ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY UPDATE

November 4^th was the one year anniversary of Robert being handed the dire malignant melanoma diagnosis. (See the first April 30, 2010 post for the beginning of this story and subsequent posts for the journey.) I was going to write a one year anniversary blog post with a slightly cocky tone as Robert has outlived the most dreadful predictions. Now, I really don’t feel much like writing at all. Ever. Everything routine is pretty much on hold. The ubiquitous TO DO list has finally bit the dust. Never thought that would happen. So to all of you who are due thank you notes for your generous prayer and financial support, I hope eventually to get to this because we so appreciate all you help. However….

We have had one heck of a few days! Here is a quick report, some of which may be a repeat for out Facebook friends:

Two weeks ago Robert had a radiation treatment and then an ipi infusion. He was scheduled to have a blood transfusion on Saturday of that week because his blood count was low. He was therefore looking kind of gray and was very tired though everything happening to him now is tiring: radiation, ipi, pain medication, malignant melanoma…. However, he was in good spirits Thursday night as he was getting ready for bed. At some point after he went to bed, he had a seizure which Sarah discovered when she brought little Robert into the bedroom to say good night to grandpa. The following minutes are a blur of praying and calling 911. At this point I don’t care to go over the exact details except to say that the whole experience was surreal, and I was numb to it.

Robert was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he was given an anti seizure drug plus the start of a two unit blood transfusion. As he was getting the second unit of blood, he was again in an ambulance heading for the University of Washington Oncology critical care unit. I rode in the front seat of this ambulance trying to distract myself by watching the morning Seattle rush hour traffic making way for us. I’m not going to lie to you. That small part of this experience was very cool. We arrived at the U of W hospital around 5am Friday. There were then countless tests and consultations with all kinds of doctors including neurologists, radiologists, his clinical trial doctors from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, a physical therapist, a chaplain…… A long list of people whose names and faces are mostly a blur to me right now.

Robert slowly came back to us, though he remembers nothing of the moments leading up to the seizure, nor anything afterwards until he became aware of the medic poking him for an IV during the first ambulance trip. Afterwards he slept a lot since most of the drugs he is now taking and the seizure itself have that effect. Robert was released from the hospital a day and a half after he was admitted, and we all then spent time trying to catch up on sleep.

The cause of the seizure is probably the tumors in Robert’s brain, though the two that have shown up since the gamma knife procedure are quite small. He is now on anti seizure medication to combat future episodes.

We are thankful for the good care that Robert received and for the fact that, tired though he is, he spent part of his first Sunday back at home watching the Seahawks get creamed and the Lions lose in overtime.

We are also thankful and humbled by the outstanding prayer support that we received during this whole incident. When we were able to look at Facebook on Sunday, we were blessed by the huge numbers of people praying and leaving encouraging comments on Sarah’s updates and also posts on our wall. A stunning video which really boosted our spirits was posted on our wall by Judy Nordean. Check it out if you are using Facebook.  We are also thankful to Cathy Young for calling the prayer chains that I shouted out to her as I was leaving the house. It brings to mind one of the first scriptures that we believe directly speaks to our situation, 2 Corinthians 1: 9-11.  We are so grateful for the “prayers of many.”

Quite frankly, Robert has not been even close to himself since the seizure. His right arm is limp and useless. His voice is less than a raspy whisper. Right before he was discharged from the hospital, it was determined that a relatively new pain in the right thigh is from the cancer invading his thigh bone. In the days after he was home, this pain kept him (and me) awake all night long from Saturday through Tuesday night. On Wednesday, thanks to some ultra compassionate and skilled radiologists who stayed after hours to help Robert have less pain, that area on Robert’s thigh received a massive radiation treatment. Wednesday night, we slept. That pain was much diminished! Robert is scheduled for several more radiation blasts on tumors that are giving him ‘discomfort,’ i.e. excruciating pain.

Last night, the pastor of our Seattle area church made a house call to administer quite a bit of supernatural chemotherapy, which is a therapy without nasty side effects. He prayed and prayed, commanding tumors in Robert’s body to line up with the word of God and for Robert’s body to also respond with healing and health to God’s word.

Today, Robert is again watching various football games, an activity that in a past life I considered mindless at best. (Sorry football fans. Just my opinion.) Today, however, I am pleased to see Robert getting excited about some good throws, catches and runs – unfortunately just not in the Detroit Lions’ game.

I am sensing that it is tiresome for me to record this litany of misery that contains a scarcity of medical encouragement after which I come back with the word of God that I cling to in spite of what I see. I know, at this point, this repetitive chronicle makes me look foolish to at least some of you. Yet, I also sense that it is important to honestly record just exactly how this is going down right now.

When I finally got back to my room after the time spent in the hospital, I went over it all with God. A year’s worth of prophetic words and the words of God have promised healing for Robert. That has not changed at all. In fact, after we both battle through the discouragement and horror of what we see and get our focus fixed on the word of God, we are more determined and convinced than ever that this is not unto death. Robert is not yet finished!

Prayer warriors, please continue to pray. It is time for the manifestation of the miracle that God has promised in His word and to us prophetically. Specifically, the tumors popping up under the skin all over Robert’s body need to stop their aggressive and relentless advance and just plain be removed. Ditto the tumors in Robert’s lungs. These nasty things were defeated at the scourging post and need to line up with God’s intent and purposes. Then pray for restoration of the use of Robert’s right hand and the restoration of his voice, which was decades ago ordained to praise God and preach His good news. Pray for God to arise and his enemies to scatter. Pray that we have the grace to walk in the spirit and in the peace of our Jehovah Shalom. Pray that we all see the promises of God fulfilled in the land of the living.