Tag Archives: Hodgkin’s

“My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life” -Psalm 119:50

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Well, my return to Wheaton was a fast reminder that I was no longer in the comforts of home as everywhere around me was–and is currently–covered in white. Welcome back; hope you like the snow. 🙂 This post will be shorter, as I’m dealing with the consequences of taking my Thanksgiving break very literally, but there is some great news and praise to report.

This morning, after what would have been a movie-worthy succession of phone calls and messages between my dad, Dr. Santi, 2 hospitals, and myself, (all within the span of about 45 minutes), we got an appointment scheduled with the oncologist. So, Wednesday at 3pm, my parents and I will see Dr. Leo Gordon, the doctor Kirsten Friedl used and who has done TONS of research while specializing in Hodgkin’s disease. Fun fact for you: he works out of Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago, which is the same hospital featured in While You Were Sleeping (we watched it last week and decided it was an omen). With this appointment, we should know more about when treatment will start, what it will look like, and what else to expect. I want to thank you again for all of your prayers–the hospital said that Dr. Gordon is very booked but likes to see patients if they’re within a week of the biopsy and results, so he wants to see me. That is a huge praise!

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“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is GOOD; His love endures forever” Psalm 118:1

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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).

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“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD” Psalm 112:7

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God is good…ALL the time.

So many thoughts are running through me right now–everything from uncertainty to trust, from frustration to knowing that I am so incredibly blessed, from having so much to say to being at a loss for words.

Let me back up by saying that I wanted to start this so as to not merit my parents’ anger when they see the phone bill and realize that I’ve gone probably months beyond my text-messaging limit. Also, let me take a moment to thank each and every one who has texted back, called, e-mailed, messaged, etc. to offer words of wisdom, encouragement, support, and prayer. I have been brought to tears more times than you can imagine–in fact, most of the times I’ve cried so far have been from knowing that God has so blessed me with incredible family and friends. Y’all have already been such a huge support system, and that has made a world of difference.

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