Sometimes my daughter asks me for something and I tell her, “Yes, tomorrow.” or “Yes, after dinner.” or “Yes, when we get home.” Sometimes she says, “Yeah, but I want it right now.” 

Last week her bedtime devotional addressed that.  

Sometimes I have a hard time waiting for God to give me what I’ve asked for. He might be telling me, “Yes, but at a different time.” It’s also possible He has a different plan than what I’d choose. Either way, I trust He’ll give my family and me what we need. 

In this battle with cancer my two deepest concerns have been that I don’t want my daughter to hurt and that I want God to be glorified. I can’t count the times people have told me they believe God will heal me because my daughter and husband need me. I used to think, “I believe God will heal me, not because they need me, but so His goodness can be seen.” I grew up with divorced parents and my dad had primary custody of me and my brother. I’ve thought many times, “I grew up without my mom in the home, and I’ve turned out fine. Catica will be fine with out me. She doesn’t need me.” 

However, recently, I’ve connected with the truth that while I am mostly fine, my mom’s absence did and does hurt. I don’t want my daughter to hurt. I want to be healed so my daughter doesn’t hurt. I will thank God for every day of life I have and for every day that my daughter doesn’t feel an absence from her mom. 

I keep remembering the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and am inspired by their faith and confidence in our Creator. 

I’m keeping my hope in Jesus, and believing there’s always hope in Jesus. 

______________________________________

Some updates on my health: 

I had CT scans the last week of June. 

The scans show my already existing tumors have noticeably grown.  

The scans show I have a few new tumors. 

Some basic info on the state of my cancer and my past treatments:  

-I have been told I have approximately 50 tumors.  -Though the cancer originated in my colon it was already in my hip bone and my liver when I was diagnosed and showed up in my lungs last year.  -My liver has been the primary area of concern during my course of treatment.  -When I was diagnosed my liver was about 80% full of tumors, now it’s about 30% full of tumors. -I’ve been on three different chemo treatments (fulfox, fulfuri, and fulfoxiri).  -I was unable to have my tumors surgically removed because there are too many and they are too widespread in my body for surgery to be successful. 

I need to transition to a new treatment plan because the chemo I’ve been on is no longer successful. 

I will probably have to get radiation this month before starting a clinical trial.

I’m being considered for three clinical trials. 

Next week I’ll be getting more information from the clinical trials department of UCSF which will determine what trial I might be a part of. 

New Post has been published on https://goodnewsjamaica.com/news/the-journey-of-the-harbour-view-u10-football-club-to-italy-day1/

The Journey of the Harbour View U10 Football Club to Italy Day1

Harbour View Football Club U10 arrives in Italy

We were well supported by family and friends as they gathered inside the airport lobby to see of the group of 18 youngsters and 19 adults depart for Italy. An additional parent and player will arrive on Wednesday. Hugs, kisses, and a few tears were shared as group photos, selfies and individual photos were taken.

Excited to go, we departed the Norman Manley International Airport at 12:40pm on American Airlines to Miami where we met with HVFC Manager O’Neal Johnson and his wife, along with Janet and Patricia McFarlane, family members of Coach Sydney and Team Manager Monica. Long processing, followed by rushing to Gate D4 at the extreme end of the terminal, clearing and rechecking luggages with a slight delay to complete stage 3 and depart to Malpensa, Milan in Italy!

The boys played video games on consoles embedded in seats of the super-large and luxurious Boeing 777 aircraft during the 9-hour trans-Atlantic flight. They did create a tent to cover seats between 11:15 to 11:40pm so eyes could rest during an intermission, but not for prolonged sleep. Whether it was meals, drinks or snacks, the kids attacked it with vigour until we landed at 9:07am Italian time.

The 60-seater luxury liner met us outside the airport for the 3.5 hour drive across the city of Milan.

New vistas welcomed us; joy filled the young hearts as “look at that” was the popular cry from eyes peering out the bus’ windows, left and right. Playing all the way, the young “Stars of the East” glowed in delight. The green pastures adorned the roadsides, with grapevines and olive trees nurtured.

Sooner than we thought, we were entering the hillside town of Cavion overlooking the orchards in the resort town as our Hotel Al Sole, proprietor Milano, and our tournament organiser and friend, Giuseppe Appoloni greeted us with warm smiles and gentle embraces. Hostesses Aleesia and Elise sat us down for lunch following introductions. While eating, drinking and relaxing, we coordinated our rooms and settled in before engaging in a team meeting, followed by a 90-minute walk of the small town area. Everyone had fun at the park and stopped by the Mayor’s party on our way back. Later, dinner was followed by a close-of-day meeting, then finally to bed to really rest and catch up on an extended day of long lost sleep!

The initial schedule received will see us opening the Tournament against Bayern Munich, then Manchester United, then Italian club Sud Tirol to close Zone A. More details to come!