Celebrating Chemo

I don't write often about my mother in law, Kathy's, battle with cancer. My lack of writing about it does NOT reflect its effect on my life. I am just cautious to share her story, because it's not mine to share. She is more private than I am so I love her and support her quietly. But today I am sharing.
We got some bad news back in July that the cancer was back...three tumors to be exact. This was not good news. The doctors said there was nothing else they could do. But they did find a clinical trial that K qualified for, the study was being done in two places, Nebraska and Idaho. Lucky for her, and for us, the one in Idaho was only 20 minutes from our house. My in laws also have a house in Idaho so it worked out great. This chemo had a 30% chance of stopping the growth of the tumors, it had a 6% chance of actually shrinking them. With all the hope and faith she could muster, K went for it.
She had a chemo bag that she carried around for 24 hours then the next day she would get unhooked. The next five days were beyond nasty, but she endured. Two weeks later she did it all over again. Last week she went in for the cat scan to see if it worked, and once again God provided us a miracle. Those tumors actually shrunk! I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for us. We know that his time is not our time. We are just so grateful that he has preserved K's life and blessed our family with this miracle.
So to celebrate we went to Manito Park and then out to dinner.
Here are some pictures of the gorgeous flowers we saw. This beauty could only be created by the finger of God.

While we were enjoying the gardens I looked up and saw this:

Can you believe Santa was there! You have understand how far away we were. My zoom is ridiculous! I didn't even know he was waving his finger until I go home and cropped my pictures.
The weather was perfect and we truly soaked in the beauty that surrounded us.

 

We wore Little C out!

The girls loved posing...especially Eden.

After the park we went to Red Robin to celebrate the chemo that is giving us more precious time with Grandma Kathy.

A giant chocolate milkshake and garlic fries is the best way to celebrate any occasion.

So now K had her third round of chemo yesterday, she will head back to Fargo tomorrow, then come back and do it all over again in three weeks. After these two rounds they will do another cat scan to see if it is still working.

All I know is that I am inspired by her fight and humbled by her faith. Her fight has changed me. I do not take my health for granted. I value my relationships in a way I never did before. I hold close my testimony of eternal families and my knowledge that Christ is truly my Savior. So while K wakes up every morning ready to wage war on this beast, I wake up more determined than ever, to not take my life for granted and cherish every moment of every day.

Kathy, I love you. Hang in there!