August 16 - Dan's blog and a few words from mom, too

Dan's blog:
Thursday, August 16, 2007


Laughing til it hurts
Current mood: happy
Category: Life

Laughing til it hurts happens to me quite frequently. That's because I have pain in my ribs. It makes it hard to sleep on my sides (and stomach), but that's pretty much all I have to complain about right now.

After the devastation of the last 2 weeks or so, I am doing quite well. Before I left Stanford, I had a CT scan that revealed my tumors have shrank 50%!! So that's really cool. My back spasms just stopped happening in the hospital. I am still pretty limited in my back movement, but I'm getting stronger each day. My mouth sores have gone away, and I can eat normally again. I haven't had a fever since the hospital, and my body chemistry is getting back to normal. Furthermore, tomorrow is a great day for at least two reasons: 1) It starts a chemo-free week when my body can recoup and stuff. 2) I'm coming back to school. Over the summer, it was kind of up in the air whether or not I would be able to come back. But I'm coming back and attempting to go to school while going through chemo. There is a possibility I will have to leave, but I think I'll be fine.

God is good... He was good when I was sick and suffering in the hospital, He is good now, and He will still be good when this is all over. It was interesting: in the hospital, praying was different than I've ever prayed. I was probably in the worst condition I've ever been in my whole life. I know God is a refuge, a strong tower, and the Rock, but in the hospital with my fevers and mouth sores, I really experienced that.

Anyway, I'd better get to sleep so I can be awake for the drive tomorrow. Good night and good tidings. What is a tiding?

Mom's words:
So there you have it! Dan heads to Biola tomorrow with Jessica and Ashley. I will be driving down on Saturday and join them for church on Sunday, meet a new oncologist and the school doctor on Wednesday so Dan will have some available local medical care, just in case. On Thursday night Jessica, Dan and I will drive north and Dan will have chemotherapy at Stanford on Friday. Many miles I know, but we feel that he needs continuity of care especially in light of what he has recently been through. At this point I will be spending some time in the LA area after Dan's chemo treatment to be available should he react severely again. It will be good also to spend some time with my mom while she is in the hospital. For all you family and friends in the LA area I hope we can connect while I am there as well.
Today my Bible study in Isaiah resumed from a summer break and it was so good to review chapters 40-57 and again witness the great plan and purposes the Lord our God has for His people, Jews and Gentiles alike who know and worship Him. He longs for all to know He is the only true God, the Creator of the universe, the Savior of the world. My favorite chapter in Isaiah is 53 and I may have already put it on the blog but it can never be read enough. In fact I am reading a booklet about rabbis who have come to know Jesus as Messiah and when they read and studied this chapter their hearts were opened to see Messiah. Read this and ask yourself who is this chapter speaking of?
Isaiah 53
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.