This was posted on the FB page by the parent of a child at my school.
So…
2024 has sure thrown me a curve ball.
Turns out flying off lake mountain on my motorbike and NOT dying in January 2023 was just a practice run.
So was having my hair burnt off by a really really bad hairdresser 2 years ago.
Also preparation.
Because two and a half weeks before Christmas I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
I had found a lump in the middle of November. Tried not to be a hypochondriac (18 months earlier had a health scare and went for a series of tests checking for cancer and nothing came of it) and so I left it for a few weeks before going to the doctor who confirmed through a series of tests, that the cancer by then, was 5.2 cms in diameter and had also spread to my lymph nodes.
Thankfully this cancer is very treatable and curable now. I started treatment Jan 1st and chemotherapy on the 2nd and 3rd.
I know I can do hard things.
I know that God is in control.
I know that Jesus is Healer of hearts and minds and also bodies.
I know not everyone gets healed in the way they may like. But one way or another Jesus heals.
I know I am a fighter.
I know I am strong.
I know I am brave.
I also know I am completely in His hands.
I’m not going to lie. Treatment has been rough and complicated. I have had the kind of chemo they call the “red devil.” It has certainly been that. However in good news the 8.4cm tumour (it grew that size in one week before chemo) has already shrunk significantly after the first treatment. Jesus heals. So does good medicine. Good medicine which is also nasty medicine. Unfortunately the chemotherapy targets the bad cells and also all of the good ones in one’s body. So my hair has fallen out.
I have felt like I have drunk battery acid, with sores, blisters and ulcers forming the whole way through my digestive system. I cannot adequately describe the pain of the acid reflux (a side effect ) that has continued to burn me and scorched the open wounds. Ouch!
I lost 5.5 kgs in just one week.
Thankfully I have been able to manage the nausea which medication. This has been a tender mercy for me. I suffered 36 months of hyperemesis and fatigued pregnancies so was terrified of facing this again. Thankfully, this time around, the anti nausea medication works!!
I have been extremely tired and also contracted covid in the week I was immunocompromised. Thankfully anti viral medication cured it relatively quickly. But it has been hard.
I don’t like this. It’s scary and problematic and has meant I have had to stop work and put my one year old counselling practice that I have built from the ground, on hold and also all of my wonderful clients.
I don’t like losing my hair. I don’t like being sick and looking so sick. I don’t like watching my precious husband carry all the load again. I don’t like seeing the fear in my kids eyes as they watch their competent capable mummy collapse in a chemo, cancer, covid heap.
But. I am grateful. I know that every trial brings me closer to Him. I know that I will learn so much from this experience. I am grateful for His tender mercies and for His hand that holds mine. I am grateful that my cancer is not a terminal diagnosis. I am grateful that so many love and care about me and my family and are at the ready to serve and love on us. I am grateful that I am strong and resilient and that I know that I can do hard things. I am a fighter. I will overcome this and be a stronger, more compassionate person for it.
I am looking ahead with FAITH.
I have HOPE and a FUTURE!
I know there are millions of people going through hard times just like the above mum, and worse. We live in a sick sad world, but sometimes, through the pain, anguish, and suffering, comes the unexpected...a testimony of hope and faith in the midst of crisis. I don't know this lady, but she gives me hope, that in the future if I ever have to go though a crisis as she is experiencing, I too can believe that despite everything, God is in control and whatever this world may choose to throw at me, faith is possible. Please pray for this lady and her family.
So…
2024 has sure thrown me a curve ball.
Turns out flying off lake mountain on my motorbike and NOT dying in January 2023 was just a practice run.
So was having my hair burnt off by a really really bad hairdresser 2 years ago.
Also preparation.
Because two and a half weeks before Christmas I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.
I had found a lump in the middle of November. Tried not to be a hypochondriac (18 months earlier had a health scare and went for a series of tests checking for cancer and nothing came of it) and so I left it for a few weeks before going to the doctor who confirmed through a series of tests, that the cancer by then, was 5.2 cms in diameter and had also spread to my lymph nodes.
Thankfully this cancer is very treatable and curable now. I started treatment Jan 1st and chemotherapy on the 2nd and 3rd.
I know I can do hard things.
I know that God is in control.
I know that Jesus is Healer of hearts and minds and also bodies.
I know not everyone gets healed in the way they may like. But one way or another Jesus heals.
I know I am a fighter.
I know I am strong.
I know I am brave.
I also know I am completely in His hands.
I’m not going to lie. Treatment has been rough and complicated. I have had the kind of chemo they call the “red devil.” It has certainly been that. However in good news the 8.4cm tumour (it grew that size in one week before chemo) has already shrunk significantly after the first treatment. Jesus heals. So does good medicine. Good medicine which is also nasty medicine. Unfortunately the chemotherapy targets the bad cells and also all of the good ones in one’s body. So my hair has fallen out.
I have felt like I have drunk battery acid, with sores, blisters and ulcers forming the whole way through my digestive system. I cannot adequately describe the pain of the acid reflux (a side effect ) that has continued to burn me and scorched the open wounds. Ouch!
I lost 5.5 kgs in just one week.
Thankfully I have been able to manage the nausea which medication. This has been a tender mercy for me. I suffered 36 months of hyperemesis and fatigued pregnancies so was terrified of facing this again. Thankfully, this time around, the anti nausea medication works!!
I have been extremely tired and also contracted covid in the week I was immunocompromised. Thankfully anti viral medication cured it relatively quickly. But it has been hard.
I don’t like this. It’s scary and problematic and has meant I have had to stop work and put my one year old counselling practice that I have built from the ground, on hold and also all of my wonderful clients.
I don’t like losing my hair. I don’t like being sick and looking so sick. I don’t like watching my precious husband carry all the load again. I don’t like seeing the fear in my kids eyes as they watch their competent capable mummy collapse in a chemo, cancer, covid heap.
But. I am grateful. I know that every trial brings me closer to Him. I know that I will learn so much from this experience. I am grateful for His tender mercies and for His hand that holds mine. I am grateful that my cancer is not a terminal diagnosis. I am grateful that so many love and care about me and my family and are at the ready to serve and love on us. I am grateful that I am strong and resilient and that I know that I can do hard things. I am a fighter. I will overcome this and be a stronger, more compassionate person for it.
I am looking ahead with FAITH.
I have HOPE and a FUTURE!
I know there are millions of people going through hard times just like the above mum, and worse. We live in a sick sad world, but sometimes, through the pain, anguish, and suffering, comes the unexpected...a testimony of hope and faith in the midst of crisis. I don't know this lady, but she gives me hope, that in the future if I ever have to go though a crisis as she is experiencing, I too can believe that despite everything, God is in control and whatever this world may choose to throw at me, faith is possible. Please pray for this lady and her family.
