Plans Change, God does Not

Well, dear bloggers, I come to you today more as therapy for myself.  But I do of course wish to keep you all updated on the happenings in my and Joe's lives so that you will continue to pray for us. 

I received a phone call this afternoon from my thyroid doctor.  She told me that she recently attended a conference where she presented my case to the top thyroid doctors from the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota (please take note of this enormous blessing before reading on . . . I was personally studied by some of the top thyroid doctors in the world).  Wow.  She then said that after talking with them and analyzing my situation, she has decided to change course of the next steps in my treatment for thyroid cancer.  Up until now we have been planning to get a radioactive iodine scan as my next check up mid March during our first week home in the States.  However, our new course of action is to have my bloodwork checked to see if my antibody levels have risen as well as a CT scan to check for growth in the left side of my neck.  Since my cancer was seen in my thyroid and lymph nodes in the right side of my neck, there is a chance that it could have spread into the left side of my neck as well.  In my last scan after my surgery there was a small amount of thyroid cells that "lit up" on the left side.  My doctor said that if there is growth that has taken place since the last scan, I will have to get a left neck dissection to remove infected areas.  If that is necessary, the surgery will most likely be later that same week in March. 

This is quite the change in plans.  She went on to inform me that for my case, the mortality rate is extremely low, but I am at high risk for the cancer to return due to the large amount of infected lymph nodes the first time around.  She said it would be very likely for the cancer to return, so that is why we will be very diligent in observing well and taking all necessary precautions.  After this check in March I will then have another six months later.  That is pretty much everything I know right now. 

This is a lot of news given that Joe and I are right in the middle of some extremely large life changes.  We have one more week of groups before the new couple Dan and Kari come to train with us for three weeks.  We then will fly to Georgia to have my CT scan and see if I need another round of surgery.  After that we'll fly to Michigan to get our car and drive to Ohio to train for our new job as SRM directors.  After training we'll finally move back into our home in Indianapolis and start basically a new life in the States.  Lots of major life changes in a short period of time. 

As you may imagine these things can be accompanied by a bit of stress but God has really been helping us out.  Of course there are days that are more difficult than others but we honestly feel pretty good given the circumstances.  Today was one of the more difficult days as I was reminded by the phone call with my doctor of my health situation, because it can be easy to forget about it all when I'm wrapped up in my work here at the Guesthouse.  After processing what she had told me with Joe, I went to my bible for comfort, and as usual, comfort was what I was given.

Psalm 77 reads:
"I yell out to my God, I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs. He listens.  I found myself in trouble and went looking for my Lord; my life was an open wound that wouldn't heal. When friends said, "Everything will turn out all right," I didn't believe a word they said. I remember God—and shake my head. I bow my head—then wring my hands. I'm awake all night—not a wink of sleep; I can't even say what's bothering me. I go over the days one by one, I ponder the years gone by. I strum my lute all through the night, wondering how to get my life together. Will the Lord walk off and leave us for good? Will he never smile again? Is his love worn threadbare? Has his salvation promise burned out? Has God forgotten his manners? Has he angrily stalked off and left us? "Just my luck," I said. "The High God goes out of business just the moment I need him." Once again I'll go over what God has done, lay out on the table the ancient wonders; I'll ponder all the things you've accomplished, and give a long, loving look at your acts. O God! Your way is holy! No god is great like God! You're the God who makes things happen; you showed everyone what you can do— You pulled your people out of the worst kind of trouble, rescued the children of Jacob and Joseph. . ."

Please continue in praying for us.  We know you have been praying and it is by those prayers and our faith in what God can do and has done that we have remained strong through all the challenges we have faced regarding my cancer.  We have not chosen to grow weak and weary in these trials.  We have chosen to draw near to God and grow stronger.  Though there are hard days, we have hope that there are better ones to come.  I am thankful for this experience to grow closer to my husband in our love for each other and most importantly that we both can grow closer to our Father as we continue to depend on him for everything.