Our Journey Entry #19

February 21, 2013

I feel compelled to share this post on behalf of all the loving caretakers out there who take such good care of their loved ones and who sometimes do so without the benefit of a medical degree.   That being said, I think I almost killed my husband last night!   Ok, not really, but if you ask him I did! 

It all started about a week ago.   One night as I was getting Jeff's evening medication ready for him (something I do every night without fail), I noticed that his folic acid was nearly out.   I poured the remaining pills into my hand to count them so I would know how many days I had left before I had to get the prescription refilled.   As the pills spilled into my hand, I noticed that there where eight of them.  However, they weren't all the same.   They were all the same size and shape but six of them were a pale yellow and two were white.  Strange, I thought, but since they were the same size I thought that maybe they just came in different colors.  I have a friend who is a pharmacist and I thought I'd take them in and let him see.   Problem is, I couldn't seem to remember to do that.

So fast forward to last night...you guessed it, I was down to the two white "folic acid" pills.   So I prepared the evening medicine and fixed him a nice cool glass of water.   He was a good patient and downed the pills, then off to bed we went.

Now, he hasn't been sleeping very well, so as we laid down last night, I prayed over him.   That's something I do often, but last night I prayed that he would sleep well and begin to regain his strength.   When we woke this morning and he told me that he had  indeed slept well.  I was so pleased!   When he moved to the recliner and fell into a deep slumber again, I thought, "Wow, he really needed his rest!".   

I left to go for a walk with my friend, after which I stopped by the pharmacy to get his prescription refilled.   My friend (the pharmacist) happened to be in, so I told him about the strange two white pills.   He asked me if the markings were the same on the pills...well, I didn't think to look for that!   

I returned home to find Jeff still sleeping!   What a great prayer life I must have!   While it was still fresh on my mind, I wanted to check that pill.   So I grabbed the bottle and dropped out the last pill.  I promptly called my friend and relayed the information to him.   Funny thing...you may have figured it out by now, but it seems that wasn't folic acid that I gave him last night!   You see, somehow, somewhere down the road, I accidentally mixed up two of his phenergan pills in his bottle of folic acid.   So what I actually had given him was phenergan...which effectively knocks him out!  (But hey, at least he wasn't nauseated!)

As humerous as this is right now, my husband was not laughing when I confessed my mistake to him!   He did, however, sleep the rest of the day away!   Tonight, I have a new resolve to be more careful as I tend to him...and he has a new resolve to question EVERYTHING I give him!  I'm so glad that God graciously gives us laughter amidst the hardest struggles of our lives.   

We are now just a short couple of weeks away from his rescan.   Though I have had moments when the enemy has tried to make me doubt, the peace that God has given me is still strongfast.   I believe that he is healed.   We will continue to do everything the doctors tell us to do and we will continue to believe.   And I will continue to administer care...and he will continue to forgive my shortcomings!  And together, we will continue to laugh...A cheerful heart is good medicine...Proverbs 17:22

Our Journey (Post #18)

February 7th, 2013

Something has changed.  No, we haven't seen the doctor again and wont be re-scanned until March 4th, but I'm telling you, something has changed.  We believe that Jeff is healed!!     We will continue to do everything the doctors tell us to do until we get that clean bill of health but he is healed!   

When this whole thing started, God told Jeff not to worry, just to do what the doctors said.  We must've had 30 different opinions on who we should use, what we should do...it seemed even our doctors couldn't agree.  We felt frustrated and helpless, but God quickly took control of the situation and got them on the same page.  

Half way through his treatment when he wanted so badly to quit and I was pretty sure that he would, we saw God move again.   His doctor prayed over him and gave him encouragement to fight this fight.   And I have to say, he has fought this fight with a strength that I don't think either of us knew he had.   We also understand where that strength has come from!

From the very start of this whole ordeal, we have known that this journey was not just about us and some dreaded disease.   It was about a God who loves us and has proven that He is faithful and will not leave us.   It was about others who will face this same trial and need a road map of how to make it through.   It was about a family that needed to learn to love each other again and not take one second for granted.   It was about an indescribable hope that rises out of a struggle when we put our trust in Him.  I have no doubt that God has used this experience and will continue to use it to encourage others and bring hope in a hopeless situation.

Anyone who knows Jeff for 5 minutes knows that his sense of humor in incredibly sarcastic in nature.   So don't be offended when I say that in the beginning he "milked" this whole cancer thing big time!   Mainly with me (to get special favors...like, "Honey can you bring me a drink..I have cancer")...oh yes he did!   But also to rib lifelong friends who called or came to visit!   He'd say, "they think I'm dying and I'm gonna loose my hair so they just had to come see!"    Thank God our friends understand his humor!   (Well, most of the time!)   Anyway, that all changed last week.   He stopped saying I have cancer...and changed it to I "had" cancer!   If you know Jeff McFalls then you know that is huge!!!   He does not EVER say things just to get your hopes up...EVER!  

Shortly after his last treatment my sister, Christie, called to tell me that in her prayer time she felt like God was telling her to stop praying for his healing and start praising Him for it.  I didn't tell Jeff because I thought he'd probably roll his eyes...I'm just being honest!   (This man will tell you he is a skeptic!)  Later that same week, I was praying and I felt God tell me the same thing...He is healed...start praising for it! Well Sunday, Jeff basically told our congregation the same thing (not in so many words but it was the same thing).  He talked about the man at the pool of Bethesda and how Jesus told him to take up his mat and walk.   Why take up his mat????   Well, because he would not be coming this way again!   He would have no need to!   I believe that is exactly what He is saying to Jeff...take up your mat and walk...you're not coming this way again!   

There was a purpose for us passing this way on the journey...perhaps there where many purposes.   But God never intended for us to stop here...for this to be our final destination.   There is still much work to be done.   This journey has added tools to our spiritual tool belt that we couldn't have acquired any other way.   But we believe those tools are meant for a greater purpose than just fighting this battle...and we are ready to put them to work!   Please continue to pray with us for good results on March 4th...but more than that, rejoice with us that the God we serve is the God who heals!   To God be the Glory!!  Great things He has done!