Well, we are getting ready to head back up to Johns Hopkins today for my first “follow up” PET scan and CT scan. They did the baseline scans about a month ago as you will recall. Dr Laheru said that they don’t expect to see anything significant this first month – it is generally the second month of chemo before they can really see anything. But let’s pray that God will surprise them with some nifty photos of my insides! The PET scan is a little creepy b/c that’s the one where they lock me in that lead-lined room, and the guy comes in all suited up and takes a tube from a lead canister, pours it into a “milkshake” and says, “Here. Drink this.” hee hee. Then he gets the heck outta there, locks the doors, turns down the lights and I sit in a recliner-like chair without moving. They repeat the process and after about 45 minutes of not moving they put me in a tube thingy and do the scan. Apparently the nuclear stuff goes to the cancer cells anywhere in my body and the cells glow like little fluorescent beacons. Please pray that the beacons are dimmer than last month…or even GONE! (I think I got that whole PET scan description right….you may have had one and know way more than me!) I also have a CT scan today whey they inject fluid in my vein and take pictures as it flows through my body. That one is pretty cool. I feel like a human anatomy lesson because I can feel it moving through the veins.
I have learned some very, very interesting things about myself and about God on this journey so far. (Doesn’t that just sound so “poetic" to call this a “Journey”! :)) One thing that I have noticed is how when I read the Bible these days, or hear a pastor teaching, I keep finding myself thinking….”wow, God wrote that JUST for Me, where I am today! Have I never read that verse before?” For example, as I get ready for these tests today…check out this verse from the Hebrew Scriptures:
Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I am the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me?
The God of ALL FLESH, and all Cells, and all Organs, and ALL of Me – what comfort that is. HE is in charge. Boy, what a relief. I’m glad that I don’t have to be in charge of this one. It’s too big. And then for God to say “Is anything too hard for ME?” It’s very cool. As I read and read in the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) over and over I learn more and more about WHO God is, His power, His glory, what He has done…and I am confident beyond anything that I know the answer to His rhetorical question of “Is anything too hard for Me?” My answer to God is: “NOPE! Let’s go…we’ve got to get in the car and head to Johns Hopkins today Lord. I’m sure glad You’ll be with us.”
I know that God will be with you today too on your Journey…pretty neat the way He does that isn’t it? ..omniscient and omnipresent…I guess that’s why He is God.
Thanks for your prayers for healing, the scans, (a little anxiety over the scans), and just to get rid of those pesky cancer cells! ..and most of all for patience as I wait upon God’s timing. Oh…and thankfulness that He shows Himself to me so graciously through you guys and especially through His Word…the Bible.
Love,
Carol
p.s. Scans today, back to chemo tomorrow. (but no blood draws, I don’t think. I’ll keep you posted. I’ll get the chemo schedule for tomorrow, today.)
