Dear friends,

My mom started her radiation treatments last night. She'll have five sessions in total (today, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday) in order to help manage the coughing that she's been suffering from. Last night, several hours after the treatment, she was in a lot of pain- the most I've seen her in so far. Please pray for her in the next week, that the treatments will be effective in relieving her coughing and that the she will be able to manage the pain. She felt better after taking some painkillers last night... let's pray that God will provide relief in His amazing ways.

Also, my grandmother has been in the hospital for over a week now... this is the second time she's had a hospital stay due to imbalances in her sodium-potassium levels. These kinds of episodes tend to happen when she's sick (most recently it was brochitis) and affects her ability to walk and balance herself on her feet. We brought her into the hospital last week after she fell trying to get out of bed (thankfully no broken bones). She's been getting better each day and will be discharged tomorrow.

Some big changes that we'll be making in the house in the next couple days is to bring her bedroom down to the main floor (e.g. convert the dining room into her bedroom). We're hoping that this will help her be more mobile around the house and reduce the dangers of walking up and down the stairs.

Please remember my family in your prayers.. there's a lot going on and we really need God's strength to sustain us.

Thank you! Deb

Hi there,

Thank you for all your love and concern... I know I haven't been keeping up with my updates, I'll try to send more!

As you may know, since my last email in December, my mom has not been doing any Western treatments for her cancer. Instead, she's been going to a Chinese doctor and getting some herbal medication. The effect of the herbs have been very helpful in controlling the effects of the cancer, including her energy level and her breathing. Before the herbs, she was having difficulty talking and finishing her sentances, and after the medication, she was able to have longer conversations with people without getting too out of breath.

The most difficult thing that I've seen in the past couple months has mostly been the coughing and phlegm (and sometimes blood) that my mom was dealing with. This is one of the most visible effects of the cancer itself lately. In addition to the daytime, she especially coughs a lot after dinner every day, and throughout the evening... and it makes it difficult for her to fall asleep at night. It's been tough on her and on the rest of us see her always coughing since we're pretty helpless to do anything.

My mom went to get a bronchoscopy done a couple weeks ago, to investigate the coughing. The results were pretty good, in that there weren't any areas of bleeding that they could find. One of the recommendations from that appointment was for my mom to start radiation treatments in hopes that it would reduce the phlegm and consequently, the coughing.

So soon she will be starting the radiation treatments on her lower right lung. Please pray for the effectiveness of this treatment on the cancer, to reduce the coughing and to essentially improve my mom's condition overall. Please continue to pray for God's healing and strength for her, and my family, for each and every day, and that in all things we would be joyful and at peace, seeing all that God provides for us in such amazing ways, each and every day! :)

Although I don't get to see many of you, I feel the closeness of my community of friends and believers. I miss all my Waterloo friends very much, especially after I went through a bunch of old photos the other day... ! What great memories. Please know that I really appreciate all of your love and prayers!

Thank you all! Deb