The past couple weeks have been fairly busy for us, but there have been praises along the way. The first big provision was two Tuesdays ago when we received a call letting us know that the hospital was able to move JC’s MRI up to this past Wednesday (almost a month early)!

This past week, JC had a blood transfusion, an MRI of her heart, liver & brain, and started chelation therapy. To say it has been a lot for her, might be an understatement, but I am always amazed at her ability to smile and laugh even after enduring quite a round of treatment.

The results of the MRI did indicate she has substantial iron overload in her liver and pancreas, but they did not see any iron overload in her heart. This is quite a praise as her previous MRI indicated she had iron overload in her heart. We are hopeful this will reduce the amount of time she needs to receive chelation therapy to closer to the 3-month mark instead of the 6-month mark. Another praise is that her brain MRI showed no structural problems.

On Thursday, we had a trial run with her chelation therapy, and it was quite an ordeal to get poked and prodded for the third day in a row. Thankfully, there was this amazing child life specialist who took the time to work with JC and calm her down. She was a literal Godsend as every trick I had up my sleeve was not working. Another amazing provision is that JC has not shown any significant side effects for the chelation therapy; the trial run was a success.

On Friday, we had to start chelation therapy at home. To say I was overwhelmed is probably a vast understatement, but thankfully, God meets our needs (even when we are a mess). Grandma (and Grandpa) came to the rescue to assist us with starting JC’s first and second doses of at home chelation therapy. It has so far been a rough start, but with time, I am hopeful the nightly process will become easier.

We again are so thankful for the prayers, cards, meals, thoughtful words, extra grace, and kindness that has come our way. Words of gratitude do not seem enough, but right now, they are all we have to give.

If you would like to continue to pray for us, we would appreciate prayers again for wisdom for our family and the doctors. We still do not have a definitive reason for why JC has low blood counts; the only medical treatment that holds hope for a cure of her problem is a bone marrow transplant. Therefore, wisdom for the doctors to make the correct medical decisions for an unknown cause is one of my most prayed prayers. We as parents need wisdom to decide which paths to take, and which methods will work best to ease JC’s burden through this process. We also would appreciate prayers for the medications to work as intended with as little side effects as possible. I am constantly praying for JC’s fear and anxiety to decrease as this process is very hard for a child of her abilities and age to endure and understand. Ultimately, we are praying for complete healing.

If you spend any amount of time around JC, you will quickly find out she has an obsession with ponies – specifically, My Little Pony ponies. On Wednesday, we had a pony photo shoot while waiting for her MRI. Then on Thursday, ponies once again came to the rescue to reduce her anxiety.

I have found myself struggling to find words to pray, so I have been praying the Lord’s prayer over and over again. I have known it from childhood, but the more I pray it, the more it resonates within me. The line of “give us our daily bread” is so short, but it has brought so much trust through this process. God will give us the provisions we need for each day, and I have seen it in very specific ways on our most challenging days. Sometimes the provision comes as a beautiful soul inside and out who excels at her job and brings joy to your child’s face.