The Battle Begins

We continue to be overwhelmed by the love of God as demonstrated by the body of Christ. Each day, God shows that He is more than sufficient to meet all of our needs. He is strong when we are weak. He gives grace when we begin to fall.

It has been a week since we received word that I have a Ewing's sarcoma. Since then, I have had a bone scan of my entire body, a CT scan of my chest and pelvic area, a heart scan, and x-rays of my left humerus and right femur. The prayers of many saints, many of whom I do not even know, have helped me to endure the numerous needles and IV's.

I met with the oncologist at Lehigh Valley Cancer Center on Tuesday. He said that the tumor is in the tibia and is bursting out into the soft tissue of the lower leg. He wants to start chemotherapy ASAP. I am scheduled to have a vascular port surgically implanted in my chest. This will alllow simple access for chemotherapy, blood draws, etc. At this point, I will probably be admitted to the cancer center this Saturday for 3-5 days of in-patient chemotherapy. This will be followed by 18-21 days at home. This three-week cycle will repeat itself for a total of about 40 weeks. At the end of the 12th week, I will most likely have surgery to remove the affected part of the tibia and have it replaced with a steel rod. The chemotherapy will continue about two weeks after recovery from the surgery. Radiation will be added to the regimen as needed.

The most painful news that I received from the doctor is that I will probably not be strong enough to continue teaching. The intensive chemotherapy will take its toll on this 45-year old body. He basically said that there is a fine line between killing the cancer and killing me. All of my efforts will need to be focused on this one battle for the next ten months.

We have shed many tears over this in the past few days. At times, I am scared. At times, the pain is unbearable. But, we have never questioned God's purpose in this. We have never asked, "Why us?". We have not been angry. We are trusting God. We know that this is for our refinement (and perhaps for the refinement of others) and His glory. We are determined to please God. We are weak. We falter. But, by His grace, we seek to please Him through all of this. The more intense this battle becomes, the more we are leaning on Him.