……..There is no way that I can begin to express the multitude of emotions that went through my heart and my mind as the doctor continued to say that Robert’s cancer would take far less chemotherapy than most cancer patients had to have. The doctor began to rattle off numerous names of the drugs that would be a part of his chemo and all I could do was sit there and think how much that seemed for such a tiny body. He then setup our first day of chemo, December 23rd. Two days before Christmas my child would undergo surgery to put in his port and then have his first round of chemo.
Up to this point we still had not told Robert or the rest of our children about the diagnosis. We decided we would sit them all down (once we knew what the oncologist had to say) and share with them everything at that time. When I got home, we called a family meeting. Everyone was present and we began to tell them what lie ahead for Robert but also for them. I will never forget the sound of the tears as long as I live. When I close my eyes I can still hear the brokenhearted crying for their brother. The biggest fear for them, of course, was the big question; “Would Robert die?” They had recently lost a special friend to cancer and this possibility was very real to all of them.
After reassuring them that the doctors were very certain that Robert would be just fine, we all sat down and had prayer over Robert, the cancer and our family. If you have never heard a child pray, then you have really missed out on one of God’s most wonderful creations. Even to this day when I hear them pray I still sit and cry at the faith in their words. When my children pray they pray believing that God hears them and that He WILL answer their prayers. After our prayers we all got up and spent the rest of the day together in the living room, talking and laughing trying to find a way to forget for a just a few hours that cancer had crept into our lives.
After a while we began to feel the financial stress of fighting cancer and buying gas was on the top of the list. The oncologist was on the other side of Atlanta and we had to travel 170 miles twice a week for six months. Gas was outrageous at the time and even though the Children’s Cancer Society helped us some, it was not enough. We thanked the Lord every day that we had insurance that paid for most of his medical needs. There were also a few medicines we had to pay out of pocket for, and with that added expense we barely kept out heads above water. At one point we had a yard sale and sold most of our precious things to bring in extra money for gas to get back and forth to the hospital. But God never let us down, no not for one moment.
When we were low on funds and needed groceries God supplied them through a most wonderful church family that just adopted our family to care for during Robert’s illness. If we needed clothes or anything God supplied it all! When Christmas rolled around we had nothing extra for Christmas presents for the kids. We sat our children down and explained the situation and that we were very sorry. Every child said, “That’s okay, we have to get Robert well first.” I was so proud of them yet so heartbroken that at such an early age they had to learn this hard lesson about money. But God was not done yet.
The following week, I received a call from a friend, her church wanted to help us out for Christmas. The very next day another friend called saying her church also wanted to buy gifts for the kids. And then the biggest blessing of all, the Joanna McAfee Childhood Cancer Foundation called, they wanted to help us on a bigger scale they wanted to know what the children wanted and they wanted to fulfill their wishes if at all possible. God in his goodness, never let us need for anything.
Finally the day came when the doctors were ready to redo the PET scan and see how the chemo treatments had affected the cancer. The oncologist was a bit concerned as he had begun to feel a lump in the area of Robert’s spleen. He informed us that if what he was feeling was a cancerous tumor, they would have to remove the spleen and Robert would then be put on radiation. He told me that Robert’s poor little body was so fragile at that time that radiation could in fact, kill him. But they had to try to get him well. Of course I then had a question… “How do you get cancer in a different place when you are already going through chemo?” I then found out that the chemo is specific to the cancer and does not stop other cancers from forming.
We chose not to tell our children about this newest development but to increase our prayers for our child. My friend Michelle suggested we bring Robert to her church and let them anoint him with oil and pray over him. We decided to orchestrate a major prayer for Robert on Mother’s day. We asked that everyone we knew pray at 11am that Sunday. Our family all went to Michelle’s church that morning, everyone wearing masks to keep out any germs. The Pastor called us up front and the church prayed over my son, they poured their hearts out over him, and many tears were shed that day, asking that God would touch his broken body and heal him. Two days later we went for the PET scan. To the doctor’s surprise (not ours of course) the cancer was gone! The spleen was empty of any tumors and the Hodgkin’s was gone!
In August of that same year, Robert was pronounced cancer free and in full remission. His little body began to heal and his hair came back in thicker and prettier than ever. This August will be our third year cancer free, two more to go and he will be considered cured of his cancer completely. He is one of the many wonderful miracles that God has showered upon us.
When I hear people say that God no longer cares about us or how can anyone know that God is even there? I share with them the many miracles our family has experienced and how I know God exists. I also share how I know that God cares about us, and how He not only cares about us to provide all that we need, He also cared that eleven children would a wonderful Christmas. How do I know that God has not forsaken us? I look in the eyes of my now fourteen year old son, who used to weigh 61 pounds all through chemo and today weighs 134 pounds and is stronger than ever. I look in the eyes of my children and as I listen to their prayers and yes, I know at that very moment that God is alive, and He’s still in control and answers prayer. It may not always be the answer we want but He always answers.
If there is one thing I hope you have gotten from this story, and it is… NEVER GIVE UP ON GOD…He Never Gives Up On Us!!
God bless you all!
Rise'
Hope to see you in two weeks. Tuesday, May 4th to be exact!
Wednesday's Blog: Ponnie's filling in for: "Single Working Mom"
No comments:
Post a Comment