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. 💗