Promises

"Where can I go from your spirit, where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there...if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me, even the darkness will not be dark to you. The night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made" - Psalm 137: 7-14

I haven't updated recently...the pace of life picked up significantly just following Dad's diagnosis...researching doctors, trying to find the best of the best and make sure insurance covers the best...insurance paperwork, FMLA paperwork, short-term disability insurance, cancer insurance, meals scheduled, homework accomplished, tests taken, laundry done and house clean, leaving town for a week, etc. Had a teacher who thought cancer wasn't a good enough reason to turn in a late assignment which cost me an entire letter grade. Not kidding. Pfew! Honestly so much has gone on that it has been a feat of will to just put one foot in front of the other and accomplish things at times but I have to say that in all honesty, I don't feel overwhelmed.

I have had moments of crying like I've not cried before and moments of pure numbness that make it difficult to be myself. Thank God for a husband who is kind and longsuffering...he has been loving and supportive, cried with me, held us all and his patience has been a steady source of consistency. Friends have brought meals and that has been an immense blessing to my parents...the visits, well wishes, emails, cards and plants have been constant encouragement, too.

Today Dad is waiting for a cat scan and still in considerable pain. It has been 2 weeks and 1 day since surgery but recovery takes months. It can take 6-8 weeks to resume a normal diet after this intense of a surgery. At this point Dad is supposed to have a port surgically inserted Friday in preparation for chemo. It's like a borrage of medical treatment for him...hardly enough time to catch a breath before the next procedure. He wants so much to attack this thing and be done with it but the process is really quite painful, exhausting and stressful. Concern over bills and expenses looms as the medical expenses pile up and claim forms are sent back and forth.

The oncologist has recommended 6 months of chemotherapy and was very positive about DAd's prognosis. Dad will be meeting with a specialist in GI Cancers at University of Colorado Cancer Centers. We'll see what he has to say and then go from there.

We appreciate your prayers, your encouragement and your practical help. Please continue to pray for my parents...for wisdom in which treatments to focus on and pursue, which doctor to trust and work with primarily, pain relief and patience. Mostly, please pray that this will be an opportunity for our family to draw closer to the Lord and to know Him better as we grow in faith and trust. When all is said and done, that's all we really have anyway.

Live from Las Vegas... well, mostly alive...the kids didn't sleep well last night :) ,

Thea