All is well!

On Wednesday morning, November 17, I went to the cancer clinic to get my blood draws taken and I was thrilled to see that my numbers were high enough to proceed with chemo on Friday, November 20. Afterward however, Glen and I went to a consultation appointment with a radiation oncologist and I began to get so chilled and shaky that I threw up in her office and we had to leave and reschedule. I climbed into bed for the rest of the day and was running a fever by the evening. We talked to an on-call doctor and said that felt we could wait to come in until the morning but he wanted to do some additional testing to see if I had an infection. I took Ibuprofen through the night but didn’t sleep much. As I lay in bed the words to one of my favorite hymns “Come, Come, Ye Saints” played over and over in my mind:

Why should we mourn or think our lot is hard?
’Tis not so; all is right.
Why should we think to earn a great reward
If we now shun the fight?
Gird up your loins; fresh courage take.
Our God will never us forsake;
And soon we’ll have this tale to tell—
All is well! All is well!

I was happy to feel a little better by morning but I was still too weak to go into the clinic. We decided to wait until our scheduled appointment with Dr. Curley on Friday morning to give a urine sample and start blood cultures. Before our appointment on Friday, I prayed that both Dr. Curley and Glen and I would be guided by the spirit as we met to know exactly what my body needed. I also asked Glen for another priesthood blessing. I did not expect what happened next. As we talked with Dr. Curley he made the decision to cancel my last AC treatment due to the fact that I was still so sick from the last round and also because he was happy with the response of the tumor that we had already seen. I told the doctor that I didn’t want to do anymore chemo but that I would, if he felt it was necessary. I didn’t want to make it this far to not finish if it was going to make a difference in the outcome. But we both agreed my body had had enough and that he felt comfortable leaving behind our “Hawaiian Punch.” Hallelujah!!! 

I still got an infusion of Keytruda, the immunotherapy drug, more hydration and nausea medication but the side effects are not expected to be as bad as the chemo drugs. I am so so grateful. I am ready to start feeling better and rebuild my strength for surgery which we still need to schedule for the beginning of January. During the infusion I listened to President Nelson's message of hope to the world and just sobbed tears of gratitude and relief that I was done with chemo. I was inspired by President Nelsons prescription to the world for healing. Among the blessings I have counted the last few days, I am grateful for my life, which is filled with learning and love, for modern medicine and doctors who can help me in my fight against cancer, for my eternal family relationships that won't be broken by death, for the power of priesthood covenant, which binds us to God and his blessings through obedience, and for my beautiful Savior who is the light in the midst of my darkness and the restorer of all things.

My dear sister Kathryn arrived Friday night from California to bless and help us through this next week. We're excited to celebrate Kate's 15th birthday on Monday and Thanksgiving together on Thursday. Glen is scheduled to have a nose surgery on December 8, and two of his sisters plan to come help during that time, as well. We are thankful for so much support and love and don’t know how we could do it without you. We wish you all a marvelous Thanksgiving and are looking forward to tasting a little turkey and mashed potatoes! :)