A Miracle

This my my brother Scotty. He's pretty awesome. Not only is he awesome, he's kind of a miracle.

You see, when Scotty was not quite four, he went in to have his tonsils removed. Much to my parents' horror, the doctor found a tumor. It was discovered that Scott had cancer, Hodgkin's Lymphoma to be exact. Essentially, it is cancer of the lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell within the immune system that grows abnormally and destroys the body's ability to fight infection. Not quite the way you want a tonsillectomy to go.

At the time of his diagnosis, I was in 2nd grade, and was right around 7 year old. Thankfully, I don't remember a lot of Scott's struggles, because my parents shielded me well. Kirk, our youngest brother, was just a baby, so he doesn't really remember anything at all.

I do remember my dad picking me up from school one day and telling me that Scotty was sick. I do remember wondering why I had to be picked up if Scott was the one who was sick. And I do remember going to the hospital to see him and falling asleep at night in my parents' bed, crying and wondering when we were going to be a family again.

You see, Scotty had to undergo chemo. He stayed overnight in the hospital for weeks at a time. My parents took turns staying at home with us other two kids. I distinctly remember eating two huge hamburgers on the way to the hospital in my dad's truck with Kirk in the car seat in the back. It wasn't a very fun time for any of us. Here's a picture of Scotty when my mom knew he was going to lose his hair from chemo.

Sometimes I wonder how my parents did it. And then I realize that they didn't. God did. I don't know a lot of the awful details, and I don't really want to. But I do know that the Lord gave my parents the strength to take care of Scott and pray hard for him, while raising two other kids at the same time.

Here is Scotty when he got to come home on his 4th birthday.
And on the right is him on Easter, when he was about halfway through his treatments. Each stay was 7 days long, with round the clock chemo. There were so many wonderful friends, family, and church members who were praying round the clock for Scotty.

We went to Disney World for Scott's Give Kids the World wish. I was pretty excited, as evidenced by the shocking smile below. Embarrassing. Our church was generous enough to cover the cost of our flights. I got to ride all of the rides twice while my parents did child swap, so I was pretty pumped. At the same time, this experience really taught me a lot about sibling love, and not taking things for granted. I wrote a paper about Scotty as an example essay for my students. Every year I grab their attention by sharing a little bit of the story.

A few weeks ago, Scott celebrated 18 years cancer-free! You would have no idea he was ever sick if no one told you. He is currently finishing up his Junior experience in education before he student teaches in the fall, and I am very proud of him. He has only gotten more fun as he has aged, and I really can't imagine my life without him. We are so thankful for the blessing that he is in our lives, and we know that God has big big plans for his life. Love you bro!

Children's Mercy Hospital shirts for days.

Scotty on the left with us at Kirk's graduation last May.

Currently,
Kelsie