Dear all,
We're coming up to chemo round #9 this week. Rob is scheduled to go into hospital tonight and have his treatment tomorrow. Things have been going really well, Rob has enjoyed a short burst of energy in between his last few treatments and we can honestly say that after every treatment so far he is improving in physical strength. So thankful!
We met with our doctor this week to hear more about the results of the CT scan that Rob had two weeks ago. Dr. Wong is extremely happy with the way things are going, the scan showed that the cancer has not progressed at all, that it is stable. We asked again about the possibility of surgery and Dr. Wong said that the tumor would have to shrink a significant amount yet before that is an option. Of course while we would have liked to hear that the tumor has shrunk significantly, the doctors are happy with how its going and we are too.
People often ask us how many more rounds of chemo there will be and like we explain every time, we simply don't know. The doctor doesn't know, and we don't know. The plan is to continue with this treatment until the cancer has shrunk; and if at one point they detect that the tumor isn't responding to this chemo, they will switch it over to a different regiment of drugs and keep going. As you can imagine, the not-knowing of any type of time frame can sometimes be harder to deal with than to know. We ask for your prayers that in this we also may put our complete faith and trust in God's promises and that He will continue to give us peace and strength for the journey yet ahead.
Another step forward for which we are thankful is that we have completely moved back to our house! If all goes well and as planned, we are switching treatments over to a different hospital closer to home. Rob will still remain under the care of our doctor here at St. B, but in a effort for us to be more self-sufficient we are going to be seeing more of Boundary Trails Health Center which is closer to home. Rob has chemo every 2 weeks, and so he is knocked down and out for pretty much a full week after his treatment. By the time he builds back his energy a little bit, he only has a couple of days to enjoy before it is time to head back in for another treatment. We are looking forward to being able to be at our home for this whole time period then, especially as we are looking at a indefinite amount of chemo treatments to come. We are appreciative of all the people who would like to pop by for a quick visit, please be patient with us! We do miss seeing everyone, but since Rob has only such a short time while he's actually feeling okay, the visits are kept to a minimum for now.
We are still so thankful and always encouraged by all those who think and pray for us. God has indeed been merciful to Rob, answering the prayers of all those asking for some healing. We ask that you will please continue to remember him in your prayers, for we know that God hears them and has blessed us. In all things we know that He has a purpose for us, and we pray that that purpose might be fulfilled and that in due time Robs health may be restored to him.
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
Update #17
Family and friends,
Very close to 5months ago I started a blog and wrote about the path God has placed us on, well we spent the past weekend in our own home for the first time since that first blog post. God indeed has been merciful to us to allow us to go home together even if it is only for the weekend (although it was a long weekend, from Friday to Tuesday). It has not always been an easy path these past 5 months with its many ups and downs yet through it all God has watched over us and given us all that we stood in need of. We do not know when this specific journey of health concerns will be over but we trust in God and His unfailing promises He spoke in His word that He will neither leave us or forsake us. He is indeed faithful, no matter where this path continues to go, we will put our trust and hope in Him alone.
Thus far our faithful Father has blessed the work of the doctors and I continue to slowly feel better and gain more strength back. I am scheduled to go back to the hospital on Wednesday night and will receive another round of chemo on Thursday and the plan is to leave the hospital again on Friday sometime. The plan was last time I was admitted for chemo that I would have a CT scan but that never happened so Felicia and I are hoping that happens this week so that at least we will have a better idea of where things are. There is not any other news to share at this time. We continue to ask for your much needed prayers as we continue on this path, prayers for strength but also for healing.
Saturday, 2 March 2013
Update #16
Dear family and friends,
The last round of chemo went very well and Rob came home the next day. And now so quickly the next round is coming up in this week ahead. We are very thankful with how things have gone, Rob has been blessed with good health and we are praying that this continues so chemo may not be pushed back. In the meantime we are enjoying the ability to have a routine at 'home' and enjoy being in the midst of a family environment. Rob and I even had the opportunity to enjoy our first date again in 4 months, we took a drive out to a local park together! We could not have been more thankful that this opportunity was available to us again, we are so grateful for how far Rob has progressed and look forward to getting out a bit more as Rob builds up his strength.
Chemo is scheduled for next week thursday, 5 days from now. There will be a change made with one of the 3 drugs that he is receiving; one will be switched to a different kind of drug that is less toxic to the heart. Rob will also be having another CT scan done with this coming treatment so we are praying for good results this time as well. Dr. Wong mentioned that if the tumor has shrunk again, it may be time to start thinking about talking with the surgeons. This is another step forward and we ask for your prayers as we look ahead to this possibility. We realize there is no guarantee about any of this, but Rob is in the care of the Great Physician and we have the comfort and peace that He is working for our good.
Time goes so fast to us, which may be a surprise for you to hear. The days and weeks whip by, even so that it only just sunk in for Rob that he was in the hospital for 4 months, which is a third of a year! There have been so many hard days, yet we can see in it all to so many blessings!
Phillipians 4: 4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
The last round of chemo went very well and Rob came home the next day. And now so quickly the next round is coming up in this week ahead. We are very thankful with how things have gone, Rob has been blessed with good health and we are praying that this continues so chemo may not be pushed back. In the meantime we are enjoying the ability to have a routine at 'home' and enjoy being in the midst of a family environment. Rob and I even had the opportunity to enjoy our first date again in 4 months, we took a drive out to a local park together! We could not have been more thankful that this opportunity was available to us again, we are so grateful for how far Rob has progressed and look forward to getting out a bit more as Rob builds up his strength.
Chemo is scheduled for next week thursday, 5 days from now. There will be a change made with one of the 3 drugs that he is receiving; one will be switched to a different kind of drug that is less toxic to the heart. Rob will also be having another CT scan done with this coming treatment so we are praying for good results this time as well. Dr. Wong mentioned that if the tumor has shrunk again, it may be time to start thinking about talking with the surgeons. This is another step forward and we ask for your prayers as we look ahead to this possibility. We realize there is no guarantee about any of this, but Rob is in the care of the Great Physician and we have the comfort and peace that He is working for our good.
Time goes so fast to us, which may be a surprise for you to hear. The days and weeks whip by, even so that it only just sunk in for Rob that he was in the hospital for 4 months, which is a third of a year! There have been so many hard days, yet we can see in it all to so many blessings!
Phillipians 4: 4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Update #15
Dear family and friends,
We are so thankful to let you know as of Monday that Rob is discharged out of hospital! After both his chest tubes came out the only issue left was for him to gain enough strength to be home. We decided to test-drive it first, so Rob got out on a day pass both this past Saturday and Sunday and things went so well that he got discharged on Monday! After 76 days of being in hospital since his last time out the hospital, without even so much a whiff of our fresh Manitoban winter air, this was quite a welcome blessing.
His next chemo treatment is scheduled for next week wednesday. This will be a 2 night stay in the hospital and will be #5 of this treatment. We are so thankful for how things have progressed and that we can be at this point in our journey. We are enjoying our time with Rob's parents in their home; while for now we have no plans, we look forward to the possibility of going to our home in Carman in the future.
We thank our God for the wonderful progress with Robs health and we continue to look to Him for a blessing yet on Rob and pray that his body may keep responding to the chemo and he may regain more strength. Thank you all who continue to remember him in prayer, we appreciate that more than you can know.
Psalm 136: 1-3
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Update #14
Dear family and friends,
Weeks pass by before we know it and its high time for another quick update! It has been 2 weeks and 1 day since Robs last chemo treatment, which he received right after the last update. Rob was very tired and feeling quite nauseous for pretty much a straight week after the treatment. But since then there has been some significant progress happening for which we are so grateful! His physical strength is really coming along and after not walking for over a month, he is now almost ready for the Boston Marathon! (Well, not quite but we are very pleased with progress! :) Other great news is that his left chest tube came out last wednesday. This really sped along his mobility, and now actually today after an x-ray they told us that they are taking out his right chest tube as well! Yay! This is indeed an answer to prayers. We never cease to stand amazed at how far Rob has come from being so sick, and yet when we think of all the prayers that have gone to our Heavenly Father we are reminded of Who is in control. What a comfort and such a reason for thankfulness!
As I write this Rob has almost completed another round of chemo today; things have gone that well that Dr. Wong is comfortable continuing right along with this same type of chemo every two weeks. The plan is that he will have 6 doses in total of these drugs (today will be number 4) and after that if all goes well after that to switch to a different combination of drugs for further chemo.
It is our prayer that things keep improving in the next couple days, the doctors have mentioned the 'home' word and we are hoping this comes speedily! We will wait and see how this round of chemo affects Rob but are quite hoping that at least he can get a day pass by this weekend.
Someone passed along this verse to us written by Helen Steiner Rice - says it so well:
"It fills me with you just to linger with You
as my soul You replenish and my heart You renew,
for prayer is much more than just asking for things -
its the peace and contentment that quietness brings.
based on Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord, your God, is in your midst...
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will renew you in His love."
Weeks pass by before we know it and its high time for another quick update! It has been 2 weeks and 1 day since Robs last chemo treatment, which he received right after the last update. Rob was very tired and feeling quite nauseous for pretty much a straight week after the treatment. But since then there has been some significant progress happening for which we are so grateful! His physical strength is really coming along and after not walking for over a month, he is now almost ready for the Boston Marathon! (Well, not quite but we are very pleased with progress! :) Other great news is that his left chest tube came out last wednesday. This really sped along his mobility, and now actually today after an x-ray they told us that they are taking out his right chest tube as well! Yay! This is indeed an answer to prayers. We never cease to stand amazed at how far Rob has come from being so sick, and yet when we think of all the prayers that have gone to our Heavenly Father we are reminded of Who is in control. What a comfort and such a reason for thankfulness!
As I write this Rob has almost completed another round of chemo today; things have gone that well that Dr. Wong is comfortable continuing right along with this same type of chemo every two weeks. The plan is that he will have 6 doses in total of these drugs (today will be number 4) and after that if all goes well after that to switch to a different combination of drugs for further chemo.
It is our prayer that things keep improving in the next couple days, the doctors have mentioned the 'home' word and we are hoping this comes speedily! We will wait and see how this round of chemo affects Rob but are quite hoping that at least he can get a day pass by this weekend.
Someone passed along this verse to us written by Helen Steiner Rice - says it so well:
"It fills me with you just to linger with You
as my soul You replenish and my heart You renew,
for prayer is much more than just asking for things -
its the peace and contentment that quietness brings.
based on Zephaniah 3:17 "The Lord, your God, is in your midst...
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will renew you in His love."
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