At the hospital

The last couple of months have been going by like a whirlwind and I could not believe when I logged in today that it has been since August that I last blogged about Ben.

First I will briefly fill you all in on the last few months. In September we started the beginning of Ben's homeschooling. We have stayed fast in our decision to keep him at home during his time of treatment. He is learning fast and is showing us a hunger and love for learning. October and November went by pretty uneventful. We spent Thanksgiving home with just the four of us. The kids really enjoyed themselves and we have already set up our Christmas tree. Ben and Olivia seemed to love decorating the Christmas tree more than anything else they have ever gotten to do. It was our first year that we weren't gone almost the entire holiday season so it was their first tree at home. Needless to say they are enjoying Christmas at home this year.

Last night at about 7:00 I had to call Ben's Oncologist up in Cincinnati. Ben was having extreme ear pain and a slight fever of 99.9. This is not actually considered a fever, but coupled with the ear pain they wanted us to go to the emergency room. We took him to the local E.R. by our house and they started him on two different anti-biotics. They also took his blood to begin cultures to look for infection and to check his ANC. His labs came back and his ANC was 90. Anything under 500 is called neutropenic and he was taken by ambulance to Cincinnati Children's. We got here at C.C. at about 2:30am and were admitted. They re-drew labs this morning at about 4am and his ANC had risen to 230. Dr. Hammill said that as long as his counts stay on an upward trend AND he stays without fever we can go home as soon as tomorrow evening. Ben was scheduled to have his next clinic visit on Wednesday AM so now we are doing it tomorrow so we do not have to make an extra trip up here.
At the local emergency room I was able to meet a new doctor that we had not met before. He was a wonderful man and after hearing about our troubles at the previous clinic and the way we were treated really encouraged me to continue to find ways of making public the way we were personally and medically treated. He gave me some great advice on how to take the next steps to ensure that Ben is the last child to be treated badly at that clinic. We praise the Lord daily that he saved us from that situation and praise Him yet again that he continues to bring people in our path who only want to better the treatment and the current staff at the oncology facilities in Louisville. Until then we are safely being cared for by some of the best staff in the nation. Ben loves being here, although we are both ready to be home tomorrow and get back to our normal activities.

Here is were I have saved the best for last. On November 21st in the warmth and comfort of our humble little apartment Benjamin accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour. I am so joyful for him and he is so happy about his decision. We are working hard to constantly confirm to him how supportive and excited we are about his "Big Boy" decision. He started the conversation with his constant wondering about heaven and death. Matt and I are rejoicing in the Lord and are very comforted by this. Ben is already sharing the "Good News" with his sister although it mostly is misunderstood by her. We will continue to teach and share with her and we know the Lord will bring her into his flock too!!

We Love you All

Jamie