June 2011

Has it really been a month since our last post? That goes to show how busy our lives have been. We had some cousins in town at the end of May, celebrated our Grandma's birthday, and Jackson's stellar year in kindergarten. Then we were off to Boise for a week, then my sister and her girls joined us on the trip back and stayed for a few days helping us with our bi-monthly Seattle trip.

When we went to Boise, being the absent minded mama I've been lately, I forgot Mitchell's oils. When we first started on the nasty cancer fight in November, my brother who is a doctor of physical therapy and very much into natural medicine, felt inspired to send us some essential oils. Without researching, frankincense and myrrh came to his mind, and then when he did start reading up on them, studies have shown that frankincense in particular is able to move through the blood-brain barrier and has been successful in prolonging longevity in brain tumor patients. So, mostly because I thought, "Why not?" and because I love my brother and respect his passion for natural medicine, I began using these oils on Mitchell's reflex points on his feet and along his spine and neck. Now back to Boise. Perhaps it was a combination of fatigue from playing hard and the lack of oils--I don't know--but Mitchell digressed each day we were there and by Friday was much weaker. He woke up screaming that his leg was hurting and was not nearly as peppy as he has been.

We began the oils Saturday when we returned (8 days of no oils) and Mitchell has steadily improved this week. Monday, however, he was still a little lackluster and his blood platelet levels were just below the cut off point to allow chemo so we returned home. Yesterday we had his blood drawn again and they were back up in the safe zone, so off to Seattle we go again on Monday. I know conventional medicine frowns upon assumptions like mine, and perhaps it was a strange coincidence, but from my observations the oils work!

The up and downs of this process are very difficult. There have also been several challenges in my "circle of influence" lately that have all culminated in a feeling of standing at the foot of the tallest mountain. It all seems so overwhelming and utterly exhausting. Yes, I am very tired in case you're wondering why I look it. I don't know how anyone could get through something like this without the gospel and a testimony. It means everything to me and although the mountain seems impossible, I know that with the Lord I can do it. Also, lucky me, I'm married to a very patient and loving man who always reminds me to look at the bright side.

This last week we went to our cousins the Trees' house to swim and Aunt Sharon brought out her baby sheep. She keeps it in a diaper and has even sewn it a skirt. It was totally adorable and the kids fell in love.