We serve a God of Miracles!

I have been so excitedly sharing the wonderful news around town, when I checked the blog I could hardly believe I hadn’t published it yet – I was sure that I had.

At my last posting, I said that Nikki was due to meet with her rheumatologist later that day. When she met with him last week, they were discussing the recent tests she had undergone to determine the extent of the damage in her joints. With the level of inflammation that Nikki has had in her joints over a period of nearly 2 years (her doctor has said that he has never before seen such an aggressive case), there should be massive permanent damage to her joints. The fact is that there is NONE! While explaining all of this to her, he asked her to look at him and said, “I know it’s something you have been wanting to hear for a long time, Nikki, but this is a MIRACLE!” He then repeated himself twice and said, “this is miraculous, it is a miracle!” He said, “You should be jumping up and down right now!” Nikki replied saying, “I would if I could!”

In addition to this, Nikki’s oncologist used the following words when studying Nikki’s test results after the first 6 sessions of Chemo. She said, “It's AMAZING, I don’t know when last I saw a liver respond so well to treatment!” These are the very words that we have been praying into the situation daily, “Lord, may the doctors be AMAZED at your works!”

I don’t know if many know that our mother, Louise, was miraculously healed of colon cancer 20 years ago and has not had a trace of it since. The words that we prayed in that time were, “Lord, may the doctors be AMAZED.” The words that the surgeon used when calling my dad during the operation were, “Chris, I don’t know what to say to you other than that I am absolutely AMAZED!” They had taken a biopsy a week or so beforehand and confirmed malignancy in the colon. They had planned to remove the entire colon but when they opened her up, they found not a trace of cancer there! They closed her up without removing the colon as planned. We are beleiving the same for Nikki.

I mentioned previously that medical aid was being sticky about approving further chemotherapy treatments for Nikki. Nikki’s oncologist has gone on maternity leave now but on her last day of work last Friday, the medical aid finally came through to authorise another 6 treatments of the breast cancer chemo, Hercepton, so she went straight through to Oncology on Friday afternoon to receive the first of this next batch of Chemo. Nikki may not continue with the liver chemo as she has reached the maximum dosage of this already. The good news about this is that her hair should start to grow back now as it was that drug that caused the hair loss. We will wait to see what happens there – she has heard of previously straight dark hair returning thick, blonde and curly, so you never know (what an image!)

In the meantime, Nikki has started taking Glyco-nutrients which are said to be fantastic for patients on chemotherapy. As with everything in Nikki’s story though, it’s not that straight cut. The Glyco-nutrients might be immune-stimulants, which would explain why her joints have been so incredibly sore. The rheumatologist has suggested that Nikki go back on to the meds she was on in the past, but these will shut down the immune response to tumors, and in theory stop the immune response to the joints. The other option is called a B-Cell Therapy, but it’s not clear at this stage how safe that option is. The doctor is going to speak to the manufacturers to explain Nikki’s unique situation and get their feedback. He is also attending a conference with some of the world’s top specialists in March and is documenting Nikki’s case to discuss there. Please pray for wisdom and God’s guidance in all of this – that we would know the right path to follow with this. Let’s continue to thank God and to pray and believe that the immune system will respond best to prayer (as the cancer has done!)

Psalm 145:16

"The Lord is faithful to all His promises and loving toward all He has made."

Zechariah 4:6

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

Isaiah 40:29

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak."

Slowly easing into 2010

We're back in action and FINALLY settling into 2010. It's been a slow start and a bit of denial, I must admit! I am waiting for Nikki to send me the latest medical facts regarding her physical condition (so that I dont miss out any important info there) so I will update you on those as soon as I know more. In the mean time, here are some pics taken over the festive season.

There were so many wonderful friends and family visiting Cape Town over Christmas time and it is always so good to catch up with old friends. We got to see the Palmer family again which was wonderful. They were in SA for a Palmer family reunion and took some time out to spend with us on 16th December (I dont have a photo as they are on Pete's PC). Nikki got to see them again before they went home but we left for holiday.

Our cousin Genevieve was also visiting from Australia and we had a number of family reunions during that time too which was great. She is such a special part of Nikki's life and they got to spend some good time together which was so good. Here are Gen and Nikki together at Imhoff's where we had a family lunch:

One of our closest and longest-standing friends, Samantha, was also visiting with her family from Joburg and we spent time together with the Legg family which we havent done in far too long and it was just lovely. Here is a pic of Eve, Sam and Nix (aka the Gumboot Gang) taken at Afton:Christmas Eve was spent together at Afton and the children did a nativity play for us before they went to find presents in their stockings in the treehouse. My dad's brother Robin did the honours and dressed up as Father Christmas and took them all by surpise. Daniel wasn't as interested in opening presents as he was to go back to the front gate with Father Christmas to "check out his sleigh". It was a precious time of fun (and food!) together with family.

Pete and I then spent 2 weeks camping in the Cederberg which was just amazing! We had Pete's family with us for the first part which was lovely. It was the first time that all the Holloway cousins have been together and our girls relished the attention from their older cousins. It was precious to see all of them lying together stargazing on their inflatable matrasses at night. We spent our last weekend of holiday at the Totalsports Challenge in Kleinmond where we managed to take 4th place in the mixed pairs and 29th place overall. Not bad for my first race ever and a good way to start the year.

It was our Megan's 5th birthday on 8th January and we had a Psalty party for her last Saturday. She is all about the details and plays an enormous role in the planning of things like parties - she absolutely loves it! She had it in her mind for some time now that her sister should dress up as the blue singing songbook which she loves so much and I thought this was so cute, I would show you all a pic! So here is Sydney dressed up as Psalty the Songbook!

Nikki is seeing her Rheumatologist again today at 4.30 pm so we will probably know more after that. She has been battling a lot with spasms in her neck and struggles to sleep at night because of this so please keep her in your prayers in line with this. We were chatting earlier and also felt to ask friends to pray more specifically that Nikki's immune system would stop attacking her joints.

Thanks again for your support and prayers which carry us daily. We wish you everything of God's best in your lives for 2010! May it be a very very good year.

Psalm 46:10-11

"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge."

(This scripture has been a challenge and encouragement to me for this year - may it bless you too).

Quick Update

Hi all. We seem to have finally sorted out the issues with our internet line. We have been away in the Cederberg since Christmas and are home for 1 day before heading out to camp in Kleinmond where Pete and I are participating as a team in the Totalsports Challenge (a multisport event). Were doing the "Terra Firma event". Pete is doing the road and mountain biking and I am doing the road and beach run. We need prayer for our heads! The South Easter is set to be pumping and it's all into the wind. So keep us in your prayers pleeeez :-)

I just had to share the latest news with you before leaving. Nikki got her test results back yesterday and her doctor says that she has never had a patient respond so well to treatment. The cancer in her liver has reduced to a tiny spot. Also, the breast tissue is almost looking normal again. I am not sure about the areas in the bone at this stage but we are rejoicing nonetheless.

Because she has responded so well, Nikki's doctor would like her to continue a few more sessions with the liver chemotherapy. The only "bad news" is that the medical aid have refused to pay for further chemo treatments. Nikki's doctor is motivating for more treatments but please keep them in prayer regarding this.

Gotta run...family are waiting in car to leave for Kleinmond. More news when we get back.

Chemo 5 coming

It's been a frustrating few weeks with technology - our ADSL line has been giving us grief so, once again, I have not been able to update the blog for a while.

Nikki is due to go for her next course of Chemo on Thursday this week. She usually goes on a Wednesday but not this week because of the public holiday. We're so glad it worked out that way as our special friends, Rod, Val and Natalie are visiting from the USA and will be in Cape Town on Wednesday so we will all get together to see them then. Val's humour is always like medicine to us and we look forward to a good dose of laughter therapy!!

Our most recent news is that Nikki met with her Rheumatologist about a week and a half ago and he was very concerned about the development of the arthritis in her feet. He sent her for x rays as he was convinced there was permanent damage in the joints. But he phoned Nikki last week with the results of the tests and said that the x rays showed absolutely no permanent damage in the joints, which was very surprising to him. Praise our God!!

Other than that, Nikki continues to struggle with pain, inflammationa nd stiffness in her joints daily. Usually mornings are worst so she has continued to rest in the morning and seems to be better on most days in the afternoon.

She has had very few side effects from the chemotherapy other than hair loss and hot flushes, but her greatest struggle (physically) is with the arthritis which is relentless, so please continue to pray into this area. We continue to stand firm and beleive our God for her complete healing. As always, thank you for standing with us. Here is a photo of Nix at Daniel's 5th bithday party.

Clay therapy

We've had some trouble with our home internet connection this week - so apologies for the lack of updates and info over the last few days.


On Monday a group of us went through to the Clay Cafe in Hout Bay where we spent the morning chatting over coffee while painting our chosen clay items. It really was such an enjoyable morning and made us realise how important it is to take time out every now and then just to get away and have some fun together. Because this walk with Nix is so intense, it really was therapy! Thank you so much Loren for organising it. Below is a pic of us with our creations, which still need to be fired when the true colours will develop. So they look rather uninspiring in this pic (maybe I should include an "after pic" when they are done!). In this photo are: Nikki, Tania, Loren, Eve and Natalie




Yesterday was Nikki & Adrian's 9th wedding anniversary and they went out to dinner to celebrate. Adrian spoiled Nix with a beautiful eternity ring which she absolutely loves!


Nikki has been feeling better the last few days, apart from some nausea following the rich food last night at the Food Barn (she has been following a very strict diet of mostly raw veg, fruit, nuts and grilled fish or chicken over the past few months but decided to abandon that ship last night - with good reason) She said that the food was so delicious, it was worth it!


Nikki met with her rheumatologist again today and after her consultation, he sent her for more x-rays. She was pretty exhausted after the afternoon at the hospital so I still need to chat to her to get the news on the appointment and the latest news from Dr G.


Other than that, the week has flown past in a haze of year end functions and school activities. The end of the year is in full view now!


This scripture is just beautiful. It is only God who can give us true hope, joy and peace and it is amazing to be able to tap into those gifts and experience His hope, joy and peace on a daily basis:


Romans 15:13


"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Super-Dan Day!

Oh what fun it is to be a child!! It was Daniel's 5th birthday and his Superman (Super-Dan) party today. As has become the tradition, we all congregated at Afton Grove to celebrate the latest important birthday in our lives. Precious Daniel is rather taken with Superman and Nikki did an unbelievable job with the party. The children feasted and then hunted for treasure using crypic codes from outer space and the main attraction - pièce de résistance - was the birthday cake, a chocolate dome covered with Smarties and Astros which Daniel had to smash open with a hammer in order to reveal the cake and "sweet treasures" inside. It was a great success and we all feel like we had a good dose of fun and sugar today!

I am constantly amazed and humbled by the strength that Nikki shows though this walk. Just this week, I have found a new appreciation for my sister. I managed to develop a pinched nerve while running last weekend and have been walking around with a nagging pain in my lower back and right leg for the last week. It is so debilitating and at times I find that I feel quite irritable just because I feel so drained by the ever-present pain. But whenever I feel my small pain, I am reminded of my beautiful sister who lives in a state of constant inflammation and severe pain and who walks so gracefully through it all. She just blows me away! It has served as a reminder to me to continually lift her up in prayer.

While out for lunch yesterday, I bumped into an artist friend and was so touched by her story. She (along with so many others) has been praying for Nikki, but said that in the past week, as she prayed, she felt led to listen to a song which she knows is special to Nikki and has helped carry her a long way on this journey. As she listened and prayed, she was so inspired that she began to paint - she painted and painted - and produced a number of beautiful works of art (I think she said 5) through the week as she was inspired.

I have included the lyrics of the song below:

"Voice Of Truth" - Casting Crowns

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in
Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
To the realm of the unknown - where Jesus is
And He's holding out his hand

But the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win! You'll never win"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
And the voice of truth says "Do not be afraid!"
And the voice of truth says "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand

But the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win! You'll never win"

But the voice of truth tells me a different story
And the voice of truth says "Do not be afraid!"
And the voice of truth says "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
From on top of them looking down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth

Chemo Day

Today was Nikki's 5th round of chemo and things seem to have gone well with the treatment. They used a larger needle and managed to find a vein easily this time. The chemo was all done by 2.30 pm! This was a record for her as she is usually the last person in the ward. So it was a relief to finish up a little earlier today. She is feeling strong and even managed to do some shopping with Daniel and Hilda this afternoon before heading home. Long may it last!