The Lemieuxs 2023


As 2023 comes to a close, I’m thinking about all the things that have happened in just one short year. Like every year, it has been a rollercoaster of ups and downs, twists and turns, laughs and tears. Physically for me, it’s been a hard year as I’ve been poked and prodded, have had scans and a bone marrow biopsy and more blood tests than I can count, all because I have compensatory erythroid hyperplasia and severe anemia (but not iron deficient) as well as an enlarged spleen. So what this means is, I have an over abundance of red blood cell production but the red blood cells are dying off quickly and not giving my organs the amount of oxygen they should. The dead cells appear to collect in the spleen causing it to be enlarged. The dying cells have caused the severe anemia, but the cause for the cells dying is still a mystery. The good news is, I don’t have any obvious cancers which was the first concern. My oncologist suspected leukemia or non Hodgkin’s lymphoma but thankfully as of now, they have been ruled out (praise God). The bad news is they can’t treat the anemia because they can’t figure out the cause, again, I am not iron deficient. I do B12 injections biweekly, my B12 isn’t low, but the doctor said we have wiggle room to take the supplements in hopes it will help with my energy levels. This has been the hardest part, the chronic fatigue. By the time I get home from work, I want to go to bed. This makes it harder to get things done. Most importantly I don’t see my grandchildren nearly as much as I used to because I am so beat after work to go visit them. Mike’s health has been the usual. As most of you know Ankylosing Spondylitis is a day to day battle. Every day brings pain for him, some worse than others. His kidney numbers have plummeted again recently so that’s concerning and being watched. Despite all these health challenges, we are trusting God’s plan and are grateful for each and everyday. 

Through out the year we’ve been blessed in many ways. I have my work family who have been very supportive and understanding through the fatigue and uncertainty and they never fail to make me laugh. I have had a friend plow our driveway with each snow storm, neighbors who have mowed our lawn, weed whacked and leaf blowed. A nephew who secured the over hang near our front door, making it safe for the up coming winter. A friend who gave us a loan when needed and countless friends and family who keep us uplifted in prayer. We truly are blessed.

In other news, we lost my mom on September 18th. I’ve had a rollercoaster of emotions with losing her and the events surrounding her death, it has been difficult and I miss her, but I do know she is exactly where she wants to be, in the presence of God. On the same day that Mom went to Heaven, we were blessed with the birth of our sixth grandchild. Finnley Hope was born to our eldest daughter Aubrey & son in law Nick and she was welcomed home by her big sister Noelle (3) and big brother, Britton (2). Then in November on Delaney’s (our oldest granddaughter) birthday, our seventh grandchild, Elijah Michael decided to make his debut to our eldest son, Seth and our daughter in law Stacy. He was welcomed home by big sister Lilly (2). 

So as I said, it’s been a rollercoaster of both burdens and blessings and we are grateful that God surrounds us with his love and care every step of the way. I hope each and every one of you reading this (and even those who haven’t), have a blessed, happy Christmas and a New Year full of hope, love and good health. 

One more thing, I got to go to the North Shore Music theater this past week on a school field trip to see ‘A Christmas Carol” , it was excellent! So on that note, as Tiny Tim said “God bless us everyone”. 

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