Nikki has completed the first of 2 weeks of intensive radiation on her brain. This coming week is the last of the radiation after which she will have reached the maximum lifetime dosage for radiation on her brain. SO, please join with us in praying that every ounce and milligram of cancerous tissue is obliterated in her brain with this last week of radiation. Also, please continue to agree that she will keep her hair which is looking so gorgeous and thick - it has grown back completely differently to the hair she had b.c. (before chemotherapy!) which was straight and fine. It is thick and has a slight curl to it and suits her beautifully.
She is struggling a bit with the after-effects of the previous round of radiation on the breast. The skin under her arm is literally black - it is so badly burned and it is very, very painful. The medical staff were a bit alarmed when she showed them what it looked like and have given her some dressings and ointment to apply. Please pray that this will heal and clear up quickly.
She is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING... (as we already know) but anyone who has had the privilege of accompanying her to her daily treatments will testify to this story. She has the most positive outlook of any person I know and carries with her the very strength, joy (the bible says "the joy of the Lord is our strength"!), love and peace of God and is a shining light wherever she goes. Here is just one example (one of many): Our wonderful pastor Mark and I drove her through to hospital for treatment on Thursday and when she entered the waiting area for radiation, she cheerfully greeted all the other patients and staff (as she does) and then sat down next to a gentleman whom she had been chatting to the day before. Within moments his wife (who has cancer and is undergoing radiation treatment) was in tears and clinging to Nix from her wheelchair. When I looked at this lady, I saw fear unlike anything I have ever seen in Nikki or my precious friend Sarah who walked the same road a few years ago (both know/knew peace beyond understanding in spite of their circumstances). It was like she was so desperate to know the peace that Nikki knows and was clinging to her as if her life depended on it. As Nikki began to encourage and pray for this fearful lady, I visibly witnessed the fear leave her and the peace of God flood her body as God ministered is incredible love to her through Nikki. It was amazing, miraculous. And I had the privilege of being part of it and seeing it for myself.
I loved this quote which I read in a book recently:
You do not have to sit outside in the dark.
If, however, you want to look at the stars,
you will find that darkness is required.
The stars neither require it nor demand it.
Anne Dillard
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
The Next Two Weeks
I finally had a moment this morning to sit down and chat with my sister (My children and I have been a bit sick this week so I stayed away as I didn't want to infect Nix).
She eventually met with her oncologist yesterday. The course of radiation on the breast finished up yesterday and they have measured and made the mask for the next lot of radiation on her brain. They will start this course of radiation treatment on Monday - high dosage for two weeks. Nikki has been told that this radiation will cause her to lose her hair permanently.
Please pray and believe with us that the radiation would target all of the cancer sites in the brain and that, seeing she is such a rare individual, she would prove to be the exception to the rule and keep her hair!
She eventually met with her oncologist yesterday. The course of radiation on the breast finished up yesterday and they have measured and made the mask for the next lot of radiation on her brain. They will start this course of radiation treatment on Monday - high dosage for two weeks. Nikki has been told that this radiation will cause her to lose her hair permanently.
Please pray and believe with us that the radiation would target all of the cancer sites in the brain and that, seeing she is such a rare individual, she would prove to be the exception to the rule and keep her hair!
Thank you all so much for your many calls, emails, SMS'es etc. You are an amazing encouragement to Nikki, Adrian and all the family. Nikki absolutely loves her friends and staying in contact is very important to her, but sometimes it can be a bit difficult for her to reply for a number of reasons.
Psalm 121:
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber,
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you -
the Lord is your shade at your right hand,
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm -
He will watch over your life,
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip - he who watches over you will not slumber,
indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord watches over you -
the Lord is your shade at your right hand,
the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all harm -
He will watch over your life,
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Days in the Sun
The last few days have been draining but really special too. Nikki's oncologist has been on leave and will only be back tomorrow. She will meet with him to discuss the way forward with her treatment after her regular radiation session in the morning. So we are still no clearer yet on what is to happen from here. Please keep them in your prayers as they meet with the doctors again tomorrow. We pray that God's peace and love would overwhelm them.
Nikki and Adrian took their children with them to her radiation session on Friday and let them watch what was happenning to mommy - they had lots of questions and a nice honest chat time. They then took them up Table Mountain and had a day of fun together. What amazes me is the special grace that God gives the children to handle things like this. It's like they are in a bubble of His protection and, while they are aware of the reality of things, their little hearts are so peaceful, joyful, accepting and trusting.
Today was a beautiful day. Bright and sparkling, windless and warm. Our friends, Werner and Liesl Stadler so kindly offered to take photos of the family. In all of our wanderings together, we have managed to get absolutely NO photographs of the extended "Spengler-clan" all together, all looking in the same direction! So today was the day we set that right. They started early with Nix, Adrian and the kids, and then my parents and our family joined them on the beach. We then moved on to the common to finish up the shoot. We spent the rest of the afternoon braaiing at Afton. Our cousin Greg and his family joined us there for some catch-up time which was lovely.
Nix was amazing - kept going all day through it all (she reckons she might as well make the most of the steroids!). Her headaches and eyesight have been better since the doc gave her more cortisone to reduce the swelling. Added bonus - her joints are so much better too. She is so strong and looks so gorgeous, no-one would think she was battling this enormous battle.
We continue to hope in our God, our strength and our healer. We trust Him and continue to ask him for Nikki's complete healing - that He may be glorified in this.
Nikki and Adrian took their children with them to her radiation session on Friday and let them watch what was happenning to mommy - they had lots of questions and a nice honest chat time. They then took them up Table Mountain and had a day of fun together. What amazes me is the special grace that God gives the children to handle things like this. It's like they are in a bubble of His protection and, while they are aware of the reality of things, their little hearts are so peaceful, joyful, accepting and trusting.
Today was a beautiful day. Bright and sparkling, windless and warm. Our friends, Werner and Liesl Stadler so kindly offered to take photos of the family. In all of our wanderings together, we have managed to get absolutely NO photographs of the extended "Spengler-clan" all together, all looking in the same direction! So today was the day we set that right. They started early with Nix, Adrian and the kids, and then my parents and our family joined them on the beach. We then moved on to the common to finish up the shoot. We spent the rest of the afternoon braaiing at Afton. Our cousin Greg and his family joined us there for some catch-up time which was lovely.
Nix was amazing - kept going all day through it all (she reckons she might as well make the most of the steroids!). Her headaches and eyesight have been better since the doc gave her more cortisone to reduce the swelling. Added bonus - her joints are so much better too. She is so strong and looks so gorgeous, no-one would think she was battling this enormous battle.
We continue to hope in our God, our strength and our healer. We trust Him and continue to ask him for Nikki's complete healing - that He may be glorified in this.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
New Challenges
As I mentioned in the previous post, Nikki went for a brain MRI earlier in the week after her difficult weekend. The results came back today and, after hearing the report and spending a teary afternoon with the family, I asked her what I could post on the blog she just said (typcial)..."Well, the good news is, they've found out what's wrong with my head, but the bad news is, its not very good news :-)"
The short story is that the MRI showed more secondaries (metastasised cancer sites) in the brain. She had so much to say about the neurologist whom she said was fantastic. This is what she wrote in a text this evening - for uploading on the blog:
"What a LOVELY neurologist! Such a special doctor... After reading the radiologist's report on the MRI results from yesterday (which showed more secondaries in the brain) he prayed with us and asked for a miracle. Chatted about how we are ALL facing death every day and none of us know our time, but when we're faced with an eternity with our Father in heaven (in contrast with our very short time here on earth, which seems like "our whole life" but is in fact just a fraction of it)...it makes it so much easier to face death.
All of us have questions, but what I have realised is that one day when we have the chance to ask the questions, the questions will disappear in the light of everything that God is. We will realise that our brains would never have been able to comprehend a fraction of it, but one day we will see clearly, that it was all in HIS PLAN! I loved this saying which I read in a book recently: Everything IS OK in the end. If it's not OK, IT"S NOT THE END!
We're all still holding onto God and now He will be there to walk each day with me. Will just take it one step at a time ...and trust Him."
That's written by one incredible lady! I love my precious sister and honour her for her incredible character, courage and faith in this walk. And her amazing sense of humour which is a gift and never in short-supply.
We thank you for your prayers as we continue to trust God for a miracle of healing in her body.
The short story is that the MRI showed more secondaries (metastasised cancer sites) in the brain. She had so much to say about the neurologist whom she said was fantastic. This is what she wrote in a text this evening - for uploading on the blog:
"What a LOVELY neurologist! Such a special doctor... After reading the radiologist's report on the MRI results from yesterday (which showed more secondaries in the brain) he prayed with us and asked for a miracle. Chatted about how we are ALL facing death every day and none of us know our time, but when we're faced with an eternity with our Father in heaven (in contrast with our very short time here on earth, which seems like "our whole life" but is in fact just a fraction of it)...it makes it so much easier to face death.
All of us have questions, but what I have realised is that one day when we have the chance to ask the questions, the questions will disappear in the light of everything that God is. We will realise that our brains would never have been able to comprehend a fraction of it, but one day we will see clearly, that it was all in HIS PLAN! I loved this saying which I read in a book recently: Everything IS OK in the end. If it's not OK, IT"S NOT THE END!
We're all still holding onto God and now He will be there to walk each day with me. Will just take it one step at a time ...and trust Him."
That's written by one incredible lady! I love my precious sister and honour her for her incredible character, courage and faith in this walk. And her amazing sense of humour which is a gift and never in short-supply.
We thank you for your prayers as we continue to trust God for a miracle of healing in her body.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Long Time No Hear
Apologies for the long silence... It has been a very long while since the last post. Following on from the last news, Nikki decided to go for the 2nd course of Mabthera and (in my opinion) it seems to be working to ease the pain and inflammation in her joints somewhat. She was also on extra steroids and pain killers over the holidays (to be able to enjoy as much time with her children as possible) but she is looking so much better and so healthy these days (she astounded us by walking the entire Fan Walk with Hannah and friends for the semi finals of the World Cup in Cape Town!).
After an MRI to ascertain the progression of the disease in the breast, it was decided to treat the breast with radiation. Nix is now about halfway through a 5 week course of radiation treatment. She travels through to Pinelands for treatment every day (thanks to all the precious friends who have offered lifts, she has a chance to catch up with a different person every day!) She continues on her Chemotherapy treatment and is due for the next dose tomorrow straight after her radiation session. She has also moved to a new Oncologist who specialises in breast cancer & radiation treatment.
Adrian, Nix and the children managed to get away to Wilderness for a break in the first week of the school holidays which was the best therapy for Nix. They spent some time alone at Eagle's Nest and then with the Webbers at Ebb and Flow and had a wonderful time. I have asked her for some photos which I hope to upload soon. They also treated themselves to a new bed after Nikki found that she was so comfortable on the matress in the holiday chalet and decided that their bed definitely wasnt helping her sleep issues. The new bed has helped immensely with this. Thank you so much for all those who have contributed to the Alabaster Fund as it was these contributions that helped them to invest time into their family and their health in this way. We have been so blessed by friends and family who have gone out of their way to support Nikki in so many different ways. A friend living in Ireland, Yvonne D'Arcy, decided to run the Dublin Marathon in order to raise funds for Nikki / The Alabaster Fund. She challenged 2 friends to join her. They had t-shirts printed and did it all in support of Nix - AMAZING! (Yvonne, if you read this, please contact us with your email address / telephone number as our mails are bouncing back from the email address you gave my folks - thank you :-))
Although she has been handling the radiation like a soldier, Nikki came down with the biggest migraine of her life this last weekend. She literally couldnt see or walk and wasnt able to keep any food or drinks down. Eventually, they called the GP in early on Sunday morning. He gave her some injections for pain, nausea and inflammation as well as a sleeping tab. She spent the rest of the day in bed and by the evening started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thankfully, she didnt have to be hospitalised and seemed to make quite a remarkable turn around. A lovely testimony - Nikki saw a neurologist on Monday on the GP's recommendation and, without knowing her, he asked her whether she "was reglious or had faith" and she answered "yes" to which he commented that he could see that by her peaceful outlook and joyful demeanour in spite of her circumstances. Our God is our strength, our peace and our joy and we continue to trust Him and hang on to Him through the trial.
Our children (Megan, Sydney, Hannah and Daniel) were asked to model the 2010 bandanas for The Sunflower Fund. We went through to the studio for the shoot yesterday and were so proud of our little gang! They were real professionals. So you can all look out for their little faces on posters in Pick n Pay stores and around about soon.
After an MRI to ascertain the progression of the disease in the breast, it was decided to treat the breast with radiation. Nix is now about halfway through a 5 week course of radiation treatment. She travels through to Pinelands for treatment every day (thanks to all the precious friends who have offered lifts, she has a chance to catch up with a different person every day!) She continues on her Chemotherapy treatment and is due for the next dose tomorrow straight after her radiation session. She has also moved to a new Oncologist who specialises in breast cancer & radiation treatment.
Adrian, Nix and the children managed to get away to Wilderness for a break in the first week of the school holidays which was the best therapy for Nix. They spent some time alone at Eagle's Nest and then with the Webbers at Ebb and Flow and had a wonderful time. I have asked her for some photos which I hope to upload soon. They also treated themselves to a new bed after Nikki found that she was so comfortable on the matress in the holiday chalet and decided that their bed definitely wasnt helping her sleep issues. The new bed has helped immensely with this. Thank you so much for all those who have contributed to the Alabaster Fund as it was these contributions that helped them to invest time into their family and their health in this way. We have been so blessed by friends and family who have gone out of their way to support Nikki in so many different ways. A friend living in Ireland, Yvonne D'Arcy, decided to run the Dublin Marathon in order to raise funds for Nikki / The Alabaster Fund. She challenged 2 friends to join her. They had t-shirts printed and did it all in support of Nix - AMAZING! (Yvonne, if you read this, please contact us with your email address / telephone number as our mails are bouncing back from the email address you gave my folks - thank you :-))
Although she has been handling the radiation like a soldier, Nikki came down with the biggest migraine of her life this last weekend. She literally couldnt see or walk and wasnt able to keep any food or drinks down. Eventually, they called the GP in early on Sunday morning. He gave her some injections for pain, nausea and inflammation as well as a sleeping tab. She spent the rest of the day in bed and by the evening started to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thankfully, she didnt have to be hospitalised and seemed to make quite a remarkable turn around. A lovely testimony - Nikki saw a neurologist on Monday on the GP's recommendation and, without knowing her, he asked her whether she "was reglious or had faith" and she answered "yes" to which he commented that he could see that by her peaceful outlook and joyful demeanour in spite of her circumstances. Our God is our strength, our peace and our joy and we continue to trust Him and hang on to Him through the trial.
Our children (Megan, Sydney, Hannah and Daniel) were asked to model the 2010 bandanas for The Sunflower Fund. We went through to the studio for the shoot yesterday and were so proud of our little gang! They were real professionals. So you can all look out for their little faces on posters in Pick n Pay stores and around about soon.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Decisions, decisions
Nix has been facing a confusing and difficult time with major decisions to be made again.
She started on the Mabthera (experimental) treatment a few weeks back and is due for her second round this week. She has had to do some tests in the mean time though and found some progression in the disease in her breast - docs are not sure whether this is due to the new treatment or something else but they are currently discussing it amongst each other and making decisions as to the best course of treatment for her. Ultimately, the decision lies in Nikki's hands though. Please can we ask that you pray for wisdom regarding the best route to go re: treament and for peace in the decision she makes.
She continues to be the lovely, lively, upbeat and wonderful person she is in spite of everything that is thrown at her on a daily basis but this walk is not easy and we trust in God for His strength and grace for each new day. We are so grateful for His love.
She started on the Mabthera (experimental) treatment a few weeks back and is due for her second round this week. She has had to do some tests in the mean time though and found some progression in the disease in her breast - docs are not sure whether this is due to the new treatment or something else but they are currently discussing it amongst each other and making decisions as to the best course of treatment for her. Ultimately, the decision lies in Nikki's hands though. Please can we ask that you pray for wisdom regarding the best route to go re: treament and for peace in the decision she makes.
She continues to be the lovely, lively, upbeat and wonderful person she is in spite of everything that is thrown at her on a daily basis but this walk is not easy and we trust in God for His strength and grace for each new day. We are so grateful for His love.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Nikki's Birthday
We celebrated Nikki's birthday in style last weekend at Shelley Point with 10 of her close friends. Most of it was a surprise for her. All she knew is that my mom and I were taking her away for the weekend. It was truly a special time of friendship and fun. We stayed at the most perfect location in the world - The Villa on the Beach (thanks to Leen and Mies for that!) and we hired the Shelley Point Spa for the Saturday morning and were treated like queens! What more could you ask for - a house right on the beachfront, great weather and food, wonderful friends, treats and time together. Therapy! Here are some photos:
The girls in the Spa (minus Queenie). No value can be placed on times like these.
Nix and I looking fairly normal (unusual for us!) :-) Beleive me - we have proof!!
The weekend was followed by Chemotherapy first thing on Monday morning and Nix has been feeling the effects of the late nights on the weekend together with the Chemo this week so has had a rough week. She is such a trooper though, feeling stronger every day.
Hannah has her first violin recital this Friday - everyone is really excited about that. No one more than her though! So sweet...
The girls in the Spa (minus Queenie). No value can be placed on times like these.Nix and I looking fairly normal (unusual for us!) :-) Beleive me - we have proof!!The weekend was followed by Chemotherapy first thing on Monday morning and Nix has been feeling the effects of the late nights on the weekend together with the Chemo this week so has had a rough week. She is such a trooper though, feeling stronger every day.
Hannah has her first violin recital this Friday - everyone is really excited about that. No one more than her though! So sweet...
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