Thanks to those of you who continue to follow my blog even though I don't post often.   I really appreciate your faithfulness.  2010 has been a hard year for me, but I'll try to do better in the coming year.  Thanks for sticking with me! :-)

Blessings,

Molly

Praise Him with us.............

Hey there,

I just wanted to update you all on my visit to the surgical oncologist at Duke yesterday. She took an xray and the arm is healing just like she was hoping. PTL!  She said that I am NOT a candidate for surgery! YAY!!!!! There is calcium "caulking" growing around the the fractured area which is supporting the arm. That "caulking" will eventually fill in the fracture but it will be a slow process because I'm still doing chemo. Once the chemo stops, the body will go to work in healing up that area just like in a normal, healthy person's body. Chemo slows the healing process down in cancer patients. 

We were very relieved to hear that I am not a candidate for surgery. I will begin physical therapy the week after Thanksgiving. I probably won't ever be able to raise this arm above my head like I can with the left arm, but if we can get it up 75%, that will be good. Most people, even healthy people, don't get full use of their arm back if it gets broken where mine was broken. Surgery would not help improve those odds at all. I am just thankful I can use my arm and that I don't have to have surgery. I saw a few people up there with only one arm yesterday, so I am thankful to have both arms.

I have been given permission to drive as I feel up to it, so that is a great relief as well. Yay!

The esophagus burn is doing much better. I was able to eat chicken and brunswick stew yesterday. It was wonderful! My body is CRAVING oranges so I even ate one of those. It didn't cause acid reflux, so that was a relief!

We have so much to be thankful for today and every day. I continue to gain strength and feel more normal. I can do more than I could two weeks ago! PTL! I have one more chemo to do on 11/29. We'll do a CT scan and go from there as to whether I will have more chemo or not after the one on 11/29.

God has been so good to us! Praise His Holy Name!

Love you all,

Molly

Well, it was a long weekend around here.    We arrived at 6:30 Friday morning for the port and I didn't go back for surgery until 11:00 AM!   I'd been told there were a few people in front of me, but I didn't expect to have to wait that long.   The insertion went well, PTL!   I could feel the doctor putting the sutures in, but I was not aware of anything going on.   They put me in recovery and brought me a meal.   I was SO hungry that I broke my rule of "No more hospital food for me ever again."   I really only ate the hash brown potatoes and orange juice so it wasn't that much hospital food.  LOL!   Then they brought me a lunch meal and I ate off of that.   I have to say that the baked fish, coleslaw, and cornbread muffin were actually really good.   By Friday evening, I was in enough pain that I wondered why I signed up for the port.   Oxycodone didn't even touch the pain.   The only way to avoid the pain was to sit real still in my recliner.   So, that's where I spent the whole weekend.    I was also suffering from gastrointestinal inflammation from the radiation.   It got worse on Sunday morning.   It hurt to breathe or swallow and nothing was helping.   I called the doctor on call and did what he said to do and it calmed down some.    I knew I could see my doctor Monday, so I held out til my appointment.    He decided we couldn't do chemo today because that would just aggravate the gastro inflammation even more.   So, chemo is on hold until things calm down.   Radiation is on hold for the same reason.   He gave me some fluids and nausea medicine in an iv and that has helped me feel better this evening.    He also gave me some medicine (Carafate) to coat the esophagus so it can heal.   The esophagus has a sunburn from the radiation.    I will have more fluids this week and a blood transfusion because my hemoglobin level is low.    

The nurse was able to use my port this afternoon.   I am now convinced I made the right decision to have this done.   It pinched, but it was a lot better than a med tech digging around trying to find my veins!!!  :-)

So, several unexpected things to deal with but I am reminding myself that these have not caught the Lord off guard.   He is ordering my steps through this ordeal.   Pray I can rest in the assurance that He is in control, not me.   

Thanks for your faithful prayers, dear friends!

Love,

Molly

Update on CT scan and other things

I just wanted to update you all. The CT scan shows the tumor is SHRINKING!!!!!!!!!! Praise the Lord! My doctor is very pleased. He can see where the chemo is actually working on the left scapula and healing it. That area has not been hurting in a long time, so that must be why.   Also, praise the Lord that there is nothing new seen on the CT of the chest!  

I had my third chemo treatment today and that went well. I also was able to get the PICC line removed so now I have my left arm back in full use. Another praise! I can take a real shower in a couple of days! Yahoo!!! 

I will go back on Friday to get a shot of Neulasta which is the same shot that I had last month after chemo. It's the one that boosts white platelets so I don't end up in the hospital again.

There was mention today that I might begin radiation sooner than later so please be praying about that. Pray that there will be minimal side effects from it. The area they will be radiating is near the esophagus and I've heard of people having trouble with radiation in that area. I will be getting low doses of radiation for 15 days.

There was a problem on Friday with getting the port put in. My white platelets were too high due to the fact that I had a shot of Neulasta, which builds up white platelets. Now I will get the port put in on November 1st. Dr. Walker has already sent in the order and highlighted that the white platelets will be high because I am getting shots of Neulasta. I could've actually had it done this past Friday but the nurse didn't call Dr. Walker to question why the white platelets would be so high. 

Another praise is that I have been able to use less pain medicine. This also shows us that the chemo is working throughout the body to heal it. 

Thank you again for your faithful prayers! Rejoice with us about this good news! God is good!

Love you all,

Molly

An Update on Me.........

Well, I'll try to be brief, but that may be hard.   Lots of things have happened with me since my last post.   The MRI I have last three hours!!!  I was so tired of laying in the same position and it was FREEZING in there!   I was glad I had taken 20 mgs. of Valium before I went in.   Trust me, I needed every mg.   I'm a trooper with the CT scans now and they don't bother me.   Yay God!   The results from those tests didn't reveal anything new, just confirmed what we already knew, so that was actually a praise!   The cancer has spread to my thoraic area and I will be having radiation on that area.   I have changed doctors since my last post as well.   This doctor is a lung cancer specialist and I just love him.    He's a precious man, very compassionate and such a fighter for my life!  I am thankful the Lord led us to him.    I've had two chemo treatments since I posted.   The first one was a whammer and made me really sick.   I spent 11 days in the hospital.    My white platelets took a nosedive and it took a while to get them back up so I could get out of the hospital.    Apparently my body can not handle the level of drugs he gave me the first time, so he rearranged things for the second chemo and so far things are going fairly well.    I am having some nausea and tiredness, but so far none of the symptoms I had with the first chemo. I can tell you that I don't like hospitals.     I've never been away from my children more than three days, so that was very sad and depressing for me.   Hospitals are lonely and depressing.   I was blessed with great nurses who genuinely care about their patients.   I came away with a great respect for healthcare works in general.   They all earn ever dime they make.   Most everybody on my floor worked 12-14 hour shifts and were still kind when they left in the evening or morning. I don't know if I could be that good.  LOL!    Those workers are on their feet most of their shift, constantly meeting patient needs.   Kuddos to the healthcare workers!

Well, that about sums up what's been going on with me.   Please continue to pray for complete healing from all this.   Pray my broken humerus heals properly, that the next chemo treatments go well and that they kill the cancer cells.    I am so ready to get back to my normal way of living.   I've been sleeping in a recliner due to my broken arm since July.   It helps to have it propped up and having support behind my back helps keep the pain at bay.   Pray for my family as they deal with the stress of all of this.   It's taking it's toil on us all, but we are trying to persevere through the test.

Also, please pray for a special older friend of mine who was diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks ago.   She's a precious, wise Christian woman who loves the Lord immensely.    Pray they caught it in time and that she will get well.    I'm not ready for her to meet Jesus yet.   She's a widow also, so pray she can get the help she needs as she recovers.

May God bless each of you as you seek His face and walk with Him!

Blessings,

Molly

I'm still here.  I've been very busy with summer activities,  trying to do some catching up around the house, and do school planning.  I have been enduring several health issues as well, so I have been trying to get well from those.   I'm learning that it is VERY HARD to walk through trials, especially several at a time, when you don't feel well.   I have either fractured or broken my arm and am waiting for an MRI on Friday morning as the doctor thinks there is something suspicious on the xray.  It's hard to type with one hand, so I doubt I'll be on here much.  Please pray for good MRI results and that what he sees is nothing but scar tissue from a lesion that was in the same area.  I honestly am tired from all these trials and am trying to live what I have shared on this blog.   Some days I just fail, but I am still human.  It's hard to count it all joy when you face trials.  Some days I can walk this walk of faith and some days I battle my mind in a BIG way!  Thanks for letting me be transparent and real and share how it really is right now.

Your prayers are appreciated!

Blessings until I post again -

Molly

Perfect and timely devotion for this season

"Now to him who is able to keep you from falling" …  Jude 24a

When the bottom is dropping out, we have a source of strength that can keep us from falling all the way.  God is our safety net, a very present help in times of trouble.   When we feel as if we cannot find our footing again, God catches us and carries us when we cannot walk the path on our own.  When we find ourselves in a free fall, there are arms already reaching out for us to lift us from our distress.

When I think about it, I do know that you have reached out to catch me before, dear God.  I have been rescued in more ways than I can count.  I am grateful for that and I pray for the help to remember those times more and more each day.  Amen. 

Blessings,

Molly