Comments:
Sunday, January 16, 2011
This has been a VERY DIFFICULT update to write. We were told on December 22, 2010, that the medical tests on Donnie’s cancer showed: “There is extensive retroperitoneal abdominal metastatic lymph node disease... The lymph node disease continues along the right common iliac vessels for a short distance. VERY SIGNIFICANT INTERVAL PROGRESSION OF DISEASE, BOTH FOCALLY IN THE RIGHT LUNG APEX AND ALONG THE RIGHT UPPER LOBE PHEURA, AS WELL AS NEW EXTENSIVE METASTATIC DISEASE TO THE RIGHT CERVICAL LYMPH NODES, AND THE LYMPH NODES OF THE RETROPERITONEAL ABDOMEN, MINOR DISEASE IN THE PELVIC LYMPH NODES... There is developing lymphadenaphthy seen in the peripancreatic soft tissues adjacent to the head and portal distribution.” (partial medical jargon)
He did have one more radiation treatment on a lesion close to his brain stem but has been taken off all cancer stopping/killing drugs since they weren’t working and we were sent home for three weeks to decide if we should “let nature take it’s course” or try conventional chemo again. (When Donnie went through 3 chemo treatments in November and December of 2009, he had 2 bags blood transfusions--2 times; he refused to eat because everything tasted like pure sugar or salt; he was losing 1-2 pounds each day, AND he doesn’t even remember those months including a great Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and celebration at Sherri and Scott’s home--his son and daughter-in-law).
Now, three weeks later, as we waited in the oncologist office, I asked Don to give me a statement for this update and this is what he said, “All treatments have been discontinued. I’m going to let nature take its course. I’ve exhausted all the treatments available. I don’t want to have to take blood transfusions after every chemo treatment (shrugged shoulders) and feel rundown all the time.”
Don is a deeply committed Christian and knows that God has a wonderful everlasting LIFE for all that believe. Everything in his Christian life involves the Holy Spirit and thus the Holy Spirit came to glorify Christ, to lead us into all truth, to convict us of sin, and to draw us TO Jesus Christ.
As for me, I am dealing with my own issues of anger and “why” but I am so thankful for the 15 years Donnie has been a part of my life. He has shown me unconditional love, how to be “at peace” and has a giving of himself that is almost supernatural and is gripped with the reality of the Holy Spirits’ presence of love and peace.
For now, Donnie has NO PAIN and is feeling VERY GOOD!!! He just has to nap often. He loves to go to WalMart and Publix and cooks “healthy” meals for us--in order to “starve” the cancer cells. He is actually a walking miracle since the doctor said that statistics show that the average lifetime for this kind of cancer is 6 months. (He has been fighting this since August 2009).
Please call him at 407.877.0837 and come see him. (Please don’t look at the dirty house). He usually has the coffee pot on every morning. And yes, we still want your prayers even though we have LET GO AND LET GOD!!!
Thanks and love to you through God, Connie and Donnie
