Outa My Way, Bully!

I have heard it said that when a member of the family has cancer, the whole family has cancer.  I have to say that I understand the truth in that, having learned it painfully from losing a sister to cancer in 1997, having a daughter diagnosed in 2014 and another sister diagnosed in 2015, and learning I had it myself in December of 2016.  It is still hard for me to even use the word, cancer!  It is an intrusive bully that dominates schedules, thoughts, and general wellbeing of all those who are close to the disease.

During those times when the bully distracts us from the important things in life, there are things that we can fight back with.  Someone gave me a list (I don’t know where she got it) of things cancer can’t do that I’d like to share with you.  It is titled, “What cancer cannot do.”  “Cancer is so limited…It cannot:  cripple love, shatter hope, corrode faith, destroy confidence, kill friendship, shut out memories, silence courage, reduce eternal life, or quench the Spirit.”  As I thought about it, that could be said about any adversary we face.  It could be health related, domestic trouble, church issues, job situation, etc.  They are all so limited. 

Here’s another great promise to hang on to.  “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written:  ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” –Romans 8:35-39

I received some great news from my oncology doctor on Monday.  The blood test showed, for the third time, that there is no detectable cancer in my body.  She said I am “way ahead of the curve” in my recovery, which will take up to two years.  That was a great encouragement, but I wondered, if I have another 19 months to get better, I will be a super-hero!  I feel great, with very little residual pain from the injured ribs as well as the surgery. 

I’m so blessed by all my official family, as well as my unofficial family.  The outpouring of your support, love and prayer is humbling and gratefully received.  I love you all.

Heads Up!

Psalms 3:3 says, "But Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head."

As the body recovers from any injury, sickness, or surgery there are some days that are better than others. Yesterday started out as a regular day and I was looking forward to seeing the babysitters Christina had lined up to come over, because she had to work.  First, there was a really dear couple who live nearby who popped in around 10.  Amy and Tim were going to come around 1 and do a kid exchange.  The day felt optimistic at the beginning, but as it wore on, I just felt glum.  It wasn't overwhelming pain, depression, or anything I could put my finger on, just a culmination of everything, including possible side effects from drugs?

In the late afternoon I was a little better.  One of our grandsons FaceTime'd to me to ask if we could think about setting up a time to go fishing. It was like a breath of fresh air, out of the box, from the lips of a seven-year-old. We took a ride out to pick up the balance of the new blood thinner medicine from the pharmacy.  As we were on the way, I got a call from the urologist's office to fill me in on the  lab analysis of the offending prostate that had been removed. They said they were pretty sure they had gotten all the cancer out.  That was a boost and I was feeling pretty good as we pulled up to the drive-thru at the drug store.  As the girl was getting the pills, she asked if we wanted to put it on the gift card.  We told her we had no gift card, and the poor girl became flustered as we tried to give her our credit card for payment and she was trying to convince us to put it on a gift card.

Finally, Christina and I figured out that someone had purchased a gift card with instructions to use it for the meds!  We tried to figure out who might have done it.  I told Christina, as we drove away in a daze, that God did that!  God and a very sneaky friend.  Maybe we will find out who someday, but I'm not counting on it.

As if to top that, we found out this morning that our Rx insurance will pay all but $27 per month going forward, rather than $408/month. These are the kinds of things I must remember if I hit one of those days when I'm glum or bummin'.  Indeed, He is the lifter of my head!

"One of my favorite people! Renna turned 5 on Monday!"