The roller coaster ride...

No real new news today, but a productive day nonetheless....

This morning I was really down about things. I felt nauseous and on the verge of tears all morning at work. Thankfully I didn't have to talk to anyone or I might have really lost it. It's just been such a hard year....moving back from England 7 1/2 months pregnant into a rental house that needs a lot of work done to it, then Luke got a staph infection from the insects that love him so and Caleb got an ear infection. Then Paul was born and tropical storm Faye hit all in the same weekend (so our lovely house flooded) so Paul's shining "coming home from the hospital" event was to go stay with my parents who were among the few who had electricity. Then there was the menengitis scare which put Paul in the hospital for 5 days and also the "Great Thanksgiving Poisonous Berries Debacle" in which Caleb landed a late night ER visit. This is not to mention a massive ant problem in our house and 3 ear infections between Chris and me! It hasn't been an easy transition back to the US.

However, after work, I got home and made some calls. First was to our insurance company. A nice lady named Ruth assured me everything was covered and if we get a new job (the hopeful plan) with new insurance, cancer would not qualify as a pre-existing condition because Paul is currently covered. THANK GOD for this. Her nice voice and good news brought on the tears. She said she'd be praying for Paul, and I was reminded of people's goodness......and of God's goodness.

This news---but mostly your uplifting comments which I sat down and read next----brought me back up the roller coaster ride. I called Sloan Kettering in NY and talked to a nice secretary who basically told me that Dr. Paul Meyers is the man but that she couldn't deal with me. We have to have the oncologist call her once the diagnosis is 100%, and things will move from there.

After that, I checked out an article a friend sent me (THANK YOU, RENIE!) by a lady whose teenage daughter went through all this. Here's the link:

http://e-patients.net/archives/2008/10/all-mris-are-not-created-equal.html
I got in touch with this lady and we've been e-mailing all afternoon. She's got experience and wisdom and I'm amazed to have already connected with someone else about MPNST. She knows the leading doctors and is a real advocate for those with MPNST......and, most importantly, her daughter made a full recovery and is doing very well! What hope and what great news!

After that, I took the kids to the park and watched them play while I held Paul. It was a great afternoon.

Many of you have asked for specific things to pray for, so here goes:
1. a productive meeting with Dr. Pressey on Thursday
2. that the cancer has not spread to Paul's lungs (the biggest danger at this point)
3. that one more surgery will remove the bits that have spread and neither chemo nor radiation will be necessary
4. for the emotional roller coaster ride to end and for me to reach a steady place between motivated and hopeful

I will be thanking God for all the practical advice we are getting from doctor-friends and for the spiritual and emotional help from the rest of you!!