May 22, 2008 ~ Winning Battles
Cancer doesn’t own me or define me! I’m in a war with it, and I am equipped to win. God made sure of that. Psalms 144:1 “A psalm of David. Bless the LORD, who is my rock. He gives me strength for war and skill for battle. “
Yesterday I spent nearly all day at MD Anderson’s May’s Clinic, and the first stop I made was the Diagnostic Center to have some bloodwork done. Since April 18, when I first was admitted to Clear Lake Hospital, we’ve been watching the bloodwork with eagle eyes. It pointed the way to the diagnosis of stage IV cancer, and has been the marker that lets us know what was going on in my bone marrow. So yesterday I was dancing a jig when I saw that my platelet count was up to 84 (normal is 140-440) and my hemoglobin count was up to 8.8 (normal is 12-16). On April 18, my platelet count was 14 and my hemoglobin count was just 3.06, so you can see how far I’ve come! This fast response is an answer to many prayers. Dr. Brewster told me that the hope for my chemotherapy was that it would kill enough cancer cells to give room for my marrow to do its job, and these numbers prove that we are winning that battle. My marrow is rebounding, and I haven’t needed a transfusion (blood or platelets) in two weeks! YEA!
My fourth chemo treatment was as uneventful as the first – I slept like a baby through the whole thing. John, of course, was at my side alternating between holding my hand and reading a book to pass the time. Before nodding off (the pre-chemo Benadryl drip that they give me just knocks me out!), I offered a prayer for healing and visualized the cancer cells getting kicked in the teeth and falling dead all around me! It’s not the sunsets, flowers and wooded meadows that are framed in each chemo treatment room, but my own visualization technique works better for me! 
Today I am feeling great, energetic and grateful for all the blessings in my life. God’s greatest gift to me is my family, and I draw great strength and courage from each one of them. He must love me very much!
