Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgivng holiday!  We stayed in town and went over to our friends house and had an amazing dinner & great fellowship.  I have so much to be thankful for this year--a great family, wonderful friends, an amazing God and the list could go on and on....

I convinced Simon to take me out to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants here on the Peninsula.  Since I knew they would be closed on Thanksgiving day,  I "cheated" with my diet the evening prior so I could go and get yummy chowder on the wharf.  Over the years, we have gotten to know the family who owns the restaurant.  Every time we eat there, we get the same thing so as soon as we walk into the restaurant, they start preparing our order! :)  As we were chatting with Lucie (one of the owners), we got to talking and she began to tell us that her brother had been diagnosed with liver cancer and it had spread to his lungs as well.  When she finished telling us this, I told her that I have been battling cancer for the past 3 years as well and had gone through chemo (which her brother was currently undergoing).  We told her we would be praying for him and their family--then when she brought us our food Simon asked if we could pray with her right there for her brother.  We did and when we were finished, she had tears in her eyes.  A few minutes later, she came back and said she had just talked to her brother on the phone and told him that we were there, that we had prayed with her for him, and he had said "I thought they were Christians".  What a blessing it was to be a blessing to someone else!!  We were able to relate with him, pray for him, and hopefully be a blessing to their family all because of my journey....and for that I am thankful!!  

Update

Hey everyone!

Sorry it has been a while since I last blogged.  We got home from Mexico and time has just gotten away from me.  Many of you know how the Lord provided for us to go to Mexico but some of you don't so I thought I would share our story.

When I found out the cancer had returned in my liver again, Simon and I started looking for alternative treatments.  I really don't want to do chemotherapy again so we prayed and asked the Lord to help us find an alternative method.  One afternoon I was reading a book and it mentioned the Oasis of Hope in Mexico.   The book didn't say a whole lot about the facilities but did mention that they had some good results.  The very next day, my mom forwarded an email from someone they know who went to the Oasis of Hope.  When I heard about this place for the 2nd time in a row I knew it was God who was opening the door.  So, I went online and filled out an application, the next day one of their doctors called and gave us some more information about the clinic.  They also told us that the cost to go would be $24,500.

Simon and I continued to pray.  We prayed specifically that if the Lord wanted us to go, then he would provide the full funds.  We figured that if He did provide the money then that would be another open door. If He didn't provide, then we knew that would be a closed door.  We prayed for several days.  We had 2 people send us money in the mail $600, then one of the real estate agents I work for talked to our market center administrator and told him that the Lord was working in her heart to give us money.  She told him that the Lord was showing her "what is money here on the earth for?"  She then proceeded to tell him she wanted to give us $24,000 for our trip, knowing that time was of the essence.  When I was told the news, I cried!  The Lord had answered our prayers in just a few short days!

Since then, my office has put on several fund raisers, we've had 2 of our agents offer to pay for our plane tickets to and from Mexico.  The verse that immediately came to mind was God provides exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think!

When we left for Mexico, I wasn't feeling well.  The past 6 weeks I was having nausea, high fevers (102-103), and headaches.  I was on my 5th round of antibiotics.  I had lab work right before I left and my liver test were extremely elevated.  We got to Mexico, and just a few days after being there I was feeling so much better & not taking my antibiotics.  About a week into my treatments, they did lab work again and my liver function tests were back in the normal range!!  When we got back home, my oncologist was very surprised that I was looking and feeling so good.  He was very pleased that my liver labs were normal as well (he said he expected them to stay elevated).  His exact words were "you might make me a believer after all".  He is much more comfortable with us returning for our follow up trip.

We return to Mexico the 1st part of December for my 2nd round of treatment.  They will do the treatments, then do another CT scan.  I'm praying the CT scans shows a major reduction in the tumors (also praying they will be completely gone too!).  If that is the case then we will continue on the program.  If they see that the tumors are growing or the treatment is not being effective then we have to decide at that time if I should start chemo.

So, again I ask for your continued prayers that the treatment will be effective & the Lord will give complete healing.  He has continued to show me that He is Jehovah-Jirah (my provider).

Until next time....

We made it home safely!  Got back into town on Friday night around 8:00pm.  It's good to be home!!!

While at home, I'm will be following the Oasis of Hope home care program (which includes taking supplements and vitamins, eating the proper diet and B-17 injections).  We plan on returning to Oasis of Hope in one month for the 2nd round of treatment.

Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers!  I'll keep you posted!

Sonya

It's Thursday evening and I have finshed all of my treatments (at least for this 1st round).  Simon and I head back to California tomorrow afternoon.  We are so thankful that we had the opportunity to come--we have met some wonderful people while we have been here & I know I have been blessed & encouraged while I have been here as well. I'm so glad the Lord provided the funds for us to come--it has been what I needed!

I'm off to pack, then off to bed, then off to home!!

I got the results from my CT scan and things are still the same.  The tumors haven't increased or decreased in size.  The doctors told us not to expect any major changes/results for about a month (or around the time we come back next time).  Since I've been here I have felt much better--no fevers, no nausea, etc....

We are still praying for a miracle! 

Monday's over!!  Treatment went well again today.  I have a CT scan tomorrow morning--I'm praying the tumors in my liver will be drastically shrunk or even GONE!!   

We went and walked on the beach this evening and watched the sunset.  Other than that, a pretty slow day just getting treatment.....

I'm sleepy!