Hold Fast

Today we are starting the morning at the hospital with immunotherapy and then going right to the Drs office for chemo. It will be a full day. This is Kenny’s 6th dose of immunotherapy and will be his 3rd round of chemo. The last month has been busy with Drs. appointments and physical therapy.

He is significantly altered but tenaciously himself.

About a month ago we saw the surgeon as the metastasis in his neck continued to worsen. I don't have the heart to write out the scenarios for how the disease could progress to take his life. It was hard enough to hear them from the Dr in such a matter of fact way. They are all horrible. The best case scenario, according to the Dr is quick and horrible. The next day we saw our favorite, Dr. B. to see if there were options for radiation again to prevent these bad scenarios from happening. He wanted a new PET scan to see where things stood. We proceeded with radiation planning as we knew we were going to have treatment just not sure which route we would go with. We got the PET scan results which were positive for cancer spread. He has one to three nodules in his lungs and confirmed cancer in the axillary lymph nodes (armpits). We decided to proceed with palliative radiation. The goal of which was to give him some relief from the lesions in his neck. This "quad shot" of radiation is given over two days, twice a day. So we went in on Friday morning May 16th for the first treatment and then went home and came back six hours later for the second treatment. Those treatment days were hard. On the first day of treatment as he was waiting to go in for the second time, he received an email from a student. He handed me his phone and I read this amazing email from her thanking Kenny for being such a wonderful teacher and telling him what an inspiration he was to her. She asked if he was able to attend graduation the next day to see her walk the stage and receive her diploma. He really wanted to see his students graduate. I told him if he was up for going the day after a double dose of radiation, we would make it happen. It all worked out and it was a beautiful day. It was a ray of sunshine in a dark time.

We continue to do everything we can to fight this disease. We pray for God's mercy. We pray that he starts to have a miraculous response to treatments, and if that is not to be, that he does not suffer tremendously.

The outpouring of support from friends and family and even strangers is humbling. I’m so grateful for all of you that have helped us so much.

Please continue to pray for Kenny. Pray for me. Pray for our children.

I keep coming back to these words by St. John Henry Newman:

"God has created me to do Him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission. I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good; I shall do His work. I shall be an angel of peace, a preacher of truth in my own place, while not intending it if I do but keep His commandments. Therefore, I will trust Him, whatever I am, I can never be thrown away. If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve Him, in perplexity, my perplexity may serve Him. If I am in sorrow, my sorrow may serve Him. He does nothing in vain. He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends. He may throw me among strangers. He may make me feel desolate, make my spirits sink, hide my future from me. Still, He knows what He is about."