Angie's Battle, God's Victory!

From Angie: Well these past few days have brought a unique set of challenges.  After receiving my 2nd chemo treatment on Tuesday, May 18th, we learned that my Dad passed away on May 19th. The challenge was planning a memorial service that would coincide with my highest point of white blood count and least risk of exposure to infection.  We began praying for God to “clear the way “ for just the right timing and place.  He answered our prayers and provided the perfect place and date. Dad’s memorial service was on Saturday May 29th at an outdoor pavilion.  The service was a beautiful tribute to the man of God he was and brought much needed peace and closure for the family.  Tomorrow will be my 3rd round of chemo. Please pray for: White blood count to be in good range to receive chemo  Continued strength and wisdom dealing with the side effects

From Mom/Angie: Hair started falling out on Saturday night. Decided to be proactive so we gave myself a haircut on Sunday (I saved most of my hair). Picked up my wig Monday and my precious neighbor friend who is a barber came last night to shave my head.  It has been oddly very freeing.  “To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for his own glory.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭61:3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

More answers to our prayers! Today Angie's white blood cell count was up to 8,300! That's a huge 1 week uptick from the 300's! She is feeling as good as to be expected and there were no real concerns except high blood pressure--which is expected when coming to these appointments. The oncologist expects her white blood cell count to drop as it did last week within the next week. Therefore, he is prescribing a low-dose antibiotic for to take Monday for 5 days when she is the most vulnerable to any type of infections. This will be a crucial time for her to rest and take it easy.  She has started the process of loosing her hair and is ready to embrace some cute beanies/caps. She looks amazing in everything she tries. Her smile is gorgeous and her fight is strong! I'm so incredibly proud of her positive outlook, attitude, and faith in the Lord.  The Positives: -Chemo 2/4 --half way through this type of chemo (she has 12 weeks of a different chemo after this) -She got the nur

Returned yesterday to oncologist for a check-up and to determine current blood work.  Although Angie was feeling better, she found out that her white blood count was extremely low at 360.  Normal is 2500-3000, and chemo patients usually are around 1500.  Also dealing with mouth sores due to chemo, and waiting on results from urine culture to rule out infection. Positive: After a bumpy week last week from first treatment, she’s feeling good this week. Sleep is returning to normal. No nausea. Improvement in hot flashes. Please pray for: White Blood cell to climb to a great level That she will be able to have chemo on Tuesday (if count is not up they will have to postpone)  Healing for mouth sores  Good days to enjoy God’s many blessings

Yesterday (May 3) Angie had her port surgery performed in the hospital. It went smoothly but was a longer day than anticipated.She came home with a large bump where the port was and lots of bandages with tube sticking out. It was quite uncomfortable because of the tape but she managed to get a few hours of sleep last night. At the moment-she’s now receiving her first chemo treatment. She also receives a lot of other meds to help her body tolerate the nasty side effects of chemo.  To give some context—she had to arrive today at 7am to see the oncologist. Which takes until about 7:45 before seeing the doctor. Then after that visit she waits again for her name to be called for infusion. Then that process takes about 3 hours or more. The whole thing today is approximately 5 hours. Today the Oncologist shared news with her most recent images of the tumor. Even though the tumor showed a larger measurement-he said the tumor is not changed! Apparently they account for +/- and human error when