So Much Uncertainty, But So Much To Be Thankful For

We are wrapping up volleyball season right now, so life has been especially busy lately. Between games, practices, activities, homeschool, and everything else going on, our days have been full. I definitely feel a little tied to the doctor’s office these days, with appointments scheduled almost every day. But even in the midst of all of that, I am so grateful for each day the Lord has given me.

I am still waiting to hear back from my neuro-oncologist about whether I will need to start radiation on my brain. The report from my lumbar puncture that Drew and I saw showed no malignancy in the spinal fluid, which was encouraging. However, the neuro-oncology office told us that the report they received appeared to be incomplete, and they have been trying for the past few weeks to get access to the full results.

Those results are important because they will help determine the next step in my treatment. Depending on what the spinal fluid shows, I may need a separate port placed in my brain to deliver treatment, in addition to radiation, or I may be able to have radiation alone (if the report we saw was accurate and final). Of course, we are praying and hoping for the latter.

The treatment I am on right now has been the toughest treatment I have experienced so far. It has been especially hard on my blood counts, and I have also been dealing with nausea and a number of other side effects. The encouraging part is that my lab work seems to indicate that the treatment is working. Typically, this treatment helps patients for a few months before the cancer eventually finds a way around it. I started this treatment in August, so we are thankful for any time that it is working. Today I had my 2nd infusion of the three-week cycle.  I have a PET scan scheduled for October 16, which will hopefully show the cancer has significantly decreased.

My doctor here seems to feel that this may be the last treatment option available to me locally. However, I have been in contact with the Phase 1 clinical trial team at MD Anderson, and there is one particular treatment I may be eligible for. I still have to go through additional testing, including another brain MRI, to determine whether I qualify. The timing is also important because I would have to wait at least two weeks after any treatment—including brain radiation—before I could start the clinical trial. So, needless to say, we are eager to get some answers about the brain radiation soon.

In the meantime, life is going well. I am doing my best to manage the difficult side effects, and I even managed to get more than 10,000 steps in one day at the volleyball tournament in Dallas last weekend! I think my body really needed that. Now that the temperatures are finally cooling off and fall is here, I want to start getting up in the mornings and going for a walk. My body has become very weak through all of this, and I know I need to work on getting stronger.

We also just celebrated Luke’s 17th birthday, and we are so incredibly proud of the young man he is becoming. I may have to do a separate post about that because there is definitely a lot to say!

For now, we just keep on trucking. We keep taking things one day at a time, trusting the Lord with what comes next, and treasuring the gift of each day He gives me.

I am so incredibly thankful. I love my family and friends so much, and I feel incredibly blessed to have so many people walking alongside me through all of this. ❤️

(Including a photo of our sleepy Minnie on my lap. She brings all of us so much joy.)