Thank you for the support and concern this last week. By complaining just a little too much, we’ve been the recipients of beautiful flowers, movie tickets, packages in the mail, phone calls, texts, and 56 comments. I think I may just vent a little more often!:) (Kidding!) Actually, I think the best thing for me to do with this blog is to take it one day at a time. It is nice to know some of you who are checking it, and I soooo appreciate all of the love I’ve felt. I do need to assure you though, that I really am ok. Jace has had an awesome week, and I can’t wait to tell you about it.
Thursday, April 1st, we went for a few days to Hayden’s baseball tournament in Mesquite, Nevada, and St. George, Utah. We packed shorts and t-shirts and hoped for warm weather, so we were a little concerned on our way when there was still snow in Southern Utah…but no worries! Mesquite was beautiful, and the baseball diamonds were amazing. It wasn’t hot, but it certainly wasn’t cold. Hayden’s team went 2-2, but we all decided a bad day of baseball in the sunshine is way better than a good day in the snow!
The best investment we made the entire trip was a $36 razor scooter for Jace. He still doesn’t have his legs, so the scooter allowed him to keep up with us, without having to be carried. He buzzed around the sidewalks on it, and for the first time in a LONG time, he felt like the "old" Jace. If you don’t know Jace personally, let me explain that pre-cancer, Jace loved to run! His favorite part of baseball last year was racing around the bases when the games were over. He would even challenge older kids to race him, and sometimes he would win. So, it has been hard on him to be the slow one, or the one who even has to be carried. The scooter is his current tender mercy. It was pretty funny how if he started going too fast, you could hear a collective gasp from all of the moms at the field! My heart was so scared for him to get hurt, but at the same time I knew how important it was for his own psyche to feel that wind in his face and taste how sweet life can be.
The other great investment we made was an awesome, new HAT to cover Jace’s head. (actually, Grandma bought the hat for him and stuffed the pocket with money...what a Grandma!) The only one of us who didn’t get sunburned was Jace, so I was glad for that. We were diligent with his pasty white skin- to keep it covered with sunscreen and the HAT. By the 2nd game on the first day, Jace was worn out. This is a picture of him buried in the jackets on a chair. He slept the entire 2nd game. The same was true the next day as Matt carried him to the car at the end of the night.
We also met another cancer family at the baseball field. Ronni (the mom) introduced herself to me after seeing my little cancer babe beebopping around. She tearfully explained that her Chrissy was diagnosed at 7 years old with Leukemia, and fought for 20 months. She died at 9 years old. Ronni and I hugged like we were long-lost soulmates, and I felt her anguish as she told me about her amazing daughter. Together we talked about how medicine really has improved over the last five years, and how great Jace looks. I appreciated her hug, and I silently grieved her earthly loss.
It was a good reminder to appreciate every minute I have. I looked around at my two incredible sons, my strong, amazing husband, and the baseball friends we enjoy so much, and I said a prayer of thanks. I am convinced that life is difficult, but I know Heavenly Father has sent us so many things- and people- to help us through it.
So, though difficult-- life is good. We felt the sun in our faces, and we came home to a loving community and a warm, beautiful home. With the aid of multiple positive resources, the Leatham fam feels blessed and loved. More specifically, Jace is doing well, and although he's trying to give his mom a heart attack, he once again knows the feeling of “being fast.”
