Will You Please Try???

Where do I even begin? My sister Melissa is in increasing pain from the growing tumor and lymphoma. She sounds weak when I speak to her on the phone...possibly from the pain, or the pain meds, or the lymphoma itself, or a combination of the three. She said she literally feels like she is waiting for a new heart or a new lung....that's what it is like to be dependent on the generosity of donors.

I'm not just trying to encourage you to join the National Bone Marrow Registry because it's a wonderful, humanitarian thing to do.

I'm asking you this because I don't want to lose my sister.

Out of the 7 million people in our country on the registry, only ONE appears right now to be a possible match for her. And that's not even definite yet. Her nurse just told me that yesterday.

THAT is why it's so imporant that I get tons more people to join for her sake right now.

Most people hesitate to become a donor because they think either--
a) it's painful (No pain involved--it's a simple cheek swab.)
b) it's complicated (It's 30 seconds on the internet. We easily spend 30 minutes just here on blogs or email.)

Here is the SIMPLE process:
1) Go to www.marrow.org
2) Click on "Join Registry"
3) It will ask you to agree to terms, give your name, email address, create a password, and give your mailing address.
4) They will mail you a cheek swab kit. You collect the cells and mail it back in.

Once they receive and test your sample, it AUTOMATICALLY goes into the system. Then it is immediately checked to see if it is a match. If you have any questions at all, call 1-800- Marrow2. They are very kind and helpful there. Feel free to message me too.

The registration process usually costs $50 for that initial testing, but is FREE now until June 22nd.

There will never be any other cost for you. If you are a match for my sister, her insurance will cover it.

Please take a moment to do this for my sister...
for her husband who is so in love with her...
for her 3 smaill kids who need their mommy...
for the rest of us, as her family and friends, who want nothing more but to have more years with her.

Thank you BEYOND words...

Jenn

My Sister's Appt...

is tomorrow morning at 9 am at Sloan Kettering in NYC. She is getting a second opinion. Please pray the doctor there will present some more options for her!

Can't thank you enough for taking time to pray for this!

Read more here.

Pray...her chemo starts

Tomorrow morning at 10 am, my sister will begin her first chemo treatment. I just got off the phone with her, and she said she's really not nervous. She'll just be happy to get this first one over with and out of the way. Please pray that she continues to have peace and not be anxious...or maybe I should ask that you do that for the rest of us, as she seems to be doing fine! Her strength and peace really is contagious for the rest of us. And, we know that God will be the Great Physician taking care of her tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers for her, because obviously they are helping. We appreciate it so much!

Meet My Sister

Just wanted you all to meet the person you are praying for...

the person I am proud to call my Sister~

This is Missy with her husband Doug,

daughter Lauren,

and son Caleb.

It was taken at Lauren's first birthday party in 2006.

Mom and Missy

Mom's birthday, July '06

Never Underestimate My Jesus

I really enjoyed a phone conversation I had with my sister tonight--she never ceases to amaze me! She was telling me all about her PET scan experience, including the injecting of the slightly scarey, radioactive element before the scan. The nurse asked her if she could set a radio to a station she would enjoy. Missy asked for a Christian music station that she really enjoys, but to no avail, as there was too much static. The nurse then told her she would probably like a CD that they had available there of a mix of Christian contemporary songs. The nurse set up the CD, helped get Miss comfortable, then left.

Then Missy told me how silly she must have looked from that point on. She said that many songs were so encouraging to her, that she was lying there with a smile on her face for much of the time. She said her favorite was a song she hadn't heard before called "Never Underestimate My Jesus."

Well, Sis, I found it for ya...I hope this is the one. Turn up your speaker because it's playing right now too! Enjoy... love you!

Never Underestimate My Jesus

by Reliant K

Am I at the point of no improvement?

What of the death I still dwell in?

I try to excel, but I feel no movement.

Can I be free of this unreleasable sin?

Never underestimate my Jesus.

You're telling me that there's no hope.

I'm telling you, you're wrong.

Never underestimate my Jesus.

When the world around you crumbles,

he will be strong.He will be strong.

I throw up my hands."Oh, the impossibilities."

Frustrated and tired,where do I go from here?

Now I'm searching for the confidence I've lost so willingly.

Overcoming these obstacles is overcoming my fears.

I think I can't, I think I can't.

But, I think you can, I think you can.

I think I can't, I think I can't.

But, I think you can, I think you can.

Gather my insufficiencies and place them in your hands.

Place them in your hands.

Place them in your hands

Melissa, My Sister

This post is shared with you with a prayerful heart, with an expectant heart...knowing that our God heals. We found out April 14th that my sister does in fact have lymphoma. She has non-hodgkin's lymphoma, specifically the large b cell type. The grade is intermediate, meaning between low and aggressive. We won't know the stage until she has her PET scan soon. We are hoping that it will be localized in just one area, making it easier to treat. Her chemo treatments are already scheduled for May 6th. I'm planning to take a week from school on May 16 to see her, and I can't wait! Talking on the phone just doesn't cut it right now.

Have I already mentioned how awesome she is?? I know I have...tons of times. She is the strongest one right now out of all of us. In fact, she was concerned about me in how I was doing...knowing how far I am from everything. Can you believe that?? For those of you who know her, I'm sure you can. She's at such peace right now...she describes it as feeling that God is holding her high above the waves below, and she's not lettin' go.

Please...I'm asking all of you right now... pray with me. It doesn't matter if you are a stranger or close friend. Please just pray that the chemo treatments will be completely effective. Please pray that the lymphoma will be in an early stage. Please pray that Missy and Doug will continue to feel themselves tight in His grasp right now. Thanks to any and all of you who are willing to do this!!!

"Hear my cry, Oh God; listen to my prayer.

From the ends of the earth I call to you,

when my heart is overwhelmed...

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

Little Sis, God will keep you high on the rock. Sometimes we still feel a splash from a wave, or even one that knocks us down....but our Heavenly Father will pick us back up and keep our feet planted there. And if we look out in the distance past the storm, we can see the sun waiting for us beyond the clouds. I love you!

Sisters

My two best friends in the world are my sisters. In my mind and heart, we three have always been, and we three will always be. Michelle and I are 6 years apart, and Missy and I are almost 2 years apart. There is a special bond that is very unique to sisters. We still tell secrets, and I can trust them with things that I would tell no one else. They have both laughed endlessly with me, cried with me, prayed with me; and while we are blessed with many priceless friendships--it just doesn't compare.

When we were little and were caught bickering or fighting, Dad would make us hug each other. Yep, that's right...we were forced to hug. Little did Dad know that I was pinching Missy's arm really hard where he couldn't see. He would always tell us how one day we could be living far apart from each other, like his own siblings...and that we needed to love each other and our times together. Of course, I wanted to roll my eyes at that. Now, as I'm 8 hours away from Missy and 10 hours away from Michelle, I realize even more what a treasure they both are. Our times together now are that much more awesome, and we don't take those get-togethers for granted. Yes, we've had our moments as all sisters do, but we will always be just that...

Sisters.

Surgery Update

My sister Melissa came through the surgery really well yesterday. She is a very strong person with an even incredibly stronger faith in God. They did get most of the tumor and sent it to Mayo Clinic for more testing. Please pray that all news will be good. I would sooo appreciate that, and I know she would too. They will find out within 3-7 days... so that would be Friday, at the earliest, or sometime next week. Thank you for your prayers!!

My Sister's Surgery

My sister Melissa will be having surgery this Tuesday morning to remove the tumor they found. So far the news has been that it's benign, but Mayo wanted more tissue to do more testing. The drs decided that surgery is the best way to go right now. Because the tumor is located between her lung and heart, they will be going in through the sternum... just as they would for open-heart surgery. For those who want to, please pray that it goes well, and that the news continues to be good. Thank you!

*Her surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am tomorrow. I wish so badly I could be there with her, but
she is 8 hours away from me. I love you, Little Miss, and will be praying for you all day!!!

Is there cereal in heaven?

So without even intending to, my heart and mind pick right back up where I left off before the health scare with my sister. I've once again become very aware that this is the time that I would be welcoming my little boy home from the hospital. Tonight I was having a major sob moment about it. I was sitting in the bathroom talking with my sister as she cleaned up the "battle debris" of bath time. I tried to tell my sister through the sobs how tired I am of wondering if I will ever have a baby. "It's been years," I said, "and we came so close." (yeah, at this point I try to not even count, but it's been almost 4 years.) At that moment, my little 4-year old nephew Caleb opened the door and came in, soon followed by 2-year old Lauren. They both just looked at me wide-eyed, then we had the following conversation:

Caleb: Wha'd ya do, Aunt Jenn? (Miss and I laughed, realizing it looked like I got in trouble and was put in time out.) Why ya cryin'?

Me: I'm just sad. That's all, Caleb.

Caleb: Why you sad?

Me: Because I miss my baby Tyler. (The kids know all about him from Miss.)

Caleb: Why you miss him?

Me: Because he's in heaven now, and he's not with me. (I'm still trying to stop crying through this conversation at this point.)

Caleb: Tywer (Tyler) will come back to see you though?

Me: No, not anymore, sweetie.

Caleb: But Aunt Jenn, Tywer's with Jesus now?

Me: Yep, he's with Jesus.

Caleb: Oh. Is there cereal in heaven?

Me: Oh, I'm sure there's all kinds of yummy cereal in heaven.

Caleb: Are there wights (lights) in heaven too? (Apparantly he's afraid of the dark these days.)

Me: Yes, there are beautiful lights in heaven.

After that, cute Caleb just nodded, grabbed his toy, and exited the room. My neice, however, stuck around and dabbed at my tears with a washcloth. Too sweet. Oh, to be able to think with the simple mind of a child. Baby "Tywer" is with Jesus... he has cereal and lights, and somehow that was all Caleb needed to know. But for me, at this moment, my heart still gapes open.

Thank you, Caleb and Lauren, for being your cute, sweet selves. Aunt Jenn loves you both.

Good news!

Mayo Clinic said there's no evidence of cancer cells in the tumor! They do want to do more testing though and will either do another biopsy or surgery. Surgery is not my sister's top choice, as the procedure would be like an open-heart surgery with a big recovery time. Mayo also said that it is acute and chronic inflammation with fibrosis. I think... in other words... there was an infection, inflammation, making the tumor. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Monday's the Day...

of sadness or celebration--but either way, it will be with complete trust in God. I found out today that we will definitely find out on Monday whether or not my sister's tumor is cancer or not. Again, we would sooo appreciate your prayers about this!! It's the uncertainty and fear of the unknown that is so scarey, and so we place it in the hands of the One who does know. I always have to remind myself the second part we often leave out of trusting is to also do the resting. If we say we do trust God's plan for our lives, then we must hand it completely to Him and not worry about it. Sooooo much easier said than done. Trust and Rest. So I'm telling myself now...Rest in knowing that whatever the answer is, it will somehow be the best thing. But am I still wholeheartedly putting in my request to the Lord?? You bet!

An Update...My Sister

I found out that my sister's biopsy was actually sent to Mayo Clinic for diagnosis, so results will not be back until Friday at the earliest and possibly not until next week. The hospital did take a "quick look" at it, and they thought it looked cancer-free, but that is not definite. Also, they were not sure what the mass is at all. Yes, it's all very confusing, I know. If Mayo says it's not cancer, and they still can't identify what it is, then they still have to do surgery on her to look at it and, I believe, remove it at the same time. Here's the tricky part-- the tumor is right between her right lung and her heart. So surgery means basically the same opening-up procedure involved with open-heart surgery. Please pray that news will continue to be that it is not cancer, and that they will be able to identify it so that surgery is not needed. Also, she seems to be in some pain and is very sick and weak from everything.

Again, wish ya knew my sister. Some of you do. Think of the most genuine, most sincere, sweetest, most fun person you've ever met, and that's her. I wish I were half the person she is. She is my mother through and through. My older sister and I usually just laugh and say, "Yep, Miss has that angelic quality that we seem to be missing." All in sisterly fun.

A few moments from this trip that I'll never forget...

* When I first saw Miss in the hospital, she hugged us with that beautiful, sweet smile of hers.
* Seeing her sit up so that she could hold her Baby Audrey for a minute.
* Watching her tonight sing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" to her.
* Hearing Miss thank little Audrey for that little smile she gave her mommy.
* Knowing that I'd be blessed to be half the awesome mother she is...
* I helped her get into bed tonight. She just seems so sick and frail right now. I wanted to pray with her, so I asked her exactly where the tumor was. She silently raised her hand to
her heart, over slightly to the right. I placed my hand there and prayed--

"Dear Lord, please heal her now. Please take away whatever is wrong, and make her well. God, I love her so much. She is a blessing to us all. Please give us all strength and peace right now..."

Please join me in this prayer... we would appreciate it so much!

Keep Praying for My Sister...

Yesterday, my sister had an MRI. This basically confirmed that it is a tumor/mass in her chest cavity. She had a biopsy done right after, but unfortunately we won't have those results until sometime Wednesday. We are all waiting very anxiously and are very, very scared. Please keep praying that this is nothing serious. I know she would really appreciate it!

Pray for my Sister

We don't have much information now, but my parents just called and said that my sister has been taken to the ER. She has pneumonia, but in the chest x-ray they also found a mass on her lung. They're doing a biopsy on it now. Her bloodwork also indicates that she may have a blood clot somewhere. She is my younger sister and is only 31. Please pray for her that they'll find out quickly what it is, and that it will be nothing life threatening after all! She lives 8 hrs from us, so Mike and I are packed and ready to go. I am scared right now. I love her so much, so please pray!