Hooray for a good report!

I am done with the radioactive iodine treatment!  I had the full body scan Friday and everything looked great.  The Doctor said if she had to put it as a statistic she would give me a 98% chance of being cancer free and not having to repeat the radioactive iodine treatment anytime in the distant future. (sometimes it has to be repeated after 6 months).  So now we just wait and see.. I have another check-up with the surgeon the beginning of December and then another whole body scan scheduled in February.

To be quite honest I feel like I've been run over by a train! :)  I kept thinking today 'why am I so stinkin' tired?'  and then realized it has been a little bit of a stressful 6 weeks ~ so maybe now that all the treatments, tests etc. are over I just need to chill and slowly regain my strength and energy.  

It's been great to be back home with everyone and see how well the kids are doing.  Rachel really misses Russia.  David loves being in America .. today in the car we were talking and I told them about Jim Elliot and his quote 'wherever you are be ALL there'.  So David replied to Rachel, 'yeah Rachel, it's like when we're in Russia you have to love Russia but when we're in America you have to love America.'   Rachel thought about it long and hard and then grudgingly replied 'yeah I guess you're right, I mean they don't have cheese sauce in Russia.'  :) 

We signed the boys up to play flag football - they have had zero exposure to the sport of football so we thought it would be a neat learning experience for them.  I got so tickled when I overheard David talking on the phone to his Gran and telling her 'I'm gonna play ___ ... umm what's that thing called you play with a ball that looks like an egg??'  Life is all about learning something new, so it's been quite entertaining watching them learn to block and run.  Soccer and basketball are pretty much the only thing kids play back home.

Please pray for us as we are trying to figure out when we should return to Russia,  and just all the long-term medical ramifications that this has brought into our lives.  If we think about it too long and hard it gets a bit overwhelming.  Thank you again for all the love and prayers for our family!  

Radioactive Iodine treatment tomorrow

Please be praying as I go tomorrow afternoon to swallow a little pill of radioactive iodine.  I'll be *in isolation* for the next 14 days and I already know I'm gonna be majorly missing my littlest JoJo.  When I was in isolation for just 3 days for the whole body scan JoJo kept telling James 'you go back home and bring me my Mommy RIGHT NOW!'  :)   It's also got to rank pretty near the bottom on the list of 'romantic ways to celebrate your wedding anniversary.'   But hey the past 11 years with James have been such an incredible, wonderful, never a dull moment adventure so I can just chalk this one up for the memory books.

I would like to say a huge thank you for your prayers regarding the whole body scan.. the results were excellent!!  In fact the Dr. came into the room looked at the pictures then said I'm going to go look directly at the computer images.'  She came back sort of shaking her head and said 'this is much better than I would have expected.'   So a big YEAH!  Because of the great body scan and other test results I will be given a smaller amount of radioactive iodine than originally talked about ~ another big praise!

Also just 3 more days until I will be given thyroid medication - YEAHAAA!  It has been no fun to be severely hypothyroid ~ my face and eyes are extremely puffy, about half of my eyelashes have fallen out, and although my energy level is okay my brain function is extremely diminished ~ I mean seriously this makes *pregnancy brain* looks like someone that should be in Mensa.  So I'm looking forward to getting my thinking capacities back again.  

I kept meaning to share this quote from one of my heroes, Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom.   'Worry does not empty tomorrow of it's sorrow, it only empties today of it's strength.'

Isn't that great.. go back and read it again! :)  It certainly has encouraged me many times.  Also the one song that has gone through my mind over and over and over again is "Blessed be the name of the Lord".   As we drove home after the excellent report from the whole body scan I kept thinking to myself 'would I be able to rejoice like this if I had been told my whole neck was full of cancer?'  And yet God would still be God and His love for me unmeasurable and constant.  So thankful for our friends and family who have walked this path by our side ~ thank you again!

Blessed by Your name

In the land that is plentiful

Where Your streams of abundance flow

Blessed be Your name

And blessed be Your name 

When I'm found in the desert place

Though I walk through the wilderness

Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name

When the sun's shining down on me

When the world's all as it should be

Blessed be Your name

Blessed be your name

On the road marked with suffering

Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be Your name

Every blessing you pour out

I'll turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord

still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away

You give and take away

My heart will choose to say, Lord

Blessed be Your name