I am not sure what happened with my previous post but the photo I included caused most of the post not to be visible. I have fixed that glitch and the whole post is now readable (I hope!) here
The fevers worsened. We moved through Christmas and towards the New Year. Sore throat spread to body aches and stomach pain. These days so close to the day that everything changed are barely a blur in my memory. I can remember little of what happened outside of the progression of the illness that we didn’t even know was there. Even with the fevers and discomfort there was a blissful ignorance as to the journey that we were being called to embark on. Just to put the whole piece into perspective, Nisa was born at 9:40 pm on December 16th. The 17th is day one and we move on from there. So we are looking at December 25th through January 1st. As I review the various posts on Facebook I see faces of joy and innocence. The fevers are a footnote to the joy of the season made even more joyful by the arrival of our miracle baby. Allana even downplays the intensity of the fevers putting them at 102. By the night of the 31st they are spiking between 104 and 106, or maybe not wanting to worry her too much I fudge the numbers a little, I do not really remember.. A trip to the ER is only forestalled by the fact that the Ibuprofen is knocking them down into safer territory. Still by New Years Day it was enough. We called Allana’s OB office. The doctor on call prescribes a heavy duty antibiotic and some anti nausea medicine to mitigate the side effects. We start it right away, but of course she does not get better. By January 2nd Allana is very sick. The pain in her belly has gotten much worse. We suspect a postpartum infection but don’t understand why the antibiotics do not help. January 3rd is a Thursday. We arrive at the OB office at 10:00 am and are ushered in to the examining room. Our Nurse Practitioner listens patiently to the story, but as the physical exam progresses her demeanor changes. There is an urgency to her motions as she feels the abnormal swelling in Allana’s belly, the tenderness and lumps at her joints. I can feel my apprehension risings, but still there are so many pills, shots, treatments…a quick fix is in order…
“I have called the Flower Hospital, they are expecting her.” What…we need to get some tests… “No we are admitting her.” We have plans can it wait until Monday… “No, I want you there within 2 hours, go home settle the children and pick up what you need. Once you are there they will begin running tests to see what is going on.”
Well if you have to be in a hospital you might as well have a beautiful view and a beautiful woman to share it with.
It was only shortly after this picture was taken that I would hear the word “Leukemia” for the first time, mixed in with a couple of other potential causes for Allana’s test results. If the fevers were the relentless clacking as the rollercoaster climbs the first rise, then this was the ominous pause before the first drop. The ride would not stop for almost a year. However while the emotions and physical aspects rode the speeding rails, God remained rock solid and faithful. The outpouring of love from God’s people was incredible. Even in the midst of the myriad of “spiritual” advisers who decried our lack of faith for continuing treatment or saw this as a sign of trouble in our walk with God; His love overwhelmed us. “Traveling deeper and deeper. Closer closer to God” Allana’s words would ring with truth in a way that neither of us could ever imagine. Deeper and Deeper. Closer, closer to God…there was no where else to go.
Fan Into Flame Ministries 
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