The Thought Process
Another week has gone by and unfortunately Elizabeth still has cancer. Some days we almost forget because she hasn’t started treatment, doesn’t have symptoms, and still has all her hair. Then there are days like the one with chemo class.
At a high level we “knew” what chemo does to a person. It hits differently when there is a medical professional sitting across from you saying “here are the symptoms you WILL experience”. You know how drug commercials have that list of potential symptoms and side effects that someone says in a low monotone voice as quickly as possible at the end? Picture that but slowly, with emotion, and after each symptom listed they stopped and asked if you had any questions about it… brutal.
Counting our blessings
On hard days we try to take a step back and do the ol’ “count your blessings” trick. Sometimes that helps our mentality, but it always helps our soul. One of the things I have enjoyed in all of this has been the daily time with my boys. They are nuts. I have no idea where they get it from… (it’s me). Thinking of good ideas for what can keep us all occupied while shut in is a challenge, but the first success has been Pokemon cards.
What started as a nostalgic game play for me (yes, I am one of those nerds who still plays Pokemon Go) has turned into a family affair. Now we all have cards and James asked someone or everyone to trade cards daily. In fact, I have a new binder and cards coming in the mail this week to spice up the trades a bit more. I never would have guessed back in 5th grade that one day I would pass my card trading skills onto the next generation. I love this connection point with my boys.
How You Can Help
Another blessing we count is how many people have offered help. While the boys have an unlimited snack stomach, there are only so many meals we can accept at a time. We have been getting 2-5 meals per week made for us and it is amazing. As time goes on we’ll send out a “sign up genius” thing for people to be able to bring us a meal or order carry out for us. Thank you for nourishing our bodies in this time.
Malachi getting creative with how he asks for snacks…
I have had several people reach out asking for our Venmo or to start a GoFundMe to help financially. I have wrestled with this idea because right now we are blessed to be able to take care of all our living expenses so it is not a need. I will provide a link at the bottom if you really want to, just know that it isn’t needed for bills, rather would be used for things outside of our normal budget like health/pampering items like massage or chiropractic care to help stress mitigation. The goal is to aid the body in every way possible to heal and rebuild.
The most helpful FREE thing you could do for us is to help boost our word of mouth for our coffee shop, Fortress Cafe. I have been blessed with the flexibility to care for Elizabeth because the shop is starting to produce well again after pandemic recovery. We have an awesome staff in there that works hard and has blessed us with their intentionality in picking up shifts for me and working longs hours sometimes to cover. Jayme, Ria and now Chase are freaking awesome.
So if you could, share/like a post when you can. If you have had our product before, write us a good review. Introduce a friend to the shop next time you head that way. If you live far away, order some coffee at www.fortress-coffee.com, then when you love it, write a good review for us. All this will help keep us stable financially for the next year as we navigate cancer treatment. Thank you so much.
https://www.facebook.com/fortresscafejxn
Google Review for Fortress Cafe
If you are a gifts person and what to send something to Elizabeth, think “non-sugary comforts” like candles, scarves, warm hats/gloves, bath bombs, etc…
Finally, but most importantly I want to ask my praying folks for a favor. Whenever we have sent out mass messages asking for prayer, we can feel the overwhelming peace that comes from that. There are micro moments that happen every few days where one or both of us are really struggling with our state of mind (anxiety, fear, sadness, etc…). In those times I’d love to be able to send out a quick text to a group that could say a quick prayer of peace for us. For those willing, please email me your cell number so I could send a quick pray text. It won’t be used for anything else.
In college one of my buddies had a cool method called “firefight”. If we ever were struggling with any issue we would just text the group that word, firefight. It meant we were in a shootout in our mind with bad thoughts, a spiritual firefight. That quick text would bring in the air support. We appreciate your pr(air) support. Had to slip in my dad joke/pun for day… duncan@athleaderfit.com