Every strike brings me closer to the next home run…

Today was strike THREE….

We have a lot more innings left, 9 to be exact. But we must stay in line, play by the rules, and focus on the next play.

Baseball is a hard sport to predict. Turns out chemo can be too! Baseball can be nerve racking because you don’t always know what play will happen next. Will it be a curve ball? A fast ball? A foul ball? A home run? Or a change up…..

Today was a change up. It started with a change in the chemo companion/chauffeur…. Today was my turn (Maggie).The next change up was the unexpected lab results indicating his white blood cell numbers were lower than they would like. After this change up they called a huddle on the pitchers mound and decided that it was best to keep playing the game but reduce the amount of chemo they administered today.

After first hearing this news Coach was a little discouraged… but then quickly remembered that change ups are the most underrated yet highly successful pitches in baseball. Change ups are deceptive and mess with the batters timing. This is because the batter is anticipating something else coming his way and when caught off guard he often times can’t make adjustments fast enough and misses the pitch.

We are so thankful they continued with the third round. We are thankful for a beautiful life lesson that if we are trying to predict the next ball coming our way we might not be able to adjust to the next change up.  Unlike a change up… Scripture reminds us “I am the Lord. I do not change.”Malachi 3:6…. But it also reminds us that change is often good for us because through change “the Spirit will renew our thoughts and attitudes.” Ephesians 4:23

The PA explained to Coach that this change was vital to his overall health and his chemo regime so he’s able to stay on the program. If they gave him the same amount as last time it might have wiped him so much that he would have had to miss the next round. She also told him that his WBC count is totally out of his control. There is nothing he did to cause it and nothing he could do to make it better. This is part of the journey.

Chemo days are long. But this allowed some amazing one-on-one time with Coach. We talked nearly the entire time, we had Shake Shack delivered to the unit entrance, I tickled his feet (“accidentally”) while trying to get the ice socks on his feet, and I taught him the concept of girl math.

We are praying that round 3 is more generous than round 2. He had extreme “fatigue coma” —his words— but still managed to do the following.

-walk the neighborhood

-visit with his cousin Mike Wallace and his wife and Dianne.

-visit with his cousin Brad Worthington who made a special trip from SC to visit.

-go to Birmingham to watch Sims and Briggs play T-ball and offer some solid coaching wisdom—which helped the Padres advance in the playoffs and ultimately win the 5U championships!

-go into the office

-watch the Wesleyan Wolves baseball team on his phone as they continue to advance in the playoffs and he enjoyed a phone call from the entire team after they won!

We are so thankful for the best fans. Y’all love Coach so well and he is so uplifted by the calls, texts, letters, and Bear Strong pictures.

Please pray that this round is more tolerable than the previous round. And specifically pray for his WBC count to increase and remain within normal limits.

We aren’t going to be anxious about what the next pitch is…. We are ready whatever it is.

So, let’s keep playing ball and praising the Lord!

🐻💪🏻BEAR STRONG 💪🏻🐻