Post Number Thirty-Four

We Fall Down We Get Up

That did not last very long.  Last week it was discovered that Terry's cancer has come back as a spot on her liver.  Yesterday she underwent a needle biopsy to determine if it is malignant.  It most certainly is.  Dr. Cox tried to be be reassuring with us.  He still used "cure" language.  He is recommending that we see a liver surgeon at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.  We cannot get there fast enough.

At the moment Terry feels great.  She loves her new job at Lake Louise.  She is many pounds lighter than she was when her cancer was first discovered more than a year ago.  She is stronger than she has been in years because of the walking discipline we have taken on.  If this is operable, as we pray that it will be, she is likely to have an easier time of it than before.  Never the less, we are stunned that the disease should show up so soon.  It was not there in June.  It is there today.  My words that "there are no guarantees" were not intended to be tested so quickly.

The day that we received this news I asked Terry what was going through her mind.  She answered that she was thinking of the song recorded by Bob Carlisle - We Fall Down We Get Up.  I made that the focus of my sermon last Sunday.  A recording of the sermon is posted on my podcast page.  This was fighting language from Terry and it made my heart sing.  It demonstrated that she is ready to do battle with this disease in a way that she could not muster the first time through.  What lifts us up is the grace of God transmitted through our church, our friends and our family.  I love the last line of the chorus to the song, "A saint is just a sinner who falls down and gets up."

So here we go again.  The battle resumes.  We have had time to regroup and regain strength.  There is still reason for optimism.  I'll keep you posted.

Dave Gladstone

Sermon: We Fall Down We Get Up