Anyway, our hearts and minds have been occupied lately as we heard last Friday that Gracie's Leukemia may have returned. This news was the product of Grace going into her normal Chemo visit and finding out that her Platelets were almost zero. Since that time Kim and I and many of our loved ones have been waiting to hear the results of her bone marrow test. As many of you know Grace had been in the hospital about 10 days before that with a viral and bacterial infection. In those 10 days her platelets had dropped to lower than they had ever been, she was bruising from head-to-toe, her energy and demeanor never recovered from the hospital and all the familiar signs of August 13, 2008 returned. The bone marrow test took place Wednesday of this week, but the results were not suppose to come until Friday. Yet, Thursday we were able to breathe a sigh of relief, our doctor knew that we could not wait any longer, and I am sure with some needed pressure by my wife, personally went to the lab and looked at the slide Thursday morning, calling us to say it did not look like Grace had any Cancer in her marrow. At this point we are not sure what has caused this and our speculation is that she has a tough virus in her system. We are ecstatic and so grateful, yet feel so vulnerable to the unknown. Who knows if Kim and I will ever be able to let our guard down in respects to the health of our Gracie. Since we did not tell our kids, and tried to keep our routine as normal as possible, our kids did not really understand why we were so excited to get a phone call on Thursday and we hope they will never know the feeling of waiting to hear if the battle we are fighting with cancer turns into be an all out war.
Enough of the bad stuff here are some pictures to catch you up to date on the happier times this last week.
Grace Turned 7 today and had a plan for all aspects of her day. We had asked her to tell us everything she wanted to do for her special day and thankfully she did not leave much for kim and I to improvise. She wanted a funfetti cake with white frosting, pink and green poka-dots, purple writing , and reds hearts, she wanted bacon, and crepes with nutella and raspberries for breakfast, she wanted to go see Toy Story 3 and she wanted to eat dinner at Olive Garden, so that is pretty much what we did. She had a great birthday , but could not keep up energy wise. Many times she retired herself to our couch or even her bed to regain her energy.
We love what a strong, confident young girl she is. She has taught us so much and continues to teach us just how grateful we should be for the day-to-day. She has an amazing pain threshold and is extremely positive and optimistic about everything. Grace we love you with all our hearts and are so glad we got to spend a semi-normal birthday with you.
Ben is just such a joyful and laid back soul, he rarely cries other than when hungry or tired and loves his siblings. Just the sound of their voices make him giggle
We finally got to use our new lemonade stand we built and in two days the kids made a good amount of money to donate to Doernbecher. Who wouldn't stop for these super-stars as they yelled at every car that passed saying "Lemonade" or as they would wave and point to the sign. Of course we couldn't have just regular lemonade so we made fresh raspberry lemonade since earlier that week the kids had picked 21 pounds of raspberries on Sauvy Island. Tanner was helping us but of course escaped getting hip picture taken.
We also wanted to add to Eva's birthday post. We were rushed and did not get a chance to add the characteristics that make our Eva amazing. Eva is honest to a fault and cheerful. She holds too much love for her little body and at the same time is precocious as ever. She is a beautiful dancer and a great dresser. She has great taste is sushi and swimsuits and loves to go to Ballet. One of the most amazing things about Eva is that she is empathetic, she is always making sure her siblings are okay, which is a tall order for this scrawny 3 year old, but she does a great job. Eva we can't wait to see what these years hold for you.
6 comments:
So sorry I didn't know about Grace's recent woes. She is belatedly in my heart and prayers, as you all always are anyway. I LOVE the pictures of her on the porch! She is beautiful, and says so much in her pictures. You are a wonderful family to know and such strong examples of finding the joy in this crazy game of life. LOVE TO YOU!!!!!
So happy to hear the good news - although we didn't know beforehand. JR and Kim, your strength in the face of all this astounds me, and enables your family to function as "normally" as possible. You're wonderful parents to some amazing kids, and we remember you in our prayers often. I think we've finally convinced Tristen that Grace's illness isn't his fault. :-)
Have a great vacation - get away from all this ickiness.
And happy birthday, birthday girls!!
Happy birthday sweet Gracie! You are such a strong, beautiful, kind, spunky sweet girl! We are so happy that you are our friend! Thank heaven for the wonderful news, we are so glad. Can't imagine what those few days must have felt like for you. We will always continue to pray for you and a strong recovery. And we are thrilled you finally get to take a vacation!!! To the most deserving family I know of a little R&R, relax and have the most wonderful vacation ever!!!!! We love you!
The Ujifusa kids are amazing in every way. They teach us so much (as do their parents) about unconditional love. We hope to possess a fraction of what your family does! We love the bday cakes and darling pics. Seriously, could Ben in the sink be any cuter? We are so thrilled that Grace is still on track, and are so happy that you guys get to enjoy a relaxing vacation with good news in your back pocket!
Looks like you found a way to get a picture of princesses on the cake. Good work Mom! I can't believe you still made another cake. You really outdid yourself this time. Go take a nap!!! NOW!!! I'm ready for an update on everyone so post some pictures soon....after your nap!!
Oh dear, I am sorry for the roller coaster ride you guys have been on. What strength you must have to wait patiently and spare your kids worry before you know. You guys deserve a break and amaze us all. Gracie looks so good and healthy in her pictures. I'm glad the scare is over and hopefully on to less woes and more peace of mind. You are heading into 2 years, no? That is a milestone. I think all is looking well for you guys. We think of you often and love reading the blog.
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