A couple of weekends ago I was putting Ellery to bed and we were reading the Christmas Eve story from the animals perspective. We got to the part about baby Jesus and she said "I know him. He says do not be afraid or discouraged." I was momentarily stunned. I told her that he does say that and it was very smart for her to remember that. After she fell asleep I looked it up and found out it was from Joshua 1:9. The verse goes "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." This was a message I was going to need for the next couple of weeks. It turns out it was their memory verse from her Sunday School teacher (Grandma Byers). The timing is amazing!

Mom had starting having some pain in her shoulder area, as well as some trouble breathing in the mornings. This lead her Doctor at the cancer center to send her to the ER to check her lungs for blood clots. We can ignore the part where she chose not to tell me she was at the ER. It's a good thing I have a spy in her circle! Unfortunately the scan of her lungs came back showing new growths. These were likely the cause of her new pains and her new issues. They are small growths but they are taking up space in her lungs which would typically hold air. 

Mom was able to receive an oxygen tank for home that she now wears at night and now she can breath fine again in the morning! Yay! Unfortunately, the new growths proved that her cancer has become resistant to chemo and the cancer center discharged her as a patient and moved her to hospice.

This does not mean mom is going anywhere anytime soon! She has always been stubborn and we know that she is going to give this whole cancer nonsense a run for its money! Right now she is feeling good besides her pain in her back/shoulder (Somewhere on her right side). The nice part about hospice is that her nurses are great and since the goal is now keeping mom comfortable and managing her symptoms it no longer takes and act of God to change her prescriptions! Take that insurance! We are done jumping through your hoops... at least for today!

Mom wants everyone to know that this isn't over and that she would love to hear prayers and positive comments! 

Just remember as Ellery says "Do not be afraid or discouraged!"