Round 4 of 6 this Friday!

Dan and Dr. Morris (Hugh) going hunting.

Ross and Dan on the class field trip to Sea World

This week will mark the 1/2 way point in Dan's first cycle of his new chemo regimen. We will take our children to my parent's house on Thursday, Valentine's day, and Dan will receive his fourth round of chemo the following day. This should be a peaceful week. Dan's dad is flying in for a few days and he will be able to spend Friday with Dan at the cancer center. It will be nice to have Bob here.

Dan was feeling well enough to go hunting with his friend, Hugh, this past weekend. Hugh is one of Dan's former clients, and has been a dear, true friend and advocate over the past 7 months. I wasn't worried for a minute knowing that Dan was in good company for a restorative weekend away. (It didn't hurt that 1/2 of the men hunting were orthopedic surgeons--I figured that the odds were pretty good that Dan would return safe and sound.)

Both of our kids were sick this past weekend (in fact, they are still home today). God's providence is evident in all things, though. I was able to get the children on antibiotics 24 hours before Dan returned home! Hooray!!! Now, if I can only get them well enough to return to school things will really be on track.

My mom sent me an article from the Vero Beach newspaper about a man who had a quick wedding on a hospital helopad after being diagnosed with GBM. He decided that he wanted to formalize his long-time relationship with matrimony now that he was facing the "end of his life." It was written as a feel-good story and talked little about the diagnosis. I was amused and saddened by the concept that this man and woman had waited so many years to enjoy the true commitment of a sacred covenant with one another. For those of you who don't already know, I will give you a brief synopsis of what having a GBM entails. I will also take a minute to give you our personal "take" on this disease...

GBM is also known as Glioblastoma Multiforme, it can be a primary or a secondary brain tumor. We happen to have the primary (a level IV--the fastest growing). If left untreated, GBM patients usually die within 3 months. With treatment the odds increase to a median survial rate of 12 months. The average GBM patient is between 45-70 years old. Most patients suffer from seizures, motor loss, memory loss, mood and personality loss, headache, nausea, loss of cognitive functioning and visual loss. These are the ugly stats and facts that we were given seven months ago.

Dan and I were devastated. We were overwhelmed with the little hope that was offered. Like the man who married (in the above-mentioned article) we grasped at ways to try to put our lives into perspective and derive meaning from the chaos. Since then, we have begun to hope for more than just time. We have begun to build new dreams for our future and we have found doctors who believe that a cure is just around the corner. We have faced the potential for death and have decided that we would rather hold onto the truth of life. We know that God loves us and didn't give this disease to our family. Rather, God knew Dan before he was born. He knew that Dan would face this awful disease. He created each of us uniquely to be able to live with this trial. He gives us the strength to face and find joy in each new day. He gave us special family and friends that were created to help us through this trial. In the end, whenever that comes, God will welcome us home. It is our fervent wish that we are able to look Him full in the face and he will say to each of us, "Well done!" Until then, we depend on all of you to help us keep our feet firmly on the path of hope.

I just wanted to give you all the opportunity to know how amazing my Dan is. When I was told his prognosis, I was all but defeated. Danny's strength and determination are infectious. He leads our family with true grace and courage. As we approach Easter I ask for your prayers of praise and thanksgiving that we have not become a statistic. I know that many of you have been praying continually. Thank you. We live on those prayers and we grow in them. Please remember our extended family in your prayers. I think that in many ways it must be harder for them, being away with those ugly statistics hanging around. We are doing amazingly well and we are incredibly grateful for where we are today.

Lots of love,
Leah (and Dan)