From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16



Wednesday, January 26, 2011

unwelcome interruptions...

Surgery cancelled.  Angiogram ordered.  The doctors are concerned that what they thought was Carcinoma is more likely Angiosarcoma...a word that I'm fighting against "Googling".  Surgery was cancelled because this type of cancer normally has alot of vascular involvement and the surgeon was concerned about excessive, even fatal, bleeding if he continued on with surgery.  An angiogram will be performed sometime this afternoon.  At that time, they may even be able to block blood supply to the large tumor in Dad's right femur.

Dr. Reddy met with my sisters & I this morning.  He is a kind and compassionate man who has a big load on his shoulders with regards to Dad's care.  Should he work on getting Dad moved to a multi-faceted facility so that sarcoma-specialists, neuro-oncologists, and an orthopedic oncologist can all get involved, as well as a vascular specialist if needed?  Is this something he's knowledgeable enough to handle?  What treatments are available?  He told us that he spoke with an Angiosarcoma specialist at Univ. of Penn who advised him to do the angiogram, insert the rod into his leg, and begin rehabilitation to get him strong enough to move if needed.

Dad's insurance is accepted at Hershey Medical Center, The Hospital of the Univ. of Pennsylvania, and at Johns Hopkins.  Dr. Reddy is researching which of those is the best option. 

Please continue to pray for Mom & Dad...this hit them both quite hard this morning.  Dad found comfort in my reading Psalm 23 to him and inserting his name where David wrote "my".  Please pray for Dr. Reddy as he has big choices to make today that will affect all of our lives. 

As for interruptions...changes...diversions, I found the following devotional and found it so, so helpful.   

Much of Jesus’ ministry was a sanctified response to interruptions. Take a typical day: After teaching a large crowd for a long time, he breaks for time alone, only to have his disciples ask him to explain his parables (Mk 4:10). That evening, while traveling in a boat, they awake him to deal with an unruly storm (Mk 4:38), and when they arrive at the other side of the lake, Jesus is confronted by a man with multiple demons (Mk 5:1-13). In each of these cases, Jesus responds immediately to those who need his help.
Many opportunities, both for serving Christ and for experiencing his provision for our own needs, come packaged in unwelcome interruptions. We need to pray constantly for alertness to these openings when they confront us. Without such awareness, we’re likely to lag behind God’s timing.
We know that God's timing is perfect.  We know that Jesus is our Savior.  I'm thankful that we're not the ones in control...I can't imagine how badly I'd mess everything up.

5 comments:

  1. Praise God for such a wise and thoughtful doctor! And praise Him that your father's insurance is accepted at all the various hospitals with specialists! And praise Him even more for His Word to comfort your dad -- and all of you -- during this time. We will continue to pray for all of you, esp. with these specifics in mind. Thank you for blessing us with updates, Andrea, so that we can journey with you and pray for you. <3 to you!

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  2. Thank you for the update. What a blessing that the doctor is forthright on a step-by-step basis. Praise to our Lord who is able to give comfort, strength, wisdom, and skill all at the same time.

    Your devotion was a timely reminder.

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  3. Hey Andrea,
    Before I knew about your situation, I started reading Job. It's a familiar story...the man who was blameless and upright, a man who feared God and shunned evil. It's a hard story because he goes through some severe trials for seemingly no reason. To top it off, he has friends who try to encourage, but end up saying some truthful things and some wrong things. It reminded me that you will have many who will want to encourage you, but they won't always do it perfectly! I am one! It also reminded me that his hardship seemed to come out of nowhere. Job couldn't see the end of it. He became so disheartened that he just wanted to die. If that were the end of the story, it would be very sad indeed. Yet God redeemed it all. God sees the whole picture...how it turns out. You are walking a tough road. May He strengthen and uphold you with His righteous right hand...I love you guys! Laura

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  4. In all the ups & downs, plans made & plans changed; I'm so thankful to read that you continue to speak the unchanging Truth to yourselves & us. We take heart, along with you, in the One who is our only authentic hope.

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  5. Dear Andrea,
    What a blessing that your whole family is calling upon the Lord for strength & patience as you proceed on this journey together.

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