Hump Day

  We made it to day 3 of chemo, hump day for the week! Eric has been doing really well, these past few days. The doctors are giving him antihistamine to offset the allergic reaction each day before starting the chemo. Yesterday, Tuesday they administered three chemo drugs to him, etoposide, cisplatin, and bleomycin. They plan to have him take bleomycin every Tuesday, and then he will do the etoposide and cisplatin for the 5 days straght every third week.
  Overall he has done really well, he gets a little nauseated at night after getting home and has a difficult time shutting his brain off to sleep, all of the drugs make your mind go a hundred miles an hour. You gott a love that they have a drug to cure that though too. He has pills to take for nausea and pills to help relax him at night so he can sleep. He is overall doing well, he gets pretty sleepy while they are doing the treatment, the antihistamine knocks him out for a bit, and the cisplatin makes him pretty sleepy. Last night he was just rested on the couch for the afternoon, we took Kaizen out for a walk and Eric went off to bed. Today after treatment we got home and it was very long until he was ready to go lay down and rest. But overall he is doing really well.
   It has been such a blessing to go and be with Eric. I have enjoyed the opportunities to talk with others that are going through this, it is a scary time for so many people. Everyone is so different on how they are handling in it. I prayed to Heavenly Father that he help me to lift others and share simple messages about the gospel with them. Yesterday, a women was there with her daugther getting treatment. This mother was pretty upset with life, she lost her husband two years ago, and now her daughter has cancer and she just didn't seem to have a postivit outlook on things. I was able to simply bear testimony to her that I know that she will see her husband again. She was so sweet to share with me pictures of her family, she showed me pictures of her wedding day and the beautiful family she has created. I tried hard to reassure her and lift her spirit.
  Today, there was a woman there with her husband, he unfortunately has cancer that is not curable, but therapy will be used to prolong his life. This news has made it hard for her to cope, and she is praying that she will be taken along with him. She does not want to live without her husband. She said to me that she prays every day, but doesn't dare go back to church because she is afraid that just because she feels like she needs it now God will have turned his back on her. I was able to tell her that the God that I know exists is a loving God, I shared with her what church we belong to her and offered my knowledge that he loves her and always will.
  I have just found great strength and gratitude for my knowledge of the gospel. The blessings of having the gospel in my life and understanding the power of prayer has given me peace and understanding. I don't know what tomorrow will bring. I am not able to take Eric's cancer from him (oh how badly I wish I could). I can't take his place on that chair. I can't tell him exactly how hard he is going to have to fight to overcome this. But I do know there is one who can, and who has suffered in all the ways he is right now. There is one that can heal, there is one that knows what tomorrow will bring and he is the one that I will continue to put my trust in. While I sit there helpless day after day, I have found that there is work to be done. A child of God just like me doesn't know their potential, doesn't feel and understand life the way I know it to be. Just as I sit, I will continue to ask for Heavenly Father's help to offer words of comfort and inspiration to lift those around me.