Magic Tricks

Hello, and good Thursday to all!

Not only is this the day after "Hump" Day, and six days away from my next treatment, but it also was the day of my first follow-up with Dr Felice, our oncologist, since we began treatment.

After taking my vitals (all good - even the temperature and weight), the doc came in and we discussed the first round.  He listened as we described the fevers of Sunday and Monday, the antibiotic INOVA Fair Oaks (not Fairfax, I've been corrected) gave me, the fatigue through the day Monday and Tuesday, and the possible near-miss with diarrea yesterday.

"It's kind of like having a baby."  He said.  By which he meant not a physical comparison between my circumstance and a woman giving birth, but rather that this is all new, uncharted territory for us, just as it was when we brought our firstborn home from the hospital.  We spent a lot of time looking at each other with the old University of South Carolina "salute" (a shrug of the shoulders, a puzzled look, and a "huh?"), but over time we learned what we should do in response to this new one who made so many demands on us.  And just so I give Aaron and Rachael equal due, each one of our children are unique in the way God them, and we had the same response at first:  "What were we thinking?"  (That's a joke.)

He explained that the likely scenario is "tumor fever," brought on when the cells die and release protein into the blood stream causing fever.  So I am stopping the antibiotic and we'll see if the fever returns.  If tumor fever it is, then it should lessen over the treatment schedule.  He ordered a  blood sample to check the red blood cell/white blood cell/platelet count.  All showed a slight decrease (expected), but still well within the normal range, which is to say that after the first round my numbers are good.

Next we talked about the last MRI, the one to focus on the spot highlighted on my back on the PET scan.  He brought in model of the vertebra, and indicated that the tiny spot is on a process (I think the right or costal) which is the wing-like structure on the posterior side of the vertebra.  He did not indicate that it was pushing into the nerve, as we had thought.  And he has given us a referal to a radiation oncologist that we will call to set up a consultation appointment with.  Remember we thought that this particular Chemo therapy could not be done with radition.  Well, it can, but modified.  Dr Felice believes a focused attack on this one cell (the only one on the bone) to kill this disease there (theoretically) for good is the best approach given this disease.

Then, after the visit was over, Dr Felice asked us if he'd ever showed us a trick before.  We said, "No," and he pulled from his lab coat a card holder with eight cards:  four King of hearts, four King of clubs.  For the next five to ten minutes he performed several variations of hearts changing to clubs or clubs changing to hearts.  He didn't tell us how he did it, of course, but he acknowledged the sleight of hand.  While we enjoyed the diversion and I was left wanting to learn how, there is something I can take away from this that is so much more than the trick.

We see God's work all round us in ways we don't even "see."  Just this week, I've experienced at least three examples that I can readily name.  How do we recognize God's hand?  Know God and what he is about:    All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us m the message of reconciliation.  (2 Corinthians 5:18-19)  This is God's continuing work, through us here, even as we pray Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

Do we see and not believe?