More Rest...

I know quite a few of you wanted to catch up with Jo during this week, but it's simply quite difficult for her to ascertain when her body is really up to it.

The past 2 days she's gone back to the "no eat all sleep" routine. Again this is reminiscent of the 1st Avastin treatment and I guess it's the primary cause. She's been extremely tried, just waking to eat or go to the toilet. When awake, she seems really drowsy.

Her appetite is really small. Last night she only had 2/3 rds of a small cup of chawanmushi that her sis made. For lunch today, she had yong tau foo minus the noodles and tonite she'll have minestrone soup that a friend has made.

So I'll keep you all posted when she's feeling better. Thanks for your understanding...

In the mean time, do keep your SMSes coming cos' she reads them. God Bless!

Rest

We both missed our Small Group time last night cos' we were just exhausted.

Unfortunately she had a small bout of vomiting at about 9pm...and then was back to sleep. I think it's how she lies. The flatter you are, the easier the acid is able to reflux up from the stomach thereby causing heartburn and ultimately vomiting. So we try to ensure she sleeps at an incline of about 20 degrees or more.

Personal Bell (Pictured above)
Since I'm usually out and about in the house and can't hear Jo when she calls for me either when she's in the room or in the living room, I'd requested for suggestions from friends to recommend a good "baby monitor". Thanks to a friend, he'd suggested using one of those wireless digital door bells (runs on batteries). It was great, cos' now all Jo needs to do is press the button and I'll come running in! The bell has got a 16 chime variation...and I'm using one that sounds like bird chirpings...chirp chirp!

SGH - Day 2 & Home!

Ahh, finally managed to catch my breath after a hectic day @ SGH.

Day 2 - 26 April 2007
We bumped into an old sunday school student of ours Dr Andrew Wong. Instantly
he recalled who I was, what a small world ain't it? Interestingly enough he was tasked to "plugging" Jo which he did a good job of.

Then we bumped into Dr Mark Tien, our Small Group friend who was working in the ward. Was really thankful that God had placed these people at strategic occasions for us. Mark shared the amazing testimony of a Mennonite pastor who recently passed on...we have been encouraged!

Protein Drip
Dr Darren Lim came by to chat a bit and said that Jo was required to have an Albumin (Protein) drip since her blood test showed low levels of this. The nurse plugged the yellow glass bottle and within 30 mins it was done. Albumin would serve to reduce the water retention in Jo's body.

"Albumin refers generally to any protein with water solubility, which is moderately soluble in concentrated salt solutions, and experiences heat coagulation (protein denaturation). Substances containing albumin, such as egg white, are called albuminoids."

Avastin Treatment
Nurse came by @ 3pm yesterday and it was done within the hour. No side effects post treatment so far though. Amen!

A few friends came by from late afternoon all the way to the evening. Thank you all for being with us.

Palliative Care Nurse
A nurse from Palliative Medicine came by and had a long chat with us - asking about Jo's current symptoms, sharing about pain management and current medication history.

Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms or slowing the disease's progress, rather than providing a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex illness. (Wikipedia)

Day 3 - 27 April 2007

Didn't really get a good nite's sleep since the aircon was freezing in the room. However managed to sleep outside in the common lounge area. Dr Leong finally came by this morning and discussed about her case. We will continue to see her next Friday morning. Dr Leong also mentioned if the bloatedness got really bad, that was an option to remove the liquid via small procedure.

Dr Alethia Yee

Dr Yee (Palliative Medicine) came by and had a long chat with Jo too. She chatted everything from pain management to discussing our treatment goals...as in what do we hope to achieve with Jo's current state of health - quality of life or etc etc. Importantly, she added another dimension in answering Jo's many questions about medication, treatment and home care options. Wow, it was a handful just taking all that in in one go, but it was very helpful.

Going Home

We finally checked out of the hospital @ about 4:00pm.

SGH - Day 1

Wireless @ SG
Finally got the darn Wireless@SG thing going...almost impossible to obtain a good reception where I am (between 37% to 45%). Had to tilt multiple angles and all...anyway here I am blogging away again.

This Morning
We saw Dr Leong this morning and she commented that the blood test was fine, in fact it was a marginal improvement over the initial test 3 weeks ago. She then proceeded to admit us to SGH. The nurse confirmed that it was a packed day today as no one seemed to be checking out from the A1 or A1+ Wards. We settled for a B1 Ward anyway when the nurse called us at 3pm. (We had decided to go home and await the nurse's call when she had confirmed the ward details)

At SGH (Ward 48, Level 8 Room 11)
On arrival, I ushered Jo to her already vacant bed in the 4 bedded room. There were 3 other ladies here. Ward 48 is a Medical Oncology ward specialised in caring for Cancer patients. I tucked Jo into her bed and got her comfy then rushed down to get the admission done...little did I know that it took some 1.5 hours to complete this!!!

Treatment Postponed
By the time I got up at 5:10pm, the attending MO had mentioned that it was too late for the treatment and we would have to wait till tomorrow morning. I was flustered as we wanted this done today - that was the sole purpose of coming in. Anyway, I soon calmed down. Jo should have the treatment done 1st thing in the morning and prayerfully without major side effects. The infusion will last 60 mins as compared to 90 mins previously.

CS and wife & friend (Apple) came by and got a little piggy & card for her. A really cute one :) Thanks folks for your prayers too.

As of 1:00am, she's sleeping soundly having taken Lorezapam (sleeping pill). She had some chicken rice thingy for dinner but that couldn't quite make it for her and CS went down to the foodcourt to get some fish porridge which she enjoyed. Her parents came by too.

Please contact me first before coming by, am not too sure how she'll be feeling tomorrow. In any case she would love to have your company.

Once again, thank you for your continued prayer support.

Tonite

© Copyright 2007 by Christian-pics. http://www.christian-pics.com/index.php

Jo told me just a few hours ago that she wasn't feeling good at all. In fact she was depressed...really depressed. She poured out all that was on her mind... She hasn't been eating or sleeping well. Nausea, bloatedness and aches all over. Watching TV, reading or eating doesn't even excite her anymore...restlessness... In essence her quality of life has deterioratated.

She said that she just looks forward to the end of day, so that she can sleep...sleep it all off.

And it doesn't help when the evil one lurks and puts stupid thoughts in her mind. And so I prayed fervently in Jesus name to cast out every evil influence in whatever form upon her. Mark 16:17 states that we have power over demons and the evil one.

It's easy for me to say that God demands Jo's fullest attention at this point...yet I know she's been praying unceasingly for His will to be done. So what does God want of her at this time? But perhaps to continue living in FULL faith knowing that He is our only Hope. No "answers" will answer all our questions, or take us through life's hard times. However I've learned a little gem from "Bruised But Not Broken" (Stanley Baldwin, Multnomah Press 1985) that "It is not what we know but whom we know that is critical to our survival. It is Christ who is our Rock. It is in Christ we can do all things."

Tomorrow
We will see Dr Leong tomorrow morning for the usual check up. If her blood test results are fine, then she'll be taking the next round of Avastin treatment either the same day if not on Thursday.

Admission to SGH
Jo wants to be admitted to SGH for the treatment just in case the side effects return. She'll probably be warded for 2-3 days pending nothing serious happens post treatment. We'll most likely be @ Ward 78. We'll keep you posted on developments.

Made Me Glad (Hillsongs)

Darlene Zschech, 2002 Integrity Music (USA)

I will bless the Lord forever
I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
He has set my feet upon a rock
I will not be moved
And I'll say of the Lord

Chorus
You are my shield
My strength
My portion
Deliverer
My shelter
Strong tower
My very present help in time of need

Whom have I in heaven but You
There's none I desire besides You
You have made me glad
And I'll say of the Lord

Updates - 23 April 2007

With each passing day I thank God for little blessings that come our way: when Jo eats, when she smiles, when she doesn't feel any discomfort or pain...

All was fine last Thursday till Sunday evening. She'd been dining out with a couple of friends for lunch and dinner...her appetite typically increases a little more when she's out eating.

But...

Yesterday
She had fish & chips for lunch and she'd vomited that out the moment we got home...

This early morning, she wretched and wretched at the toilet bowl but nothing came out...her stomach was churning again...

Today
For lunch, she had a little chawanmushi and still she threw them out about a half hour later...we thot that this was the "safest" food for her since it's totally reminiscence of the same event that happened 2 weeks ago after her chemo treatment...

For dinner, her parents cooked porridge and steamed egg...and yet she threw it out too...

It was a really tough day for her... at times she couldn't lie down for no position was comfortable...

Our Prayer Requests that the following will stop:
- Body aches
- Nauseas and vomiting
- Headaches
- Stomach bloatedness
- Water retention @ feet

And that she would be able to just eat & sleep well

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me
because He delighted in me. Psalms 18:19

Holy Communion @ Home & Banana Leaf Apolo

Another wonderful day today. Jo had requested to eat at The Banana Leaf Apolo @ Race Course Road today.

After my morning meeting, we arranged with our other SG members to join us in this. David, CS and Ruth were with us.

We had Briyani rice, Tandoori Chicken, Curry Fish head and Mutton Masala. We had papadums on the side. For drinks we had their famous lime juice. Overall a fantastic meal with great company. Rice and papadums are free flow for your information. Above all, we thank God that Jo ate really well today - she loved the briyani rice, Chicken and Fish.

Since Jo had often missed Holy Communion at Wesley, I decided to call Pastor Alvin to come by to celebrate this with us.

Friends@Jelita

Last Sunday evening, Jo suggested that we try this new outlet at Jelita called "Friends."
On getting dressed I usually ask her what kind of an outlet is it - casual / formal etc etc. She knows I'm a really laidback dresser loving to hang out in my berms and flip flops... and so she said it was a casual dining place... and lo and behold I reached out for my fav berms and fav Arsenal T-Shirt!

On arriving, it was a different story as you see above. I was quite surprised to see a really nice set up with plush dining tables, wine glasses, napkins and rather nicely dressed customers. Even then we were greeted nicely by the waiter while we were flipping through the menu placed outside the restaurant.

What We Ate
So, to cut the story short this is what we both had:
Jo - Roasted rock garoupa on warm nicoise salad with garlica anchovy butter sauce
Me - Set menu - Friends salad, ukranian borsch soup, roasted beef tenderloin, onion marmalade, pistachio potato puree and beef glazed. Dessert was baked fuji apple topped with vanilla ice cream.

The beef was really good and I'm glad I had it cooked medium. Onion was really unique and tasted great too. A first for me. The garoupa was prepared really well. Overall a very good dining experience. We were the only ones left in the restaurant when we finished and had a short chat with the waiter. The original outlet is located at Serangoon Gardens near the Chomp Chomp hawker centre.

Witnessing of Baptism@CEFC

Sunday was a busy day for us. After rushing back from Youth Ministry, we headed down to Covenant Evangelical Free Church to witness Jo's friend's baptism (who is also her ex-boss).

The whole ceremony was simple, solemn and touching. Touching because the testimonies were simple yet so powerful in that it all pointed to Christ - our sustainer, rock and redeemer. The testimonies showed the God's power can change and transform lives even when it seems impossible.

For Christians, Baptism is a journey we all must take as Christ had commanded (Matt 28:19). Baptism is an outward expression of an inward Faith. It's simply the individual taking that next step of commitment with God saying "Lord, I'm ready to be all that You want me to be. I avail myself to being obedient and to do Your will" Baptism is symbolic for the Christian because the act identifies us with Christ (and is also conducted publicly for all to see) When the Christian is submerged in the water, it symbolizes death and burial of the old sinful selves. When he/she emerges from the water the symbolism is freedom from sin's power.

At the end of the day, Jo and I were just happy to welcome more brother's and sister's into the family of Christ.

For me, I was even happier that Jo was well to make the trip (all the way to Bukit Panjang) and hang out with her friends for some 2 hours. Amen!

Updates - 14 April 2007

We had a slight mixed up in terms of Jo's treatment regime. Currently:
a. Oral Chemo (daily)
b. Avastin VEGF treatment (infusion) - once every 3 weeks.
Next treatment, 60 mins on April 25 or 26th.

1. In general, she's been sleeping alot. Averaging 14 hours per day. Its a combination of the medicine making her tired (chemo drugs) and sleepy (morphine) together with her already weakened body.

2. Now she has occasional cough with phlegm deep within. As mentioned, she's had water retention detected in her lungs 2 weeks back. She's taking medication for this too.

3. Her medications:
a. Maxalon before meals - to aid digestion
b. Morphine - for pain management
c. Chemo drugs - 2 varieties
d. Magnesium Carbonate - to relieve gas buildup
e. Flumucil - to relieve water retention
f. Kytril - for nausea (when necessary)
g. Arcoxia - for fever

4. How she feels:
a. Bodily aches everywhere
b. Pain when coughing
c. Mouth dryness
d. Rib pains
e. Bloatedness
f. Indigestion
g. Lack of appetite
h. Tiredness
i. Weak, not able to climb stairs or stay out for too long

Out of the House
It's good that she managed to get out of the house for the 1st time in 7 days to attend our Elim Small Group last night. It was an enriching time that we had as always. We did Bible Study on Psalms 40 and ended off praying for each other and for Joanne specifically.

Your Name (Paul Baloche & Kathryn Scott)

As morning dawns and evening fades

You inspire songs of praise

That rise from earth to touch Your heart

and glorify Your Name

CHORUS

Your Name is a strong and mighty tower

Your Name is a shelter like no other

Your Name, let the nations sing it louder

'Cause nothing has the power to save

But Your Name

Jesus, in Your Name we pray

Come and fill our hearts today

Lord, give us strength to live for You

and glorify Your Name

CHORUS

Your Name is a strong and mighty tower

Your Name is a shelter like no other

Your Name, let the nations sing it louder

'Cause nothing has the power to save

but Your Name

Of Bloodtaking, Steak and Pumpkin Soup...

1. Top left pix - the wonderful and very professional "blood takers" - Su Lin and Yati of NCC level 2. (Look at the wonderful smiles all around. Will YOU put on a smile too? Wherever you may be and no matter how you may feel :)

2. Jo had request for steak, and so her long suffering friend Kim popped by to dish up a quick and delicious medium-well done sirloin steak along with her famous slurrpin' pumpkin soup.

3. Yep, we burnt the top of the walnut bread (from Cedele) and set off a mini fire in the toaster .... hahaha and in the process our smoke detector too.

Without faith it is impossible to please God

The following is taken from "Streams in the Desert" by L.B. Cowman, 25 March devotional.

Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

We all need faith for desperate days, and the Bible is filled with accounts of such days. Its story is told with them, its songs are inspired by them, it prophecy deals with them, and its revelation has come through them. Desperate days are the stepping-stones on the path of light. They seem to have been God’s opportunity to provide our school of wisdom.

Psalm 107 is filled with stories of God’s lavish love. In every story of deliverance, it was humankind coming to the point of desperation that gave God His opportunity to act. Arriving at “their wits’ end” (Ps 107:27) of depression was the beginning of God’s power.

Remember the promise made to a couple “as good as dead,” that their descendants would be “as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore” (Heb. 11:12). Read once again the story of the Red Sea deliverance, and the story of how “the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan” (Joshua 3:17). Study once more the prayers of Asa, Jehoshaphat, and Hezekiah when they were severly troubled, not knowing what to do. Go over the story of Nehemiah, Daniel, Hosea and Habbakuk. Stand with awe in the darkness of Gethsemane, and linger by the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea’s garden through those difficult days. Call to account the witnesses of the early church, and ask the apostles to relate the story of their desperate days.

Desperation is better than despair. Remember, our faith did not create our desperate days. Faith’s work is to sustain us through those days and to solve them. Yet the only alternative to desperate faith is despair. Faith holds on and prevails.

There is not a more heroic example of desperate faith than the story of the three Hebrew young men Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego. Their situation was desperate, but they bravely answered,”If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up (Dan 3:17-18.) I especially like the words “But even if He does not”!

Let me briefly mention the Garden of Gethsemane and ask you to ponder its “nevertheless,””If it be possible…nevertheless…” (Matt 26:39). Our Lord’s soul was overwhelmed by deep darkness. To trust meant experiencing anguish to the point of blood, and darkness to the very depths of hell-Nevertheless! Nevertheless!

When obstacles and trials seem
Like prison walls to be,
I do the little I can do
And leave the rest to Thee

And when there seems no chance, no change,
From grief can set me free,
Hope finds its strength in helplessness,
And calmly waits for Thee.

S. Chadwick

Improving Condition

Since Saturday, Jo's condition has improved considerably.
She's been eating better and feeling better. Body aches, tiredness and bloatedness still present.

She'll be taking her blood test tomorrow afternoon before seeing Dr Leong on Wed morning. We'll know by then when the next treatment will be - either on the same day if not on Thursday.

Updates - 7 April 2007

Jo's condition has improved a fair bit since Friday. Thank you all for your prayers!

No need for the hospital at this moment.

She's begun to eat a little more - steamed cod fish, steamed egg (Japanese version - Chawanmushi) which her wonderful sister Jessica has been preparing for over the last 2 days. Her mom & dad's fish dishes are incredible, the least to say. And she's also had some soup this evening...she still looks extremely scrawny

She's been really tired too, resting nearly every 2-3 hrs of waking time. It takes lots of energy to fight this dreaded thing and besides, her limited food intake doesn't help at all.

I am thankful for God's Blessings whether big or small. In this case, just seeing her slurp the Chawanmushi and not seeing her vomit and suffer in pain is all I am delighted and grateful to God for. She's walking rather fine, might have also pulled a shoulder muscle due to the Bee episode (go read about it..) a few days back, but in general she's smiled and even got on a call with her good friend.

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings as eagles." Isaiah 40:31

Updates - April 6

The reality about Jo's condition at this point isn't good.

I forgot to mention that she's been vomiting nightly since Monday. She's not been eating well at all. She can't digest solids too well and so we've got her to take Ensure to gain as much bulk for this treatment.

Tonite she vomited again.
She took 2 spoonfuls of porridge (from Crystal Jade) and then set back to rest. Another sip of Ensure and she was already beginning to feel nauseas again.

She's on morphine daily to alleviate any pain.

Her stomach is constantly bloated.

Fever is manageable.

Her bruises are recovering.

The next few days will be critical as we decide whether to ward her in the hospital to ensure
she gets dripped at least.

I ask God only to lead me to do the right thing during this time. I ask for His wisdom, his strength and courage.

Again my dear fellow brothers & sisters out there and even to those whom I don't personally know - I thank you for your prayer support for us.

As LB Cowman says "Prayer is the link that connects us with God. It is the bridge that spans every gulf and carries us safely over every chasm of danger or need." He goes on to mention that we should be careful in limiting God by our unbelief or by thinking we know exactly what He can do. We need to learn to expect the unexpected, beyond all that you ask or think.

Maundy Thursday Chemo

Well we had to miss our Maundy Thursday service @ 8pm since Jo wasn't in the best of health and importantly she had her first Chemo session @ NCC today slated for 2pm.

I rushed back from a lunch appointment with a client and got off to NCC. She was walking slightly better today after yesterday's Bee episode. The cream must have worked.

At NCC
We arrived at NCC and had to wait nearly 3 hours before her number was called. This place is called the Ambulatory Treatment Unit or ATU (3rd floor) is always jam packed with patients the eve of any holiday. Today was none the different. We could have had ours done yesterday however Jo specifically requested for Julia who had been attending to her chemo treatments off and on since 2004. Julia's an extremely nice lady (as with all of the staff at the ATU) and we share and chat quite a fair bit before and during each treatment if time permits. The nurses here are so overworked and shorthanded (high staff turnover) that more should seriously be done here.

Julia
As in most cases, Julia pricked Joanne quite effortlessly with almost no pain involved. You could see her with her smiles in the top pix. It was really great to see her smile these days since it's been extremely difficult for her.

The Treatment
Today's treatment of Avastin took some 1hr 45mins for 300ml to drip through. A new machine has been installed that indicates the amount of medication left. Near the end of the treatment, Jo complained of chest tightness and we had to call the attending Doc in to review her. They also gave her an ECG to ensure all was ok with her heart. Doc listened to her lungs and all was fine. The nurses gave her oxygen to breathe in to alleviate this. About 15 mins later she was better and we left NCC.

Heavily Burdened
I feel heavily burdened with Prayer each time I step into NCC let alone the ATU floor. There are just so many people with cancer. My heart just goes out to the man in the wheelchair vomiting constantly, the mother with 2 kids tagging along...the list goes on. What hit me most today were 2 young patients. As I was entering the lift, I saw a mother pushing her 5 or 6 year old with nosedrip out of the lift. It was simply heart wrenching. The kid was scrawny for his age and bald...obviously from the chemo treatments. Another scene was that of a 10 yr old in the treatment cublicle opposite Jo. He was bald and had his mom and dad with him. It was painful to hear him scream when the nurses pricked him for the chemo infusion. I prayed there and then for them...that God would show mercy upon both the kids and their family.

All in all we started from 5:15pm and ended about 7pm. Typically as pictured, I would read her passages from "Streams in the Desert" by L.B. Cowman. Excellent daily devotional readings for the "weary desert traveller"

Jo and the Bee

Poor Jo was "harassed" yesterday morning when a bee flew into our home.

While she was trying to flee the creature, her legs buckled and she apparently fell flat on the floor. She bruised her knee cap, ride thigh, right hip and right forehead. She said that she also pulled her groin muscle or hamstring and can only move slowly for now.

She's ok now. Not serious.

Updates - 3 April 2007

We couldn't wait any longer for the trial @ NUH since the assistant said that it may take some 6-8 weeks before she started the screening process which would see her in hospital for about 3 days. The pain and overall discomfort was getting worse and this couldn't go on.

New Medication

We caught Dr Goh yesterday at noon and discussed the alternative possibilities. My suggestion was to first arrest the growing tumour in Jo's liver (left lobe) before beginning the trial - since there was some lag time. Dr Goh suggested Avastin - a medication similar to that of the clinical trial. Avastin is a VEGF (Vascular endothelial growth factor) inhibitor.

What It Does

In essence all tumours are fed and kept alive by numerous intricate blood vessels that feed it. To cut off the blood supply would mean to retard and hopefully kill off the tumour. This in essence is what it does. VEGF inhibitors are not toxic in nature and therefore do not have the major side effects of normal chemotherapy medications. It does however have the following possible side effects:

• clotting,
• gastrointestinal perforation,
• bleeding,
• high blood pressure

Avastin is to be administered via infusion taking abour 30 mins.

Back to the National Cancer Centre (NCC)

So we told Dr Goh that we were very comfortable with the staff at NCC and he said that Dr Leong could also administer this drug, and so he made an appointment for us to be there this morning.

It was was bitter sweet stepping back into NCC. Bitter since we still had to "step back". Sweet because everyone here was so much more nicer, warm and friendly. We first met Rosie on entering the building at level 2. She's been serving at Clinic C - and all this while radiating her warm smile and friendly disposition. "Here comes Joanne and her hubby" she would sometimes call out. Annie the admin staff at the ATU department is another example. Then you have the very efficient blood takers - Prudence and the malay lady (can't recall her name) Not forgetting doctor support staff and the nursing team @ Jasmine & the Morning Glory suite. We only have words of praise to them all.

Met Up with Dr Leong

Dr Leong suggested immediately for a CT Scan and Blood Test to assess Jo's situation. What followed was hours of waiting and waiting, while I was freezing all this time in "sub-zero" temperatures. Jo had to maintain an empty stomach for the CT Scan which by then was already about noon time and she was getting hungry. Later on we got some siew mai to munch on.

After the scans, we saw Dr Leong for the full assessment and it wasn't very good...

New Tumour Sites - Lungs

The CT Scan showed new nodules in Jo's lungs. Somehow, the tumour was spreading aggressively...first the left liver, spine and now the lungs. When Dr mentioned this, we both looked at each other and we understood...what that meant. It was tough, but I strongly sensed God's calming presence. The left liver had several small ones, but the largest were 1.8cm and another at 3.2cm. Dr also mentioned that there was water retention at the base of the lungs which has caused Jo to be breathless at times.

Added Medication

Dr Leong suggested to add 2 chemo drugs along with Avastin - Cyclophosphamide and Methotrexate. The drugs would aid more in killing off the tumour. Thank God that these were small dosages and importantly - tablets and taken orally!

Next Steps

Treatment will begin Thursday afternoons. Jo will take chemo pills the day after. This should be the normal cycle every week for the next few weeks.

About Us
To say we're fine is to lie. But neither are we entirely upset about it. As we've mentioned before, Jo and I have come to a new understanding in God's workings. We don't always understand or have to understand how He works...we just know that at the end of the day - He IS at work...and that's all that matters.

He Suffered For You and I

As we journey towards Good Friday, I wish all believers to contemplate and remember what our Lord Jesus did on the Cross for us and all mankind. That we will never forget that great act of love, mercy and courage. That we will not forget that great suffering & humiliation He endured:

1. Whipping - After the verdict of crucifixion was pronounced by the court, it was customary to tie the accused to a post at the tribunal. The criminal was stripped of his clothes and severly whipped. The whip known as a flagrum, had a sturdy handle to which were attached long leather thongs of varying lengths. Sharp pieces of bone and lead were woven into them. Jesus was probably given a minimum of 39 as with Jewish law...

2. A Crown of Thorns - After placing a crown of thorns on Christ's head, they began to mock Him and spat on Him and beat Him with a rod. The thorns were needle sharp and you only need to imagine what one would do to your finger...

3. The Crossbar - Christ had to carry his own crossbar from prison to the place of execution. The crossbar weighed somewhat about 50kgs and was strapped to Christ's shoulders.

4. Crucifixion with Nails - Upon reaching the execution site, Christ was nailed and bound by ropes to the cross. He was nailed at his hands and feet.

Let us come before Him in Thanksgiving always.