And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 NASB)
As I sit here writing this post, my 5-year-old son sits next to me.
His name is David.
He had a bone marrow transplant nearly six months ago on December 11, 2013. I know that if you’ve been reading my blog for the past year, you probably know about David. You know all about how he was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia and had to undergo a bone marrow transplant as the only means of a cure. I documented some of our painful journey here on The Sensible Mom in blog posts. Then leading up to David’s transplant and throughout his entire month-long hospital stay, I shared videos when I could.
Now more than ever, I’m thankful that even through the sorrow and the roller coaster that life was at that point, I was able to find small ways to remember David’s reality through it. We’ll never forget what he’s been through, and because of that, we’ll praise God for the rest of our lives for what He’s taken us through and for what He’s given back to us.
To be completely truthful, looking at pictures of David before his diagnosis — from when he was sick and we had yet to realize it — is downright gut-wrenching. Β As his mom, I see those pictures and my heart aches, because I know that while the rest of us were smiling, he was suffering inside. We simply hadn’t yet connected all the dots and made that trip to the emergency room.
I have similar issues when I look back at pictures of what David went through in the hospital during his transplant. I posted a few on his Facebook page, but there are far more that I can’t share publicly. I try to prepare myself mentally to look back at those photos.
I know that it’ll all get easier with time and as we continue to heal as a family, but right now, it’s hard.
Living with Fear
Another thing I’m dealing with is fear. There’s this fear that lives inside of me that wasn’t there before. At times, it triggers frightening thoughts. Other times, it makes me tense up, and I feel all edgy. I know that this fear is a part of me now because of the trauma of this whole experience.
On August 3, 2013, a bomb exploded in my life, and we’re still recovering from the devastation that it caused.
I believe that my Savior is going to get me through this, and I won’t live with this type of fear forever.
Moving onto the Happy Part of this Update
Enough about how I’m doing, let’s talk about David. π
He’s just about to approach six months post transplant, and he’s doing well. He still has some issues with graft versus host disease of the skin as a result of the transplant, but we’re praying for a total healing of David’s body over time. Graft versus host disease is a very serious complication that can occur when you’ve had a bone marrow transplant, but thankfully, David’s GVHD has not spread beyond his skin.
Also, while it’ll be a LONG while before David truly looks like his normal self again (because of the side effects of current and past medications), he is starting to look more like himself.
Here are pictures to give you a better idea of some of the physical changes that David’s had to endure since his transplant:
As you can see, it’s been quite a journey. But we’re here — six months since a complete stranger (whom we can’t wait to meet one day) donated his bone marrow so that our son could to do what he’d constantly talk about doing — GROW UP.
We love you, David. You’ll forever be our #1 Superhero.
Click here for more posts and videos about David’s Story.
