Friday, March 28, 2014

'Buck-passer'

There was this little boy who offered to help his busy mother cleaning up the basement of the house. While he was down there sweeping the floor, a mouse came out from beneath the sofa. Unfortunately it ran the wrong way. The boy smashed it against the wall with the broom. The mouse ran again and this time he beat it hard about ten rounds. When he got through with it, the whole thing was awesome. It was bloody and horrible looking.
 
The boy was so proud of what he had done that he grabbed the mouse by the tail, ran up the stair and went to look for his mother. He rushed straight to the living room without realised that a pastor happened to visit his mother. The pastor was sitting right behind the door so the boy couldn’t see him. The boy shouted,” Mother…mother, when I was down the basement, this mouse crept out from the sofa. So I took the broom and hit it once but it didn’t die. So I hit it again and again until it stopped running…….”, then he saw the pastor and was horrified. He continued,“Then….and....then the Lord called it home."

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

CT scan and blood tests

‘The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.’ (Psalm 41:3)
 
I went for my medical appointment last Wednesday to collect the medical reports. It has been a year since I last done my scan. The left gastric node is still there (1.4mm x 10mm) but stable since it was first discovered in March 2012 scan. The CA 125 reading is 9. I have now passed the 5-year survival mark.
 
To recap, I went for my first operation (my CA 125 marker was about 2,100 then) to remove one tumour (10cm) in late October 2008, and commenced the chemo program in December. In February 2009 I had the other big tumour removed by another surgeon and was in ICU for several days. Thereafter my chemo treatment resumed and ended in early May 2009, after 7 rounds’ (21- weekly) of treatment. By then my marker has dropped down to about 13. Two months later I went for my TCM consultation and has been on the Chinese concoction till now.
 
The journey has been a tough one as I was very feeble in the first two years, experienced the severe side effects of the chemotherapy and removal of ovaries. My doctor gives a very poor prognosis of my condition and I can understand why. I felt utterly despair and was prepared to face the worst. My only hope is to look up - to God. Never once I become bitter with God as He gave me many warning signs but I failed to slow down to care for myself. It has been a life-transforming experience for me. It has impacted every aspect of my being. This is a miracle from God. I realised often I have been taking God’s mercy and grace for granted. Like Job, I can now say that “when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” (Job 23:10). I am now more ready to battle storms of life than before.