Our Epic Trip!

I know it has been a long time since my last update but I have a good excuse....we just got back from our epic trip to BC!  We flew to Vancouver and over 2 weeks we made our way east and flew back to Winnipeg from Calgary.  The trip was amazing!  We drove over 2,000 kms and took over 1200 pictures!  A few of the highlights were...
-Seeing the magnificent mountains and being in complete awe of the beauty and vastness of God's creation.
-Rob and I got to Zipline in Whistler and it was amazing! 
-Spending time with some family I haven't seen since I was 5 and seeing some friends that we haven't seen in a while.
-Going whale watching and being 20 feet from an Orca whale.
-Watching Isaac do a ropes course designed for kids-he rocked it! and Rob getting to do a high ropes course in a forest with huge trees.
-Seeing Takkakaw Falls in Yoho National Park.
-Taking Isaac to Drumheller to see the dinosaur fossils.
-Hiking to the summit of Mount Revelstoke.
-Spending 2 weeks with Rob and Isaac without having to worry about appointments.
-Going up the Whistler and Squamish Gondolas and walking across the Capilano Suspension Bridge.
-Driving through the mountains while the clouds were lower than the peaks.
-Seeing a double rainbow over the mountains as we drove.
-Rob trying some new disc golf courses.
-Being blessed and humbled by the generosity of friends, family and strangers.
And that is just to name a few.  It seemed like everyday there was a highlight and something that was new and exciting.  Thank you to everyone who was a part of the adventure and to everyone who helped us financially with our trip.  It truly was epic and unforgettable and we are incredibly grateful for the experience and the memories. I had been hoping to post some pictures on the blog but it won't work.  We are working on making a photo book with our favourite photos so if you ever want to see it just let me know.  We will also post a bunch on facebook shortly.


Coming home to the routine of life after a vacation is hard.  Coming home to face cancer treatment is so much harder.  We arrived home on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning we had to be at Cancer Care.  Rob had blood work done and then we met with the doctor that deals with chemo.  We discussed how the first round went and what side effects Rob had to deal with.  We were able to ask for the extra anti nausea drugs we had to get last minute the previous round.  Hopefully by being proactive and taking these pills it will help Rob to feel better then last time.  The doctor was pleased with how the first round went and although Rob did have a number of side effects these are to be expected and the plan is to proceed with the next round.  So round 2 of chemo starts on Monday and unless there is a need to give Rob's body a break they will continue each week until October.  This length of time can seem daunting but we continue to just take it all day by day. 


While we were at Cancer Care on Thursday we also found out that the chest CT scan Rob had a few weeks ago came back clear.  This does not mean we are out of the woods but it is worth celebrating because it means that at this point the cancer has not spread to other parts of Rob's body but is just in his lymph nodes in his neck.  Most often the first place this cancer spreads is the lungs so it was good to hear that we are not at that point yet.  Rob will continue to have chemo as planned in hopes to shrink the tumor and slow it down from spreading.  And we continue to pray that God heals Rob completely and not only shrinks the tumor and takes it all away. 


In order to prevent Rob from having tubes hanging out of his arm or having to get poked with a needle each week we decided that he would have a port installed.  On Friday morning we had to be at HSC at 8am to have it implanted.  Basically they put this little piece of equipment just below the skin by the collar bone which has a tube that is fed through his vein.  From now on each time he has treatment or needs blood work done they go through this little port.  They gave him a conscious sedation and the procedure only took about 20 minutes but Rob was relieved to have it done.  He has to take it easy for the next few days but once the incision heals up he won't even notice it. 


Often the hardest thing I struggle with is the question of why?  Not why did Rob have to get cancer but why hasn't he been healed yet?  We know that we serve a mighty God that can heal Rob completely, however we also know that God does not always answer our prayers how we want Him to or when we want Him to.  We have hope because we know God can do a miracle and we ask for that but we walk each day in faith trusting that God will carry us through whatever we face.  A very good friend of mine was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks ago and we have chatted a few times and she and her husband are asking God the same questions that we are.  It doesn't seem fair to us especially when it is someone who is young and has their whole life to live.  We have to remember though that we were never promised an easy life but if we have a personal relationship with God, we are promised eternity in Heaven where there will be no more pain, sickness or suffering.  Praise Jesus for this promise!


We don't have control over the future but we can make today, in this moment the best we can and that is what we focus on.  Please continue to pray for Rob, Isaac and I and our families.  We could not do this without the army of prayer warriors we have so thank you for walking this journey with us.


Love Karen