Where's the beef?

Just a quick note to let you all know that we have found one of my seizure triggers.............

BEEF!!!

Can you believe it? We thought it was a trigger, but chose to not believe it. I love beef too much...I just didn't believe it could really be a seizure trigger.

So, April was one of my best months ever. I was only averaging about 2 seizures per day. Thus, I decided it was time to try beef again....

In the 17 days prior to eating it, I only had 34 seizures. In the 7 days since I ate the beef, I've had 33. So, it's time to say goodbye to the beef.

Nate Update from his Mom

"Nate has been having a great week. His counts looked good on Tuesday. He should be able to start round 2 tomorrow. He will have another count check in the morning, but all indicators show he should be fine. He is feeling really good and playing a lot. This week off from chemo has been great for him. Please pray that he continues to stay strong in round 2."

From Connor's Mommy

Last time, I spoke about unanswered prayers or not getting the answers we prayed for. Sometimes, we experienced something else with our prayers. SILENCE. At times, it was though there was a brick wall where God's answers were being blocked. I would cry out in frustration, "Why can't I hear you?" Or when I did hear from him, I felt as though I was misunderstanding his answers to me. It was as if my radar was faulty. I either didn't hear anything or it wasn't coming in clear. I would read His Word and interpret it one way,only to find out later, that is not what those Words or promises meant to me. What do we do when God is silent or unclear?

I will say that even when He was silent, I felt His presence. I never felt alone, but what could be the point of His silence? Surely, there is a purpose in ALL that He does. Finally, 9 months after Connor's death, maybe I have some understanding behind God's purpose in all this.

We were discussing this in Bible Study and my friend, Marcy, made an interesting observation. If the Lord had not remained silent or unclear to my questions about Connor's fate, how would I have responded? Would I have acted in such faith if I knew Connor would not live past the age of 8 ½? Would I have fought so diligently for him if I knew my efforts would have been in vain? Could I have lived with no regrets without that valiant fight for my son's life? Would I have carried Hope in my heart if I knew Connor's final date on earth? Could I have remained strong? Honestly, I don't know the answers to those questions.

I do know that things would have been different, though, if I had the knowledge of Connor's fate ahead of time. What would God have said to me if He had not remained silent? Would those answers have been a benefit for me or my downfall? In hindsight, I am grateful for His silence. It reminded me of Jack Nicholson in A Few Good Men, "You can't handle the truth!"

Like Garth Brook's song the dance, I would not have wanted to know when the dance would end. I see God's wisdom now in his silence, though His silence at the time was heart-wrenching and maddening. Again, His Sovereignty is a blessing.

"Can anybody hear me?
The silence is deafening
Why do You feel so far away?
When I know You're here with me
But I just need faith to see
Nothing can separate me from Your love
I will trust in You, even in the moments I can't find You,
and I will hold on to Your promises of love
You've never failed before"

By: Meredith Andrews

Always believing,

Joy Cruse

Update on Nate - 04/10/2010 - From Jackie

"Nate will finish round one today. He will have next week to recover. Please pray that his blood counts recover, so he can start round two the following week. One week off is a very short time for counts to come up. Nate has been doing well with this first round. He has had some vomitting and other side effects, but this past week he seemed to have more good days than bad. He played with Jake and Luke, rode his little jeep and enjoyed the sunshine in the afternoons (after daily chemo) He has been very motiviated to play with close family friends and had a wonderful Easter. He is actually using his walker again and able to stand up without hurting. His pain in under control and he is resting at night. Each day that he feels well is a true blessing. We want to thank everyone for your constant prayers for our family. Please continue to pray for our little guy as well as others who are hurting right now. There are so many kiddos fighting this fight.
Please continue to pray for Matt, and Ethan, both 5year old boys from Rockwall fighting cancer. Thank you to everyone who is on this journey with our family!"

An update from Nate's page on Facebook

Subject: Update on Nate - 04/03/2010

I wanted to send out an update on Nate that Wes shared with me. Nate just started Chemo again this week. Jackie has been taking him everyday for the treatments. Please continue your prayers for Nate as his immune system will be weakened and all the discomfort that goes along with these treatments will be very difficult. The Doctors are trying to reduce the size of the tumors. If successful, after 2 months, Nate will start stem cell treatment which is a treatment that is used around the world and in the US. In this treatment, Nate's own stem cells will be used to fight the tumors. Please continue your prayers for Nate, Wes and Jackie, asking for God's sustaining help and guidance for them during this process. Wes told me that they are not "giving up" and asked that we continue to "pray and not lose hope" for their little boy.