|
GI_Chen
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: Chen
Location: Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Birthday: 3/18/1974
Gender: Female
Interests: Motorcycle riding, photography, Playing the guitar, Laughing at dorky jokes! classical piano, hiking, paddling, Swimming, singing, long walks at night, stargazing, get togethers with my family, engaging conversations, meeting people, naps! Enjoying Life and the Amazing Creations of God around me every day!
Expertise: Getting my foot stuck in my mouth! Learning the meaning of humility through everyday life, living one day at a time!
Occupation: Medical
Industry: Art
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
8/15/2005
|
|
| Here I am eating breakfast the Mon after Easter --so good! What a wonderful weekend full of friends and rest Just had to put a note out to thank God for it all and yet another beautiful day! ML is off to Maui this week for a conference so it's just me n the folks relaxin' Have a great day everyone ;) | | |
| So, here I am at a few months later than the last time a major set back this past month and now empty freeway towards recovery! This Mar brought me a birthday-36- and mom-61- a trip to the ER, ICU,respirator,heart unit and out just before Passover a real Benjamin Button kind of month. I'm getting stronger day by day and learning the awesome joy of listening and talking to a God who is helping me get up day after day with a joy in my heart and song in my spirit---So exciting! His promises and treasures are new every morning!Anyway,starting to plan for a new path Bible College and the rest of the things coming every day. Thank you to all of you my friends family for your prayers and love! | | |
| Hi everyone...yes, still alive and kicking. Sorry it's been so long. A LOT...and I mean A LOT has occurred over the past two months....here's an update. We, the folks and I, are actually on a home visit to Tacoma this weekend which is major. Two months ago we had just arrived to the process of the stem cell transplant in Seattle. Now we are about 30 days out. The process itself has taken it's toll through total body radiation and the nastiest chemo the docs could find. Thanks to the invention of the medication pumps for pain meds the discomfort was relieved and "morphine girl" allowed to continue for her month in the hospital. All joking aside it has been really a rough road and the only reason I believe I am still here is for the grace of God and some reason He still sees fit to have me on the earth. Oh yeah, and because of all the awesome friends and family I have in my life supporting me. How blessed I am to have you all in my life. I can never repay for the time and encouragement I have received. Physically I am building strength but am still pretty weak (going up the stairs is a work out) and we still have a wheelchair on loan for when we go out for a day trip). I have finally graduated to solid foods (related to the side effects of chemo and radiation I have a whole new GI tract to include the lining of my mouth which has caused me to have to re learn to eat foods starting with liquids to soups and purees to solids, like a baby...waaah! :) ) Spiritually I am at a crossroads. Throughout this process I have had so many prayers and loved ones supporting me in scripture yet I myself have only prayed a few times. I have known throughout this that God is the giver and taker of life and have been content to know that without spending time reading the Bible to know what His purpose for me in this is...maybe it was meant to be this way? A time in life where I had to be carried to have the time to reflect as I am now? Who knows. For those who have blessed me in prayer thank you...I am searching for my purpose now...keep me in your prayers, Oh yeah! I totally forgot...and the greatest news! My tumor SHRANK...you know, got smaller....AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Just had to let you know.....a big Praise God and Thank you. As for now, I am enjoying my time out of the hospital and sorting through all my crap down at the new house I never got to deal with when we moved in Tacoma. I am spending as much time with my family and catching up in this technical medium so people know where we're at. I will be starting radiation treatment probably next week and that will go through a week or two before Christmas...I even got new tattoos for it.. :) So that's me, sort of, in a brief Chenin sort of way. I am well, blessed beyond measure to be alive and thankful for the reason God chooses to allow me to live another day! In case I'm not back in time Happy Thanksgiving everyone! | | |
|  | | |
| So it’s been awhile yet again since the last time I updated you with what’s going on and so much has happened I hardly know where to begin… I, and my parents, are staying in an apt in Seattle while we prepare for, undergo and recover from a stem cell transplant in the hopes that it will cure me of this tumor forever…an answer to our prayers. The care we have received here is great excepting that the communication is lacking from the top down. All we know right now is that I am healthy enough to undergo treatment and the specifics of what will occur once treatment begins. Other than that—nothing. I think it is kind of funny that I am so healthy in so many ways. It is a point of humor in most intake appts I have with doctors, social workers, etc that I can say “ you see I’m pretty healthy except for my tumor!” J So, for now, we are stuck on a path waiting at what seems to be a lengthy intersection. In some ways it is a welcome break. We are enjoying our non-hospital time exploring the city of Seattle. The weather has been awesome and the city amazingly rich and beautiful. Strangely enough we miss our home in Tacoma where the daily setting is more relaxed and the people more open. Of course we did just move into a new house down there a week before throwing a few changes of clothes and other personal items into our bags and moving up to this apt for an unspecified amount of time. I have to leave it at that and try to be flexible as I continue to be the “special” patient in all things to do with my cancer. There are days I wish I fell into the norms as statistics go so things would be easier. That is not the case for now but we continue to pray ourselves toward a cancer-free future. Mom and I went for a nice walk along one of the local lakes today. It was an awesome sunny day and the trail covered with every color and age of people and animal. It was fun to watch everyone else enjoying the beauty of our surroundings and the sun shining down as much as I was. It was fun. It’s been a great weekend. Mook-Lan, my sister, came up on Friday night to spend some time with the folks and I Friday night and Saturday. We enjoyed our visit. It’s been so busy for all of us lately that to have some time with the four of us was precious. We spent Friday night talking and re doing our long forgotten toenail painting needs… a necessary item for us gals! Saturday we explored Kaboda gardens…an exquisite Japanese garden. We spent most of the day there photographing nature and exploring all the pathways throughout the garden. The rest of the day we took exploring West Seattle. There’s a great bakery out there “Bakery Nouveau” where we tasted their pizza, twice baked almond croissants and plain croissants, “Cupcake Royale” a locally famous cupcake bakery is located there and a nice walk along Beach Drive and leisurely return drive along Alki Drive which looks back on the main city of Seattle and Pike’s Place area. As we sat at the apartment at the end of the day relishing the feeling of full tummys and sun soaked skin we felt we had shared a perfect day together as a family. Thanks ML! This week will run it’s course hopefully ending with at least a better idea of what the plan is for my treatment. We are awaiting yet another scan to let the doctors know if they can place a central line that is supposed to be done tentatively tomorrow with chemo starting around Wed. But who knows? Only God and the docs… I’ll let you know soon | | |
|
|
