Saturday, December 15, 2012

Let the little children come to me

I cannot comprehend what has happened to those 20 little angels in Connecticut. I believe that they are all in Heaven with The Lord. Jesus said "Let the little children come to me." Matthew 19:14. Although he is too little to understand, I did hold Zachary and tell him how much I loved him. Zev and I feel so blessed to be his parents.

We hope that you are all safe and well. Cherish each other and tell each other how much you love them. My biggest lesson learnt from this year is to do that: cherish each day as if is your last and tell people that you love them :-)

I love you.



Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Newest Aussie in the family!!

Guess who the newest Aussie is in the family?! (Dual citizenship). Now to get on that Australian passport on time for our trip!

Zev and I have been ABUNDANTLY BLESSED by our church family. This past Monday, the Military ministry at our church had a wonderful dinner, hosted by the lovely Penny and her husband Jim. They put on quite the spread and presented me with the surprise gift of a prayer blanket that had been handmade by two sweet ladies at our church. The military wives had then written on the blanket with scripture verses so that I would always be "covered" on prayer. I love these gals so much ;-)

I hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas season.

Much love and prayer,

Fiona xo

Finding the cure for brain cancer

I have decided to join Dr. Quinones in his quest to find a cure for brain cancer. I do not know why I have brain cancer and may never know in this life, but I believe that making the most of my cancer and not "wasting" it is a wise choice :-)

Dr. Q performed an awake craniotomy on me in August of this year. I believe that his act of taking out a part of my brain tumor has helped to extend my life. I am currently on a chemotherapy drug that was a clinical trial drug (and therefore not covered by insurance) just 6 years ago. As of just last year, Temodar has been used to treat the exact tumor that I have: Oligoastrocytoma.

This has all been possible thanks to research. Dr. Q's team of researchers is working diligently and urgently to find a cure for brain cancer. In order to continue their research, they need support in the form of funding. A donation of $5.00 would go a LONG way in terms of supporting this critical research. If you are able to give more, thank you!!

Thank you so much for your support and prayers. I am so blessed!

You can donate anonymously or in my name through the website: https://www.active.com/donate/qquest/fionayork

Thank you!

Fiona xoxo

Monday, December 10, 2012

Treasure each and every day :-)

God is good! We had a good visit with the neuro-oncologist today. He said that he had "good news" to tell me regarding the MRI. It showed a little shrinkage, which he said could be attributed to either the natural shrinkage of the tumor that occurs post-surgery or the chemo. He couldn't say for sure. I was thinking in my mind "or thanks to The Lord"! This will be the new baseline for future scans and he said he was pleased with how I was coping with the chemo. Thank you to all who prayed and encouraged me. This experience, indeed this whole journey with brain cancer, has showed me how the body of Christ works to support each other in times of need. Please pray that my next scan on March 4th also shows favorable results :-)))) Today is a great day!!

I'll leave you with a picture of my two Z men in the hotel last night. I am blessed beyond belief. When the doctor gave me the results of the MRI today, I looked at Zachary and in my heart thanked The Lord for more time on earth to be with my son and husband. I even turned to Zev and said (after the doctor had left the room) "I guess I will be able to take Zachary to his first day of school"! I appreciate and give thanks for each and every day that I am alive and symptom free. I praise The Lord because He is strong and faithful and above cancer.



Sunday, December 09, 2012

Guess who's 8 month old today?!!

Zachary is! He is such a big boy now. Looking back at pictures of when he was just half his age; amaze me. Back then, he had no hair (although his head was still large!) and we thought he was so advanced for his age!

Zachary, what are you up to these days?

- You are ALMOST crawling! You get on all fours and rock back and forth. You sometimes lift a leg up (usually your left leg) and stick your bottom up in the air. We love watching you and clapping and encouraging you on. Once you get the hang of moving your hands, there will be no stopping you!

- You wear a size 3 diaper.

- You are growing so long and quickly too! Although your weight is not in the "large" section. Maybe you'll have a fast metabolism like daddy! You'll be grateful for that when you're older :-)

- You are driving. (Just kidding :-))

- You eat 6 ounce bottles every 4 hours or so. You sleep through the night (well from 1030pm through 530am). We will take that!

- You are still such a mellow, happy baby. We have been so blessed by God to have you!

- You like to eat food and are on "Stage 2" foods. You're not a fan of green beans or peas though, so mummy has to mix them with other foods like carrots or sweet potatoes.

We are currently on our way to Charlottesville, where I will have an MRI today. They do MRIs locally, but my neuro-oncologist is at the University of Virginia, hence the reason for going up there. We saw a rainbow on our way out from or house! Providence? God is good and we know He will keep His promises till the end of time.

This has been a great week for us. Usually the third week of my chemo means that I am tired. Thanks to the generous help and love of two special ladies, Ginny and Penny, we were able to transform my house into a home! These two southern belles came and first used stuff we already had to decorate our house, then we went shopping to buy stuff to accentuate certain areas. These gals can decorate on a dime! They were so energetic and got me going and excited to be in my house every day!

We also received our Christmas cards, with pictures that were taken by Micah Cummings and Ginny on them!

Still on the road....please pray for our traveling mercies and for the results of my MRI to amaze the doctors! I would love to be able to say "only God can explain this!"