Is there a doctor in the house?

Well, I have a little time tonight and realized it has been quite a while since I've given you all an update about Sarah.  She used to be pretty much the star of the show on this blog.  Well, I am happy to report that she is doing great!  She's had all clear scans for three years now!  Seems almost surreal to even say that.  We praise God for the miracles He did in her life throughout her cancer journey and for her continued good health.

Some things never change about Sarah.  ESPECIALLY not her love for all things hospital-related.  Including all things medical.  And all things related to the human body!  Have you ever known for certain that someone was just born to do something?  Well, my Sarah was put on this earth to go into the medical field.  In some way, shape or form, that is where she is headed. Some kids love trains, cars, dolls, ponies, or princesses.  My kid loves learning about the human body.  Yep.  And that's about it. 

Want proof?  I've got some.

Here is our little nurse.  She normally says she wants to be a nurse instead of a doctor.  Why, you ask?  Because nurses give the pokes, and that's her favorite part.  She actually cried one day in clinic because she was thinking she wasn't going to get her blood drawn.  She loves to watch!

 

 These next pictures are from last year's birthday party.  (She wants the same theme again this year!)  Daddy made her awesome cake...

 

 I had gone to the hospital and taken pictures of her favorite staff members and places there.  She loved these decorations!

 

 I had gotten all her favorite people there to sign her card, and here she is opening some nurse supplies from her favorite nurse, Annie.  She was over-the-moon happy!

 

Does this face say it all?

 

She does her own IVs, folks.

 

Her favorite books are human body books or stories about people going to the doctor.  It's all she ever wants me to read to her.  (No, she can't read them by herself yet.  But she pores over them like she can!)

 

This was taken last summer.  She was getting a test done to measure the acid in her stomach to determine if she had acid reflux.  They put that tube down her nose all the way to her stomach.  She was not put to sleep for that!  She barely even whimpered, and then it was all worth it because she was so happy to wear that thing overnight until the next day.  Crazy!

 

She made this cast, and Daddy made the crutch for her!

 

Here she was making a card for a friend in the hospital.  She was drawing a picture of a cell and labeling all the parts.  And that isn't a necklace around her face.   Of course it's an oxygen tube.

 

She came running to me after she made this proclaiming, "It's a trachea!  I made a trachea, Mom!"

 



Her favorite computer games are virtual surgery sites.  I could not make this up.

 

And this was a cow's heart dissection video.  We all watched it for school this year.  But Sarah is the only one who watched it until the very end and then watched more dissection videos for fun.

 

Here we were making a DNA model.  It was one of her favorite projects, and not just because she got to eat it later. 

 

Who needs dollies when you can dress up your toy skeleton and put it to bed?

 

 Her favorite days of the year are still clinic and hospital days.  She only gets to go twice a year now, and soon it will only be once. How heart-breaking that will be!  She loves to help with whatever they will let her do!

 

Very happy girl...

 

Sarah found some of her favorite cards in our Apples to Apples deck!  (Hospitals and Doctors)

 

Making Christmas cookies...but instead of Santas and Christmas trees, Sarah made a brain.  (And later she made lungs.)

 

You will normally always find her prepared with her doctor or nurse supplies like this.

 



Here she just finished operating and putting a cast on her turtle.  She gave him a bowl in case he felt sick.

 

She is a very good doctor!  Attentive and caring, and extremely knowledgeable!

 

And there you have the evidence.  She is truly one-of-a-kind, isn't she?  And I haven't even told you the half of it.  She is as smart as a whip about this stuff!  She has most of the bones memorized, many muscles, can tell you all about all the different body systems... I have to search through books to teach her things I don't already know, we have covered so much already.  She probably knows more than you do about the human body.  Unless you are a doctor or med student yourself.  And she is 5.

 

Yep.  That is my girl!  Isn't it amazing to think about how God brought her through something like cancer, and used it and her experiences to spark her interest like that?  I just love watching her  and her little mind work.  I can't wait to see how God will use her throughout her life! 

 

 

Someone is a very happy camper...

Notice anything different about this little girl?

 

 

She needed an accessory to help her looks match her future medical profession, you know...

No, not really.  She really did need glasses!  Not long ago at her routine visit to Dr. Aaberg, we discovered that this girl can not see the letters on the chart.  Well, she can see the big E, and maybe one or two lines down, but that's about it.  So... the excitement around here was palpable as we went to another eye doctor for a more detailed exam and ordered the glasses...and waited for them to be made in the lab... and waited some more because someone made  a mistake and forgot to put in the order.  Every day she was asking me to call Mr. Don, the glasses man, and ask if they were ready!

Finally, the big day came!

 

 

We just think she looks positively adorable!  And Sarah is so, so happy to have glasses.  AND, they come with a CASE!  ;)  If you were here, the first thing she would say to you would be, "Do you like my glasses?" 

 

 

In case you are wondering, no, her need for glasses didn't have anything to do with her cancer treatments.  Even before she was diagnosed when we had her eyes checked, the doctor had told us she would need them someday.  Well, that day is now. 

 

And in other news...  we got the very last document we needed back from the government, so we are that much closer to getting this stack of paperwork off to China.  We are coming as fast as we can, sweet Corrie!

 

 

Sarah's new violin!

I am blogging even though I SHOULD be cleaning up the kitchen and ironing the clothes for the morning.  Procrastinating is such a lovely option, though, isn't it?

Just thought you might like to see Sarah's violin skills lately..

 See?  This can be a guitar, a cello, AND a violin!  And did you know markers can be a bow?

It is a bit awkward to use, however.

 Here is her newer model.  Much more compact.

 She made sure to include a shoulder rest just like Josh's.  Makes it much more comfortable to use.

And it stores so nicely.  I told you it was compact!

Sarah loves her special instruments, but she does realize that a real, live violin would sound better.  She finds pictures of real ones around, and brings them to me, asking me if she can have "one of these tiny violins."  I always tell her, yes, someday.  (Josh's teacher says it's fine if we wait a year or two for her, although I would like to get her started if we had the extra cash doing Suzuki, or something.  Anyone want to donate or discount some lessons for this poor, desperate girl?!  Or have a "tiny" violin laying around you don't need anymore??)  Okay, I'm kidding.  Kind of.

And don't worry.  She has not given up her dreams of playing piano and cello as well.  Just tonight I was letting her watch some Youtube videos.  I typed in Itsy Bitsy Spider, per her request.  She scanned all the thumbnails, trying to select the perfect Itsy Bitsy Spider video to view, and decided on a piano tutorial on how to PLAY Itsy Bitsy Spider.  She watched it intently, and then watched several more tutorials featuring various other favorite tunes.  Of course, her little fingers were poised just perfectly on the desk, playing along.

Oh.  And just so you know, she is unique, but not THAT crazy.  After that, she did get to business watching some good old water spout fun cartoons.  I wonder when she will ever tire of that song?

Have a great week, everyone! 



What do you want to be when you grow up?

Sarah has two favorite pastimes. Playing with her doctor stuff, and playing instruments!

Recently we have discovered a new favorite music group called the Piano Guys. The name is confusing because really, it's made up of a pianist and a cellist. I personally think they should change their name, but whatever floats their boats.

Here is one of my favorite videos of theirs. Mmmmm....I could watch and listen all day to their music...





Sarah loves to listen to their music too-- especially this particular video.  She sits in front of the computer and mimics the pianist.  She will replay it several times in a row.  And THEN, she sits down with a guitar and pretends to play the cello.  She fancies she is really an expert cellist.  Sometimes she picks up that guitar and tries to put it under her chin so that it can be a violin too.  Yep...she wants to do it all.  And she is so resourceful!  One instrument can be three different kinds.  (She also wants to learn how to play the guitar, of course.)  Oh, yes, and the xylophone too. 

What do you think?  I'm pretty sure she will be a doctor curing kids in the oncology ward by day, and playing all her instruments in concert halls in her spare time. 

And how do you like that bow she found?  I told you she was resourceful!

Going to visit Dr. Aaberg

Sarah has lots of different doctors...  her oncologist, her pediatrician, her ENT doctor, her opthalmologist (well, she is supposed to be seeing her.  We'll get around to it...), and her eye specialist--our very favorite, beloved Dr. Aaberg!

I know I've said it before, but we really love our doctors and nurses.  They are like family in a way, and we always look forward to Sarah's exams since it's like a reunion!  Well, if the doctors and nurses are like family, Dr. Aaberg has to be the favorite uncle. : )  We just really love him, and I know he loves Sarah too.  If you are newer to reading my blog, he is the one who diagnosed Sarah's cancer in the first place, (and I had nick-named Dr. Doom at the time,) and the one who gave us the wonderful news that she was cancer free!  He is just a wonderful man and very special to us.

So, Sarah has to wait three months between eye exams from Dr. Aaberg, and that is a long time when you are 4 and you are anxious to go back.  So, we decided that it would be fun to help the time hurry along by writing a letter and making pictures for Dr. Aaberg.  Sarah often paints pictures intended for him, but honestly, most of them didn't actually make it.  However, last week, we did sit down and write a letter together, and Sarah cut out some pieces of paper, and drew a picture, and we gave it all to Dr. Aaberg today at her appointment.  I don't think he would mind at all if we shared the letter with you....

Here's the letter and the papers she cut out.  And she told me exactly what she wanted me to write on each one--sleepy mask (she is sedated with a gas for the exam,) froggy hug with no frog on it (you know Sarah loves froggy hugs--getting her blood pressure taken-- but the cuff at Dr. Aaberg's surgical center does not have a froggy on it like the ones at clinic,) and This is a broom for Dr. Aaberg (I think she just realized that the cuts in the paper made it look like a broom!)  ; )

  

 I wrote down word for word what she said. : )  The dentist stuff was in there because we had just gone for a check-up!  (Oh yeah, the dentist.  I guess that's one more doctor...)

 And here's her picture. 

And as I was putting on my shoes this morning before we left, I noticed she had laid her kitty in the cradle and covered her up and put the sleepy mask on her.  :)

Aside from the "nasty drops" as Sarah calls them that she has to get to dilate her eyes, we had a great time at Dr. Aaberg's!  And he loved her little letter....and best of all....STILL NO CANCER!  We are so thankful.  God is good.   : )

Jesus loves the little children...

A recent conversation:

Me:  "Sarah, you always make me smile."
Sarah:  "I make you smile every day!"
"Yes, you do!"
"Mommy, you're wonderful."

And another time in the car:

"Mommy, you are so precious.  I would open up a treasure chest, and there you are!  I love you so much.  I like you."  And then I hear kisses being blown in my direction from the back seat. (As precious as that sounds, she was parroting me with her treasure chest speech. She's heard me call her my treasure and how I would find her in a treasure chest many times.  But I believe she fully means it when she says it back to me!)  : )


Oh, my Sarah.  Our little girl whose favorite things are talking, (and she never tires of it.  Ever,) smiling, laughing, hugging, dancing, singing, playing instruments, (I wish I could type that the way she says it..."Mom, I'm playing in-stru-ments!")  being silly, playing doctor--every day,   jumping, spinning,  doing "gymnastics" (okay, it's mostly somersaults on the carpet,) sitting on your lap, being with people, talking to you, (oh, did I say that one already?)  bugging her brother, Ben, encouraging you,  and knowing she is making you proud.  She is brave, honest about her feelings, loving, and full of joy.  She is so very happy. 


Sarah is honestly, truly, in every sense of the word.....a treasure. She was created by God, in His image.  A masterpiece made to be loved and cherished.  She is our daughter, and we love her with all of our hearts.  With every bit of our souls.  Just, exactly like we love the rest of our children. 


I just now finished spending some time over at Wonderful, Waiting Kids.  I rarely spend much time on waiting children websites anymore because we just can't adopt right now, and my heart hurts so much to see their pictures, I can barely stand to look.  I feel like I can't even catch my breath sometimes when I read the profiles.  When I hear in my mind their sweet voices asking when their mommies and daddies will come, I simply can't bear it. 

All I can do is imagine our Sarah there in the orphanage.  A face in the crowd. Yes, maybe these children have a special nanny who loves them.  Maybe they have a best friend.  I am sure they have fun sometimes.  At least most of them must. 

But none of this is a substitute for a real family.  A family who will see them as they truly are.  Every one of them--a priceless treasure.  Just like Sarah.

Please, won't you consider adopting one of these children?  Children from everywhere--China, Russia, Ethiopia, or right in your own state.  They are not just statistics.  They are real children longing for love from a family.  And they deserve it. 

Why not take a minute and check out one of the sites on the right side of my page.  And really pray about adopting!  And if you are thinking about it, would you let me know in the comments?  It would make me so happy to know you are considering it! 

And I'm sure it would make Sarah smile too.  

Can anything be more FUN?!

Our family enjoys the show Wipe-Out from time to time.  The other night, our family watched and guffawed along with an episode, and then played the Wii version that Daddy rented for the night.  It was a hoot, I tell ya.  But the best part of the night was when someone handed Sarah an extra remote that wasn't even working.  But she sure did think it was!  She believed with all her little heart that those  people up there jumping around and falling in the water on the screen were being controlled by her, (and for some reason, Sarah doesn't normally play the Wii.  Not sure why, because she clearly wants to!)  And that was enough to make that little girl one of the happiest people on the face of the planet that day. : ) 

 Getting started--Josh picked out a granny character.  : )

 Sarah realizing she has been handed a remote!

 It was a riot!

 "I fell in the water!"

 Best day ever.  Or at least the best day in the last few days. : )

 Can you believe it?  I am playing the Wii!

 This is almost as good as going to the clinic! (She didn't actually say that, but I'm sure she must have been thinking it.) ;)

"Mommy, take a picture of the remote!"