Van came home from the hospital today. They gave him only 2 pints of blood because the rest of his counts are starting to come up on their own. We are so excited! This means we should have a wonderful Spring Break with our children. General Conference is this next weekend (our favorite time of the year) and we are so excited to watch it together with our family. We are trying to figure out something we can do as a family each day of our break. It can’t be in a public place with crowds and germs. However, it can be outside if the wind isn’t blowing and all within an hour’s drive of the hospital. As limiting as this may seem, we are putting on our thinking caps in order to find something creative to do each day of the week that Van can participate in.
Friday, April 16th, we have a family conference with the head Doctor to discuss the details of the Stem Cell Transplant. This is where all the family members who will be Van’s care givers come to ask questions and learn what they can expect after transplant. Wednesday, April 21st, Van will be admitted to the LDS Hospital to start the pre-transplant regimen which includes 6 days of full body radiation, 48 hours of chemo and rabbits blood to prepare for a stem cell transplant on Friday, April 30th. The next day Olivia, our daughter will be baptized and confirmed. I’ll expand on this and who will baptize her, in the future.
Van speaking: Some friends of ours visited today and brought to our attention this quote from Elder Neil A. Maxwell, which is so fitting. “One’s life . . . cannot be both faith-filled and stress-free. . . . Therefore, how can you and I really expect to glide naively through life, as if to say, ‘Lord, give me experience, but not grief, not sorrow, not pain, not opposition, not betrayal, and certainly not to be forsaken. Keep from me, Lord, all those experiences which made Thee what Thou art! Then let me come and dwell with Thee and fully share Thy joy!’ . . . Real faith . . . is required to endure this necessary but painful developmental process.”
Even the Savior asked that the bitter cup be removed. But we all know that God in his wisdom, did not remove that bitter cup. You and I are extremely grateful that it wasn't removed. I don't know of a single example in the scriptures where the Lord took away someones trials. But I know of many, many instances where he strengthens individuals so they can better endure -- then through faith and patience they are eventually delivered. It is my testimony that adversity is the great University of the Lord. If we are serious about becoming like the Savior, then "BRING IT ON"!
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I have thought a lot about trials in life and it seems to me that we learn things from suffering we can learn in no other way. Maybe that is why it is so important for us to experience them. We have a friend from high school that has Lymphoma and has just had his 2nd stem cell transplant - this one from his sister. I came across his blog in an odd sort of way (richardleehill.blogspot.com) He said his favorite quote is one from C.S. Lewis that I thought you might like.
ReplyDelete"God loves us, so He makes us the gift of suffering. Through suffering, we release our hold on the toys of this world, and know our true good lies in another world. We're like blocks of stone, out of which the sculptor carves the forms of men. The blows of his chisel, which hurt us so much, are what make us perfect. The suffering in this world is not the failure of God's love for us; it is that love in action. For believe me, this world that seems to us so substantial is no more than the shadowlands. Real life has not begun yet." ("Shadowlands," p. 1) C.S. Lewis
We love you and pray for you and hope you have a wonderful week together as a family.
The Halladays
All I can say is thank you for recognizing God's hand in your lives. It strengthens me.
ReplyDeleteVan and Wendy,
ReplyDeleteThis is Lenae Smith. I have been keeping in touch with some of the ward members and was shocked to hear about the struggles your family is facing. I knew, of course, you would handle it with faith, but didn't realize how strong you really are. I just found out about your blog and read the whole thing. Thank you for sharing. You guys are amazing. We'll keep you in our prayers. Tell the kids hi for us! We love you guys!
Lenae Smith
I found the other quote; the one about miracles. It was by Boyd K. Packer. It is in the March Ensign on Page 14. It is part of the article "What Mothers Can Learn from the Savior". It was awesome to visit with you guys. We sure love you.
ReplyDeleteWendy and Van,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your faith and you testimonies as you go day to day. We Love you! You are in our prayers.
Kevin and Rosie