Monday, October 11, 2010

Finally Free of the Mental, Physical, Spiritual, and Emotional Straightjacket Every Patient Gets

(Hey guys, how's it going? Anyways, I'm sorry this took so long to post, but the pain in the fatigue alongside constant appointments kept me busy and useless. Now I'm regaining my fighting spirit and health, so I plan on writing more periodically. But, don't expect a post everyday. I'll try my best though. Any how, hope you enjoy and miss all of you. Your support is amazing and stunning. We are staying strong! Praise God!)


Freedom tastes so sweet it's almost indescribable. I savor it's flavor with extreme content; and I plan on not leaving drop of sapidity left. I am a glutton, I'll admit at least that much. But,after my second term of two weeks in the hospital my greed is justified, or at least in my mind it is. That's right I've finally escaped from M.D.Anderson. Today is currently my fourth day of liberation. Don't get me wrong though, it's a great place full of hope, but it's got some problems too. Such as, nurses and doctors with their constant checkups, bad scheduling, and uncomfortable furniture. All these things can accumulate and leave a person an empty shell of exhaustion and pain. The checkups always seem to come when your the most uncomfortable or just the opposite. Plus, they have a real knack for ruining your sleep. So forget a full, good nights of rest. Patience is the key to success in a hospital. All the bad scheduling, that changes like a torrent of raging whitewater, has taught us this. The final problem is the furniture. It's all so hard it feels as if the hospital received donations from Texas' most degraded prisons. They then bleach. Next, they proceeded to strap a fancy electronic that was theoretically supposed to "relieve pressure". YEAH RIGHT!!! This exquisite furniture left me with a bad back, which I'm still coping with eve now. So...if I ever find out the sadistic bastard's name who selected the hospital furniture I'll kill him. Also, along with all these troubles I've lost at least 20 lbs, which I a, slowly regaining. All of this doesn't matter though, because I am free; at least for now. Praise God!
Another occurrence that has taken place recently was my friend's and my family's visit to Lakewood Church which is run splendidly by Pastor Joel Olsteen. You might have seen it broadcasted on the tube. Any how, it sure was an experience let me tell you. Stepping into the ministry room of the church, I felt like a gladiator marching into The Colusseum in ancient Rome. The room swallows individuals with it size and sheer number of other those attending. The worship team was humungous at must of consisted of at least 40 people (Joey and our worship team is still better. It's about quality not quanity). Then Dodie Olsteen, Pastor Joel's mother who is also a cancer survivor, prayed over me and my friend, Ryan, who has had cancer twice and 12 surgeries now, (Keep him and his family in your prayers please). Mama Dodie's testimony was so amazing though, because her doctor's gave her four weeks and she pushed though. God is good!
The last major event that took place was my dad's and my attendance of the Titans' game versus Giants. It was my first live professional football game, live and in the stadium. It was amazing and I enjoyed the game. We had pretty good seats: 3rd floor and in the handicap spot so no one was blocking our view. The only downside was the Texans couldn't play offensively or defensively. It was ok though, because I'm a Broncos fan anyways.
This might not seem like a major occurrence to you, but to me it's monumental. I got my first shower in a month. Stop, stop don't freak out I've been taking sponge baths by myself. So I've been clean, but it's not the same. Anyways that shower was a gift sent from God on high.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

The Hard Journey and What gets Me Through

Lying flat on a cold, hard table with my body locked into place by bean bag molds, I waited for it to begin. Now you may be wondering what "it" is. Well... "it" is radiology. Radiology, for those of you who don't know, is the examining of the inner structures of opaque objects using X rays or other types of radiation. These opaque objects are quiet obviously the tumors. So, to kick the procedure off they shoot X rays throughout your body to pinpoint the exact locations of  the tumors. Then they take paint markers and doodle all over these exact locations; leaving you looking like a toddler's project. After all this they fasten you into place using bean bag molds and shoot the rays into your body. So...now you know a small part of what I'm going through. And I have to do this everyday for six weeks. It's going to be hard, but God will get me and my family through this hardship. 
      My friends have come through many, many times along this journey so far. But, something truly amazing happened am few days ago. My brother and Richard and Kris ,two of my friends from my Haiti, came to visit. Their actions blew me away. The fact that anyone would fly down for one day just to see me shocked me, and to say the least the visit was emotional.  Sadly though, their visit had to an end and tearful goodbyes were exchanged as they walked out the door. It's support like this that will keep my family and I strong. So thank you so so much for everything you guys have done for me and my family.