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A stroll down memory lane…(I cut and pasted text from the blog from exactly one year ago. It was interesting to see what was happening back then…and how far we’ve come.)

February 12, 2008

Today was a kind of difficult for us…Allyson absolutely knows when we are headed to the hospital for treatment. She cried this morning when we put on her coat. She knows…

Once we got there, she was all out of sorts. She didn’t want them to do anything to her. She was upset, more so than usual. She let the docs and nurses do what they needed to do, but she was not at all happy about it (can you blame her?) It is always hard for Brad and I to leave her in the hospital room when she’s all drugged up. We have every confidence in everyone there, but there is just something about leaving your baby in such a vulnerable position. - Once she woke up from her procedures, she ate LOTS of spaghetti, and we were on our way home. –(Some things never change…We were in the hospital February 12, 2009. Spaghetti was the request of the day after her treatment!! Imagine that! One thing that has changed…no fear! She is not afraid when we take her into the hospital for her spinal taps.)

February 13, 2008 Ok, at some point we would just like to have no luck at all. Why do I say this? Well, because of all things to have happen…Benjamin has RSV. — (No comment on 2009…I don’t want to jinx anything!)

Floyd update…He ended up having a quadruple bypass Friday morning.  He pulled through it very well, and he is also recovering very well.  Kay and I traveled to Southaven, Mississippi (just outside of Memphis)on Sunday to stay with him.  His children had to leave at various times, so we were glad to come down and help him.  We are actually sitting in his room waiting for someone to come discharge him.  Unfortunately, we are at the mercy of the docs at this point.  They’ll get here when they get here.  - Our drive home is going to take longer (usually five hours) because we need to stop and get him out every hour.  Hopefully the doc will come in soon so we can get on the road.

Ally, Benjamin, and Daddy are doing well at home.  Brad is the best daddy!

Fast forward several hours…Kay and I finally got Floyd discharged and drove him home from Mississippi.  We were worried he’d be in pain and have a rough ride, but he did very well.  We made sure he had all his meds so the trip would be be as easy for him as possible.  We are so glad he is home, so he can rest and focus on his healing.

Today is our second day off school because of the snow. We got about 8 inches of snow (most of it fell yesterday evening and last night). It was a mess! I’ve been home with the kids both days. Brad ventured to work both mornings. He said the roads were pretty bad this morning…accidents all over the place.

Some sad and scary news…I got a call yesterday…Floyd, my stepdad (he’s really just like a father to me), had a heart attack yesterday down in Mississippi. (He’s actually in the exact same down where Brad and I stopped on the way to and from New Orleans this Christmas.) He was down there with a friend of his and was having difficulty breathing. He went to an urgent care place where they did an EKG and blood work. They immediately sent him to the hospital via ambulance. We found out that he has to have bypass surgery (open-heart surgery), probably tomorrow. They won’t let him come home, so he has to have the surgery down in Mississippi. His kids are heading down as soon as they can get there. We’ve had so much snow here, so the road aren’t great. South of here there was a terrible ice storm. Highways are bad…my sister and I are going to try to get down there in a day or two. - Please keep him in your prayers. We’ll keep you posted about his condition.

It is hard to believe it, but a year ago today, Allyson was diagnosed with leukemia.  I can remember that at this very moment, we were in surgery recovery waiting for Dr. Rob to come talk to us about what he found.  By this time, we knew in our hearts that the news was not going to be good.  We had no reason to still be in the hospital if the news was good.

I can hardly think about that day and type this without getting emotional.  Such a difficult year it has been for all of us…what a resilient little girl Allyson is.  What a true blessing she is to the world!   Thank you to all who have touched our lives this year in so many ways.  We appreciate and love you all more than you know (even those of you whom we’ve never met!).

Please continue to pray for our family and for Allyson’s treatment.  We still have a long road ahead of us.

What a nice surprise!  We received a package for Benjamin all the way from Korea from his foster mother, Mrs. Hong.  She sent several “souvenirs” from Korea as well as two books on how to write English words into hangul, the Korean alphabet.  The gifts were so awesome!  She also sent a beautiful Christmas card and a nice note stating she prays daily for Benjamin’s growth and for Allyson and her treatment.  (They are able to follow our blog/website in Korea.)

A note for Mrs. Hong:

Thank you so much for the card and gifts.  We will keep them for Benjamin and let him use them now and in the years to come.  We especially love the Korean books!  He is doing very well.  You would be proud.  He and Allyson love each other very much.  We appreciate your prayers for Allyson.  Please continue to pray for our family.   We are happy you continue to watch Benjamin’s development on our website.  Please send our regards to your family. Bless you.  (I hope your daughter is able to translate!)