In Pursuit

For ten long years, King Saul and his armies pursued David and his followers. I am sure there were times when David despaired of life. Day by day, the overwhelming power of his enemy sought to kill him. The outcome was inevitable.

Listen to the cry of David's heart in Psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? Oh my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help, My strength is dried up, I can count all my bones.

But something happened to David between Psalm 22 and Psalm 23.

Our God, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob heard his cry and answered. David the prophet saw through the eyes of faith the armies of God Most High encamped around him. And in their midst stood a shepherd. David's shepherd. Your shepherd. My shepherd. A shepherd who would lay down his life for his sheep.

And instead of being pursued by Saul's armies, David could see clearly now as he spoke in Psalm 23; "surely goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life."

Val is being pursued by an enemy whose intentions are clear. And the words of David are her words. And the God of David is her God. He hears her cry. He answers. The Book is written. The story is ended. Although we haven't reached the final chapter, the Apostle Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans of a promise from the author and giver of life; "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Val had a long day yesterday. Our 1:30 appointment was delayed 2 1/2 hours and then lasted another hour. Val's friend Mary Anne from Michigan flew in and showed up at the hospital appointment room with her suitcase in tow. What a group! We finally bailed and had a great dinner at an Italian restaurant in Hillcrest.

Everyone is suffering from information overload. Dr. Steven Rose has recommended that Val proceed with SIR Spheres to treat both lobes of her liver. This procedure is not without risk, the worst case scenario being liver failure and death. We are proceeding with caution. Everyone needs more information before this decision is made. I am hopeful that Andy Kennedy from Wake will provide his expert opinion based on experience with cholangio patients. Also, Char has contacted an interventional radiologist in Denver who has cholangio experience and is willing to consult with us.

We are moving ahead with exploring the option of moving Val's Oncology treatments from USC to UCSD Moores Cancer Center. Joannie Salotti, a Nurse practitioner is working for us on this. More than likely she will recommend Dr. Tony Reid. Nancy is working with a Nutritionist at Moores also. We have asked USC for a referral so insurance handles it.

Val will be getting a blood test tomorrow as the next step toward Sir Spheres. Then would come a PET/CT followed by arterial mapping and a shunt study. Good news is that Dr. Rose doesn't see much resistance from insurance companies on covering this off label treatment.

The results of Val's last CT Scan on 1/25 indicated no growth from the previous scan on 12/20. This falls into my category of good news.

I talked to Val's friend Tricia today. She is a cholangio patient from New York who has had the disease for 3 years. No stents. Her last Pet/CT showed that the liver tumors were DEAD! She is on Gemzar, Xeloda, and Avastin. There is still some cancer activity in her lungs. Her next chemo is at Cornell this Friday. She is trying to come out for a visit soon.

Val's next chemo is at USC next Thursday.

Please pray that God would give us great wisdom as we consider SIR Spheres and moving our oncology to UCSD. Also, pray that Val's ascites and pain levels would be reduced.

Godspeed