Nandor....arrow...foot...deer

Last time I wrote about Nandor he was still in hospital waiting to be stitched up. It turns out that his tendons were all in tact so the surgeon stitched him up the next morning. He stayed in hospital 2 nights but by the second morning he was getting pretty insy to get out of there. I picked him up Mon morning so at least we got to spend the day together before I had to go back to Toronto. He is off the crutches and moving around pretty well. It still swells sometimes by the evening but that is normal when he has been on it all day. He also went hunting with Jakob the last week of the season so that gives you an idea how he is doing….again...thanks be to God....

This is a picture of a hike we all took that weekend.

Radiation is Finished!!!

These past 7 weeks just flew by. As you can see I haven’t been keeping the blog updated. I was just too tired most nights. Going through this treatment was very exhausting. The nurses get us up at 7:00am, there is no time to sleep in or take it easy. Most of the day was traveling to the hospital, waiting for the treatment, getting treatment, blood work, traveling back to the lodge. After the first 2-3 weeks I was just too tired to take my walks to TBS. But remember one of my worries at the beginning that I will be all alone? Well the Lord made sure that did not happen. I was surrounded by people all the time. I met several believers and all kinds of wonderful people at the lodge and the hospital. The neatest thing is we were all going through cancer and we could all support each other in our battles.
I also sensed the prayers of you all….some days when it was especially difficult and all I wanted to do is stay in bed and mope, someone was praying and I had the strength to get up, put one foot in front of the other and go… God works in mysterious ways through the prayers of His people. I not just felt the prayers but was reminded of them practically by the phone calls, little gifts that I opened everyday from the ladies at church, the verses my husband would text me, cards and emails. I feel saying thank you is just not enough but…Thank You!!
These next 2 weeks will be a bit hard, they say some symptoms will be worse before they get better. I am experiencing bowel issues, burns on my lower back and lack of appetite.
I have learned so many things in these past weeks but one of the biggest lessons is how much my Father in Heaven loves and cares for His children!!!!

Through the LORDS mercies we are not consumed,
Because of His compassions fail not
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
The LORD is my portion says my soul,
Therefore I hope in Him!!

In His Hands,
Miriam

Thanks Be To God

So much has transpired since I last wrote, Ive been really busy but that is a good thing....It is now Thanksgiving Weekend.. wow how time flies. We are having our annual dinner etc. with the family and it sure feels good to be home and together…but our family never misses a beat as far as excitement and Nandor topped it off this weekend for us. Saturday we all went for a hike at a beautiful waterfalls in North Bay, the leaves are peaking this weekend and it is gorgeous!!!! The girls all went home to prepare the yummy Thanksgiving turkey dinner and the guys, Nandor, Ed and Ryan went for a quick hunt. Hours later and already dark we got a call that they are going up to North Bay to take Nandor to emerg. He shot a deer and while dragging it back to the car he dropped the arrow that killed the deer and kicked into it. It went through his boot and hit a major artery. But before they went to emerg the deer was tagged and put into the car. Yes.. he got his deer!!!! By this time he had a pool of blood on the floor of Rebekah’s car and blood all over the dashboard. Imagine the sight when he arrived at emerg…he is in full camo gear…his right arm if full of deer blood from gutting it, I’m sure there was some splattering on his face and hands… then his foot is wrapped in a towel dripping with blood. Needless to say they brought him in right away…they didn’t want the others to faint by seeing him…They kept him for the night and this morning the surgeon saw him and thankfully all the tendons are alright...he ran a fever at night so they are giving antibiotics and hopefully tomorrow the surgeon can stitch him back up. I will keep you posted as to what is happening and please pray that he will heal up quickly.

My treatments are going pretty good, doctor is pleased as to how well I am tolerating them. I did get called in on Friday to let me know that my counts are dropping and they will be giving me a blood transfusion on Thursday. Other than that I am pretty busy and that helps the days pass quicker. I have met several believers among the patients that are staying at the Lodge and am always meeting new people that are going through cancer. I also dropped into Toronto Baptist Seminary/ Jarvis St Baptist Church which is about four blocks from where I am staying. They have all been wonderful there, I walk over when I can and help out where I can and attend chapel and classes when I can.

I have been learning a bit or two about waiting lately. There is a lot of waiting in my days….waiting for the shuttle that takes us to the treatment…waiting to get the treatment….waiting to come back on the shuttle…waiting for the weekend so I can come home and see my wonderful family and awesome husband….waiting to see if these treatments are working, but the Lord says waiting is a good thing…

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the Lord
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.

His understanding is unsearchable,
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles
They shall run and not be weary
They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:28-31

So this Thanksgiving weekend I am so thankful for the wonderful things the Lord is doing, and most of all for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ.

In His Hands,
Miriam

Contact Info

My laptop is not picking up wireless signals so I am stuck. Hopefully this weekend we will figure it out. In the meantime my room phone # is 1-416-413-8065. I cannot call out long distance but I can get calls in. If I am not there my room mate will pick up or you can leave a message.

Yesterday my treatment was cancelled so Nandor and I went for a long walk in downtown TO. Today I went for a cabbagetown tour with a volunteer and my treatment will be at 3:20.

In His Hands,
Miriam

Toronto

Well, here I am in the big city of Toronto. I am overlooking Yorkdale mall and the never ending traffic. Nandor had a seminar to attend in the area today so we came yesterday and stayed at the Holiday Inn. God even had that planned… Today is my first radiation treatment at 2:30 then we will go over to the Princess Margaret Lodge to settle in for the next few days and Nandor will go home. This is all so new, I am a bit nervous but I really sense that the Lord is with me. I am so used to being with my family or having them close by… so that kind of hurts… but I know this has all been orchestrated by the Lord and His purposes will be revealed as I put one foot in front of the other and move forward for His glory....
Please pray with me that I will have opportunities to minister to others around me and that I would be sensitive to them. It is so easy in this situation to be self centered, self absorbed and miss what is going on around me. I have been given so much, Lord help me to give it away…
Also please pray that as I go through these radiation treatments, the bowels and other organs will not get damaged. I think I wrote this verse in the past but I will do it again, it means so much to me.

But now, thus says the Lord who created you:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you
I have called you by your name;
You are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH THE FIRE, YOU SHALL NOT BE BURNED
NOR SHALL THE FLAME SCORCH YOU.
For I AM the Lord your God.
Isaiah 43:1-3

Please pray for my family at home.

In His Hands,
Miriam

More News

We went to Sunnybrook yesterday and saw my new doctor. She has had experience with this cancer and her strong recommendation was that we start radiation therapy immediately. Long story short my treatments start next Wed Sept 23. I am now trying to get everything organized as far as getting to and from treatments, my stay in Toronto etc….It will be for 7 weeks, Mon to Fri. I will be staying at Princess Margaret Lodge and hoping through the Cancer Society I will be able to get rides to and from Toronto.

This is all a bit overwhelming, please pray that God would continually sustain and strengthen my family and I through this. Pray that we will see Him in everything.

“See God in everything, and God will calm and colour all that thou dost see!”

Thanks for praying,
In His Hands,
Miriam

Good News

Again its been a while since I wrote but finally I am feeling better. Its been tough, even though chemo is done I am now feeling the effects like nausea, joints pain, numb fingers and toes, stiff ness and pain in my fingers and every time I even thought about the computer I got nauseated. Ha,ha, they actually have a name for that, its called “associative nausea”. But God has been giving me the strength for the day and He is so faithful!!!!

When we saw the radiation doctor last time he suggested we continue treatment with radiation for 6 weeks, the docs were pretty sure there was some regrowth just because of the aggressive type of cancer it is but before they would proceed they ordered a CT scan to see what was happening after the chemo. I had the scan last week and yesterday we got the results. There is nothing there!!! Docs were stumped again… He said he will not do radiation but will pass me over to another doctor in Toronto Sunnybrook Hospital. We were very pleased, there is always wisdom in numbers. Then as I am writing this I got a phone call that my appointment is tomorrow morning at 10:30. Wow.. God is so good!!!

So as we are rejoicing in this time of refreshment/encouragement we are still leaning hard on the Lord. It’s hard to explain but it’s a very emotional time as far as how things will turn. I can go down one road and think its all over and the cancer is never coming back…that would probably be denial… then on the other hand I could go down the other road and think its all over and I have to go…but that is just plain excruciating. So I am learning I have no business going down either of those roads because God did not promise his grace for stuff like that (our worrying). He said He will give us the grace we need today and tomorrow will take care of itself. I am slowly learning to take each day as they come, live life to its fullest and be about my Fathers business. And to my amazement there is no fear, anxiety but a carefreeness, safety and a satisfaction that is unexplainable…I am safe in the arms of Jesus.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:33-34

Rejoicing….
In His Hands,
Miriam