In Christ Alone our Hope is Found

Micah's scan came back clear. The gratitude we feel is indescribable. The amazement is just as profound as the first clear results we received years ago. The day we spent at the hospital was a gift to Micah and I. The scan was smooth, we connected with old friends and he spent some beautiful time in Art Therapy. He did two new canvases with paint. We are going to frame them to remember this day by. Not only did we enjoy ourselves, more importantly we got the news that Micah is ready to move into 'aftercare'. Aftercare is a word that I have heard for six and a half years but didn't really understand what it was. Now I do and it has made me cry many happy tears in the last week. It means that Micah just had his last scan.    Micah is 4 years post cancer (relapse). This is the point that we will stop looking for a relapse. He will have an appointment once a year and we will start focusing on how his body is coping with all the chemo and radiation he has had. They w...

We are in Canada for part of Spring Break. We have many appointments booked, including new passports, dentist, MRI, speech therapy and a few more!  It will be great to get them all done. (: This morning we got our passports done. Phew! I was thankful to get that checked off of our list. They should be done Wednesday by 12. That is service! It has been so nice to see family and step out of our regular paces. We always love to come and worship in St Thomas, even though it's not exactly home anymore. In the past year we have become more comfortable in the Grand Rapids church. But connecting in person with the people that we have known for most of our lives feels like a big giant hug. It's a beautiful thing that almost made me cry. We didn't realize how much we needed it!  We love these people and they will always be special. Tomorrow morning at 8:30, Micah has a scan. The past 6 months have gone so quickly. It's hard to believe. We would appreciate prayers for peace ...

I have no words tonight, just some tears, laughter and smiles.  Micah's scan showed No Evidence of Disease and we couldn't be more thankful. How kind our Heavenly Father is.  Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow. 

It felt like I just had to tell you all how today went. So here it is! (: We felt the prayers this morning. You can feel them you know. It's a wonderful thing. We arrived by 8 and went back around 8:40. Micah's scan didn't start until about 9am and went until 10:20. It was longer than normal. The last 10 minutes were tough for him, but he stuck with it and didn't miss a breath hold. He is such a trouper.  He is big enough to pull off the adult hospital pants. Crazy! (o:  We got our 'scan man'. We were thankful. He loved to see how big Micah has gotten. He is sure that Micah grew 4 inches since he saw him last. Not quite! (: The Lord blessed me personally in a few ways: I didn't encounter any really sick kids or sad moms. It wasn't very busy and that was a huge relief for my heart. Instead, I connected with a mom in Art Therapy from Sarnia, whose daughter was in for a check up like Micah, who also loves the Lord. What an encouragement that was to cha...

I was up early this morning with some butterflies. It is an anxious anticipation. I am thankful this day is here. This scan seems way more important than the last ones. I have been thinking about why that would be. I think it's because it's been 6 months instead of 3 since we have looked inside Micah. It's been a long wait. Even though I would rather not have to do this, sometimes it's easier to be doing it, than waiting for it to happen. Going to the hospital is so conflicting. It reminds me of where the Lord has brought us and that fills me with profound gratitude. We have Micah here with us. We are not visiting a grave site. We do not have a hospital routine anymore. I don't always have a bag packed. Micah is not used to getting needles. We are not always wondering what the next week will hold. Life is stable and 'normal' and Micah is healthy and strong. Writing these sentences fills me with such emotion and thankfulness. God has been so kind to ...

Just so you are aware... This is a bullet point-no grammar post! (O: Scan day is Tuesday, Sept 10 at 8:fifteen. I am packing up the 4 kids and leaving on Monday morning for Canada. Tuesday is appointment day and then Wednesday morning we will drive home. I realized as I was thinking about our scan routine, that it is pretty much the same every time. I have always been quite convinced that I will remember everything. But as time passes, I am sad that I didn't write more of our experiences down. I have lost them. So I thought I would write out what  we physically do, without any of the emotions. I will never forget the emotions that come with appointment. I will confess that it usually starts with us walking really fast down the halls towards MRI holding hands! We usually seem to be rushing on scan morning, but are rarely late. (: We arrive at the MRI/CT suite around 8 am to check in.  We give the lady our health card and she gives us the clip board with paperwork to f...

I read Mark 1 the other morning and read that Jesus healed a woman and many who came to Him. Mark 1:29-34 ESV "And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John.  Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.   That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. And the whole city was gathered together at the door.  And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. The subject of healing is something that is very real to us.  We experienced that healing in such a special way. The Lord didn't heal Micah with one touch, but used a man to cut the cancer out against all human odds. Different method. Same result. Same awe. As this scan approaches, my heart is a little cautious and overwhelmed. I...

We are so very thankful that Micah's xray came back clear. It's been a bit of a hard wait as we listen to Micah work through his chest cold. It has kept us on our knees for sure. As time goes by and with every clear scan, we grow more thankful for the mercy the Lord has shown us. I just talked with Micah's oncologist and asked her what she is thinking in regards to scans and Micah's future. I don't often quote our dear doctors, but she said that Micah should have relapsed already and that so far he has beaten the odds. Even as we give thanks for clear results, sometimes it's hard not to let my mind rest on the facts or statistics. I have to keep in focus that God has been and will continue to be the author of Micah's story. What a beautiful comfort that is as well as the fact that God is always faithful. Always. In the last weeks we have watched dear families struggle with their little boys and our hearts have ached with them.  One little guy, had major ...

Christmas is coming and we are looking forward to Josh and Ken being home with us for a while and being able to visit St Thomas for 4 days. It will be so great to sit around with family and just spend time together. Our visits to St Th, the last few times have not really been relaxing. We always have so much to accomplish. This time we are going to plan as little as possible! It will be great! While we are in Ontario, Micah will also have a chest XRAY. Our oncologist has decided that it would be a good idea to have an XRAY and check up at 3 months, instead of just going with an MRI at 6 months. I am thankful that we will have a look into his lungs now instead of waiting a full 6 months. But as our Doc and I emailed about this, I just really wanted her to say that it's not necessary. We are so ready to get away from being so dependent on the scans and hospitals and put this all behind us. Having to do an XRAY every 3, is just a reminder of the possibilities. It does put an ache ...

We have been waiting and waiting and this morning I got a call from our family Doc. I missed the call and I assumed it was to tell me that I got an appointment for myself. I didn't have a chance to listen to the message. I just listened to it now and she told me that she got Micah's scan results. She said everything is clear. I needed to hear the details, so I just called her and asked her to read it to me. I just needed to hear the exact words. Beautiful words. I thought because it was taking so long that they were bothered about something and were looking into it, but the report must have been in for awhile if my family doc has it. As frustrating as that thought sounds to me, everything is in God's perfect time. Maybe He was reminding me to lean more fully on Him.. On the report they said that the spot in his abdomen appears to be normal bowel. That is just an amazing blessing! We are more thankful than I could possibly put into words. I have no more words, just te...

I just got an email from Micah's doctor. She said there is no "evidence of disease". We are amazingly thankful and praise God for his blessings.  Micah has an appointment on Monday. He will get blood done and his doctor will check him out. In her email she said that although there is no sign of disease, there are some "details" of the scan we need to discuss. I am not sure what that means. Thank you for praying and loving us. I almost hesitate to ask. I feel like you have given so much already... But could you please pray that those details are very small ones? With so much love and thanks, Ken and Belinda

We  don't have anything yet.. I am leaving to go pick Ken up from school and we are going on to Collingwood to spend some much needed time together. I normally would be squealing and jumping up and down with delight at the prospect of 3 days with Ken alone, just as husband and wife. But we are a little burdened down with the thought of scan results, but are still so thankful for the time we will have together. But for the fifth time, God's timing is perfect. I know it in my mind very well. I am struggling to feel it in my heart today though.  I will give you an update as soon as I can.   Please keep praying for peace. 

I just wanted to let you know that we have no news yet. )O: I called today at 4:30 and left a message asking them to call me first thing in the morning. We are very ready to hear the results whatever they are! We are not incredibly anxious. But we are getting tired. It's a hard to explain tired. We know for sure that God's hand is in this delay. I will post in the morning after I talk to someone at the hospital. Thank you so much for continuing to love us and lift us before the throne of the Almighty.

Hmmm.... I don't really know what to say. But I just need to write something. Today we did school in a most normal way. The kids went to my parents (across the street) for a pizza lunch. I appreciated that and the kids love it too. While they were gone I enjoyed the quiet and baked some cookies. It sounds very Leave it to Beaverish. Hehe. That is not me at all. (O: Ken just took the 4 kids to library just to give me a little time on my own. He does things like that all the time. He is a special man. Ken and I feel kind of suspended in the day today. We are unable to move forward in our minds beyond tomorrow. Ken and I have a crazy fun 3 days outing planned at the end of this week. We have been trying to do this for a year. We got a super cheap get away, but it has never worked to use it. It makes me scream with delight. I have been looking forward to this for a loooooong time. But today I can't see it. We could go to Marineland on a homeschool trip and need to sign up by to...

Things are so quiet here tonight. The boys went across the street to watch a Jays game. Nattie and Siah are cuddling in bed watching a few little cartoons on an ipod before sleep time. Pips is sleeping and Ken is at school. Tonight is the grand opening night for ORCS's new building. But it didn't work out for the kids and I to go because Ken needed the van to go to Brantford for volleyball this afternoon. Ken would have had to drive from Brantford to school to home and back to school and home again. That is just too much driving. )O: We haven't gotten any results yet. It is a little sad to go through a weekend without knowing. But we are resting quietly in His hands. God is so good. His ways are perfect. Hopefully on Monday we will get a call. If not, I will call them in the afternoon. I was going through some pics of the last few weeks and would like to share my little people with you. A little girl fresh out of the bath, all clean and ready for bed.  Nat...

We are waiting for results.  I am having a bit of a tough day. The excitement of having the scan done and it going so well has worn off. I am still thankful for His blessings but waiting is hard.   I called this morning to ask my case manager, Barb to check but she is not there. She has been gone past her holidays by a few weeks and I am a little worried. She is so dear to us. When I asked, they said they don't know when she is coming back. I hope everything is fine. Julie, who is also a love and Micah's all time favourite nurse is stepping in as a case manager, will look for us today or tomorrow.  The mind and Satan are quick to play tricks in my weakness. Thoughts swirl... Is she not calling because the prelim reports says there may be something? Is she waiting until the final report is read to get a forsure if that is the case. Is she waiting to let our Doc call.... etc. It is all irrational. It is only just over 48 hours since the scan. It is probably not in ...

Micah's next scan is April 24 at 8:30 am. He will have an MRI of his abdomen and chest. As I wrote here , Micah's last MRI was tough. It was supposed to take an hour, but took 1.5 hrs, because of Micah's tears. So I am not sure how long this one will be because they are doing his ab as well. Could it be 2 hrs? I sure hope not. This time we will be more prepared. We will start praying with him specifically about it now, that God will give him peace.  We will bring Odysseys to listen to. As well, I am planning to give him an Ativan just before to relax him at bit. I was wondering if you would hold us up in prayer that morning. I know it is not a huge thing. It's just a scan!!! But these long scans are hard on his heart. He can easily lay still, that is not an issue at all. As he gets older, he is thinking more about scan results. What a burden for such a  little guy. Please pray that he will give it over to the Lord. I know I wrote this before, but this is such...

I called our case manager Barb today (I am cheater and call very early, instead of waiting for our follow up appointment in two weeks.) to see if the prelim results for Micah's MRI were in. It was, and she said that it looks good. IT LOOKS GOOD!!!!!  That pretty much means that it is clear. She just can't say that until it's official. There is a crazy small chance that it's not clear and that they change that report. I really don't know how that would happen though. So, as far as I am concerned, Micah just had another clear scan. Hmmm. I am excited and thankful. I am crying and laughing. I am hopeful for the future and starting to let myself think that Micah could grow up. I don't really know what to do next. We have been living in a bit of a bubble for a few weeks. We have been walking softly and not planning anything, past hearing the results. I may say this every time, but every clear scan amazes me even more at what God has done in our family. ...

Usually I write a post saying that the scan is done and went very well. This time I can say that the scan is done, but it didn't go well at all. We pretty much ran down the hospital halls to make it to MRI/CT by 9:30am. Since the new part of the hospital has been built, I haven't quite gotten the hang of the layout. (O:  Micah took off his jeans and put on some goofy hospital pants. We waited and waited and waited. They came out and told us that they were running late because a little girl was having a hard time. So we walked to find a family we know, whose son was having surgery today. I so wanted to hug the mom and tell her that we are praying. We couldn't find them. Then we went to PMDU to go to Art Therapy, but it was closed, so we grabbed some cards to play while we waited. They were 1.5 hours behind. I was not at all angry. It happens. It is the nature of the hospital. I am sure the people doing the scans would like to have things running on time if it was up to t...

I have wanted to write all week, but this week has just slipped by. We are all back into routine. It was hard to let my Ken go on Monday morning. He is my most favorite person ever and I just want him to be home with me. We will be great retired people! (O: We had a great week of school. It has been a while since I can say that. We were struggling before Christmas. I am thankful we had a break and that I could look at school with new and refreshed eyes. It is truly a blessing. Micah's scan day is coming quickly. His scan is Wednesday morning at 9:30. Wednesday is gym day and piano day. So the other kids will be home with my sister , Tori and will go to piano and then my mom will take them to gymnastics. Micah and I will meet them there in London. It is a bit of a morning out for Micah and I. I am trying to look at it that way anyways. I am so thankful for scans, machines, doctors, nurses, techs, The Cancer Society and Childcan ....ect. They have all played such an important par...