Christmas 07 Update

CHRISTMAS 2007
Dear Family & Friends,

Merry Christmas! As I look back at how 2007 played out for me and my family, my thoughts inevitably take me to loved ones and friends who had been faithfully praying for us!
I do not have enough words to thank you for your prayers for my healing and courage for me and my family. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Your care, concern, practical help, and above all, your love had been our rock of support in those difficult days. God had indeed used you to show us His goodness and compassion.

Our family is doing fine, we have our bumps and bruises along life’s highway, but the Lord is good, He has “crowned us with love and compassion.” Howard is doing fine, having his own aches and pains and occasional senior moments, I guess part of growing old. Shari decided to join the work force and now serves the General Conference Accounting office. Allan is a junior Clinical Laboratory Science major at Southern Adventist University. The children are young adults now. Where did the years go?

I had high dose chemotherapy last April to mid-May, and was house-bound until June. I had everything the books predicted: alopecia, nausea, hyperemesis, neutropenia, anemia, etc. Praise God that my blood count quickly bounced back, and the side effects were not that bad. A nurse practitioner even commented, “Compared to others, this is a breeze for you.”

Just when everything seemed to be going well, we were shocked to know that the IM rod they placed on my fractured femur broke – nobody knows why. The fracture had not healed due to cancer, chemo and radiation, and because the rod broke, the bones had twisted, irritating the tissues around it, resulting to pain and swelling. Recently, the doctor told me it will be a more extensive surgery to remove and replace the rod. My R leg is now about an inch shorter, and the burden of my weight is now on my L leg, and it is starting to complain. We have not yet decided if I should go for surgery. My doctors think that we have to care for the myeloma first.

But there is good news: at the latest visit, my doctor told me that there are no ‘bad’ cells found in my bone marrow, and the myeloma markers in my blood had significantly gone down. She told me not ‘to freak out yet,’ she calls what I have “residual myeloma,” and will have to be monitored regularly. I am still being treated with a second chemo drug until mid-2008.
In this journey, I learned a lot of amazing things-: that life is temporary, a little dot in eternity and it is way better to prepare for eternity instead fighting for life in this old world. I have learned to let go and allow God to teach me lessons in trust, faith, love, generosity, compassion for others, walking with God.

I rest in the comfort of these texts: “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jer. 7:7-8).

I have learned to slow down, enjoy and savor every moment, to live my life to its fullest. For this reason, Howard and I went with our church group to Central Philippines last August for a mission trip and had been greatly blessed. At another time, Jemima, Linda, Nimfa and I drove to Skyline Drive of Shenandoah National Park at 4:30 in the morning to catch the sunrise and see the world come alive in their best autumn colors. I use my best clothes everyday, watch snowflakes falling without feeling guilty, take walks when my leg is not too painful. Howard and I drove on one of the 4 ‘romantic road trips’ advertised in our local paper – we took the one that led to National Wildlife Refuge at the Maryland Eastern Shore. We had a great time, but it was soooo cold! Well, yes – the suggestion was to go on a summer day, not late autumn!

As one cancer survivor puts it, for her, life after cancer was kind of like the film Wizard of Oz when Dorothy and her dog Toto landed in Munchkinland: when she opened the door, the film turned into full color. Life had turned into full color for me, after cancer, when smacked by the reality of the shortness of life, the only great thing left to do is to enjoy every moment of it. I am learning to let go of the past, not to worry of the future, and resolve to celebrate today. I thank the Lord for each breath, each moment, each act of love. I learned that when I look closely, simple things like these are actually miracles.

For Christmas, we wish for you a life in full color, not only for the holiday but also for the coming year, and for the years to come. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!