The most heart-wrenching part of Josh’s treatment has begun as we see some of the side effects of chemo kick in and Josh’s numbers drop. It looks like its going to be a scary set of ups and downs and a roller-coaster of emotions. Josh completed his third day of chemo today out of five total and has hardly gotten much sleep. He is really starting to feel exhausted. One of the side effects of hydration, which is essential for chemo, is that the overflow of fluids is can causes swelling and even breathing problems as some of that fluid went into his lungs last night. They addressed the problem and got him feeling better this morning! Thank you Merlin Church for praying right away! Thank you Lord for your quick answers to our prayer and using the doctors to help Josh! Please Lord enable Josh to get through this transplant and grace him with as little side effects and complications as necessary.
Despite all of these side effects and exhaustion, Josh is still relentlessly praying for others around him and making others smile with his sense of humor. So much so that that I worry he may wear himself out from so much ‘work’. Yet he finds so much joy in his kingdom work of ministering to others at the hospital. Before being admitted he said it would be his goal to be like the hospital Chaplin. That is what Josh’s mission has been. We got to pray for a believing couple today who are also in treatment while doing laps together. Prayers appreciated for God to give Josh strength to be able to reach out to others and stay active while still pacing himself.
The kids got to see ‘daddy’ on Sunday afternoon and that was very special to all of us. We had to wear ridiculous looking ‘duck’ masks to church that morning and that was a real challenge for the boys. I’m thankful to God that they are well during a season where it seems like everyone is passing around bugs and colds. Please pray they continue to stay well and they don’t lose heart with all the precautions they are needing to take for this season of our lives. The isolation part of all of this makes things complicated with a family and social children that yearn to make new friends.
We were all encouraged to see our friends, the Matcalf family, who drove out from Prescott, AZ to see Josh! They weren’t able to visit with him this evening because he wasn’t feeling well. However, Josh was excited to see his friend Jason and hopefully he will get to feel better and visit with them all soon. Thank you “Met’s” (as Josh would say), for doing the trek up to Portland!
The hardest thing for me as a wife is to not be able to be by Josh’s side 24 hours a day. Josh has wisely wanted me home to give our children the mothering they need during this troublesome time in their lives having Josh in the hospital. Even though I know this is the best thing for them, it still breaks my heart not be there for my husband nor know if something goes wrong in the middle of the night. I do get to visit him every day for a couple hours and I’m definitely thankful for that time. It makes Josh happy too. Thank you Katelynn for watching the boys while we visit! While, I wish I could sleep in the hospital with my beloved, I’m thankful to get to sleep in a comfortable bed at home with the kids. I can’t imagine how terrible it feels to be in a hospital for so long and having to try to sleep through noisy machines and nurses checking on you periodically throughout the night. Prayers for Josh to be able to sleep better are also much appreciated. Lastly, please pray for me to keep myself from drowning as waves of uncertainty, fear, and sorrow threaten to overtake me.
This Thorny Rose 