Last week was a bit of an odd time for me. Originally I had a plane ticket to meet up with my family for a beach vacation. Obviously plans have changed for us, on a daily basis. I intended to spend my whole trip in Memphis with Lindsey, but then Aubs got a cold the day before I left, which meant we had to keep our distance from Lindsey. While waiting for the cold to resolve, I met up with my older sister and we caravaned to Florida and spent a few days at the beach house my parents had rented. After a couple days there I drove to Memphis and spent the remainder of my time with Lindsey. The time was too short! Just 28 days and I'll be a permanant fixture there. I can't wait. Lindsey probably doesn't need me by her side as much as I need her by mine! The picture above is us having a slumber party at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital while she was having a blood clot monitored.
There is no place like St. Jude. St. Jude is the only pediatric cancer research center where families never pay for treatment not covered by insurance. No child is ever denied treatment because of the family’s inability to pay. The daily operating cost of St. Jude is $1.4 million, which is primarily covered by
donations. The research at St. Jude is cutting edge. They were the first to cure the most common form of childhood leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), helping to drive the cure rate from 4 percent in 1962 to 94 percent today. They give hope to families and allow them to focus on fighting the cancer, not paying medical bills that for most would be impossible to cover. I'm anxious for Zach to finish school (for many reasons!) but one of them is to contribute to this amazing place that saves children's lives.
Below is us with my parents at the Target House, a long term housing facility for patients like Lindsey who will be undergoing bone marrow tranplants and where she and my Mom are living. You won't see a fragment of carpet at this place! The name of the game here is to maintain a sterile environment.
Before having to leave school, Lindsey was working on her nursing degree, with the ultimate goal of working at St. Jude. I look forward to seeing her in action there one day. Can you imagine the lives she will touch, the spirits she will lift, the compassion she will share, and the hope she will bring? The patients will be fighting over her!
It was a bit tiring week in many ways (one of those MAIN ways being my child's behavior). But the time I got to spend all my family members (minus my little bro) was so so special and important to me. I love you guys!
As I mentioned in my previous post, I got to spend a couple days with my older sister and her kids at the beach. It was such a neat place. We stayed at Rosemary Beach, which has a similar vibe to it's larger and more well known neighboring beach of Seaside. I would recommend either! Both towns are master planned communities that were designed with the idea of recreating the small town life that is so rare these days. The idea was to make a place where cars weren't needed and that's what I loved about this place. You can walk anywhere, to the shops, beach, pool, park, tennis court, in just a few minutes. We plan to go back as a whole family in the fall. I'm looking forward to it!
