William the Conqueror

I am so grateful for the people around the world following my blog and praying us along. What support I feel from you all. My close friends around the country check my blog three or four times a day. They want every detail down to the breakfast menu. Others of you are perhaps colleagues of John. You want to pray in an informed way and would like the Readers' Digest version.

I am trying to walk the line between these two groups of readers. To that end, I will say up front that this post is dedicated to my brother. My friends and my brother's connections will want to savor every word. Others of you may want to skip it. Thank you for checking in today, either way!



William the Conqueror
He Came; He Saw; He Conquered.

William is the little brother who shot a bottle rocket at my head as a kid.
He is the little brother who used to sing at the top of lungs while mowing the lawn.
He is the little brother I asked to go inside and get matches when I wanted to "warm my hands" on a homemade fire in our yard.
He is the little brother that dropped everything to come and be with us during this difficult time.
He is the little brother who is my HERO.



My dear brother William came to visit for the weekend. A week ago today he called and said he was thinking of coming. I burst into tears and he was at my doorstep ten hours later. This may seem like a loving action for any one's brother, but for my brother, it involved love and sacrifice for himself, his wife, his children and his job.



William and Kari live in California. To get to Chicago he drove two hours to San Fransisco and then got a flight. They have five children. Their oldest daughter is 6.5 years old. Their youngest son is 2 months old. Kari encouraged William to fly across the country leaving her with five little ones for six days. Her nearest relative is a 30 minute drive. Her parents and brothers helped her through the weekend. She homeschools. She is a saint.



My brother is an ER doc and has a crazy schedule. In order to come to Chicago he had to get several shifts covered. The 12-hour shift on Monday was covered by a collaborative effort between four doctors. The shift was at a hospital three hours away. Each of the four doctors had to drive three hours each way to work their two or three hour part of the whole shift that needed to be covered.

My brother is a can-do kind of a guy. This is what you want in Emergency Medicine. Simply observing the medical process for us from the "other side" felt painfully slow for him. In oncology, no one ever seems to be in a hurry to do anything.

William suggested we call Home Care services to see what they could offer. This was a great suggestion because now John can get IV fluids and blood draws at home.

He was expert at setting up a wheelchair, helping John get in and out of cars. He went to a medical supply store and stocked us up on all kinds of things about which I have not the first clue.

The first morning he was here, he took my kids to Dunkin' Donuts. When he came home he said, "What is the deal with your car seats? They have absolutely no safety factor whatsoever. I would like to replace them." So the next morning he came in heavy laden with two new car seats, a pink princess one for Charlotte.



He jumped in to help in every way. He bought food. He changed diapers. He wiped runny noses. He tickled and tickled and tickled. He bought a Gingerbread House kit and did it with the kids so I could take a nap. He put ink in our printer. He put up our Christmas tree. The first night he put Charlotte to bed and they prayed together. Charlotte prayed, "Lord, bless Uncle William so he can put his healing hands on Daddy and make him better." Amen.



Now that Bill and Mary Fawcett are here, we have re-arranged a bit. They are in our bedroom. John and I are in the guest room. My brother slept on the couch. I was going to sleep on an air mattress on the floor. My brother said, "You can't get good rest on an air mattress for any period of time. Its in the way, you have to re-inflate it everyday. You need a bed." Its fine for someone to make an assessment that a bed is needed, but William made it happen. He took his huge rental Suburban out to a bed store. He bought a twin bed and frame, popped it in the back, drove it home and set it up. He went to Target and bought sheets and put them on the bed. Ahhhhh. All I had to do was lie down and sleep. How is that for AMAZING?? !!!

William also stood by John's bed and prayed. He was amazed at John's peacefulness. He could not believe the way John is communing with the Lord. "He prays about everything. I was helping him put on an anti-embolism stocking. He stopped and said, 'Let me ask the Lord for help. Lord strengthen me to get this stocking on.' And then he let me help him do it." I know that my brother's view of life and medicine have been stretched after his time with John. John laid his hands on William before he left and asked the Lord to bless and equip him to become all the Lord intends for him. William said, "Watching John go through this, and his perspective on life is amazing. It makes me want to go home and have more kids."



It was hard for both of us to say good-bye at the end of his visit. There were many tears shed all around. I was sad to see him go, but filled with gratitude to Kari for sacrificing him to our family for such a long stay. When William returned, it was late at night and he went right to sleep. In the morning, his children were delighted to see him. A few hours later he was so exhausted he needed to take a nap. He slept for two hours while his two oldest sat on the bed next to him watching him sleep. Abigail said, "I kissed your face and your hair while you slept, Daddy."

John, Charlotte, Josiah and I send the California Clarks our kisses and love.
Thank you William.
Thank you Kari.
Thank you Abigail.
Thank you William.
Thank you Charles.
Thank you Jameson.
Thank you Quentin.
We love you all.