A little duet...
Captain's deck
Carter enjoying his boat ride with Great Grandma
The boys loving the 4thCarter had a good night sleep last night, and didn’t wake up all night. He’ll probably get used to sleeping in his own bed again, and then we are back in the hospital on Monday. Oh well.
We keep reading about what to expect post transplant and have read more about Carter’s restricted diet, low-sodium being one of the main aspects. This should be interesting considering many pediatric cancer patients mostly want salty foods. Carter is eating 4-5 pretzel bags per day. And he will have two more rounds of chemo post transplant. Hopefully, we’ll find something else to suffice his cravings. Luckily, he’ll still be able to have his Greek feast.
We had a great day just taking it easy this morning. Dad made breakfast, and everyone played Nintendo Wii. It was funny to see Carter and Bennett play each other in baseball. Carter struck Benny out a couple times. Then, we went to Gramma and Lee’s house (Kara’s Grandma) and went out in the duffy. Grammy and Denny brought lunch and we cruised the harbor watching the 4th of July boat parade. It was so nice seeing Carter feeling well enough again to do this outing. When he was so sick a couple weeks ago, I looked back at the blog when we went in the boat previously and was crying wishing he felt like that again. And here we are. I’ll have to remind myself of that in the future. Later this afternoon, Dad and Bennett went swimming and all four of us enjoyed an early dinner.
Another thing Matt and I are trying to remind ourselves of while we read all about this scary liver transplant surgery is something the anesthesiologist said to us at UCLA. He came into our hospital room after we got settled to check in on Carter, and he wanted to know what the surgeons had said about the scan. We told him Carter was going to have to have a liver transplant (and I’m sure we had long faces). He said he has seen so many children who have had scans and the cancer has spread to other areas outside the liver, which automatically disqualifies them from getting a transplant. He reminded us we are lucky Carter can get a transplant at all…and every hour or so throughout the day, I am reminding myself of that conversation.
So happy you had a nice day with your Mom and Barbara. Just like the good old days...you will get more of these in the future. Enjoy your Sunday and know you are always in our thoughts and prayers. The transplant seems scary but I just know Carter will do well and you will have your life back with a healthy little boy. You and Matt are so tough...you will be fine. Night night and big hugs to all the Kipps. xoxo Cindy and John
ReplyDeleteYou know what the doctors & experts say about the transplant & post transplant care. Now go back to what God says about the whole matter. "By Jesus' stripes Carter is healed", you don't see the physical manifestation of that in it's fullness...YET. It may seem silly to some, but I fully believe every word of God. God created Carter, He fully knows all of our inner workings, and He fully knows & is capable of returning Carter's body to full health. I have been praying for and believing for a creative miracle for Carter & your family. God's word also says that we should be persistent in prayer. Well I have been fervently praying and violently taking back from the enemy what the enemy is trying to steal from your family....health, strength, faith, perseverance, prosperity (monetary as well as physical), etc. Hang on dearest Kipps. I have enlisted yet another prayer warrior to help you battle, this one just conquered breast cancer and knows how to fight. I tell everyone I know about your fight and keep seeking more intercessors to stand on the wall and pray. I keep hearing 2 words resound within me for you "Hang on". So grab a hold of Jesus' robe, grab a hold of your bible and dig out every healing scripture you can find, repeat those promises back to God and HANG ON. Sending all of God's best in your direction...many hugs!
ReplyDeleteWe sure love the duffy boat! Glad carter was able to gets ome smiles on his face and check out all the action on the bay. This process has got to be so overwhelming and moments out as a family must feel so special, what a wonderful way to remember why this fight is so important. Hopefully by next year, this all will be a memory (and he may be so sick of pretzels by then, carrots will be his new fave). Lots of love to you! XOXO Daralyn
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you were all able to have a nice holiday yesterday! Sounds like you had a wonderful day. I like your words toward the end of the blog about the children that aren't eligible for a transplant. . .keep remembering that. It sounds like he is beating this step by step.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wonderful day again today.
It looks like you guys had so much fun on the 4th of July and you deserved a relaxing family weekend. So just being able to do the liver transplant is a very good thing for Carter and I'm glad that the doctor shared that with you (and you shared it with all of us too!) It's funny what categorizes "lucky" now, huh? I'm so glad for that hope that you have another great day today!
ReplyDeleteShelley H.
So glad to see that you guys got out on the boat for the 4th! What a fun outing for everyone...love all of the photos today. I'm sure all of the post-transplant 'stuff' is overwhelming...its so great though that he is able to have the transplant! Enjoy the rest of the weekend at home :)
ReplyDeleteXOXO, Shan
Fun in the Sun...what a wonderful 4th your family is enjoying. Big love and hugs, Julie Weaver
ReplyDelete