Preparing for Battle....

Romans 8:37

"..,in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.."

Amen! We are more than conquerors through Christ Jesus and my mom is living proof of this!

Mom and her 3 girls outside Dr. O'Day's office after she had been told there were masses found in each ovary which could possibly be cancerous. 

After mom's routine annual appointment and an ultrasound she was called on Monday, September 23, 2013 to pursue a blood test. Blood tests showed markers of cancer and on Wednesday, September 25 mom's doctor (Doctor O'Day) called and requested to see her right away. Mom immediately asked if she should bring any type of paperwork and the doctor replied "please bring someone with you" The next morning we all met at doctor O'Day's office to review what doctors had seen as signs of ovarian cancer. 

We were all there to support mom! Notice we all have smiles on our faces? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Mom's CA 125 levels were 998 where normal ranges are around 30. Prior to meeting with Dr. O'Day, Mom called each of us to inform us that she may be having surgery (never mentioning the "C" word). Our family has been shaken to the core but during this entire time Mom was strong, at peace and praising the Lord. She was, and continues to, genuinely praise the Lord. Not once has she asked the question "Why me?" Mom's initial reaction with the diagnoses was "this is an opportunity to serve The Lord!". And, for those of you who know my mom, can't you just picture her saying that genuinly praising God?

This was a picture of mom and dad filling out paperwork on the day of her CT scan

Time for some yummy drink of contrast so the CT scan can get a good picture of her abdomen.

Friday, September 28 Mom had a CT scan of her abdomen to see if there were any signs of cancer. And five days later she met with the Oncologist to review the results. It was a LONG five days for all of us, but meanwhile Mom was praising the Lord morning, day and night.

Mom requested Lucielle's for a late lunch after her CT scan. 

Just recently on Wednesday, October 2 mom met with her Oncologist (Dr. Tewari) at St. Josephs in Orange. The oncologist is suspicious ovarian cancer but won't be sure surgery. Dr. Tewari suggested a full hysterectomy. Mom's surgery is scheduled for Tuesday, October 8th at St. Joseph’s hospital. 

We are asking for continued prayer as we enter this battleground. Mom has been preparing for battle her entire life and this isn't the first time (and probably won't be the last) that mom has faced illnesses head on. Throughout her 59 years of life mom has truly seen a lifetime of illness, pain and suffering when it comes to her body but she is more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus! Her body might be weak but her heart and Spirit are strong!

Walking into the cancer center at St. Joseph's knowing this is a new start to a new chapter. 

And more paperwork.....

Walking into meet with the Oncologist to get the results of mom's CT scan. My heart sank as I saw her walk through this door.  I immediately bowed my head.

Praise be to God the Oncologist is suspicious of cancer and if so, it's early and Stage one. Look how happy we all were to hear this news! Not the typical reaction when your mom has just been told she may have stage one, but we're counting our blessings! 

I happened to look up the definition of the word conqueror in the Webster dictionary and this is what I found:

Definition of conqueror (n)

con·quer·or

1.      victor over enemy: a victor in a war

I immediately saw my mom, putting on her armor of God, piece by piece, preparing for battle. This is more than just possible cancer, it's an attack from the enemy himself. My mom is a mighty woman of God and Satan has been trying to destroy her time after time. Yet, he does not realize that she is more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus!!! Mom will not only be victorious, but she will come out stronger and more triumphant because the Lord, our God, is with her and the battle has already been won!

On Tuesday morning mom is scheduled for surgery. It will be a 3-4 hour surgery with a 3-4 day hospital visit. For 6 weeks mom will be recovering. Mom will be staying with my sister Juleene (who happens to be a nurse) who will literally help nurse mom back to health. Please keep Juleene in your prayers also since she'll be assisting with mom's recovery.

We ask for prayers as mom enters this battleground. We pray for strength, guidance, direction, faithfulness, peace and endurance as we know this will be a long, intensive battle. We know we'll be victorious but she'll still have to face the depths and trenches of war before victory can prevail. We know our Lord is faithful and He holds her in the palm of His hand. We pray that we will all be reminded of this as we enter the dark times that lay before us knowing that victory over the enemy is near, but a battle must first be entered. Please pray for the armor of God to protect mom's body, mind and spirit as she enters this war.

Ephesians 6:10-18

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.