And ... more waiting

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”  Psalm 27:14

In what seems like a common theme these days, we are still in a holding pattern. We registered at MD Anderson and met two very sweet “six degrees of separation” connections (they both work at MD Anderson and have connections with friends of our family) while we waited to get in to our appointment. This was an unexpected blessing and encouragement. Thanks for your warmth and smiles, Hettie and Katy. We discussed Kelsey’s medical history with Dr. Benjamin’s PA and then waited to see Dr. Benjamin.

Dr. Benjamin arrived and we had a brief discussion with him, which led to the conclusion they really want to do pathology on Kelsey’s biopsies at their in-house lab, which means the pathological slides have to be shipped to MD Anderson and then tested again – more waiting. Dr. Benjamin wants to be confident he knows the exact strain of cancer before recommending a treatment path. He explained that Kelsey’s specific tumor is misdiagnosed forty percent of the time. He also ordered an MRI of Kelsey’s full spine because he believes it offers the best indication of potential tumors in her vertebrae. I guess our prayers were answered, that is new test and not one that has to be redone. Since we left his office at 6:18, the MRI has not been scheduled – more waiting. After the MRI, we’ll figure out if we want to stay down here in Houston, go to Kelsey’s parents’ place in Dallas, or head back home to Norman while we wait for the biopsies to arrive and the pathology lab to make a diagnosis.

** Kelsey here. I don’t have much to say about today, except MD Anderson is a place you don’t ever want to go. I don’t mean it is not a great place for healing, but it isn’t a resort (which is where I would much rather be), it is a place where sick people go to get better. A gal who had been treated there warned me it is a very difficult place to be. I concur. It was very hard for me to see so many people so sick and know that I have the same disease they do. Yuck! In the sarcoma center waiting room, you couldn’t help but notice a common theme – amputation. Please pray for my heart as it felt attacked and discouraged by this visit. Please pray I will feel more of a connection with the doctors here as well – I felt a bit like a number today.

Prayer requests:
-- Pray for healing.
-- More details. We discovered the pathological slides needed by MD Anderson pathology are in two locations: Mercy and Emory Medical Center. Pray that God will allow us to talk with the right folks at both locations, they will understand what is needed, send out the tissue tomorrow and MD Anderson will have it first thing next week. Pray it gets into the right hands in the pathology lab. Pray that everything goes well in transit (we don’t want any more biopsies).
-- Pray for wisdom in deciding where we should stay in the waiting period.
-- Pray for our hearts as we wait.