Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everybody had a Happy Thanksgiving. We celebrated a quiet day at home with all of our favorite treats.

We had good news earlier in the week. My blood counts were high enough that I got chemotherapy on Tuesday. I also received the shot to help build white blood cells. So thank you for all of your prayers about my blood counts. Over the past few weeks, I have been having some pain that has been hard to get under control, so please pray that the pain can get under control with my pain pump.

No More Stents

On Monday we had a very spiritual prayer circle. We did some visualization around lights and healing. It was a small, but powerful group. The next prayer circle is scheduled for Monday, December 7th at 6:30 at Karen Lowe's house. All are welcome. Let me know if you need the address.

Wednesday was another day of visualization. Bill and I met with Dr. Brandon, our psychologist. He did a visualization with Bill and me around lights and healing. It was another powerful experience for me.

On Thursday Bill and I went down to Denver to the University of Colorado Medical Center for another ERCP to replace my stents. Come to find out the strictures (or narrowing) of the hepatic ducts are basically gone and they don't need to put stents back in. The purpose of the stents is to allow bile and stones to flow through the hepatic ducts and common bile ducts into the duodenum. The strictures or narrowings were causing these ducts to become blocked so the stents were needed. It has been a year since they started putting the stents in and now they don't need them. That is good news.

The doctor has been watching my white blood counts. If they stay high enough, I will be able to receive my chemotherapy on Tuesday as planned. Please pray that the blood counts are high enough to receive chemo.

Have a great week.
Michelle

Two Chemos in a Row - Yea

I received chemotherapy #22 on Tuesday. It was a victory of sorts. I got my 2nd chemotherapy treatment on schedule with my blood counts being at a good level. Before this my blood counts would be too low after the first treatment to get my 2nd treatment on time. Please pray that trend continues for the 3rd and 4th treatments in this cycle.

I had secret help getting my blood counts up. My Mom suggested that I visualize the platelets popping like popcorn. This worked.

Bill talked about there being a razor's edge in the last blog post. He talked about this razor's edge in terms of treatment and doing no harm. There is also a razor's edge about the mental health aspect of a chronic disease. One minute you are going to beat this horrible disease. The next minute you are having a little more pain and wondering how much time you have left. Keep me in your prayers that my mental outlook can remain positive.

Enjoy your weekend.
Michelle