Even though each day has the same routine to a degree, there are no two days the same. Treatment-wise, Joel had a reasonably good day. He had a nurse that he took a liking to right away. His radiation went well and he woke up reasonably fine, with only a few behavior glitches to speak of.

We made a smooth switch-over to our new room. It works well for us; our room is on the main floor. In our old room we had a king size bed. In our new room we have a double bed and single bed with a trundle bed under it. Joel likes having his own space, he was busy arranging all his animals on his bed. Also, our new room came with a TV, DVD & VCR. We took the afternoon to slowly unpack and get ourselves settled in and are feeling as at home as possible.

Unfortunately, it is still a fight to get food into Joel; I think this may be an ongoing battle. He is also still getting bad stomach pain, which I wonder if part of the problem is the fact that he is eating so little.

I had a talk with Joel’s case nurse today… whew… when they want to talk about all that lies ahead of Joel it can be overwhelming. All the drugs that he will be taking when he starts chemo, and their side effects, and the things to watch for. I never would have thought that I would be keeping track of my sons HGB (Hemoglobin), Platelets, and Neutro-Polys. The information laid out before me was scary sounding. If I were to focus on all the negative that was said, I could easily become discouraged. I won’t lie, there are moments when I think ‘how am I going to handle it’; I feel like I am giving my all right now, and if things are going to get harder when chemo starts, how will I deal with it?

But…. “We live by faith, not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7. I think that is what makes this all bearable; if I were to live only by sight, it would be overwhelming. Living by faith, I can trust in the One who sees and knows the future. By sight, I am only going on what might be.

Please pray for Joel that his appetite would increase, and for continued patience for me as I try to get food into him.

Blessings!!!