I'm Not Racist....I Have CANCER!!!

 I promised you all our adventure story, so here it is! On Monday the 12th, after an extremely exhausting day of appointments, I looked over at Anna and said, "I don't feel like making dinner!" Anna responded with, "yeah, let's go get dinner somewhere!" I'm still not super familiar with places around here and had a bit of a time trying to think of someplace to go. Then, for some reason, I thought of the mall! Huh?! You all may think that sounds a bit weird...and I'd be the first to agree! Anna agreed to it so we loaded Selah up and headed out. As we approached the doors, a lovely black lady and her three adorable children came up to us and asked if we knew the area well. It seems she was in need of help and the people from a women's shelter hadn't bothered to show up and show her where to go, and no one else would stop to talk to her. I offered them all food to which they reluctantly accepted. Anna and I both agreed that this was why the mall was what popped into my head for dinner....if only to be a blessing to this woman and her precious children. Well, as we got them settled, complete with phone numbers of our church and one down the road from our church, we headed over to get our own food...........

With food in hand, we scanned the eating area. There were many tables with nobody sitting at them so we chose the middle table that was away from people. (Please remember that Anna still has almost no immune system) We began eating and enjoying a bit of chatter. The lady and her children waved good-bye to us as they left...we waved back with big smiles in hopes that we had at least helped a little. I truly wish I knew the area better as I could have at least given her a name and number of a local church that could potentially help. Well, as we continued with our meal, a man and lady approached a table directly behind Anna.....with a cat carrying case that had straw hanging out of it. The man, who held the case started to sit in the chair closest to Anna. I got up and walked around the table and asked him, "Excuse me sir, but is there an animal in that case?" He replied, "Yes!" So I continued with the explanation that my daughter (pointing at her) is a bone marrow transplant patient who has a very low immune system and can NOT be around animals, so would he be so kind as to move to another table? His response?!!!! "Are you sure it's not my race???" I admit I was shocked at his hostility! I don't even know what his race is! I then quickly assured him that it was most definitely NOT why I was asking him to move, I even told him that my daughter had a wig on that she could remove to prove it! (way to think on your toes, Emily! LOL!) Anna stood and took off her wig.....the man refused to look at her, but the woman saw. They did move several tables away and then we heard him in a loud and angry voice say, "That's okay, we HATE white people, too!" He then turned to the lady and said (again in a loud & angry voice), "That's how you talk to those kind of people!" Yikes! Anna and I immediately felt sick in the pit of our stomachs! Unable to finish eating, I prayed silently for God's protection over us. "Anna," I said, "I'm ready to go home!" I know this kind of thing can happen anywhere, but I think it may be a bit less scary when you are in a familiar environment! So, this was our adventure on Monday, August 12!

The pictures of Anna are from this past Tuesday, Hickman removal day! What an exciting day it was! With a check in time of 6:15 a.m., we were a bit sleepy eyed as we entered the hospital. The registration and work up to prepare her for the procedure was long.......the actual procedure itself lasted a whole FIVE minutes! I was a bit amazed at how quick it was! Any number of things could have made it longer, but it all came out smoothly! Anna was ready to go in just a short amount of time and now, she is Hickman free!!!! Not having the line means one less opportunity for infection and one more step toward getting home! Our last appointment is this coming Monday, the 26th.......day +100!!!!! Wednesday she has a podiatrist appointment to check on her toes, and then we will be all set to head back to Bremerton! The house is very close to being ready. Craig, the boys, Naomi, and many very generous people have worked very hard at getting everything prepped and painted. Everything will be fresh for Anna's arrival! We are anxious to be a whole family again!!!

Tonight, we had another adventure! We (Naomi, Anna, Sarah S., and I) headed over to drop off a library book then to stop at Safeway for a few things. As we got to the library, Naomi jumped out to put the book in the drop box. She headed back to the car with a strange look on her face. "Mom, did you know we have a very flat tire?" She asked. Ugh! I did not! I quickly thought of a family nearby to which I could call......no answer, bummer! Then I called Craig, deep in oil base floor paint. He suggested sending one of our boys over to our neighbor's to see if they were home and willing to help us out! PRAISE THE LORD for Steve Gosset!!!!! He was our knight in shining armor! He changed our tire to the spare and we were on our way. I know, shameful that I didn't know how to do this, but then again, it would have been a bit awkward with a big ol' pregnant belly in the way! We picked up some apples so as to bake a fresh apple pie as a thank you to Steve and Judy for their time.....they have been awesome neighbors, very welcoming, and we will miss them very much!

!!URGENT!!

Please pray for Allistaire Anderson! She is a sweet little girl whose Mom we met while at Children's. She is three years old and has Acute Myelogenous Leukemia. She recently went through treatment and we were hoping for good news. Sad to say she has relapsed! My momma's heart is grieving and yet the prayers are more fervent than ever! You will find their blog and journey to the side in my list of blogs I follow, conglomerationofjoy.com.....please read it, but most of all, please pray for this family!!

Thank you all!