And Now...the Rest of the Story.

I am no Paul Harvey, but...

Wendy was able to exhale this week with wonderful news from her team of physicians, and breast cancer took Strike 2! However, she is still up to bat and needs her team to stick it out with her in encouragement and prayer! So, here is a run down of what's next: 

- Wendy meets with her surgeon tomorrow (Monday) for a follow up from surgery. Andy and Wendy are looking forward to re-hearing the results from the surgery face to face. Another reassurance you heard and understood things correctly is always a good thing! Wendy is doing great overall post-op wise. She has obviously had some soreness, and a little swelling. She has been a champ, and (mostly) (tries to be) has been compliant with her restrictions on activity and lifting. Thanks for continuing to pray for complete healing! 

- Wendy meets with her medical oncologist on February 1st. Dr. P will just check on Wendy globally- her health, her labs, etc. Thanks for continuing to pray for her overall health and wellbeing. We want her to remain healthy- NO SICKNESS! We also want her labs to stabilize so she may soon be able to wean off the sodium and potassium supplements she has continued to take. Additionally, please pray for Wendy's skin. This cold, dry winter weather sure does take its toll! (Both making her  FREEZE and making her skin crack and itch!)

In better news, Wendy has a little peach fuzz on her head (a little dark so far!), and her brows and lashes are slowly returning too. It's a sweet little reminder that her health is being restored! 

- Finally, Wendy will meet with her radiation oncologist on February 2nd. During this appointment, they will develop a treatment plan and prepare to begin therapy. Radiation is the 3rd strike in striking out breast cancer. She will receive approximately 28 radiation treatments over 5-6 weeks. You may ask "why radiation" when her medical team is celebrating the success of her chemo and her surgery. The answer is simply: to make sure. To make sure there are no satellite cancer cells that are undetected. To make sure to optimize the treatment of her cancer. To make sure that the chances of it returning are as low as they can be! Wendy fully understands and accepts the necessity of this final phase of treatment, but it doesn't come without some trepidation. Please pray for Andy and Wendy as they develop and enter into this final phase of treatment. Her treatments are daily, which means daily trips to the hospital for 6 weeks for a somewhat short therapy (minutes a day). She is unsure how it will make her feel- both skin irritation and general fatigue are most common, so let's begin to pray against those effects on her body. Pray also that the secondary effects of radiation exposure are minimal to the rest of her body, specifically her heart and her lungs. Pray for the treatments to go forward without any delays, and for her to successfully reach the finish line! 

Please continue to pray for Andy, Wendy, Ashlyn, Taylor and Luke, as well as the rest of their extended family. Thank you for your ongoing love, notes, texts, cards, and never ending blessings...Wendy and her family are truly blessed. Please do not tire of this encouragement. The race is not yet ended! Wendy-woo is certainly fighting the good fight. Her light (HIS light in her) is shining brightly for all to see! The other side of cancer draws nearer every day.

Blessings- K

Such Beautiful Words.

It worked.

How fabulous is that!? It worked! Chemotherapy worked. Surgery worked. There is no cancer detectable in Wendy's body. Healthy tissue, healthy lymph nodes. Cancer free. I can't speak in complete sentences because I am still trying to wrap my mind around the news! 

Yesterday we were worried the news was going to be hard. The results were taking forever. "It doesn't normally take this long." "More pathology is required." "We had to send the tissue off again." "Things still look good but we need to "make sure". And then today...the call. It's GREAT news! "The tissue looked so good we needed to make sure." IT WORKED!! Cue: TEARS. Lots and LOTS of tears. And laughing. And celebration. And more tears! God turns mourning into dancing...weeping into laughing!! 

"Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow." Jeremiah 31:13 

So...I plan to update you on the "what's next", but for now...let everything that has breath praise the Lord! 

"Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Pr

aise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. 

Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, 

praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, 

praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. 

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD."

...God, you are perfect in all your ways. You're a good, good Father.  Amen.

Blessings! K

Praise the Lord!

Let everything that has breath PRAISE THE LORD! Wendy made it through her surgery with glorious flying colors! She is a MODEL patient...such a strong woman whose faith shines through in her sense of humor, her smile, her ability to roll with the unknown, her sassy attitude and constant attempts to get Andy to raise his eyebrows. I will never cease to be amazed by the strength of her testimony and the armor of God she wears for all to see. Brave. Courageous. Strong. Beautiful.

The doctor was optimistic about her procedure, and believes we have every reason to be hopeful that the cancer is GONE! She removed 2 lymph nodes, and though the borders of the area where the tumor was can be a little tricky...thinks all went as expected!

Now...we wait. For pathology. For healing. For phase III (radiation) to begin.

Please pray in the coming days:

-- for Wendy's pain control, for peace and rest, and for complete healing of her surgical site. I heard the nurses...princess treatment it is this week :) Not many restrictions, but more "take it easy's".
-- for the pathology report to bring the BEST POSSIBLE RESULTS = CLEAN BORDERS! There is no exact timeline, but they are hopeful to hear results this week.
-- for Wendy's general health, energy, and well-being. Though we celebrate these HUGE milestones... the battle wages on!
-- for Wendy's skin- this cold, dry weather is waging war on her skin! Pray for healing and for comfort!
-- for her anticipated Dr. appointments yet this month with both the surgeon (a fpllow-up) and her radiation oncologist to make plans for treatments.
-- for the anticipation of radiation starting next month. It is a daunting prospect...daily visits for many, many weeks and the stresses, fatigue, and other potential side effects that accompany! Let's storm the gates now for the most possible comfort for this process!
-- for Andy- he is a rock. I am blessed to call him friend. Please lift him up for peace, for rest, for reassurance.
-- for the kids. They were rock stars today. Ashlyn was at the hospital, and showed maturity beyond her years. It was important for her to be at her mom's side. Taylor and Luke rocked their responsibilities today, as well, despite a day out of the ordinary! Pray for them all as they "do school and church" this week.
-- for family...Hal, Nancy, Trey and family, grandma, parents far away... they all carry the worry.

Thank you for your faithful prayers today, and the TONS of encouragements sent Wendy's way. It was a JOY for her to see HER TEAM fighting in prayer for her today! You are a blessing!

K

Never Once...

 As we sit in waiting today...let us remember that she never walks alone.

Standing on this mountaintop

Looking just how far we've come

Knowing that for every step

You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground

Seeing just how much You've done

Knowing every victory

Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way

But with joy our hearts can say

Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone

Never once did You leave us on our own

You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Kneeling on this battle ground

Seeing just how much You've done

Knowing every victory

Was Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way

But with joy our hearts can say

Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone

Never once did You leave us on our own

You are faithful, God, You are faithful

You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Scars and struggles on the way

But with joy our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone

Carried by Your constant grace

Held within Your perfect peace

Never once, no, we never walk alone

Never once did we ever walk alone

Never once did You leave us on our own

You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Every step we are breathing in Your grace

Evermore we'll be breathing out Your praise

You are faithful, God, You are faithful

You are faithful, God, You are faithful

You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Your are, You are faithful, God, You are faithful

The Scoop.

Let me give you the scoop... (For the record, that ⬆️⬆️ is Baskin Robbins peanut butter chocolate, Wendy's favorite scoop. Don't tell Andy. He doesn't work for Baskin Robbins.) 

I know it has been a while since I updated- sorry, not sorry! That just means since the end of chemo, though life has not been without challenges, things have been pretty good. Wendy's favorite line when asked how she is doing: "Can't complain (and it wouldn't help if I did!)" 

Wendy's labs have remained mostly stable since the end of chemotherapy. She did receive one final blood transfusion the day after her last treatment, but has not needed another, which is a blessing! She has continued to take the oral supplements for her potassium and sodium levels, but they seem to be working at keeping things stable. Her energy is improving everyday, and we are just waiting patiently to see signs of new hair!! 

She has continued to wage battle with her ear, and saw an ENT before Christmas to help her over the hump of constantly being in a "tunnel". Thankfully, the pain has improved; and, after a round of steroids and some nasal spray, it is slowly clearing up. 

Wendy saw her surgeon on December 14. It was a great visit, and both she and Andy walked away with a lot of answers and a general peace over what would happen next. It was, as expected, a fire hose of information, but the plan is in place! Wendy will undergo outpatient surgery Monday, January 11th- the official Phase II of Striking Out Breast Cancer. 

The surgeon repeated her mammogram and reported the CANCER APPEARS TO BE GONE (pause for celebration....) (....more cheering) (....look to Heaven and thank GOD!) Therefore, the surgery will focus on two areas: 1) cleaning out the borders of the area where the tumor was located, and 2) removing any lymph nodes that were affected (presumably, this is one lymph node; however, they will test the surrounding areas to be certain and remove anything suspicious). 

This procedure is outpatient, as I mentioned, and Wendy will be allowed to go home the same day. There will be some minor restrictions, but they are unclear as to what those are until the results of the surgery are revealed. 

Wendy has never had surgery before, so while she is ready to conquer this next hurdle, it is certainly a little mind boggling and nerve-wracking! (or nerve-racking, per Merriam- apparently both are acceptable...sorry for the aside.)

Following surgery, she will recover for approximately 4 weeks before preparing for and beginning the final phase of treatment, radiation therapy. 

Friends, it has been 192 days since hearing the dreadful truth that led us here, 4 days before surgery. But our God is faithful, our friend is mighty, and our ultimate battle is WON. Join with me to pray for Wendy as we head toward Monday: 

-- Pray for Wendy's general health. While she is improving, we still must pray for her labs, and for her overal energy and wellness. Pray that gates of protection would surround her and nothing will delay her surgery!

-- Pray for Wendy's ear. While it has improved significantly, it needs to continue to heal. 

-- Pray for ultimate peace over Wendy and Andy on Monday (as well as her kids and her family.) Pray for a successful outcome with as little invasion as possible, for minimal pain, for the stable hand of her doctor, for no infection, for an easy recovery, and for encouraging news!  

-- Pray for Andy, Wendy and their kids. There have been many successes and many setbacks in this battle, and though we celebrate the HUGE successes, we also face realities that are still hard! Let us not forget to pray for strength and to offer encouragement!

-- Pray for Hal and Nancy as they continue to care for their kids and grandkids! 

Thank you for joining me on Team Wendy-Woo! Monday, as my bestie puts on her big girl pants and braves surgery, please put on your Woo-Wear in support of Wendy as a reminder to PRAY ALL DAY! Post pics and send a note to encourage her on her big day (but be gracious and don't expect a response- she is gonna be a little busy!) Look forward to an update as soon as I have one! (If you need some special Woo-Wear, let me know- I still have t-shirts and bracelets available!) 

So...that's the scoop for now. Sit back and watch God finish what He has started! 

"I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you." Isaiah 46:4

Blessings - K