Today marks one week since our arrival at Hope 4 Cancer Tijuana. We have met with the staff and Dr Romano has met with us a few times. We have also met with Dr. Daniella about supplements and will follow up later for emotional discussions. But the day to day treatments are pretty much a full days work for Karyn. At times I am with her to help and other times to hang out. I thought I would fill you all in on a general day for Karyn and I!
We start at 7am with a treatment of some sort. (It varies.) Breakfast at 8am usually consist of eggs and some sort of side. One day we had a type of coconut yogurt and berries and nuts that was pretty good. Yesterday we had eggs sunny side up and peas. Yea, eggs and peas for breakfast. Quite interesting… I am frequently not super full but I am not hungry by true definition.
There are morning treatments including vitamin IVs and possibly an appointment with someone on staff. For example the nutritionist, Dr, or therapist… take your pick. We eat lunch at 1. This is a bit of challenge for me being so late!
Lunch Is the largest meal of the day. It typically includes fish and salad, and a side (veggies or related). Then the afternoon is followed by more IVs and therapies. There are a lot of therapies- I am still learning all of them and their purpose. Karyn is way more proficient with the knowledge of these. I am not sure how to convey the details to you. At the very least you can go online at hope4cancer.com and take a look.
Therapies and IV’s can go into the evening, but equally could be completed by mid-afternoon- it just depends. It is a full days work to keep this protocol going for sure. Last night we had therapies until 10:45 pm. Long day. Karyn is also currently fasting from supper- contrast to breakfast which she was fasting from at home. The nutritionist suggested shifting to supper and eating plenty for the other meals- a focus on some extra protein. Though she eats a slightly lower than perfect amount of protein, her body cannot process it well-thus being protein ‘deficient’- this is my interpretation of the nutritionists diagnosis. He also included a protein shake smoothie for Karyn about 4pm. (Hypothetically, at some point maybe I have tried it too… it is hypothetically pretty good!)
I, however, am not skipping dinner- I am sure this will not surprise many of you. I love and support my wife, but the portions are rather small here and I am frequenting left wanting more. I will say, I am delighted that the food here is impressively good and incredibly healthy. I receive the same plate as the patients and it is quite good. Going home and cooking again will be a challenge we will have to face later.
There are a few IV’s that are supplemental to the standard treatments that are highly suggested for Karyn’s condition. After looking at some test results, they saw that cur cumin(?) and two others stand up well against her cancer cells. This expense is an extra $3600 for our stay if we choose to do it and we are debating if we can do them due to cost. There’s already quite a weight on the financial to carry going forward. God will make this clear as this is His plan, not ours. His money not ours. I hope we know His will on this by the end of today.
There is encouragement from the Dr. staff for us to pursue hormone blocker treatments once back home. The specialist we saw prior to this trip at IU prescribed this as well. With his explanation, we were strongly considering these drugs prior to this trip. There will be side effects but these may be worth the that struggle- we have not fully decided, but this appears like a step to take. It will not kill the cancer, but it could stop its progression, buying time for Karyn increase her immune system to kill it. I think of it as holding it ’still’ to kill it. However, there is no magic bullet... but we can try! Chemotherapy was not recommended by IU or the staff here at this point.
As testing progresses here, we should go home with a better picture of our situation. This is one of the reasons we wanted to come here. They will set us up with baseline testing/ plan involving integrated medicine (holistic and mainstream med working together), supplements and some of the therapies we can continue at home. They offer support on the phone, web and so forth as well. It’s a good team and program they have assembled within an extraordinary environment.
Me? Besides helping Karyn daily I am reading, writing, and thinking. Besides writing this blog, I am keeping up with some studies for a class at church. As well as 360 Degree Leader by John Maxwell- a book dad and I are working though this winter. I am also writing a fiction story! Why not? I have wanted to write since I was 14 but never had the energy/time. (This is part truth and part excuse.) So congratulations to you all for being my first writing audience! Perhaps I will be able to share the fiction at some point as well… I have a feeling we will need a side income of some kind to help pay some bills. I wonder if writing may be a piece of that provision. Who knows? It’s God’s plan.
On Saturdays they plan a short excursion where they let the inmates out! This last Saturday was a trip downtown Tijuana! It was safe don’t worry. Think of it as a shopping center for families and tourists. We got some small things for Ziva and Lydia. They would have been so disappointed if we didn’t come home with something cool! This week we will be going to Rosarito. I am hoping to find something just right for Ezra. Karyn thinks she will be too tired to go. I may go anyway- country boy needs some air. (I bet she goes! I’ll work my secret manipulative superpower!)
We attended a Calvary Chapel this last Sunday! It was right up the street a few blocks! It was bi-lingual making it even more interesting. It was such a blessing to have the Word preached on this trip. It did our hearts so good to see God being praised in another language and place so different than our hometown. The bride of Christ is everywhere and is alive! It was a good gift from God to go.
Another aspect that we see are the other folks receiving care and their caretakers. Husbands wives, friends, family- each having their own story of how they got here. I have seen physical improvements in some very slight and frail people when we arrived a week ago. Now they come to meals, under their own strength and eat a full plate of food with a smile on their face and color to their skin. There’s a light in their eyes that was not there when we arrived. I will be honest, there are sad conversations at dinners as well. Difficult test results, lonely patients away from home and with no care takers with them in a foreign place… Karyn and I try to encourage these people when we can, and they do the same for us. It is ok to cry here. Laughing seconds later is ok too. And we all ooh and ahh over pictures from home! Encouragement can’t be allowed to be held back here. It’s a kind of currency that we constantly share with each other, and it helps keep us all rich.
That is a summery of our days of the first week! I know I may not be answering all the questions you may have. If this is the case, please check out my contact (bottom of home page) and ask! I will be handling the questions only because Karyn doesn’t have much time. But if you have a question even for her, feel free to ask me and I can relay. She has one therapy that she can sit with her phone so I believe that is her “Facebook hour”.
Trust me when I say, we are missing home. Friday will tie the longest I have ever been away from home. Montgomery county is without me for the longest ever in 35 years! (I’m sure it will continue to function...) We miss our kids so much as well. We call them about every other day and today is that day! I’m stoked!
Things to pray for:
Give God praise with thanksgiving. Gods clear will for each day. Healing of Karyn’s body. The steps for that healing. Financial provision. And if Jesus decides to yank us all outta here- I’m totally down with that!
I am working on another piece concerning some 'pondering' in my heart! I hope to be able to share that with you all soon! Share this blog, our story, glorify Jesus today! For His glory we live! Thank you all-