Moving Forward - small set backs - God's Hand

Sorry for the pause over the past few days. Mike is home and every day is better. The first few days were rough. Mike was moaning in his sleep and ended up sleeping in the recliner for a first few nights. Now, he is sleeping back in the hospital bed in our room in a semi reclined position. The tube placement was more painful than we both thought it would be. Mike is amazing though. He is such a quiet, calm and vigilant fighter. You can easily under estimate Mike due to his quiet personality. Underneath it is a determined warrior. I love it. I love him!

So the tube is so-so at this point. Mike is unable to get enough cans at this point. We need to build up his weight and strength again. We are going to the GI doctor tomorrow to talk about maybe doing a continuous feed/pump all night and then allowing him to eat by mouth what he can during the day. The problem is that he uses the tube 4 times a day, and he is full. So he is not eating extra through his mouth. I think this is a good solution and we may have to push for it. But I am getting good at pushing.

We have our appointment at Cleveland Clinic to meet with Dr. Cristina Rodriquez on August 6. All records, pathology slides, and scans are on the way up there. Everything is in place EXCEPT Tricare Referral. There could be a snafu there and this requires PRAYER for sure. When you are Tricare Prime, they want you to go locally first - which for us is MD Anderson in Houston. Make no mistake, MD Anderson is good, but from what we know and have researched Cleveland Clinic is better for the GI track issues. Dr. Rodriquez is well known and in fact got a "God appointed confirmation" of this decision again tonight. Things are falling into place to quickly to doubt that God is pushing us in that direction. Once again, Giact has offered us there support in big ways, to include lodging with some of their ministry partners in Cleveland.

Mike and I went to our first Cancer support meeting tonight - Beacon of Hope. It was great. The topic was nutrition, but the information we got from others was invaluable. The sad news is that they only meet once a month. I was extremely touched tonight by a gift for me. Mary Kay Satin Hands. A small gesture, but it just makes my heart just praise the Lord for his tender mercies towards me. I love how he doesn't forget my needs as well as Mike's and Elizabeth's needs. I also picked up books and resources. Information and cancer go hand in hand that is for sure!

We went to see Dr. Khan today and again some "Praise the Lord" moments. Mike's blood work is great. His platelets are almost normal and his red blood cell is normal. His white blood is a little low, but no shot. Dr. Khan wants to have his marrow try to kick back into gear. He felt no tumor and his liver is still soft. I was able to read through Mike's medical chart. (I do it all the time...again knowledge is never bad with cancer) I actually read through Mike's procedure report from the stretching we did in the hospital. I pulled it out of his chart and handed it to Mike to read. (See how bold I am..it drives me insane when doctors don't let you look at your chart. It is after all about me or Mike in this case) Anyway, the report read that there was fibrous tissue that was difficult to get through and no visual evidence of cancer tissue. It also mentioned a 5 mm scar that appeared to be where the necrotic tissue was the last time. More physical evidence of the healing that Jesus has done. Cool huh?

God answered another care through Melissa. Literally, that morning, I was wondering and thinking about some upcoming needs for Elizabeth and mentally planning out how I could accomplish getting what she would need within our situation. I got a call from Melissa asking me if she could take Elizabeth with her daughter to get those needs. I paused to collect myself and gratefully accepted, hung up the phone and just cried. I cried because God is not only taking care of my biggest need with Mike, but taking care of the little needs as well. I have said this before, but Thank you just doesn't cover it sometimes. I look forward to the day when God uses this experience for us to give back to others.

Finally, I want to leave you with this poem:

A beautiful painting in the sky.
The Shepherd watches His sheep, dancing in the twilight.
And even if in the night, one goes astray,
He looks for her and looks for her 'till noon day.
Know, lost sheep, you won't be left behind,
For the Shepherd loves you,
He will comfort you in the moonlight.

Prayer needs:
Mike's nutrition and Gtube
Cleveland Clinic Referral from Tricare
God will reveal where he needs us to reside

Praise:
Elizabeth is back and she had an incredible time
Elizabeth wrote that poem for her teacher one morning at school for her teacher's birthday. Her teacher emailed it to me last week and it was such a gift to see the Holy Spirit at work in her!
Our dear friends in FL and everywhere
Jeff and Wendy are on their way to Germany. That is not the praise. The praise is that God put them in Abliene when He did and for everything they have done for us. It got to the point where Jeff had a honey-do-list from both his wife and everytime he came over here. No man should have two women give him a honey-do-list ! :)