IT'S A GOOD DAY

If March 29th, 2021 was one of the worst days to date, June 11th was the best.

Yesterday, June 11th, I had my three month follow up with my oncologist in Fort Wayne. Previously, I’d done another round of tumor markers and CT scans to see what was going on inside of me. The week between these two appointments was an anxious week, wondering if the cancer was still present. My mind and body felt paused. I needed answers before I could move forward with any part of my life. It was limbo; it was an earthly purgatory of waiting. The Lord and I continued our heart-to-heart conversations. And He brought me peace through my reading in Isaiah 26: 3-4:

“You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.

Trust in the Lord forever
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

The night before my appointment with the oncologist, I had a vivid dream. I dreamt that the doctor said I should probably go ahead and have surgery to remove my lymph nodes. Needless to say, when I woke up, I was in an appropriately sober state of mind.

But June 11th; what a glorious day! Dr. Zhang explained that my tumor markers were all within normal ranges. My lymph nodes had not increased in size, but had maintained their size from the previous set of scans. He cautioned that there is still a chance cancer could be lurking in my lymph nodes. But there’s an even greater chance that the lymph nodes are enlarged as a reaction to the cancer and to my stress.

A celebratory selfie to remember this day!

I’m not completely out of the woods yet. We’ll continue monitoring with more CT scans every three months. And here’s the new prayer request: that my lymph nodes would return to the size of their smaller brethren!

For now, I am thankful for this good gift. Thank you for praying with me during this time. I feel like I’ve experienced a year’s worth of life in the space of four months. Hopefully this is the start of a new chapter. I’m ready to turn the page.