Good morning friends and family –
Wow. Your words of encouragement have been much appreciated. Thank you. If I can be praying for you or your family for anything, please let me know.
Our visit yesterday with Dr. Mahmoud was good – very informative. Things will get started quickly. He wants me to do an aggressive treatment of immunotherapy, which seems a bit daunting with the possible side effects. My first treatment will be tomorrow. I will have the next one three weeks later along with a consult with a surgical oncologist to possibly resect the remaining cancerous lymph nodes. I will have 4 cycles of immunotherapy every 3 weeks and then continue a lesser treatment for a year. I have a brain scan next week to ensure that it has not metastasized there, but Dr. Mahmoud doesn’t believe we will see anything there. Josh and I have agreed that this plan for treatment is the best choice. We will take things one day at a time.
I was recently reminded of God’s provision for the Israelites after he freed them from captivity in Egypt. He provided for them in the desert with manna from heaven. They could only gather what they needed for that day. They had to take it one day at a time. God is showing me that He will supply every need for each step of this journey and that I must be faithful one day at a time. When my mind starts to get too far down the road, it gets big and scary. But God already knows just what is ahead and it’s not mine to worry about.
When Jesus teaches the disciples to pray, He also instructs them to pray for their daily bread. This is also a good reminder that our reliance on God is daily, moment by moment. And prayer is the spiritual sustenance by which we are sustained, as well.
And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
My mom is staying with us right now and will continue on through the weekend. My sister, Jamie, came over for dinner last night. We had a nice evening visiting and looking through photo albums as my mom is planning my dad’s memorial taking place next month. I am thankful my mom is able to come stay. We were gifted a queen size bed from a family at church (thank you God!) and turned Elena’s room into a guestroom space.
I think that’s all for now – thanks for reading this.