What an amazing day! Every day that we have is a good day. Every minute, every hour, every breath, God continues to fill our time with beautiful memories. But some days, God just fills a day to overflowing – today was one of those days.
We had radiation 15 of 30 today… We are officially half way done! We can tell it is helping because her symptoms are better even as we decrease the steroids – thank you Jesus! But I really hate for radiation to be over because that is when the clock starts ticking and it’s just wait and see. Wait and see when the tumor will become progressive again. Yes, we certainly will be doing a trial of some sort to try to slow down the tumor and kill it, but the medicine we know of right now doesn’t seem to be able to get rid of this monster. That is why we persistently ask for you prayers for healing! Every time the doctors tell us what they can’t do we have an opportunity to tell them that’s ok, we know what God can do! We are praying diligently that God will answer our prayers and we look forward to the opportunity to give God all the glory for the things he has done!
Today Kayleigh was the first one in for radiation which put us on the road nice and early. She had been very disappointed about missing Vacation Bible School at our church this week so we made a beeline from St. Jude directly to church. We made it with about 30 minutes left in the VBS day but that was enough time for her to see her friends, pet the animals at the petting zoo and play on the bouncy houses. She also got to get on the stage and talk to the kids. Those 30 minutes were well worth the trip and that would certainly have filled is full of great memories today. But God wasn’t done yet.
Kayleigh loves softball. She loves to watch, play and talk about softball! When we are at St. Jude nurses and doctors ask two questions 1.) What is your name? 2.) What do you like to do? Her answers are always the same – my name is Kayleigh and I like to play softball. This evening, our Hartselle Tiger 8u All Star Softball teams were actually playing in Hartselle. Not only were they playing, but when we got there they had a uniform, helmet, and spot on the roster for her to come play too. They even announced her before the game and awarded her a trophy for making All Stars. She was ecstatic!
The original plan was for Kayleigh to be the bat girl. You see, the tumor started causing problems at the end of the regular softball season and she stopped being able to hit the ball. She has not willingly picked up a bat since her diagnosis. They tried in physical therapy one day but she just wouldn’t cooperate. She had lost her confidence and was afraid of embarrassing herself. Tonight when Coach Jojo asked me if it was ok to let her hit. I told her I didn’t think she would but it was ok for her to ask. And guess what? Kayleigh said yes! She said yes not just to hitting, but getting up there with a whole bunch of people watching.
I’m attaching a link to the video of the hit. What you don’t see is the 2 strikes and 6 additional “foul balls” (I’m pretty sure none of which actually hit the bat) that came before the hit. What you see here is my baby getting that hit and the fielding team making sure she made it all the way around the bases. Her very first home run! You will also see BOTH teams clearing the benches to congratulate her at home plate. For a few minutes we had no sides, everyone was Team Kayleigh. Kayleigh won’t ever forget this night and neither will those of us that had the opportunity to watch.
If you read these updates often you know I don’t usually use people’s names because frankly, not everyone wants their business all over the Internet. Before this I certainly didn’t! But tonight these thank you’s are too important not to be personalized.
Johnny – thank you for the All Star presentation tonight, and approving Kayleigh to be on the team. That was a wonderful idea and it boosted Kayleigh’s confidence.
Jeremy – thank you for getting on the PA system and making it a big to do. She loved it.
Jojo – thank you for letting her be on your team and treating her like one of your own. She wouldn’t have hit for anyone else, you made her feel like she could do it. You may not ever get rid of her!
Alan – nice pitching. She came in the dug out and said “I like hitting with him, I think I’ll do it again”.
Brandon, Brandon, Matt & Carlos – thank you for letting her take over the dug out and distract the girls. I know that wasn’t helpful but she thoroughly enjoyed it.
Daryl – thank you for making a string of the worst “foul ball” calls in history. Any other game and I would have been questioning your eye sight!
Amy – thank you for approving the foul ball calls, allowing the substitution, and for fielding the ball in a way that she made it all the way home.
Thomas – thank you for approving the whole thing – it gave all of us spectacular memories.
Hartselle Cardinal – thank you for letting Kayleigh score and then being so excited for her. You girls are wonderful.
Hartselle Black – thank you girls for making Kayleigh a part of your team, loving on her and making her feel special.
Prayer Requests:
1.) Complete healing this side of Heaven.
2.) For radiation to get rid of this tumor even though doctors say it can’t.
3.) For no bad side effects and her energy levels to stay up as she comes off the steroids.
Thank you for your prayers. We love you all.
Until tomorrow,
‘Carrow 💜
https://m.facebook.com/Prayers-for-Kayleigh-187306011663522/
