UPDATE ON LINDA AND JACKIE...

Linda was finally able to go home from hospice because she was medically stable and her husband, Clark, was able to take care of her--what an answer to prayer!  She is more alert but unable to talk very well except in one-two word phrases on a good day.  She is able to communicate via of a picture board which is very helpful to Clark to know what she wants.  He is so patient and reading their carepage is like reading a love story--it is so touching to see how his love for her is so evident by his actions and words.  I know it gives her strength to fight this terrible disease.  She had an experience with angels that he talks about in her carepage.  She has been so close to death and is able to tell him what she has seen...So many prayers have been answered and there is a reason she is still with us! 


http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lindarobertson

Jackie is home now and receiving chemo twice a week.  She is getting stronger everyday but her kidneys aren't doing the greatest.  She is trying to get swelling to go down in legs and hands as well as stay up and build up her strength.  Her sons are taking care of things and doing quite well.  They have grown up and become so responsible through her whole ordeal.  She told me she is going to celebrate the gift of life with a very simple Thanksgiving this year with her sons.  She is such an inspiration to me! 

Please continue to keep them in your prayers and pray for an end to cancer! 

Celebrate the gift of life in a simple way this year!  Don't do quite as much as you normally do and take time to enjoy your life and those around you--It is not easy with the holiday rush and never-ending lists of things to do but take time to focus on what is important--not urgent-- There is a difference.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all--

A YEAR AGO TODAY...11/6/2009

A year ago today I was diagnosed with breast cancer--what a year it has been.  So much to be thankful for and yet this "bump in the road" has not come with some adjustments that are continuing to be made....  I have been reflecting alot this week.  I could not do that without being so grateful to the Breast Center at SEMC--especially Terri Bogan, my nurse navigator, and her sweet comforting spirit as well as  Dr. Guenther ( I just love that man!)  and Dr. Williams (my perfectionist plastic surgeon)...My gratitude and love is never-ending towards Wayne, my husband, and his support and willingness to do what has been very difficult at times.  His understanding and patience with me on this journey still continues and I am so glad.  I know without a doubt I have married the right person :)  So thankful for my mom and dad's support and help with the kids as well as my friends--all the meals, prayers and extra help to cover for me at work...it made it so much easier for me and my family this past year.  Wayne continues to make my coffee every morning because he realized how much I loved that during my recovery from surgery. ( He thinks I was a princess in a former life...ha!)  As I have said before, there are some good things that can come out of the bad....LOL

As I look back on my journal entry from last year on November 6th I see how God has brought me through this...I don't normally share my journal with people because there are some things in there that might get me committed to the nearest psych unit but not these...I think about how good God is when I read these---

11/6/2009--( The day I was diagnosed with breast cancer--before and after)
God,
YOU never take your eye off of me--or the clock ticking over me---YOU love me and YOU are hard at work in my life--What are you trying to teach me with this little detour?  Satan seeks to destroy, steal our lives and everything of value to us--Jesus' purpose is to give life in all of it fullness--Satan can't win in this situation and I can't lose--no matter what the results are--I belong to God--Help me live it and believe it! EVERY DECISION IS FROM THE LORD--He is more that able to deliver me...no matter what happens!
What are YOU trying to teach me God?  I am trying to be open...to the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life...this detour has made me think...it is constantly on my mind--what would I get rid of in my life if I got diagnosed with cancer...something to think about, isn't it?  I have so many mixed emotions about it!  I can't even write about them for fear I would be feeding the emotions that aren't healthy --No matter what happens today--I will be OK--Wayne and I will be OK--He has been so supportive--He loves me and I know and feel that it will never go away--what a blessing that is to me :) I have been in situations where it is the opposite and I don't ever what to be in that again--Thank you Lord for giving Him to me--
God, I am praying for good news--I need to be here for my kids---In Your Name, Jennifer

God,
Not the news I really wanted to hear but there are good news--99.9% curable--STAGE 0 CANCER--NON-INVASIVE (so far)---we are focusing on that!  What an exhausting weekend it has been--mentally exhausting--I think I could sleep all day--Telling other people close to me and putting this on their plate is just not fair!
The lessons I need to learn are there--Help me to be open to them--Give me the stamina to do what I need to do to take care of myself--physically, mentally and emotionally--I want to look back on this as a positive in my life and my families' life--only YOU can do that--Keep me positive, focused and whatever I can do to fight this, I want to do it---
I need to get rid of stuff in my life that just doesn't matter--give me guidance in those decisions I need to make-I need to live in the present more and take advantages of opportunities around me to connect to people--my family, friends and those that have been walked this journey before me.  I know that will be positive and helpful...In Your Name, Jennifer
___________________________________
This morning Wayne surprised me and brought me my coffee and my favorite breakfast, a protein bar, while I was still in bed. He wished me a happy cancer-free anniversary...He remembers too how our life was turned upside down a year ago today----He told me he has made reservations at one of my favorite restaurants, Behle St Cafe, for tonight (what a sweet man he is!).  We are going to celebrate where we are today--being cancer-free and being more aware of what is most important to us and trying to live life like that everyday...even though somedays it is not easy--God is so good!

FOLLOW-UP with DR. WILLIAMS....

This week I had a three month follow-up visit with Dr. Williams, my plastic surgeon.  He comes in and says, "Let me take a peek!"  Seriously, I think he could choose better wording.  He then says, " I do believe this is as good as it is going to get..."  (I am not sure how to take that!)  He announces to Polly, the nurse, that it is time for pictures...another thing that is so much fun! I call them my "porn" pictures---didn't know we were going to do that today.  The good thing is that it doesn't matter if I smile or not...they are only taken from the neck down.  I seriously believe that they should give medication prior to that....you have to laugh or you would run out of there and never come back!  He says that my scars are in Stage 2 of healing...they will blend in with my skin in the next year...I go back in six months unless I decide to go back and have the final touches.  That would require more outpatient surgery so for right now, I am good :)  He said I am a patient for life...after this next visit, I will come back every two years for a follow-up exam...

Continue to pray for an end to cancer and for my friend, Linda---she is still fighting for her life but now she is unable to speak at all and she wants to...how frustrating!  She is in hospice with family and friends around her...her husband would like prayers from all over going up for Linda and their family...

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lindarobertson

My friend and neighbor, Jackie, is in the hospital dealing with symptoms of renal failure.  Her multiple myeloma has morphed into another type of cancer that is growing rapidly and her system is unable to handle it.  She has been fighting this cancer since 2002 and I have seen her go  through three stem cell transplants, chemotherapy multiple times , radiation and broken bones from her bones being so weak with this blood cancer.  She is receiving chemotherapy, getting fluids to get her kidneys to work better and her heart is being monitored as she is at risk for heart attack with all the fluid that is building up in her body.  She has been such a fighter :) My last visit with her she was so bummed...and so tired...Pray that God gives her physical and emotional strength that can only come from Him--Pray the chemotherapy will help control the cancer so her kidneys will function better...and she can come home. 

Thank you for your prayers! 

PRAY FOR PEACE AND COMFORT

My friend, Linda, is fighting for her life in hospice and has been since last Thursday...her family and friends surround her.  She is mostly unresponsive but occasionally will respond with squeezing someone's hand, mouthing words and pointing to things in the room.  Her medical needs have become more than what her family can handle at home.  Please pray for peace and comfort for Linda and her family.  I think about her all the time and my heart goes out to them.  If we could wrap our head around what heaven was really like...how would our attitudes change about our loved ones going there?....no suffering, no pain, no sadness, no crying and no cancer...if we could only imagine...

 I CAN ONLY IMAGINE by MERCYME