May 27, 2009

I just finished watching the Red Wings beat Chicago in 5 games--in overtime. I'm a bit of a hockey-freak so hockey will take precedence over a lot of stuff, but tonight we had the whole family (except Michelle who's still at school doing a student teaching thing) sitting on the couch enjoying the game. That included Anne, me, Heather and Anne's mom and dad. Thankfully, they won early in overtime so I can get to bed for work tomorrow (office--yuk).

Anne is doing great--still feeling well and eating better. Unfortunately, she couldn't have her chemotherapy on Tuesday because her white blood cells (WBCs) were too low--a consequence of the chemo unfortunately. Funny, she thought they gave her a placebo 2 weeks ago because she felt so good after the chemo, but obviously they didn't and it suppressed her bone marrow. Her hemoglobin is down too, which probably explains a bit of loss of stamina. Fortunately, it also means that the chemo is working--it is most likely attacking the tumor cells big-time as well as her bone marrow since they are faster-growing cells. They'll try again on Monday of next week, so please pray that her bone marrow kicks into high gear and pumps out those WBCs.

Anne's brother John will be back on the schedule for his back surgery next week. We'll pray that they don't cancel him again and that everything goes well for him. Greg has been doing well since his surgery too.

This following passage continued the theme of my last blog:

Hebrews 10:35-36:

So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you! Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.

If we don't keep faith in God we will be missing out on so much. A dear friend of mine (a lot of my patients are now friends), lost his wife nearly 3 years ago. They had a marriage like mine and Anne's, but unfortunately, his faith was no where near as strong, and he has fallen away from God. He is very alone and uncomforted, and I feel terribly for him. I'm hoping that over time (maybe on a trip to Nigeria with me?) he will regain his faith and understand that God didn't hurt him--and never would. But He promises us great rewards (Heaven) because He loves us so much. One of Anne's cousins recently went through some family health issues, and like Anne, her faith got her through those hard times and got stronger as well. God Bless her and all of you.

Tony