Delay Chemo

My day started off with this devotional message (paraphrased):

~ It was into the real world that Christ came, into the city where there was no room for Him, and into a country where Herod, the murderer of innocents, was king. (Luke 2:25-35)
~ "He comes to us, not to shield us from the harshness of the world but to give us the courage and strength to bear it; nor to snatch us away by some miracle from the conflict of life, but to give us peace - His peace - in our hearts, by which we may be calmly steadfast while the conflict rages, and be able to bring to the torn world the healing that is peace."

Christ did not come to shield us from the grief and pain of life;

But those who have His peace inside can thrive within the strife.

~

Thankfully no dogs got hit today. The doctor told me my iron count went down even farther and firmly suggested I take my iron supplements or he would need to either do iron I.V. or do a blood transfusion if it gets much worse. Then Chemo did not go well...I had an adverse allergic reaction to the Chemo, Taxotere. I couldn't breath, I got very hot (my face reflected how hot I was) and there was a fogginess in my eyes. My friend rushed over and got a nurse. They immediately stopped the Chemo and flushed out the line with saline, meanwhile bringing over the oxygen tank, but I didn't need it. As quickly as the reaction came on it also left. (thankfully) ....So they could not continue with Chemo today....

~

So now it gets complicated!! I could take a Chemo called, Taxol, the allergic reaction to it is Anaphylactic Shock. Since I had a reaction to the Taxotere (and they are in the same family of drugs) I could have this reaction but no guarantee!?! Attempting to prevent this reaction I would need to take 40 mg of Decodron a day. The first round of Chemo I had to take 16 mg of Decodron and I had adverse reactions to that, so they reduced my dosage to only 2 mg for this round. There is no way of knowing how I would react to that much Decadron.

.....OR.....

Chemo choice number 2 is a new drug (the Doctor didn't tell me the name) This Chemo they have been testing on Metastatic Cancer Patients. Which means it is very powerful (not really what I need). It has not been studied on patients in my situation, so that leads to uncertainty about results. The other challenge is insurance only likes to cover things that are absolutely studied and required. This drug is new and therefore expensive another reason insurance will not want to cover it. The good thing about this one is I wouldn't have to take Decadron. We have 2 days to get all this worked out so that I can have Chemo on the 26th.

~

Meanwhile.... Neal had my van today to get it smogged for renewal. It did not pass smog. The technician stated that it need more work than the vehicle was worth and to just drive it to a lot and trade it in. A friend mentioned the DMV will purchase a "Gross Polluter" then you can do what you want about getting another vehicle...Add this to our schedule.

~

Getting back to the devotional; I thought God was so gentle to prepare me for this day with His peace!!

Not that it makes this any less difficult, but I know when my faith is getting stretched, I am learning to be calmly steadfast in His peace. Through each experience I am reminded to rest in His provision and love for us.

~

-Please pray that His hand would be in all of this.

-Please pray for clear direction and choices.

-Please pray that our emotions rest in His Peace.

~

P.S. -A side plus in all this is I will NOT be sick for Christmas !! YEAH !!