For Such a Time As This

God is so amazing! It's been SO long since I wrote a blog entry. Much has happened. I've had ups and downs, but through it all God has been right there with me like He always has been. 

Last summer around June 2025, I lost my voice again. Some of you may recall that I lost it in 2010 for about two years. That's when I sported a headset for a while so people could hear me, especially when I was teaching. Some of the high schoolers at church even hinted at jazzing it up so I'd mimic Brittney Spears.😄 Well, God was gracious and gave me my voice back. He tends to work wonders like that. After I lost it again, I went to an ENT who sent me to a specialist at Vanderbilt. She has done a gel injection in my paralyzed vocal cord twice and may do surgery on it in the December or January timeframe if it doesn't improve. She's done surgery on several country music singers. So, hey! There may be hope for me yet! 😂 Please pray God will give my voice back to me again! 

Another issue I've had is swallowing. Since vocal cords assist with swallowing and one of mine is paralyzed, I've had a lot of problems with choking, so the ENT also sent me to a gastroenterologist. He decided to do an endoscopy to stretch my esophagus. He could have done it in his office; however, because of the paralyzed vocal cord and the fact that I have Chiari (which opens a whole different can of worms), he needed to do it in the hospital in case I stopped breathing. I'm quite happy he took that under consideration! When he did the endoscopy, he was quite surprised at his discovery. I had a lot of damage from acid reflux. What?! I didn't even know I had acid reflux! So, he had to do damage control as well as stretch the esophagus. I've had three endoscopies now, the most recent was yesterday (7/30).

Trudging right along, last fall I was hit out of the blue with an MRI that showed a possible new brain tumor. It had been ten years since the original brain metastasis, so this was quite unexpected. The doctor was perplexed as well. Test after test was conducted, but it was not showing any correlation to the original breast cancer. This was even more perplexing. Since another MRI showed growth, after consulting with a team of doctors, Dr. Boggs decided to do radiosurgery again. However, this time, there would be five radiosurgeries performed back-to-back, one daily. This was NOT fun. It was done in early March. Dr. Boggs told me one of the side effects is hearing loss since the tumor is located behind my right ear. Well, not only have I lost most of the hearing in that ear, but I also have really bad tinnitus. It's loud, high pitched, and sometimes painful. He said it might go away, but at this point, it's not looking good. However, the EXTREMELY good news is that the MRI I had Tuesday (7/28) showed the tumor is still shrinking! Still you say? Yes, still! The first follow-up MRI in April showed it was already shrinking! 💃💃💃 God is so good!!!🙌🙌🙌

Continuing the saga, last month I had a teeth cleaning. The dentist did x-rays and one of the back molars showed significant bone loss due to all the chemo I've had. She said that if it became painful to let her know because it might become infected. A couple of weeks ago, I started getting a persistent toothache, so I went back to her last week. She sent me to a specialist Wednesday (7/29) who sent me to a specialist that day who said the tooth is cracked and needs to be extracted. The good news? I get a bright, shiny new tooth! 

What a fun-filled week I've had! MRI, CT scans and two doctor appointments Tuesday, a periodontist with x-rays and an endodontist with x-rays and a CT scan Wednesday, and an endoscopy in the hospital Thursday! But I am so blessed! If I had not been born at this time, all this medical technology would not be available and I might not be here. God is so good and has placed me exactly where I need to be for such a time as this.

Another amazing thing that happened? Neal and I celebrated 40 years of marriage! He's been with me through it all. I could never have asked for a better husband from my precious Lord. He truly demonstrates Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her." But as much as Neal loves me, Jesus loves me so much more.

I will praise Him for His excellent greatness,

For His steadfast love endures forever!

I will sing of His mercies every morning,

For His steadfast love endures forever!

Thank You LORD for standing by me,

For His steadfast love endures forever!

🙏🩷🙏🩷🙏🩷🙏🩷🙏

Anniversary brunch after church, May 24

He always gets me roses. 💗

Thorns and Roses

June 25, 1998, I had my initial cancer surgery. June 25, 2010, my doctors were concerned the cancer had metastasized after seeing the CT & PET scans. June 25, 2024, my appointments were extended from 3 months to every 4-6 months since I'm doing so well without chemo. I truly believe God has healed me of metastatic breast cancer that had metastasized to the bone, lung, and brain.🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 Metastatic breast cancer just doesn't go away on its own. It's considered terminal, especially when it metastasizes to the brain. But my God is much bigger than cancer. He created the universe. He can do all things. He is Jehovah Rapha, the God Who heals. Why did He heal me and not others? I have no idea, but I will praise His Name from the mountaintops and tell everyone He healed me from cancer! 

June 25, 1988, I had my 1st Chiari surgery. I'm not healed from that. It still causes EXTREME headaches. I have one today. It isn't extreme, but it's certainly bad enough. Why hasn't He healed me from Chiari? I have no idea, but I will still praise Him. I consider it my thorn in the flesh. 

‭Consider 2 Corinthians 12:7-10. The apostle Paul is speaking.

"So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (Emphasis mine.)

He is also El Roi, the God Who sees. He sees us. He knows everything about us. This world is a mess because of the choices we have made. All choices that each person makes effects the rest of the world. We're all a mess, so the world is a mess. Don't ever think you haven't done anything to deserve what befalls you. Yes, you have. You mess up everyday; I mess up everyday; the entire world messes up everyday; we're one big mess; but one day God will get rid of all those thorns and create a beautiful rose bush. If we accept the thorns along the way and submit to the One Who created all things, we'll be part of that beautiful rose bush. His grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in our weaknesses. I pray you experience His grace and His power. I certainly have! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever!

How do I even begin? I am so thankful! God is AMAZING! Once again, my MRI and CT scans are stable. Since they've been stable for so long, my doctor decided to take me off the chemo pills! This just doesn't happen with brain cancer. He is obviously not through with me yet! 

HIS STEADFAST LOVE ENDURES FOREVER

Oh praise the Lord for He is good!

His steadfast love endures forever.

I will shout from the hilltops because

His steadfast love endures forever!

I am forever thankful for all He has done.

His steadfast love endures forever.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

His steadfast love endures forever!

Beyond Joyful

God, the Maker of all things from the smallest quark to the largest galaxy, loves me (Genesis 1:31; John 3:16-17). That in itself blows my mind. He cares about all the details of my life. This absolutely amazes me. How can that even be possible? He has such large things to manage. The very existence of time is in His control because He is outside of time. He knows all things from the beginning to the end (Isaiah 46:9-10; Revelation 21:6). He knows the choices that I will make tomorrow, whether good or bad, and He will make those choices work out for good (Romans 3:38). How? I have no idea. If I understood everything that He does, He wouldn't be much of a God, would He? I only know that I am extremely thankful for Him and the love and grace He has shown me. 

So here is the news of today, concerning the MRI and doctor appointments. I am beyond joyful! My MRI was stable and it has been for a while. I asked my doctor what this meant since my brain tumors have been stable for so long. He said it's probably just scar tissue. I asked him if that meant the tumors were gone. He said probably so! That just doesn't happen with brain cancer! PRAISE GOD THROUGH WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!!! When he left the room, I literally broke down, cried, and couldn't praise God enough! I am truly a walking miracle!!

We also discussed whether I should stop chemo treatments. He said we could, but it might come back. My breast cancer doctor agreed. Since I don't have major side effects from the chemo, we decided that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" So I will continue taking chemo pills, but I won't be as concerned when I forget to take a dose. God is SO good!!

So for now, I can plan for the future. I haven't felt like I can really do that in a long time. Will those plans come to fruition? Maybe not, but I can dream again. So look out! Who knows what I'll be up to! But whatever it is, I will glorify Him. THANK YOU LORD JESUS!!!

"And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." ~ Genesis 1:31

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him." ~ John 3:16-17

"Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all My purpose." ~ Isaiah 46:9-10

'And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.' ~ Revelation 21:6 

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." ~ Romans 8:28 

Tired, but Joyful! 🙌🙌

Reminders

This time of year can be quite challenging. I like the fact that Facebook keeps up with your memories from previous years' posts, but it is also a tough reminder at times. June marks 12 years since my cancer journey reignited, 24 years since the cancer journey began, and 34 years since my first Chiari surgery. But through it all, God has been with me every step of the way. He has been my constant companion, even in the hardest of times. I'm reminded of how even Elijah wanted the Lord to take his life at one point, but God reminded Him that He wasn't through with him yet. His story wasn't complete, and mine isn't either. As long as there is breath in my lungs, He will use me in some way and I will use that breath to glorify Him. As 139:14 states, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

Today's Facebook memory from June 29, 2010

I wanted to update you concerning my doctor appointment. After examining the PET/CT scans, the doctor feels that my cancer has probably returned. I'm going to be admitted to UAB today so they can do a biopsy and figure out what's going on with my throat and everything else. Please join me as I pray. My God is good, and He will bring me through anything and everything.

Thankful

Wow. It has been a REALLY long time since I posted! So much has changed! We lived through a pandemic (well, almost), my grandchildren are much bigger, Lucy started and completed Kindergarten, Linda passed away--unbelievable! I just haven't felt like writing. I'm still having lots of pain. Much of it is the terrible headaches I have, but I also have a lot of back pain now. But my scans are still good. One of my doctors even said I'm doing "weirdly well"--my first official weird diagnosis! 

Because of the pandemic, I've been able to do telehealth visits with my doctors. I've had my scans done here in Huntsville and then zoom with them. However, I had my first visit with my breast cancer doctor in February and will have one with my brain cancer doctor in October. They're both so amazed at how well I'm doing. However, I know why I am--it's because of the Great I AM!! For some reason, He is still using me. Only He knows my expiration date. When it's time for me to go Home, that's when I'll go! And I can't wait to bow at His Feet. Can you just imagine? Wow! 

I really don't have much to say. God is good, and I am still here. So thankful for His goodness!

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under Heaven." ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

38 Years

Thirty-eight years. That's how long it's been since I had an accident that brought my Chiari symptoms to the forefront. No, the accident did not cause the Chiari; the problem had been there since birth—I just didn't know about it. Because Chiari was relatively new and most doctors didn't even know about it at the time, no one could figure out what was going on. Actually, any doctor I saw thought it was "all in my head." (They really didn't know how accurate that was!)

The Arnold-Chiari Malformation that I have is due to my cerebellum being too far down and reaching into my spinal cord. The cord puts pressure on my brain, causing headaches, double vision, difficulty swallowing, dizziness, neck pain, unsteady gait, weakness, and ringing in my ears. My symptoms began in 1982 as headaches. Other symptoms started appearing a few months later. I went to several different eye doctors and told them about the double vision. At the time, the double vision would mainly occur when I was under a lot of stress. Since you can't schedule stress, they couldn't see it and really didn't believe me. That is, until late 1987 when I was doing my student teaching. I had an eye appointment after an especially stressful day at school. The double vision was so bad that I had to cover one eye to drive. And yes, the doctor finally saw it. He sent me to a neuro-ophthalmologist at UAB. He just "happened" to be doing research on Chiari, so he recognized it immediately. I felt so vindicated! At the time, I was only the 2nd known case in the USA. He sent me to Johns Hopkins for a 2nd opinion. Upon returning, I had surgery to remove a quarter size piece of skull tissue in the back of my head, along with the backs of the top 3 vertebrae to alleviate pressure on my brain. It helped, but I was never asymptomatic. The symptoms began to return, and I had another surgery in 2001. Again, it helped but didn't completely correct the problem. I still have tons of headaches (of course, brain cancer attributes to that too), double vision, and dizziness. I take medication that really helps with the double vision, so that's not really an issue any more.

Thirty-eight years is a long time. I'm tired and just want to go Home. I have headaches every day, but I'd been blessed to have a few weeks of minor headaches. However, that changed Monday. Today is Wednesday, and I've had a really, really bad headache since then. A headache this bad often lasts a week or more. I really covet your prayers. Please enter His Throneroom on my behalf and ask for relief. The pain, along with grieving for my Mama, is relentless. Maybe He's waiting on an army of prayer warriors to intercede along with Him. Please join the troops. I would appreciate it immensely.