King of Hearts

    This was a post originally posted to Facebook a year ago, but the analogy is one I've thought of often since and thought it would be a great addition to the blog.  (Thought this picture was perfect since we were dealt some pretty massive cards).  

February 2nd, 2017

This morning I read an

article from the Ensign that was the perfect analogy for my life. A short summary of the article compares life to a card game where you never know what cards you will be dealt, they key is to make the best of what you have and enjoy the journey.

https://www.lds.org/ensign/2017/02/young-adults/making-the-most-of-what-we-have?lang=eng

Almost 17 years ago I married the most amazing man. We are a perfect match who are so very happy together. We love being together, no matter what. We lucked out on the "marriage" card. We hoped for, but have yet to be dealt the "child" card. We've made the best of the cards in our hand and tried to always be positive.

Four years ago a we were dealt a "bad-health" card when we found out that Chris had a brain tumor. It's been a long tough four years, but luckily with the marriage card we now play a co-op hand. We've tried to focus on the positive and have enjoyed the time we got to spend together. It's been tough, but there have been many blessing cards along the way.

Last month with both were sick with some nasty bug and again dealt an undesired card. Mid-round, his upgraded to pneumonia. We spent about 6 hours in the emergency room before he was admitted to the hospital. He spent a couple days before we convinced them he would heal much better at home.

Last night I had a hard time sleeping. I had seen just the first of what I know will be several bills from that adventure. For just one of the days in the hospital the bill was $12,000, of which our portion after insurance is about $2,000. Medical bills are no new thing, this one for some reason just was hard blow. I'm so grateful that even though we didn't feel we could afford adding him to my work plan 5 years ago that we did as I don't know how we would have survived without it.

Once Chris asked me if looking back I had any regrets and I immediately said "Yes." I then explained that I wish I had taken more pictures. With that being said, this is a gem that I took during this past "round". It perfect captured a rare peaceful moment.

"We’re all going to experience hard things in life. We’re going to experience trials and heartache that we wouldn’t have chosen for ourselves, had we been given the choice...we may discover that our growth is made possible by the very life circumstances that we find ourselves (not really wanting to be) in."

"The thing about cards is that they change."

No matter then next card that is dealt, I'm glad to be playing the game with this "King of Hearts".

     Our cards surely did change after this Facebook post and several even more challenging cards were added to our hand, thinking about these rare cards and all we've been through is something that can still take my breath away and tears to my eyes.     However along with the numerous bad cards, we also luckily were dealt an amazing "head coach" card with Dr Sborov leading the way and joining so many others on "Team Chris".   With a Christmas miracle we were able to discard the kidney failure card.  This week for the first time since they originally caught them elevated, his creatinine levels were within normal range.  We are also  blessed to have the support of so many family, friends and coworkers.  Our cards are numerous and the rules seems to constantly be changing but I still am glad to be playing the game with my "King of Hearts".  We've spent more time together than ever and my admiration for him grows each day.   He's amazing and I'm lucky to be by his side.

    Our lives are a roller coaster of emotions.   Fear, hope, sadness, joy, humility, gratitude and love are just a few of our companions.    The transplant road that we face ahead has taken some unexpected turns as they are hoping to start collection of his stem cells at the end of February instead of right before transplant.    It was a bit nerve wracking for us to have this coming up so quickly.   However being able to separate it into two separate events I think will make it more bearable.  February is going to be a busy month, filled with LOTS of doctors appointments plus inventory at work, but the most important of all days, I hope to somehow make Valentine's a memorable day.  It's the love we share, and that other share with us that is giving us Joy and the divine hope to carry on.