That has been the question that I have been getting over and over and over again. :) And it is not a bother to me, just a reminder that so many people are praying for us, love us, and want to encourage us! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
This is Andrea, again......"guest blogger".
How is Dave? Well....he's making progress. :) Saturday was a long day. Since the last chemo treatment was completed on Friday night, he anticipated getting home by at least noon on Saturday. What we didn't know, was that the medication (to protect his kidneys from the strong chemo) that they put on his IV "rack" in the morning was set at "a snail's pace" and would not be finished til 6pm that evening! He was also fighting nausea all day....just couldn't quite get on top of it with the meds. Talk about a long day! (It was only made worse because of the fact that we thought we'd be out of there by early afternoon. He just wanted to recuperate AT HOME.)
Sunday was a tough day. Those of you who have been through strong chemo know how awful you feel. Pastor Scott had told us the focus of Sunday's sermon (Psalm 31) and that there would be a time of prayer for Dave so, even in the midst of the "yuckiness" of the day, we were encouraged knowing that our church family was being reminded of God's goodness in the midst of difficulties, and we were reminded of that as well! Pastor Scott said, "Our circumstances may change but our God never changes! -- He is our Refuge, our Rock and our Fortress." So neat for our church family to grasp that truth not only for the situation we are going through, but also for whatever difficult situations each of them face! We also heard from many other church families that they were praying for us in their respective church services as well. We are SO humbled and blessed by the outpouring of love and prayer support!
And we thought Sunday was bad?!? Monday was worse :( The nausea was really intense...couldn't keep any of his pills down. He had a prior appointment to be at Yale that morning to be checked, even though he had a hard time figuring out how he was even going to make it to the car; he felt so awful. BUT....he got there, was given fluids, an anti-nausea shot, potassium, magnesium, and a FEW of his stem cells back -- this is not the transfusion that will be coming in the future -- these few stem cells were just a booster to help him "bounce back" from the harsh chemo effects on his blood cells. By 3pm he was heading home again and tried as best he could to get through the rest of that day.
Tuesday? Sigh of relief......much better day! After a good night's sleep (thanks to anti-nausea meds and sleeping meds), he was feeling a lot better and was even hungry to eat something! That was a good change! :) While he still feels "mack-trucked" and has a hard time concentrating/focusing for long periods of time, he is happy that his stomach has settled down a bit.
We know there will be ups and downs.....(the nurses warned us that symptoms could get worse) but we know that so many are praying for us and we will get through it all with God's help!
And how are the girls and I? God is SO good and SO amazing....it does our hearts well as parents to see God working in their lives, drawing them to Himself and teaching them lessons, even though they are very hard. Let me share from their most recent Facebook "status posts" to give you a quick glimpse into their determination to hang on to the Lord even in the midst of this "cancer journey" with their dad:
Krista:
"Blessed be Your name
when the sun's shining down on me,
when the world's 'all as it should be',
blessed be Your name.
Blessed be Your name,
on the road marked with suffering,
though there's pain in the offering,
blessed be Your name."
Elise:
"The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him" Nahum 1:7
Jessica:
"It's not that I don't have an answer... it's just not the one that I'd like. But through this time, Lord, I must keep in mind that you're always wiser than I. You have a much better purpose, You have a far greater plan, and You have a bigger perspective."
Praise the Lord! Thank you for praying for all 5 of us! We love you all and appreciate all of your kindnesses to us! INCREDIBLE blessing!
(P.S. In the future, I'll try to do a better job of posting on his blog when he doesn't have the energy/focus to do so!)
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
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Thank you Andrea. It is nice to get an update and at the same time allow y'all some peace. I really appreciate the knowledge that there is improvement. Michael and I are also praying along with the Calvary family. *HUGE HUGS*
ReplyDeleteRejoice in the blessings of each day. Even in the worst circumstances, God shows His blessings in many little things. (I think you are already doing this.) When tom was having his bad times, I realized that the only important thing I wanted out of life was the salvation of my husband and children. I had that, so ANY other good thing was icing on the cake. You have that, too, so the most important thing in life is settled.
ReplyDeletePraying much for you, Andrea, as the "caregiver". Sometimes we feel so helpless to make the one we love feel better.
ReplyDeleteWe appreciate the "posts", but ......
Don't worry about the "posts", we will survive, the most important thing is for you to take care of Andrea, so you can take care of "Dave". Posts or not, we will be praying and God knows all of the details.
All praise be to God who gives us the victory in Christ Jesus ! ! !
You are so young but hang in there!!! A brother in the lord asked me to keep you in prayer. do hope that you feel better. Sorry for your struggle with cancer. May you and your family prevail in this life. May Jesus strengthen the work that you have done in your church.
ReplyDeletePeace, scott