe, after all. Who am I to say, "God, not my daughter!" How can I take personal offense at what God chooses to do? It is his world, and I guess he can do whatever he pleases. I have to keep that in the forefront of my mind.

* I understand now that had they (St. Jude) not diagnosed her and started treatment immediately, the mass would have crushed the main artery to her brain. This was on the verge of happening when she was brought in, and they told us she had to make it through the next 48 hours. I was told this then, but I understand it now. I think this was God's grace, because had I understood t then, I think I would have had a nervous breakdown.

* One of the first thoughts Micheal and I had after Emma's diagnosis (and the help we got from SO many people) was, "Awe man, we're going to have to be friendly now." And we meant it! How sad. No wonder God had to do something big. We were in our shell and we did NOT want to come out.

Del Immune's Top 60 Cancer Blogs

Well paint me surprised! I was notified last month that Ramblings of a Cancer Kid Mom has been named in the top 60 cancer blogs on the web. It was a pleasant surprise, and very validating. I'm so pleased and humbled to be able to offer help, hope, or inspiration to others. If you would like to find other cancer blogs (about pediatric cancer, or other types of cancer) you can visit the Del Immune blog post on the subject. I hope you will find an extra snippet of hope within their virtual pages!