We have enjoyed several weekends up in the White Mountains at the 4th of July Archery Shoot. I was super excited to get out of the heat. The heat has made my morning sickness so much worse then other pregnancies so I was ready for some relief.
Doesn't Rieley look like a giant and my kids look like midgets?
Well the first night we were there I got word that my dad was at the Emergency Room and that they were shipping him to Tucson for emergency surgery. I was torn with what I should do……….the situation with my dad was extremely serious and I longed to be with him and my mom but we had just made the 4 hour drive to get here and I was really looking forward to spending this weekend with my little family. That night was actually the 4th of July and we went in to Show Low to watch the fireworks and make several phone calls. The phone service where we were camping was patchy.
It did happen that we had two cars because with Rieley we all couldn't fit in Justin's truck. So it would work out for me to travel home and then on to Tucson if we decided that's what was best. After having a good friend advise me on how serious my dads condition was I decided the next afternoon to go ahead and make the long drive home then on to Tucson.
My sweet friend Tressie drove me from Pima to Tucson so that I wouldn't have to go alone and so that I wouldn't have my car there. My mom had drove herself over the night they took my dad by ambulance. They really wanted to fly him over but there was a summer monsoon that kept them from being able to do so. In fact they were so worried about him that they sent a couple of the flight crew with him in the ambulance in case they needed the extra hands.
It was pretty touch and go with him at the emergency room in Safford. His blood pressure got extremely low and they were afraid they might loose him.
He ended up having surgery when he arrive at TMC around one in the morning. He had a couple of tumors in his small bowels which was cause him extreme pain.
We found out shortly there after that the tumors were indeed cancer. And a very aggressive form of cancer…………He started Chemotherapy about 7 weeks later, once his large incision was healed up. He will end up having 6 rounds of chemo, one every 3 weeks. It's just crazy to think that almost exactly a year ago we went through my mom having breast cancer and chemo treatments.
One thing I have learned through these two experiences is to be grateful! Grateful for the small things and the large things………..every moment counts and is a blessing!
Back in the White Mountains, the kids and Justin enjoyed the archery shoot.
Justin even took them to a rodeo one night!
They were all worried about their Grampy but it was good for them to be away and have a distraction.
Rieley was a big help to Justin and of course the kids loved having him there. Quincy and Gloria and their kids were already up in Pinetop for a vacation so they stopped by and visited and did a little shooting with the kids. I was bummed because I had just got a bow for myself and was looking forward to shooting at my first archery shoot. It's a great stress relieving sport! I think it would be great for Justin, if he could find the time for a hobby………..pretty much all he has time for is the company and surviving his day. I was really surprised he even took off two days to take us to this archery shoot. But I think he was at a point of frustration that he knew he needed to get a breath of fresh air, even if it meant a load of work once he got back.
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