Praise the Lord - Chemo Starts Today

We continue to see that prayer is a powerful thing!  This morning we are beyond thrilled to report that the insurance glitch has been resolved and Natalie will begin chemotherapy this morning.  There is no need to elaborate on what occurred with the insurance company, but it was very unfortunate that an oversight on their part made for a very stressful weekend for Natalie, Stephen and everyone who reached out to help.  Many thanks to those of you who offered your advice and support in an effort to get everything sorted out. Now it is officially time for Natalie to start kicking cancer's butt!

Natalie will begin a very aggressive chemotherapy regimen today at 10:30AM.  They will use three chemo drugs and she will have six treatments, one every three weeks.  She will have blood work before chemo begins this morning and every week hereafter to be sure her counts stay where they need to be.  She will get two chemo drugs for three hours today.  She will then wear a pack with chemo on Tuesday and Wednesday.  On Thursday she will go back for the third chemo drug.  On Friday she will get a shot to help keep her white blood count up. 

After Natalie's third treatment, in approximately nine weeks, they will do some testing to determine how much the cancer has shrunk.  At that time they will discuss either surgical options or continuing on with chemotherapy and doing surgery once all six treatments have been completed.  She will still need surgery and radiation at some point during her treatment. 

We have some specific prayer requests for the coming week:

• Now that the final diagnosis has been made more clear, please pray that the treatment that Dr. Khurshid has planned will attack the cancer in her body quickly and positive results would be seen immediately.  Pray for him and all of the nurses and other doctors involved in Natalie's care. 
• As you can see above, Miss Natalie has a busy week ahead of her.  Pray for her as she prepares her mind and body for chemotherapy.  Dr. Khurshid has made it very clear that she will be receiving the absolute strongest dosage of chemo that he believes her body can handle.  Pray that God would grant her peace as she begins this chapter of her treatment.  Pray that her side effects are as minimal as possible and that she is able to rest and take care of herself. 
• Pray for Natalie and Stephen as they are driving back and forth from Corsicana.  It takes a little over an hour for them to commute back and forth which is especially hard after exhausting appointments and procedures.  Please pray for their safety during those times. 
• Pray for Stephen as he prepares to take care of his wife through these harsh treatments.  It is never easy to see someone that you love in pain. 
• Pray for James, Cindy and the rest of our extended family.  We would all give absolutely anything to be able to take some of this burden from Natalie.  It is a helpless feeling for those of us who love her the most to not be able to do anything to change the circumstances.