Quite a day for me today! 25 sessions of radiation done, and I can't really believe how quick it went by… although it got to feel a little like Cheers, "where everybody knows your name." Kind of happens that way after five weeks of seeing mostly the same techs every day. I've got to say, by God's grace and all the prayers, I didn't really notice any side effects at all. It's hard to believe I didn't have any skin irritation given the fact that I can't even be out in the sun for very long before I turn bright red in the summer… And, to top it off, I got a diploma from the Radiation-Oncology department! That was a fun little extra. In a weird way, I'm going to miss going there every day. I really had some incredibly intense times in that bunker style room, feeling surrounded by the presence of God more than I can ever remember. It took about a week of sessions before I started to notice the subtleties of what was actually going on. After they walked me into the room and got me set up on the table exactly with laser levels and the three freckle tattoos they gave me, they would leave the room. I didn't notice at first, but as they left, the two foot thick door would slowly close behind them and I could hear the faint click as it locked in place. And then it was just me, in a room designed to protect everyone else from the radiation they were about to expose me to. But it wasn't just me, the presence of God was overwhelming in those moments. I remember hearing the whisper of the Holy Spirit reminding me of what the Scriptures say, "you are in Christ, and He is in you." In that moment I felt like Jesus just wrapped me up in Himself as I lay there, and as I heard the buzz of the radiation, I remember thinking to myself, "I should be afraid of this, but I'm not." I just felt an overwhelming peace that anything that got through to me had to pass through Him first… That was my comfort throughout these sessions, and even beyond that, I think it's the same with the trials of my life. There is no trial that doesn't pass by God before it comes into my life, and so I believe there is a purpose for each one, which brings me back to the verses we shared in our first e-mail with the big news (James 1:2-4 and 1 Peter 1:3-9)… but also one from the book of Romans comes to mind today, chapter 8, verse 28: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Actually verses 18-39 really give a fuller picture, but it's a bit much to add to an already lengthy e-mail, so you can read that on your own if you want to look it up…
We also went in to see the Hematology-Oncology doctor today because I had trouble with a blood clot two weekends ago, and landed in the hospital for a few more days. They found a few in my calves, but are taking care of them with blood thinners. Again, we see God walking ahead of us and preparing the path before us. One of the medications that was part of my remission treatment plan has a high risk of causing blood clots, which would have been a real problem considering I already had some, and now know that I am probably more susceptible to them in general. We got a lot of good information from the doctor about different treatments they use and the different medications they match up together for a specific individual, but there is a some flexibility there too. We could really use prayer for wisdom in these decisions. I have the holiday and next week off, no hospital visits (scheduled ones anyway), so that's going to be a nice change for a while, and should give us some time to digest some of these things.
Thank you again for your thoughts, prayers, gifts, cards, e-mails, meals, rides and help… Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, I hope you have a wonderful time with family and friends and food and fun! We all have much to be thankful for…
Brady
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