Our dear prayer partners,

Since Wednesday night, we saw Lydia was getting tired all the time. The steroids seem to not be able to keep her energy up anymore. The tiredness is one of her radiation treatment side effects. The radiation therapists reminded us that high protein and high calorie foods are strongly recommended to Lydia from now on.

Thursday is normally a longer day for us. Beside Lydia’s regular radiation treatment, Lydia usually has an appointment with the Oncology Doctors, has some blood work done, and is given one-dose of Chemotherapy. But yesterday, in addition to all that she usually goes through, we added a visit with the Clinic Psychologist as well as exams with the Neurologist and an E.C.G. test with the Cardiologist (to test how her heart is functioning). The psychologist told us that Lydia would need to be monitored for the next 5 years because her cognitive abilities, coordination, speech, vision, and hearing all had the possibility of sustaining damage. It was almost 3 p.m. when we got home since we left 9:10 a.m. for treatment. It really wasn’t easy for Lydia, who was very tired and hungry. Although a long Doctors’ office visit was not a pleasant, I dressed Lydia up, and took quite a few beautiful pictures while we were waiting in the Doctor’s office. We just added some sparks into our lives. You could see that Lydia was smiling at the camera.

Today is actually our precious Esther’s 15^th birthday. Even though we can’t invite her friends to our home for a party, some of her friends and Aunts from church did put up a great surprise party for her out side of home. When I told Lydia after she finished her treatment about this party, she was so excited and wanted to join her big sister’s surprise party. She did. While she sat in Crackpot’s, she was able to involve herself in making a masterpiece, and was able to truly forget her pain for a little while. However, after only a couple hours, Lydia’s pain once again surfaced. After returning home, she was exhausted and could hardly move. She laid on the sofa for a long while.

There is a long journey ahead of us. We cry, we laugh, and we count God’s blessings. I might be a little cold-blooded, but I like to look at things in a different way, in God’s view. Sufferings are blessings with make-up on them.

Lydia’s head continues hurting.

May God lift her pain and cure her illness completely through your prayers!

In Him,

Jean