FIVE SMOOTH STONES

           I think I may have made a huge information leap in the last blog post. Robert’s right arm not functioning? Tumors in Robert’s brain? Gamma knife radiation surgery? I guess the birth of grandson number two is all we thought of for awhile. So, let’s catch up.

            After our first Seattle Cancer Care Alliance appointment to investigate the trial drug, ipilimumab, but before the MRI appointment to check if the malignant melanoma had advanced to Robert’s brain, Robert began to have difficulty typing at the computer. By the time of the second SCCA appointment, he could barely use his right arm and hand to write or grasp anything, never mind to hold Jackson or to lift little Robert. So, in a way the MRI report showing four tumors in Robert’s brain was not surprising though it was daunting. This was a huge enemy advance. The largest tumor was in an area of his brain that controls the nerve messages to the right arm. The trial doctor told us that Robert would need gamma knife radiation surgery to deal with these tumors before he would be able to be in the trial. This news was dreadful to us that day, but worse was the threat of seizures and further loss of body and mind function. However, the doctor seemed optimistic about gamma knife surgery, and the procedure was scheduled. Jackson was born right after we received this news.

As stated in the last blog post, the next MRI that set up the gamma knife procedure showed not four but ten tumors. The neurologist went after all ten like a video gamer, putting coordinates into a computer and then watching with glee as the radiation gamma knifed all ten tumors, the smallest ones being the size of pencil points. It was like a game of battleship with the computer scoring a tumor strike every time. Zap! Zap! Zap!

Robert was then given a course of steroid medication to keep swelling in his brain down to a minimum. At this point, he almost totally regained use of his right arm and hand.

With hope then on September 15^th, we headed to Seattle for the first ipilimumab treatment, henceforth to be called by me, ipi. Since this would involve a six hour series of procedures, Justin, battling pain from Hodgkin’s lymphoma in his bones, and Sarah, battling morning sickness, drove us from Puyallup to Seattle, a lengthy commute, and dropped us off at the SCCA. After part of the prep work was done, we met with a physician’s assistant who after looking at blood tests discovered that Robert was taking a course of steroid treatment. Robert therefore could not be started on the ipi because the steroids do the opposite of ipi to the immune system … somehow. So, at 5 PM, the height of Seattle rush hour traffic and in the midst of a persistent heavy rain, Justin was in route to retrieve us from the SCCA. Grrrrr.

To make an excruciatingly long story short, about fifteen minutes into our rainy let’s get the heck out of Seattle ride home via traffic choked southbound I – 5, a van driven by a woman with questionable merging skills, hit a huge black Dodge Durango which hit a bus, which slammed the Durango into the back passenger section of Justin’s Volvo. He handled our 360 degree spin calmly, so as we crossed and re-crossed lanes of traffic, we did not hit any other cars although we ended up crunched into the median wall halfway into the HOV lane (the fast lane for drivers with passengers) facing the wrong way.  We were not hurt, praise God, although Justin’s Volvo is history. Being an older Volvo, it is not valued by the insurance company in a way that reflects what it was worth to Justin and Sarah nor what a comparable replacement will be. Grrrrr.

Moving ahead, Robert has now been though one 90 minute infusion of ipi that is as I write coursing through his veins. He feels not as well as before, and since he is off the steroids, his right hand has lost some of its function probably due to continued healing of the gamma knife radiation incisions. He also has had a day of intense pain in his left lung. The doctor thought it might be due to the fact that melanoma tumors are very vascular or full of blood vessels, and if one vessel should rupture, the encapsulated tumor would not allow the blood to escape and the resulting pressure would cause the kind of pain that Robert experienced. It was a scary day. Robert was absolutely immobilized with pain. We, of course, prayed as did the many people who are battling with us in prayer, the Big Uglies. By evening the pain subsided, and Robert was able to eat a small bowl of Italian Sausage soup.

Enough of this growling. Back to the war!

In our latest battle strategy, we have been using the biblical story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:40 – 53. I’ve quoted from these verses in previous blog posts since David’s challenge to Goliath is such a wonderful picture of any encounter with an awful giant.

Nightly, we heave five smooth stones at the giant called cancer/malignant melanoma tumors/Hodgkin’s lymphoma lesions. We go out with praise as shown in 2 Chronicles 20: 20-25. GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD, FOR HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER!  We are armed not with the weapons of this world, but with the word of God in a pouch of prophetic words such as 2 Corinthians 6:2. “IN THE TIME OF MY FAVOR I HEARD YOU, AND IN THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.’ …NOW IS THE TIME OF GOD’S FAVOR, NOW IS THE DAY OF SALVATION. We run towards the battle lines of nasty symptoms and horrid scan results, and we take stones out of the pouch and heave them at the giant. We sling them one after another based on Mark 11:22-24 and James 4:7 where we are promised that we can speak to mountains and they will be removed if we believe and if we resist the devil, he will flee.

Our five smooth stones reflect God’s promises to us and the authority and hope that allows us to defy such a giant.

Stone #1 is God’s word in scripture which promises without contradiction that it is God’s will and within His power for Robert and Justin to be healed. An example of this stone is: Exodus 15:26 – I AM THE LORD WHO HEALS YOU.  Or Psalm 107:20 – HE SENT FORTH HIS WORD AND HEALED THEM; HE RESCUED THEM FROM THE GRAVE. There are lots more where those came from.

Stone#2 is the father child relationship we have with our Father God. For children of God, healing is the children’s bread (Mark 7:27). An example of this stone is Matthew 7:11 – IF YOU KNOW HOW TO GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO YOUR CHILDREN, HOW MUCH MORE WILL YOUR FATHER IN HEAVEN GIVE GOOD GIFTS TO THOSE WHO ASK HIM!  There’s more of that type of stone, too.

Stone #3 is the atonement. Jesus died on the cross for us, for our sins to be forgiven so that we can have access to a holy God and for our bodies to be healed. Matthew 8:17 refers back to the prophetic Isaiah 53:4 - HE TOOK UP OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED OUR DISEASES. Another example of this stone is 1 Peter 2:24 – HE HIMSELF BORE OUR SINS IN HIS BODY ON THE TREE, SO THAT WE MIGHT DIE TO SINS AND LIVE FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS; BY HIS WOUNDS YOU HAVE BEEN HEALED. This is a mighty stone that is repeated throughout scripture.

Stone #4 is our unity or union with Jesus. My favorite example of this stone is Romans 8:11 – AND IF THE SPIRIT OF HIM WHO RAISED JESUS FROM THE DEAD IS LIVING IN YOU, HE WHO RAISED CHRIST FROM THE DEAD WILL ALSO GIVE LIFE TO YOUR MORTAL BODIES THROUGH HIS SPIRIT WHO LIVES IN YOU. Again, there are lots more unity stone scriptures.

Stone #5 is the mercy and love of God towards us. Oh, how he loves you and me. We appeal to this God of mercy and love when we sling this stone such as Psalm 145: 8-9 – THE LORD IS GRACIOUS AND COMPASSIONATE, SLOW TO ANGER AND RICH IN LOVE. THE LORD IS GOOD TO ALL; HE HAD COMPASSION ON ALL HE HAS MADE. There are more of the love stones in scripture than I can ever think of recording.

Five smooth stones. Foolishness to some, perhaps. Yet, I believe our five smooth stones will accomplish their purpose, and the giant will be felled. In a few chapters prior to the David and Goliath story, Samuel states, “Thus far has the Lord helped us.” Samuel is reacting to a battle with the Philistines where the Lord thundered with a loud thunder and the Philistines were thrown into a panic and retreated.  Samuel celebrated this by placing a stone he called Ebenezer on the spot where this victory took place. Ebenezer means “stone of help.”  Foolish or not, we will continue slinging our stones! Thus far the Lord has helped us.

On Friday, September 24^th from 6 PM until Saturday, September 25^th, at 6 PM, our church in Michigan, Prayer and Praise Assembly of God, www.pandp.org  is going to host a time of prayer and fasting for Robert’s and Justin’s healing and for the defeat of this huge giant.  This event is called Battle Cry.