Saturday, August 20, 2005

Happy B-Day to Abby's Mom:)


Happy B-Day to Abby's Mom:)
Originally uploaded by fireater.
Today is my lovely bride's Birthday! 33 years old! How crazy is that huh?! We still feel like kids except now we have kids too! Weird. But it is true and so we will celebrate!

One thing that has really hit me during these last several months of Abby's treatment is how much I love my wife. She is an amazing woman, let me just tell you that. In relation to Abby and Anna, she is the best mom around. As my wife... hands down... the best I could ever wish for!

These last few months have been stressful, yes, and through it all Tiffany has been there to hug, cry with, and talk to about deep things, life and death, God and who He really is, how spirituality and life's hardships really line up, and on and on... Lots of tears have been shed, voices been raised, and deep thoughts have been thought until my mind seemed too full to function... and through it all, my wife has been there, in-the-trenches, if you may, with all of this care our family.

I just want you wish my wife, yes you Tiffany Schreiber, the brightest happiest fulfilling birthday that you've every had!

Sunday, August 14, 2005

Still doing relativly "good"


Still doing relativly "good"
Originally uploaded by fireater.
You know people often ask me how Abby is doing these days and the reply I get to give them lately is "really good". That response is a little misleading in some ways though. I mean yes, side effect wise... she is doing outstanding, no mouth sores, no major hospitalizations, no heart problems, the list goes on and on. But I think I've also gotten used to some crazy things that I see as pretty routine. 2 blood transfusions in the last couple weeks, a extremely low platelet count last Thursday that made us drop everything and run her down to Denver, the effects of the last low platelet count expressed in her crooked eye gaze from that retinal hemorrhage last winter, not being able to take Abby out to public places until her counts come back up... Oh I could go on and on, but the point is that I just consider these medical procedures, like monthly spinal taps, routine and normal. Kind of weird what we can get accustomed to huh?!

Anyway, now that we are getting a bit more rested and normal around here, I'm starting to think a little bit more about how the whole DI experience effected us as a family. And all in all, I think we came out relatively unscathed. Medically, yes Abby did great! Anna, has gotten a little more demanding of our attention, expressed in very commanding renditions of her favorite songs... loud renditions, and any silly thing that she can do to draw our attention that way. Tiffany and I have faired well too, mostly just glad to not be soo tired anymore and very ready to be able to take Abby back over to our friends house and such, back into the world. We love our house, but what joy it would be to sit on our other friends couches with our girls again. Sounds kind of funny but we definitely miss that interaction.

Other than above, things have been relatively "normal" in their own sort of way. We did take a little trip up the Big Thompson Canyon and then up towards Glen Haven to play near a smaller creek. The girls loved it! That is what the picture above is from, it was a great time, we'll have to do it again before the summer slips away.