When doctors told us that medically speaking Spencer was in a gray zone and left the decision to us about whether to proceed with a bone marrow transplant, we felt the weight of the world on our shoulders. Deciding where to go on vacation is hard enough for us and making a life-and-death decision about our son seemed a little overwhelming to say the least. We prayed, fasted (along with our ward and family), and researched our hearts out while we struggled with the decision and found strong pros and cons with either choice. Eventually, we felt peace and knew that we should not proceed with the transplant.
Once we made the decision, we quickly noticed a big perk to finishing his treatment after the 4th round of chemo instead of spending months and months in isolation recovering from a transplant.... Spence would be able to experience a normal summer--his last summer of being a high school student.
And, boy, after spending 5-months cooped up in the hospital, has he been making up for lost time! I had forgotten how extremely busy a normal summer is for teenagers!
He's spent 10-days in Florida, countless hours with friends around town, and 4-days at Youth Conference. Then a mere 36-hours after arriving home from the youth conference in Palmyra* (the youth conference* that Glen and I had originally been in charge of planning before Spencer got sick)....
Spencer and Cami packed their bags again, to head down for a week at EFY* (Especially for Youth) at Southern Virginia University.
Since SVU is a good 180-miles from our house, we worked out some carpooling so that no one would have to drive both ways (unless you're like me last year when I drove there and back twice in one day). I thought it would be fun to meet their roommates and help them get settled in, so I volunteered to drive them there on Monday morning. The driving was clear sailing and they passed the time by watching "Tangled" with Ellie, who had come along to keep me company on the way home.
By the time we got there, Ellie was best friends with all the girls and would've gladly stayed there at EFY with them if I'd let her.
To be continued....
****************************
A little note about some of my "Mormon talk" that may not be understandable to my non-LDS readers:
*Palmyra, NY is located in the Finger Lake region of upstate New York and is the location of many early church historical sites, including the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith knelt and prayed after asking God which church he should join and the hill where the Book of Mormon had been buried. Each July a grand play is held there in Palmyra, where over 700 performers reenact scenes from Book of Mormon.
* The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and tells of Christ's visit to the American continent to teach the people there what He'd taught His followers in Jerusalem. It is an amazing book that has changed my life.
* Youth conference is an annual gathering of the youth in our immediate area (about 200 youth), where they have spiritually uplifting experiences, perform service, and have fun with a wider range of LDS youth than they would normally come into contact with. (click here to see last year's report on youth conference)
* EFY is a camp held at a university in Southern Virginia, where people come from all over the Eastern United States to participate in similar activities as they did at Youth Conference, but on a grander scale. They went last year and loved it!
Once we made the decision, we quickly noticed a big perk to finishing his treatment after the 4th round of chemo instead of spending months and months in isolation recovering from a transplant.... Spence would be able to experience a normal summer--his last summer of being a high school student.
And, boy, after spending 5-months cooped up in the hospital, has he been making up for lost time! I had forgotten how extremely busy a normal summer is for teenagers!
He's spent 10-days in Florida, countless hours with friends around town, and 4-days at Youth Conference. Then a mere 36-hours after arriving home from the youth conference in Palmyra* (the youth conference* that Glen and I had originally been in charge of planning before Spencer got sick)....
Spencer and Cami packed their bags again, to head down for a week at EFY* (Especially for Youth) at Southern Virginia University.
After meeting their roommates and making sure that Spener actually put the sheets on his bed, Ellie and I bid our farewells for the week and set off on our own wild adventure.
To be continued....
****************************
A little note about some of my "Mormon talk" that may not be understandable to my non-LDS readers:
*Palmyra, NY is located in the Finger Lake region of upstate New York and is the location of many early church historical sites, including the Sacred Grove where Joseph Smith knelt and prayed after asking God which church he should join and the hill where the Book of Mormon had been buried. Each July a grand play is held there in Palmyra, where over 700 performers reenact scenes from Book of Mormon.
* The Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ and tells of Christ's visit to the American continent to teach the people there what He'd taught His followers in Jerusalem. It is an amazing book that has changed my life.
* Youth conference is an annual gathering of the youth in our immediate area (about 200 youth), where they have spiritually uplifting experiences, perform service, and have fun with a wider range of LDS youth than they would normally come into contact with. (click here to see last year's report on youth conference)
* EFY is a camp held at a university in Southern Virginia, where people come from all over the Eastern United States to participate in similar activities as they did at Youth Conference, but on a grander scale. They went last year and loved it!
3 comments:
Those are such fun times! Yes, it's important to us mothers to make sure their beds are made properly. When they head off to college, I can't rest until their apartment is set up, beds made and there's food in the fridge.
Glad Spencer is doing well!
What a tender mercy for Spence (and for the entire family) to have a return to normalcy. So wonderful that he had the opportunity to participate in the Sea Base High Adventure camp that his quorum has been planning for so long.
Not to worry when he comes out to BYU next year as grandma and I will drop by ever other week or so to make sure he has clean sheets on his bed and food in the fridge. We will be your eyes in Provo. ;o)
Love it! Just wanting you to know I read your blog and I am thinking of you!
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