Monday, May 19, 2014

Silent Roar

Caleb has been silently and courageously battling chemo side effects this week.  His chemotherapy dosage goes up every time now, and this round really got to him.  
Caleb never says a word about it, never complains, but he has just been so quiet and still the past week.
Cal hasn't even felt like getting dressed in a few days & just wants to lie down all of the time.  His spirits are very high though, & that helps a lot!
Even though Caleb's legs felt too weak to walk out of the cancer center, he was still "all smiles".  We're so proud of his wonderful attitude.

Nothing can keep Cal away from baseball.  Unfortunately, he had to go back to the tee, instead of hitting the Coach's pitch, because his little body just didn't have the strength to hit the ball.  
Caleb has lost weight lately, so it's a big challenge for him to keep up.  He sure gives it his all, though.  Again, he didn't "feel sorry for himself" or get frustrated about having to go back to the tee.  He just "took care of business" and luckily managed to get to first base every time. 
 One of Caleb's favorite babysitters put together a nice surprise for him.  Her Grandmother (our former neighbor) wrote Caleb a song, then got her grandkids, plus Zachary, to record it!   
Alexia, Zachary, & Mia sang the chorus, along with Adam (back) & his music mix.
Caleb wasn't "up" to going to the recording, but we can't wait for him to hear the song, "Caleb's Courage".  We know it will make him as happy as when he got this special book from darling friend, Heather...
This new scrapbook has some special letters from his Kindergarten friends, plus lots of space to put his meaningful cards.  He can take this to the hospital and feel lots of love from his friends and family. 

Fun to read a note from one of his lil' buddies.
Thank you for your continued prayers.  We have about a month to go of this rough regimen.  Hopefully things will let up a bit after that.  Zachary gets out of school in a few days.  We are so thankful that Caleb had the most amazing home-school teacher EVER.  It's still hard to believe that Kindergarten year is almost over for Caleb, and we can never get it back (school/social-wise).  I really do struggle with this.  This was perfect timing in my daily must-read "Jesus Calling" last week.  (I sure love it when Jesus calls):
 
 "Thank Me for your problems.  As soon as your mind gets snagged on a difficulty, bring it to Me with thanksgiving.  Then ask Me to show you My way to handle the situation.  The very act of thanking Me releases your mind from its negative focus.  As you turn your attention to Me, the problem fades in significance and loses its power to trip you up.  Together we can deal with the situation, either facing it head-on or putting it aside for later consideration. 

We'll just face it head-on and look forward to tomorrow, when Caleb's school has something very special planned for him (stay tuned).  For now, we will concentrate on that and thank God for all we are going through.  

4 comments:

  1. Caleb is one amazing kid! I'm proud to know him :) He is truly an inspiration! I hope he has a fun summer with his brother and remembers each day he is closer to being done with treatment! Go Caleb go!

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  2. Melissa - we are praying for Caleb, you , and all your family. Little Caleb will get through this. As a fellow cancer survivor and with the help of God, I know this to be true. Keep your spirits up and stay strong. It will get better. We love you and your family.

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  3. Hi Melissa, thanks for bringing Zachary over on Sunday to do the recording. I can't wait to get the final recording from Adam and will send it to Caleb asap. You are such an awesome family and a true inspiration to all. Love and prayers always.... Pat

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  4. Melissa, Caleb and all of your family are in my prayers. I know he is in God's healing hands. Love you and miss you.

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