“Can you slow down a bit Nancy!?” -Cam
“No thank you.” -your favorite firecracker Carson Nancy
We made it home yesterday afternoon and it feels incredible to be home! Carson had her send off from the rehab floor where the staff made a tunnel that she WALKED through!!! At the end of the tunnel was her rehab best bud STOOD from his wheelchair to give Carson a hug. It was such a sweet moment. Those two have been motivating each other in unexpected ways over the past three weeks and logged a lot of time coloring and getting into mischief on the floor. We miss him already!
Soon after leaving the hospital, Carson asked if she could play with Emme (cousin who lives across the street) when we got home. She hasn’t wanted to see any of her friends while in the hospital so this was so exciting to hear!
Carson amazed us with her excitement to be back with her friends and moves around the house way better than anticipated. We’d take our eyes off of her for a minute and she’d be on the other side of the room giggling!! **She’s still unstable and needs a hand to hold or someone close by… so these sneaky moves are quite impressive *scary….but in a good way 🙃.
It’s been interesting to catch how our girls are processing pieces of the past 2 months now that we are home. Sullivan was talking tonight about going to the hospital to get her brain out. I tried to respond to that in terms an almost 3 year old could understand…Carson has shown a wider range of emotions then we have been used to during these past 24 hours. We’ve been having conversations about her upcoming appointments (pediatrician, oncologist, another long MRI, follow up with Dr. Eskandari, appointment with a new to us pediatric rehab doctor, then meeting new PT/OT/Speech therapists) and are thankful for when she can verbalize what she’s thinking and worried about so we can talk through those things. For example, she thought appointments with new therapists would require staying overnight at a rehab hospital again. She’s terrified of getting a shot (if only she knew what all she’s had that’s more intense than a shot… a shot is nothing in comparison!) Oh how we wish we could be in her mind to anticipate her anxieties and better explain. Please pray for wisdom and insight into what she is thinking so we can guide her well in these upcoming months and future treatments.
But other pieces she seems to be processing just fine… Sullivan snuck out of her room after getting put to bed and knocked on Carson’s door. Without missing a beat Carson said “food and nutrition!” in a funny voice, as that is what she heard three times a day when her meals were delivered to her room!
Please pray for patience and wisdom for Cam and I during this reentry. We came home with the same 4 members of our family but now with those 4 members having different needs, fears, emotions, and a huge need for some solid sleep and physical/emotional/ and mental rest. I can already see how my expectations for myself and the girls need a lot of grace and some major readjustment. We will stumble through these upcoming days with probably a lot of things we should have done differently/things said incorrectly/frustrations that were handled poorly, but hopefully also with a lot of hugs and laughter. Thankfully laughter isn’t hard to come by with these two giggle girls!
I don’t think I’ve ever experienced holding such joy and thankfulness alongside heartbreak and fear at the same time. The page below from Ellie Holcolmb’s kids book now brings instant tears to my eyes when I read it with the kids, so will leave it here for you.
He sure is near and we have no doubt that he is using this storm to make good good good things grow.
One more teeny tiny request… we’ve LOVED reading through emails that have come in to Carson and are figuring out how to get them printed in a book to read through with Carson one day. If you’ve been following her journey, would you take a minute to send her an email at teamcarsonnancy@gmail.com to introduce yourself?
As always, thankful for you all and your continued love, support, and prayers!
And thank the Lord that we are HOME!
💜🦄
