Our First Appointment

We had our first appointment today, and it was a very important one. I'm so thankful that we have access to such excellent medical care. There is no other way to say it but the news so far is not good. The doctor looked at the MRI today and says that he is 98% sure that it is osteosarcoma. We have scheduled the biopsy for Wednesday morning, and if the tumor is malignant they will insert a port and do another test. We will stay the night Wednesday night and return home on Thursday, Lord willing. Our post-op appointment is January 11th.

It has been really amazing how God paved the way for us here. We really like the doctor, Dr. John Dormans, the Chief of the Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery Department (he has been here doing this for 20 years) and his staff. Dr. Dormans has done research advancing the state of the art in care for this type of cancer. It seems like an excellent place to receive care. They really bent over backwards to help us get all the tests done today, of which there have been quite a few. The Nurse Practitioner told Patty that it really took him by surprise how the staff here rose to the occasion to get all the tests done today. Sounds like answered prayer to me!! Christen is tired of being poked and prodded. She is having a bone scan as I write this. She will be glad when today is done. We all will be.

Patty and Lisa drove up this morning even through some icy conditions. Patty's help has been so great! We can't thank her enough. She is a great patient advocate. Ruth and Lisa have been very patient and encouraging through the long waits and meetings, and tests. Thank you so much, Lisa and Ruth.

We are back to the Ronald McDonald House. We had a nice meal, and are planning to have a quiet evening and day tomorrow. Christen should be able to get some good rest in preparation for her surgery on Wednesday.

Please pray for the outcomes of the various tests that Christen was given today, as well as Wednesday's biopsy. It is important that the surgery be done well.

Keep us in your prayers! God is faithful.
Steve for Debbie and the family

We've arrived in Philly

One more day to attest to God's faithfulness. We enjoyed sweet fellowship and a time of prayer for Christen this morning at church, as well as encouraging words from the sermon and our many dear friends there. After a mini whirlwind of grabbing lunch (leftovers from the dinner that Dawn brought us yesterday), getting packed and out of the house, we were on our way (Steve, Debbie, Christen and one of Christen's friends, Ruth) to Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. Christen and Ruth joined the youth group's teaching time via cell phone on the way up 95 after watching a movie on the portable DVD player. Louie's GPS was great and guided us to the right place. What a world...!

We've arrived and are staying at the Ronald McDonald House here. Very nice and accommodating. The girls are upstairs in our room and we are downstairs in the kitchen with our stuff spread out needing to do some reading, etc. in prep for tomorrow's consult. It's been a real gift to have Ruth along--thanks for letting her come. Also, this wireless card is very appreciated Pat! --our only access here to the internet. Many thanks also to those caring for our other dear children.

BTW, if you want to e-mail us while we are here, use Steve's work address (slunsford@harttech.com)---maybe through Wed?

Your prayers have been felt. We've been carried through one more day. Each day is a gift. God was with us today; He'll be with us tomorrow. Pray for wisdom in choosing the right doctor and facility. Also, for clear minds to take in all that the doctor says and to ask the right questions--we're a bit tired. Our dear friend Patty plans to make her way here early tomorrow morning (3 and 1/2+ hours drive) to record for us what the doctor says so that we won't miss anything! What an angel!!!

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way
(chorus lyrics from Casting Crowns song, "If We Are the Body")

Many thanks to all. You are the Body, and you ARE reaching, healing, teaching, going and showing. You are awesome! God is awesome!

Because He lives.
Debbie, for Steve and family

A Day of Visits and Preparation

Today we had enjoyable visits with Dawn, Larry and Ellen, Scot, Mark and Julie and their kids, Darlene, and Bob and Jane.

Pat loaned us the company wireless/cellular internet card to use while we are on travel. Thanks Pat, that will be a big help! Kathy, Patty, and Mary Ann all loaned videos, and Kathy also loaned a portable DVD player. Thank you all!

The picture to the right is one I took today of Christen (left) and her younger sister Hannah.

E-mails, blog posts, phone calls etc. continue to come in at an amazing pace. We are so thankful for each and every one of them. We see the love of Jesus through you guys! It is so encouraging to hear from you. How can we thank you enough? How can we thank God enough? We simply cannot.

Tomorrow afternoon we leave for Philadelphia, and we hope to stay at the Ronald McDonald House.

Here are some specific prayer requests.

1) Pray that the tumor is benign.
2) That we will get a firm diagnosis this week.
3) For our hearts to be calm throughout.
4) For the other 7 children that we leave at home. Our youngest, William, is 5. He doesn't understand all of this. Please pray for his little heart to trust Jesus while his family is apart.
5) That Debbie and I will be wise as we will likely have to make some very important decisions.
6) For wisdom and skill for the doctor.
7) That we will see Jesus in all of this, and that He will be glorified!!


Steve, Debbie, and the family

Day 2

We hit the ground running today. I can't even begin to describe how busy we have been all day working on Christen's care. We spent a lot of time on the phone with Stephanie, Patty, and various hospitals, trying to get information from our local doctor, and getting flu shots and a myriad other details and conversations. Getting the flu shots turned out to be an exciting process in itself. Just imagine 9 of us sitting in the doctors office. And then add on top of that 2 of the kids fainted during the process. Isaac would have fallen off the table if someone hadn't been standing right there with him. I actually thought he was having a seizure. Needless to say that was more "excitement" than we wished for today but God was with us and there was no harm done. One nurse said that she will never forget Isaac since she never had anyone faint on her before. :-)

While we were getting the flu shots, Patty and Lisa hand-delivered a document with the flow-chart of the progression of care that the doctor will give Christen. Talk about knowing what to expect!! Thank you Patty and Lisa!!

Flowers arrived anonymously this morning from someone in Jesus' name. We say thanks to a special someone out there!! You brightened Christen's day, and gave her a mystery to solve. :-)

Christen also received a phone call from Michelle in England. She is getting prayer from friends in England and from her friends in Japan, as well as the church there where she was this summer on the short-term missions trip. What an awesome God we serve!!

I had to go back to Panera today to get information off the Internet. I was in such a hurry that I walked in sat down and started working on the computer and making phone calls. The line was so long that I didn't bother to buy anything. While I was sitting there talking on the phone with someone at one of the hospitals we are considering an angel walked up and sat a strawberry smoothie down on the table for me. Then a little later the same angel returned with a coffee mug and a note inside which said to go ahead and get some coffee. I found out later that she (Megan) actually wasn't supposed to be working today, and was only there for a few hours pinch hitting for someone else. Thank you Megan!

I returned home after running some more errands after the flu shot episode and found the house a whir with activity. Several folks were working at cleaning the house (Wendy, Christy, Shaye, Abigail, Laura) and probably others that I didn't actually see. Then they started rearranging the bedrooms which took a number of hours to complete. Christen has been sleeping downstairs but we decided that she really needs to be upstairs now so this necessitated moving the boys room downstairs and Christen and Hannah moving up. You can imagine that is a LOT of work. Many thanks to Wendy and crew for taking on this task for us!!!! We knew it needed to be done but just didn't have the time to get to it. Now we are all set.

The phone kept ringing and we spent more time on the phone scheduling, giving insurance information, etc.

Jack visited with us late this afternoon. Thank you Jack for that.

After much discussion and thought we finally decided to meet with doctors at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, and Johns Hopkins. Christen has an appointment at 10:30 AM on Monday morning (12/31) with a specialist at the hospital in Philadelphia. They told us to bring enough clothes to stay over until Wednesday in case they decide to do the biopsy. We also have an appointment at Hopkins on Wednesday. Obviously all that can't happen on the same day so we have some decisions to make. We plan to drive up to Philadelphia on Sunday evening and stay overnight.

Also when we went to bed last night, we found a bag in our room with a "traveling medical briefcase" with all the necessary accessories (folders, pens, labels, etc.) to keep Christen's many medical documents organized. Many thanks to Mary Ann. You are amazing! That was just what we needed. We actually had shopped yesterday for a good way to organize the documents, but had not found anything which really fit the bill. The organizer is perfect.

Christen is taking all this better than could have been expected. God is answering your prayers. There are possibly many difficult and painful days ahead, and she is aware of this. Please keep her in your prayers. I can hardly imagine what it must be like for her. She is such an amazing young lady, and we are very proud of her. We love you, Christen!

Please pray that tumor will turn out to be benign against the odds.

Steve, Debbie and family

Our First Full Day

December 27^th 2007

This is Christen’s first full day with the knowledge that she is likely dealing with bone cancer. Debbie and I had to spend a bit of time researching treatment options and shopping for the family. It has been amazing to see what God has done in just one day of dealing with this new reality. So many people -- family, Patty, Bob and Jane, and many others have called, e-mailed, given us advice, encouragement, offers of help, and just a simple hug all of which meant so much. Patty and her daughter Lisa have been a great help with research on Christen's condition.

We saw several stamps of God’s hand on our day. We dropped off our blue Honda at Alpha Omega because we are having trouble with it and we would like to drive it to Richmond on Monday. While we were there the owner and his wife prayed with us a very special and deeply heartfelt prayer. Then we went to Panera to get high speed internet access because our Internet at home is so slow. While we were sitting there working on the computer researching Christen’s condition and treatment options, who should walk up to us but Chris (a young adult at our church who is a cancer survivor), a living, breathing, weight lifting testimony to God’s power to heal cancer. That was such an encouragement to us! Then we went to Wal Mart to pick up some things that we will need over the coming weeks, and we saw Lynne and her daughters Megan and Emily, and they gave out hugs and encouragement. Then we spent a long time on the phone with Elizabeth who gave us a lot of great advice for which Debbie and I are both deeply grateful. It is so wonderful to have people around us who know a lot about what Christen is facing. Then we went to the doctor’s office to schedule flu shots (not a great time to get the flu as you might imagine) for tomorrow. We told the lady behind the counter what we were up to and after she finished setting up the appointments she stood up, grabbed both Debbie and me by the hand and said, “Let’s commit this to Jesus”, and she proceeded to pray a wonderful prayer for Christen in Jesus name.

All the while, the kids where at home, and Wendy, Tonya, and Mary Ann all stopped by, fixed dinner and delivered Christen’s friends Shaye, Abigail, Laura, Ruth, and Rachel. It was such a wonderful thing to see 8 girls sitting around the dinner table laughing and having a great time together. Their friendship with Christen has been like medicine for her. What an awesome thing to feel the love of Jesus through His people.

Please pray for wisdom as we consider different treatment options and facilities, and for our appointment tomorrow to consult with our doctor and on Monday to visit the bone cancer specialist.

We know that we have a great God who is overseeing all things, and has Christen in the palm of His hand. How grateful we are for that.