Sam Conquered A.L.L.: March 8, 2011

Update

It has been the coldest and snowiest winter we have ever experienced in Prince George. There is so much snow that you can not see out our front windows anymore. Sam is doing great. He had an LP on Friday at BCCH (Spinal Injection) and it went very, very well. Only 193 days of chemotherapy to go now so the end is in sight.

BIG NEWS

Ger accepted a position as Secondary School Principal at Abbotsford Christian School for the coming year. It is hard to believe our time at Cedars is over... but it is. It has been a wonderful 20 years of serving in so many great places with great people. We're going to miss it so much even though we are excited about the prospects of this change. We are going to Abbotsford on Friday to see if we can find a house. The ACS admin and staff have been exceptional to us and have made us feel so welcome.

Karly is playing basketball in the provinical tournament in Fernie this week. Today they won their first game (she scored 25 of their 74 points) and we're all anticipating a great tournament by her phenomenal team.

Kate is doing great in year one in the nursing program. She's looking forward to a summer job and also plans to stay in PG next year while the rest of us move to Abbotsford.

Sam's A.L.L. has been a big mountain to climb but we can see the top now and it is looking mighty beautiful. God has been faithful.

Thanks for your prayers.

The Goertzens

Raining

The flower with all the petals and leaves on it is the healthy flower. It has a sad face because it is raining. The wilted, bald flower is the cancerous flower. It may be a little wilted and have no petals or leaves but it is happy to be alive even if it is raining. The healthy flower doesn't know how lucky it is to be alive and have all its petals. All it's worried about is the rain. This is true in real life as well. When I was getting my chemo in the hospital I would listen to what people were complaining about and I would think "If that's all you have to worry about then you are doing pretty well." People would act like it were the end of the world if the fan was blowing too hard on them or if they would get home in time for dinner but I was worrying about whether I would get better or would I die?
Melinda, age 13

Consolidation "Summer"

Day 1: (June 25) - LP- IT Methotrexate, IV - AraC, Mercaptopurine, Septra
Day 2-4: IV Ara-C, Mercaptopurine
Day 5-7: PO - Mercaptopurine
Day 8: LP- IT Methotrexate, IV - AraC, Mercaptopurine, Septra
Day 9-11: IV Ara-C, Mercaptopurine
Day 12 - 14: Mercaptopurine
Day 15: LP- IT Methotrexate, IM - PEG-Asparaginase, IV - Vincristine, Septra
Day 22: LP- IT Methotrexate, IV - Vincristine, Septra
Day 29 - 60: Repeat Day 1-29 except without the IT Methotrexate
Day 61: Recover and Wait for Counts to Improve to start Interim Maintenance Stage - Probably 1 week, maybe 2

Prayer

We have all enjoyed having a yard. We have played many games of croquet with friends and family.
We are really enjoying our second "home " here in Vancouver. It is close to the hospital, lots of trails to walk, run, and bike in, and just a few minutes from the beach.
We are thankful for the exceptional people we are surrounded with who are supporting us in prayer and in so many practical ways...you have blessed us tremendously.
Pray that Sam will not get an allergic reaction to the Asparaginase injections on August 13.