After a flurry of phone calls and arrangements on Thursday, Friday was a very big day for Dave at Cedars. We left the house at 5am and got back home at 8pm, but a lot was accomplished. Dave had an MRI of his brain, three doctor appointments, lab work, an Xray, a lumbar puncture with chemo, and a consultation with a surgeon. All went well. In fact, the headache and crazy symptoms he was experiencing have subsided, which makes us hopeful that the chemo is working. He is just very tired and weak.
On Monday Dave will have surgery to insert a port into his head. The port will extend about two and a half inches into the brain in order to give more effective and efficient access for the chemo. It will eliminate the need for twice weekly lumbar punctures and it more accurately gets the chemo where it needs to go. Crazy what the doctors can do. Scary, but what we must do.
We were expecting to hear results from the bone marrow biopsy yesterday, but we are only about halfway there. We were told that they don’t see any evidence of leukemia in the marrow by looking at it, but that we still need to wait for more definitive test results. Still very scary.
Is there a way to be scared and yet still “fear not”? Yes, I believe so. That is where we are living. We live by the verse in Isaiah that says, “Fear not, for I am with you.” In fact, you can find that promise all over the place in the Bible. Even though this is a really scary and difficult thing, we will continue to trust in a God who is big enough to do great things and we will take one day at a time.
We appreciate all of your prayers. Please pray for Dave on Monday. The surgery is supposed start at noon.
“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10
Trusting in our great God,
Carol