5/18/2010 - Hallelujah!

Hallelujah! Our God is an awesome God! I got the biopsy results last Wednesday - it was clean! I expected to have only good news, but it was still a relief to hear the official word from the doctor. It is finally over.

The doctor gave me a work release order, meaning I am allowed to go back to work. From here on, I will just have to see my doctor every month for the first 6 months, then it will taper off to once every 6 months, and then just an annual check-up.

When I was walking back to my car, I had to fight back tears of joy, relief and gratitude. The last nine months have been challenging, but full of grace and mercy from our God. This was undoubtedly the result of the power of prayer - lots of prayer! Prayers from my loving family, relatives, friends, people I met at hospitals, and people I don't know personally in different churches, prayer groups and small groups.

This is also a testimony of how great it is to be in the family of God. The family spans nations, cultures and denominations, all brought together through the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. I can just imagine what it will be like when we all get to heaven - people of all nations worshiping the one true God. The best party ever!

God answers prayers. Your prayers have made a big difference in how my family and I experienced the long road to recovery. These are just some of the many answered prayers we have witnessed:

- My cancer was in remission only after one round of chemo. Many people have to wait several months and even longer to get into remission.

- I did not undergo many of the most common side effects from chemotherapy: nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and various infections. Even my mouth sore was very mild compare to what other people had to go through.

- During the flu season, when many people were catching the cold, flu and H1N1 virus, our family was spared from all of it except for Ellie who had a mild case of cold that lasted only a few days.

- There were many days when I felt too weak to prepare anything for dinner, and someone would either call to bring us dinner or just show up at our front door with food. The timing was just perfect. Many thanks to Cristina, Bessie, Alvina, Nora, Marlene, Jean/Williamson and Sandy.

- The catheter on my chest was inserted without any problems, and it remained free from infection throughout the nine months! This is quite unusual.

- Our family had remained happy and positive throughout these nine months. Robert was solid as a rock. The children also remained happy even if they understood the seriousness of my illness. There were some disappointments along the way, but we believe all things will work out for the best. Even during challenging times, we were always grateful for the many blessings we experienced everyday.

I have been busy getting ready to go back to work - coordinating with the head office and my assistant, attending continuing education classes to re-activate my license, etc. I just received a call from the head office to let me know that my office has been re-registered and I can go back to work tomorrow. Yikes! I don't think I am quite ready to go back to work yet. Well, at least, my hair is now presentable to clients - vanity!

I know what many of you are thinking. Yes, I will try to take it easy. Although I am officially in remission, I am still recovering from the onslaught of toxic chemicals in my body. Chemotherapy is really brutal. I can still feel the effects every now and then. I can't wait to get back to being in good health. Please continue to pray for my family as we transition to our new reality, that I will be restored to good health, and for me not to strain myself - it is my personal weakness/bad habit.

That's it for now. I will share the lessons I learned in a few days. It is my hope others will benefit from my experience. Thank you once again for your prayers and may God bless you all.