Nothing But Blue Skies!

If you were in Abilene, Texas today, you might wonder where I got the title for this posting! Here in Abilene we say, "here comes Lubbock!" The wind was blowing 30 mph and the sky was brownish all day! Hard on people with upper respiratory diseases or children with asthma, etc.

But, as Mark and I walked out of the Cancer Clinic, I think we only saw "blue skies!" Certainly we had the best visit we could possibly have expected! We absolutely LOVE our oncologist! (Now that's a weird statement, huh?) He is a cancer survivor himself, so he's patient and calm and very upbeat about his work. He sits and listens and answers as many questions as you might have. Friends here will say, "HOW did you get in with Dr. Hirsch? He's the big gun here in Abilene!" Well, we don't know exactly. (yes we do!) But, he's a blessing and we are so very thankful!

Here's the plan: He sent off Mark's path report and other findings to M.D. Anderson for another opinion. Everything came back with agreement on what was diagnosed here and with no new surprises. He's ordered a PET Scan (you'll have to do your own research to know what PET means!) and he'll have that Friday next week. They inject glucose into your veins and it goes from about your ears down to your toes. It will show any "hot spots" like tumors or lymph nodes or any other abnormal places that might indicate some other concerns or spreading. This might also help the drs to know whether or not to go ahead and do the "other little surgery" that Mark loves to talk about! (you know, "T".....refer to previous blogs) So, this sounds like a really great test and we'll be anxious to do that and get the findings.

If all goes as planned and there are no surprises with the PET Scan, then Mark will start radiation the week of April 4th probably. It will be five days (Mon. thru Fri.) a week for six weeks. They can do it right here in Abilene in Dr. Hirsch's building which is about 10 minutes from our house. He said that Mark will probably not notice any side effects for the first three weeks and then he might have some fatigue or nausea. We're just so thankful to not have him go thru chemo! What a blessing!

The Cancer Center is a beautiful, modern facility here in Abilene. But, to sit and wait for your appointment, you notice many other folks who are not going out with such positive news. There are no "blue skies" in their future. It was a sobering moment to be witness to those precious people with such downcast faces. I will not forget this afternoon. God puts us in those places to be witness for a reason and I pray that our eyes will be open to where He is calling us to be.

Mark is planning on going back to teaching one class next week. It meets on Tues/Thur at 8am till 9:30am. He'll teach that class until he feels his stamina is up to taking back one more class and he'll do this until either he's back full time or schools out! He's more than anxious to get back to some normalcy! (College classes =normalcy, hmmmm?)

Prayer list for tonight: Our dear friends, Scott and Erica Meyer are in Scott & White Hospital tonight. Erica is 33 wks pregnant with twins and she's having some BP problems and the dr is inducing her. As of an hour ago, she was doing fine and not near delivery. She is going deliver early, so please pray for healthy babies and a healthy mother. Plus, a calm father in Scott and for their 3 year old son, Cayden to be healthy as he had a pretty serious health scare of his own recently.

Blessings to you all!