From an article originally posted on August 16, 2012…
Meet my sweet hero Luke. This little boy has Langerhans cell hisocytosis cancer. His mama first noticed when her son continually was falling as he was walking at around 18 months old. They soon discovered his hip was surrounded as well as a spot in his scull in a tumor. They went through extensive surgery to remove the tumor on his hip, and he now has monthly cancer treatments for a year. He is over halfway through. Luke and I will finish around the same me.
This little boy has become a special friend to Story Jane. Alison, his mama, and I both confess to sitting in the other room just to listen to them speak to one another in their sweet squeaky 2 ½ and 3-year old voices. These two are play-doughing nuts. They can play for hours and hours. If you listen in, Story is a little bossy, I bet this comes as a bit of a surprise to everyone reading.
Last week at a neighborhood dinner, I told Luke I was afraid of using my port for the first time. The thought of a needle coming directly into my chest, which then feeds into my heart, was leaving me anxious and weak. I talked to Luke and showed him my port. He showed me his. I asked him if it hurt. He looked at me so sweetly and said, “No.” Oh, he melted me. I prayed, Lord give me the grace you have given this little boy. Give me the strength to face my first chemo with his same courage.
This family is such a gift to us. I had only known this family a few weeks when I found out I had cancer. I asked our church community to pray for me as I told my new friend Alison. I had this fear that she would be done with cancer and not want to face this with us. I WAS COMPLETELY WRONG. Ali not only jumped on our team, she jumped to the front of the line. She and her mother did my fancy new hair, she has brought flowers, she has given Lake much needed boy time. She has disciplined Lake with gentleness when he gets out of sorts. I know she has spent a lot of time crying and praying for me as well. She is the one that brought me the press-and-seal to cover my port with a numbing cream before I had my first treatment. At the end of the card, she wrote, Put on your big girl panties, put on your grace dress, and go get well. She is good medicine. She is a grace that shows up every day. If it weren’t for the fire I would have never met this precious family. Now I can’t imagine cancer without them all. Jason and her husband jumped on their long boards and talked how bad cancer sucks and how hard it is to watch. I feel so loved that Jesus would bring this family one small block away for us.
My first day of chemo was comfortable, I had some lovely visitors, as well as my best friend, boyfriend, husband. My dearest note-taker stopped over from her day at work, and a new friend who previously walked my road stopped by to introduce herself. Carl Nelson came by and read Psalm 73, my new favorite. I left my house decked out in my grace dress, with my new purse, my nook, my fuzzy blanket, my new hair pretty, my woobie sweater from my dating days, my husband, and my favorite Nichole holding the home front down with such grace. It certainly takes a village to get a person with cancer well. Especially one with four young children. I have felt so loved.
