The Servant's Quarters

Whooooo Hah!!!!!

It's the day after the sucker punch of yesterday's bad news, and I'm still in shock. I'm on that emotional rollercoaster where you go from the worst depression and saddness up to feelings of hope. Right now, I'm feeling kind of hopeful, so it's a good time to blog. This morning, I was pretty much in the valley, feeling very sad, and even shedding a few tears at my desk, hoping that none of my co-workers would notice.

No new news to report today. We're playing the waiting game. I've clarified the situation through some phone calls, but other than clearing up some minor details, the picture remains unchanged. By all accounts, Mom's in trouble. We won't know how much trouble for sure until Thursday when the results of the tests ordered by the oncologist are presented to us. But no doubt about it, the situation is serious.

I've made plans to be off of work and spend the day with her, taking her both to the doctor's office and to the hospital for surgery. An added bonus - Rita is arranging child care so that she can go to the oncology appointment with us. She'll know what questions to ask. (Guys, if you have a choice in the matter, marry a nurse. In my experience, they make awesome wives, and they are wonderful resources to have around in any number of situations.)

There's no doubt that what we're going to hear at the oncologist's is not what we want to hear. (What we want to hear is, "The scans all came back negative. In fact, you no longer have cancer. The surgery this afternoon has been canceled. I guarantee that you will live to a very seasoned old age and die peacefully in your sleep of natural causes. And today's visit is free because we like you. Have a nice day.") The only questions is how bad is the news going to be. Now, I've done a little bit of reading up on this. Obviously, this cancer is not behaving itself and staying in one place. It's spreading at a frightening rate. It probably has shown up in the scans that the oncologist ordered, and that's a pretty scary prospect.

On the plus side, regardless of how fast it's growing, we caught it early. Thank you, Mom, for being diligent about mammograms. Generally, that will increase the number of treatment options for someone that is suffering from this disease. Another thing that I found out is that some of the survivors of breast cancer have stories to tell that are as bad or worse than what my Mom is going through. One lady's account that I read online this morning had the cancer in her bones, spine, and liver. And she's a survivor. That's very comforting. We may not want to hear what the doctor is going to say Thursday morning, but I sincerely doubt that we're going to hear what I was afraid of last night and this morning - "Mrs. Butler, the cancer is everywhere and there's nothing we can do about it. You need to start making end of life decisions."

I don't believe that for a second. In the natural, there will be treatment options. In the supernatural, the God that we serve is greater than cancer. And He is a God who loves to come through for His children when they are up against it.

So, I'm hopeful today and still pushing forward. Bring it on. We're going to win this one. I bet that Mom's going to be here in five years. She's going to be one of the survivors.

More later......