Renewed Hope

It's been a rough week. I'm overwhelmed as I look ahead. We've encountered new challenges. Many old ones remain.

Sometimes it helps to look back when discouragement comes knocking. Colin kept a journal in the weeks following the evacuation of our home. I pulled it out yesterday.

He was a month away from his 9th birthday. The rashes on the back of his hands were painful and bloody. He had been to the ER two weeks prior for a migraine. His failing pancreas was the least of his worries.

10/27/08
Dear Journal,
I am probably the sickest man alive. Boy do I feel bad. Everything started when I woke up this morning. My head was booming inside of me or throbbing is the word I would use but my stomach hurt, my legs and my hands were numb and I could barely even walk up the stairs and I couldn't write of course.

10/29/08
My head, my chest and my stomach are worse than ever. I need your help if you're out there.

10/30/08
Thinking about the house is hard because thinking of all the fun things we did is hard. Thinking about my dogs Pippen and Frodo is really hard. Especially Pippen. He was my diabetic buddy.

Tomorrow is Halloween and I'm not sure I can eat any of my candy cause I'm sick. I've almost missed a week of school because of my exploding head and my booming chest and my buzzing stomach but at least I'm going to get better and maybe next Halloween I'll be able to eat all my candy in one night. I'm sure I'm going to get better journal. I promise you I'll get better.

Colin hasn't had a migraine for almost 2 months now. He doesn't use his reading glasses. He rarely complains of abdominal pain. His rashes are gone.

And he plays on a baseball team.

We've come a long way. I almost forgot.