Another Update

Its been 2 months since I last wrote…wow time sure flies….I am still feeling really good overall. The regular numbness/pain in my hands and feet caused by chemo nerve damage are still there but I guess I am getting used to it and its really not that bad. Some days I feel so good that this whole cancer/chemo/radiation thing seems like a dream and the only evidence I see is when I look in the mirror…I have really curly short hair…
I am back to my regular life…it feels so good to be able to do all the normal things…like cooking, cleaning, shopping, teaching and on and on. We are really busy with school, work, hockey, traveling, church etc.
Before I forget…I went back to Sunnybrook a few weeks ago to see my radiation doctor for a follow up. Everything seems to be going well. My next appointment is in May to see my oncologist. Its still kind of a tough place to be because we still don’t know if any of this treatment worked. Time will tell…And as this time passes many times I get thinking about the what if’s but the Lord is constantly teaching me to TRUST in Him and not my circumstances, tests etc. My constant prayer is that He would fill my heart with love, trust and delight in Him so that my mind has no room for fear ….This is where my battle lies…please pray to that end for me.
Last week I met for lunch with 3 ladies that were in treatment with me in Toronto. We went out for Chinese food in Barrie and just enjoyed each others company. I try to keep in touch with several of people I met during treatment. It’s a really neat connection to have and keep.
Another really neat thing is Nandor and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary on Feb 3rd….yes that is 20....I still can’t believe it…..God has been so faithful…

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers….it seems like I keep saying it but I really mean it…without the support of my praying friends and family I don’t know what I would do…I leave you today my favorite Psalm…I remember memorizing Ps 27:4 as a little girl….not even having a clue of what it meant....but through the years it has become very precious to me…

PSALM 27

1- The LORD is my light and my salvation
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life
Of whom shall I be afraid?

4- One thing I have desired of the LORD
That will I seek
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD
And to inquire in His temple

5- For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me

14- Wait on the LORD,
be of good courage,
and He shall strengthen your heart,
wait, I say, on the LORD…

In His Hands,
Miriam

Celebrating...

My Dear Praying Friends and Family,

Just a quick update…The Lord has sent us a time of refreshment… I have been feeling wonderful, the extreme tiredness and heaviness after radiation has lifted and I feel like myself again…well almost. I still get tired a lot but that just comes with the territory. Now its “wait and see” time….Its a hard but sweet place to be, I get to be close to my Jesus like never before…constantly going to Him for comfort, strength as the needs come up...and He is always there in power and love, He knows what I am going through because He has been there…And that brings me to how special this Christmas season is.

As we celebrate how Jesus came as a baby let us never forget that that is just half the story… He came to die…That is the “Joy to the World” that we sing about. The one who made the universe and the one who gives each one of us the next breath came as a baby, grew up and lived among us. When the time came He went to the cross to do what He came for…(For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16) to make a way for us to get back into relationship with Himself…without which we are all hopeless, naturally we run from God not too Him….Because we all mess up (sin) at one point or another in our life…some of us more than others…we need to pay for it with our life…But have you heard???…we don’t have to die for our sins because Jesus did it for us….all we have to do is believe Him….and then the perfect life he lived gets put into our account so at the end when we meet God (which all of us will) He will see a perfect life and we will get an entrance into Heaven that only perfection can enter….Wow what a deal is that!!!!!! And then on top of all that the moment you believe you start eternal life… this is really living….EVERYTHING that comes your way is for your benefit and good because its all designed to make you like Jesus and prepare you for heaven. In this season of my life this everything has included some bad things like cancer etc but ultimately these are all GOOD Rom. 8:28. This is the reason I can rejoice and celebrate the birth of Jesus this year like never before because I know a little bit more about how much I am loved by the King of the universe. My wish for you is if you don’t know Him seek Him and the ones that know Him bask is His love and give it away. Have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed New Year.

On a lighter note my hair is growing back CURLY….

Thank you all for your prayers.
In His Loving Hands,
Miriam

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