To God be the GLORY!!!!!

My mom's words below depict our hearts best...we are dancing and totally humbled and in awe of the great God we serve. Thank you for all of your prayers...for your continued encouragement and support...truly to God be the Glory!

 

This hymn is ringing through my ears...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymrZO1PZbU4&noredirect=1 !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

All praise, honor, and glory to God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We worship an awesome God, who hears our prayers and answers.  Yesterday I got the results from my CT scan on Monday.  In May, we found out that my cancer had metastasized into several retro-peritenial lymph nodes.  Radiation was not an option, so we changed the chemo to one that is more aggressive, and yes , more toxic and has more challenging  side effects.  The lymph nodes began shrinking, or were stable in the next two scans.  Monday's scan showed, and I quote from the radiologist's report, "NO EVIDENCE OF METE STATIC DISEASE IN THE CHEST, ABDOMINAL, OR PELVIC AREAS" (those are the three regions they scan.  So that's right, NO CANCER EVIDENT!!!!!!!  Our God is an awesome God!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Where did the lymph nodes go????  I don't know, I was too busy taking it all in and praising God.  What have I learned....oh so very much....but perhaps most important, PRAY BOLDLY and BELIEVE.  To be perfectly honest, my prayers have been for God to allow the lymph nodes to continue to shrink, and that there would be no further spread of the cancer.  Then at the very end, I would pray for God to completely remove the cancer from my body and work a mighty miracle.  Why were my prayers lacking in the boldness, the honesty, the lay your heart out at His feet?  I don't know, I think I was afraid to ask for too much (crazy I know in my mind, but something I felt in my heart), maybe it was my doctor telling me that pancreatic cancer is incurable, and the best we could hope for would be to get it stable.  There is certainly room for my faith to grow, to learn to trust God to do the mighty things I know He can do.  What I do know is that from now on, I will pray BOLDLY, that God would continue to keep my body free of cancer, that I would grow stronger each day, that the side effects of my continuing chemo would be lessened as we begin to cut back the dose, and that I would look expectantly toward the future, free of fear, would you join me in praying and thanking God for this miracle, and boldly pray, that I will remain cancer-free?

Where do we go from here?  I have been on a chemo regimen of two different drugs.  One is an oral form of a chemo drug that I was on before my surgery.  I will stay on that drug for the near future.  It's most troubling side effect is peripheral neuropathy, a constant tingling and numbness in my fingers and feet.  This keeps me from doing the sewing and hand work that I love, and is made worse by the cold, so walking is difficult because I can't feel my feet strike the ground.  (Hence I now have a handicap parking permit so as to spend as little time in the cold, and avoid a fall....makes me feel old, and yet I am grateful for the chance to be able to get out independently!), The other drug causes my vision problems.  We began cutting that drug back yesterday.  Most patients begin having much more severe side effects with that drug after six months or so of treatment.  I am now in my seventh month, and so thankful to God that I will be able to continue for another month or two.  My next scan will be in three months.

 

Thanksgiving is coming, how appropriate, we will be praising, thanking and GIVING ALL GLORY to God.  Our married kiddos alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and this year they will be in Minnesota for Thanksgiving so we will all be together.  I am so blessed.  We hope to make it to the lake for a "day away".  Christmas will be more low key with two of the three families away, but we are so thankful they get to share Christmas traditions with the "other side of their family".  Letting just the "nose of the cat" out of the bag, we are looking forward to welcoming a new grand baby late this spring; my niece is expecting her first around New Year's Day, and our son's brother and sister in law are expecting their first in May, and cousin, who lives here in Minnesota is expecting her third sweet bundle of boy in late April/early May.  If you know me, you know I treasure the promise of new life, even more so, after the past 14 months.  I look forward to praying over their pregnancies, the transitions to parenthood, welcoming these sweet "gifts from God", and holding, and loving on them.

We got the best news yesterday, better than we expected.  I wasn't fully trusting God, believing "big enough".  He answered my weak prayers, He knew what was one my heart without my even asking.  He heard each of your prayers too.  We are so blessed to be upheld by all of you, praying, believing.  We have, all of us experienced a miracle, yes a miracle, and only God, only God could perform that miracle.  He used His people to be His hands and feet, the doctors, the researchers, the medicines all worked together orchestrated by God, the Healer. 

Please, take a moment to thank God today, and if you would continue to pray BOLDLY that the cancer will not return.  And we would be honored if you would share our story with those who might be blessed by hearing it.

We have been blessed, may God also bless each of you.  May your Thanksgiving celebrations be special times, for those of you traveling, may God keep you safe.

With joy and thanksgiving,

Annie

Quick Update

I just received this quick update from my mom. Thank you for your continued prayers...the days before and after a scan are always a challenge. May each of your hearts be blessed.

 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  Phil. 4:6

That is our prayer for this week.  I have another scan on Monday, November 12th.  Mostly I an overwhelmed with the peace of God that I am experiencing, but I have to be honest, there are times when anxiety and fear creep in.  My chemo cycle this past two weeks has been much better.  I think we are finally beginning to figure out how to medicate to give me the best "quality of life" and I have had more energy to participate in what is going on around me. 

Thank you foryour prayers over the past few weeks, God hears, and thank you for praying over the scan next Monday.  I am so grateful for each and every one of you.  A more detailed update will follow next week after we get the scan results.

Be blessed,

Annie