Skip to main content

Next steps

I know many of you who read these posts have diligently checked for updates over the past while. I know you worry. Thank you, for loving us that much. There hasn't been anything "new" so I didn't feel it necessary to write anything. The last treatment was hard and heavy, but that's fairly normal that each new treatment has left his body feeling the effects more severely.

This Friday will be treatment #8 for Sid. As I said before, the last one was noticably more difficult than any other. So - as you can imagine - no one is really eager for this next one. 

It's redeeming quality, however, is that this one is somewhat of a milestone. We were told that this one would be the last chemo that included the Oxaliplatin. This is the drug that has caused the neuropathy and cold sensitivity. With it being January in northern Utah I'm sure it comes as no surprise that Sid will be glad to be rid of it.

That's really the only "sure thing" we know right now. He has a CT scan scheduled this week that his doctor will study and use to make decisions about what the next step is. We're hoping to find out what that is when we talk to his doctor on Friday. 

Treatment weekend is all consuming for us in almost every way. When I have a minute to post I will, but I will need to ask for your patience in waiting for me to compose myself once the dust has settled from the weekend's intensity.

In the meantime, please remember to keep Sid's medical team in your prayers; they have important decisions to make this week. 

I am very aware of the many prayers being said on our family's behalf. I know there are many because I see them at work: I notice the resiliency of my kids and their mature emotional grasps go way beyond their years; with all the sicknesses going around our family seems to get "skipped"; I had a long week of little sleep and somehow I was able to find more patience than I should have been able to; Sid has been able to take the time he needed to recover and that time taken didn't negatively impact his work load at the bank; too many things are working well for me to ignore the obvious divine intervention. 

With all these little details adding up I know that the big picture stuff will too, even if I can't see it clearly yet. 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Again

Again. At a checkup/routine endoscopy they found a tumor again.  Just before Christmas Sid went for his annual endoscopy. What was supposed to be a routine checkup ended up being the second time that we heard the doctors tell us that they found a mass growing in his esophagus. And with "again" comes remembering.  Remembering the agony of hearing "cancer". Remembering the worry and the fear. The panic. Remembering treatments; the heaviness in your gut and on your heart in just getting through each of those days.  Over and over again. And for quite a few days I was stuck there in the devastation.  But slowly I have remembered other things. As more of our neighbors and friends have started hearing the news, I've been reminded of better things. There are people willing and waiting to help.  So many people love our family. I can't even comprehend how so many people could care so much.  We still have each other and there are plenty of moments to see sparks of hap...

Consultations

In the last couple of weeks there have been many consultations with new doctors that are being added to Sid's medical team. They have all been so kind and professional. They have taken great effort to care for Sid; emotionally, physically, intellectually -  they have gone to great lengths to make sure we are ready for the fight ahead.   Because of Sid's initial Stage 4 diagnosis, surgery wasn't ever supposed to be on the table. But due to a combination of a few factors (I'm not sure I could do it justice here) they proposed trying it with this current tumor. However, the medical team is a little hesitant to just jump right into surgery. The hesitation is that if there are any lingering cancer cells floating around in the body that are not currently detected on scans, they would be doing Sid a HUGE disservice by doing surgery. If the surgery was done and the cancer were to pop up elsewhere, we wouldn't be able to jump back into chemo until Sid was fully recovered fro...

Why Me?

 Happy Palm Sunday. ❤️ Quite frequently in the past month I have thought "why me?".  Every time we have had someone drop off a treat or reach out with offers of service I wonder how we could possibly warrant this much love and attention.  Why me? Why us? We're just the Becksteads.  Why do I get to know so many people willing to give, love, and serve us so generously? I feel so undeserving of the care we regularly receive. Thousands of years ago on the first Palm Sunday, Christ boldly rode into Jerusalem in open proclamation of his Messianic role. He knew the unrest this would create and what it would eventually lead to. And in the spirit of this special Sabbath, the same recurring question circling my mind could be asked of the Savior, "Why me?".  Why did you willingly suffer for me? Why did you give your life, in a most agonizing way, for me? Ultimately, it's not about being deserving or worthy. It's about love.  "I marvel that he would descend fro...