Left Speechless

Well, as we expected, Mike did another round of Chemo yesterday. We saw the Doctor first and he evaluated Mike and signed the orders for Chemo. He did say that everything looks good and after this round of Chemo we will proceed to do another CT Scan. I am assuming that will be sometime next week. I have been praying for the results already knowing God has the ultimate plan under control.

We did head back to the Chemo room and Fran and the team got Mike going. We got to the center at 8:00 am, but didn't get back to the Chemo room until 10:00. Mike's Chemo is different that most. He does Cisplatin and Campostar. It is a long, toxic process. They need to hydrate him and give him pre-medication before each Chemo drug. Needless to say, we were the last ones there at around 4:15. But we managed to get home and Mike did well for the rest of the evening. In fact, I went to bed around 10:30 and he was still up playing on his PSP.

Some interesting things of note: Mike had the hiccups last night. A side effect he hasn't had since the first round. I feel for him though. The hiccups cause pain at the stent location. Also, Mike is loosing pigmentation in his fingers. Again, another side effect. It is not a big deal but odd and gives you a little indication at the toxicity of Chemo. Or to look at it from another angle, what it takes to kill cancer under current treatments.

Speaking of that, I got the most incredible call today. A short call, but one that left me speechless. I got a call from the 623rd Special Ops Group at Hurlburt Airfield today. They are putting together a Relay for Life Team in Mike's honor and wanted permission to use Mike's name. Wow. I didn't know how to respond. Ok. I teared up. That is now my typical response when people touch us beyond words. We have never walked this road of cancer before. Not with anyone in either family or with any friends. But now that we are here and hearing people's stories everyday, Cancer is alarming. It crosses all age groups, all sexes, all ethnicity, all income groups, everyone. I met Kathleen at the cancer center. She is down in TX from Iowa seeking treatment with Dr. Khan. Her husband is Active Duty National Guard in Iowa. She was telling me that she told her husband that he needed to look at her leaving him as going off to war too. The enemy she is facing is cancer.

I was just relaying to the girls at Pekeno last night this thought. The one thing I do love about Dr. Khan and his practice is that he takes all insurance - Medicare, Tricare, Medicad. I would also be willing to lay money on the fact that he has treated those without insurance. I don't know that for sure, but I feel like he would. Believe it or not, I have heard of Doctors turning away people with cancer because they have the wrong portion of Medicare and this person died. So raising money for Cancer research - all forms of cancer is important. However, I just wish everyone would get together as one big team. I do feel that there are some important and significant finding in the homeopathic world in terms of cancer.

So, we are touched, humbled and proud to lend Mike's name to the the 623rd Team! Thank you for such an incredible honor and we pray God will do great things with it.

Speaking of God, He allowed me to be used for his glory yesterday. I received an incredible book from Mrs Howard (Doug and Dena's mother). It is called "Psalm 91: God's Shield of Protection" by Peggy Joyce Ruth. She and her ministry is located near Brownwood, Texas ( www.peggyjoyceruth.org ) Psalm 91 has been an incredible promise to Mike and I. I blogged about finding it back in September I think. We read it quite often and I have been praying it over Mike more than I can even count. This book specifically relates to the trials and dangers that the military faces. It breaks Psalm 91 done verse by verse and then has many stories of how Psalm 91 protected the military. The true stories of God's Protection in it are nothing short of amazing. Here is an short synopsis from her website:
Psalm 91 has been called the soldier's prayer. Countless soldiers, from the time of the Civil War to those involved in present day conflicts, have thousands of recorded stories of miraculous interventions. These 16 short verses carry promise of protection from every evil known to man. This book explaining our Psalm 91 protection covenant needs to be placed in the hands of every military personnel and family

So, I had just ordered extra books to share with some people and I ran into Kathleen. Her son is an NCO and he had just married. She said his new wife was having a hard time being away from home for the first time and throughout the conversation she revealed that the new daughter-in-law was religious. I told her I had a great book for her to send to her to encourage her. This was on Friday. I stuck the book in my mega-purse that I now carry and gave it to her on Monday. I saw Kathleen in the hall reading it. I believe that Kathleen needed it more than her daughter-in-law. You could see it in her eyes when she thought no one was looking. I believe God will use it.

Prayer needs:
Chemo effects on Mike - it to kill cancer and nothing else
Mike's blood remains strong
Please pray for the results of the CT Scan that has yet to be ordered
Mike to develop a hunger for food
Mike to drink more right now to flush his kidneys
Our House in FL to sell
The Relay for Life Team

Praises:
To be able to be used by God even in the circumstances right now
No homework for Elizabeth all week
Open House at School tonight!
Insurance and Medical Care
Chick-fil-a
laughter with the girls last night at Pekeno


PS. Doug and Dawn- we are huge Chick-fil-a fans but it was Sunday!!! Chick-fil-a is closed.