Ringing the Bell

This week we’ve got a lot to be thankful for.

It was almost a year ago that Alycia first felt a lump. Right after Thanksgiving she noticed something, which is when this unexpected journey began. All the anguish of waiting for appointments and results was months ago, but the feelings from that time are still very memorable. After the diagnosis, we had a lot of hard conversations trying to determine the best way forward. Alycia had surgery and then less than a week later we were hanging out at the Disneyland Hotel because I was speaking at a conference. We had a nice vacation in the desert, which was great way to take a breath before chemo.

Then on August 1, we sat in the basement at Kaiser for the first time. That weekend we got our first sense of how Alycia’s cycles would go. Alycia was tired, food tasted bad, Smart Water was the only water she could stomach – we learned a lot. Her hair started falling out after the first treatment and, after the second treatment, I did something I never thought I’d do: shave my wife’s head.

As challenging as the journey was, we fell into its rhythms. We had a pretty good sense of what to expect. The weekends after treatment were the hardest, so we had friends and family take the kids to keep them occupied. Our church, people we’d never met, dropped food at our door night after night; our kids also enjoyed the nightly treats left with the meals. We looked forward to celebrating the end of each cycle with ice cream sundaes. During Alycia’s third cycle I got COVID and had to spend 11 days sequestered from my family. Alycia spent two nights in the hospital during her fifth treatment because she had a fever and a low white blood cell count. I won’t be winning Husband of the Year, because when she was in the hospital, I was in Sacramento for a work trip.

It has been a long, challenging journey. We know that it’s not over but, like I said, we have a lot to be thankful for. On November 14^th, Alycia had her final chemo treatment, and she was able to ring the bell as we left the infusion center. Over the past 15 weeks, we had heard others ring the bell and we looked forward to the moment when she would get to ring it. I was pretty emotional that entire morning and my emotions peaked as I watched the love of my life ring that bell.

Ringing the bell was a great moment, but it gave way to all the hardest parts of the cycle. Alycia was knocked out the following weekend and all last week food tasted bad for her. However, as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving, we are reminded of all for which we have to be thankful.

We’re thankful that Alycia doesn’t have to do anymore chemo, and the hardest part of this journey is hopefully behind us.

We’re thankful that God has provided for all of our needs, both in his miraculous ways and through the hands of our friends and family.

We’re thankful that Clara and Josiah have been doing OK. This season has been hard on our entire family, and we’ve seen the strength and resilience of our kids.

We’re thankful for all the support and prayers we’ve received from so many people.

The journey isn’t over, but it does feel like we’ve passed an important marker on the journey. Thank you so much for journeying with us and continuing to pray for healing and provision. As always, we’ll keep you updated on Alycia’s unexpected journey.