Stick and Stay

The first week at home was tough for Debbie. 

The headaches came back as well as some nausea. This time she actually threw up a few times too. This is significant because she hasn't thrown up since we've been married. Her skin is peeling and itchy and can be very irritable. She has been very tired and needs a lot of rest.

Debbie pushes through all of this and doesn't do what she feels like doing. She does what she knows will help her. She gets up, walks her 3 miles and takes care of whatever business she needs to take care of. She continues to turn everything over to God and trust Him for everything.

If she did what she felt like doing, she may curl up into a fetal position and sleep all day. We have learned that feelings come and go. Feelings are fickle. We don't live our lives led by our feelings. We walk by faith, not by sight. It is a decision each day to focus on God and not our circumstances, to focus on the positives and not the negatives. To stick with God and stay with God no matter what.

We heard a great testimony at church yesterday. The scripture that was talked about was Phillipians 4:4-9. It was a powerful reminder about what we are supposed to do.

We pray that this message

encourages you and that you let God meet you wherever you are.

Phillipians 4:4-9

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Stick and Stay

The first week at home was tough for Debbie. 

The headaches came back as well as some nausea. This time she actually threw up a few times too. This is significant because she hasn't thrown up since we've been married. Her skin is peeling and itchy and can be very irritable. She has been very tired and needs a lot of rest.

Debbie pushes through all of this and doesn't do what she feels like doing. She does what she knows will help her. She gets up, walks her 3 miles and takes care of whatever business she needs to take care of. She continues to turn everything over to God and trust Him for everything.

If she did what she felt like doing, she may curl up into a fetal position and sleep all day. We have learned that feelings come and go. Feelings are fickle. We don't live our lives led by our feelings. We walk by faith, not by sight. It is a decision to focus on God and not our circumstances, to focus on the positives and not the negatives. 

We heard a great testimony at church yesterday. The scripture that was talked about was Phillipians 4:4-9. It was a powerful reminder about what we are supposed to do. Stick with God, stay with God.

We pray that this message

encourages you and that you let God meet you wherever you are.

Phillipians 4:4-9

Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Home on Friday!

Week 4 was a tough week. Everything happened quicker and was intensified. Debbie ended up having only two doses out of 14 possible. Each dose quickly brought side effects. Some of the side effects were new. With each dose, more Neo was needed to regulate her BP and it took longer to come down on the Neo. 

On Thursday, the doctor told us that Wednesday mornings dose was her last dose of the week. He said that they had stimulated her immune system enough and he was happy with only having two doses. At the beginning of the week, he had told us to expect only two or three doses.

We ended up getting home Friday morning - a day early! It always feels so great coming home!

Debbie is now beginning the long process of getting back to normal. She needs to shed the water weight, slough off the peeling skin, heal from the picc line, and let the IL2 run its course through her body. It usually takes five or six weeks for her to get back to normal.

We were blessed with the staff more so than ever this week. This was more answered prayer. We always pray for every person that will come into contact with Debbie during her treatment. We pray that each person makes wise decisions in Debbie's best interest and that they are caring and kind. We also pray for no infection, no errors, and continue to pray for maximum effectiveness and minimum side effects. We continue to be so thankful and feel so blessed the way God takes care of us through this whole ordeal. He has provided in so many ways!

What's next?? 

Debbie will have a CT scan at the end of July with a follow up consultation the following week. We will find out how well the treatment is working. We are continuing to pray for NED (No Evidence of Disease) We will also find out when Week 5 & 6 are.

This means we will have six to eight weeks off of treatment to enjoy the summer!

This also means that we will posting less frequently.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

God continues to fight this battle for us!

And we rest with our outcome surrendered!

Surrendered

A pic from our walk last week

Because this is Week 4, Debbie's body responded quickly to the IL2. 

Debbie had her first dose at 3pm yesterday. Her body reacted quickly and her blood pressure dropped to 60 by 7pm. She was itching uncontrolably, nauseous, feeling sick and hallucinating (she saw red spots all over me) The nurses quickly got everything under control. She ended up getting on the Neo quicker than she ever has before. 

Her BP has been a roller coaster and trying to keep it under control has meant higher doses of Neo. Higher doses of Neo mean less doses of IL2. If the Neo dose goes too high, she has to go to ICU where other methods are used to help get her BP under control. 

All of this could be really stressful. But it really isn't. We could be sick with worry about "What if?" We have surrendered the outcome of this whole process to God. No matter what happens, we will be good. 

We surrendered the outcome before we started treatment. 

We are children of God. Nothing can change that. We are totally and completely loved by God. Nothing can change that. We have our foundation. This has given us peace that surpasses understanding. This has given us the strength and courage to endure this process. God has provided for us time and time again! 

We feel so thankful and blessed. 

Ready for Week 4

Tiger & Debbie bonding

We can't believe that two weeks have flown by! 

Week 3 ended up being pretty good. The treatment did hit Debbie pretty hard for a couple of days after we got home. She was VERY nauseas and had another crushing headache that lasted for most of a day. She had to take meds and sleep a lot. All the water weight came off pretty quick. Her skin is still all flaky and itchy...it usually doesn't clear up on this shorter break.

Debbie loves horses. 

She had one growing up and has always dreamed of owning one again. God has known this and has been giving Debbie many blessings. God brought some special people into her life. Debbie has been blessed by Sharon & Susan, two women that live down our road. They have horses and barns and riding arenas! Their willingness to share and spend time with Debbie has meant the world to her.

She has been riding Susan's horse named Tiger. I think she is falling for this big guy. She hopes to lease him and ride him ongoing. She got to ride on Saturday evening and she said it helped her be ready for Monday (when she begins Week 4). It was something to dream about and be grateful to God for providing a desire of her heart. She looks forward to getting out of the hospital and riding him soon.

We head back to the hospital tomorrow morning. The picc (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) is scheduled around 8am and her first dose will be at 3pm.

I will keep you updated from the hospital.

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

Answered Payers

Debbie received the 11pm dose last night. This was her 4th dose. The doctors expected her to only get 4 or 5 doses, so this is a win. We have spent all day today weaning off of the Neo. The nurses think they can have her off of it by morning, so hopefully we can satisfy all of the requirements to get home earlier on Saturday.

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We started out Week 3 with many of the nurses congratulating us on being here. The staff was truly happy that we were there. They explained that most of the people they see for Weeks 1 and 2 don't come back. The only people that come back for Week 3 are the ones that are responding to the IL2! Sadly, 90% of the people don't make it back for Week 3.

We have heard more stories from the staff about tumors the size of tennis balls disappearing and people being cured. We have learned about other indicators that the IL2 is working such as reduced platelet levels. Debbie started Week 3 with her platelets around 335 and they are currently at 105!

This week has been tough. Being confined to a hospital bed, hooked up to monitors and pumps, having her blood pressure rise and fall like a roller coaster and being made sick by the IL2...all in a normal week of IL2. 

But honestly Week 3 has been somewhat of a breeze. Honestly. You can ask Debbie. 

She hasn't had any headaches, body aches, diarrhea, vomiting, shakes or rigors and hasn't had much nausea. 

This is exactly what we (us and all of you) have been praying for...Maximum effectiveness and minimum side effects and discomfort.

THANK YOU JESUS !!!!

Thank you team!!

My Daily Bread...and coffee

Day 2 started with the verse of the day from ‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭3:14-17‬ ‭MSG

"There’s nothing like the written Word of God for showing you the way to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.”


I drink coffee everyday.  It is an important part of  my day‬‬. 

Today's verse of the day was a reminder for me about how important being in God's word daily is. More important than coffee!

God's word is alive and living! 

Reading His word has shaped us for this task. God has really been faithful to us throughout this whole process. His words comfort us and give us peace. Even before we found out the treatment was working, we knew we were going to be fine no matter what happens. 

We expect healing. We expect a miracle.  

We will trust God with everything we have and in everything we do!

Update on Debbie:

We had a quiet night last night other than the constant waking up for vital checks. 

She has had 2 doses out of a possible 4 (2/4/14) She is back on Neo to help control her blood pressure, so she is all wired up and constantly monitored. This also means she is confined to the bed. No new side effects so far. We are currently waiting to see 

if the Neo will be at a low enough level to receive the 11pm dose. 

Thank you for your continued prayers!