The Storms Are Coming!!

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. AND THE RAIN FELL, AND THE FLOODS CAME, AND THE WINDS BEAT ON THAT HOUSE, BUT IT DID NOT FALL, BECAUSE IT HAD BEEN FOUNDED ON THE ROCK.” Matthew 7:26

There have been more storms this spring than I can remember having in a long time. The rainfall for this spring is way above average.  Last night was no exception as I was dashing in and out of the house grilling up some burgers, dodging debris and raindrops. Things that I’ve noticed about the storms is that they are generally considered destructive in nature and most people hide from them. Storms are unpredictable. The same storm that was hitting my house was also hitting every house in Wentzville and no one can stop them. They are powerful, awesome and often leave a path of mayhem behind them. It seems our best efforts when it comes to storms is to prepare for them.  

A few years ago, I convinced a couple of my kids to set up a tent in the backyard and stay in the tent to see how they would fare during a little spring squall. Of course, I was supervising this event from my back window, giggling, in safety. The winds picked up, the rain came down the next thing I knew they abandoned ship and made a mad dash to the back door laughing so hard they couldn’t breathe!! I found myself chasing a tent through the backyard while drowning from the amount of rain that was coming down. It was hilarious but insightful. There wasn’t any loss while being foolish in this situation. We learned tents aren’t good structures for withstanding storms and tent pegs at holding them down to the foundation.

Last night the Lord reminded me of this scripture in Matthew 7 as I looked out my window and saw the same storm that was hitting my house was also hitting the houses all around me. Jesus did not teach us that storms might come or if they come. Jesus’s words where more directly related to WHEN THEY COME. Everyone has or will either go through storms. Some storms are more intense than others, but the storms are coming, and He indicates that we obey his words and what he says more than the storm itself. Jesus was a “prepper”. LOL!!

The bad news is that we are still in the storm. Angela and I headed down to Barnes for her CT and Pelvic Scan around 7am in morning, praying out loud to God and thanking him for his goodness and kindness. The tests were completed with no complications and we were able get some breakfast in our bellies. We’ve been very hopeful that God used the “Kitchen Sink Chemo” to cure her or at least reduce the size of the 12.5 cm mass in her right lung along with destroying the smaller masses.  Angela has been feeling so good this week and even told her mom that she was almost feeling normal. The cough has greatly reduced, and she hasn’t taken any morphine today because she said she hasn’t needed it. When I dropped her off in front of the hospital to get checked in at the radiology department, she decided to briskly take a steep flight of stairs. When she got to the top, she said she was feeling pretty good with no shortness of breath. All great and hopeful signs, right!?!?              

We were able to get in to see the doctor and his team around 11:30am. The first doctor that came in was a partner of Dr. Van Tine and she started to ask questions about whether or not Angela was having any increase in symptoms or new symptoms developing. My heart jumped inside me with “oh no!” as did Angela’s. I knew what she was getting at. We were about to give us more bad news. The doctor went on and explained that the 12.5 cm mass has not decreased in size and that the smaller masses have not shrunk either. The chemotherapy had not given the results we had been hoping for and our hearts sunk with disappointment. Dr. Van Tines came in later to explain that he believes that though the tumor has not grown in size, he believes that it has grown in density, to put it in layman terms. It appears that the low-density areas in the tumor itself are filling in with new growth which he seemed to be a bit perplexed concerned about. Of course, we were all disappointed to hear this.

The good news is that the doctors are still very hopeful as they have a clinical trial that they’ve been working on for several years! They have several patients who are experiencing good results from it and believe that Angela would be a good fit to participate in it. The better news is that we are even more hopeful as we look to Jesus who is guiding our steps!!! They look to medicine and treatments, but we trust what God says when He says that He is the one gives life and breath. Thanks to God that we have medicine! Its what he has used to keep me alive for so many years!! But ultimately, he’s is the healer and he uses whatever means he desires to heal. In John 9, where the man who was born blind and the disciples questioned Jesus on why the man was born that way, Jesus used His spit and dirt (mud) to heal the man when he rubbed it on his eyes and told the man to go wash them. Jesus can use whatever he wants to heal people or he can use nothing at all, but in this case, he used MUD of all things. Some people he healed he just spoke a word over them and they were healed. We believe that he did this to show us his power and that him that heals, not the method. If it was the mud that healed the blind man we would go get mud instead of going to him. Ours hearts are bent to stray away from him. 

LMS, from what I’ve researched, is not a cancer that responds to chemotherapy and radiation, when it is traditionally used the way it was on Angela. The best way to address a sarcoma is to have it surgically removed. In Angela’s case is was not an option due to the size and location. They literally gave her some of the harshest t regiment (I call it the Kitchen Sink Chemo) that gives the highest rate of effectiveness against cancer and it didn’t work. Radiation also doesn’t have a good rate of success and the option hasn’t even been explored, yet, probably because of its ineffectiveness.

The doctor’s want to place Angela on a clinical trial to try and treat the cancer as stated before. It’s currently being used on approximately 30 other patients and he and his team are happy with the results. The treatment entails 2 types of chemo drugs compounded with a drug that suppresses an amino acid in cells throughout the body. In theory, the cancer doesn’t rebound from the suppression as does the normal cells in the body, thus weakening it, making the chemo more effective. Of course, Angela signed the consent forms to be treated. The doctor we have is one of the leading sarcoma doctors in the world and is respected internationally. With that title, we trust him and his team. We really have no choice but to trust that God, in his sovereignty, placed people in our lives to help us get through this.

More great news is that the regiment of chemo is not going to be so hard on her mentally, physically and emotionally. She will do Chemo for only a few hours on Wednesdays at Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis. She will do two, three-week cycles and then have another CT scan and testing from progress. Her next Chemo Cycle will officially June 26, 2019. The week before they will give her the injection that depletes or suppresses the targeted amino acid. She has a couple of weeks off to wash her body of the chemo she just did and we’re hopeful that she will gain strength as she goes in for the next round.

Continue to pray for her healing!! God is not absent or sleeping!! He is working and moving in our lives!! Our faith is being refined as sin and fear are being purged out of us. We know him which is so much better that knowing about Him. I'm so glad I've had a lung transplant rather than just knowing about one. Knowing him is life changing!! He is our only hope in the STORMS of life!! We are so blessed to have your prayers and support and we love you!!

The Storms Are Coming!! Are you Prepared?