Journal entry by Dustin Greenup —
It's clear!!! No Cancer Detected!!
With thankful hearts we wanted to update anyone who might still be following this site.
Monday was Heidi's first PET scan since finishing all of her treatments. For a quick recap, Heidi finished chemo at the end of November and then went on to have 15 sessions of radiation over three weeks in the month of January. She finished everything on January 28th and since then has been trying to regain strength. It's been somewhat slow-going due to the effects of radiation, but she seems to be on the upward now. This scan is the first of many she'll have every 3-4 months for the first year post cancer and then it will switch to every 6 months. They scan frequently these first 2 years because of the high risk of re-occurrence with this cancer but the odds dramatically fall after 2 years of remission so in some ways, we are setting our sights on that 2 year mark.
In the meantime, we've had many opportunities to recount the huge blessings of the Lord in this trial. It's included everything from meals 3 times a week from members of our church & the extended body of Christ over the course of 5 months, to an anonymous donor helping pay for our son's tutoring, to numerous gift cards given that totaled over $2,000, and over 100 cards of encouragement sent in the mail to Heidi as she went through the treatments! We could go on and on about the people who helped watch JJ or drove kids to school for us or those who came and prayed with Heidi on days she missed church. The faithfulness of the body of Christ was astounding and incredibly humbling for us both.
In some ways, we're just beginning to process what happened over the last year. God is bringing fresh insight and learning. We're all healing not just with Heidi on the physical side of things but also on the spiritual and mental side of things also. It's even a healing process for the kids and that's been good too. While there's been trauma, there's been comfort from the Lord like we've never experienced before and our hope is that someday, we'll be able to comfort others as well.
Thank you all for your continued prayers, for rejoicing with us. May you be blessed as you have truly blessed us!
With thankful hearts we wanted to update anyone who might still be following this site.
Monday was Heidi's first PET scan since finishing all of her treatments. For a quick recap, Heidi finished chemo at the end of November and then went on to have 15 sessions of radiation over three weeks in the month of January. She finished everything on January 28th and since then has been trying to regain strength. It's been somewhat slow-going due to the effects of radiation, but she seems to be on the upward now. This scan is the first of many she'll have every 3-4 months for the first year post cancer and then it will switch to every 6 months. They scan frequently these first 2 years because of the high risk of re-occurrence with this cancer but the odds dramatically fall after 2 years of remission so in some ways, we are setting our sights on that 2 year mark.
In the meantime, we've had many opportunities to recount the huge blessings of the Lord in this trial. It's included everything from meals 3 times a week from members of our church & the extended body of Christ over the course of 5 months, to an anonymous donor helping pay for our son's tutoring, to numerous gift cards given that totaled over $2,000, and over 100 cards of encouragement sent in the mail to Heidi as she went through the treatments! We could go on and on about the people who helped watch JJ or drove kids to school for us or those who came and prayed with Heidi on days she missed church. The faithfulness of the body of Christ was astounding and incredibly humbling for us both.
In some ways, we're just beginning to process what happened over the last year. God is bringing fresh insight and learning. We're all healing not just with Heidi on the physical side of things but also on the spiritual and mental side of things also. It's even a healing process for the kids and that's been good too. While there's been trauma, there's been comfort from the Lord like we've never experienced before and our hope is that someday, we'll be able to comfort others as well.
Thank you all for your continued prayers, for rejoicing with us. May you be blessed as you have truly blessed us!
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Heidi's hair growing back in!
Heidi's radiation treatment- each session only lasted 5 minutes
Getting out to celebrate Dustin's birthday in February
All the cards people sent Heidi during chemoPatients and caregivers love hearing from you; add a comment to show your support.Help Heidi Stay Connected to Family and FriendsA $25 donation to CaringBridge powers a site like Heidi's for two weeks. Will you make a gift to help ensure that this site stays online for them and for you?
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