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During one portion of our daily suppertime prayer Zion and Jacoba choose something that they are thankful for. Often it is something that makes sense, like trees or mayonaisse but sometimes it is something that is quite random.
A couple of days ago Jacoba said that she was thankful for “big circles”.
Beautiful. What about you? What are you thankful for?
We are very thankful that Marisa has had a few good days in a row.
Peace,
MdH
It feels like we have hit the ‘februaries’ of cancer.
We still wait, still feel tired, still feel like cancer is surrounding us, still pray hard and still wonder about what the future holds.
This past weekend Marisa went to Brantford with Zion and Zekijah to spend time with her parents and Mendelt went to Ottawa to grieve with a friend who lost his wife of 31 in a car accident. It was understandably tough.
Please pray for continued strength.
I’m jealous for those who don’t live in cancerland…but then again, maybe we all do…
Today was chemo day. It went well. There was a long wait though because 5 pharmacy (where they mix the ‘cocktails’) people called in sick today….! The nurses and assistants get the brunt of the complaints and so we felt sorry for them–it wasn’t their fault. Mendelt and I find it hard to complain about the waits though because #1: the drugs are helping us get healthy, and #2: our health system in Canada pays for so much. The drugs are not cheap and 700 people go through the clinic a day. That is a lot of money!!
Jacoba and Zekijah had a fun day at Pake and Beppe’s and Zion had a fun day playing with his friend Emily (whom he informed Mendelt and I this morning that he doesn’t LOVE her, he just LIKES her. Amazing that he picks up on the difference already! I guess he doesn’t want a girlfriend yet….)
On another note, I have another prayer request. I have another friend. 🙂 Some of you may know Ann Mary Vermeer (married to Randy Vermeer) and have already been praying for her. Ann Mary is a teacher at John Knox Christian School in Fruitland. I met Ann Mary through teaching piano lessons there and had the priviledge of teaching her daughter for 2 years–up until my diagnosis. Ann Mary also got a diagnosis that has changed her life and the life of her family. Ann Mary has Malignoma. She got something called IL-2 treatments in Buffalo about a month ago or so and finds out the results of these treatments (from a Cat Scan) tomorrow. She is understandably anxious. We are hoping and praying along with them for God’s will to be done and for all the prayers of healing that so many have been praying for to be answered.
Thank you to those who prayed for me today. I felt very much at ease today as I went in for chemo (while we were waiting for all those hours) and we just keep praying that the chemo (liquid gold) keeps doing its job and keeps killing all those cancer cells!! We are thankful for every day and for the blessings of children, loving spouses, beautiful weather, the beautiful flowers and gardens we drive by and experience and the many family and friends that love us so much!! We can’t do it without you.
Peace and love Marisa
Our precious daughter Zekijah turns 1 today. For those that don’t know, before we were given Zekijah, Marisa had a miscarriage that left us understandably sad.
Then Zekijah came. Had the miscarriage never happened, we would never have met Zekijah. She is such a beauty.
Happy Birthday Zekijah! You are a source of determination for your mom.
Anita’s sister Erica did write a comment on the blog about Anita and so I’m glad you could hear the good news already. In case you haven’t read the comment though, Anita’s cancer has shrunk 80% from it’s original state and there are only 2 small spots left on her liver! That is such an answer to prayer! God is so good.
Kim’s surgery went well, but she has a few complications with emptying her bladder. Her pain is managed by medication, but it leaves her groggy and tired. We need to keep knocking on heaven’s door for her!
I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather! We certainly are. My energy levels are fairly low these past few days and I’ve been fighting a sore throat and cough and yesterday had quite a pressure headache behind my one eye. I think it was due to the humidity changes. I’ve never been affected by headaches before, so now I can appreciate the annoyance of them. Just one more thing to add to my experiences of late….
Thanks again for ALL your prayers. We are still in need of them. Thank you for all your positive and joyful comments. We rejoice with you.
Marisa
Hi all,
I just thought I would let you know about my friend from way back in gradeschool….Kim (Reitsma) VanHaitsma. She is undergoing surgery tomorrow to help repair her kidney. She recently had kidney and pancreas transplants due to jeuvenille diabetes. At first the doctors thought she was in organ rejection but later discovered that it was (and I hope I get this right) her kidney not functioning properly. I know there are a number of you that know Kim and so I thought I would post her blog here so you could check things out for yourself and leave a message if you wished. Her blog is managed by ‘CarePages’ and so if you go to ‘www.carepages.com’ you should be able to get to her care page. Her CarePage name is ‘Kimsblog’. I hope this is all correct and that you can check it out.
On a different note, I think I have mentioned the name ‘Anita’ before. I went to Redeemer with her and we took Chris Teeuwesen’s and Dr. Bert’s music classes together (Mendelt too). After that we lost contact but have since crossed paths again due to the extremely similar situations we have found ourselves in. (She has 3 young kids almost the same ages as ours and has breast cancer that has spread to her liver and a few spots in her abdomen.) Anita had a cat scan done today and she is obviously anxious for the results. She is finished with chemo and is now on a drug that she has to take for a year. This cat scan will determine if this drug has continued to shrink the cancer. If you don’t mind, while you keep us in your prayers, say a little prayer for Anita and her family too. Her husband’s name is Glen and her 3 kids’ names are Jillian, Connor, and Amber.
Thanks so much. I’m off to watch NBA playoff basketball with Zion. 🙂
Love Marisa
The results that we received last week were an answer to prayer. Make no mistake about it.
There is still a tough fight ahead. Make no mistake about it.
Mendelt and I are ready, willing and able to press on. Make no mistake about it.
We can not do this without the communion of the saints. Make no mistake about it.
We still source much strength from your comments, cards, love and prayers.
We are going to eat Boerenkool (a typical dutch dish) and it is going to be delicious. Make no mistake about it.
Love Marisa and Mendelt
Life 