The April 22 appointments

I had three appointments at Duke on April 22. Here’s a quick update.

My first appointment was with Dr. Rossi at 10:30 a.m. We had a great visit as we talked about the present - and the future. I’ll have a CT scan at my next visit.

Then I went to the lab at 11:30 to test Inhibin A, Inhibin B, AMH, and to do a CBC.

These results were almost instant. We have no idea what was causing the low RBC Count before, but my RBC Count is fine now.

Then Rick and I had lunch at Pure Vegan, per the usual.

Cardiology was at 2:30 at the Raleigh location. It was a positive visit with Dr. Deepa Upadhyaya. She’s confident I do not have any major heart issues. She believes the accelerated heart rate I am experiencing when exercising might be a neurological result of the surgery last year, but just to be safe, she wants me to return for an exercise stress echocardiogram in July.

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And today I received this amazing news. 🙌

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I'm NED!!

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Next up?

DXA Bone Density (to make sure Letrozole isn’t having an excessively negative effect on my bone density) and the ECHO Stress test -July 24

CT with contrast/ Dr. Rossi - August 12

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Thank you to all of you have who been faithfully praying for me on this journey!

The Fueled by Faith Podcast

I recently had the opportunity to talk to my friend, Emily, on her podcast - Fueled by Faith. Though the conversation was not what we had planned, we believe it is exactly what God intended for us both on a morning when we were both clinging to the promise of Psalm 73:26:

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever.

A quick update

I know it’s been a while since I have given an update, and that’s because I have been waiting until I actually had something concrete to say. But this entire process, truly since the beginning, has moved painfully slowly.

After sharing the following with family this morning, I decided to share it here, too - even though there’s not much to tell.

I am doing a lot of reading about Resveratrol which is found in many foods like dark grapes and blueberries.

I am having a very hard time getting answers from Duke about the implications of my Foundation test and my bone density test, and the longer this goes on the more inclined I am *NOT* to go on Letrozole. I was told yesterday that Duke could not get me in with an endocrinologist until DECEMBER. There's no point in seeing the endocrinologist (re: going on Letrozole) if I have to wait until December. Our health care system is a mess.

Have a great Wednesday. Love you.

I ask you all to continue to pray for wisdom. I do not have peace about going on Letrozole without getting concrete answers about the implications of Foundation testing and the DXA scan.

Adventures begin when plans end

We had plans to go to New Orleans this weekend. But then we couldn’t get a plane ticket.

So we shifted gears and made plans to go to Maine. We had plane tickets, but then the flight out of RDU was cancelled… after we were already in Raleigh.

We pivoted again and drove to Crossville, TN, where we’ve had a lovely time exploring God’s creation.

Sometimes you have to make the best out of the situation in which you find yourself, remembering that we can make our plans, but the Lord directs our steps (Proverbs 16:9).

Last night’s dinner at a sweet little restaurant called Nicoletta’s was a reminder of that.

Sunrise on a Sunday morning

I love my early morning walks here in our neighborhood. This is the last one for a while as we leave for Durham later today in order to prepare for my surgery at Duke on Tuesday.

This morning was quite ordinary - listening to Russell Moore’s podcast, then worship music.

The future is so uncertain, but I will heed this solid advice I've received:

Don't look left. Don't look right. Look straight ahead, and follow Jesus.

Amen.

So, what’s the plan?

March 30, 2023

I thought we had a plan. And we did. But now we don’t.

When paired with new information from the PET scan, the plan we had in place looked less and less like a good plan and looked more and more like an outdated one. As I have been reading clinical research articles and talking with other GCT patients and seeking advice from medical professionals, it has become clear that I should not have surgery on April 14. The idea of chemotherapy is also being called into question.

Sunday evening, 9 p.m., I’ll be talking with a doctor in Melbourne, Australia. I’ve received a referral to Duke. I’ve also got an appointment with MD Anderson in Houston in May (if I choose to wait that long).

All the questions - again. None of the answers.

Thankful for time away here in Texas to put my mind to other matters, and trusting that God’s perfect plan for me will become clear as I continue to listen and discern.

I will trust, as Job did, that my God knows where I am going, that His plan for me will not change, and that He controls my destiny. (Job 23)