Hopelessly devoted

At last, the riddle's answer is revealed--although I loved some of your guesses--and one of you got it right! A big thanks to NV, for being a hero and living the principle of Give A Kid A Hand. I'm humbled.

Oh, and two more things--that computer cretin was certainly not Amy and as bad as I look some mornings, not me, either. Hee! And Ernesto is a wimp. Misty showers, light wind. Bring on the sunshine.

Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging!

It was probably the best entry I’ve ever written. I had the time and the equipment to sit down and really pour my heart out. Took me over an hour. I hit “send” - and received “page cannot be displayed.” Gone. I think it was Yahoo’s fault. I’ll do my best to try to recreate what I wrote last night!

Yesterday was full of great things. It didn’t start out so great, though. Sahara began her first night of chemo at 11 pm Thursday evening. About 5 am she started getting sick. That lasted until around 9. She felt crappy the rest of the morning, but began to bounce back by the afternoon. Her resilience never stops amazing me.

Let’s see, where to start with the good stuff? It appears that there will be an article about Sahara’s battle in the Sunday issue of the Southeast Missourian newspaper! Some friends of ours contacted reporter Matt Sanders and told them about her. He got in touch with Shannon, and ultimately did interviews with all three of us. He even contacted the communications department here at MD Anderson, and got a photographer from Houston to come by and take some photos of us in the hospital room. Poor Sahara wasn’t feeling well when they came by, but she mustered a couple of smiles for the camera. :) He also interviewed some people near and dear to us. We can’t wait to see how the article turns out!

At 3:30 Friday afternoon, she got her second radiation treatment. While she was getting that done, I ran back to the RMDH to pick up a few things, retrieve the mail, and made a quick dash to the store. Sahara’s surprise from Pamela had arrived. Did anyone guess the riddle? Black and blue, and the farmer had one??? Drumroll, please...

A LAPTOP! A Dell laptop!!! (get it...black and blue...farmer in the dell...giggle, snort...LOLOL) My friend Pamela is not only brilliant, she’s resourceful, determined and very, very well connected. I happen to think she’s one of the most fabulous people on the planet. THANK YOU, PX!!!!!

At last...we can communicate without time limits! Imagine my sheer joy when, last night, I discovered that all guests (they call us guests) at MD Anderson are provided with free wireless internet during their stay. YEAHHH!!!

Sahara’s mouth dropped wide open when I presented her with Aunt Pamela’s awesome surprise. Our first order of business was to watch the dvd we received from her wonderful friends and teachers back home in Cape.

People, you can’t imagine how much this video MADE HER DAY. She’s watched it five times already. It’s so cool - her friends lead a virtual tour through Central Junior High, through each hour of Sahara’s classes. She gets to see who’s in her classes, meet her teachers, and see what the school is like.

I cried through the whole thing. It’s the greatest! Those who had a hand in producing this for Sahara, THANK YOU!!! She LOVED seeing all of you and it has really lifted her up. I would love to share this video with everyone so they can see just how great the people are in Cape Girardeau, USA! All of her friends, ALL of her teachers (and I do mean ALL of them...from her kindergarten teacher, her grade school teachers, her middle school teachers, her principals and even the teachers at the Jr. High whom she hasn’t even met yet!). They all sent greetings and so much love.

She can’t wait to get back to all of you. I was so excited to see the stage choir practicing songs from “Grease!” Sahara already knows the words, so she’ll be able to join right in. That’s my favorite musical and she’s heard those songs all of her life! (I have the anniversary edition dvd, too...LOL!) Thanks again to everyone, for taking the time to put this together for Sahara. :)

If anyone out there knows another child who is going through a similar situation, who is missing out on school and friends, please look into doing a video like this. You will be amazed at the power it has to cheer them up! The connection with HOME is so important. It’s a fantastic gift.

To the members of RSU - there simply aren’t enough ways to say thank you. I am continually humbled by the acts of kindness we are being shown every day. God bless each and every one of you. And I hope we can see you all at Rick shows one of these days!

We stayed up late last night, watching the video, chatting, snacking, and enjoying each other’s company. Shannon went home early this morning and has that long 12-hour drive ahead. He’ll be back in a couple of weeks, then I’ll head to Missouri myself for a week.

Before he left, we had one of those moments that sends goosebumps flying all over you. She asked us to watch her eyes...lo and behold, there’s some side-to-side movement. Then, she CROSSED her eyes. (Silly girl...LOL!) This is huge! She couldn’t do that a couple of weeks ago! Could it be that the radiation is already shrinking that ghastly tumor??? :)

Got the second dose of chemo started late last night, and she slept through the night without incident. Felt kinda icky about 10 am this morning, but we quelled it with a mighty dose of Zofran, the wonder drug. (Sahara affectionately calls them “puke pills.” LOL.)

Just got the word that patient transportation is on the way to get us, to take her in for her radiation treatment. I’ll close for now, and I hope you all have a great Saturday!

Love,
Amy