My Little Foot Soldier

My little rock star Tyler was a faithful foot soldier as we spent two hours driving up and down the Highway 78 rush hour parking lot to get mom's prescriptions filled. We both got hungry and shared a box of Capn Crunch. I will be totally busted when Nancy reads this!

Yesterday, Val, Chris, and I went up to USC Norris for Val's 21st chemo infusion. We were encouraged to see that Val had gained five pounds and her blood numbers were OK. she had her chemo infusion; double Avastin, and 5FU/Leucovorin. The 5FU is administered over 48 hours with a pump that she carries in her pocket.

It is very tough at times as Val looks ahead and wonders how long her life will be pre-occupied with this seemingly endless battle. Actually, the cancer itself is sometimes overshadowed by the side-effects of chemo, concerns of blood infections, stent management, and pain.

On the trip up yesterday, Val questioned whether God was even involved in her disease since she has not been cured. Beloved, the answer is in the picture of Tyler above. Look closely and you will see footprints of someone walking next to him. But he hasn't noticed them.

God's footprints are all over our long journey down the beach. He is with us every step of the way. We can trust Him as Peter did when Jesus asked if he too would leave Him. His answer is ours; "Lord, where else can we turn? Only you have the words of eternal life."

Our biggest challenge continues to be pain management. Dilaudid, Fentanyl Patches, Percoset, Aleve, Marinol. We are still struggling to find the best combination that deals with the pain without becoming drug induced zombies. If any of our readers have advice or suggestions, we would like to hear from you.

Godspeed

Feeling Better

As you have all read I have had a few bumps in the road lately. I have gained my energy back and now just concentrating on gaining some weight back. (which by the way, I never in a million years thought I would be saying I need to gain weight but here I am). I had a CT scan done that gave us a snap shot of the last 11 months. No new growth and stable disease. May be the cancer just died???? I need to get a PET scan. I would be interested to see what it says. My brother Jeff from Alabama and my sister from up north are visiting. It is nice to hang out. I started to exercise again yesterday. I went on a 40 min walk and today did 30 min yoga. I had a 2 year old Birthday party for Tyler yesterday. I love him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
Luv you all!!! Thanks for the prayers.
-Big prayer request is "no infection".
Valerie

Signs

In The Book of The Judges, The Midianites and Amalekites joined forces in The Valley of Jezreel to wage war against God's people. Militarily, the Israelites had no chance. But The angel of The Lord appeared to Gideon and assured him of victory.

Gideon was too afraid to take God at His word. He laid a fleece outside and asked God to keep the ground dry while the fleece was covered with evening dew. God agreed and in the morning the ground was dry. Not convinced, the next day Gideon asked for the opposite. Keep the fleece dry and wet the ground with dew. Again, God performed this miracle.

It took three direct encounters with The God of Heaven before Gideon was moved to action and defeated the enemy.

What about us? We are afraid of an enemy encamped in The Valley of Jezreel. Like Israel, we have no chance unless God intervenes. Why not ask God for miraculous signs?

The answer is simple, beloved. Because we have not asked Him for signs, he has given them to us. Val, Chris, and Jeff went to USC yesterday. The results: Her boodwork was good. Her weight has increased from a low of 110 pounds to 114.4. But most significant of all was Dr. Lenz' statement about how surprised he is that her cancer has not grown since the original CT done last year. Val is scheduled to resume her chemotherapy next Thursday.

Several days ago, Nancy was praying and through the eyes of faith had a vision of Valerie; healthy, walking out of church holding the hands of her children. She claimed that prophetic picture to be hers. And our God will make it so.

Pray for Val's continuing battle with pain and fatigue. They go hand in hand. Anyone who has struggled with chronic pain knows that it saps your energy and affects your outlook on life. Pray also that Val continues to gain weight. Our target is 125 pounds.

Pray for Chris also. He continues to struggle with Crohn's and back/nerve pain.

Godspeed

Take It To The Enemy

After the the U.S. was attacked on 9/11, George Bush made the best decision of his Presidency when he ordered his Generals to go on the offensive against terrorism. Regardless of your opinion on his performance in office, he was right to recognize that a defensive position would never work against this enemy.

We took the same position when our enemy suddenly appeared. Char flew in and took command. When local resources did not appear to be adequate, we went to UCLA and then to Cedars Sinai. Cedars was chosen. A quick fix surgical solution was our goal. That wasn't feasible so we began chemotherapy using Gemcitabine and Oxaliplatin.

We (not the Oncologist) decided that Avastin should be added and fought the tough battle for insurance coverage. This was followed by trips to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Mn. and M.D. Anderson in Houston.

One decision after another. Use Laurie Frakes as a local oncologist. Change oncologists from Cedars to USC. Transfer from Scripps to Cedars for our gall bladder surgery. Use Dr. Lo for the stent replacement. Ask Dr. Tasher to be our local resource.

Tough decisions. Always tough. And we make them not knowing the outcome.

So lets stop and assess our position. We have a large group of soldiers physically involved in supporting this war. Loving family members. Decision makers. Transportation providers. Kid's care providers. Meal providers. Medical resources. But the most powerful division in this military machine is you, the prayer warrior, who supports us by lifting us up to the throne of God Most High. We acknowledge Him as our only source of wisdom in decision making.

And He honors every decision made because we make them on His behalf. He is our Commander-In-Chief. The battle is His.

And the results? Last night I read the Radiologist's report of a CT Scan done last week at The RB Imaging Center. In comparing it to the original scan done on 11/05/05, their results; no new growth! the cancer is halted! a huge victory, beloved, considering that this type of cancer does not have a history of good response to chemotherapy.

When Jesus gave Cephas his commission as an Apostle, He said, your name is Peter. On this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. Hell is defensively hidden behind it's gates and we are on the offensive every day by the character of our lives. Our God is on the offense in this world through us.

God expects us to continue our offensive battle against this cancer. We will by His great power do just that. Be encouraged, beloved, as we are. We claim the victory that is yet unseen to be ours!

Godspeed

Another LA trip completed

Another long LA trip completed. Mary Ann and I did the trip this time. She is a good friend of Val’s that is in from Michigan this week. The Hotel was marginal but for the price we could not complain. We did have to ask for Soap, which is a good sign you are at a budget rate Hotel. Dr. Lo the Stent Doc is another very talented Dr. at Cedars Sinai. He went in and placed a stent in Val’s Right lobe of her Liver, which drained a bunch of Clear fluid. Dr Lo said “it is clear and not yellow because the right Lobe has not been draining and the body shut it down”. It just shows we really have no idea what is truly going on inside her body. Her Bili total has been very normal so we assumed that her current stent and Liver was working fine. Well it was for only half the Liver. When he drained the right side he thought the first Stent was a bit to long so he changed it to a little shorter length one. He also placed a second Stent in her Left Lobe. He believes the Stents will clear up her reoccurring infections, but did not see any Puss or Coloring. If you look at the Liver as a big Tree, he did say there was one small branch of the liver that could not drain and that there was a very small amount of fluid left in. He said it would have been to hard to drain today but if there is a problem in the future he could insert a Stent if needed. He stretched a lot of the liver with the Stent placement had said she would be sore for a couple days. He put her on Oral Zithro to help fight the infection. Believe it or not this was good news given the fact she has been on IV antibiotics, which take up much more of her time. She could not eat anything today, which is not good. She was 128 lb going into the Gallbladder surgery 3 weeks ago and is now down to 112lb. She was very hungry tonight but they said Clear liquids only. The goal is to have her eat has much as possible to get her weight back up.

We need to get her back on Chemo since she has been off for 4 weeks now. She needs to have some good days were she gets her normal energy level back and feels good. She will get there it just takes time for the Gallbladder and Stent surgery to heel.

The Kids are back in School it’s nice because they are not bored during the day, but there is the reading and homework in the evening that we need to stay up on. It was a challenge tonight, Ryan knows that things are not 100% with Mom and he was demanding that Mom would read with him. Val, on her back in Bed was doing his reading with him tonight. She is a very incredible person who will do any thing for her Kids.

Please pray that:
-Val’s fevers / infection dose not come back
-Her body heals fast from the Stents and the Gallbladder procedures
-Her Chemo can get started back up very soon with minimal side effects
-Her Mental state can get better; our phrase is to “Get out of the Weeds”
-She can eat full meals with no Nausea and her body will put the weight back on she lost.
-Our House can get back to a somewhat normal state and the Kids minds can be at rest.

It feels good to be Home.

Thanks for everyone’s support!!

-Chris

Turning a Corner

Val's ERCP procedure was a great success. Dr. Simon Lo is "The Man." He found that the original stent was allowing only half of her liver to drain properly. He placed a new stent in both bile ducts and now they both will drain properly.

Val came home early this evening. She is uncomfortable from the procudure and will be for a couple of days. Please pray for her quick recovery so we can get back to our original battle of holding the cancer in check.

We are very optimistic and thank you all for your prayers to God Most High on behalf of our beloved Valerie.

Godspeed

911

No one will ever forget where they were when Jihadists attacked our country five years ago and 3,000 Americans died. Nancy and I were in Yorktown, Virginia visiting my son Jeff, an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel based at Langely. We were laying carpet in his new home and Jeff's wife Janet told us to come in and look at the TV. I wept at the sight of it. I felt stunned, like being hit by a car.

I have been blindsided by events of epic proportion three times in my life; The assassination of JFK, 911, and the 10/21/05 diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma.

We christians have this horribly flawed condition of wanting to know why bad things happen. Did I do something wrong? Is God trying to shape me up? Beloved, these thoughts are not from God Most High. They are worldly, hellish. The truth is; "For now, we see through a glass, darkly, now I know in part".

All I know for sure is this; Nothing blindsides Jesus: Jesus is at work in Val's life every day: Jesus is the author of "the now" and "the then" that Paul describes in 1st Corinthians. "For now, we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known."

Tomorrow, 9/11, is a huge milestone in our journey to defeat this enemy. Val, Chris, and Mary Ann are traveling to Cedars Sinai this afternoon. At 8:30 am, An ERCP will be performed by Dr. Simon Lo (one of the top docs in this speciality) to replace Val's stent and have a look around in her liver. He may also perform a celiac nerve block to alleviate pain. Val will also be meeting with Dr. Drazin, her Cedars Oncologist. Please pray for supernatural skills for Dr. Lo. Pray also for Chris. He suffered a flare up of his Crohn's disease this week that required emergency hospitalization.

After Jesus called Phillip, he found Nathaniel and told him that Messiah was here. Nathaniel's scornful response; "can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" When Nathaniel met Jesus, who already knew his name and had seen him standing under a fig tree, he realized that this man had knowledge and vision beyond the physical and declared, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God."

Jesus' response; you believe because of what I said? Just wait and see what I am going to do.

His message is the same to us today, beloved.

Just wait and see what I am going to do. You just wait!

There is a verse in the hymn "Immortal Invisible" that goes like this; "unresting, unhasting, and silent as light, nor wanting nor wasting, thou rulest in might."

As long as this battle continues, there is no place for the word "burned out". God Most High doesn't recognize the concept. On the contrary, His promise from Isaiah 40:31 is clear: "Those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."

Godspeed

The Week Ahead

Val's recovery has been frustratingly slow since her two week hospital stay. Continued pain and fatigue have kept her from being her normal self and she can't do all of the things that she would like. The fevers have been creeping back as well so she is back on an antibiotic regime. To top it off, Chris was in the hostital this past week as well due to his Crohn's disease.

Val is off to Cedar's Sinai Hospital tomorrow with our mom Nancy and one of Val's east coast friends Marianne. Valerie is due to get an out-patient ERCP stent replacement and hopefully will return home Monday.

Continue to pray for the Valerie this week. Pray that he procedure goes as smooth as possible and that any infection will be cleared quickly with the antibiotics. Pray that Val will be able to recover quickly and regain her strength. Pray for Chris as he recovers from this Chrohn's episode. Pray for the entire McCrea family as they face these struggles and that the peace of God, which is so far from our understanding, will guard their hearts, minds, and bodies in Christ Jesus this week.

Thank you for your love, prayers, kind words, meals...... for the McCreas.

Julie

A Heart of Love

Thank you for the Birthday messages! Val took me to Fish House Vera Cruz for a great birthday lunch of wild salmon. As we were talking, she wanted me to open my gift. She said, "Oh, this is just something I picked up for you." I began to open it and realized it was in a red wooden box. H-m-m-m! What? I opened the lid to find a diamond heart necklace. Amid tears, she helped me get it out of the box and put it on. I noticed the heart was longer on one side of the curve than the other creating a space at the bottom. I asked her about it and she said to me, "Mother never close your heart to God, He loves you and is faithful." She might have said something after that but I just didn't hear her. I knew that that moment would stand out in my heart and mind for the rest of my life and that I would treasure the heart necklace forever.

The love that Valerie and I share as mother and daughter is more than I can put into words. It is heart felt, emotional and binding. It is God given. I've seen her in pain and my physical heart feels like it is breaking.

But this love does not come close to the love that God the Father has for us. God is the personification of love. He is the originator and orhestrator of love. When we accept Christ into our life and abide with Him, His love flows through our veins. John 4:10-11"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (paid the penalty) for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us, we also ought to love one another." We learned yesterday that God loves His people to the "eis telos" to the fullest extent and to the end. We are given this direction:

I John 3:23 "And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us."

I received an anniversary card that had a great verse on it. I cut it out, framed it and put it beneath our wedding picture. After 41 years of marriage, I still need to be reminded.

Ephesians 5:2 "Walk in Love."

For all of you that pray for the McCrea family, we are so thankful. I wish I could personally put my arms around each of you. When you pray, God acts. Her prayer requests are:

• Val would heal quickly from the surgery
• That her pain can be controlled
• Her cancer continues to be under control
• Gain the weight back that she lost (about 15 pounds)
• Ryan and Gavin would have a great start at Valley Bible (kindergarten and first grade)
• Keep infection at bay as she rebuilds her immune system
• She could have chemo in 2 weeks
• That the need for stent replacement can be put off
• Chris and Val to attend their Thursday night small group
• Her energy level would increase
• Chris would stay healthy
• That God would keep them loving Jesus and each other

Gavin prays, "Jesus, heal the cancer in mom's belly." We cry out, "Oh please Lord, heal her."

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

A huge "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" to our mom Nancy. She is such a wonderful mom to us and we are very thankful for her. As a mom, mother-in-law, grandma, wife and friend she has no end to her willingness love and serve. Our mom has touched so many lives with her caring nature. I am sad to live far away on days like these, so I thought I would let those of you who live closer to her give her a big "Happy Birthday"hug from me.

Love, Julie