Inspiration from a friend

I was just reading the blog of one of my sisters in Christ, who went in Friday for her 2nd mastectomy prior to starting radiation. She has already received chemo. Here are some Biblical truths that all should hear:

Oh it is easy to follow Jesus when life is rosy and the sky is blue, and it is easy to sit here and type, but it is a continual choice to tell my soul the TRUTH as I think about tomorrow.
Psalm 103 tells me this: He has redeemed my life from the pit. He has crowned me with lovingkindness and compassion. He heals all my diseases(hey, it's either here on earth or Heaven)
II Peter 1 vs 3 tells me that He has granted to me everything pertaining to life and godliness..
Matthew 6: 34 tells me to not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself
Isaiah 43:1 tells me ..Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are Mine!"
Psalm 116 :1 says, "I love the Lord because He hears my voice and my supplications.Because He has inclined His ear to me, Therefore, I shall call upon Him for as long as I live.."
Psalm 91:15 says God will answer me when I call upon Him, He will be with me in trouble,He will rescue me and honor me.."

How awesome is that! Words from a woman the day before her second mastectomy. It makes worrying about those little things seem silly, huh?

On a quick note about me, dizziness is essentially gone. Nausea is much better since I've switched timing of taking my anti-seizure med. Praise God for that! Please pray for me Monday as I will be working my first full day and am usually quite fatigued after a half day. Pray for energy and that I am not bothered by the stimulus (the lights and talking).

Love,
Laura

Can't Sleep

It just turned 5:30AM and I haven't been able to sleep. I finally got up so I wouldn't disturb Chad anymore. He was being very sweet and not getting outwardly irritated with me for tossing and turning and waking him up. I was up first at 2am, which seems to be when i wake up each night...then again at 4am until now. I took a great long nap yesterday, but that usually doesn't affect my sleep like this. It's a winter wonderland outside, and I'm sure Chad will be getting up soon to snowblow before work as we've accumulated quite the drifts on the driveway. Still battling the nausea...taking 2 anti-nausea meds to cope. I'm tired of medicine! Well, now that I've been able to talk to someone, maybe I'll try going back to sleep for a bit.

Love,
Laura

'07- A Year of Blessings

I know, I am about three weeks behind in putting this out, but better late than never.

I do not know what happened to '07, as it passed so quickly. Looking back, it is truly a year of blessings. I am so grateful that Laura began having seizures, for had she not, who knows what that Stage 3 portion of the tumor could have mutated into by now. The compassionate care provided to Laura throughout the appointments leading up to and following the surgery made the journey so much easier. To all of the doctors, nurses, PA's, thank you for your warm hearted care.

In looking back, Laura and I have both said that while we wouldn't wish this on anyone, we feel blessed to have gone through it and be where we are. It was an intimate journey with Christ that is difficult to explain; he was faithful through out the journey and continues to be. The journey was made much smoother and easier to handle through the support of family, friends, and colleagues. Both sides of our family went out of their way to assist and support in every way possible. Friends were begging to find out how they could help, provide support, and do things that I never would have considered. People we work with have been so supportive, understanding, and eager to do anything they could for us.

We feel so blessed to be where we are and have an incredibly clean follow-up MRI, so much so our local neurosurgeon said he would be "shot dead" if anything grew back. A special thank you to Dr. and Mrs. Yasargil for their incredible God-given gifts. Thank you for doing what you have in the past to make people like Laura have such an amazing post-surgical recovery. Save the side effects of the seizure meds and radiation, the recovery process has been incredible. We feel as though we have gone through an incredible challenge, guided by Christ every step of the way, and now are on the other side, free and clear of any cancer. It's still hard for me to say that word.

I have thanked you all so many times, but we are truly humbled by what everyone has done during the past five months. God bless you all.

Chad

Matinee

Today I had a nice treat and went to a matinee with a friend. We saw 27 Dresses. Cute movie. There was a time when I thought that would have been me. Let's see, how many weddings have I been in....I think 8 including my own. Not too bad. I don't have a secret closet with all the dresses, though. That could be scary! I must say, none of the dresses I had to wear came close to the dresses in this movie. YIKES! Nice to get out of the house in the middle of the day. Not too stimulating, thank goodness it wasn't an action movie!

Yucky

That's how I sum up how I've been feeling lately. I feel nauseated, uncomfortable in my own skin, don't like to leave the house, but don't like to be alone...a conundrum, isn't it. I beg Chad to come home from work early, which I know drives him crazy when he's busy, which is all the time. Ugh. Even more frustrating is that no one seems to know why I feel badly...is it the Dilantin? Is it the effects after brain radiation? Who knows? I just want it to go away! Please go away. I went in to one of my clinics today to get an IV and have acupuncture. Hopefully that will help some. Please pray for the above. Thanks all. Love,

Laura

Working Girl

On my husband's loving prompting, I'm pushing myself to work more. Though I must say, today I wondered what the heck I was doing. I went into clinic to see a pregnant mom who needed to be followed up on before she "popped". She didn't show. I was very disappointed that I got out of bed. I did get to precept one of the residents, so the day wasn't a total wash. As tired as I was/am today, I'm wondering what I'm thinking about seeing patients tomorrow. I have some back-up if I get too exhausted. I think I'm still recovering from the attempted switch to another medication. I still don't feel quite right since that.

Pleas pray that I remain seizure-free and that I have NO auras to make me think I'm about to have a seizure. Pray for energy, no nausea, no anxiety symptoms. I think that about covers it. Thank you all for your support, love and prayers. Still praising God that my 3-month MRI was totally clear!

Love,
Laura

Sleepy....

Well, the transition onto a new anti-seizure med didn't go very well. I've been miserable the last few days...exhausted, sleeping all the time, uncomfortable in my own skin, having auditory hallucinations...the list goes on. Needless to say, I called my primary and discussed it with him and I'm going back on the Dilantin for now. I was at least getting used to those side effects. Please pray that I recover quickly from the Keppra and transition back onto the Dilantin without problem and without any seizures or auras associated with seizures. I'd like to be able to wean off of meds all together. Thanks for the support and prayers. I slept until 6pm and I've been up a few hours and it's time to go to bed again!

Blessings,
Laura

More Appointments

Today concluded my appointments for this week, which totalled 6 in all. I had an appointment with the ENT today and PT this afternoon. The ENT said the testing on my right vestibular nerve showed an 81% deficit compared to the left side. I am not discouraged. I am still praising God for the beautiful MRI! She will keep an eye on me she said, and is hopeful that function will return with time.

I had PT this afternoon, and she is so pleased with my progress that she's not going to use the last appointment! She released me with some exercises to continue on my own to help with the dizziness. Yeah! I can drive and turn my head from side to side and not feel dizzy at all. HUGE progress!

I am very excited that I don't have any appointments tomorrow!! Yippee! I will be going into work to help on of our residents with a lecutre on nutrition. My understanding is I will be there more for support and questions.

That's it from me today. Had a great 4-5 hour nap and feel very refreshed. Please continue to pray for complete healing, fod resolution of nausea, ear ringing (tinnitus) and hearing loss.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. Love,
Laura

Late night time at the computer

Chad is always working hard even when he's home, so time for me at his computer is sometimes difficult to come by. My computer is still not fixed! Argh...let's just say I'm not liking this whole PC thing and miss my mac. I thought I'd take a moment to write a quick post. I had 2 appointments today. This morning with my radiation oncologist and this afternoon with the neurosurgeon in town. He said my MRI couldn't look anymore beautiful! Praise God. He said the dissection by Dr. Yasargil was perfect, leaving no trace of tumor behind and thinks I'm in the clear! He has such a way of putting me at ease...his opinion is what I've been waiting for. He decided to switch my anti-seizure medicine from Dilantin to Keppra. I will no longer have to have blood levels checked--big blessing. My levels have been sub-therapeutic for quite some time, but only recently have I been feeling more seizure-prone. He said that means it's time to change. I will be on both for a few days as I transition onto the Keppra. Please pray that I remain seizure-free and have no side effects from the Keppra. Also than my nausea resolves completely (may be from the dilantin or the damage to my ear nerve from the radiation...they're unsure). Also pray that I have more energy and am able to get to the gym and start to exercise a little so I don't get anymore deconditioned. My radiation oncologist thinks I'm in the small percentage of people that receive brain radiation that have overwhelming fatigue after radiation is over. Pray that resolves quickly. Thank you all again and again for your continued love, support, and prayers. Our God is good!! I praise Him all day everyday since I've gotten the results of my MRI back. We've gotta keep on keepin' on, cause my next MRI is 3 months from now.

Blessings and goodnightl,

a very sleepy and medicated (now 2 seizure meds) Laura

The Blessings Continue- The MRI Was Clear!

We were very excited to receive a call from Laura's doctor yesterday morning that her MRI was clear! While we both, or more so I, feel as though we are on the "other side" of this journey, it was jolt of reality thinking about what might show up. We continue to be humbled by God's faithfulness, and thank you all for your continued prayers.

God Bless,

Chad

The Waiting Game

I had the MRI this morning, and now the waiting for the results begins. I don't see any of my doctors until next week. I tried to pull some strings being a doctor myself...asking if one of the radiologists I know well was there (he wasn't), to see if he would look at it with me. Oh well, worth a try. Patience. I have the MRI here, and am trying not to look at it, since I don't know as much what I'm looking at as the neurosurgeon. Wish my appointment with him was tomorrow...it's Tuesday.

I'm going to try to be better about updating the blog. I still don't have a working computer, so I have to pry Chad's away from him when he gets home from work. He's preoccupied tonight becuase his team (KU) is playing in the Orange Bowl tonight. He's quite happy watching ESPN-HD right now. They're chanting Rock Chaulk Jayhawk right now and he's very happy. He's already changed and is out of work clothes and sporting is KANSAS shirt.

I've been at my sister's for the holidays...as fun as it was, it was a lot of stimulation for me. I'm happy to be home with Chad with only one TV on and only one other person talking. Though right now he's chanting his KU chant as he's leaving for Meijer. I took a rockstar nap today: 4 hours, and it felt great! Wasn't doing well with my naps while gone...catching up now.

As many of you know, Chad and I had been trying to get pregnant for a couple of years before I was diagnosed. We were frustrated, yet knew it would happen in God's timing. I had a realization a few days ago. I had an early miscarriage in September of 2006. I was thinking about what it would have been like to have been diagnosed with the tumor with a newborn. It wasn't meant to be. God knew then that I need to get healthy first. Why would I ever question His timing? It is perfect. I'll leave you tonight on that note. Please continue to pray for my healing, for the MRI results, for no more dizziness or nausea, for no more ringing in my R ear, and for my hearing to be restored.

Love,
Laura

Follow-up MRI on Jan 3

To all of you faithful prayer warriors out there, my follow-up MRI is tomorrow at 10:30am. I am to arrive at the hospital at 10am. This is considered my 3-month follow-up scan, but was delayed because of the timing of radiation. I am a little anxious about it (ready to get it done), but all the while trusting in God that I am healed of this tumor and they will see nothng left behind. Please join me in prayer...to calm my nerves and that my MRI is perfectly normal! I have already been praiseing God for my healing and for the great results tomorrow. Know that I will let you know what it shows when I know. Thanks for the support!

For those of you that would like to join me in prayer for another battling a brain tumor, I have come to know Kate. If you would like to pray for her too, her blog is katesnodgrass.blogspot.com. She just shared on her blog a wonderful verse that I needed to hear: I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.Romans 9:17

On that note, goodnight. Thank you for all te prayers.

Love,
Laura (I really wrote this, but it signed me in under Chad)