Friday, May 25, 2007

I have been meaning to update for the last few weeks, but just haven't been able to bring myself to do it. Rex started a protocol with a cancer research institute based out of Jacksonville, FL; it basically is just a program whereby you nourish the body with foods that cancer doesn't recognize as fuel. It has lots of promise when done completely and accurately as it is actually a program that has been studied in research labs substantially. Basically, it deprives the body of sugar, even natural sugar, and certain amino acids that are known to feed cancer. This program, when done correctly, starves the cancer and causes it to die off. If you have any interest in checking out this program, you can access it by looking at this link: www.apjohncancerinstitute.org

Rex attempted to start this 3 weeks ago, but has had an extremely difficult time doing all that it entails because he has weakened considerably in the past month. I don't think that he is any more pain than he has been in the past few months, however, it has taken its toll on his body; he is so weary from all that his body is going through. He is not eating much these days - some days once a day, some days none, and on a good day, he might eat twice in the day. He is trying to stick to the foods that don't feed cancer, but with him not eating enough, I don't know if it is really helping him. His pain is still intense day to day, but he actually does have periods where he has no pain.

His biggest effort is attempting to go to work. It literally takes everything out of him just to work one day. He is withdrawing more into himself, communicating less, wanting to sleep more, and not eating much. He still has times where he is the Rex that we know, but more and more he is unaware of what is going on around him and wants to just rest. I don't know how much weight he has lost; I do know that he is going over the threshold of being at his ideal weight to being underweight.

Please continue to pray for God's supernatural healing; pray that I will be the caretaker that Rex and our girls need me to be.

If you want to do something for us, then do what you feel led to do. I don't want the burden of asking for this or that specifically; it is almost like having another responsibility. I would rather people do what they are good at, when they feel led to do so. I hope my frankness here does not offend anyone. I certainly don't mean to sound picky or ungrateful; it is simply the best way to meet our needs and minister to us.

If it is provide a meal, that is fine. Meals that are in disposable containers are best, whether they are home cooked, frozen, take out, or even gift certificates for take out. I am not good at returning dishes; I am afraid that I would not have the frame of mind to remember what belongs to who and/or take the time to return it to the rightful owner.

If you feel led to help with our finances, then that too is fine. God has always provided what we needed even when it didn't seem like it was going to happen.

I don't feel that I need any help with the children at this point because I need them with me; they bring normalcy to me through all of this. There is a certain mothering, nurturing part of me that wants to keep my nest intact by sheltering and protecting my little ones.

If God lays something on your heart, then chances are it may be a need for us that I may not have expressed or even realize.

I truly do appreciate all that you have done for us this past year and a half. You have been a source of comfort, encouragement, and sanity to us through a very difficult storm. Thank you for your love and prayers.

Donna Meadows

Thursday, April 12, 2007

We just received some answers to the pain that Rex has been experiencing lately. He had a CT scan done on Monday, and the doctor called this morning and said that the lesion in his spleen has quadrupled in size since the last scan from October. While it certainly isn't the news that we wanted to hear, there is some relief to have an answer to source of his pain. Rex' oncologist wants to know by tomorrow what we want to do as the next step. In the past, there was no pressure or encouragement to do any more chemo because he was doing so well, the cancer seemed to be non-growing and the harmful effects of chemo weren't worth pursuing.

In light of this recent growth, the oncologist wants to pursue some chemo. She has no other offer to make to us because this is what she does for cancer.

While it is not known for sure whether this lesion is cancer (there has never been a biopsy done because of the nature of the spleen), it is assumed to be at this point.

We desperately need God's guidance and wisdom in this, particularly in the next 24 hours as we make a decision of our next step.

Rex is not really surprised about this growth. He has waned considerably in all of the nutritional things he was doing prior to October. When we got busy with The Promise, he let some of his supplements go, he went down on his juicing, and he ate more acidic foods as we ate on the run more. I think it got to be so tiring taking so many supplements and doing all that he/we were doing. He was taking about 30 supplements a day. He did that consistently for 6 months. It was a major effort as each day was filled from daylight to dark with juices, powders, pills, and drops throughout the entire day. Then, he had to make sure he was eating in the midst of all of this, along with eating healthy and not convenient.

God is bigger than any supplement or any chemo. God is bigger than any doctor's report or prognosis. We want to do what God wants. Do we just continue and get aggressive with supplementation/nutrition again? Do we do that and take some chemo? If he takes chemo, does he do IV chemo or take a milder pill form? If he does nutritional/supplementation, what regimen should he follow? I don't know that he can do everything that he was doing in the beginning for a long length of time; we need an exact regimen that is not overwhelming. Something that is manageable and realistic, particularly long term.

Please pray for us to know what we are to do on our part. Pray that God will intervene and heal Rex. Pray for wisdom and peace to be obedient even if God leads us to go against all of man's advice. If for some reason this lesion is not even cancer but something else, pray that we will get answers showing us this truth.

Just as I finished this email above, I decided to go to crosswalk.com to look up some scripture and saw this devotional on the main page. It is the Greg Laurie devotional for today. I haven't ever read the devotionals on this website before. I don't believe in coincidence, either. What is interesting is that Rex played Jairus in The Promise this year and Erin played the the role of the daughter. The last few sentences have touched me significantly this morning. I have put them in bold print.

Thursday, April 12, 2007
Just Wait
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
—Ecclesiastes 3:11
Jairus was a well-known, powerful, wealthy individual who was the head of the local synagogue. When his 12-year-old daughter, his only child, was in great need, he sought out Jesus to heal her.
We don’t know whether Jairus was a believer in Jesus. As the head of the synagogue, he would have been a religious man. He probably had heard about Jesus. Maybe he had already put his faith in Him. The Scripture doesn’t say. But Jairus believed that Jesus could save his daughter’s life. So he went and found the Lord and begged Him to heal his daughter. He placed his complete trust in Jesus.
But as they were on the way to his house, the news came that his daughter had died. The reason they did not get to his daughter more quickly was because a woman in need of healing came along and touched Jesus, and He stopped and demanded to know who it was that touched Him.
Yet Jairus did not complain. Rather, he committed himself to Jesus, believing that God knew what He was doing. His faith was dramatic, especially because at this particular time in Jesus’ ministry, He had not raised anyone from the dead. Granted, He had healed people. But there had been no resurrections.
Jairus had to wait, and we have to wait. A lot of us grow impatient with God, and in our impatience, we can foolishly take things into our own hands and make them far worse. Know this: God’s delays are not necessarily His denials. We need to wait on the Lord. God’s timing is just as important as His will. He doesn’t ask for us to understand. He just asks us to trust.

Have a great day today. God is still in control. While things may seem impossible to man, they are just a mere circumstance to God.

Donna Meadows