Op Zending

Yes, miracles are still with us. First of all I want to thank my Michelle for the last post and her plea for prayers on my behalf. The Lord has seen fit once again to bless us with help. I was hanging on by my finger nails and did not know what to do for the pain that was getting progressively worse each day. I knew something was wrong but did not know how to handle the situation. Pain meds can not be the answers to everything. Heavenly Father sent help in the form of my angel friend Connie. This great woman has been more than generous and kind to come in and help me with my wound dressing several times a week so we did not have to make the trip to the hospital as often. Connie was inspired to know what to do and which one of my three doctors to contact. The doctor was able to look at the last CAT scan and recognized right away that it was actually my "wound vac" that was creating the problem. After removing the vac I was able to walk across the room without help and without the unbearable pain. We will now tackle the wound care with a different approach. It may take longer to heal but I will be able to handle it in a much more do-able way. The Chemo pain as well as just the wound pain should be so much easier now to handle. Maybe I just needed to be reminded that it could be much worse.

I should remember by now that help does come. It may not be instant but it will come in the Lord's time. We have been able to see the tender mercies and are so grateful for them.

I was actually able to get out of my rut for an hour last night with the help of my "rock" Marian. We went to a neighborhood "tea party" and it was so great to see friends in a more normal setting. Life is good. Blessings keep coming and I still do not feel worthy of any of it. Hopefully I am learning the lessons I need to learn and maybe all this will make me a much stronger and caring person. Thank you all again for everything. I simply will never be able to repay you all for the love and support you have shown. I will have to make sure and pay it forward as soon as I can.

Mom's last report was that she was hanging in while the Chemo kicked her butt. The report is still the same: still hanging in, still kicking her butt. But Mom is tough--tougher than she even thinks she is, and she's plugging along. There have been steps forward and steps back, but at least there is movement. This is a rough road for both Mom and Dad, neither one knowing what to do to make things better and neither one willing to stop trying. Those of you who have known our family for a long time know this is how they work: one step at a time. And always asking the Lord to walk with them.
Please continue to pray for their load to be lightened. In the book of Mosiah in the Book of Mormon, the people beg for the Lord's help because they are in bondage. "...the Lord did hear their cries...yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage." Mom's burden is very much like bondage in that she is being submitted to awful things and has to keep enduring through it. However, in Mosiah chapter 24 verses 14 & 15 we read the Lord's promise: "...I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this I will do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. And now it came to pass that the burdens...were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease..." And later in the chapter we are reminded that "...none could deliver them except it were the Lord their God."
With Mom's current burden, none can deliver her except the Lord God. She needs the constant faith and prayers of those who love her to pray for her, that her burden may be made light so she can bear her burden with ease. Dinners and visits help her mood, letters and cards lift her spirits, cute wigs help her self-esteem. But only the Lord God can heal. As a favor to Mom, please petition the Lord today to help her burden become light on her shoulders.

Mom just finished up her treatment from her first round of chemo. It was a rough ride but she's coming out on top. She's had some nausea but thankfully it hasn't been too bad and she hasn't lost her lunch. Mom's main battle is exhaustion mixed with stomach and feet pain. Her incision has had some setbacks and had to be reopened again but the doctors think she is on track to healing well and are pleased to see how her wound is reacting to the chemo. The last week has been a bit of a roller coaster ride with ugly days and better days, but I think this round successfully goes to Mom.