Monthly Archives: April 2015

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HOPE in the margins!

Join me in a Happy Dance?

Join me in a Happy Dance?

Saturday, April 18, 2015

Quick, but awesome update!

The doctor came by David’s room last evening and announced “We got it all!” The pathology report showed that all the lymph nodes in the surrounding tissue and fat that was removed with the tumor were CLEAN & CLEAR! I would have been thrilled to hear the word “benign” but God is working all things together for good, and although the tumor was “cancer” as the doctor put it, the margins are clear, and the prognosis is good, and we have HOPE for a future, and our strength is renewed! 

Praise God!

“…but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.” Isaiah 40:31a

 

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HOPE after surgery!

Spring flowers at the Riverside Pavilion

Spring flowers at the Riverside Pavilion

Friday, April 17, 2015

A not-so-quick update –

Wednesday’s surgery went well. Dr. Rento removed David’s right kidney and a football-sized tumor, and told me “I got it all” … I hope he’s right! In the process, he found that the tumor had not invaded the main renal artery significantly – it had begun to move into the artery, but not enough to cause any need for major vascular reconstruction. According to Dr. Rento, he was able to “reach in and pull it completely out of the vein.” Along with the kidney and tumor, he also removed all the surrounding fat and lymph nodes. Now we wait for pathology to let us know what it is, and how far afield it is in regard to the lymph nodes.

David spent the first night after surgery in the ICU because he had significant blood loss during the surgery (requiring a transfusion of 4 units of blood). David remembers coming to in recovery and the entire team was working frantically to get his blood pressure stabilized after it had plummeted – all that happened before the epidural pain meds had been started. The pain was intense until the blood pressure was under control and the epidural drip began. He spent about 4 hours in recovery, partly due to his blood pressure issues, but also because the hospital was in over-flow mode and rooms were not available. Finally he was taken to ICU and we were able to see him briefly before leaving for the night. Since he was in ICU with one-on-one nursing, I felt like it was safe to go home.

I returned Thursday morning around 8:15 and as I walked into ICU and looked across the way I was surprised to see him sitting in a chair in his room. However, when I got to the room and spoke with his nurse, she told me that his blood pressure had plummeted again and caused him to nearly pass out. As it turns out, they had handed him the gadget for deep breathing therapy just as he settled in the chair and told him that he need to inhale deeply 10 times every hour. Being the over-achiever that he is, David decided to get all 10 deep inhalations out of the way – basically he hyper-ventilated. Needless to say, we’ve been a bit skittish about that gadget ever since, but we’re trying to remember to do those deep breaths 3 or 4 at a time, spread over 60 minutes, and he’s doing fine!

Getting into a private room as requested was quite an ordeal. Without going into great detail, suffice it to say, that we had a civilized confrontation with the nursing manager and before supper, David’s roommate was provided his own private room, leaving us with a much cooler, quieter private room, too! I spent the night with him last night to be sure he was going to be alright … I know, he’s a grown-man, but he’s MY man and I wanted to be sure, especially after the private room fiasco, that he was going to fair well. As it turned out, everyone was kind, compassionate, and very helpful.

It was a good night, albeit, not restful! For some reason, blood drawn at 4:30am is much more useful than blood drawn at a more reasonable 6am hour … but that’s how it goes in the hospital! There were pokes and prods, checking the vitals, emptying bags, sensor alarms, and all manner of things happening throughout the night, usually about every 2 hours or less. But, in spite of all the interruptions, the night passed uneventful, except for two slightly elevated temps during the night.

The morning rounds included the anesthesiologist to check on the epidural, a lady from respiratory to reprimand David about not using the breathing gadget faithfully – 10 times in 60 minutes – and then Dr. Rento came by and looked him over, too. He reprimanded me about getting enough rest to be ready for when I bring David home early next week! I wasn’t expecting that – young whipper-snapper! That made David’s morning, since he has been fussing about me staying at the hospital instead of going home. The tables turned when Dr. Rento reminded David that his elevated temperatures during the night were directly related to not using the breathing gadget often enough! He also told David to get up and sit in the chair a couple of times a day and also to try walking some. Now that’s going to be a trick – picture David in his stylish hospital gown, dragging a catheter bag, a blood pressure monitor, an epidural tube, and a tube inserted in his neck!! Just getting him out of the bed and turned around to sit in an adjacent chair is challenging as we analyze which way to turn in order to not trip over and dislodge any dangling appendages! By tomorrow, some of those lines will be removed and walking will be easier!

I left him this morning in the loving care of our son, Andy, while I came home to shower and change clothes and run some errands. A few minutes ago I sent a text message to Andy, asking how Dad was doing and his response was “Very good. He ate all his lunch. Little walk in the room. Hour long nap. He ran me out at 1.” So there’s progress!

We have been blessed with the faithful attention of our kids and their spouses. When David was wheeled off to surgery, I dropped by the sandwich shop in the waiting area for lunch. What a surprise when I stepped out of the sandwich shop and saw my son-in-law waiting for me. He spent the afternoon with me, and we were later joined by Andy, Rebecca, our pastor, and a good friend. Everyone was determined that I would not be alone as I waited. And when I got home later that evening, my sweet daughter-in-law appeared at the back door with supper for me. My grandsons have been faithful dog-walkers while their Poppy is out of commission. Mollie is missing Poppy, but she’s happy for the attention of the kids!

I’ll be heading back in time to have supper with David tonight … don’t want to miss that clear liquid diet … UGH! Can’t wait to get him home and feed him some real food!

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HOPE to win the battle against childhood cancer.

Shaving 2015 1For the past three years my brother, Joel, has participated in the St. Baldrick’s Foundation’s annual event to raise funds for research to find a cure for childhood cancer. This year he invited me to not only do the honors of shaving his beard and head, but also to share a little about my own cancer journey. Here’s what I shared with Joel’s guests.

Like Joel, I’m a cancer survivor. And like everyone attending this year’s event, I’ve had friends and family touched by cancer, either by a glancing blow or a fatal encounter. My brother, aunts and uncles, grandparents, father, in-laws and friends have all fought the cancer battle. Some have overcome, others won the ultimate battle and were rewarded with heaven. I refuse to say “They lost their battle with cancer!”

Few escape this life without an encounter with cancer. The difference for each of us is how we face the enemy. How we fight the battle. The war is already won. Jesus paid the ultimate price, fought the deciding battle, and won the war. This weekend (Easter) we remember His sacrifice on our behalf, we are reminded of God’s love for us in sending His one and only Son to pay our penalty, and guarantee our victory over death, even death by cancer.

So how do we face the enemy? My strategy was to fight with all the resources God had given the medical world. Not because I fear death, but because I believe God has provided those resources to give us more days in this life to do the work that He has for us to do. I believe that when God is ready to take me home, He will … and if that time had been 9 years ago, then all the medical knowledge and technology in the universe wouldn’t have overcome His plan. However, I also  believe that He has gifted researchers and doctors and other medical professionals in order for them to discover medicines and cures to help cancer-stricken people win the battle and go on to serve and minister in His name.

I’ll be honest, cancer was an awful experience, but at the same time, it was one of the most blessed times of my life. Thanks to cancer, I came to a richer, deeper, and fuller relationship with God and with my family. Thanks to cancer, I had to slow down and savor the life that I had begun to rush through and take for granted. Cancer is terrible, the side effects of treatment are horrific, but looking through the lens of HOPE, I could see God’s Hand leading me through that dark valley of the shadow of death, onto a new path.

Having experienced cancer myself, I was better equipped to be a care-giver for my dad during his year of cancer. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t all-wise, all-knowing, and super-strong … I was just “experienced” and compassionate due to my own journey. Now as we face my husband’s possible cancer, I’m a little more experienced not just as a cancer survivor, but also as a care-giver. God works things out that way … preparing us to be the instruments of His love as we minister to others in His Name.

Having said all that, I want to make two things perfectly clear:

First, I don’t believe for one second that God causes cancer! Cancer is the consequence of a sinful, fallen world. Our society throughout history has lived in rebellion against God and His laws. Laws put in place to protect us, but which we have ignored. I believe that rebellion has created the atmosphere in which cancer has flourished. And the result is an epidemic of cancers that plague even the young and innocent. Could God wipe out cancer with a flick of His hand? Of course, but He has given us the gift of free will, the privilege to choose to follow Him. And even when we abuse that privilege, He won’t force us to change. Therefore, we have to live with the consequences of our bad judgement, our wrong choices, our SIN. And children, as well as adults, have to bear the burden of those consequences, including the burden of cancer.

Joel and LeviSecond, even though I have found my own cancer experiences to be laced with blessings, I don’t believe that children should have to suffer cancer. Just as God allows us to experience the consequences of our sin, He also gives us the wisdom to discover cures and remedies for many of those consequences. As I child, I remember the plague of polio. And I remember the joy of the world, when a cure was found. We hear of fewer and fewer cases of many of the childhood diseases that I grew up knowing about and being vaccinated against, because medical technology has found cures. I know that God is pleased that mankind is seeking a cure for childhood cancer. I know that He blesses the efforts of the medical world as they research and experiment until they find ways to alleviate the effects of cancer, and someday eradicate all traces of the disease in all its forms. And I’m sure His is pleased at the efforts of lay people whose hearts are touched by the faces and stories of children and their families ravaged by cancer; and who are motivated to do whatever they can to help erase the threat and fear of childhood cancer.

I am humbled to have the opportunity to contribute, even minutely, to the cause of eliminating childhood cancer.

And I am so proud of Joel for taking up the cause to raise awareness and funds to defeat childhood cancer.

And I’m grateful that an organization like St. Baltrick’s is in place to raise awareness and funds to fight the battle for the beautiful, innocent children who are caught in the grip of cancer and all its ugliness.

Thank you for your part in helping win the battle. In 2 Chronicles, God’s prophet tells the king who is facing insurmountable odds, “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” God is on our side. He will win the battle and the war against cancer. But as we see in the passage, He expects us to work with Him. Listen to what He tells the king, “Tomorrow march down against them.” In other words, He didn’t tell them to sit back, step aside, and let Me do this for you. He went with them into battle. They fought the battle together, with God.

For us, the message is this: trust God to win the war againsAlmost done!t cancer, but in the meantime, “march down against” cancer with all we’ve got to do battle with – whether that’s science, or medicine, or money, or whatever else God has given us to use in this war! The battle is God’s, but the army is us!