Some of you might be wondering why I took the past few months off from the podcast. I thought I would take the chance in my first podcast back to explain. A few days before Christmas, we thought our 19 year-old son, Joshua had the flu. He had a fever, vomiting and sore joints. Most of his symptoms improved throughout the Christmas holiday. However, on December 27th, he couldn't grip his right hand and still had a low-grade fever. The pediatrician did some blood work and the next day asked us to take Joshua to the hospital. This is when we were told that he possibly had Leukemia. We were stunned. We were transported to the Bone Marrow Unit at Northside in Atlanta and honestly felt as if we were spinning in a nightmare for the next 24 hours. As nurses and doctors talked, I kept thinking... NO, I am not in this club. I don't want to be in this club. Surely this is a mistake.

 

We now find ourselves in an all-consuming fight for his life. Joshua has a rare form of Leukemia (CRLF2 Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) and has already endured two rounds of heavy chemo (30 days per round). We are now prepping for a stem cell transplant on April 12th and we are praying this will be the thing that helps him kick cancer’s butt!

 

Through all of this I am convinced more than ever that we do not focus on the right things as young mommas. We stress over potty training, temper tantrums, and messy kitchens. Those are stressful things indeed, but they really, really, really do not matter. What matters is that you invest in the heart of your child. You sit and read. You run around outside. You snuggle. You listen. You watch. You engage. You will need this relationship with your child as they grow and face tough times. They will need this relationship with you. You never know what your story will be. I definitely didn’t see this being part of my story and I never ever wanted it. However, this IS my story and I am thankful for the relationship I have with Joshua.

To follow Joshua’s journey, check out his Caring Bridge site or FB group.

Thanks for listening. If you have topics you would like for me to discuss or people you would like to hear from, let me know. Just email me at kathy@thehomegrownpreschooler.com or shoot me a message on social media.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my podcast and leave a review on iTunes!!! Also, to thank you for listening, you can receive a 10% discount on any purchase at The Homegrown Preschooler by using the code, THEREALKATHYLEE.
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Thank you to The Homegrown Preschooler for sponsoring this Podcast! Check out the blog post Kathy mentioned, Farmhouse Schoolhouse, to read more about A Year of Playing Skillfully.

Also, to thank you for listening, you can receive a 10% discount on any purchase at
The Homegrown Preschooler by using the code, THEREALKATHYLEE.