Monday is Here

I made it back home for Goshen with a van full of the belongings I left behind just two and a half months ago. Packing up didn’t feel strange though. What felt strange was being back in a place that I once was such apart of and not having much more of a reason to be there than to visit friends and professors. But, it was a lot of fun. I got to stay with my roommate and hang out at the house I lived in at the beginning of the school year. It was so much fun just to sit down and talk with so many people I haven’t seen since my life changed. Simply talking with those I don’t see very often and yet are supporting me so much was the best part of my trip. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted, but I will be back.

Right now I am feeling so good and yet in the back of my mind I know the time is wearing thin until my body will hit the bricks of chemo. Monday it is back to the hospital to receive all three chemos. Last time I received my VAC, while my body still felt tired and out of it my stomach ach went away by Wednesday, which helped me to feel a lot better than previous VAC recoveries. My prayer requests for this coming week, and what I will be praying for, is that my stomach ach goes away quickly again, my hospital stay goes smoothly, and the chemotherapy is extremely effective in destroying the cancer within the body.

Once again, I thank all of you for supporting through the long hall of my treatment,
Nathan

Its Already Friday

It is already Friday and I realized I haven’t written a new blog. This is the second week of my cycle, so I am feeling pretty well and getting lots of sleep. That is other than getting over the cold I picked up this past weekend in Ohio. I had a great time in Ohio with family as we all stayed in the same hotel and went to my cousins wedding. As a family, we spent time talking and playing Rook (a card game). It was so much fun to once again see my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and a lot of cousins on my Dad’s side. But, that weekend, because of traveling through the night, I didn’t get much sleep and came down with a cold. I felt the worst Saturday night and all day Sunday, but I am now getting over it and hopefully that will be my cold of the year. I am thankful I didn’t get any other infections at the same time, but the doctors put me on antibiotics just to be safe.

This next week I will be visiting the Goshen area again. I am really excited to see so many of the friends in Goshen who I know are praying for me and have done a lot to support me the last couple of months. It should be a fun time.

As far as the medical end of my life, I have around 7 more weeks till I undergo scans and tests again. That will be two more cycles of chemotherapy. The tests are something that I am in prayer about even though it is a little ways off still.

Enjoying the cold winter days by our fireplace . . .

Nathan

Feeling Fairly Well

I made it through this last VAC (all three chemos) better than I have ever before. Praise the Lord! While I am still tired and my muscles feel strange, like normal, my stomach didn’t hurt near the same as it has the past three times. And, that makes a big difference in how I feel. Thank you for all your prayers, they are working. I also had another consultation with my doctors the day of my VAC treatment where they informed me that I no longer have to take one of my at home medications. The purpose of that medication was to protect my kidneys from large amounts of uric acid that accumulates as the tumors shrink. I still have numerous tumors in my body, it is just that I guess a good portion of the mass as been flushed out. We also talked about my future treatment, which as of now will be two more cycles of my three-week treatment plan. In six weeks I will have another CT scan and possibly another bone marrow biopsy (not looking forward to that one and I am still six weeks away!!!). Then we will have to see where I go from there. I am trusting that God has it all under control and appreciate the many prayers that I know are still pouring out!

Some of you may know that I was hoping on being able to attend my cousin’s wedding in Ohio this weekend. I believe I am feeling up to it so I am planning on being there and seeing a lot of family this weekend, which I am really looking forward to.

May God’s peace be with us all,
Nathan

My Friendly Port

Hi-

This past Monday I had the experience of using my new port for the first time. As the needle inched towards my skin, I braced myself for the pain of an IV but there was none. I found out that having a port makes receiving my chemotherapy virtually painless, which is very nice considering that I receive it on a weekly basis. One thing I don’t like about having a port is that I can’t actually watch the drugs pass through the IV and into my veins. There is just something I like about actually seeing and knowing that the drugs are entering my blood vessels, as strange as that may be. I will stick with using the port though :)

I am very thankful that up till now my chemotherapy treatments have seemed to go as planned with no complications and have been effective in shrinking my tumors. I give God a lot of thanks for this. I ask for prayers that my treatments will only continue to improve in their effectiveness in the treatment of my cancer. I will be receiving all three chemotherapies this coming Monday, so I ask you to pray that everything goes well. In addition, one of my cousins is getting married this coming weekend and I would love to be feeling well enough to attend it with my family.

As I continue my lengthy healing process, I think you all so much for your continued support and prayer.

Nathan