Christmas in the ER

Christmas 2010 was a grand success. Of course the fact that we were in the great state of Texas was a great contributor to that success. Seeing acres and acres of concrete with every imaginable chain store and franchise known to man somehow seems to lift the heart. Unfortunately it also tends to deplete one's bank account...at least it did mine!


Francesca and Carson spent quality time with grandparents, cousins, and many others. Fighting was minimal - for a brief period - as everyone was totally engrossed in their new gifts.

And what would our Christmas be without a visit to the hospital?

On Christmas day Carson developed an ear infection and by that evening he had a low grade fever. Instead of waiting until he had a higher fever (as we had done a few weeks earlier) we decided to change things up and take him in at a reasonable hour. Heck, we barely know what the ER looks like in the daylight.

The Children's Hospital campus in Plano was courteous and fast. Just like in Virginia, we were whisked to the back as soon as we told them we have an oncology patient with a compromised immune system and a fever. It's so nice to see our "Frequent ER Patron" card accepted at other hospitals as well.

Jennifer and I even had time to go out to eat by ourselves on our last night.

And it was over dinner that night that Jennifer mentioned the news that another young boy lost his fight with leukemia earlier that day. We didn't know him or the family, but he had the same form of leukemia as Carson. We sat in silence as worry and fear returned to consume us.

But then came our second wind...and a second basket of chips.


The peace of the Lord always seems to calm our fears and strengthen our resolve. And old cars seem to do the same with Carson.

Paul.