A Much Anticipated Day

I'm not going to lie, my heart was a little anxious today when I realized what would be taking place this evening. It's not everyday you wake up and can say "Oh, I think I will shave my head today" or at least if you're a woman, you don't look forward to those words. I knew there was no doubt it had to be tonight because getting ready for work this morning, I felt like a gorilla. A lot of hair was coming out today and if I waited much longer, I would have gaps in my hair from so much hair loss. As the time continued to draw closer, it was really hard to visualize myself being bald. Later this afternoon I received a text from Rhyanne Ketron with this scripture verse and it was exactly what I needed for this day. 1 Peter 3:3-4 "Do not let your adorning be external-the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." We had to wait until after youth services for this to take place. Jordan and I arrived home to lots of people waiting outside. Tony was inside but had no idea people had tried ringing the door bell(which doesn't work) and knocking on the door. He and Grandma were in their own worlds. We Skyped in my brother and sister-in-law from Texas and my niece and her husband from Virgina. Everyone gathered in our garage, not enough room in our house for that many people, and didn't care to have that much hair all in my house. I think we had a total of 35 people in our garage, including our family. I didn't want to be alone doing this and I am so thankful for all the friends God brought to our home tonight to share this moment with us. I figured the shock value wouldn't be so disturbing if friends were with us to share in the process of having our heads shaved. My brother wanted to shave his head at the same time as Tony and I, so we were able to watch each other on the computer. Richard Knipple got out his clippers and the process began. He started with me first as everyone gathered around to watch. I must say, I didn't feel like I was the one in the chair. I felt like everyone was watching someone else. I wasn't scared, anxious or nervous, I knew it was time and God was the One that gave me the strength and peace to sit in that chair as the hairs were shaved off. It's called "Amazing Grace!" Once it was all gone Tony brought out the full length mirror so I could see myself and it wasn't so scary and I know having my friends and family with me, and having Jesus looking down upon me is what got me thru this night. Once it was all done, I felt like a huge burden was dropped off my shoulders and I could breath life again. Tony was next and I think Richard had a little more fun messing with his hair. He looked like a "Monk" then he looked like the "etch a sketch" guy. We were both very thankful not to have lumpy heads. I am so thankful to have a husband and brother to shave their heads and go thru this with me. I have posted pictures so you won't be curious how we look without hats or scarves on.

It's really me and we could have gone inside and skipped the garage scene.

Me and my bestest friend ever, my husband, Tony (he is still handsome)

My brother, David (what an amazing brother he is)

I will have more professional pictures later from Bryan but didn't want to bother him after such a long night. Hudson, our 17 month old grandson, was with us thru the whole process and he didn't seemed freaked out at all. Just another day for his young eyes. Thank you again to all my friends and family that were with us in person tonight in the garage, but to all those out there that couldn't be here but were praying. Once my head was shaved we all sang "This is the day, this is the day that the Lord has made, that the Lord has made, we will rejoice, we will rejoice and be glad in it, and be glad in it. This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it, this is the day, this is the day, that the Lord has made."
Richard closed in prayer, and I gave lots of hugs to friends and family.

Psalms 118:24 "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." I can truly say that and go to bed and rest in His loving care tonight.

"Great is His Faithfulness"

"Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."
God is constantly reminding me of His great love on a daily basis. Last night I received a text from a friend, Rachel Anderson, and her sister wanted her to forward a text to me that said, "Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well. And the woman was healed at that moment." Matthew 9:22. Within minutes of getting that text I opened up Facebook and found a message from Cari Trotter that said, "Praying and praising God for His healing touch sweet Janet Hudgens Pate!" Both ladies, without knowing it, allowed God to use them to encourage me. "Great is His Faithfulness."

As I was getting ready for work this morning, lots of hair was falling to the ground, enough to make me realize it is "happening" and it is time to shave my head. God reminded me of this, "But even the hairs of your head are all numbered." Matthew 10:30. I figured if He knew how many hairs are on my head, He knew how many were falling out and would give me a peace about shaving them all off. To me it is another reminder that He loves me and this is only temporary and the chemo is working!! To God be the glory great things He has done. We've decided tomorrow night will be the time for Tony and I to shave our heads together. He is an amazing husband that would do ANYTHING for me. Oh, I love him so much!!!!

Here's another huge blessing for the night. We had the family pictures done a couple of weeks back and I have tried to be patient and not bother Bryan about getting on his website to order pictures. Well, yesterday I decided I had given him plenty of time to get the pictures uploaded and I should be able to order prints. I called him because the password wouldn't work, so he told me he messed up and would have to reset it. Tonight came and I reminded him about resetting the password and he made another excuse about work. Tony and I were in the kitchen unloading/reloading the dishwasher and we heard Jordan come in, but never turned around and when we finally turned around, Bryan, Jenna, Jordan and Hudson were hiding behind the picture you see below. I LOVE IT!!!!!! and I love all 4 of them for such an amazing surprise. The blessings continue to fall and for that I am grateful for His great faithfulness.



Here's a pictures just sent to me right before I posted the blog. Robert and Julie Asbill are "Empty Nesters" and she said it took them about 40 tries to get the kitty to wear one of my wristbands. I'm thinking they might be a little bored in their household. :)

Funny thing is her name really is "Kitty"

A Day of Rest and Gratitude

"Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it." What a blessing to be surrounded by friends at church and to be able to go and worship together. Worship thru music has changed for me lately. The songs are more alive in my spirit and feels like healing is taking place as I worship. I told Jenna, my daughter in law, last week how I would love to be able to sing and worship everyday with a lot of people. She said "you mean like Heaven?" What a day that will be and how grateful I am to have a place here on earth to worship with others. I loved all the hugs and encouragement from others today and to hear so many say "I am praying for you." I never want to take those words for granted and truly appreciate every prayer being lifted up for me and my family.

I was able to take a nap today and I must say, it was one of the best naps I have had in a long time. As I was getting ready for church tonight, I noticed about 8 strands of a clump of hair on my shirt and not sure if that is the beginning sign. I can still tug on my hair and nothing is happening and I know the time may be very soon. Richard Knipple, a very dear "bald" friend of ours, is ready with his clippers. :)

My sister in law, Traci, brought me a card from one of their church members in Texas and this is what it says:

"What Cancer Cannot Do. Cancer is so limited....
It cannot cripple Love
It cannot shatter Hope
It cannot corrode Faith
It cannot kill Friendship
It cannot suppress Memories
It cannot silence Courage
It cannot invade the Soul
It cannot steal eternal Life
It cannot conquer the Spirit.

Why must I bear this pain?
I cannot tell,
I only know my Lord does all
things well.
And so I trust in God,
my all in all.
For He will bring me through,
Whatever befall."

What joy to know that the word "Cancer" cannot take away anything as long as my eyes stay on Jesus. He truly is the source of my strength and hope and no doubt He is hearing the prayers of his faithful saints and giving me "Amazing Grace" to face each new day. I am thankful for the day He gave me health and for the joy in my heart.

"Blessings of Family & Friends"

"This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." God has already blessed me with a great weekend and today is only Saturday. We had a lot of friends and family in town.

Yesterday we had 17 people in our home and we shared life, love and laughter. So many times we wait for tragedy to strike and a loved one is gone before we can truly express our love to one another. I am thankful God is allowing all that to take place in my life while I'm alive and have health and to see how awesome He really is. On a day to day basis all the people that were in our home would not be here at the same time, but by God's guidance each one was brought here safely for this season in my life. Here is all that came from a far: Julie Gabardi-Nashville, TN, Joni Hartman-Hot Springs, AR, David & Traci Hudgens (brother & sister in law)-Denison, TX, Danyelle & Annie Henderson (niece & great niece)-Virginia, David Street-Arkadelphia, AR, Caleb & Jessica Wright-Midlothian,TX. David & Theresa Bonds are from Bentonville and took the time to go buy food and come to our house and cook an amazing dinner for all of us. HUGE thank you to those two!!!!!

The original plan for last night, was for me, Tony and my brother, David, to shave our heads together. Well as time has drawn closer, there has been no sign of hair loss on my part and as the night went on, I really wanted them to wait for me to shave their heads. I figured I should keep the hair as long as possible. So for now, we will wait and see what God has in store with that plan. Here are pictures from the weekend:
Bryan, Jenna & Hudson (sorry it's blurry)
David & Jordan (Jenna in background)
Traci, Me, Danyelle, Annie & David (brother & family)
Me, Jessica,Julie,Theresa & Joni (all 5 Steely's)
David & Theresa Bonds
Caleb & Jessica Wright
David Bonds, The "Chef"
Happy Birthday to the Steely Friends!

As you can see, I am BLESSED!!!!! Thank you to all those that made my day special just by your presence in our home. The sign over our back door says "The Lord Bless you and keep you" Numbers 6:24 the rest of that chapters says "the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." Thank you Jesus for the peace over my life and home. Thank you for blessing me with friends and family. Thank you for being so gracious to me and letting your Light shine upon me.

Steely's Weekend

This was a weekend the "Steely" friends have waited for. Theresa Bonds and I were to leave yesterday, Wednesday, pick up Joni Hartman in Little Rock and we were all going to head to Nashville, TN to hang out with Julie Gabardi for the weekend. Plans changed a few weeks ago when God revealed the next chapter of His story in my life, so the girls brought the fun weekend to me. Joni & Julie arrived into town around 4:30pm. We are happy to sit around and catch up on life and truly appreciate our time together. Acambaro (Julie's favorite) was for dinner and The Kufahl gang showed up as we were leaving. It was great for old time catching up and a quick trip down memory lane from our past mission trip to Cleveland, OH with the youth group.

Theresa Bonds, Me, Joni Hartman, Julie Gabardi

Once again, I can truly say, "This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

How Great is our God!!

God was my Rock and Redeemer today! I was able to be at work all day and stayed for the junior high and senior high youth ministry services. I thought about leaving early once the senior high service started but decided there was no reason to leave and I always love being around our youth, they keep me going! We had our summer camp speaker in to share tonight and he did an amazing job of making God's word so simple and true. II Corinthians 5:17-18 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God,who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;" Simply put, if we have accepted Jesus, we should be living different lives and sharing Him with others. He has placed us where we are right now for a reason, "to share Him!" So simple, but it is so hard to grasp and do it. Wherever we are now, is our ministry!!!

Tonight, two 11th grade young ladies who have never made a commitment to Christ, nailed down their faith in Jesus. Jordan was able to share with one and I was able to share with the other. God is so good and faithful and what a blessing to see two lives transformed for His Kingdom. Please pray for Megan and Katy on this new journey they are on. Both are so excited and Jordan is going to disciple them.

I truly can't think of a better way than to end it by saying, "this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

A Different Perspective to an Ordinary Day

"Today is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." Today was like every other ordinary day, woke up, quiet time, got dressed for work, normal work day, came home, ate dinner, Jordan had bible study in our home, and then time to relax. The difference about today for me, it was a "different" ordinary day. It was an amazing day because of all the "normal" stuff I usually take for granted, was made to be great because I know God blessed me with an amazing restful night's sleep and I woke up refreshed and I truly appreciated having health and life today. I even had a chance to go out and eat lunch with some great friends.

Laurie, Sharon, Shonda, me, Lyn, Susan, and Cindy
Showing off their wristbands - "Believing for Janet - Psalm 121"

Proverbs 19:4 "Wealth brings many new friends..." I really never thought I would ever be wealthy, but no doubt, I feel like the wealthiest person in the world. Thru this journey God has shown us so many friends from the past, present and those we may never meet. We are surrounded by amazing friends and family, not just in Bentonville, AR, but all across this world.

Here's a quick funny story. I decided each day, I'm going to walk 1 mile on my treadmill, not worried about the speed, just get a mile in. I was walking last night while Tony and Jordan were watching t.v. in the same room. I was getting a little warm so decided to hit the fan button. Well the fan button is right above the speed buttons and I accidentally hit "10" and all of sudden the treadmill ran away with me and all I could do was jump to the side of it and yell, "no,no,no.." and all Tony and Jordan heard was the treadmill speed up and me yelling. Needless to say I got thru the mile quicker and it showed I burned a few more calories than I normally do. (no physical harm was done to me)

You can tell life is normal around our house and we are so thankful for God's great love for us. Several have asked me questions about the weekend, next chemo treatment, etc.. and all I can say is that today is what I am thankful for and who knows what tomorrow will bring, but no matter what, I will say, "This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it". Thank you Susan Goss for my daily reminders.

First day of Chemo

Here is the run down of Janet's first day of chemo in her own words:

"Happy Valentine's Day to everyone. Started off the day with perfect peace after having a restful night of sleep. Got to spend Valentine's Day with my very best friend, Tony, my sweet loving husband. We arrived at the office for chemo at 8:30 and really didn't know what to expect. I really didn't want to know anything and knew God was in control and would see me thru what ever lies ahead of me. I thought there might be gloom and doom with sad ladies sitting around with no hair. What I found were 5 ladies sitting in recliners with wigs and hats on talking about the peace God has given them in this journey. They are all several steps ahead of me and were very encouraging. I was the only one that had someone with them all day. Tony went out and got us lunch even bought lunch for one of the patients and nurse. (I love him more everyday) We have complete confidence that God has gone before us thru this journey and He is allowing us to be a part of a bigger story. I finished my first round of chemo in 6 hours and can tell you right now I feel good. The lady next to me said she never felt sick and she started round 2 today. I am overwhelmed of God's amazing grace and will continue to give Him all the glory for the great things He is doing. This is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it."

And here are the pics:

Janet with Dr. Ivy and nurse Dianna

The sweet valentines!

Janet with two nurses and three patients... the patients names are Jenny, Gina, and Joan (we got their permission!) and Janet is asking that you please remember them in your prayers too!

 Thank you for your prayers! They are being heard! Our God is good!

Two weeks later

2 weeks and 3 days later after waking up from a "routine" Gall Bladder surgery that never took place and seeing my sweet husband's face before me with these words "Lucy (that's my nickname from him) they weren't able to remove your gallbladder and there's a chance you have ovarian cancer" My response "are you messing with me" then tears falling from his eyes I knew something was wrong.

God has overwhelmed us with His great love, grace and strength. It's almost like I'm watching all of this from someone else's eyes. Every card, text, Facebook message, blog post, phone call, flowers, food etc are constant reminders to me of God saying " See how much I really love you." His word is more true to me today than ever before. I feel like Psalms was written for me.

Psalm 18:30 "This God-his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him". Some have questioned why does this kind of stuff happen, all I want to say is "Lord please use this situation I'm in to bring You ALL the glory you deserve". He's never failed me yet, and I can look back on everything in my life and see He was in control of it all from the beginning, why would I question His sovereignty now? There are those who may read this blog and not have a clue of what true peace in our Savior means and not have a personal relationship of ever asking Jesus to take over your life and to let Him have complete control. My prayer is you would realize we were all created to bring our creator honor and glory and there is nothing more precious than knowing He will give you that grace and strength if you will just ask for it and believe and trust in Him. He walked on this earth as Jesus, died for all our sins, and rose again. He's coming back someday and I want to make my life ready for His return. Until then, He left His Holy Spirit to guide and lead us thru this life. We never have to be alone, EVER!

I had my first chemo treatment on Tuesday, February 14th with my sweet Tony right by my side. I wasn't scared or anxious (these are times I feel like I'm watching thru someone else's eyes-GRACE!!). There were 5 other ladies in the room with 2 nurses. They put Benadryl in your port to help with any pre allergic reactions to chemo treatment. One Benadryl can knock me out for the night and this dosage had me feeling very sleepy and heavy from the second it hit my port. I had to fight to stay awake cause I didn't want to miss anything. After about 6 hours of chemo I was unhooked and headed home. For the next 3 days I was on Phenergan and Zofran every 6 hours to keep nausea and sickness away. I can say hallelujah it worked!!! Now the side affects of the drugs were super sleepy slow motion. I went to work on Wednesday. The Duggar family (TLC 19 Kids and Counting) were speaking to our youth group. Not the whole clan, but Josh & Anna.

This is me and Jordan with Josh and Anna Duggar.

Thursday came, went to work and as the day moved on, I started not feeling the greatest. I actually started thinking I might have a bladder infection. I came home took a pain pill and told Tony I wasn't sure what was wrong, that things weren't feeling right. His response "Lucy, you have cancer and you've had chemo". Hmmm I never even put the two conditions together. Friday morning woke up with more abdominal pain and called the nurse to see how much longer I needed to be on nausea meds and to report the pain. I only need nausea meds if symptoms occur and she said the pain means chemo is working! Thank you Jesus!! I took Friday morning easy, then went out with Jordo for lunch and a little shopping. It was good to be out and started feeling better just by walking. I haven't slept in our bed for over 2 weeks and decided to give it a try again. I slept so good and woke up feeling good. Psalm 3:5 "I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me."

This weekend was our annual girl's String of Pearls retreat at the Embassy and I'm so thankful to have been a part of it. We had over 100 girls, 23 college leaders and a lot of amazing women that helped make this event powerful. Cari Trotter was our speaker and really challenged us all. There is so much garbage for our teenage girls in this world that is full of lies and deceit. If we could all "love what God loves and hate what God hates". Huge thank you to Maegan and Jordan for pushing hard and seeing that God was honored this weekend.

Jenna's friend, Brittany, made me this wreath in honor of the fight against Ovarian Cancer, and I love it! Psalm 121 is written in the center.

It is now Sunday night and thankful to have had some time to write my thoughts and to be able to journal this time in my life, so we as a family and friends can look back and see God's great masterpiece unfold in our lives. I'm so blessed to have such an amazing support group even people I will never meet have prayed for me and my family. May we all look at life thru God's eyes and know there are a lot of people all around us hurting and hopeless, we that know Jesus, have the truth and should be sharing Him.

Susan Goss (a very dear friend) calls me everyday to say "Janet, this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it". Psalm 118:24. It doesn't say rejoice when things are going great or when you feel like it, it says REJOICE!!!

--Janet

Chemo Bag

These are "the lunch ladies" that surprised me today with bags full of goodies for my chemo treatments. I shouldn't get hungry or bored with all the stuff in the bags. The Bible is my favorite cause people have gone in and highlighted their favorite verses and written me notes. I'm waiting til tomorrow before I open it up to read. The white blanket has my name monogrammed on it with my friends favorite verses. The armor of God will be all around me tomorrow with the blanket and bible. How awesome is our God!!!! Thank you to Linda, Cindy, Susan G, Susan B, Shonda, Cathy, Lorrel, Lisa and not in the picture: Laurie, Sheena and Lyn
-Janet

Family photos

Janet wanted to have some pictures of our family taken before she started chemo and started to lose her hair. Our good friend Jeremy Cavness (http://www.jeremycavness.com/) went out with us yesterday for a few minutes and these are the pictures that we got! Thanks so much Jeremy!

Janet starts chemo tomorrow (Tuesday) at 8:30. She wanted me to tell everyone that she isn't scared or worried at all. The Lord has given her incredible peace during this entire process and we know that He will keep it up! Please be praying for her tomorrow during and after her first round of chemo. It will take between 5-6 hours and she will probably be worn out afterwards. Tony is going with her and that is how they will be spending their Valentines Day together. :)

Please also pray that the roads are clear in the morning so that they can get there with no problems! We have about 2 inches of snow right now and it is still coming down, and it will probably re-freeze tonight, but we definitely want them to be able to make it to her appointment in the morning. It is about a 25 minute drive from where we live so the road conditions are definitely a factor!

We are continually grateful for all the prayers and well wishes. We can feel your prayers covering our family during this time and somehow the logistics of everything just keep working out. Our God is so good! I will be updating tomorrow after her chemo, so please check back!

--Jenna

Pedicure time!

Today my MIL, SIL and I went and got pedicures for some R&R time!

My sweet MIL Janet (for those of you who don't know her)

She went to the bathroom and wore her socks like this, Jordan and I got a big kick out of it.

Janet got teal in honor of Ovarian Cancer, Jordan and I got grey

Hudson loves his G-ma and G-pa (and I think they love him too)

--Jenna

Quick Update!

I cannot say thank you enough for all of the prayers and words of encouragement for our family in this trying time. Janet goes back for a few follow ups tomorrow but we aren't expecting anything new until her first chemo treatment on Tuesday. After her appointments, Janet is treating me and my sweet SIL, Jordan, to pedicures. It will be fun for us to all go and have some R&R girl time tomorrow afternoon before it gets hectic again next week.

I have to admit to you that the last week has been one of the most difficult of my life. I am trusting in the Lord through this time and I know He will sustain us. I have been so exhausted (in every sense of the word)... and I have been reading a lot in my bible about the rest that we can only get through the Lord. What an encouraging thing, for Him to say to bring him our burdens and He will give us rest.

Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

I will leave you with this video/song. It has been one that I have loved for a long time, but seems even more fitting for the trials in life right now. Thanks for praying and stay tuned.



"All of my life, in every season, You are still God; I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship."

--Jenna

Praise and Good news!

So we met with the Oncologist this morning and we got some things mixed up so Janet is not staring Chemo today like we had thought, she will start it next Tuesday. She is going in to have a port placed to have her chemo through this afternoon at 2:30. Please be praying that that goes smoothly and without a hitch!

The Oncologist was very optimistic. He told us that she does have stage three Ovarian Cancer (O.C. from here on out), and that isn't unusual because normally it isn't caught until stage three. The average age for O.C. is 61 and he said he would do a BRCA mutation test to see if it is genetic but that we may never know why she got it. He said that her "performance status is good and that she will have a good response rate" which basically means that since she is young and in good physical shape she will have a better response to the chemo than if she wasn't. The other good news is that is isn't GI cancer, because he said if it were, we would be in a much worse situation because of the way that it has spread. I guess it is normal for O.C. to spread through the abdomen, but that it is not good when it is other types of cancer that do that. So that is something else to be thankful for!

The plan for now is for her to have three rounds of chemo. The first round will be next Tuesday starting at 8:30 am. It will last around 5-6 hours. She will then wait three weeks before her next round and they will be checking blood levels in the mean time to make sure she is where they want her to be and that her body is responding correctly (checking that the CA 125 levels are dropping, which are currently 288 and should be less than 30). She will have surgery, hopefully, in 8-9 weeks and they will go in and "clean up" all of of the cancer. The doctor explained to us that by having the chemo first it will kill off some of the cancer cells and then when he goes in he can clean up the ones that were resistant to chemo.

We asked him about the prognosis and he said that O.C. has resistant clones to chemo, it is kind of stubborn, but he said there is a rule of 75s.

75% of the time it is caught in stage 3,
75% of that time the chemo gets it,
75% of that time there may be a relapse 10-15 years later.

Janet has really lost her appetite over the past few weeks and the doctor said that it is because of the O.C. and that she should be feeling much better after the second round of chemo (in a month or so). She will lose her hair sometime between the 1st and 2nd round of chemo, and that is not something that concerns her at all, she is just wanting to fight at this point! The two drugs that she will be given are Taxol and Carboplatin to start because they are the only ones proven to benefit O.C.

The biggest blessing is one of the last things that the doctor said to us...
That there is "no reason to not expect a complete response".

She is fighting, and she has a BIG God fighting on her side. We know that the battle is just beginning but we also know who has already won.

Thank you so much for the prayers, I will continue to update as we find more out!

--Jenna

Update

First of all, Janet wanted to say thank you so much for the prayers and support. The above picture is of all of the flowers that she has received!!! So pretty! (And Hudson scored a balloon too, ha!)

After a very long day of waiting, Janet finally received a phone call from the Oncologist late this afternoon and as of 9:30 tomorrow she is actually going to be starting Chemotherapy. She found out that it is for sure Ovarian cancer that is now in the abdomen. From the beginning we have been praying that God move quickly, and He has moved quicker than we could have ever expected. We are meeting with the Oncologist at 9:30 and then she is meeting with the surgeon to have a port placed and then the actual Chemo will begin tomorrow. She will have three rounds of Chemo and then have the surgery, we aren't sure how long the three rounds will take but the surgery will come after that at a later date. The doctor told her today that if she was to have the surgery before the chemo she would probably be in the hospital for 10 days and they probably wouldn't be able to get it all. So with her having the Chemo first she will probably only have to be in the hospital for 4 days and there is a much higher success rate. Praise Jesus for doctors who know their stuff!

We will probably know more details after the appointments tomorrow.

She is so excited for the battle to begin because God is on her side. She is very excited that God is moving quickly.

Please be praying for our family tomorrow as we meet with the Oncologist, and I will post an update tomorrow night.

--Jenna

Encouragement

Janet wanted me to share a few things this afternoon that have been an encouragement to us.

This morning when reading her bible, Jordan (my sweet sister in law) came across these encouraging verses in Psalms 107.

²³ Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
²⁴ They saw the works of the LORD,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
²⁵ For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
²⁸ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea^[b] were hushed.
³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
³¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.
-Psalm 107:23-32

We know that God will calm this storm and are so encouraged by verse 30 that says that "He guided them to their desired haven."

Another source of joy and encouragement for our family today has been this song by Kristian Stanfill.



Please continue to pray, there are still so many unknowns at this time. We appreciate your prayers SO much!

--Jenna

Hope

Bryan took this picture right after we got the news yesterday. Janet's first instinct was to turn to the Lord and to scripture-- What a woman of faith she is and what a testimony that is.

We are overwhelmed by all of the support and are so thankful for the prayers. I will continue to update my blog through each step of this process as a way to communicate specific things to be praying for.

My prayer this morning was Psalm 30.

"O Lord my God,
I cried to You for help, and You healed me.
Sing praises to the Lord, you His godly ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.
For his anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;

Weeping may last for the night,

But a shout of Joy comes in the morning."

-Psalm 30:2, 4 & 5


Thank you for your support, thank you for your prayers. This is not something we saw coming and has been a shock for our entire family but God already knew and knows the outcome. We have been so blessed by having Janet in our lives and if you were to look at her facebook wall this morning you would see how many other people she has influenced or has been a role model for. God has already performed miracles in her life and we know He can and will do it again. He is SO good!

--Jenna

The beginning

There have been so many people asking what is going on that we figured that the best way to spread the word is for me to write a post so that everyone will know what we know and will hear it from us.

Here we go...

My mother-in-law, Janet, has been in moderate pain for the last 6 weeks. We haven't known the source of the pain and started thinking maybe appendix. She went to the doctor for the first time a month ago and they ordered an ultrasound to look at her gall bladder. The ultrasound showed that she had a kidney stone. Then she went to the Urologist and they sent her for an x-ray of the abdomen and it confirmed that there was no kidney stone but that something was irregular in her gall bladder and the pain was getting worse. She didn't want to give up. So the doctor scheduled her for a Nuclear Medicine test. She went for that on Jan. 23 and it showed that she basically only had 9% gallbladder function (50% or higher is good and what you want). So they sent her to a surgeon who said she was a good candidate with an abnormal ultrasound and NM test to have her gall bladder taken out. A week before her surgery she started getting severe pain in her left lower quadrant (the opposite side of where the pain had been). She went back to see the surgeon the Monday before surgery and had blood work and they thought it was diverticulitis and put her on antibiotics.

So that brings us to Thursday, when she went in for routine outpatient gall bladder surgery at 8 am. The doctor went in with a scope to check the diverticulitis and found her intestines had adhered to her abdominal wall, she was able to free some of them but in other places she had to leave it because it was unknown what was causing it. The doctor wasn't even able to get to her gall bladder and said that she could tell that there was a cyst on one of her ovaries and she couldn't visualize the other one and that her ovary looked abnormal. So she closed her up and transported her (by ambulance--she is claustrophobic and HATED it) to Mercy hospital to have some more tests run. She had some more blood work and a CT scan and then we WAITED, and WAITED for 24 hours...

The doctor just came in and told us what she knows. She sent tumor markers in to be tested. Janet's ovarian cancer marker (CA125) came back at 288. The normal value is less than 30. The doctor told us that she has seen values as high as in the thousands. The lab person that is looking at the biopsy thinks that it looks like cancer cells but he wasn't 100% sure and ready to say a definitive diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

So Janet is being discharged from the hospital and the doctor said she will call as soon as she knows for sure. The plan will be for her to see an OB/GYN Oncologist this next week if it comes back that it is cancer we should know tomorrow or Monday for sure.

We still believe in a God of miracles and are asking for your prayers. We know that He is the ultimate healer. Janet wants everyone to know that she wants God to be glorified through all of this and that she has hope in Him and that we serve a mighty mighty God.


As soon as we heard the news we read Psalms 121 and prayed together as a family.
¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

I will keep updating as we know more. Thank you so much for your prayers. We know that He hears every single one.

--Jenna