Monday, August 16, 2010

Houston

Another long overdue post. My time to write gets shorter and shorter as little Eva chose 6 months of age as her preferred time to start crawling/scooting/dragging herself across the floor. Whatever you call it, she gets where she wants to go, and she does so rather quickly. Un momento as I go redirect her toward toys and away from electrical outlets...

Anyway, I wanted to let you all know a couple of things.
1. My tumor markers continue to go down. Praise God!
2. Wednesday and Thursday of this week I go to M.D. Anderson for a CT scan (Wednesday afternoon) and an appointment with Dr. Varadhachary (Thursday morning). Matt is coming with me, and Eva is staying with Grandma Jeanette.

Please pray for our trip and the results of the scan. I am believing wholeheartedly that eventually my body will catch up with what my spirit already knows, and I will have a clean bill of health. I am praying that this would be the scan that shows I am cancer-free. Please join me in that prayer.

Also, as mentioned on this blog before, I have pain that has come and gone away twice now in my upper left abdomen. The timing of it is bizarre (it comes 1 week before I have chemo, and goes away when I get chemo). I talked to a nurse practitioner (Kristi) today, and she thought it could be related to the Neulasta injection that I get after chemo to boost my blood counts, because it can possibly cause spleen enlargement. But she seemed to think it was bizarre timing for it to be that. She offered no other suggestions though. Let me for one moment vent. I am SO SICK OF BEING A MEDICAL MYSTERY. But I have to just thank God that He knows all things, and that He is trustworthy and with me on this insane journey. That being said, the end of this week or early next week when the pain would be "due" to return, and I am just praying against that. I don't care what it's from, I refuse to let pain rule my life.

Oh, another piece of good news to share. I had my 4th round of chemo on Aug 5th, and this time the recovery has been the best yet. I had less nausea, very little loss of appetite, and less of the other horrid side effects that have accompanied my chemo in the past. Especially since I'm told that chemo side effects are often cumulative (they get worse each time) I find this awesome. I believe that God is carrying me through this and that is why it is not effecting me nearly as badly as it could.

So that's the update. A HUGE thank you to everyone for your continued support and prayers. For those who make meals or come to be with me and Eva after chemo, you are my angels. To my mom and Jeanette for sacrificing SO MUCH for us, you are amazing and I love you so much.

I will post more after I return from Houston. Bye for now!

4 comments:

  1. I love you Rachel and am agreeing with you in your prayer!!! You are amazing...and I still have your bday card and present here! Grrrr! Praying for a nice trip for you and Matt.

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  2. Yes, thanks for the update and we'll be praying about your trip to Houston and looking forward to good news of what God is doing!

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  3. I'm glad to hear that this most recent round of chemo did not have as extreme of side effects as the previous. I hope that continues to be the case, although I hope even more that you find out in Houston that you do not need any more chemo!

    How exciting that Eva is reaching a new stage in her life!

    I will still be in London while you and Matt are down in Houston this time, but if you need any help with anything, don't hesitate to give Jared a call.

    Your faith and attitude are truly inspirational. Thank you for updating the blog!

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  4. I am praying for you sweetie. You are so brave and strong!! God will see you through this. Let us know the results when you get back. Stop by Froedtert's GI Lab when you get a chance...I want to give you a big hug!!!...and bring that beautuful baby along too! :) xoxo

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