Woohoo!!!

Yesterday was my 8th treatment and yesterday was my LAST treatment! Praise God!

Tom and I visited the doctor first. I was so glad to hear her say it would be my last one. She told me to properly celebrate this milestone. Then I went in for my treatment time and it was DEFINITELY an easier day knowing it was my last time to sit there. The whole treatment only lasted 3 hours, which is shorter than many of the others. We were out by 1:30! The nurses there sang "Happy Graduation Day" to me and I got a cute certificate with a purple heart on it. After hugging my other patient friends that were all still sitting down, we walked out to the sunshine and fresh air. YEAH!!! A huge victory.

Thank You, O God, for Your faithfulness to carry me through these treatments. So many people have prayed and prayed that I would be held up, and I have been. Thank You! I know it's not over, I still have more marathon miles to run, but this is a day of rejoicing and praising You. You are my loving, tender and faithful God.
Thank You again and again. In Jesus' Name.

Tomorrow

It's Sunday night. This is the 8th time I've come up on the Sunday night syndrome... "the night before chemo". I thought this time that it would not be a big deal, since I've done it seven other times! And afterall, I should be rejoicing because, Lord willing if all goes as planned, it will be my last big chemo treatment. I hope it really is my last one.

But I still find myself emotionally dreading tomorrow. Again. What am I dreading? Hmmm...it's really simple, I think. I dread sitting there, watching all the meds go into my port, one after the other. When I sit there I am physically faced with the reality that I have cancer. I know I have cancer...but at home, I'm still me. I'm a wife, a mother, a daughter,a sister, a friend. When I am there, I'm a cancer patient, sitting and talking to other cancer patients. It's a long, long day.

So I will go tomorrow...with my Tommy by my side this time. I'm so glad he is coming. I'll also go with Jesus by my side. That is not a nice, religious saying that I am throwing out. I really do depend on the fact that Jesus is going with me tomorrow. He's been there for the other seven, I know He'll be there tomorrow. I believe Him when He said " I will never leave you."

I do hope it will be my last chemo treament.

Renewal from the Lord!

Wow. I really did get to go Friday night and Saturday. Hooray!!! I felt pretty well around 4:00 on Friday so Betsy and Carissa and I all ate at Cracker Barrel and then headed to the Women of Faith conference after that. It was wonderful! I couldn't believe that I was well enough to be sitting there. Nicole Nordeman performed (which was another wow!), Sandi Patty sang one song and Patsy Clairemont spoke. They were all tremendous.

We all came back Sat am and stayed the day. We heard Luci Swindoll, Marilyn Meeburg, Allison Allen, Sheila Walsh, a comedienne named Anita Renfroe, and Thelma Wells. Sandi Patty performed in the afternoon and was absolutely incredible. ALL of it was about being free in Christ, truly free.

I am so grateful to the Lord for restoring my strength enough to be there. This weekend was like an I.V. of renewal and encouragement pouring into my heart, refreshing my spirit. I feel revived!

Thank you for praying me there! Lots of you I know were diligently interceding for me this week. Thank you. If you had seen me Wednesday you would not have thought I was going ANYWHERE for weeks. My friend Sandy Mc told me to watch for all the different miracles that God would show me along this healing road. This week was one of those miracles. He lifted me up and got me there by His love and strength and healing power.

O God, my dear Heavenly Father, I thank You! You are so good! So good. So tender to lift my heart up again just when I was feeling weary along this long road. Thank You, Faithful God! I give You the glory, You the praise! There is no one holy but You!

Better

Doing better today. I still have the cold and a new persistent cough, but my sore throat is gone.

My plan is to take it easy today and hopefully go tonight to the conference. I am just waiting to see hour by hour how I feel. Either way, Betsy and 2 college friends are going tonight and tomorrow all day. I'm so thankful she is getting to go. Hopefully I will be joining them, but if not, I'm glad they will be blessed to be there.

Thanks for your prayers. I am so much better than Wednesday! Yeah God!!!

Not doing well today. I saw our family doctor yesterday. He said my throat was very red, etc. and put me on a powerful antibiotic. Today my throat is worse, very sore. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll see some improvement.

I really hope to go to this conference this weekend...but right now I'm not sure if I'll be able to.

April 9, 2007

I had a wonderful Easter weekend. Jesse and my sister Judy came over from Tennessee. It was fun, of course, to have Jesse here. And Judy and I had not seen each other since last July! We had lots of good visiting time together.

I'm not going to write much today...I'm not feeling well. I did fine over the weekend, but Mary started feeling bad Sunday night...sore throat and congestion. I kept her home from school today. By about 10am I could feel something coming ...sore throat and my nausea. I decided to rest all day. Mary and I had to "be sick" away from each other. She was in the family room, watching Andy Griffith DVD's. I was in my bedroom. I slept a LOT today, which was good.

She's feeling better tonight. I feel about the same. My immune system probably is working its best to fight off this bug. I am asking for prayers for both of us to get well soon. Some dear friends in Tennessee have blessed me with tickets to a Woman of Faith Conference in Little Rock this Friday and Saturday. I'm pretty excited about going...now I just have to get well. Please pray that I can be there this weekend. Betsy is going with me also. I know it will be a sweet time of encouragement.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

7th Treatment

Today was treatment day. Overall, it went very well. My friend Nita, who is a 4 year cancer survivor, took me to Little Rock for the appointment. I was glad to have her company today.

When I went in for my doctor's appointment the nurse spent a good while with me, filling me in with information of what was ahead. She said that after my next treatment...which is my LAST treatment (woohoo)...that I would wait about 3 weeks before I start my radiation program. The radiation will be done in Searcy, so I will have only a 5 minute drive. It is Monday through Friday and only lasts 20 minutes for the whole appointment. I'll go for 6 weeks. I asked about
any testing. I thought they might want to test right after the chemo treatment is done. But she said they will test me 3 months from my last chemo. If any cancer would be found anywhere else, which we of course are praying that it won't, it wouldn't be growing while I'm taking so much chemo. So they wait 3 months to look for any changes. I will be checked every 3 months for 2 years, she said...which I liked hearing that because I want them to keep a close check on everything.

The doctor came in and said a lot of the same. She almost changed my treatment to something different, but reviewed my charts and kept me on the TAC chemo trio. I did not have to have a red blood cell shot or any iron supplements because my blood counts were just above the line. That was good.

The past three weeks since my last treatment looked a little different than my other ones. I had about the same nausea on the first week, but the second week I experienced much more fatigue than I had had before. Very tired. Then the third week I pulled out again. But when the nurse asked me how the last treatment had looked she asked about vomiting, diarrhea, mouth sores, tingling in my hands and feet...all of which I said "no". I did have fatigue, nausea and some acheyness. I realized how BLESSED I continue to be with my response to the chemo. I know people are praying for different things, but I've had quite a few praying specifically that my symptoms would be mild. That is an answered prayer! They looked at me with surprise that I haven't had more. I am so grateful to the Lord for His answer to those prayers! Thanks to you all who have prayed.

I'm looking forward to this week. Not to the sickness that I expect to sneak in...but to the special holiday that this is. I love Easter! I love to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It's the whole point of His coming. I do love Christmas, but that's just the beginning, just His arrival. Easter is the celebration of WHY He came...to die for our sins on the cross so we could live...forgiven! Then the resurrection ...hooray...brings to us hope and joy of life beyond death. Praise and thanks to the Lord God who made a way for us all!!!

I'm also thankful because Jesse and my sister Judy are coming over from Tennessee for the weekend. That will be great to see them!

That's it for today.

Thank You, O Lord, for Your faithfulness for this day! Thank You Jesus for choosing to walk to Jerusalem, to the cross, to Your death. Thank You for mercy, for forgiveness that I depend on everyday of my life. Thank You most of all for Your unfailing love! I praise Your holy Name. Amen.