Category Archives: Disease

A burst of happiness, but then…

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All of us have been encouraged by the reports of literally thousands praying for Nelson and his family. It’s the most powerful thing any of us can do for him.

In addition to that, many have asked, “What can we do to help?” And suddenly multiple packages have begun arriving at our apartment complex, mostly things to help us set up housekeeping in our little apartment. Though a few days ago it was completely empty, now it’s beginning to look like home.

My nephew Luke loaned us furniture along with his trailer to haul it from his house to Rochester, an 80-mile ride. (He also let us stay at his house until we could find a place.)

YWAM friends Mike and Judy drove 100 miles from their home in northern Minnesota, to help us move. With Luke’s help, they loaded his trailer and towed it an additional 80 miles to our apartment. They carried it all inside, put together a couple of Ikea items, drove the 80 miles back north to return the trailer, and then did the last 100 miles to get home in the middle of the night – all with good cheer and the joy of the Lord.

 

Yesterday the landlord of our apartment complex said, “Come to my office. There’s a roomful of boxes for you here.” And suddenly it’s Christmas in May. We stand amazed.

But the gifts haven’t been limited to material things. Yesterday we met with a world renown doctor who is an expert in three areas: radiology, oncology, and lung cancer. He will be the “head honcho” over what happens to Nelson in coming days, dictating treatment along with his team of other specialists.

This doctor gave us a piece of good news that had us all rejoicing. Nelson’s MRI of his brain revealed no sign of cancer there. To that we shouted hallelujah! And the doctor was pleased to meet Nelson and his family, since all of us attended the meeting.

In 28 appointments over the last 5 days (doctors, nurses, labs, tests), no one has mentioned Covid and they’ve encouraged all of us to attend everything, even if Will is fussing. They understand how much Nelson has to live for and want to make that happen.

But…

today the all-important biopsy took place when they removed the center of an infected lymph node, poking Nelson 9 times in his neck. As Dr. Oliver said, “Without the tissue, there’s no issue.” Determining the source of the cancer’s origin is critical, because that will dictate treatment.

As we were talking about that today, the phone rang. It was one of the doctors letting us know that the labs done on the fluid that was extracted from Nelson’s lung showed lung cancer. But worst of all, his cancer is Stage 4. This difficult news has taken all day for us to absorb.

The renown doctor told us not to Google “Stage 4 lung cancer,” because we’d only find bad news. “And,” he said, “Google doesn’t know about all the new meds and treatments we have here at the Mayo Clinic.” So we continue to follow the doctors’ lead, knowing they know more about all this than we do. And we’re praying for a miracle.

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12)

Here we go again.

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This blog site came into existence during the summer of 2009, a few weeks before we learned of my husband Nate’s pancreatic cancer.

We were grateful to have a cyber-place already established where friends and family could be updated during his six weeks of illness.

It would have been impossible to tend to all the emails, texts, and calls wanting to know how he was doing.

Seven years later, this same blog came in handy once again for the same purpose. My sister Mary had contracted cancer, and we used it as a way to keep people current on how she was coping.

And now we find ourselves at the same place again, this time for the firstborn of our seven children, Nelson. It was less than two weeks ago that we learned why he had been feeling bad: He, too, had cancer.

Nelson has been robust and healthy throughout his 49 years. He ran marathons, swam a mile each day, and ran multiple miles with joy. He had a physical job with Youth With A Mission in Kona, Hawaii, and was on the go daily…and sometimes well into the night.

That is, until now.

Ten days ago, Nelson, with his wife Ann Sophie and their baby Will, were happily living and working in Kona, Hawaii on the Big Island. They were shepherding young people through a YWAM work program coupled with spiritual guidance that changed their lives forever.

We had plans to be together this July during their vacation time, but God put us together sooner than expected. In just a few days, here’s what has happened:

  1. Nelson, Ann Sophie and little Will, 10 weeks old, flew to Minneapolis, Minnesota to spend some time at cousin Luke’s home there, learning about the Mayo Clinic.
  2. Nelson became a patient at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
  3. Nelson, Ann Sophie, Will and I rented an apartment together that is only 6 minutes from Mayo’s.
  4. A group of hard working, cheerful people came together to move us in, donating furniture to our empty apartment. (More on this tomorrow.)
  5. In our first three days, Nelson has seen five different specialized doctors who each took a great deal of time with us. And he’s seen multiple nurses and imaging techs during the process of testing and fact-gathering about his cancer. The goal is to determine where the cancer began and thus what the treatment should be. We will know those things by early next week.

So…together we hope to write this daily blog, letting people know how Nelson and his young family are doing. We’re grateful they have so many friends who’ve already shown their love in both tangible and intangible ways. To all of you, we say a resounding THANK YOU! We couldn’t have done any of this without you…and especially without cousin Luke.

“Carry each other’s burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

 

Nine Years Ago Today

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Today, September 22, is the 9th anniversary of the day Nate and I learned of his fatal cancer. He’d been bothered by severe back pain for 7 months and was scheduled for surgery when pre-op tests told a different story.

After that appointment at a Chicago hospital, we pointed our mini-van toward the peace and quiet of our Michigan home. As I drove, Nate used the time to call each of his 7 children to tell them personally what we’d just learned. As emotionally draining as that job was, he wanted each of them to hear it directly from him.

Normal life came to a screeching halt that day as we tried to absorb the shock. No one knew what was going to happen, but all agreed it couldn’t possibly be anything good.

*          *              *              *              *             *              *              *             *              *

Recently I came across a paper with Nate’s handwriting on it, something I don’t often see these days. It was the first page in a blank book, dated 9/22/09. He had titled it, “Journal of Willard Nyman.” *

In less than 20 words his first entry summarized the dreadful truth:

Sept. 22, 2009The Dr told me I have [metastasizing] pancreatic cancer today. Thought it was back problem all the time.

In those words I could hear his grave disappointment but also a measure of acceptance. Though Nate had hoped to write down his thoughts as he journeyed through cancer, he never had the chance. The daily pace moved too fast for that. This first entry was his last.

Because September 22 has come around 9 times now, I find myself thinking back without tears. Though I miss Nate every hour of every day, God’s healing of my heart has taken away the pain of remembering.

Now when I go back to that time, I think of the many ways God was on the move. On September 22, when we’d all agreed nothing good could possibly happen after the diagnosis, we had been wrong.

M and N, Aug. 09God pulled our attention toward him on every one of those 42 days by causing unusual things to happen in and around us. He proved how very close he was and sustained us by sprinkling blessings over each day’s harsh circumstances. And God is willing to partner like that with every person through grievous situations. He sustains us, rescues us, and is so close he can even carry us.

The Lord said, “I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (Isaiah 46:4b)

* Nate’s real name: Willard Nathan Nyman (Photo taken 8/22/09)