Looking Good!

A couple of weeks ago, I asked Andrew to draw a picture for me. He drew himself on his skateboard! Can't wait to see him skating again. You can be sure I will videotape it for you!

This morning Andrew weighed 97.2 pounds! (He has gained 13 pounds since being home.) His hair is growing out and soon will cover the scars on his scalp. He looks great and feels great, too.

These are some of the things we are doing:
We have cut out all refined sugar and make sure Andrew eats some raw vegetables and fruit every day. He has learned to really enjoy eating apples (organic) for a snack or as a dessert. If you are wondering what the black bag is in the picture from the prior post, it contains a pump. The pump is infusing vitamin C 24/7. We are also using the feeding tube to give him the Budwig "cocktail" twice a day. He has a physical therapy evaluation on Monday and we meet again with his doctor on Tuesday.

We continue to stand in faith on God's word for Andrew's complete recovery from cancer and its effects. Have I already mentioned how much I hate cancer? If not, I HATE CANCER. A couple of weeks ago I found out a friend from college days is going through a similiar situation with her 14 yr. old son. Her son, Britt, was also diagnosed with cancer (brain & spine). He started radiation and chemo this week. Please pray for Britt's complete healing, too!
I believe the enemy is attacking this end time generation because they will be on the front lines of spreading the gospel in these last days. Pray that none of the evil schemes of the enemy will thwart or cut short the purposes and plans of God for this generation! "Oh God, deliver us from evil."

Above all, we pray about everything all the time!

Bless his sweet heart, Andrew rarely complains. He asks us often if he will be better by Christmas. He is bored with not being able to play like he used to...just this summer. Because the tumors affected his left side, he cannot use his left arm/hand/fingers at all. He also has weakness in his left leg which makes it more difficult to walk. But we believe this is a temporary condition! We speak life and recovery and restoration to him on a daily basis.

Is it hard? Yes, some moments are very difficult for me. But I thank God for my husband who is a rock! And I thank God for all of you who pray for Andrew and our family. It means so much to us. Thank you for the cards. And I haven't forgotten those of you who asked me to add you or a loved one to my personal prayer time. I am praying for you!
A very special woman emailed me this week and asked me to pray about a specific need. I tried to email you back but was unsuccessful. You told me about your son. I would love to respond and if you would like me to, please email again with a return address. In the meantime, "God loves you and is pleased with you." I felt impressed to tell you that.

Have a Happy Day! "He hath made me glad."

I Love Sundays

Yesterday (Sunday) all five of us sat shoulder to shoulder at our church. What a great day! When our pastor welcomed Andrew back to church after such a long absence, many stood and clapped for him. That blessed us so much. I leaned into Andrew and whispered in his ear, "People love you, baby." Then our pastor directed his father (one of my favorite people) to anoint Andrew with oil and pray the prayer of faith (James 5:14-15).

Praise was lifted, the Word went forth, the Body of Christ loved on us and our family was blessed!

I wanted a picture of the five of us back in church together but our oldest son was ready to go and already in the van and our daughter had driven herself and had already left for home. Oh well. Some things never change! A family picture of any type is always a challenge.

Last night as bed time neared, Andrew and I were talking and I said, "Wasn't it great to be in church this morning?"

His reply: "I was excited!" And then he added, "I enjoyed Pastor Randy's message."

The message was the first in a new series our pastor is preaching entitled, All Things Have Become New from 2nd Corinthians 5:17.

What a fitting theme for our family. ALL things have become new, indeed!

From One Skateboarder to Another

A friend made a contact and Tony Hawk made a phone call to Andrew! Yesterday at 5:54 p.m. Tony Hawk called our home and asked to speak to Andrew. I had no clue who was on the other side of the line. But Andrew recognized the voice of Tony Hawk and they chatted for a few minutes. Thanks, Tony Hawk!
Thanks, Kathy for setting this up. And thanks to Paula, who weeks ago contacted Tony Hawk's "people" and Tony sent Andrew an autographed picture.
Andrew told me a few nights ago that he dreamed he was skatedboarding. I believe he will be on that board again! He has a vision and so do I.

Get A Life~Vision!

About a week ago the Lord impressed me to get a vision! A vision of Life for Andrew. In other words, Get a Life~Vision! A life vision for each of our children. A life vision for our family and our home.

Nearly a year ago, I was out walking with Andrew. He was skateboarding and was a little ahead of me. We had just rounded the top of our street. I could take you to the very place where a thought came to me regarding Andrew. It was, I believe, a heavenly thought.

I saw him skateboarding and loving life and the phrase "unusual ministry" came into my heart. Let me tell you that those two words have been something I have clung to like I would a canteen of water in a desert place.

Both my husband and I have "seen" Andrew as a young man, healthy, happy and whole. These spiritual pictures have "seen"us through tough times lately.

I have also had "snapshots" of the futures of my other two children as well. When my oldest son was still a baby in my arms, I got a "vision" for his future! Even though now I do not "see" it in the natural, I "see" it with spiritual eyes. As for my daughter, her gifts have always had lots of volume so they are easy to "see" and easy to hear.

I believe that God impressed me last week to get a vision for Andrew's future. I have held this vision up to God in prayer and I am not letting go of it.

God, Himself, said he knows the thoughts or vision he has for us and it is for hope and a future!

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV.

The vision I have for our family is for hope and healing. I want our home to be so saturated in prayer than no one enters or leaves our home without sensing the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I told my daughter Saturday that the two most important things to me are that our family knows God intimately and that we make Him known. Everything else I have ever been interested in pales in comparison. Everything else is but a shadow. A living, growing, breathing, "bride" relationship with Christ, the Son of the Living God, is my highest desire.

Yes, one day I will renew my interest in recipes and decorating for the seasons and in shopping my closet. Those things are fun and are a blessing to my family and to others. They are gifts to enjoy. I finally took the spring wreath off my door last week! I found my fall wreath and fluffed it up a bit. A neighbor brought a pumpkin by and it is on my porch. Maybe by Thanksgiving I will find my indians and pilgrims to display. I truly believe that is a part of "keeping" a home and my family enjoys a change in scenery now and again. And so do I!

However today my heart is in making our home a healthy environment and a holy place where the peace of God rules and reigns.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Andrew and our family. I love you.

Prayer requests: A good situation for physical therapy for Andrew, more movement and control on his left side (this would so encourage him), a job for my husband, uninterrupted joy in our home and, of course, 100% recovery for Andrew

Flint~Faced

Edited to add: Andrew is gaining weight. He told me last night that he got one of his toes on the left foot to wiggle. A wiggling toe is cause for rejoicing around here! Now to get that left arm, hand and fingers moving again!

"Therefore I have set my face like a flint..."

This scripture has been echoing through my spirit for weeks. The scripture is found in Isaiah 50. It is a picture of Christ's flintlike stedfastness of his devotion.

Here is the context:

"For the Lord God will help Me; therefore I will not be disgraced; Therefore I have set My face like a flint, And I know that I will not be ashamed."

For many weeks, the Lord has strengthened me during the most horrific moments with these words, "Daughter, set your face like flint."

Up until now I have not shared this with anyone but all week it has been on my mind to share it with you here. Maybe you are going through something in which you feel like giving up or giving in. Let's face it, there are some things we go through in life that are VERY DIFFICULT and it is tempting to give in to the despair that threatens to overwhelm you. It is tempting because you think that you might find relief in the giving up. But then the Lord speaks to you down deep inside and He tells you to hang on and set your face like flint. There will be no disgrace to the one who trusts in her God, whose heart rests in Him.

So many times lately, as I have gone about the normalcy of life back at home, I have cried out to God in my private moments. The cry always begins this way, "Father, Abba, Daddy...Daddy, Daddy..."

This daughter of the Most High God has the privilege of calling Him, "Daddy." And in that relationship, I can set my face like a flint and lean into him as He wraps His loving arms around me and does not shrink away at my falling tears. In Him I will never be ashamed.

Update: Andrew is doing well. We are consulting some of the finest minds concerning his nutritional needs. I am learning how to shop and prepare foods differently. It is a challenge but one I can embrace. We are determined to do all we can to support Andrew in all ways. And God remains Andrew's healer. Today was a good day! We have laughed and we have loved one another. We are together in our home. We have beautiful neighbors who are generous to offer support in a variety of ways. We have friends who will stop by and pray with us when I call on them. We have family who remain in stedfast prayer and support of us. We have long distance friends who are a continual source of support and prayer. AND WE HAVE SISTER BLOGGERS WHO HAVE BEEN SO ENCOURAGING TO CONTINUE TO PRAY, LEAVE ENCOURAGING COMMENTS, EMAIL AND SEND CARDS AND GIFTS.

We are blessed.

I promise to post recent pictures soon!

Good to Be Home

It is good to be home. I wish life were normal ~ normal as in what life was before the diagnosis of cancer. We continue to seek the best for Andrew in all things. We pray about everything, believing that God is answering our prayers for wisdom, understanding, and knowledge.

We need to put weight on Andrew and that is our priority at this time. But, we are being very careful about the kind of nutrition he is getting. Sugar is not a good thing when cancer is present. We are going organic where possible and I got my juicer out of the back of the pantry.

The hospital experience was exhausting to all of us and especially to Andrew. I was growing increasingly concerned for his mental state. Just thinking about that brings tears to myself and him, also. So we are putting it behind us.

Our plan is to get him in optimum health and boost his immune system. Then we will go from there.
Thank you to so many of you who have sent cards, gifts and even checks to help with our expenses. I am slow in getting back to you but I know you understand. My mother, who has been staying in our home since the beginning of September, is going to return to her home in MS this weekend. She needs to get back into her nest. I will miss her dearly because she has been such a prayer partner and a warrior in intercession. But she needs to rest now.

We continue to confess the Word of God over our family on a daily basis and many times a day. We treasure your intercession and your beautiful words of encouragement and faith in God's Word.

Prayer concerns: Andrew is still dealing with nausea, although much less vomiting (Thank the Lord.)
He is adjusting to the shunt and is upright more each day. When he is up for very
long at a time, he gets a headache.
We are praying that his brain makes new pathways so he has use of his left arm/hand/fingers and better use of his left leg/foot/toes. When he has regained some weight, energy and strength, we will pursue aggressive physical therapy. For now, we do "range of motion" here at home.

With God ALL things are POSSIBLE!!!

Going Home

Friday the doctors decided that the high powered antibiotic (rocephin) was causing the side effects. I believe it has also been the source of stomach upset. Andrew had been on zofran round the clock for nausea but still had nausea.
Since being off the antibiotic, his white cell count went back to the normal range. And he has not had a fever since Thursday afternoon.
We brought him to our hotel room on a day pass and plan to be discharged in the morning. I hope and pray it doesn't take long. Since being out of the hospital he has eaten more. If he feels queasy, we stop and pray. So far so good. He has had slight headaches and one throbbing headache. We pray.
We have to get Andrew home and build up his body, help him regain his weight and build his immune system.
Please continue to pray that he gets a normal appetite back and regains weight and strength. We are depending on the power of God and not the wisdom of man.
I'll continue to update.

Celeste Welch sent a wonderful, faith filled couple our way. They offered to come to the hospital room and pray. We felt the power of God in the room.
The next day, Beverly Dru and her husband surprised us with a visit. They also came in like sunshine and interceded our Andrew's behalf! Each couple came just when we needed the Body of Christ.
Saturday morning I called my new friend (the wife of the couple sent by Celeste) and she drove over to pray with me in the hospital chapel. What a powerful time of prayer.
My parents drove up from Clearwater on Saturday and spent the evening with us and part of the Sunday in the hotel room with us. While my husband tended to Andrew in the hospital, I got some rest knowing my parents were right there with me. This morning my mom and dad and I interceded in prayer for quite a while before I went back to the hospital room.
On a day pass, we brought Andrew back to the room with us. Unfortunately they will not "allow" us to let him stay overnight in the hotel and take him back in the morning for discharge.
Thank you all for praying so fervently that we could go home. Please pray that our drive back tomorrow is uneventful. Just joyous.
Love,
Melanie