Metisha's Ta Ta's

Mark Welsh Day

2011-09-14T16:50:00.000-06:00

We all know the amazing strength, faith and attitude that Metisha had through her cancer battle. Her strength was inspiring. I think a lot of strength came from the rock in her life who hasn’t received nearly enough of deserved attention on this blog. So today I am declaring it Mark Welsh day on the blog and I know he will hate every word that I am about to write :)

Mark and Metisha’s first dance was in junior high. They started dating in high school where he was the football quarterback and she was a basketball star. They continued to date on off through college and in 2000 were married on a beach in Jamaica.

In 2007 when Metisha was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, Mark became her rock. He was her steady, her calm, her constant, her consistency. He was and is amazing. He never stopped loving her. He experienced more heartache than we will never know and is the only one who endured watching Metisha slowly fade away every day. When it was time to stand true to the vow, “for better or for worse, in sickness and in health”, he did not falter. He loved her through all of the sickness and the worse. Leaving to him was never an option and never a thought that entered his mind. Mark is a man of commitment and he never wavered from his commitment to Metisha. Even when he was breaking on the inside, externally he was her rock. While the rest of us were emotional and would fall apart, Mark was her steady and that was in God’s perfect design.

When Mark first came around I was a snotty, hormonal junior high girl and the beginning of our relationship was a bit rocky. Suddenly the only flavor of Kool-Aid in the fridge was HIS favorite flavor. Lasagna was made WITHOUT cottage cheese. And I had to SHARE my birthday with him. But worse of all was that my big sister wanted to spend time with him, not me! You can see that my choice to despise this change in family dynamics was completely justified and he should have been more considerate to my feelings :) But I matured and realized he probably wasn’t going anywhere so I better get used to it! We finally had a bonding experience on a spring break ski trip. It seems that my ankles do not bend to normal angles so every morning he had to wrestle my ski boots on. And when I say wrestle, I mean wrestle! I would have to sit on the ground with a foot in the air while he would twist, push and grunt until the boot finally gave way. The process was always followed by him telling me if I took my boots off I was done skiing for the day. Oddly, Mark’s doesn't expressed an interest to go skiing with me again …

Watching Mark unconditionally love my sister, especially at the end of her life, was beautiful, heartbreaking, changed me and inspired me. He didn’t have to say anything about how much he loved her because his heart was completely visible through his actions in those final days. He loved her, was a Godly husband and fulfilled every word of their marriage vows with honor and integrity. I will always love Mark and he will always be my brother and my daughter’s Uncle Mark.

Mark, thank you for loving her and for loving us (even when we were emotional). I know you don’t like gooey emotions and big accolades and you’re going to be ticked at me for writing this but I don’t care because I love you :)

Joy Will Come

2011-09-12T20:01:00.000-06:00

It’s been 99 days since Metisha went to heaven. 99 days. And 101 days since we’ve been able to talk to her. It feels like it’s already been a lifetime, but the then reality is we still have a lifetime of separation to face.

So today, and really for the last two weeks, my heart is hurting a lot again. I miss her voice. I miss her laughter. I miss the way she would get excited about things. I miss the way her spirit would fill the entire room when she entered. I just miss her.

But there are two promises that God has given us that I am holding on to with white knuckles and not letting go of. The first is there is eternal life and Metisha has that and I will too because we chose to accept a gift which we do not deserve. The second is that joy will come again. Joy WILL come again. This is an important promise for me because I have feared that without Metisha our family will never again have joy. I remember sitting at my kitchen table with my Dad last winter and we were talking about Metisha’s declining health and what the worst case scenario would be. I remember telling him with tears streaming down my face that I was most afraid that regardless of whether Metisha lived or died, we would never experience joy again. We would either be constantly battling fear of cancer or forever devastated by her death. Where and how could joy fit into either one? Dad told me we will have joy. It will take time but there will be more joy than sadness. I didn’t believe him. My heart was full of anger and fear and just could not absorb the possibility.

But when we needed it most, God gave Dad tangible proof to backup his statement. Just 6 days before Metisha died, Dad was out walking at the family farm and came across a single page out of Bible lying in the dirt, dropped there after a tornado went through the area. It was Psalm 29, 30 and 31 and on the page was Psalm 30:5 which says, “weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning.” Joy comes in the morning. We know God sent this scripture for us and was telling us this promise is for us. So now I believe my Dad, am holding on fervently to this promise. I don’t know how long the night will last. I don’t know how dark the night will get. But weeping will turn to joy.

After Dad got back to town he posted his story on Facebook. And in a string of comments to Dad’s story on Facebook is this:

Metisha Ewbank Welsh So cool Dad!!! I love you!

May 31 at 7:13pm

Danny Ewbank Love you more than u know!

May 31 at 8:44pm

Just My Heart of the Day

2011-09-01T11:38:00.001-06:00

Grief is a sneaky thing. You have a run of good days, maybe even weeks, then something small comes along and that heavy pain in your heart is all consuming again. It's a process. It's a part of life. And even though my pain and loss are unique to me, everyone knows grief.

But I keep living and moving forward because if I do any less, Metisha will kick my butt when I get to heaven :) And I keep thanking God that because of his plan, there is a heaven, Metisha is now experiencimg pure joy beyond my comprehension, and I will have that same joy and be with her again someday.

That’s just my ~~thought~~ heart today …

Inked

2011-08-19T19:46:00.000-06:00

In my last post I promised a story about tattoos and decided today was a good day to share!

During Metisha’s battle, she decided to get “Believe” tattooed on the side of her left foot as a visible reminder to keeping believing for a miracle.

I remember she called me that evening and told me what she had done. I wasn’t surprised, she had talked about getting a tattoo since she was in college but the parentals were always adamantly against it. So when she told me, I was sworn to not tell Mom and Dad. That still makes me laugh that even as adults I got the big sister “don’t you dare tell” threat! Of course the next time we were together Mom saw the tattoo and was less than impressed. But she did show restraint from lecturing her adult child!

Fast forward to this July. I have never been a big fan of tattoos either. No judgment, it was just a little too permanent for me and I always wondered how it would look to be an eighty year old grandma with “ink”. But after Metisha died, I randomly had the thought that I wanted to get the same tattoo as a way to stay connected to her. But I’m a type A, boring, responsible, analytical person so I decided I would think about it for a few months just to be sure it wasn’t the grief talking.

That next weekend we were all together in Fort Worth and were heading to dinner. Mark asked what we wanted to do after dinner and Mom said, “I was thinking about getting a tattoo!” We all laughed and made fun of her, certain she wasn’t serious (she has a family reputation of making big statements with no action). But she loudly and repeatedly declared she was serious because she wanted the same tattoo as Metisha as a way to stay connected to her. What?!? That statement caught my attention and when I revealed I had the same thought, Mom was even more decided. So I said I would do it if she did, feeling sure she would back out and we would have more time to think about it. The men of the family at this point were still very skeptical and making fun of Mom.

So we had a nice dinner and ice cream and loaded back up in the car. Mark asked Mom if we were going home and she said, “Nope, we’re going to the tattoo parlor!” At this point it was 8:30 pm, and the whole family, including my one year old daughter whose bedtime as an hour earlier, headed to the tattoo parlor. Yes, I had a baby, in a tattoo parlor! I’m sure our suburban family looked completely normal at the tattoo parlor, right? Mom and I told them what we wanted (getting very skeptical and annoyed looks) when we were suddenly thrown a curve ball (or I was thrown a life vest): we needed our IDs which neither of us had. So the whole family loaded back up in the family SUV, buckled the one year old in her car seat and headed home. Good, Mom and I would have more time to make sure this is what we wanted to do before making a permanent decision!

While I was putting my daughter to bed, my husband came in and said Mom was ready to go. I asked, “Go where?” His reply, “Back to the tattoo parlor!” My thought, “You have got to be kidding me! This is a bad idea! She is going to regret this!” But I could not be out-cooled by my mother, so at 10:30 pm on a Friday night, the men went to bed and Mom and I drove back to the tattoo parlor, this time with our IDs.

To be sure I was not the only leaving with ink, I made Mom go first :) She showed no pain and we joked about what Fairviewites would think of her with a tattoo. After about 20 minutes (she swears it was longer) Mom’s was done and it was my turn. She looked at me and said it hurts, a lot. I laughed, sure she was just trying to scare me. I sat down and he started to on the bottom part. OUCH! That did hurt, a lot. But everyone says it goes numb so I figured no problem, a few minutes and it won’t be so bad. WRONG! The closer to the top of my foot he got, the MORE it hurt! But I survived, and now we both have something we said we would NEVER have:

When we left the parlor, I told Mom when she dies I will not be honoring her with a tattoo because that hurt! And I say that as someone who has given birth with a failed epidural and back labor! But despite the pain, we laughed more in those short hours than we had in the last 6 weeks. It felt good to laugh. It felt healing to laugh. And we feel connected. I hope Metisha got look down on us and laugh with us! Over a month later, I have no regrets and am glad Mom and I both had the thought to do something we swore we would never do! And I'm glad to have a reminder to continue to believe, despite the heart breaks of this world.

The next morning my Dad told me he decided that when Mom dies, he’s going to have her leg cut off and taken to a taxidermy and a lampshade put on top of it. Then when my daughter asks if she can have a tattoo dad can tell her, “Look, Nanner got a tattoo and now she doesn’t have a leg to stand on!”. I love my family and our sense of humor! That statement still makes me laugh!

When we were done I said I would never do that again. I should learn to never say never because I will be doing that again. No, I’m not getting another tattoo, but I need some touch up work done on the bottom of my Believe. And my Mom thinks that’s pretty funny …

Happy Birthday Metisha

2011-07-28T15:33:00.001-06:00

Today is Metisha’s birthday. She would be 34. Today is hard. She’s been gone from earth for 53 days and with each day we miss her more. Much more.
I think when you battle cancer with a loved one for four years, you want to believe that you’ve already grieved so much that the grief after they’re gone will somehow be easier. But the reality is we spent the last four years grieving for Metisha and her loss and pain. And now we are grieving for ourselves and for our loss. We are happy her body is not poisoned with cancer anymore, but our pain now isn’t about her. Our pain now is about us. It’s about facing our lives without her here. It’s a different kind of pain than the pain of the last four years. And while we know it’s a pain that only time can heal and that God has promised us joy will come again, it feels like this season will never end.

There is a major lesson of faith that I am learning and processing as a result of Metisha’s journey: Faith is a constant balancing act. I know this isn’t a new revelation, but I think I’m just really beginning to grasp what that means and how that works. For four years we balanced our faith and hope that God could physically heal Metisha against preparing ourselves for the reality that he may not. Now we are balancing the overwhelming grief we are feeling against the hope that God has promised joy will come again and the promise that this separation from Metisha is not permanent. I used to think that blind faith meant you ignored everything else and only focused on the good and that would somehow defeat the bad. But I don’t think faith necessarily overcomes the bad. Faith gives us hope despite the bad. It looks like a teeter totter. There is the despair of this world on one end and the promises from faith on the other. If all you have is the despair, you are sitting on the ground. But with faith on the other end, you get off the ground and find some balance. I know there is a lot more to it and a lot I have to process yet, but for now I am focusing on the fact that faith is keeping my big behind out of the dirt :) Like I said, I'm still processing so ask me next week and the analogy may change ...

Since June 5^th, we’ve been spending a lot of time together as a family and continue to be blessed by so many of you who continue to check-in on us and love on us. I think my best advice if you want to help someone through grief is to just be ok with the fact that they are not ok. The grief is real and ignoring it won’t make it go away and you can’t fix it. So just love that person. Tell them you’re sorry and you love them. Often times that is enough.

One of my favorite parts of this blog has been sharing stories that depict Metisha’s infectious spirit. And because Metisha’s spirit lives on in us, there’s a story about a baby in a tattoo parlor that ends with Mom and I both getting our first “ink” at 10:30 on a Saturday night. But I’ll save that for another post. Today’s story is all about Metisha. Before Metisha died, she and Mom were talking and Mom told her she wanted them to pick a sign that Metisha would give Mom after she died to let her know she is ok. Metisha picked a rainbow but Mom said that was too generic and she wanted something more special. The conversation moved on to something else and they never picked a different sign. Fast forward to the evening after Metisha’s Celebration Service in Fairview. I sat down at my parents table, looked out the picture window and saw this:

It was positioned perfectly in the picture window and was in the South instead of the West. We all ran outside and watched it grow across the sky and then fade away. It was Metisha saying hello and defying her mother’s orders one last time :)

So I will end this post where we started, at Metisha’s birthday. Happy Birthday Metisha! We love you. We miss you more than hearts can comprehend. We will celebrate you tonight as a family and make a toast to you with friends. Then we will send some balloons up to you. Oh, and I had a breakfast donut in your honor because I know that’s how you would have started your day ;)

Metisha's Life in Pictures

2011-06-16T08:11:00.002-06:00

Metisha Ann Ewbank Welsh

2011-06-07T13:04:00.001-06:00

Metisha Ann Welsh received her heavenly healing from cancer in the early morning hours of June 5th, 2011. She fought a courageous four year battle. Throughout the journey she showed her friends and family what it means to be a Christ like warrior. She never gave up on her hope in God and the destination that awaited regardless of the final outcome. Her incredible joy and love for life, family and friends never quit and spread as a contagious hope to the many who walked the path with her.

Despite the illness of cancer, Metisha continued to live a full life and enjoyed her favorite activities of camping, four wheeling and marveling at the night stars as they brightly shined at the Cedar Springs Ewbank Family Farm, mountain biking with her husband Mark, relaxing on the beaches of Mexico, breathing in the mountain air of Red River New Mexico and experiencing the wonders of Christmas at Disney World.

Metisha married Mark Welsh at their paradise wedding in Jamaica on July 8th, 2000 and hand in hand with their love and a Godly commitment to each other, they fought the battle together.

Metisha enjoyed people and never met a stranger. Her family often joked she could visit with a wall. Her love for people was a special gift from God. With this gift she was called to be a 5th grade teacher in the Forth Worth school district. She used her creativity in the classroom making up silly songs and riddles to help her children learn. She invested love in each of her students by teaching them important characteristics like compassion, acceptance and love for life. Her goal was always to challenge her kids to do their best and further their education so they could go far as they dreamed and that they could achieve whatever they believed.

She knew heaven was for real when she arrived and was greeted first by her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then a joyous and a happy Granny Darlene Ewbank, Grandpa Edwin Karber and Grandpa Joe Woodman and a number of family and friends.

She will be greatly missed by her husband Mark, parents Danny and Barbara Ewbank, sister and brother-in-law Regan and Jeremy Unruh, niece Emmory Tisha Unruh, Mark’s parents Lyle and Ann Welsh and sister Kaley Welsh, grandparents Wade and Jean Ewbank, Edna Karber and Leona Woodman and many uncles and aunts, cousins and friends.

She entered this world on July 28th, 1977 and departed on June 5th, 2011.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held Thursday, June 9th at 2 pm at the Fairview M.B. Church.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the North Texas Humane Society at:

HSNT Humane Society of North Texas
1840 E Lancaster Ave
Forth Worth, TX 76104

Service Information

2011-06-05T22:44:00.000-06:00

Fort Worth Friends Gathering
Monday, June 6th from 5 pm until 7 pm
Biggers Funeral Home
6100 Azle Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76135

Fairview Friends Gathering
Wednesday, June 8th from 7pm until 9 pm
M.B. Church Youth Building
1600 East State Road
Fairview, OK 73737

Celebration of Life Service
Thursday, June 9th at 2 pm
M.B. Church
1600 East State Road
Fairview, OK 73737

Fort Worth Friends and Gathering

2011-06-05T14:28:00.001-06:00

We will have a gathering for all of our Fort Worth friends and family tomorrow, Monday June 6th from 5 pm to 7 pm at the Biggers Funeral Home. Please join us for a time of remembering the joy of Metisha’s life. We will have a service in Fairview, Oklahoma later this week. We will provide details as soon as they are confirmed.

Biggers Funeral Home
6100 Azle Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76135

Healed

2011-06-05T08:25:00.000-06:00

Metisha peacefully entered the gates of heaven early this morning. She is finally healed, free of pain and experiencing a joy we cannot comprehend. She is with her eternal Father who loves her so much he made the ultimate sacrifice to give her everlasting life. And because He also loves us, we can be there with her too some day.

I know the last weeks have been extremely hard on all of you as you have continued to pray for and support us but have not been able to see or talk to Metisha. But we and Metisha greatly appreciated you respecting her wishes for privacy and felt the power of your love and prayers. There is nothing easy about this process. Nothing. But we want to celebrate Metisha’s life with you. While we do not have finalized details yet, we are planning on having a time of visitation and sharing here in Fort Worth and then a celebration service in Fairview. Please check back here for date and times.

Please continue praying for us as we begin this new life. A parent should never lose a child. A husband should not lose his wife in their 30’s. And siblings should grow old together. Our heartbreaks are real and the grief is going to hit us like a tidal wave and then subside only to come crashing in again. But Metisha joyfully fought for over four years and we must honor her by finding the same fighting spirit and live, joyfully, a new life without her on Earth. This is a process that will take time but a process we must go through to live out Metisha’s legacy.

The Final Steps

2011-06-03T22:41:00.002-06:00

Metisha is taking the final steps of this journey. She is now under the watchful care of Hospice. Her pain is well managed, but it is so difficult to see our Super Hero in this state. Please pray that she will soon be running through the gates of Heaven, with a completely restored body.

Sleeping More and More

2011-06-01T19:02:00.000-06:00

Metisha has been overwhelmed with all of the support you have given her through flowers, text messages, Facebook and cards! She has no doubts of how much she is loved and cherished. Please know how much she appreciates the support and if she does not respond, it is because she is flooded with messages and her vision is now being affected making it hard to read and respond to everything. But know we are reading all of your words of love and encouragement to her. The house is looking like a flower shop and Metisha loves every single flower. She is very sorry she cannot give so many of you hugs but she does not have any energy for visitors now. She is sleeping more and more and needs to spend her few waking hours left with Mark, her parents, siblings and niece.
We know how hard it is to feel like there is nothing you can do. But please know your prayers are exactly what we need. And we do not take likely how Metisha’s journey has touched your lives how the end if affecting you. We know you are sharing in our tears. But we must all remember that while we will forever miss our Super Hero, a reward beyond comprehension awaits her. One of our youngest prayer warriors said it best yesterday: Jesus just wants to play with Tisha now … He cannot wait any longer. So much wisdom from a 3 year old.

Please keep praying with us.

At Home

2011-06-01T13:46:00.000-06:00

Metisha’s last blood work showed her liver is in very poor shape. Our Super Hero continues to fight in a state that most could not. She is truly the strongest person I know!

Because of the state of her liver there is no reason to see the new doctor in Dallas today. There isn’t a treatment that can be done because her liver is just too sick. We still know God can perform a miracle that will shock the world, but we are simply praying that God will free her from this cancer and that she will feel His holy arms tightly around her.

We love you Metisha, more than we can ever express.

Reality

2011-05-28T22:00:00.000-06:00

I know it has been a long time since I have posted an update. Honestly we have been taking some time to adjust to the reality Metisha is facing. The last two chemo drugs have not worked in her liver. The cancer has gotten must worse. Metisha is experiencing a lot of pain and is extremely fatigued and exhausted. The cancer is destroying her body and there are no medical tools left to fight against it. The reality is Metisha is now starting her journey to her forever home and we have to say goodbye for now.

I know these words are painful to read. I have cried over them for days. I have struggled with what to say and how to say it and when to say it. I don’t understand why Metisha, why cancer, why at her age, why … The only thing I know for certain is this goodbye is not forever. This goodbye is really a “see you later”. Metisha will be fully restored in heaven and her loving Father and Savior is there waiting for her. And someday I will be with her there too.

We don’t know if we are left with weeks or months. Her doctors have contacted MD Andersen and they have no treatment options for her because of the current state of her liver. She is seeing a doctor in Dallas on Wednesday who specializes in late stage terminal cancer. We do not know if she will have any options for Metisha but we are praying that she is either God’s miracle of a cure or the doctor will say there is nothing she can do. We don’t want Metisha to have to endure another treatment that provides no results. Pray for wisdom and clarity for Mark and Metisha when they visit with the doctor on Wednesday.

I know you all love Metisha and want to hug her and tell her you love her. But saying goodbye through the tears over and over again is just too hard for her and she simply does not have the physical strength or emotional strength to endure the goodbyes. We need you to respect Metisha’s wishes and need for privacy during this time. I know you want her to know how much you love her so please send her cards and letters but do not visit or call her. Please understand that she loves you dearly and is so thankful for you constant prayers and support. She knows how much she is loved, but she needs to limit her precious time left to our immediately family only.

Metisha is at peace. She is sad for all that she will miss but is ready to be healthy and whole again. As her family, we cannot begin to imagine life on earth without her, but we too are ready for her to be free of the cancer and free of the suffering. She is an amazing person who has touched more lives than we will ever know. Her spirit and attitude is so contagious that this world will not be as bright of a place with her gone.

We cannot say thank you enough for all that you have done for Metisha and our family over the past four years. I can say with 100% certainty that God has used you to comfort us and we know that when we arrive at the other side of this journey, you will still be there providing that comfort.

We don’t want to spend our last days on Earth with Metisha in total sadness and are fighting to have happy and joyful moments. And of course Metisha’s attitude and spirit often makes that possible! She told Mom people should send her flowers now instead of to her funeral because she can’t enjoy them when she’s dead! Of course she was kidding!

Please know that we still believe God can perform a miracle and if that miracle happens, it will be certain that it is all God! But while we never give up hope, we have to prepare ourselves for her passing. Please continue to pray with us that Metisha will be relived from the pain and for peace and strength for Metisha and Mark and their families as we travel to the end of this journey.

New Chemo on Thursday

2011-04-06T18:32:00.000-06:00

Metisha had new scans and the results confirmed her fears that the chemo hadn’t been working. The cancer in her liver and lymph nodes has gotten worse. It was not the news we wanted to hear, but we were not surprised.

So she starts a new chemo on Thursday at 9 am. Her doctor said this is the last chemo they have to try at Texas Oncology and she needs to start deciding plans for the summer. She can go back to MD Anderson in Houston and see if there are trials available or there is a doctor in Dallas that may have some options for her. Pray for discernment for Metisha and Mark to know what the best move is for the summer.

While this is all sobering news, we are praying that this is the LAST chemo she ever needs because God is quickly going to perform a miracle and heal her of all cancer. While conventional medicine may not be able to heal her, God can perform a miracle! Please pray for God to perform a healing miracle very soon in Metisha’s life.

There has been good news. Metisha was quickly become extremely fatigued and having troubles eating. However after changing her pain medicine the fatigue has greatly improved and she has been able to eat more. Also, even though the cancer has gotten worse in her liver, the liver is still functioning which is a huge praise. And Metisha was approved for the Sick Bank at work!

This weekend is the Susan B Komen Race for the Cure in Fort Worth and you can support the Welsh Warriors by clicking here and donating to a team member. Race for the Cure is an incredible experience and we are excited to walk again this year.

Please keep praying with us, we know God hears our prayers:
• Pray for God to perform a miracle of physical healing in Metisha soon
• Pray for wisdom as Metisha and Mark evaluate next options
• Pray that this new chemo will have no side effects
• Pray that Metisha will feel good enough to Race for the Cure on Saturday

The Good with the Bad

2011-03-24T08:24:00.000-06:00

Having cancer enter your life teaches you a lot of lessons. Most are learned through pain, tears and heartache but often there is always some good in with the bad. The two God truths that I have constantly wrestled with over the past years are:

1. His ways are not my ways and
2. He will never give us more than we can handle.

I wrote about the first one last month. I think what is hard about #2 is we often times think we can’t handle as much as God knows we can handle. And so when that something hits my life, I automatically think I can’t handle it and get frustrated with God that he would allow it to happen. But if I stop fighting with my emotions I can see how God does give us just enough strength to get through the current minute, hour, day. Mark’s Grammy always says that God will never give us more than we can handle, but I wish he didn’t have so much faith in us! I agree Grammy!

Metisha and her strength constantly amaze me. God has given her and Mark the ability to live in the now, and I think that is where she obtains her strength. While I’m running every what-if scenario through my head and my Dad is Googling every symptom for answers, Metisha is living with the knowledge of what her cancer is right now and is not constantly consumed with fear of the what-ifs and what’s next. I think that is a perfect representation of Faith. Because she has Faith that God is control, she can be comfortable with the now. The only promise she needs of the future is that there is a heaven and she received the gift of a permanent address there. She believes God can give her an earthly healing, but she has given that to Him. Amazing.

Yes, she is human. She has moments of fear and doubt and sadness. But she always moves past those moments and goes back to living in the now. When I look at her, I know there is a lot I can learn from her faith.

So with the bad comes good and with good comes bad. This week the good is pain relief. Metisha has been having intense pain in her liver for a few weeks to the point where I have seen her wince (and if you know her you know how much pain that takes). But they have continued to adjust her pain meds and she gotten relief from the intense pain. But yesterday she learned her markers have gone back up 70 points indicating this chemo just isn’t working. This is not a surprise and Metisha was expecting it, but it is still disappointing. They are trying to schedule scans for next week and then will evaluate what the next treatment option.

Please keep praying with us. We are praying:

• The scans can be schedule quickly.
• Metisha will be approved for additional sick days from the Sick Leave Bank so she can take days when is not feeling well or needs rest.
• The scans will not show cancer is any new spots or significant growth in the existing spots.
• Metisha can be relieved from all the pain and be well rested.
• For 100% healing from the cancer.

It is spring which means its race time again! The Komen Race for the Cure in Fort Worth is April 9th. You can support the awesome Welsh Warriors by clicking here. She has an amazing friend who organizes the Welsh Warriors every year and amazing co-workers and friends in DFW that get up early every year to walk for Metisha. We are so thankful for all of you!

When His Ways Aren't Our Ways ...

2011-02-24T19:34:00.001-06:00

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.
Isaiah 55:8

I have to be honest. This verse has not provided comfort to this little sister over the past four years. You see my way means my sister is healed right now of all cancer. In my way, we are old retired folks traveling the country in our RVs, annoying our old husbands with our stupid humor that only each other truly appreciates. That’s my way. And my fear is God’s way means she receives a heavenly healing. I know the passage tells us that God’s ways are better, but my fear overcomes this promise on a daily basis.

But today, God has reminded me that his ways are better, and usually means a path or an answer I never thought of or asked for. Today we received a miracle and answer to our prayers that we didn’t even think of.

Metisha went to oncology today to take some paper work and her favorite nurse came out with a paper and a tear in her eye. She explained that blood work they shared with her yesterday was from 2 weeks ago and she now had the results from yesterday’s blood work. She handed Tisha the paper and yesterday’s count was over 200 points LOWER than 2 weeks ago. So two weeks ago she was in the 500s, yesterday she was in the 200s! Marie said she couldn’t explain it, but Metisha immediately said she could, people have been praying!

Thank you God for showing me that your ways are ways I have never imagined and you ways are good. And thank you God for blessing me with an amazing big sister!

2011-02-23T19:31:00.000-06:00

Metisha had chemo today. Her blood work showed her cancer markers have risen dramatically to a bad range which means the current chemo just isn’t working. So it’s time for new scans, and then to evaluate the next option.

We are sad, but not shocked by this news. Metisha had a feeling the chemo wasn’t working because she’s been having more pain in her stomach and liver areas and her hair has been growing. We are praying that the scans can be done quickly and the next treatment can be very quickly identified and started. Most of all we are praying the next treatment option will work and fight the cancer back down quickly, very quickly.

Tisha has been staring down death for a long time now and her perception of death is certainly different than most. A friend was telling her of an acquaintance who died suddenly of a heart attack. Metisha’s quick response was, “Lucky!” She quickly realized what she had said and apologized, but I think we can all understand her perspective. Metisha says she can be ok with dying; she just doesn’t want to die from cancer! I love her humor and her honest approach! She is a fighter, and she wants to beat this!

Keep praying for our fighter. Pray for the scans to happen quickly, to have results that are a good surprise given her cancer markers, and that the next treatment can be identified and begin quickly. Pray that the cancer will be healed from her lymph nodes in her neck/chest/stomach and in her liver.

Super Hero Not Feeling so Super …

2011-01-18T16:58:00.000-06:00

Metisha had her first round of the new chemo last Thursday and it has been rough, very, very, very rough. Our fearless super hero isn’t feeling so super :( She has admitted to painful tears, being tired and just wanting some normal. And as you know, she doesn’t admit to these things often.

Her weekend was consumed with intense pain in her liver, general all over body pain, severe headaches, and some nausea. Chemo is toxic, and she is definitely feeling that way. She is feeling better and back at school today, but is definitely fatigued by the end of the day. Of course 5th graders can be exhausting by themselves!

But as always, in the midst of the unbearable trials she still has her humor. She decided if she’s going to have short spiky hair, it might as well be fun hair. So she and Mark made a trip to the drug store over the weekend and picked up some pink hair dye. Unfortunately it didn’t work, but it’s always good to hear of humor in her day!

It is the last week of sugar free and Metisha has done great! Not only has she avoided sugar but she has also avoided sugar substitutes! Thank you to everyone who has stood by her with a sugar free January!

So we are praying all of this pain is indicating the chemo is violently attacking and KILLING the cancer and that as the cancer is reduced the pain will improve. Our prayer is always that Metisha can live, with cancer for now and soon cancer free.

New Chemo Approved!

2011-01-14T14:12:00.002-06:00

The insurance company approved the new chemo and Metisha received her first treatment yesterday! We are praying this one is a miracle worker and we quickly see improvement. We are also praying the chemo is an “easy” one that allows Metisha to regain some energy.

Sad

2011-01-05T20:22:00.002-06:00

The PET scan came back today and it didn’t show good news. There is cancer in the lymph nodes, in her arm pit, behind her chest muscles and around her stomach again. Her liver is also substantially worse. Metisha isn’t shocked by this news, but she is sad. We all are sad.

Her oncologist wants to start her on a new chemo that was just recently approved by the FDA. As of now, her insurance company is denying the treatment but our favorite nurse is fighting hard against the insurance company. This is a HUGE prayer request now that the insurance company will agree to cover the treatment and quickly so Metisha can start the new chemo next week.

Metisha needs prayers. She has been extremely tired lately and just isn’t feeling good. We want her to be able to live the active life she wants, and she needs her energy back to do that. She is such a strong person but her body has been through a lot. But we believe we God can give her renewed energy and heal her body of all this nasty cancer.

Sugar Free

2010-12-28T14:24:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Welsh and Ewbank clans! We are continually thankful for every Christmas and New Years we spend together and pray you are experiencing many blessings this holiday season! I personally was blessed beyond measure to watch my big sister playing with my baby girl on Christmas morning!

Metisha’s sinus surgery on the 23rd went well. She had more “gunk” (I’m sure that is a medical term) in her sinuses than the doctor anticipated but the surgery was free of any complications. Other than a congested nose that cannot be blown, Metisha is doing well. She rested well through Christmas thanks to the residual effects of the anesthesia and is feeling better every day. Thank you so much for praying through the surgery!

She has a PET scanned scheduled for the 4th to see if there are any other hot cancer spots besides the lymph nodes in her neck and her liver. Metisha knows this chemo has stopped working because her hair has started growing really fast again. Mark and I were discussing how amazing the human body really is that it can build a resistance to something as potent as chemo. And we know Tisha’s body is as strong and stubborn as they come :) Once they get the results back from the PET scan, they will decide which chemo to start next. With new chemo always come different side effects, so we are praying the next one is an “easy” chemo.

If you know Metisha it would not surprise you to see Metisha stand up in a room and say, “Hi. I’m Metisha and I’m a sugarholic.” There is a lot of research around the negative effects of sugar and cancer and Metisha has frequently wanted to kick the sugar addiction to see if it helps her battle. So, at the suggestion of her Aunt Susan, several of us Welsh Warriors are starting a 21 day sugar fast to support Metisha in the sugar ditch. Starting Jan 2nd, we will pass on all sugary treats and temptations while Metisha does the same. We are praying that the additional support (and accountability) will give her the edge over sugar! So if you see, talk, text or Facebook with Metisha and want to join in on the fun, tells her how your sugar free day is going!

We are praying that 2011 begins with good news and a PET scan that does not reveal any additional cancer. We are praying that 21 sugar free days turns into a powerful weapon against cancer. And we are praying that 2011 is a miracle year full of celebration!

CAT Scan, Scheduled, Complete and Back …

2010-12-21T17:45:00.002-06:00

And unfortunately it shows the lump is cancer in several lymph nodes :( A previous PET scan had shown a hot spot here before, but then it went away on later scans but has now come back. So this means the current chemo is no longer working and it is time to move on to another treatment. The next step is to get a PET scan done to ensure the only new spot is this lump.

Metisha is taking the news in stride, like she does so many times. Her family, well we aren’t as strong as she is. But we continue to believe in a miracle. We know she can be healed, and we have to stand firm in that hope.

So now we are praying a PET scan can be scheduled quickly (specifically tomorrow so she can continue with her Christmas plans), that surgery on Thursday will be painless, and that the PET scan will show additional cancer spots.

We celebrate Christmas and the miracle of our Saviors coming. We celebrate the hope he brought and still brings today. We celebrate that life continues past this world. We believe that a God that orchestrated the salvation of a world can and will CURE cancer!

Chemo Today, Surgery Thursday, Scheduling CAT Scan …

2010-12-21T15:01:00.002-06:00

Metisha had chemo today and met the oncologist. While he couldn’t give any definitive answers about the lump, he thinks it may not be cancer but might be related to her chemo port. He does want to schedule a CAT scan on the lump but we don’t know yet when that will be.

So for now, we are believing this lump isn’t cancer and are praying God will quickly reveal that to be truth. Metisha is still scheduled for sinus surgery on Thursday and we are praying that is a painless procedure with a quick recovery.

Metisha did just get back from a trip to Disney World and cashed in on the cancer card this trip. Because she is in chemo, she and her entire party got an all day fast pass. If you’ve been to Disney World before, you know that is gold! :) The Disney trip was fun as always and we are always so thankful to celebrate another year of Metisha’s life!!!

Prayer Update

2010-12-20T11:00:00.000-06:00

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted an update, but that is typically a good thing because that means everything is going well. Metisha is continuing to do 3 weeks of chemo and then has one week off. She gets tired from the chemo, but overall is tolerating it very well. Her markers have been going up gradually but her overall number is still low.

Unfortunately I am updating today because we do have an urgent prayer request. Metisha found a lump above her collar bone yesterday. She has a call into her doctor. We are praying first that it is not cancer and second for quick answers. It would be amazing to not have this clouding over Christmas. We believe this can be nothing. We believe she can be cancer free. We are praying this nothing but Satan trying to shake our faith and God will prove immediately it is not cancer.

A second prayer request is for Thursday. Metisha is having surgery on Thursday. They are removing palaps from her sinuses. It is a minor surgery, but we are praying that it is an easy surgery with quick recovery.

Thanks for praying with us. I promise I will update as soon as we know anything.

A Great Day!

2010-10-05T21:57:00.000-06:00

Metisha got her scan results today and we are BLOWN AWAY WITH JOY!!! The only cancer hot spots that showed up on the scan are in her liver, nowhere else! We were all expecting bad news and are overwhelmed with joy by God’s plan today.

The extreme pain that Metisha has been experiencing is a result of the chemo working, not the cancer spreading. Her oncology team is working to adjust her pain meds to help with the pain. But today, Metisha isn’t feeling the pain in the same way as she was yesterday :)

We are so excited and humbled by God’s healing and the power of your prayers. Metisha isn’t 100% healed yet, but this is HUGE improvement and definitely feels like a miracle to us!

There were larger spots on her liver that have shrunk but smaller spots that have grown so Metisha will continue with this chemo routine, but they are contacting MD Anderson again to make sure they do not recommend changes at this time. Her oncology office is also sending her back to the ENT who did her sinus surgery several years ago because the scan showed sinus problems again.

Continue to pray for relief from the pain, increased energy, and compete healing. Also pray for Metisha’s oncologist. He had a very minor stroke over the weekend. He is doing well and is expected to fully recover but we want to lift him up with prayers of healing too.

Praise God for peace and a hope for the future!

Scan of Faith

2010-09-29T07:50:00.000-06:00

Metisha’s pain has continued and is intense enough that she frequently admits she’s in pain. None of us can really understand what she faces every day, but I know she is amazingly strong to deal with the pain, exhaustion and random sleep patterns on a daily basis and maintain a fighting spirit. She is the most amazing person I know!

Metisha has a very high pain tolerance, but when the pain increases it’s hard to ignore the fear that the cancer may be spreading. So Metisaha spoke with her oncology team yesterday and they agreed it’s time to do a PET scan to see how the chemo has been affecting the cancer. They are trying to schedule the scan for this week. They do believe the pain may be from the chemo killing the cancer cells and hope the scan will prove the treatment is working. Her doctor is also going to send her scans to the radiologist who worked on her neck last time to see if they can do treatments on her spine to help relieve some of that pain.

I was blessed to be with Tisha last weekend. She told me she needs to focus on believing she will be healed because she feels like her faith in healing is what has kept her in such good health over the past four years. So pray with us that the PET scan will be a faith builder and show that God is working a healing miracle in Metisha.

Oh, and if you have some spare dollars, Metisha’s favorite sister-in-law Kaley is helping eRace breast cancer in the Komen Houston Race for the Cure. You can donate to Kaley’s race here. Go Kaley!

And because we all need a little humor in life, I will share a “Metisha Moment” to end this post. When we were in college/high school, Mom took us to Oklahoma City to go shopping. While we were driving to the city Mom kept complaining about a bad smell. Once my Mom gets a hold of a bad smell, there is no stopping until the source is discovered. Well it didn’t take much sniffing to determine the fowl smell was coming from Metisha’s sandals (apparently Payless Shoes “leather” isn’t so breathable). Metisha liked her sandals and they were fairly new so she wasn’t ready for a bad smell to cause a breakup so she made Mom stop at the first Target/WalMart and bought this new product called Febreze. She found the miracle product, soaked her sandals in the spray and happily reapplied them to her feet. Problem solved … for about 10 minutes. Then her feet started to burn, a lot. Apparently Febreze was intended for fabrics, not skin. And as I remember it, the Febreze didn’t kill the smell either! So the sandals ended up in the trash anyway and our next stop was Payless for new shoes.

She is Human …

2010-09-21T07:20:00.000-06:00

This is from Metisha:

“Feeling defeated today:(. Please pray for my positive attitude and belief in healing to return. I'm doubting. I don't like to feel this way:(. I want to live to be an old lady. God is in charge of my life and I'm at peace with that. I just hope his plan is for a long healthy life for me:). Love you all!”

Anytime Metisha feels down or defeated she thinks she’s being a wimp and letting all of her supporters down. But we just tell her it’s ok to be human and she is a million times stronger than we could ever be in her shoes and she can NEVER let us down!

The chemo is starting to hit her hard and she has another round today. She is feeling run down and overall not good. She’s also having a lot of pain in areas where there is known cancer and some numbness. When she has pain it always triggers fear that the cancer is spreading. When she goes to treatment this afternoon she is going to ask if they can move her next scan up so we can know sooner if this new chemo is working.

It’s hard to watch her hurt and to see her down and to feel like there is nothing we can do to help. But no matter what we can always pray. We don’t know what God’s plan is for Metisha but we know he loves her beyond measure and her health is in his hands. Of course that doesn’t stop us from trying to march up to him and tell him exactly how we want this to play out! Well the Bible tells us we don’t need to march, just prayerfully submit our requests to God. Please continue to pray with us:

• Pray that Philippians 4:6 can be real in our hearts (especially Metisha's) as we wait to see if God is using this chemo for healing.
• Pray that Metisha will be uplifted and will not remain in this valley.
• Pray that Metisha can regain all of energy and not feel any affects of chemo.
• Pray that all the pain and numbness will be gone, immediately.
• Pray that Metisha will feel the love and support of everyone who loves her and not let Satan turn that into a sense of pressure to be strong.
• Pray that cancer is shrinking to extinction, not growing.
• Pray that God is using the chemo to give her a miracle of 100% complete healing and that she can soon stop the chemo and remain cancer free.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. Philippians 4:5-7

Dear God, we pray that you wash Metisha’s body with a miracle and clean her cells of all cancer. We ask that you restore her strength, both mentally and physically, and relieve all the pain in her body. We believe this chemo is your tool that will heal her and pray you keep that faith strong. We are so thankful for the blessing Metisha is to her family and friends and for the constant inspiration she is to us. We are thankful for the good health you have given her through her cancer battle. And we are most thankful that she is your child, fiercely loved by you!

Full Speed Ahead with an Aerodynamic Head

2010-09-10T12:07:00.000-06:00

Metisha is doing great on her new chemo regiment and is continuing to move full speed ahead in life! She gets tired on chemo day and school days are hard on her feet, but she continues to show super human strength in this battle!

The new school year has started and she has a great class. They asked to see her bald chemo head so she promptly removed her wig which created a moment of stunned silence. She asked them if they had ever seen a bald woman to which she received a unanimous “no”. In true Metisha style, she said, “Now you know why!”

Last time Metisha lost her hair to chemo she was pretty self conscious about her bald head and constantly wore wigs that looked very close to her natural hair. This time around she has a “it is what it is” attitude. She would still prefer to have her hair but is much more comfortable being open with her baby smooth head. As for wig selection, this time she is going for a new look!

I think she looks like a hottie with her new style! But I don’t think it’s the right look for her friend, Chad.

Metisha continues to have an amazing attitude and fighting spirit. She keeps fighting and planning for the future. However she will use the “I might not be here next year" line when it works to her advantage, like when she is trying to guilt you into going to Disney World with her! She knows how to play that cancer card :)

We are continually amazed and blessed by how well Metisha feels. We know she isn’t always honest and is definitely masking over pain, but when you are watching Metisha ride mountain bikes, you just keep asking yourself how she can be so sick but look so good. We know God is blessing her health daily and just keep praying he will give her a miracle very soon!

Keep praying for Metisha’s energy to remain high so that she can do all the things she wants to in life. And pray that the pain in her feet from the oral chemo will improve and disappear. And always keep praying for our miracle for all the cancer to be gone from her liver, stomach, intestines, rib and spine! Her last blood work showed her markers have gone down so we believe God is answering our prayers!

Treatment #2

2010-08-04T11:16:00.000-06:00

Tisha has her second treatment of the new chemo today. So far this new treatment has been easy on her! She hasn’t gotten sick and is not more tired than normal. Praise God! We are praying she continues to be protected from side effects and continues to feel good. Metisha has her fight back in her and her spirits are high. Her attitude never ceases to amaze me remind me to suck it up :)

Keep praying that the chemo will work to stop the cancer from growing and will substantially shrink the tumors quickly. Pray for relief from the back pain she is experiencing and for continued protection for the side effects of chemo. Prayer works, even when the answers aren’t exactly what we want, he is still answering!

At First Chemo Treatment

2010-07-27T09:58:00.000-06:00

Metisha is already at her first chemo treatment for the new chemo plan! Praise God for quick movement! She’s in good spirits today but will continue to need prayers of encouragement as she faces indefinite chemo treatment. Last time she knew it would be six treatments and so she could count down with each one. This time there is no definite end, she will keep doing this until it doesn’t work. Of course the doctors look at statistics which say the cancer can’t be completely killed but we have faith that she can be cancer free again! Last time Metisha did traditional chemo her goal was to be cancer free by her 30th birthday and she did have cancer free scans days before her birthday and stayed that way for some time. Tomorrow is her 33rd birthday and I’m praying that she can be cancer free again by Thanksgiving, stay that way and live to be a spunky old lady! I can’t think of a better Thanksgiving than sharing it with a cancer-free Metisha!

Pray that the chemo is easy on Metisha and she is completely protected and spared from all side affects so she can go and do all the things she wants to and continue to truly live with cancer.

Good News!!!

2010-07-26T11:41:00.000-06:00

There is NO cancer in the brain! Praise God! They think the headaches are caused by sinus/allergy issues again so she needs to go back to the ENT who did her last surgery. Short of no cancer, this is the best news we could have today!

There are three spots on her spine and the one in her lower back is the worse and causing her the most pain. While there is a trial available that may help with all of the cancer in her body, Metisha couldn’t get into the trial for at least 6 weeks and then would have to have a liver biopsy to see if she qualified. There is only a 1 in 4 chance that she would qualify so Metisha and Mark agree tradition therapy is the best choice at this time. She will start a new chemo that will attack all the cancer in her spine, liver, stomach, intestines and rib. She will get treatments one day a week for three weeks and then have a week off and keep repeating this cycle. She will be able to get the chemo in Fort Worth and the doctor said many people can still work while on this chemo. Unfortunately this chemo has the normal side effects of hair loss, fatigue, etc.

We have some huge praises from today:
• No cancer in the brain
• Treatment can be done in Fort Worth so Mark and Metisha can be at home
• She may be able to continue to teach school
• There is a traditional protocol available that may help

There are several things we need to pray for now:
• This new treatment plan can begin this Friday. The doctor could see growth from scans done just a month ago.
• Pain relief. The lower spine spot is causing increasing pain. And you know that if Metisha says she has pain its significant.
• She can get to her ENT quickly to get the headaches resolved.
• Protection from side effects of the chemo so she will not be too sick to work.
• Strength and courage for Metisha as she faces traditional chemo again.
• Quick shrinkage of the cancer until it is gone!

We are so thankful to everyone who prayed for Metisha during our prayer vigil last Friday. To know she was constantly being lifted up in prayer provided some moments of peace and rest for us. Metisha would love to hear what was spoken to your heart during your prayer time. Just leave a comment on this blog post, shoot us a Facebook message or an e-mail. We are praying that you are blessed for all of the time you have spent loving Metisha through prayer!

Organizing Prayer

2010-07-21T12:47:00.002-06:00

Ok prayer warriors, I’m organizing prayer and not just because I have a Type A personality!

Metisha met with the oncologist at MD Anderson this morning. This doctor feels it is best to pursue trials now because she has seen the best results from these drug combinations. Tisha isn’t against doing trials but many of these would not allow her to return to school this fall which is a huge disappointment. But there is a more urgent issue. For the last two weeks Metisha has been having a lot of back pain and headaches and the types of headaches she has is concerning to the doctor. If the headaches are caused by the cancer spreading to Tisha’s brain, she will not be able to do these trials so the doctor is scheduling an MRI of her spine and brain. The scan of her spine is Friday and her brain scan is Monday.

Yesterday I was hit with the thought that I need to organize a 24 hour prayer vigil for Tisha and I can’t shake it. When I shared that with Tisha she said that is funny because she was just thinking about the last time they thought the cancer may have spread to her brain and how much of a difference people’s prayers made that night during emergency surgery.

So I am putting a call out to all prayer warriors who are willing to commit to pray for Metisha for 30 minutes. I am looking for enough warriors to cover each 30 minute increment (12am to 12:30am, 12:30am to 1:00am, etc) beginning at midnight tomrrow, covering all day Friday, July 23rd. Please send me a Facebook message or email me at unruhregan@att.net if you are willing to set an alarm and spend 30 minutes praying for Tisha. Please tell me which 30 minutes of the day on July 23rd you will be praying so I can ensure we cover the full 24 hours. Of course we are grateful for any prayer so please say a short prayer for Tish even if you can’t participate in the vigil.

Here is what we are praying for:
• The headaches to once again be caused by sinus issues, not cancer. No cancer in her brain.
• Immediate relief from the headaches and pain in her back.
• Wisdom for the doctors.
• Wisdom for Metisha and Mark.
• A fighting attitude for Metisha. She is feeling very weighed down.
• Physical, mental and emotional strength for Metisha.
• Metisha to be able to go to school in the fall. This is important to her.
• The cancer to be gone from her liver, stomach, intestines, ribs and spine
• Mental and emotional strength for Mark.
• Mark and Metisha’s families as we strive to support Mark and Tisha. Metisha’s parents Danny and Barbara, sister and brother-in-law Regan and Jeremy. Mark’s parents Lyle and Ann, sister Kaley.
• FOR A MIRACLE OF TOTAL HEALING FROM CANCER HERE ON EARTH.

We are so thankful and grateful for your prayers!

UPDATE ON THE PRAYER VIGIL:
I have a name in every spot!!!! Thank you so, so much to everyone who has dedicated 30 minutes of their Friday to pray for Metisha and please know we are praying for you too! If you still want to participate, pick any 30 minutes and let me know when you will be praying. Blessings to you all!

From Metisha

2010-07-21T07:56:00.000-06:00

Metisha posted this on her Facebook page this morning and I love her prayer request:

At MD Anderson waiting to see the doctor. Pray God will put my path to healing in her brain. Love all of you prayer warriors! May God bless you today in a special way:)

Off to Houston

2010-07-20T10:23:00.002-06:00

Mark and Metisha are leaving this morning to head to MD Anderson. Tomorrow morning Metisha will have blood work and a physical work up and then meet with the doctor. They still don’t know what to expect or how long they will be in Houston.

Metisha has been having a lot of pain in her lower back so we are praying for relief of that pain quickly. Also pray for strength for Tish. Facing more treatments and likely more chemo is very hard and definitely has her a bit down right now. We are praying that this trip will bring some positive news!

Mexico, Fort Worth, 4th of July, Mexico, Fort Worth, Houston …

2010-07-08T10:31:00.000-06:00

If there is one thing we have learned we can count on through this cancer journey, it is that progress, answers, and doctor offices move at a slower pace than we want. Everything just takes time. So in the time since Metisha got the results of her last scan, her oncologist has been working to get another consult with MD Anderson and since we knew that would take time, Metisha went on a previously scheduled trip to Mexico with a friend. She was in Mexico when the hurricane and earthquake hit but we are happy to report she did not blow away or have any buildings fall on her. So for the record, she has survived cancer, a hurrican and an earthquake :) They had a great trip and were not hit by the hurricane or earthquake and she returned just in time for the 4th of July holiday weekend. While Metisha was in Mexico, the doctor at MD Anderson was also on vacation so no consulting occurred :( Now Metisha is back in Mexico celebrating her and Mark’s 10th anniversary and a few more than 10 years of marriage for Mark’s parents, Lyle and Ann. Definitely two great things to celebrate! As for the consulting, she is now scheduled to go to Houston to see the doctors at MD Anderson on the 21st. She doesn’t know what all will happen, all she knows is to show up with all of her scans. So we will wait for the 21st and hopefully move to a new treatment plan at warp speed!

Metisha was having pain in her abdomen area before the scans but that has gotten better and we know that is because of your prayers! We are praying for Metisha to feel great, for quick answers on the 21st and for a new treatment plan that WILL kill all of the cancer in Metisha’s body. Keep praying, it works!

Happy Anniversary Lyle and Ann and Mark and Metisha!

Only God

2010-06-24T17:32:00.000-06:00

I don’t want to write this because I don’t want it to be real. The PET scan results came back today and the cancer has spread and is now in Metisha’s liver, stomach, intestines, rib and neck. As Metisha wisely said, Only God can fix this.

I wish I had the words in me to make this better. I wish I had a way to instantly make all of this cancer go away. I wish I had a way to see the future. I wish. But right now Metisha is still ready to fight and as long as she wants to fight, we WILL stand next to her and fight. And right now the best weapon we have is prayer and prayer is Metisha’s only request. There have been cancer miracles before and we still believe Metisha can have a cancer miracle. Lance Armstrong had cancer in multiple places and now he’s cancer free. There is still hope and we have to cling to hope.

Hope and prayer must be our foundation.

So now Metisha and Mark have to cycle through the options for the next steps. The immediate discussions are around seeing a breast cancer specialist in Dallas, going back to MDAnderson and pursuing trials.

We are praying for:

• A quick recovery from Tuesday’s liver bead treatment. The chemo has hit her so hard she’s admitting she’s not feeling well.
• Wisdom in choosing the next steps and for God to quickly open the right doors and shut the wrong ones.
• No matter what the next option is, Metisha can continue to have the active life she wants. This is the most important thing to Metisha.
• Comfort, peace, hope, reassurance in God’s plan.
• Metisha to be 100% cancer free here on earth.
• No matter what the next option is, Metisha to still have tens of thousands of good, happy days not clouded by the storm of cancer.

As I am writing this blog update, I just got a text from Mark: It’s RAINING in Forth Worth for the first time since mid May! Throughout Metisha’s journey we believe God has given us two signs of a promise of healing: Rain and Red Cardinals. Thank you God for giving us rain!

Go Beads!

2010-06-22T16:47:00.000-06:00

Metisha got her 3rd round of beads this afternoon and was moved to her recovery room around 5:30. The procedure went well and the surgeon felt like he didn’t see a lot of growth which is positive. She is in quite a bit of pain but they are hoping to go home around midnight tonight.

Pray that she doesn’t get very sick from the beads. The first round made her sick for about a week but the second round was much easier. She also had her PET scan yesterday so pray that those results come back quickly and show good results with no new cancer anywhere else. And pray that the beads will do a good job and kill off a lot of cancer!

More Beads!

2010-06-15T15:01:00.002-06:00

Metisha is scheduled for another round of liver beads on Tuesday, June 22nd! We are very happy she is getting a treatment again and are praying the treatment is easy on her and she is able to quickly recover.

Because her last round of blood work showed her cancer markers had risen, Metisha’s oncologist and the liver bead oncologist want to do a PET scan to see if the cancer has popped up anywhere else. This will happen very quickly and we are praying fervently that the PET scan will show there is no cancer anywhere else in her body and that the liver still looks stable. We would LOVE to get a good PET scan result and believe it can happen despite the concerning blood work!

Pray for the PET scan and Metisha’s spirits as she waits for the results. Pray for protection over her that the liver bead treatments will be easy and she will not have a lot of side effects that make her sick.

Still Waiting, Need Action

2010-06-04T16:14:00.000-06:00

Tisha still hasn’t heard back from the liver bead treatment on whether or not they recommend another round of beads (her last treatment was in January). Apparently they’re experiencing some communication constipation and there is a long list of people who would like to give them verbal enema to get things moving again! And unfortunately her latest blood work showed her cancer markers have increased. Metisha’s main oncologist is frustrated with the bead facility also and said he will be calling them multiple times a day next week to get answers. Metisha is also going to try to get an appointment so she can meet with the doctors face to face.

Metisha is discouraged today. Every time she gets comfortable and forgets she is sick, she gets reminded that she still has cancer. I told her most people would be very angry after facing this for so long with no end in sight and couldn’t have the great attitude she has. Her response, “Yeah well I’m a little crazy and I’ve decided you have to be crazy to deal with this.” Well her crazy is inspirational to me!

Metisha doesn’t know what the next step is. Her doctor wants to get in touch with the bead place and then go from there. She will most likely have new scans very soon. But we do know they one step we can always take is prayer. We are praying for a miracle. We are praying for all cancer to be gone and for Metisha to be 100% healthy. We are praying for QUICK answers and MOVEMENT in the next weeks. We are praying for wisdom for the doctors and Metisha.

Waiting, waiting, and More Waiting

2010-04-30T16:54:00.000-06:00

Tisha had a liver MRI done SEVERAL weeks ago and has been waiting on the oncologist at the liver bead facility to review the scans. For weeks she has been going back and forth with the doctor’s nurse and has heard “he will call you tomorrow” or “he will call you today” only to receive no phone call. Frustration is not a strong enough word at this point! So today Metisha called the nurse back and demanded to see the doctor today and the nurse agreed and told her to come in anytime and she would work her in. So she finally got to speak to the doctor today! He said the scan was hard to compare to previous scans before the two liver bead treatments but that the blood flow to the tumors has been reduced and it appears some of the tumors are smaller but there are not significant reductions. So he doesn’t think the beads have been affective enough to warrant a third treatment but he wants to consult with the liver bead surgeon (the one who inserts the beads) before making a final recommendation.

So we are happy and concerned at the same time. The fact that the blood flow has been slowed to the tumors is good because they are not being feed and there has not been any increase in tumors which means Tisha has not lost ground. But of course we are always praying for a treatment to totally remove the cancer. But no cancer growth is ALWAYS good news and we are thankful!

Metisha told the doctor if a third treatment is not an option that she wants to know quickly so she can revisit options at MD Anderson which would likely be trials. The liver bead oncologist said before she pursues that option he has a nationally known breast cancer oncologist in Dallas that he would like for her to see. He said this is the doctor he would take his wife to if she were diagnosed with breast cancer. We are always excited to get a name of another doctor who can look at her with a fresh perspective and Metisha will definitely pursue this option if a third bead treatment is not recommended.

So at this point we are praying for a fast decision and communication from the doctors as to whether a third bead treatment is recommended. But mostly we are praying that God will direct Metisha to the best treatment.

And for a bit of happiness, here is a picture of Metisha with the newest Welsh Warrior, her niece Emmory Tisha. She’s promised this little girl a long list of fun adventures they will go on together and so we pray that God will heal Metisha to give her and Emmory the time to complete every adventure on the list!

Still Waiting and Awkward Movie Moments

2010-04-02T16:43:00.002-06:00

Metisha still hasn’t gotten her MRI results back from the liver bead facility. They are really good doctors, but their communication is a bit slow so we aren’t surprised it’s taking a while. But Metisha is not stressed about the wait since the PET scan showed improvements in her liver. Her family on the other hand doesn’t exactly share in her patience :) Once they do call with her results they should also be able to tell her if they want to do a 3rd round of beads.

WARNING: POSSIBLE MOVIE SPOILER AHEAD. STOP READING IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SEEING THE LAST SONG. If you are still reading, I assume no responsibility in spoiling the moving for you. So Metisha has been passing some of her time by going to the movies, in particular with a friend from school. The last movie they watched together included a heart wrenching plot where someone dies from cancer. As you can imagine, this created a bit of awkward movie experience for her friend. Of course Metisha was unfazed and apologized for making her friend uncomfortable. This week they decided to go see The Last Song. This time Tisha had done her homework and knew that once again, the tearful plot included a death from cancer. So she warned her friend and they decided to go anyway. I think her friend did much better this time, but when they were leaving the theater Metisha noticed everyone was crying and wiping away tears (the theater was full of women) expect for her. Metisha was laughing and I feel confident not quietly! And she was still laughing when she called to tell me the story. I’m constantly glad that no matter the situation, she finds constant humor in life!

On some level, yes, she is a bit sick and twisted. BUT this really speaks to how her perspective on life and death has been transformed. While everyone else was crying because someone died to soon of cancer, Metisha focused on how awesome it was that the character was able to tell everyone his goodbyes and appreciate the world before his death. I can definitely see this translating into the real world. There are times when those of around Metisha only focus on her beating cancer because we don’t want to lose her. And while Metisha wants to beat this too, she definitely has an amazing ability to be thankful for everyday, live in the now without worry of the future, and to enjoy every moment. What a great attitude that this worrisome sister needs to absorb!

Checking on the Beads

2010-03-27T16:19:00.002-06:00

Tisha is having a MRI of her liver tomorrow morning to check on the progress of the liver beads. We are thankful she can have the scan done on the weekend so she doesn’t have to miss any school. The results of the scan will help the bead doctors decide if she needs a third round of beads. Pray that the MRI shows the beads have been effective against the cancer and there is significant improvement in her liver. We are believing the beadazzled liver will become a cancer-free liver!

The Right Direction!

2010-03-01T16:38:00.000-06:00

Metisha got her scan results back today. It was not a cancer free scan BUT there were no new spots and her liver looks like it has improved! We are absolutely praising God for positive progress!

The PET scan showed that half of her liver looks to be improved and the other half looks stable. These results give us a lot of hope that the chemo beads are working and there could be more improvement because it’s only been 5 weeks since her last treatment. The center that does the bead treatments will likely schedule an MRI in the next few weeks to get a better picture of how the beads have worked against the cancer.

The scan also showed a spot in her back in the rib cage area. This spot showed up on the last at which time they felt like it was not cancer but was likely a bone fracture because it doesn’t show as “hot”. On this scan the spot is still there but it has improved also! They still think it is likely a fracture that is healing and not cancer but even if it is a cancer spot it is improving also.

We absolutely were praying for a cancer free scan, but this scan shows IMPROVEMENT and that means the current treatment is moving Metisha towards cancer free which is the direction we want to move!

Thank you so much for your prayers and know they are working to heal Metisha and to help keep her family sane through these times of waiting!

Friday Photo Shoot

2010-02-23T22:22:00.000-06:00

Metisha is schedule for a full layout photo shoot on Friday, also known as a PET scan. A PET scan covers her entire body and shows any cancer as “hot spots”. If there are hot spots they do a follow-up MRI to get a more detailed picture of the area.

I’ll be honest, we dread scans and this scan has us rattled. It is so easy to become consumed with fear, dread of bad news, and the wait between the scan and getting the results seems endless and cruel. We pray for peace and for time to go quickly but scans often get the better of us. The well known versus Jeremiah 29:11 tell us “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Isaiah 55:8 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways,” declares the Lord. When I think about these two versus I feel conflicted. I know Metisha is in God’s hands and he has promised her a hope and a future but I’m fearful of his ways because they may not be what I think is the best way. But instead of focusing on the conflict and the unknowns of the future, we should focus what God has done in Metisha’s cancer journey. He has given her a season of no active cancer. He has given her good health to continue to live the life she wants with cancer. He has surrounded us with family, friends and community that constantly support us with prayer and love. And as he reminded me just a few months back, he is always here loving her.

So I guess that was a lecture to myself more than anything, but we do ask that you pray with us over the next week. Pray for peace and faith in God’s healing. Pray that the wait for results will go by fast. Pray that the results will show God’s blessing and healing and no cancer will be visible, not even in her liver. Pray for the miracle we all believe will happen in Metisha’s life.

On the fun side of life, Metisha is continuing to live it to the fullest. Much to the despair and objection of her dear mother, Metisha has taken up a new interest in motorcycles and has decided to become a biker chick! Mark has had a bike for years and enjoys riding so they are looking forward to spring and hitting the highway together. Now if those record snows will stop in the DFW area …

Prayers Work!

2010-01-23T20:35:00.003-06:00

Metisha is continuing to do great after round two of liver beads! Last time she got very sick and was down for almost a week. This time she is feeling great, has had little pain or sickness and has been able to rest! Thank you so much for all of your prayers because they are working!

Last time they knocked her completely out for the procedure. I think it was because the she kept chatting with the anesthesiologist. He kept telling her she would get sleepy, she kept talking, he would tell her to relax, she would crack a joke, and the cycle continued until he finally knocked her out to shut her up. After the procedure she felt sick to her stomach from the meds. I guess this time she talked less because they left her awake and she had no sickness after the procedure was over!

So now we wait while the beads go on attack. After several weeks they will do another scan to see how the liver has changed and to decide if she needs a third treatment.

We are praying that God preforms a Vegas sized beadazzled miracle and the next scans show a cancer free liver! We continue to believe he can and will heal her and Metisha will grow to be an old, spunky woman with the perkiest ta ta's in her senior citizens group!

Doing Great!

2010-01-21T21:49:00.001-06:00

Metisha had her second round of bling added to her liver at 2:30 pm today. The surgery lasted about two hours and went very well! She had to lay flat for 5 hours after surgery to prevent any bleeding which caused some uncomfortable logistics but she is doing much, much better than last time. She is doing so well they are letting her go home tonight instead of staying in the hospital until morning! Keep praying for Metisha and that she will continue to do well and heal quickly!

Beadazzle Treatment #2

2010-01-19T17:27:00.002-06:00

Metisha is scheduled for her next beadazzle session this Thursday, January 21st. It will be the same process as last time: a long day of tests, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting, then the procedure and then an overnight hospital stay for pain management and observation. Fortunately they are able to check into their hospital room first thing so they can wait in a private room instead of waiting rooms. A private room to wait in is definitely a huge blessing! But they do get bored sitting most of the day so Metisha is accepting suggestions of activities to help pass the time in the hospital. A few submitted suggestions have included grading other teachers’ papers, surfing the hallways in a “borrowed” hospital cart and seeing how many times she can fit “meow” into a single conversation with a nurse.

The last treatment hit Metisha very hard and set her back for about a week. The chemo beads made her liver VERY angry and she was very tired and in a lot of pain for several days. I believe the pain was the cancer trying to revolt but we know it lost and the beads won! A normal person would have complained about the pain or the treatment or the unfairness of having cancer. Not Metisha. She complained that she was being a wimp for letting the treatment set her back and decided she must have contracted a case of panseyitis also! Her attitude never ceases to amaze and inspire me (and remind me that I am a true wimp)!

In addition to the chemo beads her doctors put her back on the oral chemo meds but at a lower dosage. So far her feet are more tinder but she hasn’t developed blisters. Please pray diligently that the lower dosage will fight the cancer but will not cause the blistering on her feet.

So keep praying as treatment number two approaches. We are praying that:

The beadazzled liver will lead to a cancer free liver
Metisha will be protected from the harsh side affects she experienced after the first treatment
Her recovery will be fast
The oral chemo pills do not cause any blistering on her feet

Keep praying and come back Thursday evening to get the latest news on round two!

Liver Bling

2009-12-31T22:24:00.002-06:00

Metisha and Mark had a very long day but a successful one and her liver now has some bling! They were able to BEADazzle 50% of her liver with this first treatment which is great news. The doctor said they will treat the remaining 50% with a scond treatment in a few weeks and may need to do a third treatment for "clean up".

She still in the hospital tonight because she is having some abdomen pain and her stomach is upset but over all she is doing very well. They are hopeful they will be able to go home early tomorrow morning.

Praise God for such good results today and pray that Metisha will be back 100% tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

Beadazzled Tomorrow

2009-12-30T17:46:00.003-06:00

Metisha gets her first round of chemo beads on New Year’s Eve so her liver will be beadazzled for the New Years! It will take most of the day between blood work, mixing the beads and chemo, lots of waiting, and then the actual procedure. They will monitor her after the procedure and she may have to stay in the hospital overnight for continued monitoring.

Metisha is excited to ring in the New Year (and a new decade) with a new treatment. There is a theme of new beginnings and we eagerly anticipate that God will turn her cancerous liver into a beadazzled liver, and then into a healed liver!

We are praying for several things:

Metisha will have no side effects from the chemo beads or the procedure.
The doctors will be able to treat a large portion of her liver in this first treatment.
She will be able to go home tomorrow night so she can rest. She usually does a good job of talking her way out of the hospital!
A BEADazzled liver will lead to a cancer free liver!

Sometimes I find myself asking where God is in all of this. Why did God allow this to happen to Metisha? Why hasn’t God cured her yet? Where is God when we are devastated from bad news and feeling hopeless? The truth is he is here and more than we will ever know or understand. He was here when Mom and Dad moved back to Fairview over 30 years ago, placing our family in the middle of a community that has shown us an immeasurable amount of love and support. He was here when he placed Mark in Metisha’s life decades ago to be her constant rock. He was here when He allowed Metisha to see the victory of heaven when our grandfather passed away. He was here when He lead Metisha to the Life Church giving Mark and Metisha a wonderful church family. He was here in his perfect timing when he blessed our family with the pending arrival of a baby while we fight alongside Metisha for her life. He was here when Dad was watching a TV program that lead him to send an email to a doctor that lead Metisha to the chemo bead treatment therapy. He was always here orchestrating events but most importantly he was and is ALWAYS here loving her. And oh how he loves her! We cannot fathom this love or begin to understand its vastness but we can know that he is constantly engulfing her in love. It is a love that is passionate, peaceful, fierce, endless, and so much more. Because he loves her, he hurts when she hurts but he is also fighting for her. No matter what, no matter the day, no matter the circumstance, he is here loving her with an endless capacity. That is where God is in all of this.

Psalm 103:11 – For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him

Fancy Liver for New Year’s

2009-12-22T12:00:00.000-06:00

Metisha will get her beadazzled liver on New Year’s Eve so she will be ringing the New Year with some fancy bling in the hospital! We are very thankful to finally have a date set for the first round of treatment!

Metisha is having some Disney withdraws but is enjoying her Christmas break. We were absolutely blown away by how well her feet did in Disney and know that is a direct result of your prayers! On one of the rare occasions when she actually used the scooter (or more appropriately called “crash cart”), she was driving figure eights around some posts at our hotel and almost rolled then thing over! I wish I had caught it on video!

Good Preliminary Scan Results!

2009-12-21T18:03:00.001-06:00

Metisha had her PET scan this morning and her oncologist already called with the preliminary results. He said everything looked good! They did not detect cancer anywhere besides the liver and thought it might even look a little better! They did see a shadow on her rib, but feel like it is just a shadow. We are praying that the final report confirms the cancer is only in the liver!

Metisha is still trying to get her TheraSphere treatment scheduled. Please pray that the TheraSphere center can get the surgery scheduled ASAP.

No Beads Today

2009-12-18T09:12:00.001-06:00

We got back from Disney last night and had a great trip! There was a lot of laughter and funny moments. Tisha’s feet were pretty bad the first two days but after that they felt great and she abandoned the scooter for the rest of the trip!

Metisha’s first TheraSphere treatment has been moved to the 29th or the 30th. There are not any issues causing the delay it just took longer than expected to get it scheduled. She does have a PET (full body) scan on the 21st. Please pray that this scan shows no cancer outside her liver.

A BEADazzled Liver

2009-12-10T09:46:00.001-06:00

It looks like Tisha’s liver is going to be BEADazzled! Her appointment with the TheraSphere clinic in Dallas went very well! Mark and Metisha really liked the doctors and the clinic and believe this is the best treatment option. If everything goes as planned, she will receive her first round of liver bling (beads) next Friday (12/18/09)! So here is what this treatment will include:

TheraSphere uses glass beads to target radiation or chemo directly to tumors.
They will be using chemo with Metisha’s beads.
The beads are designed to block the blood flow to the tumor while the chemo directly attacks the tumor.
The beads are inserted directly into main arteries feeding the liver.
They cannot treat the entire liver at one time so they treat one section at a time. They anticipate they will divide her liver into 2 to 3 sections.
They will treat one section, wait about 3 weeks and then treat the next section.
She will have an overnight hospital stay with each treatment.
The side effects are much less than traditional chemo. They said she may have some discomfort in her abdomen and may experience some light hair loss. They have only had one patient lose all of her hair.
After they have blinged out all of her liver with beads, they will wait 3 months and then do another scan to see how well the beads have worked.
Typically the goal is to control or reduce the cancer in the liver; it will not necessarily kill all of the cancer in her liver.

Even though the doctors do not say this can kill all of the cancer in the liver, our pray is that Tisha will be the all star and God will use this treatment to completely cure her liver. We believe this can and will happen!

We are so thankful to have a plan again! Mark and Metisha are extremely thankful to be able to get her treatments in the DFW area and stay close to home. All of her doctors are discussing restarting her on her oral chemo again. She stopped taking the oral chemo after the scan showed growth in the liver, but the doctors think she may need to keep on that drug because it was causing her cancer markers to go down. Pray for wisdom for the doctors in this decision and also pray for protection over Metisha from the side effects of the drugs. She did fine on low doses but developed very painful blisters on her feet and hands on higher doses.

The doctors that met Tisha on Tuesday could not believe how well she is feeling and the few side effects she has from the cancer in her liver. We know that is a direct result of the millions of prayers that have been said for her and we thank you for constantly praying with us through this battle!

So as Tisha starts the next round of treatment you can pray that:

Metisha will respond better than expected and God will use this treatment to kill the cancer in her liver.
Metisha will not experience any side effects.
They can treat her entire liver with just 2 treatments and that both treatments can be given while she is on Christmas break from school.
Insurance will cover the treatment without any issue or fight.
The doctors will come to the right decision about the oral chemo drugs.

Metisha is leaving this weekend for a well deserved cancer survivor celebration with Mickey Mouse! There are six of us going and we are VERY excited and thankful to get to celebrate another year with Metisha! We have rented a scooter for her to use at the parks because of the blisters on her feet. I’m sure that will provide for multiple entertaining moments, especially since she is taking one of those key ties that you use on a wave runner to pull the key out of the ignition if you fall off! So if you are in Disney next week, watch out for a wild woman on a scooter!

TheraSphere Consultation

2009-12-01T18:13:00.001-06:00

Metisha will have a consultation next Tuesday with a facility in Dallas for TheraSphere treatment. This treatment inserts TheraSphere beads directly in the main artery which feeds the liver. The beads are radioactive glass microspheres that feed high levels or radiation directly into the tumors.

Pray that her records can get over to this treatment facility quickly and that she will be a candidate for TheraSphere. Pray that this will be the treatment that finally rids her liver of all cancer and pray that there will be no insurance coverage issues.

Metisha is doing well and is ready to fight with new treatments! Oh and I know all those medical terms made me sound really smart, but I’m still just a nerd who knows how to use Wikipedia :)

Scan Results

2009-11-30T17:20:00.003-06:00

Metisha got her scan results back and they were not the results we were praying for. The cancer has gotten worse in her liver. The existing spots have gotten bigger and there are also new spots. However we are thankful that there are no signs of cancer in areas other than the liver.

Metisha’s oncologist is consulting with MDAnderson and a treatment facility in Dallas that uses glass beads to target chemo directly in tumors then she will meet with the oncologist next Wednesday to determine what the next steps should be.

This is hard to take. It is hard to not feel like we are losing ground to cancer. We are sad, angry and scared amid a hundred other emotions. But we MUST remain hopeful, believing that cancer can be beaten, her liver can be restored to a cancer free state and she will be with us for decades and decades to come. We cannot give up and we cannot stop believing that God will provide total physical healing for Metisha in this life. We cannot give up.

We continue to need your prayers. It can be so hard to voice our needs and requests to God during these times and so we depend on you to stand next to us in prayer. We are praying for:

Strength and a renewed hope from God.
An unfaltering belief that God will give Metisha physical healing in this life.
Wisdom for the doctors as they look at the next options.
The next option to be the treatment that will cure Metisha.
The next steps to happen quickly. Next Wednesday feels like 9 months, not 9 days away.
Metisha’s hands and feet to heal quickly from the oral chemo.
For Metisha and Mark and their families to be given peace and joy through this time. We want to enjoy life together without the dark cloud of cancer looming over.
Metisha to be physically healed, here on earth, 100% and forever from cancer in 2010.

We are thankful for you, your love and your prayers. Metisha is strong, she is a fighter, she is my hero.

Lamentations 3:55-57
I called out your name, O God,
Called from the bottom of the pit.
You listened when I called out, ‘Don’t shut your ears!
Get me out of here! Save me!’
You came close when I called out.
You said, ‘It’s going to be all right’.

Scan Today

2009-11-23T10:01:00.000-06:00

Metisha has a new scan this morning. We are praying diligently for good news to come out of this scan and for good news to celebrate on Thanksgiving! Please pray with us for peace as we wait on the results and for 100% good news and continue to pray that Metisha's feet will be healed.

We are believing we will have a very happy post for Thanksgiving!

Another Drop!

2009-11-13T11:41:00.000-06:00

Metisha got her blood work back and her cancer markers have dropped for the 3rd time! The doctor reduced her meds a bit so we are praying that the new dosage will give her relief from the side effects but still continue to fight the cancer.

Keep fighting Tisha!

Rough Patch

2009-11-09T11:04:00.002-06:00

Metisha has been continuing her oral chemo and IV bone treatments and her last two rounds of blood work has shown that her cancer markers have gone down which is a positive sign. We are very thankful for these drops and continue to believe that God will use these treatments to heal her!

Since she was responding so well to the oral chemo her doctor decided to increase the dosage but this is causing a rough patch for Tisha. She’s been very tired, is hurting a lot through her entire body and now has blisters and bruising on her feet and is developing blisters on her hands. As you know, if Metisha says something is hurting, the pain is very bad!

Please pray with us for Metisha to be relieved of these side effects. She goes back to the doctor on Wednesday so pray for wisdom for Dr. Nugent to prescribe the best treatment for total healing with the least physical impact on Metisha. We’ve always been so thankful that Metisha has been able to truly live with cancer, but these recent side effects are holding her back so we are praying that God will restore her current good health and her permanent freedom from cancer. We are praying specifically that she will improve quickly over the next few weeks because she has a trip to Disney World in 32 days!

Of course through all of this Metisha continues to smile and laugh. I was talking to her while she was in the chemo room getting her last bone IV treatment and she was just laughing and joking with the nurses and thanking them for their help. I would hate that room, hate the process, hate everything about it but she is just her amazing, strong, upbeat self!

Metisha will also have a new set of scans done this month. With scans always comes some apprehension and fears so pray for Metisha to continue to believe in her healing and that the scans will continue to show no cancer in her bones, no new cancer spots anywhere else and a huge improvement in her liver.

God does and will heal!!!

Good News IS GOOD NEWS!!!

2009-09-23T16:30:00.000-06:00

Metisha just called with good news!!! She had blood work done yesterday and it showed her markers are down from 203 to 180 after only two weeks on the new oral chemo pills! We are so excited to finally get a good news phone call from oncology! Prayers to do work and our prayers are full of prasies today!

No News is Good News!

2009-09-22T16:40:00.002-06:00

Metisha has been on the new oral chemo and has experienced ZERO side effects! We are so thankful that she is still able to LIVE the life she wants and has not been slowed down by cancer. She has also had an unexpected improvement recently: her hair has been growing back where she had radiation! What a happy surprise! And last weekend we experienced another miracle. Tisha was eating a s’mores and when she was finished she actually said, “I never thought I would say this but that was actually too sweet.” Metisha thought a sugary treat was too sweet! She is continuing to battle her sugar addiction and that was a “sweet” victory.

Mark recently got some new ink.

I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me. We believe all things includes beating stage four cancer! We are so thankful for all of your prayers and they are working!

Keep praying with us that:

the oral chemo will remove all cancer from Metisha’s liver,
there will be no cancer reoccurrence anywhere else in her body,
she can replace her love of sugar with a passion for veggies and fruit and
she will be a wrinkly, old, cancer free woman!

$25

2009-09-08T15:49:00.001-06:00

Metisha got her oral chemo pills today and they were covered by insurance so she only had to pay $25! This is a huge answer to prayer and a testament to the power of prayer! We are so thankful and overjoyed today! Metisha will start taking the drugs this evening so pray with us that she will not experience any side affects; no sickness, no exhaustion and no hair loss. And most importantly pray that the drugs will work and kill all the cancer spots on her liver!

And since we know prayer works, please pray for our friend Lori. Lori and Metisha have been best friends since junior high. Lori had a beautiful baby girl last Thursday and then had a severe stroke Sunday morning that has affected her mobility in her left side. Please pray with us that Lori will be 100% restored and regain all mobility in her left side. And pray for her beautiful family: husband John, daughter Laney (2 years old), daughter Haley (5 days old) and her mother Marva. They are beautiful people and Lori is strong and we believe she will be running after her girls very soon!

Possible Oral Chemo Treatment!

2009-09-03T14:38:00.001-06:00

Tisha’s doctor consulted with MD Andersen and they recommended an oral chemo treatment. They doctor said she has treated several women with metastatic spots on the liver and they have responded very well to this drug. Metisha would take several pills in the morning and the evening for 14 days, then take a break and then start again for 14 days. It has side effects similar to chemo (can make you sick and can cause hair loss) but they are generally less than chemo. This drug is very expensive at over $2,000 per month so a HUGE prayer request is that the drug will be covered by Metisha’s insurance. Please pray diligently for this. This therapy would be easier on Metisha than chemo, gives her a better chance of not losing her hair again and may be more effective.

So now we are prayerfully waiting for oncology to check on insurance coverage.

Could be Worse, Could be Better

2009-08-31T15:45:00.001-06:00

Metisha’s PET scan came back today. No cancer showed in her neck or anywhere else in her bones which is great news and a huge praise! However her liver has gotten worse. There were previously 4 spots and now there are 11 which is obviously not good news. So we continue the pattern of it could be worse but it could definitely be better.

Unfortunately there are now so many liver spots that they don’t think surgery or ablation is a possibility. Her nurse told her chemo is probably the best option but she will discuss any options and the next steps with her oncologist on Wednesday afternoon. The oncology nurse is also going to consult with MD Anderson. A fear with chemo is that the original liver spot didn’t respond well to chemo last time.

Some days are just bad days and today was definitely one of those days for Tisha. After she got the call from her oncology nurse she went to Walgreens to get some prescriptions. She was standing in the inevitable pharmacy line when the lady behind her informed Tisha the seam was ripped out on her skirt, all the way up. Yes, her unmentionables became mentionable! Of course in true Metisha spirit, she said “oh well, that’s not the worst thing I’ve been told today”. And true to the theme it could have been worse; she was at least wearing a modest granny garment instead of a more risqué option. The moral of the story is when you’re having a bad day, just go home!

We have a very specific prayer now. The PET scan can show how many spots are no the liver but cannot show a 3D image of how the spots lie on the liver. So we are praying specifically that the spots are all in one lobe of the liver so that liver surgery is an option. Beyond that we are praying that a new drug or chemo is now available that will be 100% effective in killing the cancer in the liver. We are also continuing to pray that Metisha will develop a love for fruit and veggies and a hatred of sugar and junk food. And we are always praying for complete and total healing.

PET Scan Tomorrow

2009-08-26T16:42:00.001-06:00

Metisha has her PET scan tomorrow morning. We are pray for good news from the scan and that the good news will come fast!

Markers Slightly Up

2009-08-21T11:04:00.001-06:00

Tisha got her blood work back today and it showed her markers to be up 40 points which is a slight increase and not an alarming jump. This could be an indicator that the current drugs are not working but does not concretely mean the cancer has grown or spread. She will now have a PET scan on Thursday to see where the cancer is and the results of that scan will determine whether she continues with the current treatment plans or has to change course. Tisha is not upset about these results and is still smiling and focusing on her new school year.

This is not the news we have been praying for, but it isn’t necessarily bad news either so we continue to pray diligently. Metisha feels strongly that these test results do not affect her outcome because God is in control. We have faith in him and faith in his ability to heal her. Metisha also feels strongly that she needs to make dedicated healthy lifestyle changes with her diet to help fight her cancer. So we need to keep praying and lifting Metisha up in this area. Pray for:
· The PET scan to provide good news – no growth or even reduction of the cancer
· Metisha to continue to feel good
· Metisha to conquer her diet a become a veggie and fruit lover and sugar hater

Keep smiling with us! We are so thankful for your support!

Waiting on Test Results

2009-08-20T09:45:00.001-06:00

Tisah went to oncology yesterday for her monthly bone treatment and blood work. We are waiting on the results of the blood work to see if her cancer markers are up or down. These results will determine what scans she will have next and if she continue with her current treatment.

Please pray with us as we await the results. We are praying for the markers to be down showing the current treatments are working.

Family Vacation, Back to School

2009-08-12T08:07:00.012-06:00

Yes, I know I’m a bit behind on blogging. But I have faith that the prayers have continued during the blogging down time. To make up for the lack of blogging I will provide you with a day by day recap of our recent family vacation, enhanced with photos of the actual events.

We were very blessed to leave on a family vacation to Red River, NM the morning after Tisha’s birthday. It seems like Satan tried his best to still our joy (dead car alternator, housing plumbing issues, general pre-vacation crazies) but by 1:30 am we had all finally gathered in Fairview and by 5:30 am we were on the road heading west to the mountains! We had quit a caravan for 6 people and two dogs: a RV pulling a trailer with three ATV’s and a pickup pulling a jeep and carrying five mountain bikes. Yes, we travel with only the essentials! We made it to our breakfast destination of McDonalds in Guymon and to our picnic lunch at the Palisades surrounded by the beautiful mountains and cool, clean mountain air. We got to town early afternoon and were greeted by the perfect mountain shower. That evening we and had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Sun dance. I’m not sure if it was the altitude or something special in the Mexican food but Mom got the uncontrollable giggles at dinner and the trademark Barb snort was heard by all (more than once).

The next morning we split up and took on several adventures. The “boys” (Mark and my husband Jeremy) loaded up the mountain bikes for a little downhill in Angle Fire. Dad and I checked out the Angle Fire area in the jeep. And Metisha and Mom took off for a hike. Metisha is a VERY good daughter with a very POOR memory. Mom loves to hike up to a very gorgeous lake in Red River and says when she dies we must hike there to leave her ashes. The problem is it’s about a 14 mile hike and the first half of the hike is on jeep trails/switch bikes. Metisha knew Mom really wanted to go so she volunteered to go with her. Unfortunately she had forgotten that she swore she would never go again after the last expedition! So after more than 6 hours of hiking they returned without making it the lake. Metisha once again swore she will never go again. Mom was all smiles and carried about 15 pounds of rocks down with her. Unfortunately for Mom I predict her ashes are scattered at a lower altitude! The boys made it back with no biking injuries and had a great day. As for Dad and I, let’s just say we met an unpleasant man and Dad got to make a contribution to the New Mexico Highway Patrol.

The next day was family day. We gathered the ATVs and Jeep and headed out for Goose Lake. The day started out in a typical fashion for us, with a little trail side maintenance.

After we removed some unnecessary parts from the rhino, we continued on our way. We made good time up to the lake and were greeted with great views and very chilly temperatures.

While the rest of us ate a picnic lunch Mark decided he wanted to hike to the top of the mountain. He made it up and back in a little over an hour. Don't worry, we did save him a sandwhich.

For our final day of vacation the boys returned to Angle Fire for more downhill mountain biking but this time with an injury. Mark was riding so fast down the mountain that he ran down a bee. The bee ended up in his shirt and Mark received a third nipple. Mom, Dad, Tisha and I decided to do some more ATV riding. We started out trying to tackle 4th of July Canyon but the trail was very washed out and we were told the final ascent typically resulted in a rollover. So we made it to about the last 200 yards before we chickened out, turned around and headed back down the mountain. We ended up going up Old Red River Pass and adopted another couple from Texas who followed us most of the morning. From Old Red River Pass we misidentified our stopping point and continued on a trail that led to, well a dead end. But the dead end trail was the most beautiful trail we have ridden at Red River! The scenery was beautiful and we were the only ones on the trail. After we hit the dead end we turned around and headed back to a beautiful meadow for a picnic lunch with just the four of us.

So that was the 2009 Ewbank/Welsh/Unruh Family Vacation. Now it’s back to school for Mark and Metisha. Mark started this week with a camp he conducts for new students and Metisha reports back next week.

On the cancer front, Metisha goes back to oncology on August 19th. They will do blood work and then decide what scans should be done. Pray that this doctor appointment produces nothing but positive news. Pray for no new cancer. Pray for reduction of the existing cancer. Also pray for Tisha as she continues to battle her sugar addiction and adopt better nutrition habits. She loves sugar and our family loves to eat, so she can use lots of prayer support in this area. Most of all, pray for complete physically healing from cancer! We know above all things, prayers work!

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-28T10:42:00.004-06:00

Today is Metisha’s 32nd birthday! Happy Birthday Tisha! We know you will celebrate many, many more birthdays!

Mark and Tisha made it home from Mexico. They had a great trip! They snorkeled, went scuba diving, repelling and rode zip lines through the rain forest.

But they are only home for less than 3 days. Tomorrow morning we leave on a family vacation to the mountains of New Mexico. Dad and Mom took me and Metisha to Red River every summer while growing up and so it is one of our favorite places and our annual Red River trip was the highlight of our summer. We would have a cookie and lemonade stand every year to earn our spending money and thanks to a few loyal and cookie addicted customers, we always had a nice stack of cash! When we were little we would spend hours throwing rocks into the river and playing catch at the softball fields and always looked forward to riding go-carts and horses. As we got older we were allowed some freedom to be parentless for a few hours every day which usually turned into hours at the skating rink (and huge blisters) and riding bikes around town. Without a doubt some of our best childhood memories are from Red River. Our whole family hasn’t been there together for about six years so we are all looking forward to this trip and to starting it off with a Birthday celebration!

The next step in her cancer battle will be a new set of scans which will happen during the first part of August. Keep praying for Metisha. Pray for decades more of birthdays!

Cancer Markers Up

2009-07-15T11:17:00.001-06:00

The blood work came back to show Metisha’s cancer markers have risen since her last round of blood work. This isn’t the results we were praying for but the doctors want to give the current drug therapies more time. They will schedule scans the first part of August which will tell them if or where the cancer has grown.

Mark and Metisha typically take these types of test results better than the rest of us but we are all tired of getting bad news and are VERY ready for some good news. But as hard as it is to discount all of the medical “facts” we have to focus having a faith that she will be physically healed. This faith is a choice, a conscious decision and one that is constantly attacked. But God does give us promises of healing in the Bible. We have to believe those promises and chose to have faith in God’s physical healing no matter what the test results say. Your prayers are a part of that faith. In James chapter 5 God it says:

Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

“Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick”. It doesn’t just say to pray it says to pray in faith. We have to pray for Metisha’s healing and have faith that God will answer. Please pray with us and pray in faith. Pray for physical healing and pray for good news. We are continually grateful for your prayers!

Bone Treatment Today, Scans in August

2009-07-10T13:28:00.004-06:00

Tisha is spending her day at oncology. They took her blood too late to get results back today so we won’t know what her counts are doing until Monday. The doctor also wants to wait until August to do new scans because she has only been on the current drugs since the end of April. He says they need more time to see if they are working or not. Pray that her counts are WAY down and that the cancer will go to hell before August!

She is getting another IV treatment for her bones today so she’s hanging out in the chemo room. Last month the treatment went much better with some achiness but no nausea. We are praying this treatment is easy this month also and does not have any side affects!

Mark and Metisha celebrated their 9th wedding anniversary this week! We look forward to them celebrating their 10th and many, many decades beyond! They are taking a vacation to Mexico this month and definitely deserve some time in paradise. As you can see, Mark is ready to go!

Busy Summer

2009-07-06T12:00:00.003-06:00

I wanted to give a quick update on what’s been happening in Metisha’s world. She’s doing great and is staying busy this summer. She is traveling a lot this month and spending time with family and friends in Texas and Oklahoma. We are so thankful that her current treatments are non-invasive and allowing her to have a great summer! She looks so good people can’t believe she’s fighting cancer! She came to visit me at my office and people kept asking me how many sisters I have because they thought there was no way she was the sister fighting cancer!

Metisha does go back to her oncologist in Fort Worth on Friday for blood work and a checkup and then should have another round of scans. We are praying that the blood work on Friday will show her cancer markers to be down and that the scans will show no new cancer spots. Of course we are always praying that the scans will come back 100% cancer free!

The last few months have been an emotional rollercoaster. And while the ride itself is unfortunately familiar, those first stomach wrenching drops and sharp turns are always hard to endure and take some recovery time. But with all of your support and prayers we are able to get our footing again. Metisha has moments when beating cancer feels unachievable but most days are filled with happiness and trust that God will again give her a cancer free life. Every day that the cancer is kept at bay is a day closer to finding a cure for stage IV breast cancer. There is a promising new drug in trials now for stage IV breast cancer with genetic links. While Metisha’s cancer does not have these links, these types of trials provide hope and promise of more advances in cancer treatments in the near future. There is hope in medical advancements and always faith in God’s healing.

For now we are praying that her cancer markers will be down and the next round of scans will show a reduction in cancer. We are praying for only good news from these doctor visits and scans. We are praying for a continual strong faith and peace in God’s healing. And we are always praying for a cancer free life!

Just to show how well Metisha is doing here is a picture of her waksurfing just weeks after her last surgery.

You should probably add me to that prayer list because I’m probably going to take a big sister beating for posting this picture! But I think she looks great and am still jealous of her athleticism!

Back to Fort Worth

2009-06-23T10:21:00.002-06:00

Metisha and Mark met with a doctor at MD Anderson yesterday afternoon. She reviewed all of Metisha’s records and told them that she would follow the same protocol as her doctors in Fort Worth have been providing and she did not recommend any changes in treatment. So the second opinion confirmed that her doctors are on the right path and Mark and Metisha are heading home. Mark and Metisha are happy to be able to continue treatments in Fort Worth and to hear MD Anderson say they are on the right track.

So the game plan is to continue to use daily drug therapy and monthly IV therapy to keep the cancer from spreading beyond the current spots and all the doctors believe that her recent hysterectomy will also help. While they do not expect the drugs will kill the existing spots, keeping it from spreading further will continue to give her a great life. She has been on this new drug for over a month now so we pray that it is working to prevent further spread.

Metisha is LIVING with cancer and that is important to know. The amount of healthy, cancer free tissues far exceed the amount of cancer in her body. She feels great and is doing everything she wants in life. She is truly LIVING and we are so thankful that she is! No one has put an expiration date on her life. No one has told her there is nothing left to be done. Every day we balance the medical “facts” against our faith in God and His healing. While the medical facts say there is no cure for stage IV metastatic cancer our faith tells us that God can heal her at anytime. We have never stopped praying for total healing and we will not stop now. So we pray over the doctors and the medicines that they will keep the cancer from spreading and these drugs will work for years and years and decades to come. But we also pray that God will show His power and perform a miracle of total physical healing in Metisha.

Metisha will have another set of scans in the first part of July. Pray that these scans will show the drugs are working and there is no new spread. But also continue to pray that God will give her complete physical healing and cast all of the cancerous cells out her body forever. Pray for the cancer to be gone from her C2 vertebrate, her liver, her abdomen structure. Pray for decades and decades of living for Metisha.

At MD Anderson

2009-06-22T08:48:00.002-06:00

Mark and Metisha are in Houston and are heading to MD Anderson for thier first appointment at 1 pm today. We don't know what all will happen today (other than a lot of insurance paper work I'm sure) but I will post updates as soon as Metisha knows more.

Pray that God has a miracle waiting for her at MD Anderson.

MD Anderson in Two Weeks

2009-06-09T12:36:00.004-06:00

Metisha talked with MD Anderson yesterday and will go to Houston on June 22nd. She does not know what will happen beyond reviewing her medical records but they told her to be prepared to stay for a week. We are so thankful to finally have an appointment for a second opinion! Keep praying for this process and pray for peace over the next two weeks. It’s hard to not know what the long term plan is and if her treatments will continue in Fort Worth or Houston.

Metisha does feel like her hysterectomy is making a difference. She can tell a physical difference (a lot less hot flashes which is nice for a Texas summer!) and so we are hopeful that the cancer is now out of fuel and will die. She is still a bit achy from the bone treatment on Friday but she is not nearly has tired. Today is her first day of summer vacation so she can get some rest before going to Houston. We are praising God that this round was much easier than the last. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Please continue to pray with us for:

Metisha to be placed in front of the best doctors at MD Anderson
Wisdom for Mark and Metisha as they evaluate the opinions and plans from MD Anderson and make decisions around her treatment
Mental and emotional strength for Metisha, Mark and their families
The cancer on her neck, liver, and muscle structure in her abdomen to die
No other cancer spots to develop
Our family friend Debbie who is also battling breast cancer and is currently in chemo
A cancer cure for all types, forms and stages of cancer
Metisha to be cancer free again, remain that way and live to be an old woman

Make sure you read yesterday's post. My sister is an amazing person!

The World Needs Metisha

2009-06-08T11:30:00.004-06:00

Metisha’s bone treatment on Friday went much better this month. She was very tired Saturday and her bones ached but she did not throw up so we are praising God for an easier treatment! The goal of this medicine is to keep the cancer from spreading anymore in her bones and we continue to pray the radiation was affective in killing the cancer on C2 vertebrate in her neck. She will have another treatment in a month.

Metisha has been playing phone tag with people from MD Anderson and has talked to Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Tulsa. Right now Metisha’s gut is telling her to go to MD Anderson so we are continuing to pray that God will open up doors quickly for her there and that she can get down there for a second opinion in the next week. She should hear from MD Anderson today. Metisha’s current oncology staff continues to be supportive her going to MD Anderson for a second opinion and said they would adjust her treatment plan if that is the recommendation. We are so thankful her current healthcare team is supporting her through this process!

Metisha wholly believes that she can be cancer free again and we stand firmly beside her in that belief. The mind, heart and will play a huge role in the battle against cancer. Metisha is praying and willing her cancer to be gone from her body and cast into hell. We’ve watched Metisha take the last few weeks to get her mind, heart and spirit back in the full fighting mode and she is very ready to fight. So we are standing with her and praying for her cancer to go to hell! Please pray specifically that the cancer will be removed from her C2 vertebrate, from her liver, from the muscle structure in her abdomen and that all the cancer cells floating around her body will be gone.

I know Metisha’s story has reached a lot of people who have never met her and you may wonder what makes her so special that so many people are hurting with her and fighting with her. You need to know that Metisha is one of those rare people who make a difference in the lives of others. My big sister has taught me so much and has been one of the biggest influences in my life. From little on she’s shown me that it’s ok to just relax and have fun and be outside the lines (a good lesson for a type A). She helped me to be less rigid and judgmental and be more open and accepting. As a big sister she stood up for me and threatened boys who broke my heart! She has always been my support and my best friend.

But I am just one of many who have been impacted by Metisha. Metisha is a 5th grade school teacher at an inner city school in Fort Worth and she is doing exactly what God designed her to be. Not only does she make math and science fun and easy to learn by making up fun stories and songs for learning tools but every year she takes a class full of kids who would typically be overlooked by our society and helps them believe they can be or do anything. Last week was the end of the school year for Metisha and she had two former students come by to visit. They were both graduating high school seniors and both came back to tell their 5th grade teacher that she had made a difference in their lives. Seven years later in huge school system, they came back because Metisha, just being Metisha, impacted their lives so much that they wanted her to know they graduated and asked her to be at their graduation. The first student brought his autograph book from the 5th grade and asked Metisha if she remembered what she had wrote to him. He said, “You wrote to me to follow my dreams and I could do anything. I want you to know that I’m graduating Saturday and I want to go on to school to be an RN.” The second student had an assignment to write an essay about someone who had made a difference his life. His essay was about his 5th grade teacher and he brought it for her to read. He wanted her to know that she had made a difference and he was graduating a high school. One of the students told Metisha he knew she had been sick and said she had to keep fighting because she is such a good teacher and the kids need her. High school graduation is a huge accomplishment for these kids and every year Ms. Welsh makes a class full of kids believe they can accomplish that and much more.

Dad and I were talking about Metisha and these students and Dad made a profound statement. He said Metisha had two people in one week tell her that she had made a difference in their lives and he asked how many people can honestly say that someone has ever said to them, “you have made a difference in my life”. Metisha makes a difference. That is just one reason why we are all fighting with her because this world still needs her, because she is still making a difference.

Waiting and Treatments

2009-06-03T16:23:00.000-06:00

Metisha has another bone treatment on Friday. Last month this treatment made her VERY sick for several days so we are praying that she will be protected from all side affects this time and will not experience one moment of sickness from the treatment.

Metisha is actively pursuing a second opinion on her current case and treatment plan. She is waiting on two different people to call her from MD Anderson. The first is a PA that has given her information by her current oncologist. The second person is a patient relations specialist who got Metisha’s information through a very dear family friend with MD Anderson connections. Metisha left the patient relations person a message this week and her oncology nurse let her know this week the PA will be calling her. Metisha is also going to call Cancer Treatment Centers of America. As Tisha makes more calls and waits for people to call her back we are praying diligently that God will open and close the appropriate doors and lead her to the right doctors and hospital. She is very anxious to get a second opinion and so we are praying for speed in this process.

Metisha won’t officially be released from post surgery until next Tuesday but she has already been wake boarding, mountain biking and four-wheeling! So she’s living it up and still not obeying the rules but is feeling great from surgery! There’s definitely no keeping her down!

Metisha continues to be mentally and emotionally strong every day but it isn’t easy. Every twinge of pain can bring up fears and she naturally has thoughts about death. While she knows this is normal, she wants to focus on being positive and believing she will be healed. I have never once heard her complain, feel sorry for herself or ask why her. When she’s sad and fearful, it’s because she’s worried about how us, her family and friends, would be affected by losing her. When she’s angry, she’s angry for how this has affected those around her. And when she says it’s not fare, she says it’s not fare that Mark and her family have to go through this. Her sorrows, angers and fears are never about her. She is just an amazing person with an abundance of strength and grace and a simple prayer request – to live.

We know we can count on you to continue to stand beside Metisha in prayer and love. We are praying that:

She will be physically protected from all side effects from treatment on Friday
She will get to the right doctors and hospitals for a second opinion and that it will happen quickly
God’s direction and leading will be clear in the second opinion process
Metisha, Mark and all of us around her will have complete faith in God’s healing for Metisha, claiming healing for her and believing she will be cancer free
Metisha will continue to feel good and be able to continue with all her summer plans
She will live, cancer free, until she is an old lady

Best Quote Ever

2009-05-28T16:48:00.000-06:00

I just got off the phone with Tisha and she said, “Good news, I’m NOT going to die from cancer and I just thought you would be happy to know!” Yes Tisha, I am very, VERY happy to know that!

She said she has just made her mind up that she will not die from this and that between that, our prayers, and claiming God’s scripture of healing, this cancer will not get her. I could not agree more! There is so much evidence that having hope and strong will is critical to beating cancer.

Metisha called her nurse at oncology and asked her to send her files onto MD Anderson in Houston. She is still contemplating calling Cancer Treatment Center of America in Tulsa also. Pray for God’s direction in this process. Pray that God will make the best hospital and best doctor known for a second opinion. Pray that insurance coverage will not be an issue. Pray that a second opinion can be received quickly. And pray that the second opinion is in direct line with God’s plan for Metisha and provides her and Mark with a clear path.

So as you can tell, Metisha’s spirits are back up, and that’s largely thanks to your prayers for her faith and strength. We know that Metisha is securely in God’s grip and safe in Him. And I agree, Metisha will not die from cancer!

Urgent Prayer

2009-05-26T17:09:00.003-06:00

I don’t know how to say this to make the blow any easier. The nurse who told Metisha her pathology report was fine last week was wrong. Metisha met with her oncologist today and was told that her uterus and ovaries had no cancer but that there was cancer on her appendix and a spot on the muscle structure between her ovaries and uterus. There were additional “cancer cells” in her muscle structure in her abdomen around these organs.

We are shocked, angry, and completely taken aback by this news. Her oncologist could not explain why she was given false information last week. The appendix spot was likely not visible on the last PET scan because it is too close to her bladder which always shows up as hot on a PET scan.

The oncologist started Metisha on a new pill form drug about a month ago that is supposed to help block the spread of metastatic cancer that is hormone driven. So they are waiting on additional reports from pathology to confirm if these new spots are hormonally driven like all of the previous cancer. If they are, the oncologist wants to continue this drug therapy along with the IV bone therapy until it stops proving good results. At that time chemotherapy would be the last option. Because this drug does not have the horrible side effects of chemo, the oncologist believes this drug gives her the best quality of life while fighting off additional cancer. They feel this treatment will best address the spot on her liver also so they do not want to pursue the Cyber Knife at this time. Her oncology nurse told her she has had metastatic (stage IV) patients who have been on this drug for years and had excellent results which is encouraging.

Metisha and Mark need urgent prayers for wisdom. They are trying to decide if it is time to get a second opinion at MD Anderson or Cancer Center Treatments of America. Metisha’s oncology nurse has been an angel who has done so much for Metisha but the last few weeks have shook her confidence in the doctors at Texas Oncology. She and Mark need to decide what the next steps should be to not only give Metisha the best chance possible but to also give them the upmost confidence in her treatment.

The oncologist believes we are now in a fight for quality of life but we believe our God is more powerful than any cancer or medical treatment and will give Metisha abundance of both quality and quantity of life. Metisha is claiming for her all the verses in the Bible that promise healing. When she was first diagnosed God lead her to Psalm 91 and that continues to be her strength. But claiming God’s healing and having a constant faith in His healing when you are staring down stage IV cancer is not easy. Metisha has times when her human nature and Satan out power her faith causing periods of doubt and she fears it is these brief moments that will cause her to lose this battle. Pray for her in this area. Pray that the Holy Spirit will consume her with a steady faith that cannot be shaken, even for a moment. Pray that God’s unfathomable peace will wash over her every minute of every day. This battle will take an enormous amount of spiritual, physical, emotional and mental strength and we know God will give her the perfect amount.

Metisha has gone from facing her death again to ready to fight this with everything she has. She is amazing and her attitude and spirit continue to amaze me daily. There is no doubt about it, today is just hard day, not a good day. But we always have hope in God. Pray for Mark and Metisha and their family that we will feel this hope and we pray the same for you.

Psalm 91
Safe in the Lord

1 Those who go to God Most High for safety

will be protected by the Almighty.

2 I will say to the Lord, "You are my place of safety and protection.

You are my God and I trust you."

3 God will save you from hidden traps

and from deadly diseases.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you can hide.

His truth will be your shield and protection.

5 You will not fear any danger by night

or an arrow during the day.

6 You will not be afraid of diseases that come in the dark

or sickness that strikes at noon.

7 At your side one thousand people may die,

or even ten thousand right beside you,

but you will not be hurt.

8 You will only watch

and see the wicked punished.

9 The Lord is your protection;

you have made God Most High your place of safety.

10 Nothing bad will happen to you;

no disaster will come to your home.

11 He has put his angels in charge of you

to watch over you wherever you go.

12 They will catch you in their hands

so that you will not hit your foot on a rock.

13 You will walk on lions and cobras;

you will step on strong lions and snakes.

14 The Lord says, "Whoever loves me, I will save.

I will protect those who know me.

15 They will call to me, and I will answer them.

I will be with them in trouble;

I will rescue them and honor them.

16 I will give them a long, full life,

and they will see how I can save."

Good News!!!

2009-05-18T18:57:00.001-06:00

The pathology report delivered good news today: no cancer in the ovaries or appendix!!! We are so grateful for this news! I asked Metisha what they said the spots on the ovary and appendix were and she said, “I don’t know, I kind of stopped listening after she said no cancer!” I agree Tisha, no cancer is all we needed to hear!

Metisha is healing well after surgery and is getting some rest. She did go to school for a few hours last week to put the fear of God in her kids who were abusing the substitute. I can’t believe any of Tisha’s students were brave enough to try that trick! But after a good lecture from Ms. Welsh involving a high play on guilt and the cancer card and some tears from some of the kids, the reports were all quiet the next day. Trust me, I’ve seen her angry face and it isn’t one you want to cross!

The next step is to hopefully go after the spots on her liver. Pray that she will be a candidate for the cyber knife and that the treatment will be easy on Metisha’s body. Continue to pray for physical and emotional strength. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and for a continued fighting spirit for Tisha. This cancer doesn’t stand chance!

Keep the Prayers Going

2009-05-13T15:01:00.001-06:00

Metisha was released from the hospital this morning. She is feeling very well from surgery and isn’t having too much pain. As always she is the toughest person I know and the hardest part of her recovery will be making her obey doctor’s orders to rest and not do too much! But she continues to need your prayers. When the doctor came in this morning he said there were spots on one of the ovaries and nodes on the appendix so they both were sent to pathology. It will take several days for the pathology report to be completed. Pray diligently that this is not cancer spread. We continue to believe in God’s healing for Metisha and pray for peace and faith as we wait for the pathology report

A Few Organs Less

2009-05-12T10:45:00.001-06:00

Metisha is out of surgery and in recovery. The surgeon said everything went well. One of the ovaries did have an area on it that looked diseased; the surgeon is not concerned but is sending it to pathology to be safe. They also found her appendix to be enlarged so they went ahead and took that out also. I guess that was a freebie and now she is another organ lighter :)

Pray for a quick and easy recovery and that the pathology report comes back clean.

Surgery Tomorrow

2009-05-11T16:51:00.001-06:00

Metisha’s hysterectomy is tomorrow at 9:45 am. She will most likely spend one night in the hospital and then spend a few weeks recovering. She is definitely dreading this surgery and we are praying she will not have any pain and very quick recovery.

God has again answered our prayers for good doctors with Metisha’s hysterectomy. She has struggled to find a good OBGYN after her cancer diagnosis and several months ago someone told her about a doctor who specializes in OGBYN and related cancers. She wrote the doctor’s name down and put in her desk drawer for future reference. When her oncologist decided she needed the hysterectomy he referred her to an OBGYN and you guessed it, it was the same doctor the friend had recommended earlier! She also had a friend, who has a friend who is a nurse on the Cyber Knife facility where the oncologist wants to send Metisha for her liver and this nurse had great advice on who she feels are the best doctors. God continues to lead and direct Metisha to doctors he will use for her healing.

Metisha did receive some good news in pre-op appointments for tomorrow’s surgery. The doctor told her that her uterus is small. Metisha said, “Well that’s the first time anyone’s ever described anything about me as small!” Hopefully this small trait will make surgery and recovery easier!

Dad, mom and I want to say a HUGE thank you to Metisha’s co-workers who blessed her in such a big way last week! You are such wonderful people and you have eased a big worry we had for Metisha and her recovery. Thank you so, so much!

Continue to stand by Metisha in prayer. Pray for a non-eventful surgery tomorrow. Pray for no pain and a quick recovery. Pray that the Cyber Knife will be an option for the liver spots. Pray for Metisha’s physical, mental and emotional strength. Pray our faith that it will be strong and we will continue to claim God’s healing for Metisha. And as always, pray this is her last battle with cancer and she will live to be an old wrinkly lady. We are so thankful to all of you for your prayers and love and you make a daily difference in Metisha’s life!

Surgery Moved

2009-05-04T08:10:00.001-06:00

They hysterectomy surgery has been moved to Tuesday, May 12th. Pray that God will continue to strengthen Metisha’s body during this delay so that she will have a quick and easy recovery.

Three for the Price of Two

2009-04-30T09:14:00.000-06:00

Metisha saw the surgeon yesterday and he decided to do a full hysterectomy instead of just taking the oophs and the surgery will be one week from today, Thursday May 7th. I guess that means she gets a 3 for the price of 2 surgery! The doctor said she will be in the hospital overnight (but Metisha says she’ll talk him out of that) and then will be off from work for about a week.

Her last radiation treatment on her neck was Tuesday. She is glad to be done with those treatments because her throat has become extremely raw. They will do another scan of her neck in about 3 months to see the effectiveness of the radiation.

Mark and Metisha’s schools have been shut down for over a week because of the swine flu! So Metisha is getting some time to recover from radiation and the bone treatment before surgery next week. Pray for protection over Metisha from the swine flu. Her body is definitely a bit wore down right now so the swine flu could be serious for her. And no Mom, neither Metisha nor I have licked a WalMart shopping cart! :)

Keep lifting Metisha up in your prayers. The last week has been tough physically and mentally. Metisha is so brave and so strong but she still needs prayers for strength and faith. Pray that the hysterectomy will be an easy surgery for Metisha and that the liver spot can by treated with the Cyber Knife. Pray for ongoing wisdom for the doctors and grace from her insurance company. And as always, pray that Metisha will live to be a wrinkly, old, cancer-free woman!

The Worst Gift

2009-04-28T16:29:00.000-06:00

Metisha just hasn’t had that great of a week so I decided I wanted to try to cheer her up a little today and send her a surprise. Instead of going with the traditional flowers, I decided to send her a fruit bouquet. Its bright and cheery, fun and different and healthy; the perfect gift. So I got online and schedule one to be delivered to her today at school. I was feeling good about my little surprise for about 5 minutes and then it hit me. Metisha’s throat is completely raw from radiation and she just told me last night she can only have liquids and I just sent her acidic, hard fruit! A quick phone call to Mom confirmed that fruit was not on the diet this week. So I tried to cancel the order but couldn’t get anywhere so I finally came to the resolution that she could maybe, maybe use the fruit to make a fresh smoothie.

I waited all afternoon for the certain sarcastic text from Metisha which I never got so I decided to call her and fess up. And that’s when I realized that I had screwed up again. I forgot Metisha had radiation today and had to leave school early so now the fruit basket is probably sitting on her desk, wilting away so she can walk in tomorrow morning to a sagging, probably dripping, dead bouquet of fruit with a happy face balloon floating above. Yes, this is the worst gift ever! Apparently I’m cursed when it comes to giving Tisha gifts. One Christmas I gave her a really nice hair blow dryer, 3 months before she lost her hair to chemo!

When I confessed my stupidity to Metisha, she had a really good laugh so I guess I did accomplish my goal of providing her with some cheer. Then she told me she was going to send me a bag a sugar (I’m diabetic).

So I’m hoping they either canceled my order, didn’t deliver it today, or someone at school put it in the fridge for her. But if not, at least there’s a smiley face balloon.

Sick Weekend

2009-04-26T18:25:00.001-06:00

Metisha has had a rough weekend. She started a new treatment on Friday afternoon that has made her sick with flu like symptoms. When Metisha admits she’s sick, she’s really sick :( The treatment is supposed to help keep the cancer from spreading in her bones. She has to have the treatment once a month for at least a year so a huge prayer request is that she will not experience these side effects again. We do not want her to have to face being sick every month. Please pray hard for protection from this treatment.

In addition to the treatments for the bones the oncologist has started her on a new drug that helps block some receptors that can fuel cancer. So far there have been no side effects from this drug. The oncologist has also decided to have her ovaries removed. The operation is called an oophorectomy so Tisha says they’re throwing out the oophs! Her cancer is a hormonal driven cancer so the oophs have to go to eliminate the hormones. She has been on shots to keep the oophs dormant, but the doctors feel the shot may not have been effective enough so it’s time to get rid of them.

The surgeon who has done the previous procedures on her liver looked at her scans last week. He believes the original liver spot actually looks good and doesn’t have active cancer in it and the new spot is smaller than the original spot. The doctors think she may be a good candidate for 2nd generation cyber knife for the liver spot and there will be a new 2nd generation cyber knife available in Fort Worth next month! Cyber knife is a very cool technology. They implant gold markers into the tumor and then point lasers at the gold markers from all different angles and only where the laser beams touch each other (at the gold markers) do they kill tissue so all the surrounding tissue is unharmed. So hopefully very soon her liver will be worth gold!

She has two radiation treatments left this week. She has developed a sore throat from radiation and her hair has started falling out at the top of her neck. Unfortunately this hair loss will be permanent so pray it is minimal.

Beyond the radiation, ooph removal, bone treatments and cyber knife, the oncologist says there is a chance she will still have to do chemo again. Metisha told him, “No, I just got my ponytail back!” Metisha loves her ponytail so pray she doesn’t have to go through chemo again.

I know a lot of you want to do something for Metisha. Prayer is the most important thing she needs right now. But if you are a woman, there is something else you can do. Honor Metisha and her battle and the battle of too many other women by doing monthly self exams and getting your annual mammograms. Early detection is so important and so easy to do and you are NEVER too young to start! Yes ladies, I know the mammo isn’t exactly a treat, but where else can you walk around bra-less wearing a super pink boob cape and flaunt the girls with such confidence! I had my mammo last week, when was the last time you had yours?

Keep Metisha in your prayers. Pray that:
· She will not get sick again from the bone treatments
· She will not have to have chemo again
· The ooph removal can be scheduled quickly and will be an easy surgery for Metisha
· The liver spot can be treated with the cyber knife
· She doesn’t have too much more hair loss from the radiation
· This is the last time the cancer comes back
· She will live to be a wrinkly old woman, cancer free

Raced for the Cure

2009-04-13T12:03:00.002-06:00

Almost 40 Welsh Warriors hit the pavement in downtown Fort Worth on Saturday to Race for the Cure! We started off with some critical warm ups and stretching in the parking garage and then gathered for a team picture. We then went after the free loot to get our pink capes, guacamole (it was only 7:30 am), sprout sandwich and pink pom-poms (just to name a few). Most of us displayed some self control, but others packed 5 pounds of freebies around for the entire race. At that point we were fueled up and ready to race! As always the race started out with an intense snail’s pace for about four blocks before escalating to a stainable turtle crawl for the remainder of the race. We completed the3K race in a very impressive 1 hour and 19 minutes and I am happy to report no Welsh Warriors suffered from any common racing issues like leg cramps, muscle pulls or dehydration! After the race we all went to the Ol’ South Pancake House to refuel. We had a great day at the Race for the Cure!

I wish you could see the seas of people walking the streets together in support of breast cancer awareness and finding a cure. During the walk, all we could see ahead of us and behind of us were people racing for a cure. It’s a very neat experience and the Welsh Warriors raised $1,830 for the Cure! I want to say a special thank you to Metisha’s former co-worker Dana Knight for organizing the team. And thank you to all of the co-workers and friends who walked beside Metisha on Saturday. For Tisha’s family, it’s hard not being with her every day through this battle so it was awesome for us to see all of the support and love Mark and Tisha have in Fort Worth! And thanks to Ol’ South Pancake House for your hospitality!

The final results are in and Mark and Metisha tied for first place with $350! Thank you so much to everyone who supported a Welsh Warrior with a donation! And even though I didn’t win, I will keep blogging :)

Metisha will continue daily radiation treatments this week. Radiation is going very well and takes about 30 minutes each treatment. We won’t know how effective the radiation is until about three months after the treatments are done. The doctors are still working on a plan for the cancer spots in her liver. We are anxious to go after those cancer spots as soon as possible.

Continue to pray with us. Pray that the radiation will kill 100% of the tumor on her vertebrate. Pray for wisdom for the doctors and Metisha as they identify a treatment for the liver spots. Pray that this will be the last time Metisha has to battle cancer and that she will live to be a wrinkly, old, cancer free lady. And know that every day we pray and thank God for all of you!

- Little Sister Regan

It is a Good Friday

2009-04-10T08:24:00.000-06:00

Metisha had her first radiation treatment on her C2 vertebrate yesterday afternoon. Everything went great and the only side affect she experienced was a raw spot on her nose where her radiation mask rubs. She will have another treatment this afternoon but will have the weekend off.

Metisha is doing so well and taking this all in stride! She went back to school yesterday and is excited for the Race for the Cure on Saturday. Her positive attitude always amazes me!

Her oncologist is working on a plan to treat the two tumors on her liver. Pray for wisdom that the best treatment can be found and can be done quickly.

For us, this truly is a Good Friday! We are so thankful for all of you and the constant love and support you give us!

A Super Hero with an Angelina Jolie Mask?

2009-04-08T10:10:00.002-06:00

Metisha met with her radiologist. Dr. Shide was very positive and wants to do 14 rounds of radiation on the tumor in her neck. She says most people with this type of tumor respond well to radiation therapy and so we are hopeful for good results! The treatments will begin tomorrow, and she will have a treatment every day, Monday through Friday, for 14 treatments. She said the possible side effects are a sore throat and maybe some permanent hair loss at the bottom of Metisha’s hairline.

Metisha has never seen Dr. Shide before but they really liked her. We have been researching a new cyberknife treatment at a hospital in Tulsa for both the tumor in her neck and her liver. Metisha talked to Dr. Shide about the cyberknife and she didn’t think it was the right approach for the neck, but thinks it might be a good treatment for the liver spots. We are very happy that Dr. Shide was open and responsive to the possibility of the cyberknife and was listening to Metisha’s ideas for treatments. That’s a sign of a good doctor!

As usual, Metisha is laughing and upbeat. To do the radiation they have to make a mask of her face and neck. So they had her strapped down to a table and were putting this mesh soaked in hot water over her face to make the mask when Metisha asked a typical Tisha question: “Can you draw some makeup on my mask and give me long eyelashes and Angelina Jolie lips?” The tech said yes so our cancer super hero will now have a super hero mask with Angelina Jolie lips!

After radiation treatments Thursday and Friday, Saturday will be a big day for us. It’s the Race for the Cure in Fort Worth and there is a team of Welsh Warriors ready to hit the pavement! You can support your favorite Warrior here or click on the links on the right side of this blog. If you’ve felt especially blessed by the creative, moving, inspirational writings on this blog, you can support me by clicking here. Yeah, that was shameless but I’m losing the competition and losing is NO fun in our family!

Metisha and her family cannot even begin to express what your prayers, emails, blog comments, Facebook notes and post and phone calls have done for us over the past week. We wish we could thank each one of you individually and in person! Please know you have changed our lives. You’ve given us strength, courage, hope, faith, love, endurance; all the tools Metisha needs to beat cancer and the tools her family needs to support her through this journey. We just cannot thank you enough and we know you will keep praying with us!

- Little Sister Regan

No Surgery

2009-04-07T17:03:00.001-06:00

Metisha got out of her MRI and the tumor on her vertebrate is smaller than they thought and on the outside of the bone so the doctors are not concerned about an immediate threat of paralysis. Praise God! So there is not urgent surgery and they doctors want to target the tumor with radiation. Tisha has an appointment at 7:30 am tomorrow with the radiologist.

Praise God for the continuing good news we have received throughout the day. Pray for wisdom. We have been researching other treatments today and need guidance and wisdom on what to pursue and how to work with the doctors. Praise God for Tisha’s oncologist and his staff who have taken such amazing care of her!

Buckle in for the Ride

2009-04-07T14:54:00.000-06:00

Metisha’s left her oncologist office and is on her way to Arlington to have another scan of neck. The PET scan shows the cancer is in her C2 vertebrate and there are two spots on her liver but the cancer is not anywhere else. After this morning, we are taking that as good news! Now we are waiting on this afternoon’s scan and the results to come back from that scan. If the scan shows the risk of paralysis is too high, they will do surgery ASAP. If the risk is lower, they will start radiation on her vertebrate this week. At this point the spots in her liver are secondary to the vertebrate and all focus will be on the vertebrate.

Please know how much your prayers mean to us and how much the truly uphold us. This is terrifying, but we will peace and energy from your prayers. And Metisha’s spirits are good. She even called me to tell me a joke!

Keep praying and I will update you as soon as more information is available.

Not Good

2009-04-07T09:57:00.002-06:00

The initial results of the PET scan are not good. The cancer is in Metisha’s neck and vertebrate which has put Metisha at an extremely high risk of paralysis. They have not read the scan beyond this point so we don’t know if the cancer is anywhere else. She is meeting with her oncologist today at 1:30 to discuss the next steps and had another scan after that at 3:30 pm.

Metisha has peace around this news but does not want to be paralyzed. We even had some laughter when we talked.

Metisha’s immediate prayer request is that she will not become paralyzed. Please begin praying for this immediately. Pray for wisdom for the doctors. Pray that a treatment and a cure will be found quickly. Pray for safety for Metisha’s parents (Danny and Barbara) as they drive to Fort Worth to be with Metisha.

I will keep you updated throughout the day as news becomes available. Please, please, please just keep praying.

No Test Results Yet

2009-04-06T17:00:00.003-06:00

Tisha had her PET scan today at 2 pm. We don't have any results yet but keep praying! Metisha is doing great and is ready to fight this cancer!

We can’t even begin to express how much your concerns, support, love and prayers mean to us. We are so uplifted by you daily!

Keep praying and keep believing for a miracle!

The Words I Don’t Want to Type

2009-04-01T19:04:00.002-06:00

The cancer is back. I wish this was an April Fool’s joke, but it isn’t. Tisha had a routine abdomen scan and the results came back today. There are multiple suspicious spots on her liver and her cancer markers are up. She has a PET scan Monday at 2 pm to confirm the spots on her liver and to determine if there is cancer anywhere else in her body. The doctors will make the game plan after the results of the PET scan are back.

We are no doubt devastated and heartbroken tonight. We love Metisha so much. But we are also looking to hope. In God we always have hope and that is what we cling to tonight. Throughout Metisha’s cancer battle mom and I have each had our own signs of Metisha’s healing. Mom’s sign is a red cardinal. This afternoon as I sat on my balcony crying to God for answers I looked at the trees in spring bloom and there sat a red cardinal. Mom and Dad left for their nightly walk at the farm and Mom prayed on the drive out that God would give her a positive sign. As soon as they began their walk they saw not one but four red cardinals!

So in our despair, we already see God answering prayers. So join Metisha in prayer. Pray for healing. Pray for a miracle of complete and total healing before the PET scan on Monday. Pray not just that Metisha would be healed, but that she will live to be a wrinkly old lady and not experience cancer another a day of her life. Pray for strong faith and hope. Pray for peace. Pray for Mark (Tisha’s husband), Danny and Barbara (Tisha’s parents), Regan and Jeremy (Tisha’s sister and brother –in-law), Lyle and Ann (Mark’s parents) and Kaley (Mark’s sister).

From Lamentations Chapter 3:
I'll never forget the trouble, the utter lostness,
the taste of ashes, the poison I've swallowed.
I remember it all—oh, how well I remember—
the feeling of hitting the bottom.
But there's one other thing I remember,
and remembering, I keep a grip on hope:

God's loyal love couldn't have run out,
his merciful love couldn't have dried up.
They're created new every morning.
How great your faithfulness!
I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over).
He's all I've got left.

God proves to be good to the man who passionately waits,
to the woman who diligently seeks.
It's a good thing to quietly hope,
quietly hope for help from God.It's a good thing when you're young
to stick it out through the hard times.

When life is heavy and hard to take,
go off by yourself. Enter the silence.
Bow in prayer. Don't ask questions:
Wait for hope to appear.
Don't run from trouble. Take it full-face.
The "worst" is never the worst.

Why? Because the Master won't ever
walk out and fail to return.
If he works severely, he also works tenderly.
His stockpiles of loyal love are immense.

-Little Sister Regan

Clean Scan

2008-12-30T09:12:00.003-06:00

Tisha had a MRI of her liver yesterday and it came back clean! We are blessed once again with a cancer free scan!

This month we celebrated Metisha’s recovery in a very magical way. Metisha, her mom, sister and brother-in-law spent 5 days at Disney World! Tisha made pink t-shirts that said “Celebrating Surviving Cancer”. We were trying to play the cancer card to win a free night stay in Cinderella’s Castel but it didn’t work. Oh well. We had a blast and were very grateful to be celebrating Tisha!

Does anyone smell burnt liver?

2008-09-28T07:46:00.003-06:00

I can not help but feel I smell like over cooked meat today? Eeewww! Anyone who likes that smell is welcome to come by, but I warn you that I am not looking my best today. I feel like an old lady walking hunched over with my oh so cute chemo curl bed head hair do. Mom would be so proud:) On the upside, I am really enjoying my "nurse." Why don't they make "nurse's" outfits for men?

I wanted to thank you all for you prayers these past couple days. I am amazed again by the power of prayer and I am so grateful God answers. Please continue to pray that I will be 100% cancer free. I would also like to ask that you join me in praying that I would be led to whatever it is God wants me to do with my experience. I just hope I don't end up in Africa living in a grass hut:)

God bless all of you and again know that I pray for you too!
Love,
Metisha

Out of Surgery

2008-09-26T09:19:00.002-06:00

Metisha is out of surgery but Mark has not gotten to see her yet. The doctors said it went well and they feel confident. They used a bigger probe than they used last time.

Praise God that the surgery went well! Pray that it was successful and there is no remaining cancer. Pray that the recovery will be quick and easy.

Good News!

2008-09-23T17:21:00.002-06:00

Metisha received the results of the PET scan today and they showed that the only spot is on the liver. While we would have been thrilled with a cancer free scan, this is very good news! The doctors feel confident they can get this spot with another liver procedure which will happen this Friday.

Thanks so much to everyone who prayed with us! God continues to teach us lessons through cancer and we continue to learn to trust him and to choose his peace.

Pray for the liver procedure on Friday. Pray that it will be 100% effective and pain free. Pray that this is Metisha’s last battle with cancer and she lives a long healthy life. Pray that her story will continue to positively impact people.

Oh, and for another VERY exciting update: her hair has gotten long enough to pull some of it back into a ponytail!

Waiting, waiting, and....waiting.

2008-09-19T19:37:00.003-06:00

Metisha writes:
Well, I survived another day of being shoved in a huge coffin like tube and I truly believe I should glow in the freegin dark by now with all of the radioactive meds I have had put into my body! I also think that if there is a nuclear explosion that I will survive because nuclear medicine does not faze me. I am RADIOACTIVE GIRL! ...and I am sad to say that my drink of choice these days is barium. Yum! Berry flavor is Great!
I am so grateful for all of your prayers today. As I was laying in the scan tube, I was praying that God would allow my scans to come back clear or at least with just the one cancer spot on my liver. You would think that I would be praying for a calming of my nerves from being in the tube, but I REALLY like it now. Did you know you can nap in there? The only problem with that is I snored and woke myself up which caused me to jerk. STAY STILL! I think I might change my bed into a tube with banging noises and lasers. Apparently they lull me right to sleep.
I was given the impression while there today that no matter what the results were God is with me. I am beginning to have the feelings that God is preparing me for more. So, I am asking for your prayers of peace and faith and trust in God's plan for me and my family. I can't do it without all of you supporting me in prayer, so help me pray for a miracle again! Our God is an awesome God and He is a God who saves! So, now we wait. Again! Whoever prayed for me to have patience...THANKS ALOT:0)! I hope all of you are blessed this weekend and know that I am praying for you too!

Love,
Metisha

Metisha's Ta Ta's

Mark Welsh Day

Joy Will Come

Just My Heart of the Day

Inked

Happy Birthday Metisha

Metisha's Life in Pictures

Metisha Ann Ewbank Welsh

Service Information

Fort Worth Friends and Gathering

Healed

The Final Steps

Sleeping More and More

At Home

Reality

New Chemo on Thursday

The Good with the Bad

When His Ways Aren't Our Ways ...

Next

Super Hero Not Feeling so Super …

New Chemo Approved!

Sad

Sugar Free

CAT Scan, Scheduled, Complete and Back …

Chemo Today, Surgery Thursday, Scheduling CAT Scan …

Prayer Update

A Great Day!

Scan of Faith

She is Human …

Full Speed Ahead with an Aerodynamic Head

Treatment #2

At First Chemo Treatment

Good News!!!

Organizing Prayer

From Metisha

Off to Houston

Mexico, Fort Worth, 4th of July, Mexico, Fort Worth, Houston …

Only God

Go Beads!

More Beads!

Still Waiting, Need Action

Waiting, waiting, and More Waiting

Still Waiting and Awkward Movie Moments

Checking on the Beads

The Right Direction!

Friday Photo Shoot

Prayers Work!

Doing Great!

Beadazzle Treatment #2

Liver Bling

Beadazzled Tomorrow

Fancy Liver for New Year’s

Good Preliminary Scan Results!

No Beads Today

A BEADazzled Liver

TheraSphere Consultation

Scan Results

Scan Today

Another Drop!

Rough Patch

Good News IS GOOD NEWS!!!

No News is Good News!

$25

Possible Oral Chemo Treatment!

Could be Worse, Could be Better

PET Scan Tomorrow

Markers Slightly Up

Waiting on Test Results

Family Vacation, Back to School

Happy Birthday!

Cancer Markers Up

Bone Treatment Today, Scans in August

Busy Summer

Back to Fort Worth

At MD Anderson

MD Anderson in Two Weeks

The World Needs Metisha

Waiting and Treatments

Best Quote Ever

Urgent Prayer