Saturday, October 25, 2008

Jeff is home!


I'm delighted to have my husband back home after he was gone for a week. He had a very sad death in his family. His cousin, Cam, age 35, passed away from Leukemia (a very rare form) after battling for two years in Canada. He left a 10 year old, a 7 year old, and a 4 year old. I will paste in a paragraph from his wife, Coralee's blog, because I think it is so amazing.

""The last two and a half years having been full of hope, stress, laughter, pain, heartache, and kindness. I know both of our characters' grew leaps and bounds because of the challenges we have faced, and not only that, the love that we have for each other fused us together like nothing else. I have been reflecting on Cam's life a lot the last few days. He sure did pack a lot in, in the short time he was on earth. I couldn't have asked for a better husband, father, confidant, encourager, and best friend. I know he touched a lot of you and I feel his impact has been far reaching. I had a friend email me the other day and she said something that struck me to the very core. It was this: Thirteen awesome years is so much better than a life time of nothing. How true. Counting the time we were dating Cam and I have been together for 15 years. We have made so many happy memories in that time. Although I would have liked it to continue much longer, our lives together have been rich and full. He had no regrets. He lived each day how we all should--like it could be our last. Before writing this I just finished reading his good bye letter to me. I stumbled across it while going through some files on his computer. With tears streaming down my face I felt so grateful for the good life he has lived and that I was lucky enough to share it with him. """

Her whole blog is amazing (filled with testimony, faith, and love) and is linked to mine and named Cam's transplant adventure. Jeff left last Friday night and drove his mother and sister through the night up to Canada for the funeral. Then, he still had to attend his company's big get-together of the year in Georgia. Go Masterwall! He flew out of Montana Tuesday morning to Georgia. Going to Georgia always messes with him because of the time change. They start their meetings like at eight in the morning, which is six o'clock our time. Plus, he usually has to drive at least a half an hour to get to them. For Jeff, the ultimate night owl, that is a huge sacrifice of sleep. Then, they usually fill the day up -- until 9 p.m. So, I picked a very exhausted Jeff up from the airport Thursday night. We're really, really glad to have him home. The kids were good for me while he was gone and things went pretty smoothly.

I did have to brave Parent-teacher conferences alone and the dentist alone, which turned out to be a little more crazy than I would have thought. First of all, my babysitter didn't show, so I had to root out the neighbor girl to come over. It was only for an hour and she didn't mind, so that was wonderful -- thanks Tana. Then, I just had a cracked old filling which wasn't very big at all. The dentist said, "I'm not even sure I have to get you numb." Well, that was the statement that just jinxed the whole night. He said he would give me one shot because although the thing was small, it was kind of close to a nerve. I started to feel a little numb but not much, so he went with a second shot -- fun! Then, he started drilling and I could still feel everything. When he got close to that nerve, I jumped and my eyes got really wide. He stopped and gave me another shot, right into the base of the tooth. Bless his heart, he was really trying. Again, I was still not completely numb and sitting there in terror of when he would hit that nerve. Crazy. It turned out I had taken some Ibuprofen earlier that day which could have messed with my ability to get numb. I was sore from all the shots, and the whole tooth was sensitive for a few days afterward. I've never had even a slight problem at the dentist, so this was a new experience for me.
Lori

2 comments:

DebLawson said...

Lori,
I was going to ask you about Cam. I found their blog the other day (from your blog) and ended up going to the very first post and reading the entire thing. I bawled and bawled.
Cam's wife did a wonderful job of documenting Cam's journey through his illness.
I was curious how this family was related to you guys, and now I know.
I'm glad Jeff was able to attend his cousin's funeral.
It's just so sad that Cam didn't make it after all of his treatments and hosital stays and that he leaves behind a sweet wife and 3 great kids. So Sad.
I'll be keeping this family in my prayers.
Glad Jeff is home safely!

cpcox99 said...

What a week for you and Jeff! I am so sorry about Cam. What strength his wife must have. His loss must be so heartbreaking for your entire family. I'm glad Jeff made it home safe and sound.