June 9, 2020 · from Lesley’s original CaringBridge journal
So yesterday was miserable – there is just no way around it. I woke up at 4:30 that morning (no worries I fell asleep around 8 the night before so I was plenty rested) with excruciating pain in my shoulderblade/back. It was exactly the pain I feel when I have gone in for an expansion so I figured I must have sneezed funny and gotten something out of whack. I couldn’t take a deep breath without being in serious pain. It took us all day into the evening to get the right meds that would provide me relief. And honestly my sweet friend Joy who came to visit massaged it for me and that helped more than anything. Today, my sweet friend Amy did the same so we are making progress. But that is all I want to say about that bc it was a bad day and it’s over. Today is new and I have felt much better. I had my friend here, we talked, we knitted, we crocheted, we re-stocked the paper flowers on my door (I am really telling ya’ll, they are a hot commodity), we made the time pass fast. Marsh is coming to visit this evening, so that will end my day on a good note too! Yesterday was just a very Mondayish Monday.
In other good news…..Dr. Kota said that if I keep behaving he plans to send me home FRIDAY!!! So lets “keep those prayers up” as Gus always says, that I will not have any fevers or acute rejections symptoms. My counts started coming up today so I think we are on the home stretch for this hospital stay. I will be a little sad though, bc I love my team up here and I won’t be seeing them. I may just have to find an excuse to come visit from time to time – like maybe they need tissue paper flowers or something.
And I know I’ve made statements like these before but I feel like I need to every so often. THANK YOU to everyone who has sent cards, packages, gift cards, money, etc. And so many of you are people we don’t know. I can’t tell you how many cards and letters I’ve gotten that start off with “I know you don’t know me but so-and-so is a friend of mine….” I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I am speechless at times (which is a miracle in and of itself) that so many hundreds and probably thousands of people are praying through this with us. It blows my mind, but then again it doesn’t because this isn’t about me and my cancer as much as it is about God’s power and glory that we are all witnessing through it. HE is the main attraction here. I am just the vessel, the movie screen He is playing his show on.
One last thing that I wanted to give an answer to. So many folks have asked “how can we help?” or “Let me know if I can do something.” Quite honestly I feel greedy or selfish giving an answer to this, but I also don’t want to deprive someone the joy of helping if this is what God is leading them to do. This time of year I am ordering the boys curriculum for next year, so monetary gifts or gift cards can be a big help with that. The places I am getting most of their books from this year are: Rainbow Resource, BraveWriter, Logic of English, and good ‘ol Amazon. As far as grocery gift cards go we shop mostly at Kroger, Wal-Mart and Costco. We are also considering hiring someone to help clean the house when I get back (because I know I won’t be able to do as much) so money towards that could be helpful. If you click on the “Ways to Help” link at the top of the page there are links to our PayPal giving site as well as some Amazon Wish List sites. Now please don’t take this as if I am asking you to do ANY of this! I know the Lord will provide exactly what we need when we need it because He always has – I am simply putting this out there for the folks that have expressed a desire to do something for us but have no idea what to do.
Well, I need to get back to binge-watching some shows, knitting, and trying to behave myself so I can go home on Friday! Love to all of you,
Lesley
Comments from CaringBridge
Louann Chamblee — 6/27/20
Continuing prayers for you and your family.
Karen Fincher — 6/10/20
Yay! For going home Friday!!! I continue to pray for you daily and will continue to do so. Hope your back is all better. Blessings to you.
Nancy Sullivan — 6/10/20
Always so good to hear from you! When I dont hear for awhile I always wonder how you are doing. Prayers coming your way for no rejection and praises for going home!
Ditte Sorknaes — 6/10/20
So happy and so relieved that you get to see friends AND that you (might) be going home Friday. You are such a fighter and so amazing.
Laura Lee Sims — 6/9/20
Praying sweet sister in Christ. Love the way you write. Love your joy. Yes, God is the star of this show. Love the way you said that. Love you, dear one!
Patti Garretson — 6/9/20
Praying you continue to show acute signs of rejection, your numbers keep climbing and that horrible pain stats way and you get to go home to your family.
Cancermamma 