I had it all planned out. I had everything prepared. I had thought through every wrinkle and made a contingency plan for every possibility. Well, nearly every possibility. I never imagined Laura would roar through Natchitoches as a category 2 hurricane leaving downed trees and power lines just four days before surgery.
This whole year has been a season of the unexpected. In January I didn’t expect to be facing cancer. In February I didn’t expect the world to shut down with a global pandemic. In May I didn’t expect to learn my cancer wasn’t responding to standard treatment. Yet in August, I thought everything leading up to my surgery would go as planned! You would think I would have learned this lesson by now, but I guess I needed a refresher.
Last weekend we were keeping our eye on Tropical Storm Marco and praying it didn’t become a hurricane and impact Houston. We considered traveling a day early if necessary to avoid the bad weather, but as we watched the forecast it appeared we would have good weather to travel on Tuesday as planned. I had scans scheduled for Wednesday and pre-surgery doctors appointments and tests on Thursday, followed by the mandatory asymptomatic COVID test Friday morning. As soon as that was checked off the list, we would travel to Natchitoches for the weekend before returning Sunday for surgery Monday morning. As we were getting checked in at the Rotary House Hotel at MDA, I received a text message from the clinical trial nurse asking if I was still planning to come for my appointments. I wasn’t really sure why she was asking—why wouldn’t I be there? When I told her we had already arrived, she said she was going to work to reschedule as many of my appointments as possible to Wednesday because it looked like MDA would go into emergency mode and be closed Thursday due to Hurricane Laura. I had not expected this. It dawned on me that my surgery could be delayed. I also thought about Hurricane Harvey a few years ago and realized Madison and I may be stuck in Houston for the foreseeable future. I still wasn’t expecting Hurricane Laura would race through Natchitoches.
Thursday morning in Houston was sunny and beautiful. Thursday morning at home in Natchitoches was anything but. Thankfully other than a few lost limbs and trees, everything at home was ok. Gary, Argos, Oscar and the chickens were all safe—although Argos absolutely hates bad weather and was anxious the entire time. I felt like I needed to race home and help Gary clear the driveway, pick up limbs, get the house ready for a possibly extended period without power and deal with all the upheaval Laura left in her wake. Madison and I (possibly the two biggest “planners” on the planet) began to look at the situation and after talking with Gary and Connor realized it was the wisest course of action for us to stay put in Houston. The priority was my surgery on Monday and we didn’t want anything to prevent us from being here for that. So we sent Gary and Connor a list—or two—about what needed to be done, how to do it, what to pack and how to pack it. We may have been guilty of a little micromanagement. The funniest item on their to-do list was to make sure to pack the Not So Bora Bora-ing Pink nail polish! It may have taken them a while to find it, but they came through like champs! After getting everything at home as situated as possible, they left to join us in Houston.
Although the situation was “messy” and unexpected and not how I had it planned, God was there every step of the way providing for us and keeping us safe and protected. Isaiah 43:2 says “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.” This entire year has been in deep waters. The waves have crashed over me pushing me under. As soon as my head breaks the surface of the water and my lungs fill with air another wave rolls over me and pushes me under again. There have been days when I felt I would drown, that I wouldn’t make it, that it was all just too much to bear. But God has been with me, holding me above the waters long enough to catch my breath, never leaving me alone and forsaken. I will not drown. I will survive. God will bring me safely to the other side of this river of difficulty. He has been faithful to rescue me in the past and I expect He will be faithful to see His plan to completion.
The scans this week showed the atezolizumab/abraxane combination has continued to shrink my tumors! Since the first scans in February, my tumors have shrunk by 76%, with the majority of this coming on the new therapy. The investigative therapy is working! I am first on the surgery schedule Monday morning and have to report at 5:30 am. Once the surgery begins, it should take about five hours. Having to walk into the hospital alone, without my family, and staying in the hospital by myself is the thing that is causing me the most anxiety. I should only have to stay one night in the hospital and one night at the Rotary House. If the power is restored and I feel well enough to travel, we will be home on Wednesday.
T.S.CONLAY 