Ingram the Conqueror: Saturday September 1st, Totally Normal

This month is "Childhood Cancer Awareness Month" and I had no idea until very recently or, should I say, until Ingram was diagnosed. Cancer is so not a fun thing to have or even talk about as an adult, but I think even more, children having cancer is worse. Craig has said a thousand times that he would rather him have cancer than Ingram and I have to agree with him. No child, especially our Ingram, should have to become an expert in getting poked, flushing his lines, or pushing his Heparin. He shouldn't have to ask about his counts, wear a mask, and spend half a day getting transfusions. He shouldn't worry about throwing up every time he eats, not having an appetite, or running out of energy as soon as he wakes up. He shouldn't worry about being stared at for being bald and having a huge scar going down the back of his head, having dark circles under his eyes, or boney little legs and arms. He shouldn't have to be like this, but he is...and he's doing great!!

Ingram runs around the house like any normal 3 year old would trying to hang with his sisters, help his daddy with the yard work, help his mommy with cooking, and trying to chase his dog with a bat. He's jumping from the chair to the couch to see if he can fly. He's trying to trick his sisters into thinking he didn't paint on their paper when it's obvious he did. He's trying to squirt anyone with his water gun that he can talk into getting close enough to him. He's trying to sneak M and M's out of the cabinet or eat a whole pack of Starburst before we catch him. He's trying to hide when it's bedtime and pretend that he doesn't need to go to the bathroom when he's doing the "gotta go" dance in the kitchen floor. He acts just like a totally normal 3 year old; he just gets "babied" by his mommy more than others and goes to the hospital more than anyone of his friends.

So since he's a totally normal 3 year old, today he ate donuts for breakfast, took his dog and his sister for a walk, went swimming three different times, hit his sisters and friends with "boppers," and raced down the sidewalk to the neighbors swing. He also ate a grilled-cheese sandwich, chex mix, cheezits, drank gatorade cause he was hot, shot his mommy, his daddy, his sisters, his cousin Brett, and his Aunt Amye with the water gun. He also hit his G-Daddy with the boppers and climbed up in Grandmother's (actually his Great-Grandmother's) arms for a hug. He made a slide in the den out of the couch cushions and jumped down it over and over again. He even pitched the biggest fit when it came time to go to bed because after everything he did today, he wasn't tired at all and didn't need to go to bed.

I tell you all this to let you know that even though Ingram has cancer, he thinks he a normal kid and thus he acts like a normal kid. Because people in the past have known enough and cared enough about Childhood Cancer, Ingram is treated like a normal kid including when he's at St. Jude for his treatment. So it's our job to keep people caring about childhood cancer and to encourage people to make contributions to children's cancer research and treatment, no matter what hospital or organization they decide to partner with, because it benefits every child.

Also, please keep Landan's family in your prayers as they celebrated his life today. In his parents words, they "don't know what life will be like, but we know God will be with us and direct us to our new normal." Please keep everyone that lost their battle to Childhood Cancer or are still in the midst of their battle in your prayers as it is a tough road.