So many have kindly asked for an update on the the boys trip, Andrew's health status, etc, so here is a quick recap:
***Please forgive any grammatical errors, I'm too tired to proof read this post... thanks for extending us grace 😃.
By David:
Andrew and I flew I to Denver late on a Wednesday and were able to stay the night at one of Kristi’s friends from high school who lives in Denver now. Andrew had dialysis at Denver Childrens Hospital on Thursday morning and then we drove up to Breckenridge after dialysis. On our way, we stopped at Beaver Ranch Disc Golf course and enjoyed playing and hiking all in one. Breckenridge was amazing and the weather was between 50-70 degrees the entire time. We took a chair lift up to the base of Peak 8 and enjoyed a day of alpine slides, mountain coasters, mini golf, rock climbing, and crepes. On Saturday, we had to leave Breckenridge at 5:00 am and drive down the mountain to go back to the hospital for Andrew to get dialysis. Then, we stayed in Golden, CO for two more nights. Andrew rested a little after dialysis and then we went on amazing 5 mile hike with some views that were outstanding. I was really proud of Andrew for being able to push through a hike like that, after he had just received dialysis that morning; he is usually pretty worn out on dialysis days, but he powered through. The next day, we went zip lining and whitewater rafting and although the snow had already finished melting, thus causing the rapids to be a little smaller, it was still a ton of fun and perfect for Andrew, since he needed to avoid getting wet anyways. The next day we flew back home. It was a great trip for Andrew and I and allowed him to feel like he was at least able to do something this Summer.
By Kristi (with a little help from David :-):
One of the toughest decisions we have had to make in a long time deals with realizing we just don’t have the time and bandwidth to properly care for a horse any longer (thanks to the brutal dialysis schedule). Otto has become like a part of the family and we all love getting to be out at the barn and have time with him; however, the amount of time we have available is just non-existent and we realized that it isn’t fair to Otto and financially isn’t smart for us to continue investing in the costs to board Otto. We ran this by Andrew and committed to praying about it for many months and Andrew came back to us himself and realized that it is probably the right thing to do. Therefore, we began looking into options for how we could best get Otto to the right place for the next phase of his life, while also wanting to see if there is anyway that we could still possibly see Otto.
In a way that only God could’ve played a hand in, we reached out to Reigning Strength Therapeutic Horsemanship (this is where Grace first started doing therapeutic horse back riding lessons) to see if they were in need of a horse. Not sure they had a true need, but what we do know is that the owners of the barn have a heart bigger than a horse… their barn was full, but they were willing to give Otto a two week trial and see if he would work out as a therapy horse. Otto did great in his trial (we aren’t surprised, seeing the way he took care of Grace when she would boss him around the arena over the past 3 years, gave us all the confidence in the world in him), so they agreed to take ownership of Otto (he now has a super cool job as a therapy horse in one of the cleanest, coolest, and kindest barns you’ve ever seen) AND Grace even gets to ride him for her weekly one hour lesson. We still get to see Otto each week and Grace gets to ride him, but we also get to know that Otto is getting loved on and worked regularly and we no longer have the financial responsibility of owning him and feeling guilty for how infrequently we are able to make it out to the barn. It seems to be the best possible scenario to a very difficult situation. Praise the Lord!!! Thank you Reigning Strength!!!
Andrew just started 8th grade on Monday the 8th. He is happy to be going back to Logos and joining his friends again for another year, but less excited about doing homework. Initially, he was rather frustrated that he is unable to play football at school this year (because of his catheter and fistula); however, the football coach asked if Andrew would be willing to be the manager. Andrew was hesitant at first, but after thinking and praying about it over the Summer, he came back and said that he would like to still be a part of the team in some manner and was actually looking at it as an opportunity to serve the team, like it’s his ministry. After going to practice for a few days this week, Andrew said that he has enjoyed getting to be on the team and actually feels like he gets to still participate a lot (just without all the contact). When picturing the manager role, we envisioned him just getting water for the players and lugging equipment around, but it’s been so much more (in the best way). We are beyond grateful for those coaches.
In case you can't read my writing... Andrew "wants to be a pilot when he grows up" (this passion developed as a result of an amazing opportunity he had thanks to some amazing Triumph Over Kid Cancer donors 🧡)
In regards to dialysis, this has definitely been a tough… really tough season for the family and feels like someone is out of the house all the time. Andrew had his fistula surgery in July and it is almost ready for them to begin accessing; however, there is one small area that is a little too narrow, so they scheduled an appointment with Interventional Radiology for Monday, August 22, in order to go in and dilate that one section. Then, hopefully they will be able to start accessing the fistula shortly after that is completed.
Once the fistula begins to be accessed, Andrew will have to wait about 3-5 weeks for the nurses to figure out the right locations to gain access and ensure there are no issues whatsoever before they will decide to remove his catheter. Andrew will be elated when he finally gets his catheter out. Then, the training is supposed to begin for both parents to learn how to do dialysis for Andrew at home. Here is where it gets very tricky though and we could use a lot of wisdom on what we should do. The doctors stated that the training process for parents is typically a four week process and we would have to go up to TCH everyday (except Sunday) for four to five hours each day. With two other kids and jobs, we have no idea how we could possibly work this out. Plus, that means Andrew has to be up here everyday as well. Therefore, it might just be one of us doing the training, or there is another option as well, but this will require a lot of prayer and God making things happen.
In April, the plan is to begin the conversation about the possibility of Andrew being a candidate for a kidney transplant. The reason we have to wait until April is because that will be two years from Andrew’s last radiation treatment and they want to see how Andrew’s tumors are functioning at that point. There will still be a lot of doctors that need to be convinced that a transplant is an ethical option for Andrew, but it helps that Andrew’s oncologists are on board, specifically his adult oncologist in Denver. Once that discussion begins, Andrew’s doctor stated that it is still a five to six month process until transplant would actually happen, but that still doesn’t sound too bad. In just over a year from now, Andrew could possibly be getting a transplant… which is crazy to consider (crazy as in evidence of a big and good God) since transplants are typically not an option for someone with “active cancer” (remember Andrew still has two small spots that light up). This is fantastic news, but it is far from a done deal, so please be praying for this. Lastly, we are trying to decide if it makes sense to go through all the training to do home dialysis if it will only be for a year or less. Pray we can make the right decision for that as well.
David went back to work as a college counselor at a private school in Houston on Friday. Can’t wait to see how God uses him in his student’s lives this year.
Grace made him take a pic with the white board too🤣! This is David's second year as a college counselor at the Tenney School in Houston. He "wants to be an awesome Dad and Husband" when he grows up.... good news is that he's already achieved that goal!
Your prayers and support are what continue to sustain us, so thank you for not giving up on us! We are so very grateful for each of you!!! Please keep the prayers and praises coming!!!
The Rosses
In His strength and for His glory
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