Thank you for your steadfast love, care, and constant prayer on behalf of Rick and our family.
It has been a long month, and now with one week before Round 4 (or technically, Course 2, Part B) we see August 31st just around the corner. The girls are back in school, however, we were all totally blessed last weekend to get away to San Diego to just relax and enjoy some awesome weather and dining.
Rick is feeling good lately-other than tired, but this is normal. He had a blood draw today and his numbers were good, too! Got his BNP blood test results back last week and this was a huge answer to prayer! His level was 30. (Over 100 is not good.) We are very encouraged. We're still waiting for the EKG report, nevertheless, his pulse rate has returned to normal. All Praises to God!!! We pray EKG shows no damage. Rick has an appointment with Dr. M on Thursday to discuss progress and prep for next treatment starting a week from tomorrow.
Please pray for God's strength, courage, peace, protection and grace over Rick to endure next week and after. Each chemo treatment definitely has its "evil" accumulative effects.
Also, our prayer and heart's desire is that this will be Rick's last treatment and will then get the OK to receive his Stem Cell Transplant. Soon after he completes next week's round, he will have a bone marrow biopsy to reveal whether there is any residual cancer. This will determine, along with blood tests if or how much more treatment he will need before SCT. We pray God's mercy that ALL cancer is gone. We pray God's grace & peace to endure whatever He chooses it to be. "Let Your mercy, O LORD, be on us, according as we hope in You." (Ps. 33:22).
God tells me in His Word to "pray without ceasing." (1 Thess. 5:17) ..to never stop. This verse applies to our home. It means more now, than ever. It keeps us grounded when nothing is certain. It gives us hope, for our hope is in Jesus Christ alone. As a friend recently shared with me, "Faith isn't denial but, facing facts w/o being discouraged. CANCER: u CANT DENY the diagnosis but, u CAN DEFY the verdict. Fight!"
I know as I write this not all our readers are believing Christians. However, I share this with you too, in hopes to encourage your heart in some small way to think about what God wants for you and your life. But, first He just wants to hear from you. O how He loves us.
Charles H. Spurgeon once wrote:
"Never give up praying, not even though Satan should suggest to you that it is
in vain for you to cry unto God. Pray in his teeth; "pray without ceasing." If
for awhile the heavens are as brass and your prayer only echoes in thunder above
your head, pray on; if month after month your prayer appears to have miscarried,
and no reply has been vouchsafed to you, yet still continue to draw nigh unto
the Lord. Do not abandon the mercy-seat for any reason whatever. If it be a good
thing that you have been asking for, and you are sure it is according to the
divine will, if the vision tarry wait for it, pray, weep, entreat, wrestle,
agonise till you get that which you are praying for. If your heart be cold in
prayer, do not restrain prayer until your heart warms, but pray your soul unto
heat by the help of the everblessed Spirit who helpeth our infirmities. If the
iron be hot then hammer it, and if it be cold hammer it till you heat it. Never
cease prayer for any sort of reason or argument. If the philosopher should tell
you that every event is fixed, and, therefore, prayer cannot possibly change
anything, and, consequently, must be folly; still, if you cannot answer him and
are somewhat puzzled, go on with your supplications notwithstanding all. No
difficult problem concerning digestion would prevent your eating, for the result
justifies the practice, and so no quibble should make us cease prayer, for the
assured success of it commends it to us. You know what your God has told you,
and if you cannot reply to every difficulty which man can suggest, resolve to be
obedient to the divine will, and still "Pray without ceasing." Never, never,
never renounce the habit of prayer, or your confidence in its
power."
As we continue to share with you the victories & struggles of Rick's battle with Stage 4 Mantle Cell Lymphoma, a rare and aggressive blood and bone marrow cancer, I'd like to also encourage you to visit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's LIGHT THE NIGHT WALK website: http://www.lightthenight.org/ocie/
11 of us are teaming up to walk in honor of Rick on September 19th.
Please consider supporting TEAMRick and the hundreds of thousands of people who suffer from blood cancers by raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through the LIGHT THE NIGHT WALK. You can make a difference! We are so close to our team's fundraising goal of $2,500. In fact, out of our 11 Walkers, 7 have become Champions For Cures by raising already $100 or more! Congrats and thank you so much! If each walker on our team raises a $100 or more, a bigger impact and provision for more funds for cancer research and patient services can be made.
To donate, please click here: http://pages.lightthenight.org/ocie/OrangeCo10/TeamRick
In honor of Rick and all who battle against blood cancers, as well as those whom we will never forget, this is for you.
No degree of contribution is too little and no measure of prayer is too much.
Thank you so much for staying with us on this humble and strange journey. It may not always be easy, but it is purposeful. God bless you.
Love,
Dana
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