Our Family

Our Family

Contact

For Contact information about the administration of this blog please email jmkbuett@gmail.com
Copyright Jordan Street and Jenna Buettemeyer 2014. Powered by Blogger.

Thursday, September 26, 2013

"Green Halloween Mask=Claustrophobia"

I started my clinical trial pills this past Tuesday.  There were so many mixed emotions going through my mind before I started the medication.  I have to have a light breakfast before taking the medication, then wait 2 hours before I can eat anything.  I came home to eat some cereal so I was alone when I took the first pill.  I became so overwhelmed with emotions and pleaded with God to give me strength to trust in Him.  I know He lives inside me and He can take the medication and destroy every bad cell growing in my body.  There can be many mental side effects so I am trusting that my mind can stay focused and not give any room to Satan.  We've had a very busy week at work preparing for our DNOW weekend.  We ended up with 367 students and 42 Host Homes.  The kick off began last night and we had Drew Worsham, a Christian illusionist do an amazing performance.  The whole weekend begins tomorrow night and will end Sunday after church.  There will be close to 600 people participating throughout the whole weekend.  I have plenty of people helping me and making sure I pace myself and not wear out.  I am thankful to say my mind has stayed sane and I really haven't felt any side effects.  On Tuesday my hemoglobin was low and they were considering giving me a blood transfusion, but today I was retested and my numbers went up to where they needed to be.

I went in this morning to get fitted for my mask for the upcoming radiation I will be receiving.  I had a peace all morning and really felt I could handle having a mask put over my face.  I am so thankful for the nurse that was with me and she highly recommended I take medication.  I told her I knew many people were praying for me and that God would give me the strength.  She still recommended the medication.  I hesitated for a moment but decided God gives man knowledge and there is no shame in taking medication to help with side effects.  She started with my legs and hip area making the markings on my body and getting the mold made for my legs.  We then went into another room where the "green mask" came out.  They told me to shut my eyes and the minute the cold, slimy, wet mask touched my face, I asked if they would take it off and let the medication work better.  They ignored my plea and told me I would be fine.  I immediately went into prayer mode and began calling on the name of Jesus.  The mask was a green gel substance that was wet and completely covered my whole head, shoulders and part of my chest.  They mold it to your face, then have hand held fans to cool the mask off to help it to set.  I was so relieved when it finally came off.  The worse part was that I had to go back into the CT room and have the mask put on again, then it was screwed down into the table.  I am so thankful for prayers, for the name of Jesus and for praise songs that kept my mind occupied.

Now that you can see what the mask looks like and add claustrophobia to the equation, you can see where it was a difficult situation for me.  The black buttons around the edges is what they nail down to the table to keep you from moving.  My heart still races just thinking about having it on me again. I get the pleasure of donning this contraption every day for three weeks ( 15 treatments) when we get back from San Diego.
But at least we will be kicking some cancer butt!
All prayer is welcome !!! 
Psalms 4:1 "Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!  You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!"

 "Today is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it."

4 comments:

  1. We will indeed be praying here in Brisbane, Australia. And well done you for coping with the mask making! Be proud of your efforts in getting that challenging task completed.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is difficult - will be praying for you and even that it goes easier than you had imagined. You and your readers will all be happy when the 3 weeks is over!

    ReplyDelete