Over due and fractured

No baby yet.  I’ll get that out of the way first!  Today, I’m 4 days overdue and woke up around 1:30am and have been unable to go back to sleep.  So I decided to use the quiet of these late/early hours to do something productive.  I did think she was going to come on her due date but that did not go very far.  Saturday, early morning, I started feeling some very light contractions so I got up, showered and ready for the day only to find that they stopped completely a few hours after they had started.  That was strange as I’d never experienced Braxton Hicks contractions before.  I thought for sure we were going to have a baby that weekend.  So we are still waiting.  Anytime now…

Nico continues to be doing well.  His energy levels have come up and his appetite most days is pretty good.  An odd thing did happen last week.  He was sitting on the floor playing, reached for something and all of a sudden yelled out in pain.  Once he was able to calm down, he told us that he felt something in his right arm pop and it hurt.  There wasn’t any signs of swelling or bruising and he didn’t complain about any pain after that so we waited.  However, we noticed he was favoring that arm and not using it freely or lifting it above his head.  It was very reminiscent of when he broke that same arm almost a year ago when we still lived in Arizona.  During that incident, he was climbing a tree and fell a few feet out of the tree.  After the initial tears had subsided, there were no signs of anything serious so we waited a few days only to find he was favoring it by keeping it at his side and not lifting it above his head.  We decided we needed to take him to urgent care and get an x-ray.  The x-ray showed a break and we were referred to an orthopedic surgeon who told us that there was a cyst in the humorous of Nico’s right arm which caused a thinning of the outer layer of the bone which made it weaker and that was the reason it had broken.  He said the break had drained the cyst and it would heal in by itself.  Off we went with a sling and instructions to try and keep a 5 year old from using his arm too much for the next 6 weeks.  That was a tall order!  Upon our 6 week follow up visit, the orthopedist was very pleased to find that the bone had healed about 75% of the way and he wouldn’t need to see us again for a year.  Fast forward to almost a year later with a cancer diagnosis and 6 weeks of chemo treatment in tow, we made our way to the emergency room on Monday to get his arm checked out and ease our concerns. When we were talking with the triage nurse and explaining the situation about how Nico has been favoring his arm, he quickly showed her that he could indeed lift his arm above his head to which I sat stunned.  Thankfully, the nurse didn’t skip a beat and assured me they would still check to see what was going on.  Apparently, Nico is quite motivated when it comes to avoiding anything hospital/medical related.  I suppose I can’t blame him.

Being cautious and wearing a mask while waiting in the ER.

Journaling ❤

“X-rays are so easy.” -Nico

In a sling until our follow up with ortho.

After a few hours of waiting, the x-ray confirmed that there was the tiniest of fractures in the same spot that had the previous break.  Nico’s oncology team will be setting up a follow up visit with ortho while we are there tomorrow.  Today Nico will go get some blood work done to check his levels and make sure he is able to receive his VAC chemo that is scheduled for tomorrow.  Since he will be admitted overnight and I’m still pregnant, we are planning to make it a family affair and also stay near the hospital in case baby girl decides to arrive.  Nico can have one caretaker stay with him overnight at the hospital.  Thankfully, my mom and sister are here and in case labor ensues during the next 72 hours, we have the help we need to manage through the crazy.  All will turn out well.  Romans 8:28

This week has been another opportunity for me to surrender my plans, breathe, do the little tasks that are before me and ask for the faith and patience I so desperately need.

“Worry is blind and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning.  In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. ‘No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.’ Psalm 84:11” -Ministry of Healing, pg. 481.

Having to experience unchartered waters with being overdue has been challenging for me.  I had two sets of experiences with the births of my boys from which to draw on which now seem unreliable.  I’m not sure what to expect or what’s going on and how this will play out.  That was scary for me.  It’s still scary but there is something powerful about sharing that scared with Christ and having the reassurance that He hears, cares and has a plan in place- even though I don’t know what that plan is.

Thank you for your continued prayers!