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Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Horrible ,awful, terrible, no good...yet wonderful day

My sister called me last night and told me that my nephew might have cancer.  Let me give you the back story.
Barrick is the first born to my baby brother.  He is a joy to be around. He's an amazing big brother, he's very smart, sweet, caring, so affecionate, and funny!
This little boy has been through a lot in his short life.  My brother and Barrick's mom married young, and didn't quite grow together.  The end of their relationship was rough, and Barrick was caught in the middle, he was also subjected to a lot of tough stuff at the hands of caretakers, and then a bitter custody battle, finally to be completey signed over to my brother.  Last week he was visiting his mother and got to spend time with Nana (my mom) when his mom was at work.
Nana noticed that his face was a bit swollen and figured he was cutting his five year molars. As time went on, the swelling wasn't going away. The insurance card was in TX with my brother so they took him to the ER.  The ER doctors felt it was a bacterial/viral infection that was possibly clogging a salivary gland and prescribed a strong dose of antibiotics.
  Fast forward to last night.
The round of antibiotics is done and the swelling is still evident. He has a fever that spikes and won't come down with medicine so back to ER they go.
That's when my sister called me. They admitted last night for blood tests and whatnot, and then this morning decided that he needed to see a pediatric oncologist.
Once the oncologist saw him, he was life flighted to Ft. Worth.
Its definitely cancer. We just don't know what kind. Its either Sarcoma, or Lymphoma.
Tomorrow they're doing a biopsy, and a bone marrow test in order to determine the type, stage, and treatment. I don't really have anything else to say about this right now. I'm just so heartbroken.  I'm not sure where to go from here, or what to say to my brother in order to ease his mind. It just is. And it just sucks.
In other news, Emery stucka rock in his ear again yesterday. I took him to the pediatricina this morning and they tried to flush it out with water. Three bottles of water to be exact.
He hated it, and the rock didn't come out. So, we were referred to an ENT.
 Right after leaving the pediatric office we had to rush across town because I was late for the appointment with April Bullock of Birthwise. She and I seemed to click, and she has midwifed a few couples that I know.  I originally stumbled upon her in my attempt to find a midwife to apprentice with, then when I found out we were having #2, it just seemed like she would be someone that I would be comfortable with, and I was. As an added bonus, my insurance will pay her and I can have a homebirth, or if I chose to, at her Birthing Center.  My next appointment is next week and we'll start the whole prenatal process with the health history, and the stats, and measuring and all that.

After April's appointment, Emery and I grabbed a bite to eat at a fast food place (ugh, disgusting I know, but its literally all we had time to do--and I was starving!), and then drove across town again for the ENT appointment. The ENT and I joked about things kids put in their ears, and how boys are boys all the while he was "looking" in Emery's ear with his tweezer type tool and a bright light. Literally 2 minutes later he pulled out a giant rock. Seriously, it was bigger than the pink one removed last time (shown in this picture). Emery didn't even make a peep, and it cost us a lot less than the last one.



So, with all of that, this has been a day full of emotions. I'm exhausted, and now, I'm watching "The Voice" with a nice glass of ginger ale to soothe my tummy. I love you all. thanks for your prayers and encouragement.