A (Hopefully) Minor Setback

I suppose one could say that we have had an exciting last few days. I began to notice that I was getting a little more tired than normal last Thursday but attributed it to the fact that I had been pushing myself on the treadmill.  Then, Saturday morning, when I woke up, I noticed a rash on my forearms. By Sunday the rash had spread all over my body. So it was back to the ER. After about 8 hours of testing, poking etc. they had eliminated measles, allergic reaction, blood clot (a possibility we were warned about as an after-effect of chemo), and several other possible causes. It came down to, basically, "we don't know." After seeing our local GP and oncologist the best guess is that it is a reaction to one of the new medicines I am taking or a reaction to all the childhood vaccinations I had to retake in December and January. We are taking a few days to wait and see what the rash will do. We also are getting an appointment with the dermatologist at Stanford to check it out. It seems like my body doesn't get normal diseases: just the rare and exotic. It was interesting to see how fast the hospital staff gets you out of the waiting room and into a private room in the ER when you are covered with red dots.

So, even though this seems very different than what we struggled with the last two years, it brings us right back mentally to where we have been. As Joyce said yesterday, "We waited two years to breathe again and then just one week later we feel like we're right back where we were." It is disappointing and a little discouraging. It's hard to be positive when you feel this bad. 

But God continues to minister. He spoke to me through Chrysostom in yesterday's devotional,

"Paul implies that there must be temptations which we cannot bear. What are these? Well, all of them in effect. For the ability to bear them comes from God’s grace, which we obtain by asking for it. God gives us patience and brings us speedy deliverance. In this way the temptation becomes bearable. Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistles of Paul to the Corinthians 24.1, Ancient Christian Devotional C, 84 

Both Joyce and I would appreciate your prayers that the rash would go away and that the doctors could figure out what caused it. Then please pray that Joyce and I would be able to maintain a positive attitude. As always, we appreciate your prayers. 

The picture is from a week ago. I didn't include the "rash pictures" because I didn't want to gross anyone out.