The 1040 Window

Nathan started this blog for us, back when I was diagnosed, and then he taught me how to post an image, so I posted his picture. This is a picture from one of his recent photo shoots (I think). :)

…was when the doctor said, “you should only have one more round of chemo after this.”!!!!

PRAISE GOD!!!! Now, I am holding off getting too excited b/c previously it was very clear to us that I would have two more rounds after this. So maybe it was a miscommunication but I am waiting until further conversations with Dr. Paquette before totally believing it.

Wow, if I only have one more round, that will be sooooooooo NICE!

-lnstryker, you know, I have always thought, “better your thoughts and prayers than your germy selves.” :)

-Shyle, that is so funny, I was just singing that song to my kids for the FIRST TIME the day before coming back into the hospital!

-Jack Hager, and I am healing. Praise His name!

Well, I have thought a lot about it and I have decided that I officially recommend you NOT get acute myelogenous leukemia. Or any other cancer, for that matter! :)

So far, this round of chemo has been quite a bit more miserable than the last round. Kind of interesting how different it is, though it is not exactly a study I wish to conduct. :) Then to top it off, the hospital TV has very few channels and a bunch of them are not working due to technical problems! But on the bright side, I am often too miserable to even watch TV, so it does not matter. Oh wait, that is not really a bright side… Oh well… I tried. Wait, let me try again and this time I will succeed: On the bright side, God’s grace is so wonderful! His mercies are new every morning. And that is a very bright side!

-Marsha Penrod, thanks for the mention of Tracey Chapman’s hepa filter. I will let you know if we need to contact them. Thanks for the kind words and I checked out your website. Very nice! :)

-Rebecca Kerr, very unfortunately it is a bad time for any visiting because my missing immune system. Very, very unfortunate, b/c we would love so much to see you guys!

-Jack Hager, thanks.

-lnstryker, not much occurs to them, period.

-Laura Burton, thanks.

-Susan Burke, are you saying you are offering me your sore throat and insomnia? Thanks, A. Susan! :)

-Barbara Resnikoff, thanks and I hope to get back and give better support!

God bless you all. In His Grace, Aaron

I tell Aaron everyday, a hundred times a day, that I am proud of him. He is amazing. I am so blessed to be his wife. He is in an extreme amount of pain and discomfort and yet he never complains and rarely gets irritated with anyone. He has and is suffering through something that is completely miserable while retaining a good attitude. Yesterday was so hard for him. He slept all day and woke up only to vomit. Then, one of the nurses accidently ran the pottasium through the IV without the fluid (to dilute it) which had him writhing around in pain because potassium, I hear, burns like crazy. He only spoke about 10 words all day. But, he toughed out yesterday. He is a trooper. I praise God for giving Aaron strength and patience. And a double praise God because not only is Aaron feeling a little better today but he has not had a fever today. So far, test results show that he doesn’t have an infection. A couple other test results are still pending. He hasn’t eaten anything at all since Wednesday and he is too miserable to do anything except sleep but I have heard a few jokes today. This morning was his last dose of chemo so now he is just working on recovering from its effects. Anyway, I just wanted to give a quick update and let you all know how great a job Aaron is doing. Thank you all for continuing to check in and for posting comments. It is an encouragement to hear from you all and know that you are still praying for us.

“Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He does for His people!” Psalm 66:5

The lastest news is that Aaron got a fever this morning. There is not really a reason why he would be having a fever already. The doctor guesses that it could be a bacterial infection. Aaron had a chest X-ray and blood cultures and we are waiting for those results. In the meantime, they just started him on antibiotics. The biggest bummer is that this means we won’t get to leave the hospital for a few days after the chemo finishes tomorrow. Usually, you have to go “home” for 4 or 5 days after receiving the chemo while you are waiting for your immune system to disappear. We were all looking forward to those few days together before spending another 2 to 3 weeks in the hospital. So, please pray for Aaron. He feels extremely crummy and couldn’t even get out of bed to wave out the window at the kids today. Also, we would be very grateful if you could please help spread the word that Aaron is in need of extra special prayer.

I’m homeschooling Michaela and her Bible lesson today (to fit in with our farm theme!) was that we are “under His wings.” We read Psalm 91 and talked about how God protects us, just like a mother hen gathers her chicks under her wings. Like the baby chicks, we are protected when we run to Him and we need not fear for our safety. It is an awesome word picture, one that I am glad the Lord brought to mind today!

Psalm 91:4-7, 9, 14-16

He will cover you with His wings; you will be safe in His care; His faithfulness will protect and defend you. You won’t need to worry about dangers at night or arrows during the day. And you won’t fear diseases that strike in the dark or dudden disaster at noon. You will no be harmed, thought thousands fall all around you…The Lord Most High is your fortress. Run to Him for safety…The Lord says, “If you love Me and truly know who I AM, I will rescue you and keep you safe. When you are in trouble, call out to Me. I will answer and be there to protect and honor you. You will live a long life and see My saving power.”

Today I am starting my third round of chemotherapy. I am getting the poison pumped into me as I write. Fun, fun fun!

These last few weeks were such a wonderful break. Got to go to church, to youth group, to my office meetings and got some little projects to work on. Got to drink some coffees! Best of all, of course, I got to spend lots of time with Natalie, Michaela and Christopher. Overall, I have been feeling pretty ok, which, relatively speaking, is really wonderful!

This last week, though, was a bit of a downer with the ominous threat of chemo on the horizon. Similar to that feeling you get at the end of a vacation or sunday afternoon, when you know you have to go back to work, so it is kind of hard to enjoy yourself. But it was still very nice.

We are completely moved out of our old apartment and living with Natalie’s parents or in the hospital or at the Tiverton (hotel across from the hospital). We have a specific apartment we want to move into: Montgomery Oaks apartments. It is just a couple blocks away from our old place and we are on the waiting list. So we are, well… WAITING.

Marsha Penrod, It was great seeing you two too! And, yes, I enjoyed my coffee.

Rebecca Kerr, Yes, direction is so nice. And if God wants us in the Montgomery oaks it will be easy… :)

lnstryker, Yeah, you came to ojai!

cynthia engle, it was so great to see you the other day, even though it was just for a minute.

Rachael, I am so glad that our experience has served as an inspiration to others and thank you for the opportunity to pray for your mom.

Rick and Kris, thank you for your prayers. I often think how crazy/weird/wonderful it is that just several weeks ago I was barely able to open my eyes and now I am up and about and able to most things (just at a lower level).

ingrid, I can’t wait to see those pictures!

God bless you all so much and thank you for everything!

-Aaron