Miracles...

Warning: the following post includes miracles, answers to prayer and beautiful people. Read at your own risk.

First of all, thank you all so much for praying for Janie. We have some encouraging news, though we are not quite out of the woods yet.

Yesterday (Thursday) Janie slept, well, all day. She had taken an Adavan (the strong one for nausea) which just knocked her out. I'm glad she slept - she needed the rest I think. She was very sluggish and woozy. I don't know about you, but if I sleep during the day, I'm up all night. Not so here: she then proceeded to sleep all night. She didn't feel very well when she was awake.

Today was a pretty exhausting day. Janie got up ok, though she still had no appetite at all. She was sitting up and by the time it was for me to go to work she had dutifully taken her antibiotic for the UTI. She barely got it down since that involves swallowing. She had eaten 9 potato chips and a few sips of Fresca since Wednesday and felt very weak...like you feel after you've had the flu. Janie's mom came to be with her for a while and decided wisely to call the cancer center to discuss more IV fluids. Sure enough, by 10:00 it was back to RRMC for two more big bags of fluids.

They decided to have a look inside her abdomen (via CT Scan and X-Ray) for anything fishy. I guess they wanted to see if
she had any blockages as well as to look at the liver, where we know of a spot of tumor growth. Evidently liver malfunction can cause nausea, so it made sense to have a look. Here's the kicker: in order to get a clear CT Scan, she needed to drink this vanilla flavored barium drink. The doctor calls it, 'contrast.' You and I would call it, 'Elmer's Glue'. The can was probably the size of an energy drink can, but it must have seemed like Niagra Falls to someone who can't swallow even a sip of water.

So, in all seriousness here, please lean in close to your monitor and read this next part nice and slow: how would she possibly be able to swallow this contrast drink? I know what you're thinking: it would take a miracle. I am not kidding or exaggerating here. How could she drink this? I will tell you. It turns out that - providentially - today was a half day of school at RACS, so the wonderful, beautiful teachers there had a meeting at about the same time that Janie was supposed to be drinking her 'contrast.' I understand that they decided to stop the meeting and start praying for Janie. So they prayed. I don't know specifically what they prayed for, but they prayed for Janie. Ladies, your great God that you prayed to did answer your prayers and Janie drank the whole thing. Miraculous!

So next it was off to the CT Scan and X-Ray. The wait for news can be a rough time, as I'm sure many of you know from your own experiences. I'll spare you the scenarios that I personally dreamed up; and imagine our relief when Dr. Eisemann walked in and said, "well, everything looked normal - actually better than before." Our jaws dropped. "Normal? Better than before? How can that be?"

"Well," he said in his usual monotone, "we do give you chemo for a reason." Oh. Right. Heh.

Anyway, that was great news: no new growth in the liver; actually, the liver's problem area was 'measurably smaller!' Praise God! The chemo is working there. Also, the little spots on her lungs that we mentioned in past posts: gone. Let's say that again because it sounds so nice: "gone." The little spots on her lungs are gone.

Today as I was driving to the pharmacy, it was one of those weird cloudy days. The air was unsettled. The clouds were dark and broiling. And as I watched, the sun came out late in the day and shot across the valley and illuminated the Vermont landscape. It was a thrilling scene...at least for visual-types like me. And as I drove, I thought that it was perfect for the day we'd experienced: broiling clouds and a brilliant shot of sun at the end. Whew!

Janie however still needs to get the appetite thing working, so we'd ask you to keep praying. She is now on a different anti-nausea medicine that goes at it from an entirely different angle. She is still very tired and is still struggling with food, though just now (7:45pm) she had a bit of rice and a bit of Debbie Hewitt's (thank you so much Debbie) gravy. Praise God for that too. Baby steps...

She goes in tomorrow (Saturday) for more fluids...we scheduled it just to stay on top of things...

**Hey! News flash! Janie just told me now (at 8:49) that she "doesn't feel sick!" As Junie B. Jones would say, "wowie-wow wow!" I think I like this new anti-nausea med!!!!

Thanks to the many many people who are earnestly seeking God's face on behalf of our precious Janie. Thanks especially to the teachers at RACS and for the special people who have give so sacrificially to our family. You are a blessing and precious.