Mercy and Peace...

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12

Some of you will remember that Romans 12:12 was the scripture we used for Bella’s prayer card back in 2003. So many of you have been joyful with us, patient with us, and of course, so faithful to pray…I wanted you to rejoice with us in this information.

Bella was due this past week back to St Jude for her regular 6 month check up. You will remember that her protocol called for the following:

Every 6 months CT scans for the first 5 years after treatment is over (Oct 04)
Yearly CT scans for the next 5 years (until she is 14)

After Dr Furman gave us the good results of her latest CT, we asked about upcoming CT’s. I had a whole arsenal of questions to ask regarding additional radiation and long term effects. He asked if we had any questions, and Mark said, “well, we were sort of wondering how often we will continue to come back…” And Dr Furman says, “you know, Sandy and I were just talking about that, and we think she can come back in January for her scheduled CT, and then after that she will be 5 years out from diagnosis, and she can go to ACT clinic.”

ACT clinic if “after completion of treatment”. This means she will not be scanned, she will simply be checked for any abnormal after-effects of treatment, and they will talk to us about how she is doing. She will probably go here for a few years, or until we feel she can be done. She will continue to be monitored by dermatology for any spots or lesions that could show up.

Today, I received our January schedule in the mail. On it is our “introductory ACT visit” appointment. Simply amazing!

For the past five years, I have lived with the thought that Bella would get scans until she was 14 years old. It really feels like the Lord is releasing some things in our lives right now, and moving us into another stage. All the glory to God, and so many thanks for continuing to follow us on this journey.

We love you!!