A Praise!

Last month we took Reynolds to see an allergist. He stayed really sick throughout fall, winter, and spring. As a mom, I just felt like something was wrong. The allergist discovered that Reynolds had low lymphocyte levels of T and B cells in his blood. These are the cells that produce antibodies. The doctor referred us to the Children's Cancer Center in Jackson, MS to see a pediatric oncologist/hematologist.
Lets stop there for a minute. I was in shock. Absolute, complete shock. Of course, I get on google and start reading everything I can find about low lymphocyte levels and SCID. Not a good idea. The minute I read the word "leukemia" I panicked. Luckily, I have very positive people around me who kept me away from google and downplayed the severity of the situation. I feel like I went through the next week in a trance of "what if."
So, that brings us to the appointment. We left this morning on our way to Jackson. When we got to the center, it felt surreal and scary to be checking into the cancer center's "authorized patient's only" parking. It felt even worse to walk in and see the words chemotherapy everywhere and to actually see kids in the same waiting room as us who had cancer. It felt even worse (if that's possible) to overhear an intern say they were only seeing oncology (cancer) patients that day.
The doctor came in to talk to us and was very blunt in telling us that we were seeing her to find out if our baby had cancer. She left us so she could go look at his blood under the microscope. Longest wait ever.
When she came back in, she was smiling and I instantly started crying. I knew she had good news for us. I have never in my life felt such a relief. She told us that the best news is that Reynolds was cancer free. She will, however, be referring us to a pediatric immunologist because he does have some low globulin levels in his blood which means he has trouble fighting off infection. But, she does not feel like we are facing a life long struggle and there are things we can do to treat this. Most importantly, NO cancer! PRAISE GOD!
As we were leaving (and I was still crying), we met a couple with a six month old baby boy named Ryan. They were so upbeat and happy and asked me to share our story. After telling them that our son was cancer free, I asked them if they received good news. With the biggest smile (as I'm STILL crying), she tells me that her son does have leukemia. They found out one week before at an appointment just like ours that their only child, at six months, old had cancer. He had undergone one round if chemo and they were back for a checkup. I was flabbergasted. I didn't know what to say. I felt foolish....how were they smiling?? Then she said, we serve a big God and he has given us such peace. After praying with them, we loaded up in our car and just sat there. Sat there for I don't know how long and just cried. I feel relief for Reynolds. I feel grief for them. I feel like I've seen God several times today. I've never met such lovely kids as I've met today. Kids who are being drug through the trenches and they are happy and thankful. It was the most eye opening experience I've had in my life.
So, I want to thank our family and friends for praying for us. I want to praise God for answering my prayers. But most importantly, I want to search my soul and pray that if I'm in a situation where I'm being drug through the trenches, I'll have the faith to smile and keep loving God. HE is good. ALL the time.