Hey,
Sunday mornings are fun in the Nowak household, firstly it’s ‘church day’ (as Ted would call it!), but secondly, the latest episode of Bluey airs! In the newest episode of Bluey (a kids show created here in Australia, but screened globally through the Disney network) is called ‘Relax’. This episode is about the family going on holidays. The episode begins with Chilli (the mum) pressuring the kids to get to the beach upon arrival to their hotel, however the kids are too excited about the hotel room. With the kids having too much fun, Bandit (the dad) lets the kids play in the hotel room and releases Chilli to go to the beach by herself and relax. After some time Chilli returns to the hotel room because she doesn’t know how to relax. Finally, Bandit points out to Chilli that she ought to be like the kids sometimes and enjoy the moment. In the closing scene Chilli goes to the hotel balcony, looks at the trees and takes a deep breath.
This episode made me wonder how hard it is for many of us to simply relax…
There’s recovery in the relaxing. And the same can be said for Murphy. Over the past three weeks of recovery, we have gradually seen him relaxing by way of going back to the things he loves. The same goes for Nat and I too, as we have found ourselves selfishly doing some things we used to love: taking the whole family to the movies, going to cafes, walking through the botanical gardens, catch ups with friends and much more!
God is good. All the time.
I am reminded constantly that God is good. God is good in the hard times, and he still remains good in the better times. God’s nature has not changed, ever. Therefore, I have been reminded time and time again through Murphy’s treatment that God.. is… good. In the past fortnight we have been able to celebrate Easter, which is a time of great reflection and thanksgiving for what Jesus has done for us in dying on the cross. Death has been defeated.
Since the last update on April 3rd, we have had a slower few weeks at home recovering. Murphy has spent many hours on the couch, playing board games, spending time on his iPad, craft outside and building Lego creations. These weeks recovering have been a healing time for the whole family, myself included. It’s hard to explain to you the toll this journey has taken on all of us. What I do know to be true is that time spent with family and friends has been just what the soul has needed. Couple that with our current school break, it has been pure bliss!
The biggest complication since Murphy’s first Stem Cell Transplant has been his weight loss. In the most recent 4 weeks hospital stay Murphy lost over 2kgs (5+ pounds for those imperial folk), and these kilos are not the type of kilos he had excess of (unlike me, who has gained a few too many from the comfort eating! I can’t resist a good donut). Murphy went over 6 weeks without eating a single thing, nil, nothing, zip. It was Good Friday where Murphy walked into church and was handed communion, to which he sat in his chair, peeled back the cracker, and ate it with delight. Followed shortly thereafter with drinking the juice. Nat and I watched in disbelief when he then had 6 more cups! The boy hadn’t had ANYTHING for 6 weeks and then decided to sit in church and have communion! Praise God!
A few weeks went on and Murphy still didn’t begin to eat anything else. Instead, Murphy took up a passion for baking and cooking for his family. Chef Murphy was birthed, and he has spent the past week cooking every meal for the family, from omelettes for breakfast, muffins for morning tea and pizza for dinner. He has taken great delight in cooking, smelling, and thinking about eating, but it wasn’t until this week where he passed his fear of food to eating something! Tuesday began with ice-cream; Wednesday was fries from McDonalds and cheese toasties on Thursday! We pray these all translate to weight gain quickly.
Medically speaking Murphy is on-track with his recovery. It is for this reason that we are so thankful to God. We are trying to let God be in control and allow God to heal our boy in His timing.
Ahead, Murphy is likely to go back into hospital on the 1st of May for his second Stem Cell Transplant. Once he is all clear from a mucositis test, he will have a week of high dose chemotherapy and then another transplant to help build his bloodwork back into recovery mode. This will be a 4–6-week hospital stay for Murphy and Nat.
For our prayer teams, can you pray for the following:
· Weight gain for our boy (not for me, haha)
· Continued JOY in Murphy’s spirit – let Murphy relax, knowing His Heavenly Father is looking after him
· Calista, Hugo and Ted, for their resilience through this season
· Murphy’s blood clots
· Murphy’s hearing
· Another week of fun relaxing next week for our whole family whilst we’re on school holidays
Thank you for everyone who has prayed for Murphy and supported in any way. The love and support has been overwhelming. The medical team even commented on the level of support we have surrounding us. In one of our review meetings with the team from the hospital they have commented that they have not seen a family go through a transplant as well as Team Murphy. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers and support, because it could not have been achieved without you!
To end, I need to share something I have found out recently. In 1 Samuel 22 we read of David fleeing to the cave of Adullam. This was a place where he found refuge in God. What I didn’t notice is that this cave is near where David defeated Goliath. Therefore, the places where we sometimes run, find shelter, recover (and breathe a little), can be the places right next to where we go on to defeat giants. My prayer is that this place we’re in with Murphy has been relaxing, and it is a place right next to where he will go on and defeat his next battle!