May 3, 2008 An Amazing Mother
I was up late last night thinking ... Dangerous I know. Was it the glass of sweet tea I drank with our late dinner that’s kept me up past everyone else in this dark, quiet house? Past the six-year-old and the eight-year-old relaxed by an unscheduled bath to remove the colorful tiger stripes and princess dragons from their cheeks and hair. Once we finally settled in to watch our usual Friday night movie, they were out cold five minutes after it started.
I was up past my bride whose head lies heavy upon her pillow. Too tired to consider all that’s going through her mind. Tired from a day of planning each moment when the next feeding will take place. Will we need to pack his meds for our outing? Physical therapy. Entertaining guests. Communicating with friends and family. Mothering. Being a loving wife. The sheer exhaustion of it all. Yet God gives her strength. She’s an amazing woman.
Barely outside of arm’s length from where she rests is a sleek black crib. It was difficult to find, this one, for it was not intended to match some well-prepared waiting nursery or to be part of some beautiful layette. It was bought to match our grown-up bedroom décor since that’s where HE would be sleeping for the foreseeable future. Inside the crib, sheets match our sheets. Ruffles match our ruffles. And he sleeps, his “bah” tucked under his left arm as if that’s where he put it. His toes stick out below. (I don’t like mine to be covered either.)
Leaning in the nearby corner, a bright-eyed llama pears off the cover of the book you’ve heard us recite so many times. From the llama’s vantage point he can see the small electric pump that feeds Tucker continuously through the night, except when it stops at random and beeps wildly (which it did last night, which could also explain why I was awake late). Nearby lie two syringes waiting for 6 a.m. when we’ll rise just to “heplock” his PICC line. First an alcohol swab, a flush and then 1ml of Heparin. Repeat every six hours. At 7 a.m. his pump will complete its dose, and we’ll rise once again to turn it off.
At 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. are his daily meds, 11 in total. Some of them liquids, which are easy to deal with. Some are pills that first must be crushed then mixed with water to dissolve before they can be fed into the tube running out of his stomach. Two, for now, are antibiotics which connect directly to his PICC line and take an hour and a half to run.
This is Candy’s daily routine. She draws each one into a small measured syringe and carefully lines them up on a tray like little soldiers ready to march off into battle, enlisting with us in the daily fight for his life. Every four hours she pours 100 ml of his high-tech, hard-to-find formula to feed through a large syringe, which attaches to his feeding tube. And at some point, a nurse may visit, or a physical therapist, or one of the many angels who have brought food since we’ve been home (keeping us out of the grocery store thankfully), or she may head off to an appointment with one of our many doctors. All amid filling out applications for this program and that. Calling about this bill or that one. Scheduling his next procedure and oh, did I mention, raising two other school-age children.
Next Sunday will mark 12 years since the day I met her. In that time we’ve laughed, we’ve fought, we’ve obviously cried and with God’s help we’ve built a love-filled home with three beautiful children. And for most of this, she deserves the credit. Did I mention she’s an amazing woman? I’m glad you’ve gotten to see here in these pages a little bit of why my home is in her heart, and why I love her soooo much. Please pray that God will give us a beautiful day next Sunday and thank him for every beautiful day your mother has given you. Happy Mother’s Day Baby!
God Bless!
Monty and Candy
PS - Tucker continues to do well. No fevers, no tense muscles, and still no sign of the ugly PLE. Thank God He's heard our prayers!
I was up past my bride whose head lies heavy upon her pillow. Too tired to consider all that’s going through her mind. Tired from a day of planning each moment when the next feeding will take place. Will we need to pack his meds for our outing? Physical therapy. Entertaining guests. Communicating with friends and family. Mothering. Being a loving wife. The sheer exhaustion of it all. Yet God gives her strength. She’s an amazing woman.
Barely outside of arm’s length from where she rests is a sleek black crib. It was difficult to find, this one, for it was not intended to match some well-prepared waiting nursery or to be part of some beautiful layette. It was bought to match our grown-up bedroom décor since that’s where HE would be sleeping for the foreseeable future. Inside the crib, sheets match our sheets. Ruffles match our ruffles. And he sleeps, his “bah” tucked under his left arm as if that’s where he put it. His toes stick out below. (I don’t like mine to be covered either.)
Leaning in the nearby corner, a bright-eyed llama pears off the cover of the book you’ve heard us recite so many times. From the llama’s vantage point he can see the small electric pump that feeds Tucker continuously through the night, except when it stops at random and beeps wildly (which it did last night, which could also explain why I was awake late). Nearby lie two syringes waiting for 6 a.m. when we’ll rise just to “heplock” his PICC line. First an alcohol swab, a flush and then 1ml of Heparin. Repeat every six hours. At 7 a.m. his pump will complete its dose, and we’ll rise once again to turn it off.
At 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. are his daily meds, 11 in total. Some of them liquids, which are easy to deal with. Some are pills that first must be crushed then mixed with water to dissolve before they can be fed into the tube running out of his stomach. Two, for now, are antibiotics which connect directly to his PICC line and take an hour and a half to run.
This is Candy’s daily routine. She draws each one into a small measured syringe and carefully lines them up on a tray like little soldiers ready to march off into battle, enlisting with us in the daily fight for his life. Every four hours she pours 100 ml of his high-tech, hard-to-find formula to feed through a large syringe, which attaches to his feeding tube. And at some point, a nurse may visit, or a physical therapist, or one of the many angels who have brought food since we’ve been home (keeping us out of the grocery store thankfully), or she may head off to an appointment with one of our many doctors. All amid filling out applications for this program and that. Calling about this bill or that one. Scheduling his next procedure and oh, did I mention, raising two other school-age children.
Next Sunday will mark 12 years since the day I met her. In that time we’ve laughed, we’ve fought, we’ve obviously cried and with God’s help we’ve built a love-filled home with three beautiful children. And for most of this, she deserves the credit. Did I mention she’s an amazing woman? I’m glad you’ve gotten to see here in these pages a little bit of why my home is in her heart, and why I love her soooo much. Please pray that God will give us a beautiful day next Sunday and thank him for every beautiful day your mother has given you. Happy Mother’s Day Baby!
God Bless!
Monty and Candy
PS - Tucker continues to do well. No fevers, no tense muscles, and still no sign of the ugly PLE. Thank God He's heard our prayers!
Beautiful!!!
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HEY GUYS,
MONTY I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THIS BEAUTIFUL LOVE LETTER ABOUT YOUR WIFE. YES SHE IS AN AMAZING WOMAN & YES GOD HAS TRULY TRULY BLESSED YOU & YOUR FAMILY.
CANDI I JUST WANT TO COMMEND YOU FOR THE AMAZING JOB YOU ARE DOING. THERES NOT MANY MOTHERS OUT THERE WHO WOULD ACTUALLY TAKE ON THIS HEAVY LOAD. THERE ARENT MANY MOTHERS OUT THERE THAT ACTUALLY PUT THEIR FAMILY FIRST. THEY ARE ALL ABOUT THEMSELVES & I PRAISE GOD FOR STILL MAKING GODLY MOTHERS THAT WILL RISE TO THE TASK AT HAND & TAKE CARE OF ALL THAT GOD HAS BLESSED THEM WITH. YOU ARE A VERY STRONG PERSON, A VERY LOVING PERSON & SUCH A TRUE BLESSING TO ALL OF US. AS I SIT HERE READING THIS AGAIN THE TEARS FALL BECAUSE OF ALL YOU GUYS ARE GOING THROUGH & BECAUSE GOD BLESSED ME BY READING THIS TODAY. HE HAS SHOWN ME A FEW THINGS THROUGH YOU GUYS.
YOU WILL NEVER KNOW WHAT A BLESSING THESE POSTINGS ARE TO ME. WE PRAY FOR YOU ALL DAILY! LITTLE TUCKER IS PRAYED FOR AT CHURCH EVERY SERVICE! ROCKVIEW BAPTIST CHURCH IS WATCHING GODS BLESSING AS WE WATCH HIM TOUCH LITTLE TUCKER! MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL & MAY YOUR MOTHERS DAY BE TRULY A FANTASTIC DAY!!
LOVE YOU ALL & IN MUCH PRAYER
SUSAN STANDRIDGE--NIOTA, TN
LAM 3:22-23
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Dear Monty and Candy - I am so sorry to hear of Tucker's health problems. I had never heard of PLE, so went to the link to check it out - thank you. I am glad that you have a strong faith and that you know that everything happens in its time and that Tucker is always safely held in the palm of God's hand, as are you and your other two (beautiful) children. We will miss Monty this year in Front Page Follies. Tell him NOT to feel guilty, even though he is THE MOST TALENTED member of the cast and I TOTALLY rely on him. HA HA!! Seriously, I hope you know you'll have our whole cast praying for all of you, and sending you good, loving vibes. Take care, Carol
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Hey everyone! Tommy came to Sunnyview on Sunday, and I stopped in to hear him, and he told me about Tucker, and your site...You have a beautiful family! You do such a great work for God, and He will take care of your family... I will keep you all in my prayers. God Bless!
Laura Freeman (Jackson)
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