Let the games begin...

We received our package today from MPIC and so Wes will be writing his driver's test on Wednesday morning at 9:00a.m. Unfortunately his road test is only happening on April 28th which was their first opening.

But, hey, the sun is shining!

Wes is also supposed to begin his next round of chemo this Wednesday and we needed to see Dr. Woelk to get a new prescription for Temozolomide and kytral. Ah, yes, this will be one of those weeks again! So, off we went this morning to Boundary Trails to have another blood test to get his prescription.

It was hard to see how full the waiting room was in Cancer Care, as well as how many people are in for their IV chemo treatment.

We had a bit of a wait, but that was OK, because I started visiting with the older lady sitting beside me. Her conversation had initially begun with someone else. She was explaining how tired she was and that she was happy if she could sleep two hours a night. The other woman exclaimed that that wasn't nearly enough sleep to help her rest.

"Oh yes," she said with a smile and her voice kept getting louder and louder as she continued her story, "I feel quite rested with only two hours of sleep."

"Well," the other woman asked "What do you do for the rest of the night"

"Hah, I just lay there and listen to my husband snore!"

I burst out laughing and so did she when she realized I was listening.

"You weren't supposed to hear that!" she said with a huge grin. We laughed again together and the other woman began telling her about the merits of using ear plugs. "I don't think it would help. I was told to get one of those pillows that are like this," she indicated the shape with her hands. "They tell me to get him to sleep with the big end of one of those pillows under his neck, but that only makes him snore louder! He lays there with his mouth wide open and he's just snoring away!" she leaned her head back with her mouth wide open to give us a free demonstration. Again we shared a giggle over her imitation.

The other woman left us and we took the time to get to know one another a little more in depth. We exchanged names and where we lived, played the Mennonite game and discovered that her and Wes were distantly related.

She initially asked if I was there for treatment and I explained that we were there for Wes. I then asked if she was there for treatment.

"No, I refused treatment." she said very matter of fact "I've had cancer since I was a young woman. I had radiation and other treatments back then, but I'm not going to go through that again. I only went through treatment because I had young children, but now, they are all grown with their own families and I'm tired of fighting." She went on, "Our family has always battled cancer. My daughter was diagnosed two years ago and when she was diagnosed she was told that she only had two weeks to live. Well, she is still alive because there are a lot of people praying." though she smiled at the fact that her daughter was still alive she became serious very quickly as she continued to share, "But, my granddaughter died at six months old of cancer. You just never know."

"But, thankfully God is in charge of all these things." I said with a smile as I reached to touch her arm.

She smiled back her eyes filled with tears, "Yes, thank goodness!"

We continued talking for a few more minutes about the faithfulness of God before Wes and I were called in.

I walked away carrying the picture of this woman's beautiful smile with me.

She was tired of fighting, but it was not hopelessness that I saw in her eyes when she looked at me, there was peace. She was content, because she knew who would be waiting for her when the fight would be over.

"In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you." John 14:2