Rolling into December 2020

I just want to start off by expressing my gratitude to those who have been a particular comfort to me during this ever changing journey of treatment.

So thank you so much to my church family for all your prayer and support since the first moment I moved here. You all have truly helped me carry this burden. I don’t feel alone because of how you have been there for me. I especially want to say thank you to everyone who supported me while I was in the hospital recently.

Because of my symptoms I have very little memory of that time and I’ve also struggled maintaining memories since then. So it has been a gift to be able to look back on pictures of everyone meeting in the parking lot of the hospital to pray for me and support me. All that you have done for me just leaves me feeling so grateful.

In regards to an update on my condition I think a good place to start is to discuss the treatments I’ve been receiving in Newport. My family and I started traveling up there to see an integrative oncologist that said that he saw hope for my situation and was willing to offer me treatment. For those who may not know an integrative oncologist offers cancer care that is centered around the patient, they utilize traditional practices that target the mind and as well as the body.

Over this past week or so it’s just been that time where we have been collecting new scans, reevaluating where I’m at, and monitoring my symptoms.

After receiving the results from my scans, there were no signs of progression in my spine!

But my current struggles have been centered around the damage to my brain. This damage is causing my memory issues, affecting mobility in my body, and my vision is pretty limited on my right side.

Yet despite all this I just really want to give all the glory to God. A few days ago I began to notice a change in the sensation in my legs. The LMD progression in my spine has caused me to have no nerve feeling from the waist down for the long term. But thanks be to God, I’m beginning to regain feeling!

We called my doctor and asked if that is enough information to suspect regression of the LMD cancer and the doctor said “Yes I would take that as a sign of regression of your cancer.” That means something we are doing is working when conventional medicine just told me to go on hospice care.

In the midst of celebrating this good news I also had an encouraging conversation with my neurologist who has continual hope for healing my brain. We discussed how there is the possibility that I can still recover so much of the memory I feel like I have lost as increased blood flow returns.

Last but not least, my mobility is also improving. I’m able to go for longer walks as I’m increasingly doing more physical therapy.

There is still much recovery that needs to take place but this feeling in my legs as well as the positive reports is just the beginning.

After how difficult and long this battle has been, I have had to answer the question in my mind many times- “What is your motivation to keep striving for healing?” My answer has always been Psalms 118:17 which states: “I shall not die, but live, And declare the works of the LORD.”

‭‭

And until God leads me to my eternal home, I will strive for full healing so I can declare the works of the Lord. So I can be a light to those who have not accepted or felt the love of Christ within their life.I pray that God uses my broken and difficult circumstances to reveal the love He has for us. He desperately wants to bring healing and hope to the mess of our life. Because if we are truly honest with ourselves, nothing that we try to use to either fulfill or fix our lives will satisfy. Nothing but Jesus. I pray that God would remove the blinders from our eyes so that we are able to receive the Love of Christ and come to an understanding of what true love and forgiveness is!

Lastly, my family and I want to give a HUGE thank you to all those that were able help us with the financial part of the journey.

Our Doctor’s cancer foundation was able to give us a grant but there is still one last piece of the treatment puzzle which has not been financially doable. We are praying especially for these extra funds so Dr. Nezami will be to make a treatment mixture that could penetrate my brain since this is where I am continuing to see tumor growth.

There may be a company that could help us get this mixture so we are trusting God to open these doors.