Howdy from Fairview,

There are so many reasons to give thanks on this day after Thanksgiving–and I don’t say that to sound super strong or positive because, on the contrary, I’m a little bit cynical usually. I say that for the fact that, there truly ARE so many reasons to give thanks right now. I have an amazing family, incredible friends, and most importantly, a sovereign God who’s got far better plans for any one of us than we could ever draw up or imagine. Also, give thanks that my family and friends have kept their great senses of humor. As my parents have said, it’s a rare day when you report at the end of the night that it was a “good” day because we found out I had Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Really though, in perspective, it is such a blessing that I’ve got a disease/cancer that’s got over a 90% cure rate.

I realized a couple things after the first post: (1) I should have given some more background as to how this problem arose, and (2) my math skills are really unfortunate (but more on that at the end).

For all those who have said that they had no clue I was even having a problem, I want to assure you: neither did we until just recently. Here’s a little timeline and background from the past month: I noticed sometime during volleyball practice (apparently I was a little distracted) one day near the end of October that I had a couple of swollen lymph nodes right above my collar bone on the left side of my neck. I went into our health center on Friday, November 7th for a flu shot, and when they asked me if I was sick at all before they administered it, I said no, but I mentioned that I had some lymph nodes that were a little swollen and didn’t know if that meant I was getting sick but wasn’t feeling it yet. They said I was good to go for the flu shot, but they wanted me to see a doctor about the lymph nodes. I then saw Dr. Chris Santi on Monday, November 10th at the Cornerstone Medical Group in Wheaton as a referral from a referral from a friend. He has been a huge blessing and has stayed so involved, and as he referred me to an ENT, he reminded me that God is the ultimate Healer and has perfect plans, so I shouldn’t worry. I saw the ENT on Friday, November 14th, and he concluded that I needed a CT scan sometime the next week. On Wednesday, November 19th, I had the CT scan, and on Friday, November 21st, we got the results and the call that I would need a biopsy. I had the biopsy on Monday, November 24th, and we got the results on Wednesday, of which you heard when I last posted. So, again, things have been moving pretty quickly. In case all of that was confusing to you, know that it was only a week ago today that I found out I’d even need a biopsy.

As far as treatment goes, we have decided that we’d like for me to do treatment in Chicago. I have 2 weeks left of this semester, and next semester I only have 5 hours (all General Education courses, too…yeah…I’m THAT senior), but ultimately, I strongly desire to graduate with my class, so we’re gonna keep moving to make that happen. While my family is in Dallas, both of my parents work and my little sister goes to school, so on the days when I wouldn’t be doing chemo or need someone to help me, I would be bored to TEARS. Plus, routine is good for me…this I have learned over the past 21 years. We got a recommendation for a doctor at Northwestern in Chicago from a sophomore at Wheaton, Kirsten Friedl, who just finished her last chemo for Hodgkin’s, and we’re hopefully going to get in to see him in the next week or so.

As for the comment on my math skills….let that be another reason why I NEED to finish at Wheaton. I have YET to take the math competency exam, so I’m confident that, after taking the exam (again, I’m THAT senior who waited until the last opportunity), I would have been able to calculate better the percentage of Wheaton girls with Hodgkin’s cases. (It should have been .06%, not 6%…but if you didn’t catch it either, we’re all in this together.)

Once again, thanks so much for all of the encouragement, prayers, and love. You will never know how much you have already blessed me and my family. Some have mentioned that the specific prayer requests were helpful, so I’ll try and be real with our needs both now and in the future. We would love continued wisdom as we make some scheduling decisions and finalize details, as well as prayers to get in to see the doctor at Northwestern pretty soon so that it can get going and finish up right around graduation in May. Also, as my parents prepare to send me back to Chicago on Sunday, I’d love prayer for them. When they sent me back to Wheaton 3 days after shoulder surgery during my sophomore year, my mom said it was the hardest thing she’s had to do with us, so, as I’m guessing cancer trumps a shoulder in most minds, prayers for peace would be great. 🙂

On Christ the solid rock I stand,

Hannah