No One Fights Alone

Mike and Carrie had high hopes for 2017. God blessed us with a sweet baby girl, Adaline, born into the world at the end of March, and we moved to be closer to friends and family in June. In mid-July, our world was pulled out from under our feet! After dealing with a knee injury that wasn't healing right, Mike was diagnosed with aggressive osteosarcoma in his left tibia. As scary as cancer can be, we were encouraged by our faith in God, wonderful friends and family and a good prognosis. It looked like it would be a rough six months, but undergoing a rigorous chemo regimen and surgery should do the trick. There were of course uncertainties as to how everything would go. However, although Mike's chemo required hospitalization, his body handled everything remarkably well! His doctors were amazed. God's hand of protection was guiding us through this cancer journey. Mike was even able to keep his leg! There were a few hiccups along the way, one being his cancer going from Stage 2A to Stage 3 with the finding of a cancerous lymph node in his knee. This was removed with the rest of the cancer in surgery, but did add on radiation to the end of Mike's treatment. Prognosis still looked good. Radiation would be more of a precautionary measure. By the middle of March 2018, we had undergone: -6 rounds of chemotherapy, including 3 different drugs -Major leg reconstruction therapy surgery, leaving most of Mike's left leg titanium -a cumulative almost 2 months in the hospital -4 months on disability -33 radiation treatments -Countless prayers surrounding us! We went in for a scan the day after Mike's last radiation treatment, expecting to here something along the lines of, "Your scan is clear! You're cancer free! We did it!" Not quite. Instead the doctor walked into the room and to our grinning, expectant faces, said these words: "Well, Mike. I'm afraid I don't have good news." She then told us that the spots in his lungs that were previously thought to be an inflammatory response to the chemo drugs were indeed, cancer. She showed us the images of all of the glowing spots in Mike's lungs and the 2 inflamed lymph nodes in between his lungs. She talked about treatment. Radiation and chemo to buy him time. There was no cure at this point. We just held each other and sobbed.  At this point, just 2 weeks after the worst day of our lives, Mike has undergone 10 more radiation treatments, this time on his lungs. We are going to M.D. Anderson in Houston in a couple weeks. We are looking into alternative treatments that could help Mike. Most importantly, we are keeping hope alive. We know that God has been with us every step of the way and He will continue to do so. We know that if God chooses to, He can wipe Mike's body clean of every cancer cell. We are believing in miraculous healing! God can do this and is able. If God chooses to heal Mike's physical body with medicine, it will require more than radiation and chemo. Unfortunately, insurance won't cover everything. We will need to cover both medical expenses and potential travel costs (like our trip to Houston).  So many friends and family have already been super generous, both the past 9 months undergoing treatment and within the past 2 weeks since this most recent diagnosis. Thank you! Most importantly, many have prayed for us! It has been incredible to see and feel your support! That is the absolute best thing you can do! Please continue to pray for Mike's healing first and foremost. Also be praying for our peace, strength and wisdom as we go through this fight. This is not the end. We will keep fighting with everything we've got! And in the meantime, we're enjoying our time with each other, our sweet baby girl and our amazing family and friends.  Thank you all for your amazing love, prayers and support! We love you. No One Fights Alone. "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Corinthians 4:8-9