Yesterday afternoon Cindy was admitted to the University of New Mexico Hospital to begin her fourth round of chemotherapy. Typically she receives her therapy on an outpatient basis. This time, however, her Oncologist decided to administer it from the hospital. Because she had an allergic reaction the last time she received cisplatinum Cindy needs to be monitored more closely. Also by giving her the drug from the hospital it can be given much more slowly and as a result there is a better chance she will tolerate it. It will take about 24 hours for this drug to be infused into her system. Then on Thursday Cindy will receive a second drug. We are not really concerned about a reaction to this one. On Friday she will receive a new drug that is designed to go after the cancer cells and not allow anymore to grow or spread. So, once again I am asking you to pray that Cindy will be able to receive the treatment that so far has been very effective. As of 3:00 on Wednesday she seems to be tolerating it just fine. Please pray that each of these drugs will due what they are supposed to do and she will not have any adverse side affects.

I must tell you one of the faith affirming parts of this experience is to witness the power of God through answered prayer. A few days ago I was reading over past blogs and I was frankly amazed to see the wonderful ways God has heard and answered. In future posts I will list some of the specific answers. Thanks as always for your prayers and wonderful responses to this blog. It is so good to hear from new and old friends. Your responses really encourage and bless Cindy. I think in the coming days you may even hear from her on this site.

Kevin

Let me begin by updating you on Cindy's progress this week. On Tuesday Cindy was supposed to begin her fourth round of Chemotherapy. Her white count, however, was extremely low and so more than likely she will begin the fourth round this Tuesday. The low white count is attributable to her chemotherapy. She was given a shot of some sort in the doctors office this week that is designed to stimulate her white count. If all goes according to plan, when we see the doctor next Tuesday her count will be high enough and she will be admitted to the hospital for a day or two and be given her chemotherapy. You may remember the last time she received this particular drug she had an allergic reaction. This time they are going to give her the drug at a much slower rate. Instead of the four hours it normally takes, it is going to take 24 hours. The goal is to help her become more tolerant of the drug. I am really praying this will work as we have had such good results from that therapy. I believe another week to get stronger is not a bad thing. Cindy now weighs, drum roll please, 100 pounds. Amen! (I realize just a few months ago advertising her weight would have gotten me in deep, deep trouble...I digress) Her weight is up from the 84 she weighed just two weeks ago. She is getting stronger and healthier by the day. My bride is starting to look like the old Cindy: as beautiful and radiant as the day I married her 17 years ago.

Several of you have asked about the prayer pager. Through an administrative oversight it was turned off. It has now been turned back on. You may recall the number is 505-969-7777. Remembering Cindy in prayer and calling the pager is one of the most encouraging things you can do. Regardless of whether or not you call, thanks for remembering us in prayer. God continues to bless us both in incredible and unexpected ways.

Have a great week and do not take the myriad of ways God blesses you for granted! (I Thess. 5:16-19)

Kevin

More Good News!

Since the last post Cindy has continued to make significant progress. A week ago when she was weighed at the UNM Cancer Clinic she weighed 84 pounds. I knew she was loosing weight but had no idea she had lost that much. At that time she was incredibly weak. She did not have the strength to open a bottle of Gatoraide and had a hard time even walking across the room. This is the woman that for years taught aerobics and worked out religiously. Since that time, however, she has slowly gained both weight and strength. This morning she weighed almost 94 pounds. Those 10 extra pounds are significant as we will begin another round of chemo next Tuesday if her white count and platelet numbers are sufficient. To me she seems a whole lot stronger and healthier. Thank you for your continued prayers regarding her weight gain and strength.

This morning she met with several ladies from our church who are part of the women's ministry planning team. That is an awesome sign! I continue to be amazed at Cindy's tenacity and faith. While we still have a lot of progress yet to make I see good things. The distance she has come since May is nothing short of miraculous. Praise the Lord! Please pray that her white count and platelet numbers will be sufficient to allow her chemotherapy next week. Also, pray that she will be able to tolerate the chemo OK. We are at the halfway point for her treatment. And finally pray that the drugs will continue to be effective.

Thanks also for your many prayers on my boys behalf. All in all they are doing great. School started this week and so things have been hectic around the house to say the least. Their teachers at Albuquerque Christian are a wonderful help and blessing to Cindy and me especially at this time.

Thanks to little Molly Salyer; your visits are so precious and the book you made for Cindy about rain storms and rainbows brought big smiles. Keep praying little Molly!

Have a blessed week.

Kevin

All did go according to plan and Cindy is now out of the hospital. Praise the Lord! She is not home yet but hopefully she will be soon. We thought while she is still recuperating and experiencing some pretty intense chemotherapy she would do better at a friends house. Joy Lea Brazell, one of our elders and his wife Lorene have made their mother-in-law suite in their home available to us and so for awhile Cindy will convalesce there.

Since my last post Cindy has completed her third course of Chemotherapy. The plan is for her to complete six courses and then evaluate our progress. Presently she takes two different drugs. She had an allergic reaction to one of her drugs last week and so we are not sure if we will be able to use that one again. The doctor told us there may be some things we can do to raise her tolerance. Please be praying that she will be able to take that drug as we saw wonderful results from it. Thank you for praying that her platelet count would increase. God heard that prayer and she had great numbers last week.

This week is a much needed off week from Chemo. I pray that Cindy will gain weight and strength. After gaining two pounds we went back for chemo on Tuesday and found that she had lost six. Those of you who know Cindy know that she was tiny to begin with so it is very important for her not to loose any more weight.

This past Sunday was a wonderful experience for us for a couple of reasons. First, Chase our oldest son was baptized. He was at TCC, our youth rally and was deeply moved and affected. Mitch Wilburn from Park Plaza church in Tulsa did a great job preaching. Chase called me on Saturday evening and said, "Dad, I want to be baptized tomorrow morning." It was an awesome privilege to baptize him at the first service. The second reason Sunday was a wonderful experience was that Cindy made it to the baptism. When she found out her son was going to be immersed wild horses could not keep her away. Understand she has not been in one of our assemblies since her surgery May 13th. Because her white cell count is still pretty low and she is unbelievably weak we thought it unwise for her to attend the whole service. However, when Chase responded at invitation time we rolled her into the auditorium in a wheel chair for the baptism. The church had no idea she was coming. It was a deeply moving experience to say the least. A couple of people lifted her onto the stage so she could be close to the baptismal pool. I will never forget her beaming face as she watched her son come up out of the water forgiven of all his sins and filled with the Spirit. The Spirit of the Lord was very much present in our gathering Sunday morning. I look forward to the day when she is once again able to be in every service doing the things that God has equipped her to do. Until that time we will keep praying and keep the faith...This Sunday morning I will begin preaching again. The message series is entitled, "Learning to Pray Like Jesus." Several of you have asked about hearing the sermons. You should be able to access them through our church website. The address is www.montgomerychurch.org Click on resources and you should be able to find them.

Have a blessed week!

Kevin