As I write this update from the time vortex of a hospital room in labor & delivery, I’m reminded of the Psalmist’s words: “Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright.”
I’m fairly certain yesterday was about a week long! We met with our oncologist in the morning, then an OB appointment, then got ready to go to the hospital for induction, then waited for the hospital to tell us a bed was available… which finally happened at 2:45am! I’ll save all the baby updates for tomorrow because as of now, we are just waiting for the induction process to progress, and that’s like hanging out in the twilight zone, so I’ll spare you that.
It was a lot to process, and we are blessed to have had Lea Witt listen in, ask more intelligent questions, and take copious notes for us. Here is a distilled version of what we learned from our first appointment: Kara’s prognosis is good. Very good, in fact. This specific type of cancer is one of the most studied, and there are now very established treatment protocols that are known to be over 90% successful, which didn’t even exist 20 years ago. We came away very encouraged that there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel, and it’s not an oncoming train! The course of treatment will be chemotherapy (~6 months), surgery of some sort, immunotherapy (~1 year), then anti-hormone meds (~5 years). Of course, all of that is dependent on the results of periodic scans and effectiveness. He did say that the cancer seems to be in stage 2, but the PET scan will confirm that. The plan is to get the chemo port installed tomorrow while we are already here in the hospital, and start some of the scans next week to determine if (or to what extent) it has spread.
We were thrilled to learn that Kara will be able to breastfeed the baby at first, and possibly throughout the process! This was a huge ray of sunshine, as we had assumed from the beginning that we would need to just accept that this would not even be an option. Nursing will be a wonderful source of comfort and normalcy for Kara and the baby during the challenging season of chemotherapy treatments.
Kara and I have been so incredibly humbled by the outpouring of support from so many, and it’s hard not to feel the need to respond to each of you, because we love you and we want to! So I’m not sure how to say this, but it can be overwhelming to have so many messages flooding our phones. In an effort to shield my wife from being overwhelmed by her phone blowing up during labor and delivery, we’re requesting that everyone please use the "Notes of Encouragement" button on the home page of the website (or this direct email if that's easier: encouragement@walkwiththewitts.com) to send us your responses rather than texting us directly. We have been so encouraged by all of your notes, so PLEASE SEND THEM so we can be blessed when we have the headspace to read and process!
I started with that reminder from Psalm 20, because even as we received a lot of hope from our appointment with the oncologist, we have to be careful not to misplace our trust. God is directing every step of this journey, and we must remember that all healing comes from Jehovah-Rapha (the Lord who heals). He may use many different things to bring about Kara’s healing (doctors, medicine, prayers, etc), but our hope is not found in those things; our hope is in the Lord! He is our ever-present help in time of need. He is our refuge and strength. He is our rock and our salvation. Ascribe to Him the glory due His name!
Soli Deo Gloria!