Ninety-two

My, my, my! How things do turn! One minute you are thinking, feeling, expecting according to particular plans or circumstances, and the next everything has changed completely. Such turn-on-a-dime occurrences often leave us scratching our heads, trying to understand the mysteries of the events making up our life.

I spent the day today at a "training session" to better understand Federal regulations affecting part of my operations. Cynth and I were concerned (she more than me) about the pain and discomfort I had been feeling lately, but I had been scheduled for this before all this pain, and I really needed to attend since I had developed the policy designed to ensure compliance. As I was en route, Cynth requested prayer for the travel and for my comfort. I can tell you that the travel was great, and the discomfort I did experience was nearly non-existent. The training, while serving to confirm much of what I already understood, provided some great tools as my operating moves forward. All of this, though, was overshadowed by the thirty minute lunch.

Late in the morning session I received a phone call from a number I did not recognize. When I got to the message, it was Dr Felice. I knew that Cynth was to call him to ask the questions we posed last Friday and for which we still had not received any answers. By the time I talked to Cynth, she had already talked to Dr Felice.  The formal report of the 23 August scan was not complete when we met with Dr Felice on 26 August, but we got a copy last Wednesday. To recap our questions, the things of note were included possible lesions in both lungs, a spot on the right kidney, something about the bladder, in addition to the cancer that was already known. Our understanding until today was that there was no new cancer and no growth in the cancer that we knew about, a report that we were very thankful for.

Today, though, brought a different story. Cynth had called to ask about the pain and discomfort as well as the answers we were seeking about the report and the CEA score. So Dr Felice tells Cynth that the CEA score and the liver enzymes were significantly down from their high level when we began treatment. In addition, the cancer on the L1 is healing on it's own. Dr Felice's assessment is that we are moving in the right direction, and so treatment will continue through the end of the year.

I can only say that It is God who has wrought these results, just as is God who has been my strength and peace every step of this journey. And it is God who will be always my strength and peace through the coming months, for as long as I have breath. I cannot do anything but continue to give this disease, my treatment, and the outcome all to God. He gets all of my despair, frustration, anger and doubt, just as he has since before this disease was even a worry.  And so whether good days or bad days, whether gripped by fear, or overflowing with peace, I will rejoice in God my rock, my salvation.

Almost forgot.  Today is the ninety-second day since we learned that there was something serious going on with me (9 June).  I still marvel at the passage of the time over these three months.

An item of note: I had earlier asked you all to include Olivia in your prayers. The news is that her condition was not serious as they had feared. But please continue to pray for all those I mentioned to you, as you pray for me moving forward for these coming months.

And praise be to our God and Father from whom comes all good gifts, and his Son our Lord Messiah Jesus and the Spirit who is his agent for his sanctification.  May I be faithful in all that he has for me to do.