Steps

Its been over 3 weeks since Allison “graduated” and since I’ve posted any updates. I’m not sure why I haven’t posted. Utter exhaustion? Laziness? Depression? I’m not sure, I have always felt “prompted” to post updates, but for some reason I guess I needed to take some time away. Strange but that’s how I’ve felt.

The first 10 days or so following her graduation treatment were pretty rough…extreme weakness, nausea, stomach cramps, bone pain. Then on Friday, March 11, she had a good day, followed by another on Saturday, Sunday and all the next week! Praise our wonderful Lord for days like these! I have promised myself that I wouldn’t take “good” days for granted ever again. He promised He would provide, He promised He would carry us and He has never failed to follow through on those promises.

She’s still got the bone pain in her legs and chest and some swelling in her legs and arms. Dr. Christman sent us to have an ultrasound done on her legs to rule out blood clots (that’s another side effect of chemo). We held our breath, said a prayer and (again) praised God that there wasn’t any blood clots. Hopefully this pain will diminish over time. That’s bothering her more than anything right now.

On Tuesday we visited Dr. Zurenko, her radiation oncologist. He came in, spoke to us for 10 minutes, then scheduled her first appointment for April 4 to be “marked”. On Wednesday, April 6, she will begin the first of her 33 radiation treatments. Every day for 6 and a half weeks. If everything goes as planned I’m calculating her radiation “graduation day” will be Friday, May 13 (yes, Friday the 13th!).

Steps…this trial has been a journey of “steps”. “I found something”…let’s get a biopsy. “I’m sorry to tell you this but…” … dear God, what do we do now? “You need surgery”… “We didn’t get it all”…surgery #2, “…and that’s why I’m recommending chemo”. “When will my hair start falling out?”, “let’s just shave it”, graduation day! Now we take the next step, one in which we’re being told should be easier than some of the previous steps. We’re clinging to that hope.

Blessings upon blessings keep coming…last Wednesday after another amazing choir rehearsal, Tammy comes up and asks how Allison’s week had gone. I told her it had gone really well and that we think she may be rounding the corner to a better health. “I bet you guys would really like to get out of town, huh?”... “Tammy, you don’t know how much I’d like to get away for just a few days.” … “Well that’s why I’m here, I’d like you and Allison and the family to stay in our beach house for Spring Break.” I could hardly contain the tears of overwhelming joy that I felt. When I got home I told Allison….more tears. Yes, tears of happiness but also tears of a humbling realization that we are truly loved and that people are continuing to be blessed through our circumstances. God WILL bring glory to Himself and he WILL do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. Believe it… oh how He does indeed enjoy “showing off”!