Our Journey Forward: Sunday, August 28, 2011

In the Book of Mormon, there is a record of a family who traveled from the Tower of Babel to the American continent. The family of Jared soon received their first glimpse of a vast, stormy ocean, having been required of the Lord to crawl into some mysterious air-tight vessels they were promised would carry them safely to a better place. As they gazed into the deep, moving water, they breathed the unfamiliar sea salt and felt the ice cold water lap at their feet. "What will become of our family?" "Can we do this thing that God requires of us?"

These were the questions we asked as our family stood on the edge of a new journey in February 2011. Before Cathi was diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer, we saw the waves of an unfamiliar storm brewing and felt the fear of anticipation. When the cancer was certain, our family was required to wade into the cold water, crawl into a mysterious vessel and trust the Lord would be in charge.

The family of Jared was given stones touched by the finger of the Lord that provided light inside their vessels "that they might not cross the great waters in darkness......and it came to pass that...(they) set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God. And it came to pass that the Lord God caused that there should be a furious wind blow upon the face of the waters, towards the promised land; and thus they were tossed upon the waves of the sea before the wind. And it came to pass that they were many times buried in the depths of the sea, because of the mountain waves which broke upon them, and also the great and terrible tempests which were caused by the fierceness of the wind. And it came to pass that when they were buried in the deep there was no water that could hurt them, their vessels being tight like unto a dish, and also they were tight like unto the ark of Noah; therefore when they were encompassed about by many waters they did cry unto the Lord, and he did bring them forth again upon the top of the waters. And it came to pass that the wind did never cease to blow towards the promised land while they were upon the waters; and thus they were driven forth before the wind. And they did sing praises unto the Lord; yea, the brother of Jared did sing praises unto the Lord, and he did thank and praise the Lord all the day long; and when the night came, they did not cease to praise the Lord. And thus they were driven forth; and no monster of the sea could break them, neither whale that could mar them; and they did have light continually, whether it was above the water or under the water." Read the rest: http://lds.org/scriptures/bofm/ether/6?lang=eng

This blog is the captain's log of our family's journey. It will serve to keep all of you updated on Cathi's condition but also be a place where I can express the lessons we are learning so that it might be a source of strength for others who are going through difficult challenges. We are certainly not unique in this regard. I hope to continue trusting in the light we have been given and to lead our family when we are encompassed by the dark ocean or tossed by its waves. We sincerely seek for your faith in asking the Lord to calm the water, give strength beyond our own and lead all of us of us to a better place.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

More Milestones

On Friday, Cathi went to Sky Ridge Hospital where the port was removed from her chest. A port is a little plastic device that was embedded under Cathi's skin and connected to one of her major veins. It allowed the doctors and nurses to easily access her vein for blood tests and IV chemo treatments without having to poke her multiple times. This event was a great milestone for Cathi.

In a sense, the removal of this port was very similar to the excitement Matt Damon experienced at the beginning of his first Boerne Identity movie after his floating body was pulled from the ocean by a helpful fisherman. Although both Matt and Cathi had technology removed from under their skin, Cathi's port unfortunately DID NOT contain a bank account number for a vault in Zurich that contains a stack of fake ID, weapons of mass destruction and enough money for us to enjoy early retirement.

Cathi also began her five years of hormone therapy that should continue to decrease the risk of returning cancer. The doctor told her the side effects will likely include early menopause . . . something that won't be much fun, but definitely worth it if it gives her body more strength to fight off cancer. She will also grow a full beard within a few months and need to use my razor each morning. (Just kidding . . . to Cathi's relief, no facial hair expected with this treatment!)

Pictured below is my wonderful wife just after getting her port removed. One of the nurses congratulated her on these milestones and presented her with this large, well-deserved smiley face cookie.

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