Glory To God!

I'm not sure why I haven't written this post sooner. I guess I have just been in the mood for lighter posts lately. Shortly after I mentioned that my mom might have breast cancer though, she was able to get her biopsy done. In record time. Her doctor couldn't believe it had been less than two weeks. I haven't talked to her myself in awhile due to my new phone number, and all the rigmarole she has to go through to get it approved, and I miss her calls very much, but she has been calling my sister pretty much everyday and she keeps me updated. Her story just keeps getting better and better! I hope I can do the telling of it justice.

On Monday she was informed that she had an appointment scheduled for Tuesday at 12:30 for her biopsy. Since she wasn't allowed to have food or drink beforehand they put her in "The Shoe" to make sure she complied. Usually they say "no food or drink after 9:00 p.m.," but they put her in at 4:00. Protocol probably. When she got to the hospital the next day, her doctor "just happened" to walk past her as she was sitting in the waiting area. He stopped, and very much surprised said, "What are you doing here?!?"

She said, "Uhhhh, didn't I have an appointment to see you today?"

"Not that I know of," he replied, "I was just on my way out for the day."

He did some checking and found out that the hospital didn't have her scheduled until Wednesday, but he was so amazed that she had gotten in so fast that he wasn't about to let her leave. So, he donned his white coat again, and proceeded to stay another four hours or so to perform the biopsy, AND he said he wasn't letting her leave the building without knowing the results. Once she was in that hospital, she was entirely under his authority, and he knew that even if he received and sent her results to the prison that day, she might not know for another week or more.

She was so terribly dehydrated that the biopsy was absolutely miserable. She said she felt like a human pin cushion. Every time they tried a vein it would collapse or roll so they couldn't get what they needed, and they'd have to try someplace else. She thought they were never going to be done. Eventually they got what they needed though and they had the results back in no time at all.

It was positive. She has borderline Stage 2 breast cancer.

She called as soon as she got back to the prison. She was so happy and excited that I didn't not see what she had to tell me coming at all. All she could talk about was how good God was to her, and how He just kept amazing her with all the twists and turns, and little blessings that just kept adding up.

She went for a follow-up appointment a few days later, prepared to get the ultrasound that everyone kept telling her she needed. As they were going over her records, the doctor noticed that she had already had the biopsy done. They always do the ultrasound before the biopsy. She couldn't figure out how it had taken place without it. My mom told her that everyone was praying that the process would be expedited, and God knew whether she needed the ultrasound or not. Apparently, the answer was "not."

Each time she would talk to a new doctor or nurse they would sympathetically ask her how she was doing that day. Her response always startled them. She said, "I'm doing FABULOUS! Didn't God give us just a beautiful day to enjoy today? I love this weather!" One nurse said in surprise, "Oh! Well, if you can say that it's a good day today, then I guess it must be!"

My sister called me tonight and said that mom had called her all excited. She has been told that her PET scan is scheduled for "any day now," but they won't give her a specific date and time. She said that as she was checking today she noticed that her tumor has actually SHRUNK! It was the size of a walnut, and now it is about the size of half a grape! She can see it really well, and she couldn't believe her eyes when she checked tonight! God hears, He cares, and He answers!

The plan is to have a lumpectomy done, and then she will have to be moved to a medical facility since the one she is in cannot give her the care she needs. We are praying for continued healing, but also that, either way, she will be moved closer to Amy and I so we can visit her.

Thank you so much for your prayers! Keep them going up, please. God is using her and this additional situation for her and our good, and His glory!

~PRAISE HIS NAME!~