Time for another Evan update. It has been a while since the last update again, and for good reason. Evan is doing amazingly well! He continues to go to school every day and is getting good marks for his work and for his behavior. Despite all he has been through in the last sixteen months, he is well adjusted, highly spirited, and we couldn’t be prouder of him. When I sent the message to his teacher that he would be absent yesterday and today, I told her Evan is my hero. Truly. Some look up to ball players or actors, I look up to a five-year-old boy. He has endured more than most adults, and definitely more than any child should and yet he is a good kid with great energy and hope of a better day.
Yesterday, he had his port accessed, blood drawn, and labs checked to see if he could undergo the lumbar puncture today. His labs were pretty much spot on where he needs to be in this stage of treatment. So, today, he underwent the LP and was given intrathecal methotrexate, then IV vincristine. He tolerated all this very well. Despite the “normal” age-appropriate fear and anxiety before each appointment, he was rock solid as per usual. He came home and started his week-long burst of oral steroids and is acting like a normal kid. Fun, funny, rambunctious. It is as if the weight of the diagnosis, the grueling nature of the 2.5-year treatment regimen, or the toxicity of the medications in his veins and spine were nonexistent.
Evan’s current statistics:
Doses of IV and IT chemo since the beginning: 60
The number of invasive procedures (bone marrow, LP, port implant): 19
Doses of oral chemotherapy: Countless- he takes it every day
My hero.
He will continue in this maintenance phase as planned- Daily oral chemo with a second oral chemo burst every week. Oral antibiotics. Every month labs and physical exam. Every three months an LP with IT/ IV chemo. If everything stays on course, without any incidents, he will be complete with treatment on October 13, 2022. We are seeing a faint light at the end of a long dark tunnel. What a day it will be.
Compared to the beginning of Evan’s treatment, these past few months have been a little boring comparatively. We’re not complaining. Yet, in almost every other aspect of our human existence, life has not been boring. You all feel it and you all live it. I have felt it and I have heard friends say it- “something’s just not right” and “the world is going crazy” or “man, something big is going to happen”. In the past few months, I have had to deal with the loss of my sister. She was a mother-like figure, a great friend, counselor, confidant, rock solid, a defender, words cannot describe her and what she meant to me. So many of us have lost family members and good friends. Cancer, covid, you name it- it is like we are under attack. The uncertainty everyone is feeling out here is unbelievable. Whether it is our jobs or our health, our government or the rampant violence in our communities, we all have a sense of uneasiness. We are seeing liberties being stripped away one after the other, lies and disinformation being pedaled for profit, and the outright demonization of certain beliefs. We are seeing an unmitigated rise in fear and evil, which are mutually proportionate these days.
Recently we saw historic storms ravage Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. I watched it live- I am bit of a weather geek. As I saw the hook echo and associated debris ball heading right toward Mayfield, Kentucky, I prayed for God to intervene and save the town from certain destruction. Then I saw the three body scatter spike flash on the doppler as the tornado destroyed Mayfield. A TBSS is a sign that a catastrophic amount of destruction is occurring and an immense amount of debris is being lofted thousands of feet into the air- a very grave sign. I knew this was historic and catastrophic.
As it normally happens with these terrible storms or these terrible diagnoses or these uneasy times, people who don’t know Jesus tend to blame Him for it all. “That tornado was an act of God”, “Why didn’t God stop the storm, or heal the cancer”. I don’t really know. But I do know that God is sovereign. He has a plan. I firmly believe He didn’t cause the storm or implant the cancer. Satan is the god of this world, as the Bible tells us. Satan is the one who wants to kill, destroy, cause fear and panic. I believe that God protects us from certain disaster all the time we just don’t know it. It is by His grace and His grace alone that we live as well and as long as we do. God wants us to be healthy, happy, whole. He sent Jesus to redeem us from ourselves for crying out loud.
I still cannot imagine living in this time without the hope that only God can provide.
Psalm 91 says “He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor the destruction that lays waste at noonday”.
Isaiah 9:6 says …. “And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. Jesus is the Everlasting Father- meaning He controls all time and eternity. To know Him is to know eternity, not just today, tomorrow, or our entire earthly existence.
Beautifully, John 10: 28-30- I envision being cradled in God’s hand, and then Jesus puts His mighty hand over top. I am sandwiched between God’s and Jesus’ hands perfectly protected, warmed, loved, and saved from anything this world can do or promise.
Imagine these things when you get that diagnosis. Imagine these things when the tornado destroys your town. Imagine these things when the media panders their fear about a virus that we cannot control and perpetuates the lie that a man-made concoction is a cure. And imagine these things when the days get long and the nights become darker than ever. If you are a true believer in Jesus, you have nothing to fear. Satan wants you to be afraid. But I assure you, if you believe on Jesus as your Savior you have nothing to fear. Why do you think certain politicians hate Christians?
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