Asking for a few more prayers... ♥

I love Autumn the best.  I love the colors God paints across the rolling horizon, I love the cooler breezes and wearing sweaters, and I love the coming holidays of home and family and snuggling inside while the wind whips ferociously outside, bringing in the longest of the seasons.  I love Autumn.

That being said, the last few days had some great moments of Autumn.  

But there are a few things we could use a little prayer-help with:

For several days, Rob has been having problems with his vision.  Blurriness, floaters that look like veins and chromosomes, and webs of black-peppery powder have been taking up most of his field of vision in both eyes.  And though there is no pain, loss of vision, or flashes of light, he has been having a very hard time.  Friday was the worst, but it's not going away.

I tried devising a patch of sorts to cover his left eye, which seems to be the worst, to give it a rest and help ease the stress, but it didn't work the best.  Today, I drove to Colie's house before breakfast and borrowed her eye patch, which Rob wore most of the day, with much relief.  We're not sure exactly what is happening, but the possibilities of diabetes involvement and retina problems are ever present in our minds.  We are seeing Rob's family doctor in the morning (today... Monday), and in the afternoon, he has an appointment with an opthamologist.  We're hoping to get this all figured out, as Rob's sense of balance and depth perception are greatly affected.

Also on Friday we received the results of the bloodwork done on Tuesday at his urologist/surgeon's office.  His blood sugar levels are on the high side, which doesn't surprise me too much since he convinced me that we needed about $20 worth of Halloween candy to pass out in an apartment building that has a locked entrance.  ;)  Needless to say, we had no trick-or-treaters, and have a very large bowl of candy that has been slowly getting smaller.  He's not going to get me to do that again any time soon.

In this bloodwork that was run, one of the things they look for in cancer patients that have undergone chemo are these special 'markers' that show up in the blood to show if there is a cancer reoccurrence beginning.

Rob's number was over double the high normal.

We're waiting to hear from Rob's surgeon on exactly what this means and what we do from here... He didn't return the call on Friday, so we will call again when they open later this morning before leaving for the family doctor.

Rob was so preoccupied with his eyes, that the realization of the blood count didn't hit home until later in the evening... he was understandably upset.  But I told him we can't worry about it right now until we know more of what it means.  I told him we can't let it ruin our night or our weekend when we don't have all the details.  I was trying to convince myself.  

When he called me at work and told me on Friday, I couldn't stop the quiet tears that streamed down my face after I hung up the phone.  Then I gathered myself together, and put on the "strong Cheri" that has learned to handle these things... on the outside, anyway.  It's hard to believe that it's been almost a year from the time we first heard that C word had invaded our lives.

So we wait, we remain hopeful, we pray, and we pray some more.

~~~

Last night as my daughter Colie and I were preparing to leave her home for a little Mommy-Daughter shopping time, her youngest little Ally hit her head on the coffee table and split open the back left side.  And though there were some tears, she is a strong and brave girl, who thought it was hilarious that the urgent care people had to glue her head back together!  She left there with a beautiful white gauze crown, and is doing great today.  :)  

Whenever I am sad or stressed or upset, I love to be around Nicole and her family... I should have named her "Joy", because that is what she spreads everywhere.  Her laugh and smile are contagious, and I feel better from the inside out whenever I am in her presence.  She is a good person through and through, and my life is so blessed with her in it.  

And our Darby-girl seems to be responding so far to the antibiotics and the new food change.  I pray that continues as well.

~~~


So those are the highlights of our last few days.   
For the most part, I want just plain Autumn again.

It's 1:35am, and Rob is doing well, just getting up from the couch as I type into the early hours of this new and delightfully cool day.  I am tired but running on raw energy, and I need to sleep.  I have to be up in about 4 hours to get the day going here.  So, as he's up now and on his way to sleep, I am going to try to do the same.  

We just want you to know, that through it all, there is that PEACE beyond understanding that comforts us... and we are so thankful for that.  For Him.

Thank you for your continuing prayers for Rob.  He can feel that he has been surrounded and lifted high by your love and caring hearts.  I can, too.  

And even with all that has been, all that is, and all that is to come, we are feeling so very blessed in this life.  We know that God sees the big picture, and as always, we're good with that. :)

Have a blessed week, dear friends.  I'll fill you in more as we find out more.


In Love and In Peace, Always and Forever...

Cheri ♥