A little note from me, Kolby.

Well...just when we thought we were getting close to the finish line...we had an unfortunate setback today. Last night Kolby had a terrible cough all night long and she got very little sleep. Today she spiked a fever of 100.8 degrees. Both of those things combined usually mean you have a cold. But with cancer patients, it typically means something more dangerous could be going on. We placed a call to Dr. Rashid to find out what she thought since it was the weekend and her office was closed. Dr. Rashid felt that those signs were significant enough that we needed to admit Kolby to the E.R. right away. (Is it just us or do other peoples kids get super sick or need urgent care only at night or on weekends when the doctor’s office is closed?!)

We (Jeff and I) gave Kolby a Priesthood Blessing and then raced her over to the Emergency Room. We got there at 5:00, and after blood work and chest x-rays, the diagnosis came back that she has Pneumonia. With Kolby’s weakened immune system, that is one of the worse things that can happen to a cancer patient. They started her immediately on an antibiotic I.V. After multiple consultations with the resident doctor and Dr. Rashid they decided they would permit us to bring Kolby home for the night provided we monitor her closely. However if her fever spiked back up, we would need to bring her right back to the E.R. After 4 hours at Sunrise Hospital, we finally got discharged. Kolby now has a whole new group of intense medications to take for the next week. GREAT...more pills...oh that’s her favorite :o(

Sometimes she looks so good that we forget how fragile her condition is. One moment she seems like she is doing fine and then what seems like just a few hours later she has a terrible case of pneumonia. She was pretty upset about going to the hospital again. As you can imagine that is not one of her favorite places. She was also upset when she found out she was going to be missing out on one of her favorite places to go. Kolby was really looking forward to Easter Sunday at church. She loves the spirit she feels on Easter Sunday. She didn’t take it very well when she found out that she would have to stay in bed and away from public places. That also means no school next week. Unlike most teenagers her age, she really hates missing school.

I hate to admit it, but I am so guilty of taking small things for granted. I just thought that we were going to coast right through to the finish line. I took for granted the great success that she has experienced so far without even considering the potential dangers that she may yet have to go through. Easter Sunday reminds us about someone who we really love, someone very special, who suffered incredible pain and agony and gave His life for us. He broke the bands of death that we may all live again. He knows more than anyone how fragile life is...and how important it is for us to appreciate it and not take it for granted. Our Easter will be spent on our knees thanking our Heavenly Father for his Son and his amazing sacrifice and incredible love for us. It will be spent thanking Him for the wonderful daughter(s) whom he sent to us...and for whom we do not take for granted. Not even for a moment!!!!!!