How can it be May 1st?!? There’s something about a new month that feels like a fresh start. Spring has been so beautiful up here in Atlanta. There’s something about seeing the bright green leaves on the trees and the flowers blooming that has given us new life and energy. I know it’s been a while since I last posted. Mike will be heading into Round 10 of chemo next week. It's hard to believe we are 10 rounds into this. Sometimes it feels like it was just yesterday that we were trying to wrap our heads around the unexpected news of a stage 4 cancer diagnosis. But today, as odd as it sounds, we almost feel settled into this new normal. 

On September 15th, 2023, our world stopped. Unfortunately life around us did not. So we've had to take this diagnosis and new life that we are living and find a way to pull ourselves out of the sadness. There are days when it feels easier than others. Some days I feel like we will never be able to fully plug back into our "old life". But we are slowly coming out of the fog and trying to live this new life in the very best way possible and to it's absolute fullest.

Round 8 was a tough round for Mike. He typically has about a week to ten days of side effects post treatment and then slowly starts to come around. That was not the case for this round. He didn't have many feel good days and it was hard on him mentally heading into round 9 knowing that he had barely come back from the previous treatment. Round 9 included a bone building agent that Mike has had twice before. The purpose of this additional infusion is to help strengthen and rebuild his bone where the cancer has caused damage. The first time he received this infusion he had no issues. The second time, it gave him flu-like symptoms. This time a new side effect decided to rear its ugly head and Mike was in some of the worst pain I've ever seen. We debated taking him to the ER two separate nights as the pain in his hip was so intense he could barely breathe. But this side effect of intense bone pain is unfortunately a common one and Mike powered through some very tough days. The man who was running 4 miles two months earlier was back to walking with a cane and it was wearing on his morale. But the pain is gradually subsiding and we know that this is simply a side effect that will eventually pass.

Mike has had two scans since I last wrote. One CT of his body as well as an MRI of the brain. Waiting for scan results is some of the worst anxiety I've ever experienced. But we are continuing to see a reduction in the number and size of the tumors in his body. And though we still have a very long way to go, we are thankful for every baby step in the right direction. Your prayers are working!

There is really no way to know how long this road will be for Mike and our family. It is hard not to make a diagnosis such as this the center of your life…the topic of every conversation…your every waking thought. But as we continue to walk down this path, we are quickly realizing that cancer cannot continue to define us. It cannot consume us. We can't let something that has already stolen so much from us take our ability to keep living. 

So we are choosing to take back our power. In doing so, you may notice my updates coming a little more far and few between. Trust that no news is good news and I will continue to jump on here every few scans to keep you in the loop and share specific prayer requests. But in an effort to try and continue living as normal a life as possible for us and for our children, we are going to try and just update as needed so that we can have more days to just feel "normal" again and not let cancer be the center of our lives. Easier said than done. But the day to day weight of this diagnosis was starting to take a toll on our entire family. 

At the advice of our oncologist, she told us to live as if Mike has a chronic illness. To learn how to truly LIVE with cancer. So this is now just a part of our story. It is not who we are. It is not all we are. It is a part of us but it does not define us. 

So we will head into Round 10 continuing to feel hopeful. Praying that the treatment continues to work, the side effects are minimal and that we are able to take this new outlook on life and this diagnosis and trust that this is all in God’s hands. Please don’t stop praying for Mike and our family. We love you all so much. 💕