Two days ago, I received an anonymous card, no signature, no return address. They'd heard of the goodie bags given to my neighbors through church, and my diagnosis. They gave me a $150 Visa gift card to spend as God leads. I gave to Hurricane Laura relief and Charlotte Rescue Mission. Yesterday, I felt awful. Not a cancer thing, but I was tired, foggy, headachy, and very blah. A neighbor had sent flowers and small gifts, along with get well wishes and prayers. Another neighbor came by during dinner to tell me he and his wife were praying for me. A few days ago, the verse of the day on YouVersion Bible App was Exodus 14:14- " 14The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” This morning, Beth Moore shared her thoughts from Isaiah 38 about Hezekiah's illness on Twitter. 1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3“Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
7“ ‘This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’ ” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
10 I said, “In the prime of my life
must I go through the gates of death
and be robbed of the rest of my years?”
11 I said, “I will not again see the Lord himself
in the land of the living;
no longer will I look on my fellow man, or be with those who now dwell in this world.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent my house
has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
and he has cut me off from the loom;
day and night you made an end of me.
13 I waited patiently till dawn,
but like a lion he broke all my bones;
day and night you made an end of me.
14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”
15 But what can I say?
He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.
I will walk humbly all my years
because of this anguish of my soul.
16 Lord, by such things people live;
and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
and let me live.
17 Surely it was for my benefit
that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins
behind your back.
18 For the grave cannot praise you,
death cannot sing your praise;
those who go down to the pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise you,
as I am doing today;
parents tell their children
about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
in the temple of the Lord.
21 Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”
22 Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?”
I don't know that it means that I'm going to live another 15 years, just that I must continue to trust in the Lord for everything and bring everything to Him. But if he wants to give me another 15 years, I'll claim them! This afternoon was my oncology appointment. I am in Stage 4, but the illness has not spread to my lungs or liver, the most dangerous places to go. The doctor wants to delay that for as long as possible and shrink the tumor pressing on my kidneys. The doctor really wants me to take a 3-drug cocktail to get quicker results, but he will have to convince the insurance company. If he can't, we'll go with the 2-drug version that may take longer to show results. The 3-drug version has more toxicity which may lead to anemia, fatigue, and higher risk of neuropathy. If these are intolerable, we can switch. He has set a start date of Sept. 28 to give time for insurance wrangling. I go next week to meet with the nurse practitioner to learn about the process. I will have to have a port. I'm being referred to a geneticist to find out if this was the result of a DNA mutation. Maybe I'm a Mutant. LOL We'll also get advice from a nutritionist. It is still unclear whether I'll be a candidate for immunotherapy. Average length of time I have is around a year and a half, which of course, is dependent on response to treatment, immunotherapy compatibility, and God.
2 Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, 3“Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.
4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah: 5“Go and tell Hezekiah, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.
7“ ‘This is the Lord’s sign to you that the Lord will do what he has promised: 8 I will make the shadow cast by the sun go back the ten steps it has gone down on the stairway of Ahaz.’ ” So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had gone down.
9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:
10 I said, “In the prime of my life
must I go through the gates of death
and be robbed of the rest of my years?”
11 I said, “I will not again see the Lord himself
in the land of the living;
no longer will I look on my fellow man, or be with those who now dwell in this world.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent my house
has been pulled down and taken from me.
Like a weaver I have rolled up my life,
and he has cut me off from the loom;
day and night you made an end of me.
13 I waited patiently till dawn,
but like a lion he broke all my bones;
day and night you made an end of me.
14 I cried like a swift or thrush,
I moaned like a mourning dove.
My eyes grew weak as I looked to the heavens.
I am being threatened; Lord, come to my aid!”
15 But what can I say?
He has spoken to me, and he himself has done this.
I will walk humbly all my years
because of this anguish of my soul.
16 Lord, by such things people live;
and my spirit finds life in them too.
You restored me to health
and let me live.
17 Surely it was for my benefit
that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins
behind your back.
18 For the grave cannot praise you,
death cannot sing your praise;
those who go down to the pit
cannot hope for your faithfulness.
19 The living, the living—they praise you,
as I am doing today;
parents tell their children
about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
and we will sing with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives
in the temple of the Lord.
21 Isaiah had said, “Prepare a poultice of figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”
22 Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the temple of the Lord?”
I don't know that it means that I'm going to live another 15 years, just that I must continue to trust in the Lord for everything and bring everything to Him. But if he wants to give me another 15 years, I'll claim them! This afternoon was my oncology appointment. I am in Stage 4, but the illness has not spread to my lungs or liver, the most dangerous places to go. The doctor wants to delay that for as long as possible and shrink the tumor pressing on my kidneys. The doctor really wants me to take a 3-drug cocktail to get quicker results, but he will have to convince the insurance company. If he can't, we'll go with the 2-drug version that may take longer to show results. The 3-drug version has more toxicity which may lead to anemia, fatigue, and higher risk of neuropathy. If these are intolerable, we can switch. He has set a start date of Sept. 28 to give time for insurance wrangling. I go next week to meet with the nurse practitioner to learn about the process. I will have to have a port. I'm being referred to a geneticist to find out if this was the result of a DNA mutation. Maybe I'm a Mutant. LOL We'll also get advice from a nutritionist. It is still unclear whether I'll be a candidate for immunotherapy. Average length of time I have is around a year and a half, which of course, is dependent on response to treatment, immunotherapy compatibility, and God.