Titus 3:3-7 "For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
Today is Resurrection Sunday, also known as Easter. This is the most important day for us as we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ from the grave. Death could not hold Him in the grave! He conquered sin and death and satisfied the payment for sin once and for all. He was the perfect sacrificial lamb, who suffered a terrible death in our place. But thanks be to God, the story doesn't end there and He rose victorious on the third day! Those who put their hope and trust in what Christ did for them, seeing their need for a Savior, to confess and believe in what He did for them, we have hope in Him! We no longer have to live under the condemnation of sin or fear death. What a peace that knowledge brings to us, especially to our family as we walk along this journey.
The past week has been busy. We met with our radiology oncologist on Wednesday. Dr. Varadhi is one of the most impressive doctors we've met with so far. He sat down and talked through everything with us. He didn't leave us hanging with unknowns or questions. He addressed everything we wanted to know and things that we didn't know we needed to know. Wayne and I both walked out of that appointment with hope. Dr. Varadhi told us that he was setting everything aside for the rest of the week so that he could focus on Wayne's radiology plan. There is a lot of work that goes into setting up how the radiation beams will penetrate Wayne's head. It is quite fascinating as you talk to these doctors and hear how they use modern medicine to help the body. We both felt that Dr. Varadhi and his whole team took Wayne's cancer serious and we attacking it with a vengeance. It is amazing how God works and orchestrates events in our lives. Dr. Varadhi works out of Christ Hospital, which is closer to where we live. The amazing thing is that he did his internship at Northwestern, so he has worked with all the doctors that Wayne has at Northwestern! So even though we will be getting radiation close to home, there won't really be any holes in our treatment because they all know each other.
After we met with the doctor, Wayne had to go get fitted for his radiation mask. (You can see the pictures below). Wayne is scheduled to begin radiation tomorrow afternoon (4/6/15). That means that chemo will start tomorrow as well. We finally received the pills in the mail on Friday. Dealing with the online pharmacy was very complicated. I have spent many hours on the phone with people about pills and treatments this past week. The Lord has been good to us each step along the journey. The chemo pills were going to cost us $630 for just the first three weeks of pills. Thankfully, Northwestern's pharmacy told us to talk to the pharmacy company about assistance programs they have. Somehow we were eligible to have our portion of the pills waved. Thank you Lord!!
As I have been talking with the doctors and taking notes, I realized that trying to time all the pills, treatments and rehabilitation was going to get crazy. I finally broke out my homeschool whtie board and wrote everything out so I could see it clearly. As you can see below, we have to time anti-nausea pills, chemo pills and radiation just perfect. Throw in rehabilitation hours and it gets complicated. I think the first week will be an adjustment, but then we'll get into the swing of our new schedule.
On Thursday afternoon, my sister and her family from Kentucky came up to Chicago to see us. It worked out perfectly with Easter. Celebrating holidays with our family doesn't happen too often with family spread all over the country. The past few days were very special for all of us. My sister's son Levi had brain surgery when he was around one years old. It was amazing to see how God has used Wayne's surgery to even encourage Levi. Wayne and Levi were brain buddies. It was super cute to see them compare scars. Levi would come in the house and ask where his buddy was. It breaks my heart to think of what Levi went through at such a young age, but I love that he and Wayne have that extra special bond now.
My sister Sarah and her husband Travis offered to watch the girls for us on Friday night. Wayne and I were able to go out for our first date since surgery. It was wonderful to get away and just enjoy being together without the kids or in a hospital setting. The first thing we did was get Wayne a hair cut. Then we enjoyed dinner and a movie.
Below are some pictures from Easter and our weekend with family. The kids also enjoyed swimming at the hotel pool with their cousins.
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Tomorrow is the beginning of six weeks of unknowns. Please be praying for Wayne as we begin treatment that his body adjusts to it and that he has no side effects from the medicine (now or after treatment). Also keep me in your prayers as I coordinate everything with his treatment, research trials and other future treatments, and as we finish up school for the year. God is good and I know He has a plan in all of this. I just need to keep resting in Him and place all of my hope in Him. We sang this song in church today and it spoke volumes to me. Because He lives, I CAN face tomorrow, I have nothing to fear, because I know HE holds the future!!
"Because He Lives"
God sent His son, they called Him, Jesus;
He came to love, heal and forgive;
He lived and died to buy my pardon,
An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!
Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
How sweet to hold a newborn baby,
And feel the pride and joy he gives;
But greater still the calm assurance:
This child can face uncertain days because He Lives!
Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
And then one day, I'll cross the river,
I'll fight life's final war with pain;
And then, as death gives way to victory,
I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know He lives!
Chorus
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!
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