On Friday, May 24th we went to Seattle to Visit Sweet
Anna! Anna's birthday was on Thursday, May 23 so Obadiah wanted to make Anna GREEN Cupcakes with Bubble Gum Flavored Purple Frosting! He is such a sweet boy. We also put a birthday present together for her with lots of goodies in it!
We know the Houston Family has been trying to reach out to Anna's two "neighbors" up on the Cancer Floor at the hospital they are staying at, so I decided to make them a care package. I did several hours of research on how CHEMO effects different patients and decided to put specific products in these care packages! A few items I included: non-scented lotion (brand specific), chap stick, gum, sour candies, tissues, non-aluminum deodorant, Wet Ones wipes...and A WHOLE LOTTA OTHER STUFF. I packed those boxes COMPLETELY Full. I actually had a very hard time & thought I wouldn't be able to fit all those goodies in the box I bought! But, I AM Stubborn---I got everything in!
I was up super late getting everything ready to head over to Seattle. We woke up Super early to get ready! We figured we should catch an earlier ferry because........we figured we would get lost!
We caught the Bainbridge ferry! This was such a fun experience! Last time Bud was on a ferry he was probably too young to remember. We hardly EVER go to Seattle. This was a special treat!
 |
| The kids in the Car on the Ferry! |
 |
| Seattle! |
 |
| Seattle Space Needle! |
 |
| We were just playing with our Camera! |
 |
| Taken looking INTO our mirror! |
 |
| Taken looking INTO our mirror! |
 |
| Bud-did not want his photo taken.... |
I am surprised.....shocked?! We DID NOT get lost OR did not have do any U-Turns on this trip-that is VERY Impressive for us ;) Traffic was insane.
Chris was pretty sure that:
1) his blinker lights were burnt out
OR
2) people do not know how to drive correctly in Seattle!
We are leaning towards
#2!
We arrived at Children's Hospital! Everything is Animal Themed. You hear things like, "You need the Owl Elevator-If you have gone past the Frog elevator you have gone toooooo far!" What...?! Speaking of Elevators for each level you go up THE LIGHTS CHANGE IN THE ELEVATOR! HOW COOL IS THAT?!?
We came to the Cancer Floor for "Teens". You go around the corner & EVERYTHING it just SO CLEAN AND CRISP. Inside and outside the rooms there are Hand Sanitizers. Before you enter a room you MUST sanitize and before you leave the room you must Sanitize!
Shortly after we arrived (as soon as we entered Anna's room) we had to go find our way to the Lounge because the Doctors were making rounds. Pastor & Emily met up with us in the lounge. They informed us that
Anna contracted Rotavirus and that Rhiannon & Bud could not go into the room because they wanted to keep both Anna & the kids safe.
Pray that Anna’s Rotovirus infection would disappear. This is a great concern, as she has no immune system to fight this off, and antibiotics don’t work on virus infections.
Chris & I I took our turns visiting with Anna. I gave Anna her birthday gift/chemo care package. I was very happy to see that my research payed off. She seemed really happy with each of the items! I told them that we brought a little something for her neighbors!
 |
| Care packages for Anna's neighbors! |
Our stay wasn't very long. Pastor allowed the kids to go back and stand outside of Anna's room and look in.
Bud was blowing kisses and saying hi & happy birthday; Rhiannon was just smiling away through the glass! They love "their" Anna. Yes, "Their". I was informed by Bud yesterday that Anna was "theirs"! ;)
We said our good byes & started packing Rhiannon in the carseat/stroller. As we were beginning to walk away Pastor came out. There was a young lady walking by. He started talking to her. It took me a little to realize this young lady was one of Anna's neighbors!
Pastor said something along the lines of---You don't know/havn't met these people yet, but they brought you a gift! Emily handed the young lady's mom one of the packages shown above. This young lady put her hands up to her face & started sobbing, mouthing Thank you. Thank you. Tears rolling.
This caught me off guard. All I could do was smile & nod. No words could come out. I started to tear up a little. A simple gift yet this young lady was so incredible thankful for it. She couldn't express enough of how grateful she was. You could see it all over her face.
This verse Came to mind:
I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
Please pray for this young lady. Her name is Yesenia. She and Anna's other neighbor, Lynsie are both on their
3rd Relapse! Please keep them in Prayer!
This was a very sobering experience. "Seeing" the "Cancer Wing". You see all these photos & commercials on tv/internet. This is totally not like what we saw. Not at all what I expected!
The first thing I noticed when I got out of the Elevator to the main "hospital" building was the SMELL! Surprisingly, the Cancer wing...HAS NO SMELL. NONE WHAT SO EVER. Doesn't even smell like a regular hospital. No Smell. Seriously. I was told that Each room has a special air seal compression or something like that to keep as much germs out as possible. A lot of the doors close automatically!
The Houston Family is SO AMAZING! They reach out to EVERYONE they see! While we were up visiting they stopped & talked to Everyone! Reaching out to others! They do not have a "pity me/us" type attitude. Instead it is "Is there anything We can do for you?"---To Complete Strangers! It was such a blessing to see!
Pray that her brother’s bone marrow cells would “graft” properly, settle in, and start growing.Pray that Anna and her family would be able to reach many lives around them for the cause of Christ. As Anna’s father says, “A great and effectual door has been opened for us.” Pray that God would make them vessels of grace.
Please Also Pray for Moriah, Ella, Isabella, Jack, Jordan, Will, Joseph, plus another special unnamed little boy. These are other young cancer patients at Seattle Children’s who need God’s grace.
It was sooo good to visit Anna, Naomi (Anna's sister), Emily & Pastor. Even though our trip was shorter-it was well worth the time! This was a very eye-opening experience. Life changing experience visiting the Cancer Wing.
We love your entire family dearly & are praying for you all.
(Please be in prayer for Larry Houston (Pastor's Dad) on Friday they found out he has been diagnosed with AML...Acute Myeloid Leukemia.)
