Thank you for all of your prayers.

And SWTX, Thank you for that scripture. I really needed that. I'm not very religious, but I am Catholic, and those words are a great comfort. I know that I'll never be cured of my disease, but I work really hard on having the courage and strength to get through whatever comes my way.

And here's some great news - my neighbor's baby made it though open heart surgery GREAT! He's off the ventilator and in ICU right now. The pictures are so precious. He looks so good despite just having surgery. He's such a little fighter!

Lastly, my friend who had islet cell transplant and removal of her pancreas, spleen and appendix, is on day 10 of recovery. She has a fever right now, which is a challenge because she's on immunosuppressants, so they are watching her closely. If the fever goes away, she might be out within the week.

I will continue to pray for everyone who needs them.

Following up on my post from a few pages ago, has anyone ever seen a grief counselor? I know that is a very personal question and I understand wanting to keep that private, but if anyone has and would be willing to shoot me a PM, I would be grateful!

Early yesterday morning, a police officer was shot and killed in my hometown. I knew him only by face and name, but my half brother used to work with him, a cousin of mine went to prom with him, and a lot of my other friends were close to him. A close friend to my family works on the police department with Officer Andy Dunn. He left behind a wife and a 3 year old and 5 month old. The city has never had an officer shot and killed in the line of duty before, so this has hit us all very hard. Please keep all those affected in your prayers.

A friend has just found out that her unborn child is afflicted with Trisomy 18. Children with that have a 90% chance of dying before they reach age 1 and about half die at or before birth. Please keep her in your prayers!

Carnation, I have nothing to say to ease the situation except in my prayers.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I'm still looking for a job.

RE:Prayer requests
 

I pray that this can encourage all who are in need of prayers for their situations. God knows about all the problems we are facing. He also cares deeply about each and every one of us, more than we can imagine. He can and will come through every time when we put our trust in Him. Jesus says IF we can believe, ALL THINGS are possible to them that believe.

The problem that we have is...what are we believing? If we believe the problem is bigger than God, we need to increase our faith in God....."for without faith, it is impossible to please Him, he that comes to God must believe in Him and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him."

I used to believe that God was holding back my blessing because of my faults and imperfections. But I found out in His Word that God was not looking at my actions, He was looking at my heart. And once I got my heart turned towards Him, my actions were still jacked up, but my heart was crying out to the God that could heal me out of whatever situation I was in. Thats when I began to see God move for me.

So my prayer for everyone reading this is.....Lord Jesus, You are a God of action. Show yourself alive and strong to Your people, according to what You said in Your Bible, with many proofs. Give these individuals the faith to believe that #1 they are forgiven for any sins that are standing in the way of their ability to have faith in You, and then #2 show them how strong You truly are by sending the answer they need to overcome whatever trouble they are facing. You are a powerful and Mighty God, so I thank You now for this, AMEN.

Remember that former student of mine who delivered a 1 1/2 lb. baby? Baby is GREAT - but Ashley was just diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma. Prayers are appreciated - she is a fighter, and I have every confidence in her, but want to support her with all the prayers I can!

I have a huge prayer request. The boy I've been writing about on these forums is about to start an experimental treatment and is having second thoughts about treatment. His mom updates a carepage daily and this is what was posted today.

"Zasked me about the 8H9 trial and he wanted the details. I pulled out the consent form and went through it with him. It really, really upset him. He was in tears and scared about the risks and side effects and with the idea of having an abdominal catheter inserted that will have to be pulled out like the drain tubes and the femural line he had for stem cell collection. He doesnt' want to go through the pain again. He doesn't want to be isolated and away from us. The consent form noted that parents can still see and talk to hiim through a screen. It wasn't good enough for him. I couldn't console him. I reminded him that the risks and side effects he is facing on 8H9 are the same as chemotherapy with the exception of possible damage to his thyroid gland. He may need to take thyroid supplements for the rest of his life. It didn't make him any more accepting. He did mention going home and giving up only because that was an option listed on the form under "What if I don't want to take part in this study?" I told him that we could go home tomorrow if he wanted to but I am not letting him just give up that easy if he has made it this far into treatment. 7 months and he is on the last week of chemo and he wants to give up now?!?!?!? I told him that the week he was in the hospital a 24 year old kid died from DSRCT because his parents couldn't afford to get him to New York and he didn't have insurance. The week before that a thirty something father died of DSRCT in Ireland because he couldn't afford to go to New York for treatment, and he is here in New York in the best hospital for DSCRT and he has an opportunity to take advantage of this study and he wants to go home and give up? No way! I told him his dad and I would do our best to talk to the team to see what can be done to make him comfortable with the pain he is faced with. Then he says that the doctors don't even know if it will work, 8H9, so what's the point. I told him that it was true no one knows if it will work or what will happen or what side effects will materialize but if there is a chance that his body will respond, if there is a chance that this procedure will give him another year or two or more of life then we have to do it. He went to sleep in tears. Since this conversation, he has brought it up a couple of times. We haven't seen the surgical team yet to tell them about Z's concerns, but we will."

Its heartbreaking. What can we even say to her at this point? Please pray that they can make a decision that is good for them. He's only 15.

I don't like to ask for sympathy, but I feel a little lost.

I've been diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer that I thought I had successfully fought off 2 years ago. I would appreciate it if anyone had it in their hearts to send me a few good thoughts.

ETA: I guess I feel almost comfortable posting this here because I'm pretty much anonymous. However, if you do know me, I'd appreciate not putting anything on Facebook. I'm not breaking the news to some people yet, until some of their stressors they've been dealing with lately have cleared up. Thank you.

Oh, AnotherKD, praying you beat it quickly and as painlessly as possible. Still waiting to hear about my former student - we don't know about her lymph nodes yes. I'd also appreciate your prayers for a fellow teacher - she's 35 weeks pregnant and on bed rest until they figure out if her liver is okay. She broke down in tears yesterday - she delivered her daughter early and knows what it might mean, although she's much further along this time.

ETA - Jeremiah 30:17
"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds," declares the LORD.

AnotherKD - thoughts and prayers are with you. I hope that all well be well with you.

SWTXBelle - My thoughts are prayers are with your teacher friend.

I am still on the job quest. I am waiting to hear from a job I interviewed for a week or two ago.

Our friend whose unborn baby was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 went to the OB today and there was no heartbeat. She made it to 24 weeks; they will take the baby tomorrow. Please pray that the baby's mom and dad will find peace.

Oh, Carnation, such a tragic story - prayers for the family and the soul of their child.