The Five-Week Mark

 

5 weeks in. 3 rounds of chemo done. 5 more to go. Slowly, in this last round, Mike lost his senses of taste and smell. Well, lost isn't the exact word.... because they are there, but nothing tastes or smells the way it should. There's a constant smell of exhaust fumes. And water tastes creamy, like milk. Not much has flavor, and in his own words, "It's making me cranky."  

Sleep at night is also getting a little tricky. Being so tired, he just can't sleep through the night. We have tried lots of different things to make it better, but if you have any suggestions, I would love to hear them! 

But there are still some amazing blessings in the mess. My school families have been faithful and generous in dropping off dinners. This is something I didn't think we needed, until I realized what an incredible blessing it is to not have to run to the grocery story, swing by the market. I will NEVER underestimate the power of a delivered meal ever again. I promise the Hardies will be paying those meals forward.

And believe it or not, the slower pace is a blessing too. There are just the two of us....and while we miss the kiddos being here, it is so quiet and the schedule is so clear. So if we need to take three naps on a Saturday, we can :) 

It's a weird mix of remembering he's sick and forgetting he's sick.... he's still got eyebrows (we know he hasn't had hair since Rae was born!) and he's still sassy and funny and clever. And he still pushes himself harder than I think he should. But then, he's also willing to rest, to let his body recover. There's a battle going on inside him, and it's only natural that he needs to be gentle with himself.

So we ask for prayers for endurance, for an appetite, for rest. We ask God to give extra strength, extra stamina and yet, peaceful rest for his body and mind.  We are so grateful for all the prayers- we know God is working something here that is bigger than just us, and we look forward to the days ahead when we can clearly see answered prayers! 

xoxo