I’m so happy to share with you who have been praying for and thinking about my sister Ruthie and her fight against Stage 4 cancer some good news. She had a wound on her chest from where doctors had to insert a chemo port earlier this year. The wound wouldn’t heal, so her oncologist had to withhold a powerful chemo drug from her until they got the wound closed — this, because the wound never would have healed under the influence of this drug. Well, today the wound was finally declared healed, and tomorrow they can restart the big bad voodoo daddy drug. She’s been doing surprisingly well on the chemo she had been taking, so bringing the even more powerful drug into the mix should help more. My folks called tonight to say Ruthie was thrilled by today’s news, and is feeling more optimistic now than she has in a long time.
I want to again thank you all for your kind words and prayers and good wishes. Don’t stop now!
I have to say too that I have been skeptical of my sister’s determination not to know mortality stats and other information related to her kind of cancer. She has maintained all along that it’s useless to know that stuff; her view is that it cannot help her — she’s been doing everything the doctor tells her to do anyway — and can only hurt her, by sapping her inner determination to stay positive and fight this stuff. My skepticism is not out of a lack of respect by any means, but only because that’s not how I would act were I in her shoes. However, given how well she’s doing, I’m wondering if the girl isn’t onto something powerful. We’ve come a long way since this day. Please, if you have time, go back and read it, and thank God that she’s still here, and getting stronger every day. Know hope!
Interestingly enough, about a half hour before my parents called with the news, I was putting Lucas to bed and saying evening prayers with him, as usual. And we prayed for Aunt Ruthie’s healing, as usual — but as I did it this time, something wasn’t the same about it. I had a strong sense of her body getting stronger, and being made whole again. It was odd, so I quietly prayed even more for her. Shortly thereafter, my mom and dad called with the good news. IJS.