Bits and Bites

Random thoughts related to cancer:

* I'm usually not a germ-a-phob. Until now. It's weird to think that a simple cold could be very very bad for me. With my low white blood count I don't have the necessary tools to fight off any sort of sickness or infection. Hand sanitizer and Lysol wipes have become a staple in our house. Please don't be alarmed if you are offered our rather large bottle of sanitizer if you come to visit or if the door knobs are swiped with an anti-bacterial wipe when you leave. And if you are sick, as much as I would love to visit with you I just can't, so instead of stopping by you can email or give me a call.

* Meals are more then meals. We feel so blessed with the meals that many of you have provided for us and continue to provide. Besides the practical blessing of not having to think of cooking (or cook), the sense of care and love we feel with the arrival of each hot (and frozen) meal is a very tangible and real thing. A hug and the few minutes of conversation remind us of how many of you are caring for us during this time. Words can not express how much this means.

* Every day brings something new. Most days this is a new symptom, from vomiting to throat sores to the weird bone pain I had this weekend. Today though, the new thing was blessedly nothing weird at all!

* My eyes are weaker. I didn't expect this. Last weekend I couldn't even watch tv for longer then 5 minutes, or read a book or my computer. Scrolling up and down on facebook made me sick. Now it's better but I still use my reading glasses to help ease the strain.

* I still have hair. I expect it to be gone by the weekend and am feeling alright about this. And I am learning to like hats.

* Every day I read the verses from 2 Corinthians 4: 7-16: ...We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed but not driven to despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down but not destroyed...So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed every day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. (select verses). Now I know that the persecution talked about here is not the same as the suffering I'm going through right now but these verses encourage me anyway. I claim the hope in them. And the promise of more to come.