Sisterhood in Christ

Well we're finally home from the chemo port surgery! I look a little like Frankenstein. There is a tube running out of my neck into my shoulder. It doesn't hurt but feels very strange. I wasn't nervous at all and even managed to nap in the waiting area. This actually surprised even me because (except for having a couple wisdom teeth pulled years ago) I have never had surgery before like this. I even managed to find a new toy to play with there. It was like a reverse vaccuum. You could plug a hose into your hospital gown and it would blow out heat to warm you. My gown blew up like a balloon. It was hilarious but very cozy. I told Randy I want one at our house!

Today went really well but yesterday afternoon was hard. I got reminded again of my mortality. A doctor put my "specs" into a computer and showed all the different scenarios of what would happen if I went through various treatments. BEST case scenario he said that (after a year of all the chemo, surgery and radiation) I have a 70% chance of being alive without cancer in 10 years. Those odds sounds pretty good but when you are young and you've imagined yourself growing old with your husband it is sobering. I didn't even ask what the numbers would be for 20 years because I didn't want to know. The doctor said they would never look at me like a "typical" 37 year old again. This hit me hard. I know though that I am not "typical" and God has a plan for me. My life might be different that I always imagined it. It might even be shorter than I always imagined it but I am in HIS PLAN and I am not a statistic.

God sure knew what He was doing when he gave me my sisters. He knew what He was doing when he gave me my parents, and blessed me with Randy and the girls, my inlaws, my friends. I have begun to see that every person in my life was put there for a reason. There is a sisterhood and brotherhood in Christ that is SO STRONG and POWERFUL. I felt it when my church community group rallied around me on Sunday. I felt it when I went in to get the PET scan results last Friday knowing that my entire homeschool coop was praying for me at that moment. I feel it when I get emails from people who live miles away, the friends of my sisters, the friends of friends or even complete strangers who are praying for me. It is such a blessing.

Last night I got together with about 10 of my Pep Moms friends. Each gave me a verse laid on their hearts and prayed over me. They even took turns feeling my big ol' lymph node (of which I am now quite proud since it kept the cancer from spreading). Two of the moms there were breast cancer survivors and they shared their scars and their stories with us. I believe it is because of all of this (all the prayers, all the love, all the support) that I was not scared when I went into my surgery today. Bless you all for that. One hurdle down y'all!!!