Cancer is so limited

Cancer is so limited.
It cannot shatter hope.
It cannot corrode faith.
It cannot destroy God's peace.
It cannot kill friendship.
It cannot suppress memories.
It cannot silence courage.
It cannot invade the soul.
It cannot conquer the spirit.
It cannot steal God's gift of Eternal Life.
Cancer is so limited.

~Author unknown

Talitha had her fourth kidney test today. We are grateful her organs are holding up well so far.

This is a transition week from the Oncology team to the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) team. Oncology is obviously still involved but BMT will be the front-line team for the Consolidation cycles.

Today's transition appointments included meeting with various support staff from Child Life, Social Services, Diet, and Finance.

Much of the new orientation information centers on additional precautions and restrictions we must follow at the hospital and at home due to the level at which Tali's immune system will be completely compromised.

I can tell they are still cautious with how much information they are giving us. They told us that this next phase is hard to prepare for because you just don't know what to expect. For example: every child responds differently; setbacks can be significant; exhaustion due to lengthier hospital stays becomes even more of an issue, etc...

It feels kind of like an impossible test. There's not really a multiple choice format and the answers can change from day to day depending on who the "resident" expert is that's answering student/parent questions at the time.

Fortunately, God grades the final exam and He gives extra credit for:
1. Love (especially when you felt like getting angry or lashing out but didn't)
2. Service (espeically when you forgot yourself and helped someone else that was also hurting)
3. Gratitude (especially when you felt like blaming and judging but didn't)
4. Faith (especially when you felt like being afraid but decided not to be)
5. Hope (especially when you felt like giving up but held on one more time instead)

We're grateful for these experiences that are teaching us to become more sensitive to things that matter more. It's gradually becoming less like shock-therapy and more like extended class work with extra labs and homework to help us really get our money's worth for life's tuition.