Update for 7/16/10

(Previously published July 17, 2010)

Hello family and friends,

I apologize for the quiteness of Stacy's blog yesterday. It was certainly not from a lack of anything to report, as it was a very busy day for Stacy. Pain management was the big issue her first night. She realized that every 3 hours of pain meds were not enough, so she was moved to every 2 hours which seemed to help quite a bit. Her day started out with Devotions with Barclay. I look forward to the day she can post about this...what an incredible way God had showed up! Stacy's day was filled with many visitors. Family, friends, doctors, cancer support personnel...even her OBGYN, Dr. Mansfield, stopped down in the middle of deliveries to give Stacy encouragement! What a blessing this was for Stacy to have such support from everyone. Even those of you who are unable to visit she feels and appreciates the prayers being lifted up on her behalf, so please keep them coming! Stacy also made huge steps toward recovery. She was able to get out of bed and sit in a chair, she took a very short walk in the hallway, and was able to dress in her own pajamas! The doctors and nurses want her up and moving as this aids in the healing process. Stacy and Barclay have been so blessed by such a compassionate group of doctors that are taking care of her. When her surgeon, who performed the mastectomy, came in to check on her and to tell her exactly what happened during the surgery, you could see the disappointment in her eyes and voice over the pathology results. As she thought the sentinel nodes would be benign by looking at and feeling them. Then to get the pathology results saying that there were traces of cancer cells in them...she was shocked. However, as we know, God is so much bigger than this and we praise Him that now there is no question as to whether or not Stacy will need chemo. That decision would have been a difficult one...do I have chemo anyway just in case?...God has answered that for her, and she has peace in His decision. We also praise Him that only traces were found which tells Stacy that this cancer was found very early. Another wonderful event took place as well. In an attempt to switch over to oral medications she had to try to get some food down. This was not an easy task for Stacy, as it made her quite nauseous. She did eventually manage to eat a small cup of pudding and even had a chocolate milkshake later in the afternoon. When I spoke with her last night she was going to attempt to eat a meal that her family brought from home! All in all I think it was a good day for Stacy. Every person that came into the room kept saying that each day she will feel better than the day before, so may that be a prayer from each of you. The day ended with a visit from more family and her precious children. Could I humbly ask that you would also lift up her children in prayer as they deal with seeing their mother lying in a hospital bed and all the emotions that come from that. Please pray that the angels of the Lord would encamp around them and protect their precious hearts. I praise God that they are incredibly strong children with a strong foundational faith. They truly are amazing children! I'm sure as soon as Stacy is able she will be sharing and posting all the incredible ways God has shown up the past few days. His work is evident, His goodness is seen in so many ways! Please continue to lift up this dear family in prayer and petition our Heavenly Father to go before them and set their paths straight, so that they may be confident in each step they need to take.

Thank you and God bless,
Beth

"I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:13-14