Good Afternoon!
We are reveling in the hardness of the frost last night. Everything here (except the Cana Lilies) is put away or battened down for the winter and we at last had a restful morning.
I have a prayer request to share with you for Mama. Not to worry; she is still doing well. But she has struggled a bit in the last two days with pain and numbness in her fingers and toes and joints. We were thankful to be able to talk with Dr. L. and walk through our options making a plan for pain medication. The pain really is not arthritic as many have supposed up till now but I think is related to some form of nerve pain. We knew these would be the side effects of Paclitaxel, but frankly, didn’t expect them to come so early on in the treatment regimen. Dr. L. told us that often people who have pain early on are more likely to struggle with neuropathy later. So would you pray for Mama, that the pain would continue to be manageable, so she can go all the way through her treatment plan and that God would give her wisdom so she would know when and what to communicate with the doctors.

Thank you all for your faithfulness in praying and caring for us.
With Love and Gratefulness,
Aubrey
“Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.” Psalm 33:20-21

Thank you all so much for praying!
Mama’s “Echo” showed her heart is still strong. Before any chemotherapy her “ejection fraction” was 70% and now it is still strong at 67%! Pardon my lack of knowledge of medical terms. I think the ejection fraction is the rate at which blood is pumped through the right(?) side of the heart. Anyway, “it” is at 67! :o)
Her white count and Neutrophils were just below normal, which is exceptionally high for Mom! And God protected her from any negative allergic reaction to the chemotherapy drugs. I must confess we were all more or less nervous about Mom’s reaction to these new drugs. They seem a little more intricate and vital in the way they affect a person’s body. We are again reminded that God is our Protector and everything given to us is sifted through His hands. Even so, to my own chagrin, I think I’m still working on untwisting the knot in my stomach.
We were so blessed by visitors yesterday; filling us up with love and prayers. A good friend came just before the nurse administered the Paclitaxel and made us laugh so that Mama was amazed a few minutes later when she realized she hadn’t had a reaction. :o) So thankful for God’s gifts of encouragement and friendship.
Compared to the first treatments, this chemotherapy is a lot easier so far. We know it will gradually build up and that is when the side effects will manifest themselves. Right now, though, Mom is doing really well. She was groggy for a while from the Benadryl and then energetic from the steroids which made her silly and exhausted by turns yesterday. :o) Now she said she is just a tiny bit nauseated; of course nothing like the last time, though!
We are so grateful for you all, your thoughtfulness, generosity and prayers.
With Much Love, Goodnight!

For all those interested in homeopathic remedies:
Did you know Paclitaxel was originally isolated from the bark of the Pacific Yew tree, Taxus brevifolia, and dissolved in polyoxyethylated castor oil?
Something I’m sure you always wanted to know. :o)

Dear Friends,
Hopefully you are all enjoying these moderate Fall days! We are working on preparation for tomorrow, walking and packing and taking notes for appointments. As many of you know, Mom will (Lord willing) receive the first of her second round of chemotherapy treatments tomorrow.
Would you pray:
- that Mom’s echocardiogram would once again show that her heart is especially strong, strong enough to withstand the possible negative effects of Herceptin,
- that her white count would be high enough to proceed tomorrow,
-and then finally that she wouldn’t have any adverse reactions to either the Paclitaxel or the Herceptin so she is able to continue with her treatment regimen. We know that most reactions occur within the first twenty seconds so she will be carefully watched for the first three or four minutes and then we are hoping to stay in Rochester near the clinic for the first night.
Pray for strength and peace from the Lord through these next few days, that we would glorify Him in patience and joy.
I will update you tomorrow or the next day on how Mom is doing. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayers.
Much Love,
Aubrey for the Lenz’s
“The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.” Psalm 138:8

Riding the Storm

From Emily and Aubrey's blog...

My fondest childhood memories happened while we were in the car. We drove on family vacations…miles and miles of varying road driven to our favorite music…the cups of juice and Surprise Bags that Mama packed with projects for us…the conversations that grew out of the scenery; everything from clothes hanging on a wash-line in Tennessee and why stop-signs are French in Canada, to what that loud noise is the trucks in Chicago make (Jake-braking) and why the dirt is red in Oklahoma.


Other vivid child-hood memories are of storms. The first tornado warning experience I remember stands out clearly in my mind…the sky an uncanny color, and Daddy standing on the small hill next to our house watching the menacing cloud-front roll in while we watched him with very little trepidation from our dining room window. I don’t recall being frightened or even concerned. Daddy was checking the sky and of course that was perfectly alright. I suppose it is those things we do which seem ordinary that make the deepest impressions, so as to become ordinary to the child, and thus shape his life.

Daddy often took us out in the car during thunderstorms. To this day, driving through an electric storm in the car with the family still rivals the pleasure I find in a good book in front of the fire. I believe it is the contrast of the turmoil and danger outside with the perfect peace and confidence inside the car that still draws me. I knew as a little girl that no matter how angry the flashes of lightning looked and how loud the crash of thunder was, Daddy would keep us safe and take us where it was best to be. Because of that, I relished watching the storm. I remember that now, and wonder at how shallow my faith in our heavenly Father often grows. What is it about the storm that fixates us so we can no longer remember our Father driving the van?

Trials are humbling; they force you onto a lonely stage out of a familiar living room. Like a child who keeps foolishly looking back at the piece of candy he dropped in the road while his father gently leads him towards the candy shop he cannot see; we tug blindly and with real anguish on the hand that pulls us upward. When we are in the midst of trouble, we realize it is neither what we dread, nor what we could wish and time feels as though it is dragging until you look back and the place you left seems an eternity past. The reason for our suffering is never what we expect, and yet it comes exactly when we are ready for it…not because we can take it on, but because we must.

When God burns every bridge but the one which we stand on the brink of, how certain we should be that He has us in the center of His will and is taking us where we need to go. How can we then refuse to leave behind what we thought was right? How can one in such a position ask for direction of the Father without tacitly refusing to step on the path he is given? The future, however seemingly uncertain or dark, is then revealed to be just where it always was – in His keeping. What better road is there to walk, however steep this may prove to be, when we know the toiling course runs straight Home?

Hello Dear Friends,
I realize I have not done a very good job updating in the last few days. I apologize for that… It has been 17 days since the last treatment. The good news is, Mom has been doing really well. Her thrush has completely healed and she isn’t struggling with mouth sores quite as much as last time. We celebrate every bit of energy she regains. It is definitely not what it was before but enough to keep us all on our toes keeping Mom off hers. We’re still working on strategies to precede her in thinking of tasks. :o) Don’t tell us it won’t work; we’re trying it any way!
We are so extremely blessed and humbled by all the kindness we have received. We read and reread all the notes posted here or on our email. It is such a blessing to be comforted and encouraged in this way. Thank you to all the woodcutting men and meals on Saturday! We will post pictures of the great feat soon. It was incredible to see what was accomplished. Last night, Ben stoked one of the wood fires that was still smoldering and made us S’mores. Somebody asked what is one thing God has blessed our family with at this time and Daddy said, “Good Friendships…”
Thank you to all you dear ones who are smoothing this hard road for us and consulting with our Healer daily on our behalf.

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying the fall colors!
Mom, Em and I returned yesterday from a three day rest up north with Mama’s sister and parents. The leaves were past peak in Itasca but a few maples and red oak stood out in striking contrast to the brilliant yellow tamaracks. As a side note, wearing red-tinted sunglasses vastly improves fall colors. :o)
Many thanks to Aunt Linda, Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle Steve and Kelsey for the encouraging conversation and delicious food, warm fires and refreshing walks in crisp “up north” autumn air. We were so blessed by your care and all the work you put into making us relax and laugh.

We did have a minor incident that made us regret for a moment we weren’t a little closer to home and doctors. But thanks to experienced oncology nurses who were able to diagnose over the phone and our doctor who called in Mom’s prescription to a Park Rapids pharmacy we were well on our way to a solution in a couple of hours, no going home necessary! Mama had a mild case of something in her mouth… she assumed it was mouth sores and that she could simply use mouth wash diligently. On Tuesday morning she woke up with a fairly severe sore throat and by the afternoon we called oncology. She had thrush, a fungal infection that was spreading down her throat and could have eventually developed in her stomach. She had a normal temperature so thankfully nothing serious had developed yet. The nurse told us this infection is caused by a combination of steroids and a weakened immune system. This afternoon her tongue is starting to heal and her sore throat is minimal although she still has a cough. Would you pray that the medication continues to clear up the infection, and pray that Mom would especially not get sick in the next few days; that the cough would be “nothing”, since her white count is at its lowest.
Thank you all for your faithfulness in praying for Mom and asking specifically how to do so.
I can never verbalize how precious your prayers are to us.
With Much Love,
Aubrey

Hello Dear Friends,
A quick update on Mom:
It is such a comfort to us to know you are praying with us. We think Mom had a more “common” response to the treatment this time. She felt pretty good on the first day, was fairly sick on the second day and has been gradually getting better ever since. Overall, it was a preferable reaction, being less acute at one specific time, which we are all very grateful for. We really don’t have any idea what medication was responsible for the improvement as there were several adjustments. We are grateful it is finished and extremely grateful we don’t have to “plan for next time”. Mama is still feeling pretty “cruddy”. It is harder to update at this point; we’re still a little battle weary. But this we know and are confident in all the time; God is good.
"'Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”’ ~Isaiah 41:10