I am encouraged to continue to receive sms, e-mails, songs/poems, calls, and/or love gifts from you. Every word of cheers/inspiration is helpful as we are going very rough patches in life-esp
when our loved one is very sick.
On Wednesday, Luan completed her 3 days of chemo pretty smoothly except for an upset stomach on the last day of chemo. After she was given the medicine she was Ok for the day and was able to eat.
This round, the chemo is much stronger (with a cocktail of 4 potent drugs)--in spite of the anti-nausea pill, she is still feeling sick today. Today is tough-mainly porridge and she took only half a bowl for each meal. Pray against the side-efforts of the chemo--there is no permanent side effort esp. on the liver and the bone marrow.
A nos of people called today. A nurse came to give Luan's the booster jab to build up her body's immune system--this will be for the next 5 days. These are the days when the white blood cells are expected to drop significantly and she is most suscep to infections--pray that I stay healthy and not pass on any infection to her!
Last week, I met up with a long-time friend in Singapore. He had served alongside with me in the campus student ministry in the mid 70's and we had not seen one another for more than a quarter of a century! I would not have recognised him on the street. He brought along his wife when we met. His wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1998. She had written of her deep experiences in her book--"Cheers To Life!". Luan and I had found the book helpful--it is honest, at times homorous, real and down to earth. Her subtitle of the book is particularly telling and caught my attention, "A woman's dance with breast cancer".
I quote her: "A dance with breast cancer. I was unprepared. But compelled. I had to adapt my footwork to the dance. Move to its rhythm. Feel it deep in my soul. Like the tango, it can be intense. There are fleeting moments of exhilaration and moments of repose. The partners can be oppressively close"--how true are her words to describe what Luan (and I in much lesser degree) is going through.
She continues, "The pace changes. I lose myself in the swirl as everything becomes a blur. But the Choreographer knows everymove in this dance. Unseen, invisible, He leads, enabling me to make brillant moved I had never thought possible"--yes, "he knows", and we too desire to deepen our experiences of our Choreographer's grand design in this dance with cancer.
Her encouraging words, "A dance is very personal. No one knows what it is feels like except the dancer . . . so do not be afraid to dance. Let the music engulf you and dance with gusto".
We have experienced God as our Jehovah Jireh as love gifts came in from around the world to help offset the costs of treatment in Singapore. We want to know Him as the Jehovah Rapha (God who Heals), and a God who work out all things for good.
I will be in Singapore with her until 7th Aug and will return to KL and then come back down again before she goes in for her scan on 21st August. So I will be commuting between KL and Singapore. She is staying with her sisters in Singapore, who are both single and so we enjoy the quietness of their home, their warm hospitality and practical help.
Chris
Praise the Lord the stent in the ureter was placed successfully. The colostomy was done without a resection of the rectum! Luan’s condition is stable and she is in ICU under observation.
