Whitney's Praise Report

Remember the post I wrote about Whitney, the young mother with cancer, from my hometown? If not, you can read that post here. I know many of you prayed for her and some of you now follow her blog. Well, Whitney had another scan last week and I am sure you would love to know how she's doing. So...with Whitney's blessing, I'm bringing you her praise report.

If by chance, you have not visited Whitney's blog, This Little Light of Mine, you can visit her here. She has an amazing story of faith and hope and I'm sure you'll feel the same, after reading her blog.

Please join me and countless others as we continue to pray for Whitney and her family. I know for a fact that she appreciates each and every one.  I won't keep you any longer.....please read Whitney's story below.

**********



Scan and Update

 Chemo #13

We talked to Dr. Saylors about my scan today! All my tumors, nodules, everything has continued to decrease in size. Some of them are too small to even be measured! The tumors on my liver were measuring 4 cm. They are now around 1 cm! My lymph nodes were the size of ping pong balls and are now the size of lima beans.  Praise God!

We have come to the point where the harm from chemo outweighs the benefit. I am so very tired and I'm tired all the time.  I want to feel good again.  I will finish this cycle (a cycle for me is carboplatin + taxol one week, taxol only the next week, then a week off) and maybe one more cycle. Then I will stop chemo.  I will be checked regularly and I will go back on the chemo, if the tumors grow.

I am happy with this decision. Yes, I still have cancer.  But I am alive, and I will live on!  This is not to say that God will not take this cancer from my body this instant!  I still believe God will heal me. My idea of a miracle was that the tumors would disappear, but THIS is a miracle, too.  I will elaborate on this in a future blog; there is a lot I'd like to say on this subject.  My most fervent prayer was that I would watch my children grow up, and I will!  I am thankful!  I will continue to walk by faith; even more so while I am not taking treatment.  God is so good!  My Father truly has His hands over me.  He is my shield, my anchor, my refuge.  He is everything!  Though I am weak, I lean into His strength and His grace and I am whole.  I am swaddled in His love!

Thank you all for your prayers and support!!  By His stripes, I am healed.

 

**********

 

I think Whitney said it best, "lean into His strength and His grace".

Such wise and wonderful words from this young woman.

And by the way, today is Whitney's 28th birthday and she said that she will spend it celebrating life.
 Happy Birthday, Whitney!

 

God Bless,

Laurie

Update On The Young Mother With Stage IV Cancer

Whitney

First of all, let me say thank you to everyone that prayed for Whitney and those of you that visited her blog and left uplifting messages for her there. If you recall her circumstances....Whitney has cancer in her lungs, liver and lymph nodes. Those are secondary sites. The doctors don't know yet where the cancer originated.

Whitney is believing God for the miracle of healing. She has an unshakeable faith. She has been sharing her story through a blog called This Little Light of Mine.

Whitney has been receiving a series of chemo treatments. She will need eight, for now. She has currently completed six. Tuesday, Whitney had a scan to see if treatments are working. She wasn't supposed to get any results until today, but received a call Tuesday evening with the results. Her tumors have shrunk by 70%.

Is God good or what?

Whitney and her family are beyond ecstatic. They are giving God all the Glory!

If Whitney crosses your mind, I ask that you whisper a prayer for her. She still has a long way to go. Praise God for His blessings and answers to prayer. We serve an awesome God.

When a believing person prays, great things happen.
James 5:16
(NCV)

Take Care....Talk Soon,

Laurie

Wouldn't You Like To Be A Fly On The Wall?

I certainly can't take credit for this gorgeous picture. But it does give a clear indication of the beautiful spring we are having. The photographer who snapped this gorgeousness is David Thebeau.

David, I hope that when you read this that you might leave a comment and a link so that the folks who read my blog can enjoy the wonderful pictures you take. Thanks again, for letting me use it!

Just a side note: If Frank Eaton reads this and cares to leave a link, he takes gorgeous pictures too.

Week in Review:

Sunday 4/14/13 - Today, the training group I'm a part of ran the "Magic Mile". Yeah.....I know, I had never heard of it before, either. To run the magic mile, you must run at a faster pace than normal. You may not be able to hold a conversation, just mutter words like....I'm OK or OMG or My LUNGS! But, it's not a sprint, either. The point was to run it so that the coaches can give us feed back as to how fast we may run the Divas 5K next Sunday. I ran the magic mile in 10:22 minutes. This is definite progress for me. And as I posted earlier in the week on facebook....my legs were happy, but my lungs were ticked off!

I've written about my best sista/cousin before. We have crazy fun adventures together. I love that girl! Well, she received some bad news recently. She has been diagnosed with lymphocitic leukemia. It is slow growing and it appears to be in the early stages.We have all been in shock. I tell you this because we believe in the power of prayer and I am asking you all to please keep her in yours.  In the meantime, my youngest daughter sent me information about a documentary she became aware of called "The Gerson Miracle". I have believed for sometime now that we can heal ourselves with food. This documentary just further validates what I believe. If this piece of information can help but one person, then I've considered it to be a success. If you or someone you love has cancer, please, please watch this documentary (found here on Netflix). It could be the one thing to truly make a difference.

And if I've peaked your curiosity about our adventures, you can read more here (Sista Adventures).

Monday 4/15/13 - I ran an easy 2 miles today. After my run, I came back to watch some of the Boston Marathon. It was, of course, later in the day that I heard of the tragic and senseless evil that took place near the finish line. My thoughts and prayers go out to all that were harmed and to the families of and to those who lost their life that day. I grieve with them. I am relieved that the bomber was caught and I pray justice will prevail. It is certainly sad and heartbreaking that not only did innocent people get killed or hurt, but also sad and heartbreaking that such a young man was easily influenced by evil. His uncle said that he hopes his nephew will ask for forgiveness. I do too. He will get what is coming to him, here on earth. He will pay! But, what kind of Christian would I be if I did not also hope that he would seek for and receive forgiveness?

Tuesday 4/16/13 - Today, I decided to add something else to my list of goals. I want to ride my bike with a group called " WomanTours ". This organization hosts bike rides all over the United States and around the world. It is a "women only" bike tour. The tour I want to do, first, is called the "Northern Michigan" tour. It is a 7-day inn tour that traverses along the shores of great Lake Michigan. You bike nearly 40 miles/day. Your lodging, most meals, park fees, van support, and trained guides are included in the price of the tour. Lofty? Oh yeah! But I have all summer to train. In order to do the tour, they recommend you be able to ride 20 miles at one time. Well, I'm half way there. Northern Michigan, here I come!!!

Wednesday 4/17/13 - Rest day!

Thursday 4/18/13 - I did yard work today. Cleaned out my front flower bed. That is major exercise, y'all! My hamstrings are so sore. I called a landscaper about raising the flower bed and adding stone to the facade. Supposed to touch base with him again this week as he was way busy last week. We have a little vacation place at the beach and because we spend so much time there during the summers, I had decided not to plant a garden this year. I just can't keep up with it, if I'm not there. My gosh, I do love a garden and fresh garden vegetables, though. So, as I was milling about the yard today, I began to rethink the decision not to have one. The dirt is calling my name. I may break.

It's a pretty Spring at our house.

Friday 4/19/13 - Began organizing my office/scrapbook/sewing room. Headed back to the beach. Met Cliff for lunch in a little cafe in Pawleys Island. I love fried green tomatoes, so when I saw that on the menu...I perked up. I ordered the fried green tomato with pimento cheese sandwich. Yuck! I was never so disappointed. Anyway, we mozied on. After arriving at the beach, I took off on a 2.6 mile run, then a 3.43 mile bike ride.  I'm in the zone, y'all. Watch out, cause Northern Michigan.....here I come!

Saturday 4/20/13 - Rode the bike 8.67 miles while Cliff ran. He encountered a crazy man walking towards him. He said the man approached him asking directions to sand dunes. Cliff told him he didn't know where he was talking about. The man asked Cliff how he could not know about sand dunes. Cliff asked where he came from and where he was trying to go. The man didn't know. So Cliff offered to call 911 for him. The man left with his hands raised above his head, shaking them. Just a few minutes later, I saw the same man still waving his hands above his head and walking into the woods. That was scary. I'm glad Cliff was there or I might have had to run over him with my bike. Ha! Maybe not. I've already wrecked one time and broke up my arm. I don't think I would risk letting "crazy man" take me out, again.

**********

And this my friends.....is just some pure randomness....but it's what goes on in my "wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall?" life.

You remember, Kitter, right? Whitney, my daughter in Denver, posted this to facebook. She called it, "The Face of Insanity". Ha!

You can read more about Kitter (here).

And this is Cliff's way of telling me we are out of Crystal Light. Ha! He's obviously feeling better. You just never know with that man.

**********

Hope you all had a great week. I'm excited about the warmer weather and the prospect of laying out on the beach soon! Woo Hoo! Gotta go now, I'm off to run with my training group.

Later,

Laurie