Kay Blackburn

These past three weeks have flown by in a blink of an eye. Our trip to Iowa for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals was awesome and exhausting! I have never experienced anything quite like this. “OM” (Odyssey of the Mind) is a problem solving activity that provides students the opportunity to be creative, learn to think outside the box, think on their feet, and work with a diverse team of kids. Participating in World Finals is like attending the Olympics.

This is opening Ceremonies at Iowa State University.

Over 6000 people from all over the world (US, China, Poland, South Korea, Mexico, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, Qatar, etc) come together to compete.

This was our 6th grade team sporting Rattlesnake hats from Arizona!! The coolest thing about it is the pin trading… similar to the pin trading in Disneyland… but like on steroids.

Kids who, under normal circumstances, would keep to their own group of friends, easily break through all social and language barriers and interact freely as they seek to trade their pins.

I loved it. I loved chaperoning our 6th graders and seeing them so excited to engage with kids despite communication barriers. In fact, this was their favorite activity of the whole event.

The girls did awesome. Kaitlyn’s team placed 11th out of 58 teams and Trinity’s team took 21st out of 78 teams. I felt so blessed to be able to be there because last year at this time, Kaitlyn was recognized on a very large stage for her incredible artwork and I was stuck in a hospital.

Kaitlyn at World Finals last year receiving the OMER award.

It was a very full five days and a lot of fun, but we were all relieved to come home and start summer vacation.

Along with the start of vacation, was the start of my second detox. I was honestly dreading it, but with three weeks before my scan, it had to be done.

I lasted 4 days on vegetable juice and supplements. I was a little disappointed to take a detour, but I started having pain in my left leg. It was a really odd, crampy pain in my left hip, glute and thigh. Honestly it made me super nervous and after a couple of days I called Dr. Miklos.

Ugh, I hated it when he told me it could potentially be “bone infiltration” and scheduled a Spinal MRI for my visit.

Bone Infiltration???

How is it that some medical expressions always seem to sound so lofty and formal? For days my mind was thinking “metastasis… cancer spreading to the bone.” It was a struggle not to let my mind go there. I thought back through all the times over the last three months that I had indulged… most of those times involved fried potatoes when they got within 3 feet of me, because you know me and French fries. You can take the girl out of Idaho, but you can’t take the Idaho out of the girl. I am actually from Texas, but being an Idaho resident for almost 10 years makes me feel like that is home too. It’s like I am a “Texahoan”, but I digress…

Four days after the pain started, I had some bumps appear on my left cheek (the one I sit on 😆). I discovered this as I was massaging the area that hurt while Trinity and I were sitting on the back patio. I asked her to look at it and tell me what she thought it was. She looked at it and matter-of-factly said,

“Shingles.”

“What?” I was stunned.

“How do you know what shingles are?” I asked her.

This was most definitely a God moment. There is no way I would know how to diagnose shingles, nor would my rocket scientist husband Brandon. But it literally took Trinity less than 3 seconds to diagnose me.

She explained that her teacher, Mrs. Wilson (who is the coolest 6th grade teacher ever) was talking to her about her mother’s bout with a painful rash just two weeks prior.

I quickly texted Dr. Miklos explaining that my 12 year old diagnosed me with shingles. Within 5 minutes he called me, chuckled, and said,

“Well your daughter is better than your doctor!”

I so appreciate my doctor. This is the second time that he has quickly called himself out when he doesn’t have all the answers. He quickly got me onto an a strong dose of an anti-viral for two weeks and thus I decided to abandon my detox until after I get my depleted system back up to par.

But can I get an Amen for shingles?

I think I must be the happiest person to ever get them. With a suppressed immune system and an activity-filled trip to Iowa the chickenpox virus was literally “triggered.” To me this was a small victory on my roller coaster of a journey.

When I didn’t know what was happening with my leg, I was really worried

“Oh Lord, here we go again.” I thought.

I was praying that God would fix this situation, or at least reveal what was happening. I love that He used Trinity to do just that. Who knows, maybe she will be a doctor someday.

Tomorrow is my 9-month scan post infusion of CAR-T cells. I pray that God will allow things to work out the way He wants. I honestly don’t know what to expect, but this recent victory has reminded me of His presence. I have posted a lot about juicing, salads, supplements, enemas, and detoxes… all have which I have been good about roughly 95% of the time. This lifestyle takes a lot of work and discipline. But I wonder if another CAR-T could be the ticket to a quicker cure.

So as I go into the hospital tomorrow, I am trusting God. I know He knows the outcome, so I am not worried about it. I have done the best that I can, the best way I know how. I am thankful for the little signs here and there that remind me that He is still looking out for me, for finally having an intentional hairstyle again, and for all of you and your continued

thoughts and prayers for us.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Onward and Upward.

Kay