Last week was challenging as I continued to deal with heart arrhythmia and a virus that would not let go, but last weekend was wonderful. We did five presentations of the Gainesville Christmas Festival. God granted great performances and a wonderful response from the people who attended. I was on my way down on Thursday evening for the first performance and realized I was a little sad because for the first time since 2000 I would not be singing in the Christmas musical. I immediately caught myself and began remembering all I had to be thankful for. I was able to be here and not in Arkansas, I got to ride in the sleigh each evening with Gary, and I got to see and hear the program.
When I arrived at Gary’s office last Thursday evening I picked up a book that was on his desk. It was Power In Praise by Merlin Carothers. I opened it to a passage I had previously underlined, “Praise releases the power of God into our lives and circumstances because praise is faith in action. When we trust God fully, He is free to work, and He always brings victory. It may be a victory that changes circumstances, or a victory in the circumstances. Death may be turned away, or made to lose its sting. Praise is a permanent acceptance of what God has brought into our lives. We enter this attitude of praise by an act of our will, by a decision to praise God regardless of how we feel.” It was a great reminder to me to focus on all the good God had given me this past week instead of the circumstances. “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise” (Psalm 57:7, KJV).
I needed that reminder as I have struggled the last few days with more irregular heart rhythm than regular heart rhythm. It has been physically draining and the doctors are struggling with what is creating the problem. I am thankful that they are committed to finding out and solving the issue as soon as possible so that I can continue my chemo regimen without interruption. They have increased the dosage on one of the heart medications. If that doesn’t work, I will be spending a few days in the hospital for one of two treatment options. Hopefully, the increased dosage will work.
The chemo treatments are going well, my blood counts are holding steady, and the myeloma markers sent to Arkansas last week again showed stability of the disease. I will be contacting the doctor’s office in Arkansas this week to see if they feel the disease level is stable enough to allow me to delay the January check-up until March. I hope so. It would be good not to have to go back so soon.
Thank you so much for your many prayers, love, and support. I pray each of you will have a very Merry Christmas. May God bless you as you celebrate the birth of Christ.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Thursday and Friday were good days last week. Labwork looked good on Thursday and I felt better Friday than I have since returning from Little Rock. I also got cancer marker results (I send labwork every other week) and they indicated stability of the disease. Gary and I enjoyed a fun time at my Sunday School class Christmas party Friday evening.
Unfortunately, when I got up on Saturday, I knew my heart was acting up again. In between doing things to prepare for Sunday, I was sending readings from the heart monitor I wear to the group that takes and interprets them, I could feel the fast and irregular beating and was very light headed so I was not surprised that they kept asking me to send another reading. It looked like I was headed for the hospital again. Then the heart settled down a little after 1:00 pm. I was so grateful. I had begun preparing myself for missing a wonderful day at Westside and with my family, but knowing God was in control and He would determine what happened.
When I began the day at 6:15 Sunday morning, I did so with an intense gratitude for the opportunities of the day. I did some final preparation on my Sunday School lesson and for the birthday celebration that was to be in our home at lunch. (My mother turned 82 on Friday.) As always my class was a joy to lead and fellowship with and worship at Westside was spirit-filled and joyful. At lunch we listened as mother shared her memories of hearing about the bombing or Pearl Harbor at church that Sunday evening and the changes that occurred as the country adjusted to fight a war. Sunday evening with Governor Huckabee was an unusual opportunity and a very special time. When I got home about 8:15 pm, I was very tired but grateful and happy as I thought back over the day. I appreciated and enjoyed Sunday even more than usual because of what happened on Saturday. I knew how close I came to being in the hospital instead of being at Westside and home.
One of the positive things out of this illness is the heightened awareness of the importance of every moment and every day. I often awaken in the mornings thinking, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). If God gives another day, we need to rejoice. We have no promise of tomorrow. The illness has also made me more conscious of the need to “make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5b). I want to praise Him and I also want to be used of Him each day. I do not want to miss what He is leaving me here to do. When He gives a day of life, I do not want to waste it.
I will be leaving for the doctor shortly. If all is well, I will continue the cancer treatment that I began two weeks ago. The doctors do not feel that the current cancer treatment and the heart problems are connected. There are side effects to the three chemo drugs, but thus far they have been very manageable. I am so grateful that they are oral and I do not have to deal with the time it takes to do infusions. God is so good. Thank you for your prayers! Please keep praying.
Unfortunately, when I got up on Saturday, I knew my heart was acting up again. In between doing things to prepare for Sunday, I was sending readings from the heart monitor I wear to the group that takes and interprets them, I could feel the fast and irregular beating and was very light headed so I was not surprised that they kept asking me to send another reading. It looked like I was headed for the hospital again. Then the heart settled down a little after 1:00 pm. I was so grateful. I had begun preparing myself for missing a wonderful day at Westside and with my family, but knowing God was in control and He would determine what happened.
When I began the day at 6:15 Sunday morning, I did so with an intense gratitude for the opportunities of the day. I did some final preparation on my Sunday School lesson and for the birthday celebration that was to be in our home at lunch. (My mother turned 82 on Friday.) As always my class was a joy to lead and fellowship with and worship at Westside was spirit-filled and joyful. At lunch we listened as mother shared her memories of hearing about the bombing or Pearl Harbor at church that Sunday evening and the changes that occurred as the country adjusted to fight a war. Sunday evening with Governor Huckabee was an unusual opportunity and a very special time. When I got home about 8:15 pm, I was very tired but grateful and happy as I thought back over the day. I appreciated and enjoyed Sunday even more than usual because of what happened on Saturday. I knew how close I came to being in the hospital instead of being at Westside and home.
One of the positive things out of this illness is the heightened awareness of the importance of every moment and every day. I often awaken in the mornings thinking, “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). If God gives another day, we need to rejoice. We have no promise of tomorrow. The illness has also made me more conscious of the need to “make the most of every opportunity” (Colossians 4:5b). I want to praise Him and I also want to be used of Him each day. I do not want to miss what He is leaving me here to do. When He gives a day of life, I do not want to waste it.
I will be leaving for the doctor shortly. If all is well, I will continue the cancer treatment that I began two weeks ago. The doctors do not feel that the current cancer treatment and the heart problems are connected. There are side effects to the three chemo drugs, but thus far they have been very manageable. I am so grateful that they are oral and I do not have to deal with the time it takes to do infusions. God is so good. Thank you for your prayers! Please keep praying.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
I pray you had a Happy Thanksgiving...
I pray you had a Happy Thanksgiving. God was good to me. I had the opportunity to be with family on Wednesday evening and Thursday for a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch.
I had had some irregular heart beating Sunday evening and Monday morning, but then things settled down until Wednesday evening. Thankfully, I did not have to go to the emergency room until Thursday afternoon. I was placed in the Progressive Care Unit because I was having atrial fibrillations and rapid heartbeat again. They gave me medications to slow the heart rate but the fibrillations continued through Thanksgiving night. Then my heart put itself back in rhythm about 6:00 Friday morning. I thought I would be going home until they came in with the results of my 4:00 am blood work. I needed two units of blood and shots to raise my white blood cell count. Each unit takes about two and a half to three hours so by the time all the paper work was done and the units were given it was 10:00 pm and I settled in for another night.
The trip to the hospital was definitely a blessing in disguise. Later in the weekend, as my blood levels continued to drop I would have become very critical. Instead God arranged for me to be where it was noted and the necessary blood was given. I was then able to check out and be with family again to watch that exciting gator football game, play with grandchildren, and visit with Gary and our children.
Though I would have preferred to be with my family the whole weekend (they had all moved into our house for the holiday weekend). There was comfort in thinking of them being together. This time when Gary would leave the hospital, he did not go home to an empty house! I also had rest and relaxation which I am sure I needed. I had plenty of time to read and pray and even opportunities to minister to some of the hospital staff. God always loves us and our focus on Him enables us to see the joy in each situation instead of what we think we are missing.
I saw my oncologist Monday. He and his staff have been one of God’s special gifts to me over these last nine years. We spent about 45 minutes discussing my treatment and other things. One thing that came up in discussion might explain the atrial fibrillations. A medication I have been on for most of the last nine years is now being tied to atrial fibrillations when it is used over a long time. It would be wonderful if the solution was this simple. I am no longer taking that medication. I also saw another cardiologist Tuesday afternoon that specializes in procedures to treat atrial fibrillations. Please pray for wisdom in decisions resulting from this appointment.
I write a monthly prayer letter which is mailed to participants in the women’s prayer group at our church. It has been suggested that I post those letters on this website. Though they are written specifically for our women the hope is that you will find encouragement and insight in them. I am going back to the letter written at the end of September where I first talk about the upcoming trip to Little Rock.
As I think of and update this blog, I pray for its readers. Thank you for your prayers!
.
I had had some irregular heart beating Sunday evening and Monday morning, but then things settled down until Wednesday evening. Thankfully, I did not have to go to the emergency room until Thursday afternoon. I was placed in the Progressive Care Unit because I was having atrial fibrillations and rapid heartbeat again. They gave me medications to slow the heart rate but the fibrillations continued through Thanksgiving night. Then my heart put itself back in rhythm about 6:00 Friday morning. I thought I would be going home until they came in with the results of my 4:00 am blood work. I needed two units of blood and shots to raise my white blood cell count. Each unit takes about two and a half to three hours so by the time all the paper work was done and the units were given it was 10:00 pm and I settled in for another night.
The trip to the hospital was definitely a blessing in disguise. Later in the weekend, as my blood levels continued to drop I would have become very critical. Instead God arranged for me to be where it was noted and the necessary blood was given. I was then able to check out and be with family again to watch that exciting gator football game, play with grandchildren, and visit with Gary and our children.
Though I would have preferred to be with my family the whole weekend (they had all moved into our house for the holiday weekend). There was comfort in thinking of them being together. This time when Gary would leave the hospital, he did not go home to an empty house! I also had rest and relaxation which I am sure I needed. I had plenty of time to read and pray and even opportunities to minister to some of the hospital staff. God always loves us and our focus on Him enables us to see the joy in each situation instead of what we think we are missing.
I saw my oncologist Monday. He and his staff have been one of God’s special gifts to me over these last nine years. We spent about 45 minutes discussing my treatment and other things. One thing that came up in discussion might explain the atrial fibrillations. A medication I have been on for most of the last nine years is now being tied to atrial fibrillations when it is used over a long time. It would be wonderful if the solution was this simple. I am no longer taking that medication. I also saw another cardiologist Tuesday afternoon that specializes in procedures to treat atrial fibrillations. Please pray for wisdom in decisions resulting from this appointment.
I write a monthly prayer letter which is mailed to participants in the women’s prayer group at our church. It has been suggested that I post those letters on this website. Though they are written specifically for our women the hope is that you will find encouragement and insight in them. I am going back to the letter written at the end of September where I first talk about the upcoming trip to Little Rock.
As I think of and update this blog, I pray for its readers. Thank you for your prayers!
.
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