Chemo and Blood

Jace started getting the chemo blues Monday night, asking how many more hours until his treatment Tuesday. He managed it like a champ though, and was happy to see Dr. Hancock and the ladies at Teton Oncology. Jace even attended Hayden’s baseball game Tuesday night after his treatment. Something about the steroids Jace has to take for five days the week of IV chemo makes it difficult for him to sleep though, so he tosses and turns- sweats and aches, and usually ends up in our bed.

Wednesday I was nervous to take him all the way to Salt Lake for the Blood Drive, but he slept most of the way there and all of the way home. We had an amazing experience meeting total strangers who out of the goodness of their hearts organized the Blood Drive in Jace’s name. Thank you PSS, Cindy, Taunya, Brian and everyone else who is making an effort to help us in our journey with this crazy cancer. We know you aren’t strangers anymore.:)

I have to admit that in my memory, I can’t remember ever donating blood. For those of you who know me, it’s not a natural inclination for me to crawl into an enclosed space (the bloodmobile), with multiple people (claustrophobia), and have a needle the size of a straw jammed into my vein. This just isn’t something I would randomly desire to do. So, as I sat there with blood draining, and Jace carefully observing, I rhetorically asked the tech person, “So people just choose to do this, hu?” and then I followed by quietly saying, “Where have I been?”

When they had enough of my blood to fill the bag, they told Jace it was enough to save three people. He quietly listened and nodded, and I couldn’t tell if he was mellow because of the chemo the day before, or if it was a little overwhelming. He did enjoy taking a million pictures of me, as he said it was paybacks for all the pics I’ve snapped of him. Fortunately for you, he doesn’t know how to post pics to this blog yet! ha ha Many unfamiliar people donated blood that day, and we were also blessed to have the support of a few family members and long-time friends who gave up their afternoons to also donate. Over-all it was a huge success

We want to have a blood drive here in Rexburg sometime in June. We’ll let you know as soon as we get it organized. Our new appreciation for this life-saving liquid is immeasurable, as Jace has used his fair share.

When Jace reported to Matt at the end of the day he said, “That one bag of blood mom gave will save three lives!” He was impressed that ‘his’ mom was a contributor. Then very quietly, as he snuggled between us in our bed he whispered, “Do you think when I’m a dad and I’m feeling stronger that I can save three lives?”

My eyes welled with tears and I gently whispered back, “You already have.”

Blood Drive

On several occasions, donated blood has saved Jace. There is a company out of Salt Lake who is honoring Jace and sponsoring a Blood Drive in his name next week, May 19th. Jace and I are actually going to attend, so I can donate (my A Positive blood!). If you are in the Salt Lake area, we would love your support in filling the blood bank in that Salt Lake area. Here is the information:

PSS
BLOOD DRIVE

3044 South 1030 West – Bloodmobile (Parking Lot)

Wednesday, May 19, 2010
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM
To schedule your appointment, or for more information, contact Cindy Lee  @ (801) 977-0848
If you have Eligibility Questions, Please Call 1-866-236-3276
Donor ID is required

Leave me a comment if you have any questions. I would really love to see some familiar faces! You'll notice you have to SCHEDULE an appointment, so if you think you can make it, call the number and get a time. Jace is worried that I'll be too big of a wimp to actually go through with it, but I keep telling him I'm really tough. Then I show him my muscles and he laughs. I'm excited for him to see how those bags of blood that magically appeared in his hospital room- came to be. For once, he won't be the one with the needle stuck in him either. Yay Jace!

The Blanket

Last Saturday on our way to the boys’ games, we were on I-15 traveling at about 75 mph. Out of nowhere Matt yelled, “OH MY GOSH! That car just flipped!” As I looked up I noticed a car still flipping into the field to the right of us. Pulling on my shoes I dialed 911, Matt pulled over, and we hit the ground running toward a family in their crushed compact car. Every window was gone, glass was everywhere, the airbags were deployed in full force, and a child inside was screaming. Looking back at my conversation with the 911 operator, I wonder how she could even understand me. Luckily they are trained to understand people under duress. As the dust settled we were amazed to find this little family of mom and dad and two kids (15 yrs & 8 yrs), all wearing seatbelts, banged up, cut, and terrified- but mostly FINE! By the time the ambulance got there, Matt had the big cuts wrapped, Shawn & Melissa (other witnesses to the accident) took care of the 8 year old and the dad, while Tyler, the 15 year old driver (with a permit), and I became best friends. His mom was hurt, so it instantly became my role to help this cute little teenager who was in shock and disbelief, to settle down and breath.

At one point in the mayhem, I remembered I had my own kids sitting in the vehicles on the side of the road. I looked up, and Jace was holding his blanket up where I could see it, offering it to this family. I ran to him and grabbed it, and rushed back to wrap it around Tyler. The wind bitterly cut through the wrecked car and whipped around us all as we found our teeth chattering, bodies shaking, and fingers freezing.

One by one each wreck victim disappeared into the ambulance, and our work was over. We knew their first names only, and they never knew ours. As I looked at the wrecked car, I realized the mom would want her purse, so I ran back and found it under shards of glass in the back seat. I also found the 8 yr. old’s baseball hat, so I tucked it in the purse and silently prayed the little boy could play baseball again soon. Handing off the purse, we got the ‘go ahead’ from the police to leave. Then, I thought about Jace’s blanket and turned to ask him if he wanted me to go get it out of the ambulance. He said, “NO. He needs it a lot worse than me!”
It was surreal climbing into our own vehicle and driving away wondering if they really were ok. Then I thought about Jace. He was alone in our car for most of the action, because Hayden was riding in the car ahead of us with friends. Jace did just the right things by staying there, not being scared himself, and then going beyond and thinking of something he could do. He could offer HIS blanket.

I thought of all the times in the last eight months a blanket has helped Jace through a hard day. It was quite a sacrifice for him really, but he didn’t mind at all. He was willing to part with an item of comfort, because he saw a need in someone else. I’m pretty sure he learned that from all of you blanket makers out there who have taught by example and lovingly given to him.

We were shocked when our doorbell rang one night, and there was the family! They had watched us drive away and got our license plate number- then investigated to find us. They were all on their feet, they all had smiles, and they were holding THE blanket. I screamed with happiness and one by one hugged each person. I told them they looked different without glass in their eyelashes! We shared our own versions of the wreck that could have been awful- and eventually we gravitated to Jace’s fuzzy head. They were surprised to learn about his cancer. When Tyler learned it was Jace’s blanket that warmed him on that icy day, he shared a look of understanding with me. He thanked Jace for letting him borrow it, and the two became instant friends.

Thank goodness for blankets.