Today’s entry is a combination of thoughts throughout the day. I started this when we got to the hospital & each time I had an opportunity to write something, I did. So, please forgive me if this is a bunch of random ramblings.
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We’re here! Hard to believe that this day has finally arrived. We are sitting in the lobby of the Cancer Center at Baylor waiting to be called back for labs. We’ve had a pretty eventful last few days with lots of tears of joy due to so many people with sweet, Christ-like hearts. Sorry that I haven’t had a second to sit down and write anything. I had a meeting in Tyler on Tuesday & didn’t get home until around 9pm, but I did get to see my cousin, George, who plays football for Tyler Junior College. What a precious man! He has come to know the Lord this year which brings us so much joy!! He has always had a precious heart, but with Jesus in his heart, he is even more precious! He asked me if Ben was going to lose his hair. He said that he told his Mom the night before that if he found out that Ben lost even a patch of hair, his would be gone immediately. He said, “I want to walk with him through this!!” So precious!! Let’s just say I cried most of the way home amazed by his sweet spirit. Then, on Wednesday, my boss rode with me in Athens, TX!! What a wonderful man. He has been so supportive through all of this…from me getting sick in April & us still not knowing what is going on, to Ben’s diagnosis, he has been amazing & so supportive! Please say a prayer that the Lord would shower extra blessings upon him & his family for his kindness!
Yesterday was quite amazing, as well. Early yesterday morning we received a call from a friend in our Sunday School class. She said that she knew that today would be a rough day & so she wanted to prepare a meal for us so that we didn’t have to worry about cooking. So thoughtful & selfless!! Well, all we can say is, “Wow!!” She came over last night with quite a feast! She made salad (which we packed for our lunches today), chicken spaghetti, a loaf of bread, oooey gooey brownies (be still my heart!!), blueberry muffins for this morning, & most importantly, sweet cards from her, her husband & her three children. So beautiful & selfless. She even brought me a birthday present! Her cards are full of scripture & encouragement & prayers from her children. We know the Lord hears their sweet, innocent prayers! She had cards for us to open today, specifically. So encouraging & full of scripture. She also brought Ensure incase Ben didn’t feel like eating. She took off the labels & replaced them with scriptures. Such a selfless act & such an encourager. Her spiritual gifts are quite obvious in this time. Her kids came with her & were such a precious encouragement, too. Their sweet hugs were enough to lift any spirit. We have also received some precious calls from friends in our Sunday School class, letting us know they are praying for us & reminding us of God’s strength vs. ours. What precious brothers & sisters in Christ we have….Wow!!
We are now sitting in the lobby of the infusion therapy center (chemo) waiting for them to call Ben back to start his treatments. Yeah!! We are finally here ready to start knocking this out. As much as I don’t want my husband to have to go through this, it’s so exciting to actually be here & know that we are going to start kicking this. Ben feels awesome!! He has actually gained weight since this started (quite rare) & all of his labs look better than they did last time! Praise the Lord! He’s been working out, taking supplements, & is doing so well. We are so grateful for the Lord’s protection in all of this.
My Granny is such a prayer warrior & any time that she prays & sees the Lord smile, we get a positive answer. Well, through all of this, she hasn’t been getting any smiles from the Lord. However, this morning when she sat at the feet of our Father, He smiled at her! Praise Him!!
Last night, we celebrated my birthday early since I was supposed to be out of town all next week starting Sunday (Praise the Lord, the company allowed me to cancel this trip & reschedule). Doing this caused us to miss a reunion for alumni of T Bar M Christian Sports Camp, of which Ben attended as a camper & then as a counselor (coach). It is his second home!! Throughout this entire journey, Ben has been repeating a theme from his years at T Bar M. It is:
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We’re here! Hard to believe that this day has finally arrived. We are sitting in the lobby of the Cancer Center at Baylor waiting to be called back for labs. We’ve had a pretty eventful last few days with lots of tears of joy due to so many people with sweet, Christ-like hearts. Sorry that I haven’t had a second to sit down and write anything. I had a meeting in Tyler on Tuesday & didn’t get home until around 9pm, but I did get to see my cousin, George, who plays football for Tyler Junior College. What a precious man! He has come to know the Lord this year which brings us so much joy!! He has always had a precious heart, but with Jesus in his heart, he is even more precious! He asked me if Ben was going to lose his hair. He said that he told his Mom the night before that if he found out that Ben lost even a patch of hair, his would be gone immediately. He said, “I want to walk with him through this!!” So precious!! Let’s just say I cried most of the way home amazed by his sweet spirit. Then, on Wednesday, my boss rode with me in Athens, TX!! What a wonderful man. He has been so supportive through all of this…from me getting sick in April & us still not knowing what is going on, to Ben’s diagnosis, he has been amazing & so supportive! Please say a prayer that the Lord would shower extra blessings upon him & his family for his kindness!
Yesterday was quite amazing, as well. Early yesterday morning we received a call from a friend in our Sunday School class. She said that she knew that today would be a rough day & so she wanted to prepare a meal for us so that we didn’t have to worry about cooking. So thoughtful & selfless!! Well, all we can say is, “Wow!!” She came over last night with quite a feast! She made salad (which we packed for our lunches today), chicken spaghetti, a loaf of bread, oooey gooey brownies (be still my heart!!), blueberry muffins for this morning, & most importantly, sweet cards from her, her husband & her three children. So beautiful & selfless. She even brought me a birthday present! Her cards are full of scripture & encouragement & prayers from her children. We know the Lord hears their sweet, innocent prayers! She had cards for us to open today, specifically. So encouraging & full of scripture. She also brought Ensure incase Ben didn’t feel like eating. She took off the labels & replaced them with scriptures. Such a selfless act & such an encourager. Her spiritual gifts are quite obvious in this time. Her kids came with her & were such a precious encouragement, too. Their sweet hugs were enough to lift any spirit. We have also received some precious calls from friends in our Sunday School class, letting us know they are praying for us & reminding us of God’s strength vs. ours. What precious brothers & sisters in Christ we have….Wow!!
We are now sitting in the lobby of the infusion therapy center (chemo) waiting for them to call Ben back to start his treatments. Yeah!! We are finally here ready to start knocking this out. As much as I don’t want my husband to have to go through this, it’s so exciting to actually be here & know that we are going to start kicking this. Ben feels awesome!! He has actually gained weight since this started (quite rare) & all of his labs look better than they did last time! Praise the Lord! He’s been working out, taking supplements, & is doing so well. We are so grateful for the Lord’s protection in all of this.
My Granny is such a prayer warrior & any time that she prays & sees the Lord smile, we get a positive answer. Well, through all of this, she hasn’t been getting any smiles from the Lord. However, this morning when she sat at the feet of our Father, He smiled at her! Praise Him!!
Last night, we celebrated my birthday early since I was supposed to be out of town all next week starting Sunday (Praise the Lord, the company allowed me to cancel this trip & reschedule). Doing this caused us to miss a reunion for alumni of T Bar M Christian Sports Camp, of which Ben attended as a camper & then as a counselor (coach). It is his second home!! Throughout this entire journey, Ben has been repeating a theme from his years at T Bar M. It is:
Not I but Christ in every look and action,
Not I but Christ in every word & deed,
Not self esteem, but Christ esteem!
Not self esteem, but Christ esteem!
So, he was telling the director of camp how special this theme has been to him through this journey. Johnny, the director, came in town last night for the reunion & to see Ben. He brought Ben a very special gift…a long sleeve T-shirt from camp with this statement on the back. On the front of the shirt, it says,
NOT
I
BUT
CHRIST
What an awesome proclamation to all that Ben encounters while here. We already had one of the receptionists see it & get excited & say, “Yes, sir, Amen, that’s the truth!!” They are so much fun here & so many of them obviously love the Lord!!
Wow! What a joyful experience we just had…we are sitting in the infusion room about to start chemo & we see a cute young lady with a pink cap on covering her sweet bald head! We noticed that they were passing out confetti. Turns out that today is her last day of chemo & in the room next to her is one of her friends that she has met while here. Her friend, Donna, is actually from Rockwall & is the sister of a guy that I went to high school with…we also worked with her Mom in the nursery at our church. Anyway, today was the last treatment for each of them & they were having quite a celebration…I got to be the photographer! That was, of course, through the tears of joy that I was shedding for them! I hope the pictures turned out okay. What a blessing to get to witness this on the first day of chemo! Such precious girls, so excited, & witnessing the end result! They each had cute shirts that they changed into that said, “I survived!” My favorite could be the pins on their shirts that said, “Cancer sucks!!” Yes it does, but to God be the glory!! Please be in prayer for each of them that the cancer would stay away forever…
Well, we have officially started chemotherapy. His treatment is called ABVD. They have already given Ben the injection of the red stuff, the A (Adriamycin, also known as doxorubicin). Supposed to change the color of his urine for a day or so (I know, Too Much Information, but quite humorous)!! They have given him the nausea medication, the V, Vinblastine (made from a plant in the periwinkle family), & have started the pump with the DTIC (Dacarbazine). The D in ABVD. The B, Bleomycin will be last. Ben is watching Monty Python-Search for the Holy Grail to pass his time…nothing like British humor to pass the time. They say we have a little more than an hour left to wait here.
Ben’s parents are coming in town this weekend which should be so much fun. He hasn’t seen his Mom since this summer & they haven’t seen the new house we are in…They should already be at our house! So, it will be fun to come home to see them tonight.
Well, we have officially started chemotherapy. His treatment is called ABVD. They have already given Ben the injection of the red stuff, the A (Adriamycin, also known as doxorubicin). Supposed to change the color of his urine for a day or so (I know, Too Much Information, but quite humorous)!! They have given him the nausea medication, the V, Vinblastine (made from a plant in the periwinkle family), & have started the pump with the DTIC (Dacarbazine). The D in ABVD. The B, Bleomycin will be last. Ben is watching Monty Python-Search for the Holy Grail to pass his time…nothing like British humor to pass the time. They say we have a little more than an hour left to wait here.
Ben’s parents are coming in town this weekend which should be so much fun. He hasn’t seen his Mom since this summer & they haven’t seen the new house we are in…They should already be at our house! So, it will be fun to come home to see them tonight.
We are now home & Ben KNOCKED OUT his first round of chemo!! Yeah Ben! What a trooper! He did great & apparently pumped quickly. His didn't take as long as they expected. Must be those good veins. Anyway, he did so well! Also, his nurse, Ellen, is a Christian & she's from the Phillipines. So, we enjoyed getting to know her, too! Ben's parents are here and we are headed for Mexican food!!
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