What IS a "Good Report" ?

Another 8 weeks in England and Norway -- moving from church to church, from group of friends to groups of friends, from one home to the next -- landed us home early April. The very next day, we were in Indianapolis so that I could have an MRI of my brain and a visit to the neurosurgeon.

THAT report I understood -- all was well -- and the tumor was continuing to shrink. We got to see the progress, presented on a split screen, with the original MRI on one side, and the current MRI on the other. In layman's terms (which probably would make my doctor laugh...) we saw that the tumor originally was about the size of a silver dollar, and is currently about the size of a dime. (For the Brits, think "a little bigger than a 50p, and a little smaller than a 1p. I don't think I know how to convert it to Euros...) THIS WAS A GOOD REPORT! It was the first time there that I did not have to touch my finger to my nose, and walk in a straight line (neuro tests...).

The next week I had a CT scan of the rest of my body, and an appointment with my oncologist, for the results. The report from the CT scan said that the tumors in my body were growing. This meant that the medicine wasn't working and the chemo hadn't worked -- a new treatment plan was needed. My doctor left us, momentarily, to phone the doctor who had written the report.

We looked at each other and took a deep breath. The cancer was not being controlled. Maybe, it wouldn't be controlled. We know how to go through more treatment -- I know how to receive chemo -- we know how to "buckle our seat belts, slap on a Nitro patch and hang on." We knew we had to think further, too.

Dennis took the lead, saying to me, "Melanie, if you only have 6 months left, this is what we will do --- you will tell me where you need to go, and who you need to see one more time, and we'll go. We will not lose ONE MINUTE or ONE DAY of the time we have......AND if you have years ahead -- 20 years -- we will STILL not lose one minute or one day. THAT is how we will live."

By the time my doctor was back, we were decided, resolved, tearful and KNEW that we trusted God in this, as in all things. Neither of us is afraid of Heaven....so we are not afraid of death, either. There are many, many things that I want to do here on Earth, before I leave, but I learned long ago that I can trust God in all things, especially timing.

In her time away from us, my doctor had the scan re-read by a different doctor -- to a much different result. A CT scan doesn't provide a full picture -- it reads "slices". A lymph node may be oval in shape, and the measurement of one will be different depending on whether the scan caught the tip of the node, or the mid-point. The new report did NOT see growth -- it was a good report.

Dennis and I had moved through shock and landed on trust in record time -- moments like this are invaluable for discovering whether what we think we believe really is what we believe! We are grateful for the "pop quiz" (American, for an unexpected exam in school) -- and thanking God for His extravagant goodness and mercy -- to have given us life, to have preserved our lives amidst cancer and heart disease -- and to promise an eternity of WONDER after this life.

My blood work showed a lower than normal "tumor marker." This means that while the tumors exist, the cancer is not "active" (growing). THIS is a GOOD REPORT!

We have learned something new -- to us, anyway. We have expected that amazing moment when all scans are completely clear. Well, they are not! However, they are not worse than they were, either -- and THAT, it turns out, is a GOOD REPORT.

We are both living. We are both waking each morning and having a whole day to use in any way we choose. Today, we are driving to be with friends we love, for a few days -- not to say "Good bye" but to eat and tell stories and laugh, and to buy some baby things for our daughter.

In the next few days, we'll be telling what the Lord has done, and talking about WHO He is -- these are our favorite things. We'll be living in Him -- secure in the shadow of the wing of the Most High God.

Blessings over you, to know HIM!