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Tonight we got an e-mail from our friend Kate at Woodstock, telling us of the major flash flooding going on in Leh, Ladakh (where we went on our trek). Apparently whole villages have been buried in mud, and while there are about 150 deaths so far, there are predicted to be many, many more. Please pray for this community! Check out the story here.
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A Woodstock alumni and humanitarian in Afghanistan was murdered, along with his group. He had lived in Afghanistan for almost his entire life, and it's apparently hitting the community at Woodstock pretty hard. Check out the story here and here.
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Our dear friend from Woodstock, Cookie Wiebe has been diagnosed with ovarian and uterine cancer. She's asking for prayer from anyone who is willing, and so I thought I'd post it here. She has so much peace during this time, but I can't imagine going through treatments in India, being away from family and friends, and being forced to suddenly stare mortality in the eye. If you're a "prayer" please join us!!
Here's her latest mass e-mail update...
I had my post-op doctor's appointment yesterday and am healing well from the surgery. I have been walking in a nearby park up to three kilometers in the mornings before it becomes unbearably hot. Life has become a series of adjustments. Dave sets his laptop to play folk music quietly for over an hour to help me fall asleep. Overall, I've been sleeping well, though it tends to take another pain pill around 3:30 am to get me through the night. I take a nap every day. Television/movies (even bad action movies) have become a welcome distraction when I'm uncomfortable. I try to write/answer emails in the morning when I feel best. I eat slower and eat less. I've given up on ever having a flat stomach :-), though I look less "pregnant" as the swelling from surgery goes down. I think I'll go bare headed when I lose my hair.
The cancer has definitely gotten a good grip. If they had had a bed/chair available yesterday, I was willing to start chemo on the spot. Maybe I'm turning into a bit of a hypochondriac, but some days I think I can feel cancer's crablike claw pulling at my innards. Depending on the origin (ovarian or endometrial./uterine), I am either stage three or stage four. Tests show the cancer cells to be poorly differentiated. This (if I understand correctly...) means both that it is harder to identify the origin and that it is a more aggressive, fast-growing cancer. However, the chemotherapy doctor also said that fast growing cancers often respond well to chemo. This is what we hope and pray for.
We have gotten a second opinion from a US gynecologic oncologist confirming the diagnosis and recommended treatment at this point. We are carefully considering our options for where to have the debulking surgery done after the completion of three rounds (nine weeks) of chemo. We have received some strong encouragement to COME HOME and are trying to figure out if that is in any way possible. Pray for doors and windows to open. If I do not respond to chemo, we will of course, come home immediately. Pray that the chemo will be effective in reducing the amount of cancer, my life expectancy is directly tied to this!
I will have my first chemotherapy treatment Monday morning, August 9th. They will check the CA 125 tumor marker so that it can be monitored to see the efficacy of treatment. It will take 5-6 hours sitting in a recliner. Of course, my first question is, What if I have to go to the bathroom??? Having found a source of pukka (non-pirated) movies, I have stockpiled three to watch during the treatment, two Hindi movies and "Up in the air" with George Clooney - which I've been wanting to see for some time.
We have train tickets on the Dehradun Shatabdi for Tuesday morning, the 10th, hoping the chemo side effects won't have kicked in too much yet. If they have, my seat mates will have to listen to me throw up in a bucket for 6 hours. For many people, the chemo side effects are consistent in their timing for when they kick in, what they are, and how long they last. Whatever happens for the first round of treatment is likely to happen each time. Train tickets are relatively cheap ($10), if I feel l lousy, we simply won't go that day.
We thought about doing the other rounds of chemo at Jolly Grant near Dehra Dun, but after talking to the chemotherapy doctor here, decided we a.) really liked her (has US experience) and b.) think it is better to be consistent with the same doc. Because of the train schedules, we will quite likely be able to come up one day, treat the next and go home yet that same day. Pray that the side effects will be minimal and that I will be able to travel within a 24 hour window after treatments.
Again, our hosts Jack and Cate have been incredibly gracious. I know it must be cramping their style to have guests for two weeks. While we will pay our taxi/phone bills, we've certainly upped their grocery bill and electricity bill! Praise God for their generous spirit!
Pray for Dave and all of the pressures/demands an ailing wife can put on a loving husband :-) Pray for us as we return to Woodstock and negotiate the future. Pray for Dave as he returns to claim his classes now being taught by others. Of all the times to absent from Woodstock, this is one of the worst. Due to visa issues, they were already short-staffed to start with. Without access to substitutes (as in any US school district), it means there are a lot of Woodstock staff taking on extra classes and extra duties. We hate having to add to their burden; the HR part of me really hates adding to the load! Pray for the rest of the new staff to get their visas and get to India asap. Pray for all of the overloaded staff. Pray for administration coping with significant structural changes, an increase in student numbers and a teacher shortage - all at the same time.
Thank you for all of your loving prayers. We certainly can "feel the love" coming from around the world. It is truly amazing to hear of the connections being made as our situation is shared. We are focusing on being open and honest with each other, difficult as it may be. As in any kind of grieving, it is important not to make assumptions about how the other feels and to allow each other to think and feel differently. Pray for us and our marriage to grow stronger through this experience. We also know that our news has been shocking and difficulty for those who know and love us to accept. Pray for our friends and families, that this will result in a deeper, more grounded faith and understanding of how God works.
Peace,
Cookie
2 comments:
This is all so sad. I am praying for Cookie and also for all the other people in the disasters. It's hard to believe that we were just in Leh and to see the pictures of the difference now...it's crazy.
Nicole! I finally looked up your blog here and read through this post - thanks for sharing news from Dave and Cookie- we haven't heard any news from them and would love to get it, as we've been praying for them so much. thanks for posting it here so we are a little more updated (though now this is already several weeks old).
Take care! Hope your own lives are falling into place with the new jobs. we're praying for you too.
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