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