Treatment Begins

April 24, 2010

“Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” I Thessalonians 5:16-18.

I start with my verse because I need to constantly remind myself of what it tells me. If I am honest, I will admit there are days where I don’t feel joyful, when I feel if I am poked or cut one more time I will lose it. But I also know that I have to go to my Lord. If I have learned nothing else these last couple of months, it is that only through Him will I have joy and peace.
He continues to give me those little miracles that remind me of His eternal presence. Last week I went into surgery for my portacath. I was told that it would be scheduled for 9:30 am. This gave me some concern because I tend to get headaches that cause nausea when I go without food or drink for too long. Then they called and said 6:30 and I knew this was the Lord, but about 15 minutes later they called back and said sorry – the procedure would not be until noon and I was not to eat anything after midnight. I texted Lisa and told her to start praying that I would not get a headache. (I have since discovered that I had many people praying for this). Would you believe that my surgery was put off until 2:00 and I never even got a hint of a headache. It was as if the Lord wanted me to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He was in control. Once again he held me by “His strong right hand”.
Now that I have the portacath my treatments can start. I will go into the cancer center on Monday at noon for the beginning of my first round of chemo. They will keep me there and give me the first drug, this is followed by a second drug which, according to them, is administrated within a 15 minute time, then they will give me a pump for the 3rd drug which I will take home with me and let it drip for about 22 hours. I return on Tuesday to go through the same procedure and then on Wednesday they disconnect the pump and I am free for the next week. I will do this for 6 months as long as my counts stay where they need to be. Our prayer now is that this will happen so I can stay on schedule. Keep me in your prayers as I start this process. Today in church a friend gave me a small devotional and the first verse I came across was this: “Be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid…and don’t be frightened, because the LORD your God will go with you. He will not leave you or forget you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 This is what I needed to hear. It never ceases to amaze me how He can speak to me through His word and give me the words I need for the place I am at that day.
Janice