Plugging along

Hiya precious friends and family.  As we approach the holiday of gratitude, can I just say again how grateful Tom, the kids and I for you?  We are muddling thru this season, with grace due in LARGE part to your love, prayers, care and hugs of all of you.  So grateful.

God gave our family a beautiful, silly gift last week in a fun family memory at our 3rd Chick-fil-a First 100 Grand Opening event.  Were the weather not so amazingly, unseasonably warm, I wouldn't have even attempted it, my family, however, was all in.  It was an amazing night, I don't think it got much below 45 degrees, we were cozy warm, and we got to do something our family enjoys together.  It was nice to take a break from life, cancer, work, chores, working hard on school, etc.  Just plain old sillyness.  Field day style games, my son authored and performed a CFA rap, walking laps in the drive thru, hanging with 2 other great homeschool families and some new friends were made too.  It was across the street from a building I worked in during the early 1990's, so that was wild, my how many ways life has changed since that season.  Wow.   Thank you Lord!



VERY excited to get chemo treatment #5 over with this upcoming Tues and then the last one on Tues. 12/13.  This comes with a prayer request, which is that the scans they will do just after the final chemo would show NED (no evidence of disease).  We want to see NOTHING remaining of the cancer in my lymph nodes, breast or in the lung nodules.  I'm asking for this very specific prayer b/c the word tells us to pray specifically.  I'm really asking for ALL cancer cells anywhere in my body to be totally eradicated FOREVER, because I want to be very thorough in my prayers and I'm asking for a great, BIG, GIANT miracle here.  And if this doesn't happen, that He'll help me and my family and really all of us to accept His plan no matter.  Please join us in this specific prayer.

I've purchased a few books that have really ministered to me during this season, I think I've talked about them here before, The Hardest Peace by Kara Tippetts, and Praying Thru Cancer a devotional book with multiple contributers.  My prayer would be that at these last 2 chemos the Lord would show me whom to share these books with that would really benefit from them.

I will try another IV fluids infusion after chemo as the last one did seem to make a difference.  I get to do that the day before Turkey Day, so prayerfully I'll be in a somewhat good way to celebrate with family.  Unfortunately, the essential oils didn't do as much for me, one of them really repulsed me.  I'll try the other one, peppermint again. Acupuncture continues to keep me off one med, so that's a victory.  Less meds make me a happy lady.

Been able to keep my exercise up, walking many days, elliptical machine others, took a bike ride to a coffee shop to meet up with the girls the other day, so awesome.  Even got to help a friend move, many of you know my love of exercise with a purpose, my fave.  Thankful I still am really quite "healthy" despite this little hobby I have.

At my coffee fellowship the other day we all shared something for which we were grateful.  I'm prone to tears at the drop of a hat, more so since cancer, so I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it together, but I kept it brief.  I simply wept, "all of it".  And I am.  So grateful for each minute I have, even the hard ones, because if I just hang in there, the easy, happy ones are typically around the corner.

Happy Thanksgiving!  Be blessed because you are!  xoxox

 Psalm 107:1,8-9
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. (NIV)

MaryAnn, IV fluids and essential oils

I don't have a schedule for posting a blog.  I just wait until I think there might be something to update, share or say.  I know some of you are curious, so I like to keep friends and family informed.

Today was chemo #4 of 6 currently prescribed.  I meet with the oncologist each time prior to being released for the chemo.  He reviews any lab results, test results, checks out the girls (I call it man-handling and woman-handling since he typically has a med student, a female, at his side), and tells me how happy he is with how treatment is going.  This has been the repeated pattern the last 3 times.  It's an encouragement, the him being happy part, not the other parts so much.

Sitting in the chemo room for 4-5 hours can be hard.  There are many different kinds of folks I see, young, old, small, large, healthy looking, very unhealthy looking.  Cancer is no respecter of persons.  (like my Jesus is too, He LOVES every single one of us).  Cancer does NOT.  There are all kinds of prescriptions for chemo, some daily, some every 3 weeks like me, and other variations, I'm sure.  MaryAnn and I have met before.  And elderly gal dealing with her own different flavor of cancer, from what I can tell she takes a little chemo each day.  They haven't given her a great prognosis.  She lives in the familiar-to-me fear of the number of her days.  She was going home today to wrap some final Christmas gifts as she hopes to go home to Ohio to "say goodbye".  And my heart grieves for her, for the hugs, glances and heartfelt words I'm sure she'll experience.  But who knows, maybe they won't have her prognosis quite right, because we do have to remember, they, those dr's we appreciate so much, at the end of the day don't get to truly, fully know the number of our days.  Only God.  And so I'll pray for MaryAnn, thx to a reminder alarm on my phone our pastor asked us to do during this weeks sermon.  In the meantime, she offered to leave my mom a pumpkin bread recipe that sounded good to her.  So sweet.

And for Jan, I'd seen her at chemo the last 2 times, but not today, she's quite frail.  Asked about her today, but of course, they couldn't tell me anything.  I pray I see her next time, perhaps doing better than last time.

Thurs of this week, I'll go in to get an IV infusion of saline, which I'm told can really help me feel better.  Up until now I told myself it was for those feeling worse than me, then I decided they made it sound so good that maybe it IS for me.  Worth a try.  We shall see.

And along the lines of trying different things to feel better, trying some essential oil blends to see if it makes an impact.  Sniffing some peppermint oil now.  And back to acupuncture tomorrow, that did help some last time with some effects.

So, that's the full update.  Our family is handling things okay, kids are well loved, hubs seems good, so we press on.  While I wasn't thoroughly excited at being at the halfway point last time, I was more encouraged to know there are only 2 more, thank you God!  Thank you again for the many different ways you all are loving on us, we really can't thank you all enough.  It is good to be so well loved.

Colossians 3:12-14 NIV

12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.


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