Sunday, August 29, 2010

Good News!

I had my routine "before chemo office visit" with my oncologist on Friday. It's always nice to be the first patient of the day. Today was my turn. :) Dr. Reed explained that the echo-cardiogram of my heart looked good. Good news, because the Adriamycin is really hard on my body. At times my heart beats rapidly, and I get worn out so easily from it. My blood pressure is usually low, but the Adriamycin has raised it some. The other good news we received was actually the best. You know what they say, save the best for last. So, here it is...The CT scan showed NO TRACES of CANCER. Praise God!!! What wonderful news! I still have two rounds of chemo left to be doubly sure we have missed nothing. So, I will finish my chemo at the end of September. YAAAYYYY!

When I left the West Clinic and went back to my car, I sent text messages to everyone in my phone that has supported our family, if I had a cell number for them. I was about to explode with happiness and gratitude. Then, I called Kevin. Just hearing his voice made me cry. It felt so good to share this moment with him. We both cried, as did our families. When I told Jack, the first thing he did was look at Mrs. Jane, his pre-school teacher and say, "I'm getting a little sister!" Funny. Jack wants a little sister pretty badly right now. He notices babies everywhere. After having two foster sisters and one exchange student sister, Luz Andrea, this past year; Jack pretty much thinks you can go to the store and pick up a sister. So, when he asked for one again recently, I told him that we can't get a baby sister until mommy's cancer is gone. I guess I should have provided more details. I worry that it may be more difficult to pass a home study as a former cancer patient. I told Jack we have to pray to God to help us find the right little girl for our family, just like we prayed for the perfect little boy while waiting for him. The one thing we can't give Jack, that he would have had in his birth families are siblings. Please pray that God will provide one for him to grow up with and for our family to love.


On my way to my parent's house Friday, I saw a rainbow in the sky. It was beautiful. It reminded me of God's promise to never flood the Earth again. This rainbow, however, carried an additional meaning for me as I thought about all the news I had received from Dr. Reed that morning. Please allow me to explain my train of thought...

Thinking of God's promise and the rainbow reminded me of God's instruction to Noah to build the Ark. Noah had faith in God, and he did. He didn't wait for the floods. He had blind faith. Noah told others about what he was doing, which means to me that he would have welcomed them on his life raft. They chose not to believe him. This led me to think about the rainbow even more. What this rainbow inspired me to consider was that the rainbow is also a reminder that God Provides. God provides what we need. He provided the forewarning, the materials, and the know-how for Noah to build the Ark. God provided the strength and support my family needed to get through our cancer tribulations. He has provided every single thing we've needed on this journey. So, the next time you see a rainbow, remember that God Provides. 

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Cindy!

Unknown said...

Yea! This is such good news. Hang in there--the worst is almost over.

Melanie said...

YEA...again! :)

Interestingly, I've seen a lot of rainbows lately. It must be good news for me, too. I loved your analogy. Thank you!

Kim said...

That is wonderful! What great news after a difficult time for you and your family. I think of you often, God Bless!

Jennifer Smolka said...

I miss you and loved getting this message from Deb today! (BIG hug!)