This past week:
My dad and I have gone to the Finding Hope meetings, they’re held twice a week. They've been very helpful. After the 1st meeting on Monday, last week; it was the first time that I prayed with more faith that God can work in these ways; as far as the radiation treatment goes and its' effectiveness on the tumor. It is very easy to see how God has answered prayers of life, sub-leasers & lodging. But it has been a lot harder to just pray to Him asking Him to make radiation completely effective. It just seems harder to see how He can answer prayers in relation to this subject of health.
But like I said, after this meeting on Monday, I can see more of how He answers medical prayers. This came from hearing people from the meeting saying things like "It is because of God that their loved one's cancer is gone..." "God did this..." "God did that..." At first it just sounds almost weird to hear people saying things like that, to me at least when it comes to health stuff. But I think it's when it's in a personal way, when you feel like the pending outcome is not in your favor or the desired outcome is not possible like in the cases of some of the people at the Finding Hope meetings; then once the prayer is answered, you are sold on God and how He can answer. The two times, where I've just had the feeling of finally being sold on how God can answer in personal ways, was in the case of the sub-leaser & in the case of how smoothly lodging went back in November in getting into the Naz house & quickly followed by the HL. But to be 100% honest, I still have doubts when it comes to medical stuff; but I think it’s okay since we are only human.
"It's very humbling to be on the receiving end of prayer" & "Enjoy life as it is," were two quotes that stood out to me.
At the second meeting of week, we sang Christmas Carols. After this meeting, I walked out into the entry area of HL, where there's a greeting desk & offices. From one of the offices someone was playing the song by Hillsong, From the Inside out (Everlasting). She was playing it loud enough that it could be heard from the hallway. It was so good to hear this song!
During radiation treatment, they play soothing music & there's a flat screen tv above that plays nature images on it. The people who go into get me set up for treatment, mentioned that I could bring my own music in to listen to during tx. At first I thought, oh I could bring music like that song Everlasting & listen to that; but then they also said "Or maybe not," just because you will be reminded of treatment, every time you hear the song in the future. Haha, I don't think I want that. It's not too bad or anything, receiving treatment. There are about 7 different times that they shoot the radiation. The machine makes a noise every time. During some of the administrations of radiation, I get a metallic taste in my mouth, but that's normal. The doctor compared the type of radiation that I am receiving, Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy, to if you were to take a lot of flashlights and direct them at a deer that was out in the middle of the road at night time; just how lit up and visible the deer would be under so many lights.
The second new thing, I've lost a patch of hair in front of and above my left ear where the radiation waves are going in, on the left side of my head. I just have to put Vasiline on the area. It's not a big deal as this is where Dr. Marsh, the neurosurgeon, gave me a bad haircut. (:
The third new thing has just been in learning more about Mayo itself and what's coming. There's a mini museum on the first floor of the Mayo/Gonda building. There they have a replica of a heart-lung bypass machine that was used in 1955, to perform Mayo's first open heart surgery to repair the wall of the heart that separates the left and right ventricles, chambers that pumps blood to the body & lungs. This was a cutting edge surgery at the time that it was performed, now a procedure that is performed all of the time across America. It has been so interesting to hear about some of the treatments/transplants that some of the people here at the HL are receiving. This one person will be the 10th person at the Mayo to receive stem cell transplant from the cells found within an umbilical cord to treat Leukemia. My dad has said a few times after seeing the heart-lung bypass machine today and after hearing about some of the newer therapies coming to Mayo: What a time to be alive, with all of that is available (medically speaking)! It is so cool to see the new advances in medicine and treatment being made here; and seeing the necessity for medical facilities like Mayo and other places to keep raising the bar, that way in 10, 20, 30 years what was once something new and only at certain facilities will be offered across the country anywhere. There is a new building being built near mayo, they're really just breaking ground; but by 2015 at the latest, it will be a new radiation treatment facility that offers Proton Radiation. With conventional & IMRT radiation, there are both entry rays and exit rays; meaning that it goes through one side and comes out the other side. With Proton Radiation, they can pin-point the depth that the radiation is needed within the body, therefore eliminating exit rays of radiation. I asked more about IMRT with the Certified Nurse Practitioner, although yes, I do have exit rays of radiation; with IMRT; it is like waves of radiation that are going in, where the dose of it is increased in the area of the brain where the tumor is located; therefore the dose can also be modified and lessened in the areas of lesser concern. So I guess the name of ‘intensity modulated' makes perfect sense.
The fourth new thing: I have a legit brain buddy now!! I've met a young couple from South Asia. The wife, who is closer to my age had a brain tumor mostly removed and is now receiving the same type of radiation. The funny thing is she has Dr. Yan as a radiation oncologist, AND that Dr. Yan's husband is a neurosurgeon here at Mayo who operated on the gal that I just met. CRAZINESS! Of course doctors don't always change their name, but Dr. Yan's husband is Dr. Parney. What a match, an oncologist with a neurosurgeon! I wonder what they talk about at the dinner table?! But it has just been nice to have met someone who is going through a lot of the same medical stuff, someone to be able to relate with.
Once again, last but not least: My dad and I will be driving back to KS for a short visit for Christmas!!! I will get to see my mom and brother & family!! Joe will be leaving for the Marines very soon, so it will be great to see him!! I was talking on the phone with Joe, he was like: I just mowed the lawn! It was just funny because back in PA at this time of year, he'd be shoveling snow.
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