Still Feeling Grateful!

We are in awe about how much love and support we feel from all of you!  We cannot thank you enough!  I wanted to record the many selfless acts that have been made on our behalf to help us during this time, it's  a challenge we thought we would never have to go through.  This post is for my benefit, because I never want to forget what beautiful things people have done for us, it is more of a record for me.  Please refer to the previous post to read Dan's medical updates and experiences from the past month.

The day Dan went to the Urologist and found out he had cancer, I had called my mom to let her know what was going on, and that Dan needed surgery the next week.  She asked if she should come visit the week of the surgery to help out and I felt so at ease that she'd come be with us and help me and my children with anything they needed.  As you can imagine, she took care of all the household things, including caring for my sick/vomiting kids, sending the healthy ones to school, making meals, cleaning and most important, allowing our children's lives to go on as normal.  I am so grateful to her for allowing me to spend time with Dan in the hospital and at home, caring for him and myself.  My parents recently visited this weekend for Macy's dance recital and Kaylee's birthday.  They took us out to dinner, they brought joy and fun into ours and our children's lives, bought an early birthday present that Dan has been wanting, just to brighten his day!

Dan's father came with me to the hospital when Dan had surgery to keep me/us company.  That time waiting for Dan could have been a cry fest for me, but I feel so supported when I am with others. :)  It's true, I don't usually cry when I am with others. He and Dan's brothers have also given Dan blessings a couple of times in the last two months.

On Valentine's Day Dan and I went on a date with two of his brothers and their wives.  Dan was having a hard day emotionally and physically, but going out and having fun with them was just what we needed.  We had a lot of fun and were able to forget about the surgery he was scheduled for!

Dan's mom took the girls for a night when I was extremely tired just needed to sleep through the night!  I slept 10 hours straight that night and it was heaven sent.  They also took my boys for a sleep over another night and have picked up and watched our kids on numerous occasions when we weren't home from an appointment.  They also feed us on the weekends often as we are visiting them.  We are so blessed to have our parents both here and in Utah.  The kids really are having a blast spending so much time with family!

Two friends from my ward, Becky and Pam Peebles, picked up and delivered food items I was supposed to take to various events and  they didn't even know they were helping me that much cause we hadn't told many people that Dan had the surgery.  And, my mom was the one who cooked those foods to fulfill the commitment I had made.

My primary president switched responsibilities with me in Primary so that I would not have the burden of teaching sharing time in primary.  She knew I needed help, but at the beginning she didn't even know why, I am grateful for her patience with me.  She too has battled cancer and became a huge support for us, giving us great advice and most importantly love.

We have a wonderful Bishop that has kept tabs on us closely and has with his darling family offered their love, prayers and support!  When Dan found out that his Cancer spread, it was a very emotional night for us.  Not only did we have support talking to our parents that night, but I texted the news to our Bishop and literally 1 minute later, he had showed up at our doorstep with the Elder's Quorum President of our ward.  We invited them in, and I cannot express how comforting it was to have the spirit with those two men in our home comforting us on a much needed night.  They gave Dan a blessing and I also received one from Dan.  These men have not been home until very late every night this season, but the one night they both were in our neighborhood in the early hours, they got ours news and were available to attend to us.  There have been no coincidences lately.  The Lord is sending us his comfort!

The day after finding out the cancer spread, Dan went to work, and I had a thought to call my dear friend Mandy to come spend the day with me.  I cry more when I am home alone with the kids, but I do not want to scare them and cry in front of them.  Dan had left and I felt myself panicking and emotional.  I called Mandy and asked if she could come spend the day with me and to bring her kids over for us all to hang out.  I barely could get through asking her without crying.  She said that she didn't have anything going on that day and had prayed fervently that morning asking the Lord to tell her how she could help me!  She came, brought dinner to through in the crock pot, talked with me, cried with me, and did a number of chores for me.  She stayed at my house until Dan got home, and then picked up groceries for me that night!  Nothing has been coincidence.  Mandy has watched my kids for other appointments, and continues to call me often to see if she can help!

Another dear friend, Shelley, watched my 3 girls one morning at the drop of a hat because I had gotten very little sleep and I needed a nap before "nap time".  Then she thanked me for allowing her to watch them and serve me. Amazing.

My visiting teacher, Mychelle,  brought over breakfast for my family and called a different day to see if I needed anything at the store, which even though I had been to the store the previous two days, I had forgot 3 items.  All day I was just wishing someone would let me know they were headed to the store, and then I got her phone call and inspired question, if I needed anything from the store.  She brought me those 3 items that night, to make my life easier!

Macy desperately needed pants that fit her, and I had brought home 8 pairs of pants from the store to try on her.  None of them fit. I received a call from Lynette asking how things were going, and as I was telling her how I was trying to accomplish all these things on my list before heading to Utah the next day for Dan's appointment, she asked if she could watch my 2 youngest girls so I could take Macy to the store before her kindergarten started and find her pants that would fit!  We needed that!

My visiting teaching companion completed our visiting teaching for the the month of February without me and without question!  I appreciate her consistency and friendship without any judgement!  She didn't know the reason I didn't show up, but she doesn't ever judge me.  I think that is neat!

Dan's boss is one of the most generous people I have encountered.  She is always making sure Dan knows that he can take time off to spend time with his family, that they (the whole office) support him through all of his recovery, has made us frozen dinners to use when needed, has bought the office "healing pizza" for lunches (Dan's favorite), and most incredible of all,  made it so we don't have to worry about money/paying our bills if Dan can't make it to work due to treatments or surgeries.  What an immense blessing!

Shayla, my sister in law, watched our 3 youngest girls for a whole day while Dan and I went to Huntsman Cancer Institute in Utah driving there and back in one day.  Our girls had such a blast, they did not want to come home with us when we picked them up!  And of course our boys had a great time when Dan's parents picked them up from school that day to spend the day with them.  They got all their homework done even, and dropped them off at our house for us.

We have been receiving generous anonymous donations to help us pay for dr. bills, traveling to appointments, soon  to be treatments or surgery, and things our family needs.  Whomever you are, I can't thank you enough to allow my husband to not feel any burden of how to provide for his family while he recovers.  I can tell you that it is a relief!

Dan's brother Tim  has come over to play with our kids on some evenings, and his wife Danizza has talked to me about how I can help my kids through these times, how to speak to them about what Daddy is going through; she speaks through experience.

We have long distance friends who offer their help through proxy with energy work called New German Medecine.  We love holistic healing, it's our favorite, and Dan also works on himself daily as he is an Emotion Code Practioner who also uses the Body Code.  The help and love we receive has not been stopped by people being miles away!!

I have received numerous hugs and kind words of encouragement, too many to speak of individually here!  My phone doesn't rest as people are anxiously waiting to hear if and what they can do to help!  The offers are actually too great that we can't say yes to all of them, we don't have that many needs at the moment, but I appreciate your offers, and will think of them when we have more needs in the near future, when Dan will be treated some more.

My husband has given me much when he is strong enough, shoulder massage, foot rub, he bought me a professional massage at a spa to relieve the stress from my body, he cooked dinner last night, cleaned up the dead mice outside, and all the time he makes me laugh! Even though he does not have that much energy often, whenever he does, he serves me and plays with the kids! It's appropriate when he wears his shirt with the superman design on the front because he has always been just that for us!

Our families have fasted for Dan, our ward just had a special fast for Dan today as well.  I went to a Relief Society celebration on Thursday night, and the opening and closing prayers have included Dan and our family and it has touched our hearts!  There have been thousands of prayers, and thoughts, and service, and unconditional love!  This is God showing us, through you, that he will succor us in our time of need, that he knows our needs before we ask for them, and that he will never leave us alone in our trials!

~Rachelle