Faith, Hope,Grace and Healing

05/04/2020

Thinking about Jake today, my father-in-law, who passed just a few years ago after a battle with some rather aggressive cancer.

Jake was full of life, a real character, a veteran of Vietnam and a great friend. Yesterday would have been his 84th birthday.

We wish he was here of course but to a small degree, I am somewhat thankful that he was not put at risk of dealing with this COVID19 as he would have been in a considerably high-risk category.

Danielle, my daughter, has graciously agreed to travel to Northern Louisiana to help her grandmother navigate day to day life in the context of this pandemic. Staying with grandma, there will certainly be a lot of exercising and walking, lots of Asian cooking and a constant transfer of wisdom and knowledge going on while Danielle is with her and hopefully some smiles and laughter.

Thank you Danielle for stepping up again and to her Aunt Connie for picking her up from the airport.

Take care everyone. God Bless.

16/03/2016

Well we are fully into 2016 and we have good news on all fronts.

My dad (Glenn Davidson), is doing great and his lymphoma remains a thing of the past and is now a story that we all can turn to as a testimony of God's work in our lives and His love for us. We walked the halls of Hopkins with him for months and months, from doctor to doctor. We learned every twist and turn of that place but no more! Hallelujah!

Jake, my father-in-law, well, his success story is a little more recent and remains very fresh on our minds and hearts. He looked his lymphoma in the eye, put his life in God's hands and let Him go to work on his cancer. Jake is now in full remission since his last chemotherapy treatment on January 11th 2016! We just celebrated his 80th birthday with a roadtrip to Graceland and some real Memphis BBQ. Jake toured, walked and dined like a 30 year old and we had a great time in Elvis-land together. Thank you Lord!

My visit with my own oncologist this morning included a live scope of my throat with a camera that showed exactly where my own cancer once was but is no more, a year after my last radiation treatment! I can now look forward to planning and celebrating my 30th anniversary later this year with Donna. Praise God!

And thank you all for your continued expressions of friendship, faith, and support throughout all three of these life events. You truly gave us all just what we needed to get through it all, to keep the faith and come out on the other side with all cancer in the rear view mirror. God Bless you!!!

16/03/2016

22/12/2015

Christmas is upon us and Donna, Danielle and I have been reunited here in northwestern Louisiana. (Bossier City). We are definitely here to celebrate Christ's birth over the Christmas holiday with family and to bring in the New Year.

But we are also here to support my father-in-law and to es**rt him just a little further down his path to a full recovery from his previous lymphoma diagnosis.

He is now in full remission!

Today we joined him at Christus Hospital for round 5 of his planned 6 round series of chemotherapy. His labs looked solid today, his treatment went smoothly and he came home in a great mood, good appetite and a surprising amount of normal energy.

In short, the miracle continues and we are pressing on towards January 2016 when he will receive his final treatment and to begin his journey to a 100% restoration of health.

God is amazing! Please continue to pray for our family and for Jake's complete healing, all in accordance with God's plan for his life. And thank you all for your support and words of encouragement.

19/11/2015

Well it has been awhile since my last update on my father-in-law Jake who, if you recall, is undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Bossier City, LA for non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

We were cruising along through his third chemo treatment and were right on the cusp of his fourth round out of six when he came down with a fever and some other symptoms which put him right back in the hospital so that he could receive the care he needed.

After much prayer and a couple of weeks of tests, scans, lab work, and a lot of doctors, they still couldn't nail down what he had picked up but praise God, one day it was suddenly completely gone and he is now back in the comfort of his home! His cancer is currently in complete remission and his lungs are clear of whatever had brought him down. He is feeling good!

Right now the plan is for him to resume chemotherapy in a week or two, but at a lower dose to make sure his body is ready. Can't wait to see Jake finish his treatment, knowing that he is done and on his way to being 100% again.

Danielle is now in her third month of staying with her grandparents (Jake and Sandy) and continues to be a model 24/7 live-in care giver, patient advocate, personal nurse, occasional cook, driver, shoulder to lean on, work out buddy, and all around selfless granddaughter who has once again put her life on hold to help out with a family health crisis.

Danielle we love you for all that you are doing and God has certainly noticed your sacrifice and expression of love for your family. Trust Him and have faith that all of this time will come back to you as part of His perfect plan for your life. Keep Him first in your life and He will bring you to the next level of your career soon!

02/09/2015

Well, back at Christus hospital for an unscheduled visit. Jake was pretty uncomfortable last night and again today so we had him looked at this morning. They decided to keep him overnight, remove some excess fluid from his abdominal area that's causing him the discomfort and address some things that showed up in his lab work today. Just waiting on a room assignment.

Praying for God's continued attention and intervention in his healing and recovery. Thank you all for your continued prayers and expressions of support!
Kevin, Danielle, Sandy and Jake

29/08/2015

Good afternoon all from the sunny South and land of the Crawdads!

Well round 1 chemotherapy is officially done and the healing process is underway. He had no negative reactions during the treatment which is wonderful and a great step forward.

Jake is going through some other side effects following the treatment and we are treating that with OTC medications and some prescribed medicines. These effects are requiring us to monitor him closely but rest assured, the Doctor is a phone call away if needed and we are less than 10 minutes from the hospital.

Jake is at home resting, mostly napping, and working his way through his symptoms as best his body can. He has his family behind him/beside him and God on overwatch and friends, extended family and in many cases friends and co-workers of family following and praying in support. What more could he ask for! Thank you!

Keep Jake/Grandpa/Father/Uncle/Brother/Vietnam Vet/friend in your thoughts and prayers and I'll be sure to pass along to him any comments or other words of encouragement you care to share! I am heading back home next Sunday if all goes as planned.

27/08/2015

Today's initial chemotherapy went pretty smoothly for Grandpa Vrijenhoek. Grandma V, Dustin and Danielle and I visited him today and it really helped to keep his spirits up for this first round. Jake is back at home now letting his medication and God continue to heal him. The team broke for lunch earlier today at "Smashburger" and did so at Dustin's suggestion and it was a winner! Thank you Dustin!

24/08/2015

God has a plan for all of us and a purpose for all that we experience. Over the past 20 months or so, my Mom went home to be with the Lord, my Dad developed lymphoma, I was hospitalized for cellulitis and then finally I was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma/throat cancer. Sounds like a pretty bleak year or so right? But God's vision is superior and His plan for us is not only strategic and perfect, but tailored to each of our own situations and needs.

My mom was suffering a great deal and God removed that suffering and brought her home to be with Him. She was a devout Christian and an amazing mother and she is now experiencing a relationship with God that we all long to experience ourselves.

God made it possible for my father to be treated by Johns Hopkins doctors and research specialists and is now completely clear of his lymphoma after a full round of chemotherapy (18 weeks). Praise God.

While he was healing, I was hit with a bizarre case of aggressive cellulitis on my right leg that put me down for a month; but a month that I got to spend with my Dad who was staying at my house while being treated at Hopkins (he normally lives in the Harrisburg area). I have not had that much daily time with my dad since before I left for the Air Force in 1981 at the age of 18. It was also a great chance to help him through a stressful, frightening and confusing time of mourning for the loss of my mom and treatment and healing for his cancer.

Months later, an hour after dad got his all clear message, I received my own positive diagnosis for throat cancer and was briefed on the plan for my 35 day-long regimen of radiation therapy at Hopkins. But because of all my time with Dad at Hopkins, I was very comfortable with the processes and capabilities of the doctors as well as the facility itself which removed a lot of my own fear.

Since finishing my radiation treatments on 24 March 2015 (my mother's birthday by the way, another coincidence, right?) I have had one "all clear" check-up and I am believing fully that all future reports will be just the same. God is amazing.

Now, spin forward to this week. My father-in-law just learned that he has developed a lymphoma in the stomach area of his body, nearly identical to that of my dad.

As soon as we got the diagnosis, Donna and both knew what I had to do. Seven hours after getting the news, I was on a plane at 0515 and 5 hours later I was wheels-down in Shreveport La. where my in-laws live and this is where I'll stay until we get him on a clear path that he is comfortable with.

If all of the ailments and treatments and stress from these other situations were just in preparation for me to be able to help Donna's parents and the rest of her family here through this current health crisis, then I am ready and willing to put all of that knowledge to good use, to make this stressful time less so for my in-laws and the family, to help them fully understand what he will be facing from a patient's perspective and to share with Jake my full faith in God's ability to heal him through His divine ability and by putting him in the hands of capable specialists. Together we will see this through as a family and will be witness to and part of yet another miraculous testimony of God's healing and undeniable love for us.

Please join me and my family in prayer for Jake and Sandy (my in-laws) as we trust God to give us the strength to move through this time in faith, to give us the clarity and the patience to listen and to believe and to share His kindness with others.

Your support means so much to me and Donna as it will to Jake and Sandy and donna's sisters, Connie and Sandra as well. Your generous and kind words gave me the boost I needed to get through the scariest experience of my life. Please continue to support my family in the same manner as we walk down this next path with Jake with full confidence and with a vision of his complete healing! Thank you!!!!

10/03/2015

Just a brief and personally exciting update on my condition. I now only have 11 more sessions to go out of the original 35 radiation exposure plan! Which means about 2 more weeks and I am done with radiation and the daily trips to Johns Hopkins! Praise God!

Secondly, while I have completely lost my sense of taste and appetite, I have managed to find the magic level of oxycodone to allow me to eat solid food without any pain whatsoever. This is key to not losing an unhealthy amount of weight too rapidly which could lead to my use of a feeding tube which I want no part of!

While I am seeing the side effects on my skin, (redness), I am not experiencing some of the more serious internal symptoms that might cause difficulty in breathing and swallowing (I'll spare you the details) but I am very excited about that and thankful!

Looking forward to seeing God continue to bless me with progress and comfort and to sharing this testimony with as many people as possible. Please feel free to share any and all details that I have posted. I have already had multiple opportunities to do so while at Johns Hopkins and I believe it has lifted the spirits of other patients going through similar or worse cancer treatment scenarios. I have heard so many stories while sitting in those waiting rooms and have encountered so many people in need of any kind of hope. I pray that I was able, even in a small way, to encourage them and ensure them that God is much bigger than any of our illnesses and can either heal us directly or through the skills of these teams and doctors.

I must also confess that I have seen several others who had conditions far worse than mine but whose positive attitude and faith encouraged me to hang tough and to be thankful. God continues to put people in my path when I need it the most.

Looking forward to ringing that Hopkins bell that hangs on the wall in the radiation therapy section. Ringing the bell is a tradition for someone finishing their treatments. I am going to ring that bell hard and loud!

Good night all and God bless you.

28/02/2015

Well, there is so much that I want to post tonight, but here are the main points that I want to share.

God is amazing and through a series of events, He has brought me and this cancer situation to a very good place.

He made it possible for my daughter to leave her job and life in Florida and to come home and help Donna with my care. Love this girl. She is great company and helps me in so many tangible and intangible ways.

He has given Donna the flexibility at work to help me in amazing ways to make it as far as I have in my care at Hopkins and in my recovery at home. He has also given her the patience to handle me through every stage of this complex scenario. Love you so much Donna.

He has given me the strength, will, attitude and resilience to keep on working near full time so far, and I am now at my half-way point through treatment!!!! Thanks to my office again for being so flexible with me during this critical time.

I have 18 more radiation sessions to go and I could use your continued prayers. While my energy is good, and I am getting to the gym or walking on a regular basis, I have a few challenges.

I have now lost my sense of taste almost completely and with it my appetite. In addition, the pain in my throat from the radiation is beyond description and is only under control by a considerable amount of medication. This makes eating food a real challenge as it is very painful. I currently have to apply lidocaine just to numb the sore areas long enough to eat, but it gets the job done. On top of that I need to drink a lot of water, but when I drink water, it tastes like saltwater; not a big incentive to drink.

So as you can see, I am in need of your prayers and support over the coming weeks. Thank you so much for all the various expressions of friendship, love and care so far since this all started back in December. God bless all of you !!!!

09/02/2015

Hard to believe the weekend has passed already. While the treatments at Hopkins are going smoothly, which is a miracle for me all by itself, it was nice to have a break from being in a hospital environment for a couple of days.

Three sessions down, 30 to go. I am on a titrated pain management regimen which is a proactive approach designed to minimize the discomfort from the treatments which will irritate my throat and otherwise make eating more difficult. I am praying for minimal discomfort and an ability to eat normally throughout treatment and beyond.

God has been so evident in my treatment so far, I have no doubts that the rest should be any different. Thank you all for your continued support, faith and friendship.

Sincerely,
Kevin