Darren LeBlanc

Ok, so last night I kinda threw out some words to express that things were going well. Let me explain a bit more.

Misty had been gradually getting worse since about October of 2007. A couple brain surgeries pulled back some of the progression, but not much and not for long. Then on Mother’s Day of this year misty woke up much worse. She began to not understand what I was saying to her. Simple commands gave her trouble. Her speech took a huge hit and she had very little function in her right arm. An MRI taken the next day revealed that the cancer had exploded throughout the whole left hemisphere of the brain. This progression was way beyond the point of being operable and the increased symptoms Misty was experiencing seemed to track with what the scan was showing. Then, it went from bad to worse…her speech dropped to almost nothing (just yes and no, which she would mix up about 60% of the time). The doctor asked her to hold up two fingers (with her good hand) and she couldn’t…she didn’t even understand what he was asking. She was losing cognitive ability. About that time also, her right hand decreased to absolutely zero functionality (she couldn’t move it at all) and her right leg had no feeling as well. We had to carry her everywhere and stay with her at all times, scared that something terrible was up next. Her skin had all sorts of problems. Her back was covered with a scaly, dry, bumpy rash. On top of that she had the worst rash I have ever seen on her face (it was from her chemo, so we chose not to stop the medication). If I touched it even the slightest bit, it would bleed. And it was so painful…she was in agony from that. 

We were faced with a prognosis of only weeks to live. Misty’s body literally showed all the signs of dying. The doctor noted that her body was “in the shutting down process”.

Well…since then, things have changed a bit. Over the last couple weeks, Misty has started to say more and more. She can’t reliably say much, but she gets out phrases and words often. She has become aware of her surroundings (she even wanted to know what day it was today) and over the last couple days has even laughed at our little girl and sat up interacting with her non-verbally. She has regained a bit of feeling in her right foot and yesterday curled her fingers 5-10%. Her facial rash has improved about 90% and it’s getting better every day. Her back is completely peeling…and the new skin is much better. These little improvements in Misty really just make this whole thing so much easier. Emotionally she is at the high point of the last couple months, so I am too.

 If I asked the doctor, he would probably give Misty a slightly better prognosis, but there isn’t a doctor in the country that based on the given medical evidence, would tell misty to expect a normal lifespan (her last MRI still had a brain filled with cancer). For the first time in a long time, my doctor has predicted wrong…and I’m expecting him to be wrong plenty from here on out! You know, I used to look at the MRI as the definitive answer as to where Misty’s health was at. Today, I’m putting a little less stock in them :)

 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
       neither are your ways my ways,”
       declares the LORD.

 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
       so are my ways higher than your ways
       and my thoughts than your thoughts.

 10 As the rain and the snow
       come down from heaven,
       and do not return to it
       without watering the earth
       and making it bud and flourish,
       so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
       It will not return to me empty,
       but will accomplish what I desire
       and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:8-11