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Sunday, February 13 - Gilead gets throwing-up sick

Monday, February 14 - Internet service is discontinued in preparation to go home. Gilead is still throwing up.

Tuesday, February 15 - Get final blood test results. Tumor markers are 52. Can't post anything for those of you who are waiting for the results due to discontinued internet service. We consider delaying our trip home because Gilead is still occasionally throwing up and constantly being fussy.

Wednesday, February 16 - Gilead finally sleeps through the night and seems to be doing better, so we spend a marathon day packing up and finally pull out of the driveway at about 10:30 p.m. Gilead throws up again less than 3 minutes from our temporary home.

Thursday, February 17 - We arrive in Flagstaff, Arizona at about 1:30 a.m., our first planned stop, although we had planned to be here hours earlier. The check-in guy at the hotel upgrades our rooms to suites for free. Nice. After a good night's sleep we drive to the Grand Canyon for a day of awe-inspiring sights. Gilead fusses a lot, but doesn't throw up again. My legs are extremely sore, and I can't figure out why. Back at the hotel, everyone gets settled in our nice suites, and I begin running a hefty temperature. Now I know why my legs are sore.

Friday, February 18 - Gilead is still not himself and eats almost nothing, but he hasn't thrown up since Wednesday, so in spite of my feeling crumby, we decide to head to the Petrified Forest on the way to our next stop at the home of dear friends, who are so dear that they don't mind if we arrive bearing sickness. In fact they're so dear that they don't mind if I deliver a baby in their home. (Which, thankfully, I didn't do this time, in case you were wondering; but I did do it 6 years ago. Long story. Just know we hadn't planned it that way.) A contrary child notifies us right after we get on the highway that he had forgotten to go potty before we left, and now he has to go bad. So we stop for an unplanned potty break. Everyone gets back in the car, and just as Gilead is being buckled in he throws up. Back into Burger King for a bath in the sink. Jon washes out the car seat with bottled water and baby wipes, everyone gets back in the car, and we try again. Gilead throws up again in about 30 minutes. And again, and again, and again. We cancel all plans for extra stops and make a beeline for Dear Friends' who don't mind if we bring a child who is throwing up...we hope. (A throwing up child is a far cry from a squaling, newborn child.) Dear Friends are truly dear friends and welcome us travel worn folks with open arms and an invitation to stay until we are all better. Which we decide to do.

Saturday, February 19 - Sunday February 20 - So here we are at Dear Friends', and our children have decided that this is much better than the Petrified Forest. The Petrified Forest doesn't have cool games, videos, and good food just waiting for them. Since Gilead and I are now much improved, we plan to hit the road again Monday morning. We're thinking of bringing one member of Dear Friends' family with us since Gilead has become very attached to her.

Wrapping Up

This is my last week of treatments. Although we have entered week 13, Dr. Lodi recommended that I finish out this week. My tumor markers had dropped to 66 on Monday, and we hope to see another good drop by the end of the week. I'll have my final blood draw on Friday, and we'll get one more look at those markers before we head home. We plan to go home about the middle of next week after Jon completes the job he's working on now.

Going home holds its own challenges. We have to choose a new doctor that provides IV vitamin C therapy and get a new treatment routine rolling as well as continue with normal life responsibilities. We also need to aggressively investigate some other treatment options that Dr. Lodi has highly recommended I pursue in Denver. I'd appreciate your prayers that God will make our way clear to us and give us the energy to walk in it.

Keeping On

My blood work results were disappointing today. My tumor markers remained basically the same - 76. We were really hoping for another drastic drop, but we knew it wasn't guaranteed. Through this past week, the Lord has reminded me constantly through a variety of sources that He always works perfectly, and I can continue to trust Him without reserve when things don't go the way I thought I wanted them to. What peace. I hope and pray that every one of you can have the same peace. The difficulties it usually takes to learn this are worth it.

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. I won't do a review of the following books, but they both deal with trusting our Shepherd and King and have been a powerful blessing to me. I hope some of you will enjoy them too.

Hinds Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard
Edge of Eternity by Randy Alcorn