Guess who just celebrated a birthday?? Big brother Jack! On November 8th, Jack entered the world of double digits by turning 10! He had a great time celebrating with about 15 friends at Sports of All Sorts in Carmel. The day was filled with cake, pizza, and an organized game of flag football, soccer and the ever popular dodge ball! It was quite the “boy” party!
Sam was unable to play football and soccer, but he did participate in a few games of dodge ball. One of the drugs he takes for his chemotherapy prevents the replication of tumor cells by damaging the DNA. It also effects his motor skills, balance, and strength among other things. Because of this, he moves slower and doesn’t quite have the arm that he used to. But he just couldn’t resist getting in there for a few rounds of the game. And the boys at the party? Wow! What amazing young men! They were so compassionate and kind to Sam-cheering for him and making him feel so special and a part of the group. I was so proud of all of them and grateful for their kindness because it made him feel wonderful. The smile on Sam’s face was priceless and he was having so much fun. It wasn’t a new toy that gave him joy, it was playing with the boys and getting some love from them. It’s true-it’s the simple things in life that bring us joy. Now, he was exhausted after his little game and threw up afterward, but, hey,…he had a great time while he was at it! :)
When there is an “unscheduled” event in the family, such as cancer, all of your focus tends to shift to helping the one who is afflicted get well. There are countless doctor’s appointments that you spend one on one with that child (Sam), there are long nights comforting the child (Sam) when they aren’t feeling well (which is WAY TOO OFTEN!) rubbing their back, stroking their head, holding their hand, as well as cards, gifts and opportunities that come for the one battling this awful disease. They get lots of attention. Meanwhile, your healthy child waits patiently in the wings-eager for a little parent time. Being a care giver is a full time job. I never understood it until I began to live it…daily. Around the clock. It can be tremendously draining to attend to all the needs of the child with cancer, understand all the medical information and make decisions on treatment and then find the energy necessary to be fully present with the other child as well. But Jack needs us too. And we do our best to recognize that everyday. Not so much with cards and gifts, but with a greater gift-time. Because even though material things are fun to receive, what makes someone feel special and loved is the gift of your time.
Today, try to give a little gift of yourself to someone. Give them a call, drop them a note or email, or even better stop by for a visit. You’ll see..it’ll really brighten their day and make them feel wonderful and you’ll feel great giving someone some joy. It’s a win/win!
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13
5 comments
Erica, that is my favorite scipture!!!! Happy birthday big man Jack!
Jack is growing up so fast. I cannot believe he is 10! Glad he had a good time for his birthday and that Sam was able to be a part.
Erica,
It is so beautiful to see how you are able to share your faith with so many others during this very difficult time for you and your family. Thanks for being so open with sharing your feelings and your faith. You are doing an awesome job with the blog and keeping things together.
Love and prayers,
Shari Frank
Thank you Erica and give big brother Jack an extra hug from us!
Hi Erica!
Thank you for starting this blog. I think of you often (hard not to when your artwork fills my walls!) and wonder how you’re holding up through this. My brother (the one with Down’s that you did pictures of with my fam) is going on 3 years in remission from Leukemia (another one of THOSE cancers that just takes forever to treat…long roads) and he did all of his care at Riley. We had a late night seizure ride to Riley too.
I found your post about “Bratty Erica” so touching…and I appreciate how hard it is to be THAT girl. My mom, a hemonc nurse at Clarian, struggled with trying not to tell people how to do their job and just going ahead and telling people how to do their job. One time when she bit her tongue, a nurse forgot to flush Nick’s port before putting the new meds in and ruined his port after a rough round of chemo, and NIck had to have a second port placed without an immune system…so she learned the hard way that being a hard-nosed B is just what you have to do.
It sounds like you have incredible support in your family (we did, too…very awesome) and just remember you have an admiring client who lives less than a mile away that you could always call in an emergency if needed. Looking forward to seeing you again sometime to get a new set of art from you!
Kim Knox