One treatment down, four to go.  We met with the doctors today and went through what to expect again.  There is going to be some side effects but we knew that going in.  Their success so far with this kind of treatment has been impressive but it is so new that they talk about "9 month results for treating sarcoma".  We are just grateful to have options.  12 days ago our surgeon here at Mayo told us. "Eric, you are inoperable, enjoy what little time you have left."  That was a tough day.  Amazing what a difference 12 days can make.  The radiation oncologists basically told us that from a conventional surgery standpoint the surgeon was right.  Radiation surgery is another animal altogether.   I kept finding myself thinking, sometimes God does miracles straight out, but more often He performs them through the hands of others.  Either way, we are grateful for His miracles.

St. Paul Temple

It was surprising how painless it was.  After they bolted me to the table to be honest, I fell asleep.  After the procedure there was more tingling than pain.  They say that will get worse as I go along.  When I got home I was just dizzy and sleepy.  I think I slept about 2-3 hours this afternoon.

JoLynne and I went to the temple last night in St. Paul.  It was an wonderful session, deeply spiritual.  Cancer stinks but it does tend to pull down the barriers between the person and God.  I'm not sure I have ever received such clear answers as I have during this ordeal.

YUMM

Oh, by the way, JoLynne and I went to the world Spam museum yesterday in Austin Minnesota.  Pretty impressive!  When we drove up the attendant at the gate told us, "Go ahead and park, when you go in you will be met by your personal Spambassador".  Things like that just don't happen every day.  I can't think of the last time I ate Spam but apparently people eat it.  They have made over 7 billion cans of the stuff.  The world is such an amazing place.

We love the temple!

We had the opportunity to go to the temple this evening.  Our son Jarom came along with us.  It is always so nice to be in the temple, especially with family.  It feels like coming home.  This trip had a special purpose, to try and get an answer about what we should do with chemotherapy.  One of the sweet things about the temple is that I seem to be able to get answers to my prayers more readily there.  This trip was no exception.  After careful thought and prayer both JoLynne and I received an answer, in the temple, that it is time for me to stop chemotherapy.

I have always found it more difficult to get answers to prayers when the matter I am praying about has such profound personal emotions associated with it.  It is hard for me sometimes to separate my personal feelings from answers from God.  The answer that we received in the temple yesterday was unmistakeable.  We are all relieved that I can begin to move on and regain my strength.  Already, on last Thursday my immune system and my red blood cells had begun to rebound somewhat according to the doctor.  My body seems to be coming back to life again.  I feel like I am waking up from a dream.  I still don't have the strength that I had prior to chemotherapy but I feel so much better than a week or two ago that the contrast is amazing.  I am so grateful to feel good again!

I have learned so much these last three months.  Perhaps in another post I will talk about that.  It's a little close to home still to talk about.  One effect of all this has been on my tear glands.  They just seem to work a lot more often than they used to.  Maybe my heart is softer or maybe I am just getting old and leaky.  I look at my wife and my children, I think about the many miracles that have occurred and my heart is full.   I am just so grateful to be alive!

The Provo temple.  Where JoLynne and I were married.   It continues to be a special place for us