Update 11/13 :: One down, one to go

That's Imogen's necklace, her "Beads of Courage," as they're called. Every time she goes through something tough, be it a stay at the hospital, a poke, or chemo, she gets a bead to chronicle her journey. I kind of hate that necklace.  I don't, not really, because it's a reward and a testament, and we'll hold onto it forever. But I can't look at that thing as a dad without my heart breaking at each bead. There's nothing I wouldn't do to undo this for her or take her place.

It's humbling, because I know that we are one of the families in the Aflac center who are better off than many. All of this, both the good and the bad, is humbling. All of this has deepened me. All of this has helped me understand God more. All of this has made me understand God less. And it's ok. We're here. Immy is here. We're ready for what's next.

I'm writing this from home, which is excellent news! We had to miss our Five Spot night on Tuesday because Imm spiked a fever...again.  It went up to 101.9 on Tuesday, and the docs were considering postponing the scans because of it. But the fever dropped (yay!) and we got it. The original plan, as if that's ever existed, was to do all of this outpatient.  With the fever, we were admitted. As a matter of fact, we were admitted into the same room as the first time we were put in the Aflac Center, room 197.

Now, if you're charismatic like me, you've made the connection. Immediately, my prayer was that this first room would be our last room in this story.  We're praying for healing.

Of course, we  won't know anything until next Monday, I believe. We're meeting with our oncologist then to go over the results and talk about the next steps in treatment.  No biggie. 

Anyway, after her nuclear scan today, they decided we could go home and come back for the Friday MRI. That was a huge relief, considering they were ready to give Imogen another platelet infusion yesterday.  But her counts were up, and we were shipped out. 

Thank you to all of you who prayed for Aaron and his rash. It went away overnight, and he is still rash-free! If it comes back, then it's definitely some sort of reaction to food or his environment.

Immy and I while she was coming out of sedation.

What did she want after her scan? A cupcake, is all.

A lot is going on in our calendars and in our minds.  I do hope that I have a chance before Friday to share a bit more.  Thank you again, to all who are sharing and praying. The generosity–and creativity–is unbelievable. And the stories are coming. We just heard today from one of our first nurses, Nancy, that while she was on vacation at the beach, one of you lovely people asked her if she knew about Imogen! So whether you've given us gifts or money, or you've had some frozen yogurt on Immy's behalf, or if you've shared with your Sunday school class a prayer request, THANK YOU. We'll never know some of the conversations and prayers that have taken place on our behalf, but we feel their impact, I promise you. So to all who are near and far, I cannot say thank you enough.

More to come.