Clear Cut Assignments

I received a card this week that had this Bible Verse on it: Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12) I love it when we have a Bible verse where God tells us Just What To Do. ….it was perfectly suited for me because I am so task oriented. On that score, I just want to say…you are doing a GREAT job on the third assignment, thanks for your faithfulness! Each day I see how God is answering prayers…I am feeling pretty good for all of us on the first assignment of being joyful in HOPE…but that PATIENCE one….that is tough! I think I can sum up me as: “Joyfully, hopefully, prayerfully…. impatient!”

After all the drama of this week with the bile duct stent and pneumonia vaccination on Monday, the overnight in the hospital, then the liver biopsy on Tuesday afternoon, it was GREAT to be back home again Tuesday night! Today I went for a blood test to see if my liver was happy with the new stent to clear a passage in the bile duct and if the enzyme levels are down enough to begin chemo treatments. Well, the good news is that the numbers are down significantly so the stent is working! Yay!! But unfortunately, numbers are not down low enough so the chemo has to be postponed again.

So, here’s the prayer…God, please have Carol’s enzyme levels come down so that the JH team can move ahead with the treatment. (And anything else you might like to add related to world hunger, peace among the nations and the economic stimulus package – and complete healing!)

I mean let’s just say here and now…that WONDERFUL liver biopsy that my personal photographer Christine captured on her i-phone was a huge answer to your prayers. Not a HINT of a complication or internal bleeding! I was a little bummed today to learn that I “flunked” the enzyme test and Christine sent me this Psalm 1:24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD. --- and that’s ALL of us…thanks for your prayers for me—so get back at it…faithful in prayer! Be Strong! Take heart! …enzymes!

Frank and I are out at the Eastern Shore this weekend and Dr. Laheru told me that my job is to rest, eat, and lower my enzymes. I am taking all my assignments very, very seriously!

Love,

Carol

Christine Blogs . . .

Christine here . . . . making my first contribution to the blog. My mom had her liver biopsy today and I got to stay in the room and watch the entire thing!! It was very cool. This biopsy was an ultra sound biopsy as opposed to the first biopsy (that came back inconclusive) that was a CT biopsy…this was much more accurate. I watched on the screen as the needle went in, followed a path mapped out by the ultra sound tech that went right to the lesion, took a sample, and came back out. We (the doctors and I) watched the whole thing real time, as it happened – so cool. I brought my camera phone in and took pictures before the procedure. No internal bleeding this time, phew. There were about ten people in the room during the procedure – nurse, two doctors, ultra sound tech, and some pathologists. Right after they took the cells they passed them over to the pathologists to look at to make sure we got a good sample and it’s not inconclusive again. The big answer to prayer was that there was no internal bleeding this time. Pop and Andrew held down the fort in the hospital room (far from the needles).

We had a GREAT team performing the biopsy – I took down their names so we can request them when we have to do this again next week (the clinical trial is going to require one more biopsy next week).

Oh, and Chemo won’t begin until they have “proof” – so probably not until next week.

Hospital Happenings

Thought you all would enjoy these bits from Carol's early morning email to me from Hopkins!

Had a little excitement here last night, apparently my neighbor here on the 3rd
floor got his (sealed) window open and was wandering around on the 2nd floor
roof top outside my window. I was groggy and didn't see anything but I could
hear them getting him back inside. Then someone came in and checked the seal on
my (and I assume all other) windows! It caused quite a flurry and a stir. People
running all over the hallways saying "there's a patient on the roof!" "What?" 
"shit! Shit! How did this happen!". And one guy kept saying "I thought he was in
the bathroom. I thought he was in the bathroom.'  I asked my nurse later and she
said "yeah, I was in another room and caught a glimpse of him stumbling on
the gravelled flat roof top. All I can say is I'm glad he wasn't MY patient!" I
imagine there will be lots of paperwork to follow THAT little episode!

Even so, I had a very,very good night last night.  No pain, meds worked well every
4 hours. Slept so well. Actually just woke up for a little "walk" across the
room and am going back to sleep b/c I can. :). It's 6:30 am.


PS: I forgot to share a funny with you! As I think you all know, my organs are
all flipped inside of me. Whatever you have on the right, in me is on the left
(not common, but not unheard of Dr Christopher told me at Sibley.) So I said to
Dr Giday before the stent insertion yesterday "did you notice that I am
flipped?" He said "yeah, that's crazy, when I have my scope in you I feel like I
am driving in the UK!" Ha ha. I thought that was such a funny thing to say!

Have a good one today. Watch for God! :)

No Longer Yellow

Another day at Hopkins. Had a stent implanted to open up the bile duct and within hours my rosy complexion was back! Spending the night in the hospital. Liver biopsy tomorrow, then home. PET scan confirmed need for chemo, so starting Wednesday bright and early . . . for treatment and participation in Dr. Dan's clinical trial.

Change in the Schedule for Monday

Wow! Thank you! Prayer answered -- Dr Giday called tonight. He squeezed me in
the schedule and is putting in stent at 10:45 tomorrow morning before the liver
biopsy! So please pray all goes well with inserting the stent. (And that the
biopsy is CLEAR! :). )

Love,
Me

They Call Me Mellow Yellow

Okay…I am just being lazy…this is an email that Frank wrote, but it says it all, so here’s the update:

Every week seems to bring something more, but this upcoming week appears to be the start of Carol's chemo process. On Monday she is back up to Johns Hopkins for “chemo class’ which we will all attend with her, then she is off to have a liver biopsy which will provide the pathology on the type of cancer she has (we still pray that the biopsy will show benign lesions), and depending on Dr. Giday’s schedule, have a stent placed in her bile duct. The blood work she had last Friday showed “elevated enzyme levels” and they were surprised that Carol didn’t look yellow. (She doesn’t yet.) Apparently her severe abdominal pain is being caused by a blockage of the bile duct and a stent will at least allow the bile to be discharged. So tomorrow is a big day. If all the tests show cancer, then she will start chemo and the clinical trial Weds/Thurs or Thurs/Fri. –Frank

(Carol here….) BUT…all that is contingent on the PET scan and the liver biopsy…so, keep praying for no cancer! If there is not cancer, I think the plan will be to have chemo to shrink the tumors then surgery to remove the mass in the pancreas/bile duct area sometime in the future (best solution, and we all jump for joy and thankfulness!). If it is indeed cancer, then chemo for an undetermined amount of time + the clinical trial and we keep praying for healing! (THEN we jump for joy and thankfulness…just a little later than we hoped.)

Big week ahead. Monday: biopsy, stent, chemo class; Wednesday: chemo begins, blood tests periodically for the rest of the day to see how it’s going (long day at JH); Thursday: more chemo-follow-up tests at JH. I found this in the Psalms and I like it!: Psalm:.16:8-9 I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. (pretty cool, eh? I love these verses that I am finding!)

A friend sent this to me:

I am the place where God shines through.

Therefore He and I are one, not two.

He wants me where and as I am.

I need not fret or will or plan.

For if I'm calm, relaxed and free,

He'll work His plan divine through me.