"How Great Thou Art"

The last 3 weeks (actually a little longer than that)  have been a roller coaster and I have pretty much kept it to myself and family. When I went for blood work in Effingham about 3 weeks ago, my liver enzymes were up. I did not see the dr since I was just getting some routine blood work done. I didn't stick around for the results, but I asked them to mail me a copy. After I received them, I noticed the Alkaline Phosphatase, the ALT, and AST were elevated. My cancer marker is normal and my bilirubin is normal (for all you CC patients scratching their heads wondering if I have a blockage) I requested that the bloodwork be repeated that day at our local hospital...and they were even higher than before (that was last Friday). I also had them tested on Monday of this week....and the blood tests were even higher. I have learned that if I wait at the hospital, they have the bloodwork done within 30-40 minutes (and print them off for me)and I can then call my dr and say "Whatta ya gonna do NOW?"   Well, Dr. Dy said he wanted me back at the hospital right then for a CT scan to check for a blockage, new cancer, anything to answer the question of why my numbers keep rising.  The scan came back fine. My mass is even smaller than it was in 2011 from a prior scan they compared this new one to. No answers on the scan. I also waited on the CT report at the hospital so I could go straight home and call the docs to say "What Now?"  After reading scans for almost four years, I may not be a radiologist, but I know what the summary states and a lot of the terminology used in them. I knew the scan was good.

Dr. Dy has dealt with me for almost the whole time I have had cancer....and he knows I don't "sit well and wait."  Today, I had bloodwork at 11:30 and was SUPPOSE to see the dr at 12. Well, at 1:30, I was taken to a patient room. I then waited another half an hour before Dr. Dy came in. (This is about the time my husband comically asked the dr if we needed to pay for a room for the night because we had been there for so long).  Dr. Dy has stated all along he believes it is a virus...maybe even viral hepatitis. I told him I didn't have any of the forms of hepatitis and he states it does not matter....I can still get viral hepatitis....or any virus in my body and it can make my liver enzymes go up...up...UP BEFORE they start coming down  .  Dr. Dy was going to send me to Texas ASAP but he finally had a returned call from the great Dr. Javle from MD Anderson. He totally agreed with Dr. Dy that he also believes I have a virus. I am to stay here in Illinois and rest...rest...rest! Dr. Javle states this is not the first time he has saw this and it will just take time.  TICK...TOCK!  And so I wait........thinking about the cookies I wanted to bake, the presents that need wrapped, the few last minute gifts I needed to get.....but, it will all have to wait......maybe until NEXT year!

As I sat in Richland Memorial Hospital...waiting for my lab results, I thought a lot of what if's and why now's. Then a song came on the radio that put a calmness in my soul that I SO needed. How Great Thou Art was being sung and I felt a presence over me. It calmed me and a few tears slid down my cheeks. God is greater than any of my problems....He is with me, and I just needed to be reminded at that moment who is driving this bus!  God has this...not in my time, but in his. I need to focus my celebration on the birth of the Christ Child.  Yes, Christmas can be a season of great joy! It is a time of God showing His great love for us. It can be a time of renewed strength and healing.  Focus Patty......FOCUS on what really matters this season. The doctors say the numbers will go UP before they ever come down. So, I will wait. I will trust with all my heart that this small speed bump might just be what it takes for me to slow down and enjoy what Christmas is REALLY about. Not the cookies that need baked, not the last minute gifts, not cleaning the house, or even wrapping presents.

I hope you are truly finding the Reason for the Season this Christmas. I am so blessed with family and friends. I know that there is eternal life....and life never really ends. Yes, cancer is not what I would like to be dealing with.....but who would have thought I would be here for ALMOST 4 years since diagnosis. Both of my doctors have admitted they thought I'd be dead by now. All in Good's time.......all in God's time~~~!!

Prayers are truly appreciated as I get over this small bump in the road. I feel pretty much fine except an occasional stomach "blurp" or a little itchy at times. But prayers for my liver tests to return to "normal range" would be the next best thing I could ask for this Christmas.  The first thing I could ask for this Christmas...I already have. It is God standing right beside me. Every day...through it all.

God is Good ALL The Time....ALL The Time, God is GOOD!

May God bless you this Christmas~~

Patty