Prayer Request

Usually I try to keep my posts pretty light-hearted and fun, and tell about the fun things that are going on in our lives. Unfortunately, this is not one of those posts. :( We've had some scary stuff going on, and I've been putting off posting it, but the time has come to share.

At the beginning of December, Dave went to see the doctor because he had been having some pain and was a little concerned about it. The doctor was concerned also and ordered some different tests. A couple of days later, we got the bad news that Dave has testicular cancer, and it has spread to his abdominal lymph nodes. Obviously, we were quite shocked at the news and it is still sinking in.

The great news is that this cancer is very treatable, and has one of the highest survival rates of all the different types of cancer. Another good thing is that all of the doctors have moved really quickly to get this taken care of. About 2 1/2 weeks ago, Dave had a right-side orchiectomy, a surgery which removed the primary site of the cancer. He is still healing from the surgery, but is feeling pretty good. The tumor in his abdomen is quite large (5 by 7 by 10 cm.), though, so he will have to have chemotherapy to shrink (and hopefully eliminate) that one.

Ok, I'll give you a few seconds to let that all sink in...









Ready? Ok. Like I said, it's definitely been difficult dealing with all of this, especially because there really weren't any warning signs until Dave felt some pain (about a week before his doctor's appointment). No one knows what causes this type of cancer, and Dave doesn't have any of the risk factors except that he is 28, and the prime age for getting this cancer is 15-35.

So we are handling it. Overall, we have both felt a great amount of peace and comfort from Heavenly Father, and we know that everything will be okay. We're not sure what we are supposed to learn from this, but hopefully we will figure it out. :) We are so grateful for amazing friends and family who have been so supportive and helpful thusfar, and who I know will be there as we continue this fight. I was worried that this would be a sad Christmas because of this awful news and money being even tighter, but again, family, friends, and ward members came through to make it a very special Christmas. Oh, and another blessing is our two sweet girls: Gracie is just as happy as ever (since she doesn't know anything's wrong) and helps keep our spirits high, and Katie is just the easiest baby ever, which makes it much easier for me to be rested enough to take care of Dave. We know that the Lord is watching out for us and that everything will be fine.

The next step is chemo, and that will start within the next couple of weeks (either January 4th or 11th). Dave will go through 9 weeks of very strong, intense chemo, during which he won't be able to work or do much except rest at home. We probably won't go many places (including church), because his immunity will be wiped out by the drugs, so those of you who live here may not see us for a while. But the chemo is strong because it's a cure, not just a way to add a few months to his life, so I think that will help us endure. In other words, if he goes through this treatment, hopefully he'll be with us for a long, long time. :)

So, back to the title of this post. Would you mind remembering us in your prayers? We know that things will be okay, but every prayer and thought helps, and it also helps knowing that others are pulling for us. Thank you all for your friendship and love, and I'll try to keep you updated.