The Next Stage w/ Kate Kate

     This has been a difficult weekend in our home as things are finally hitting, and not just Becky and I.  At cheer on Saturday, Kate's fingers and toes turned white.  This is common, but it took a little longer for them to turn back to normal, cost Becky one of her socks and prevented Kate from fully participating.  It broke Becky's heart to see her little girl struggling to do something she loves and it dawned on Kate that she has a new normal and her life isn't going to run as smoothly as she would want it to run.  Both girls were weepy and struggling, it was not been easy.  The perfect solution was for them to enjoy Five Guys Burgers and Fries (their menu is mostly okay, but still a rare treat for us as we eat "Real Food").

These girls love their "foo fries."

 

     When they returned, Kate took a hot shower and Becky proceeded to check her toes for ulcers.   Remember, her Dr. told us to keep an eye out for them and let her know if/when they appeared.  We found three.  You will see in the first picture an ulcer on her "ring toe" that is quite red and "active."  On her middle toe, the white spot is an ulcer that is healing.  In the second picture, you will see her pinky toe is red and appears raised on top by the toenail.  She has weird toes (and toenails), but that is also an ulcer.

     This brings us to tonight, when Kate swallowed (i.e. held until it dissolved) her first pill, one that she will probably take for the rest of her life.  This is a difficult time for all of us.  The pill is a common blood pressure medication that will, prayerfully, prevent her Raynaud's episodes and therefore prevent ulcers.  We are hopeful that this will help curb her episodes and the pain that goes with numb appendages.  There are potentially common blood pressure side effects like dizziness, which is difficult to grasp in itself, but this seems to be a relatively safe medication.  For those who know medications or want to research, it is called Amlodipine.

~As we just tucked Kate in for the night, we ask that you pray specifically for tonight and the next few days as her body adjusts to external influences.  Specifically, we pray she doesn't get too dizzy or experience any other adverse side effects.

~Additionally, we ask you pray for her as she wrestles with the fact that she has to go through difficulty and this sickness.  She told Becky on their date that she just doesn't want to have to go through this.

~Finally, we ask that you pray for our family as we go through this together.  As parents we hate seeing our girl not able to "be normal."  Micah is still in "Micah Land" with nose gardens, taco beards and backflips that make you amazin', but he sees our worry and knows Kate will cry at the drop of a hat (or impatience of a dad...).

Thank you for walking with us, thank you for praying for us.