Lana Elder

Lots of praises this week! My shoulder is better. I am able to use it again which makes me very, very happy! Praise God! I also had a CT scan done this week and it showed two of the tumors in my body had shrunk slightly! And I have some new medication to help with the pain in my legs. More praises to God! So overall, I’m improving thanks to your prayers and some medical intervention.

Here are a few things you can pray for me this week. I had blood work done yesterday and my hemoglobin came back a little low so I’m having a blood transfusion this morning.  (I’m having it now as I write). Please pray that all goes well and the new blood is just what my body needs. Also, the CT scan showed one tumor in my lungs had increased slightly. Please pray that it starts to shrink like the others. 🙂

I also want to say a big “Thank you” to those who donate blood because it is helping to save my life and the lives of many others. May the Lord bless you for your sacrifice.

As I’m laying here watching the transfusion, I just keep singing…

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Oh! Precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know,
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

I’m very thankful for all that Jesus has done for me and for all of you who continue to pray for me and encourage me. May the Lord bless you as well.

Hi everyone! I wish I had better information to update you all on.  My MRI reports from last week came back inconclusive, meaning they still can’t tell why I’ve lost strength in my right shoulder.  The good news is that it’s not from a torn rotator cuff, and not a problem in my neck or my brain.  It may still just be the side effects of the first chemo agent, although they thought that would be unusual, too.  So my doctor has set up appointments this week with an orthopedic doctor for my shoulder and also with a neurologist to see if they can offer any help for the pain in my legs.

In the mean time, they’ve just started me on a new chemical agent that I take orally now. This medicine is supposed to be less toxic to the nerves, so they hope that might help with these other symptoms as well.  One of the other nice things about having an oral chemo is it saves a few hours of my time each week (instead of doing an infusion) and I may not have to go in as frequently to have my bloodwork done.  I take it for seven days straight then get seven days off (repeat).

My current prayer requests are that the doctors have wisdom in knowing what to do for my legs and shoulder and that I experience no new side effects from this new medicine. Also, I have just been having more pain throughout my body and I would like some relief without having to take lots of pain medication. One of the pain meds I tried this week made me ill, so I’m back to ibuprofen.

God continually encourages me through His word. A verse that I often meditate on is Psalm 103:1-5:

“Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

I love that it says God forgives ALL our sins and heals ALL our diseases.  I also love the idea that God can renew my youth again, as I’m going to my 30-year high school class reunion this weekend!  I’m looking forward to seeing many old friends.  Thanks for your prayers, as always.  They keep me going!

Just a quick update. I ended up not having my chemo yesterday because of the lack of strength in my shoulder. The doctor wants to do some further testing to see if the problem in my shoulder was caused by my chemo, the cancer, or something else. So I’ll be doing some further testing next week. I feel this was an answer to our prayers as I’d like to find out what’s going on too, and I was glad to not start a new chemo agent with new side effects!

I know God hears all of our prayers. As it says in Psalm 66:19, “…but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.”

Thanks for your continued prayers!

We had a wonderful time last Friday at the Night of Praise and Feasting thanking God for all He has done in our lives. We had spectacular food and some extended time of worship. It really was wonderful. And since my appetite is back it made it even more enjoyable. 😉 A big thanks to Gary and Lucas for leading us in worshipping and to Laura for adding her talented violin playing to the mix. Thank you to all who came and to those who worshipped with us in spirit from wherever you were. I know God’s name was lifted up.

Eric mentioned that night that we have to remember to not let our past (bad) experiences influence what we believe God can do for us in the future. This reminded me of what God said in the book of Isaiah, “Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!” (Isaiah 43:18-19) That encouraged me to continue to believe for my complete healing even though I still have a few symptoms.

I ended up not doing chemo last Friday because of the pain in my legs. The pains came back even stronger with my last treatment so I was thankful to not have to do another one. We are now looking into the next chemo agent we will use, as each one has different side effects. Please pray as we meet with the doctor on Friday for wisdom to know what to do next.

Also, my latest bizarre symptom is that I’ve lost strength in my right shoulder. I can still use my hand and arm up to my elbow but I am unable to lift anything using my shoulder. So please pray that my strength comes back.

Just after our Praise and Feasting Night, we celebrated Josiah’s 14th and Bo’s 12th birthdays with a Phineas and Ferb Party. (For those not familiar with Phineas and Ferb it is a cartoon that my kids watch and is quite funny.) We had fun and it was a great way to start our “104 days of summer vacation” as well!

We also put Lucas back on a plane Tuesday to head back to school. It was great to have him home but I know he loves what he’s learning at school so I’m glad he’s back doing what he loves.

Thank you all again for your encouragement and prayers. They continue to bless and encourage me. Love, Lana