Feliz Navidad!

Christmas greetings to you dear friends and family.

One of the blessings of this time of year is the chance it gives me to connect with you. This year has been a full year for sure; full of laughter, full of tears, full of learning, full of trials, full of triumphs, full of joy, full of new recipes, full of family, and always filled with love.

My parents and I got to ring in the new year with family playing games and enjoying time together. This year I have continued the IV antibiotic treatment in high hopes for healing. The road continues to be tough, but with God’s comfort and grace, I am pushing through. In January, I had several issues with my port staying anchored down which led -me to several emergency room visits. Unfortunately, the third ER visit resulted in me contracting Covid Delta. Having lost my aunt to this just a month before, it was a scary time. I was really sick for several weeks and fought pneumonia for a while after. Thankfully I recovered and eventually continued on with treatment.

At the end of February, I had the opportunity to visit my older brother and his family in Virginia Beach on the way to an office visit in Washington D.C. with my specialist. I also got to celebrate my younger brother’s birthday over video chat finding out the most precious news of the year, they were pregnant! We also had a online Thirty-One party fundraiser.

March brought the beautiful blooms of crocus and daffodils. I got to celebrate my birthday with a trip to the plant shop, one of my favorite places, and dinner with my sister’s family. I hosted a t-shirt contest fundraiser where people submitted “Hope.” designs and then voted on top picks. The winners all won a free shirt, and each design are all available in my feeling lymie Bonfire shop online just in case you haven’t gotten yours yet. At the very end of the month, I joined an online woman’s e-group. This group has been very life-giving and opened many opportunities for me.

The spring and summer were full of more birthdays and anniversaries to be celebrated, even if from a far. I got the delight of spending Easter with my family, watching several of the young cousins hunt for Easter eggs. Though I was still treating and having a tough time with it, July was packed. We had a cookout for Independence Day with the Smiths. Nikki and I had an extra special “Rebe day” where we had a special visit with her parents and then got together for dinner with the old gang from college. I got to attend a worship night at Unified and volunteer with my e-group writing cards and packing birthday bags for kids in the community. At the end of the month, Mom hosted a very successful bake sale fundraiser.

As the end of the summer approached, I attended two baby showers, where all of my siblings were together in one location. I got to celebrate a milestone birthday for a close friend. Sadly, we also lost a long-time family friend. By this point in the year my health had really been a struggle with treatment. I had been having chest pains that landed me in the ER hooked up to monitors to make sure there were no issues. Thankfully everything was okay and is still okay.

October came with great shock; my cousin went on to be with the Lord. I wound up in the ER again with suture issues the very same day. The Lord brought joy to our mourning with the birth of my new niece. November was a huge month for me in that I finished my last IV antibiotic treatment protocol and will now be moving in a step-down stage of aggressive oral antibiotics. I will keep my central line in for two-four months to help assist with detox and hydration during this stage.

As I said, this year has been full. I am so grateful for the things that have filled my cup and praise God for the comfort and companionship as He helps me navigate the great loss and trials of the year. I am also appreciative for the love, prayers, support, and even simple check ins from so many. Thank you for walking this journey out with me. I pray this season brings joy and remembrance of loved ones. I pray a special blessing for you as the new year approaches, that your year will be full of every good and perfect thing.

May God bless you in this Christmas time and as the new year begins!

With love,

April Ervin