Lydia's Liver Story

I took Lydia in for another central line repair yesterday.  We have not had the best luck with that line.  The home-healthcare nurse came in the morning for a blooddraw and when she flushed it after the draw, the line broke and it started leaking.  I think it was weak because it gets stretched alot when she scoots around on her bottom on the floor.  Gratefully, her awesome nurse, Corrine, called down to the E.R. so they were well prepared for us when we got there.  It went fast and smooth, except Lydia cried the whole time they were fixing it even though it didn't hurt.  For some strange reason people in yellow gowns and blue medical hats and masks always make her afraid.  Let's hope that's the last time she will see them for a week.

Our hearts are full of gratitude for the outpouring of blessings Heavenly Father has blessed us with, many of which have come through the dear people in our life.  At Christmas time, we were told of a fund that was set up in Lydia's name unbeknownst to us. When the fund was closed we were overwhelmed by the generosity of those that helped us. We also recieved gifts and money on our doorstep several times by anonymous "angels". But it didn't end at Christmas time. A couple of months ago, we were asked by a 6th grade teacher if Lydia could be part of an annual "Save to Serve" dinner given by their grade. There were 3 other organizations also participating. I went to speak to the 6th grade students about Lydia's disease along with a representative of each of the other organizations. Then the students sold dinner tickets and collected items for a silent auction. The people buying the dinner tickets and donating the auction items picked Lydia or one of the other groups for the proceeds to go to. The dinner was held last Thursday evening. My mom stayed with Lydia in the hospital, since she was admitted that day, so Brian and I could attend the dinner. It was a fun-filled evening with good food and great entertainment. At the end of the evening we were surprised to learn that a great amount had been donated for Lydia.
When Lydia was in the hospital on Sat., several people from our ward came to clean windows and closets and help with other things help us get ready for the transplant.  My mom has also been here lots cleaning and organizing too.  It feels great to get things in order.  The past couple of days my mom's twin and two of my uncles have come to help on house projects. We bought our house with the intention to fix it up quickly, but due a series of unexpected events we have a long way to go.  One problem was an underlying skunk smell in the house that took several months to find the source and get rid of. I didn't notice the smell until after we had moved in. Brian had only noticed it faintly one time before we bought the house. Once we moved in we could smell it strongly. It turns out that 20 years ago when the people here went on vacation, they left their garage open slightly for the cat to go in and out. Instead a skunk family came in and made a home under the kitchen floor area. They sprayed and left feces all over the cement in the space between the kitchen floor and the basement ceiling. The lady who lived here before couldn't smell well so it didn't bother her. I am grateful Brian is handy and persistent enough to find the where it was coming from and take care of it. There were also several other fix-it projects that we discovered needed attention before we could change the 70's style decor of the home. Then, a few months after we moved in Lydia was born and our lives were changed drastically as our time and money was quickly refocused to her needs. The March Ensign magazine had an article about how the trials of life can come from our poor choices or by the natural effects of living such as illness. We seemed to have a strong dose of both at once since we bought this house that needed alot more work than we thought about shortly before we were blessed with Lydia and her challenges.  I think we were needing to grow and learn more humility and faith.  I don't know that I have learned what I needed to yet, but I have witnessed many miracles in our family and my love for Brian and our children has grown immensely.
Thank you all!