Divine Healing Prayers News
January 2006
From Dr. B ... the year that was ..
Greetings to all in the New Year! If you're reading this then we here at DHP offer our congratulations to you as you survived 2005! This in itself is a major achievement because for many of us, especially those of us who live along the Gulf Coast of the US, it was not an easy year. But as we look back now in retrospect on the year that was, we would do well to think of the year in terms other than "it was a bad year and we survived." Kabbalah teaches us that life is much more than something that we should just strive to survive in. Life is an amazing blessing from our Creator, one that we should cherish deeply.
We are told in the Book of Genesis (1:31) that God observes his creation on the sixth day and declares that it is "very good." That is a message from Source to us about life. Earlier in Genesis we learn something important about life's character. In Genesis 1:11 it says "And God said, 'Let the earth put forth grass, herb-yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth'. And it was so." This tells us that life and creation, once begun, contain within them the "seed" of their own sustenance and maintenance. This is worth meditating on because, for one, it says something profound about Spirit and life-infused physicality - that they are boundless!
So I believe we would all do well to think about and meditate upon the amazing gift that life in all its forms is, and of course this includes our very own lives. As we look back on last year, what more can we take from it into 2006 than just "phew, I made it through that year?" Well I know I'm continuing to think about the significance and personal meaning of everything I experienced in '05 as I go forward now.
First, my kid sister ...
As I've reported in previous news, it was certainly a difficult year for me personally. It started off by learning that my "kid" sister Madeline, age 44, was diagnosed with an advanced form of kidney cancer. She had a massive tumor sitting on her kidney that had been growing for more than 8 years. In a single day life changed for my family and a fight for my sister's life began - and is still ongoing.
Kidney cancer is relatively rare, yet on the increase. There will be around 40,000 new diagnoses this year in the US. Prognosis for the disease is improving with the promise of new developments in drug therapy, yet it is a very aggressive disease. Radiation, chemotherapy, and immuno-therapy (such as use of interferon) all have very limited success.
Her kidney was removed along with lymph nodes and part of a rib but unfortunately, as we learned in March, the cancer had not been contained. Madeline went through months of treatment planning and treatment. She has one little boy, so this fight is not just about her! Dealing with cancer like this means checking into a "hotel in hell." She put her complete faith and trust in her oncologist - a very competent physician-researcher in New York City. My sister certainly has gone through all the hell of cancer in the 12 months since her diagnosis and first surgery. She was put on one of the new class of anti-angiogenesis medications (they target and attempt to starve new tumor cells of oxygen by cutting off blood flow to them) Avastin. This class of pharmaceutical agents holds tremendous promise for many different forms of cancer, BUT there is a ways to go in their development in which medical research is just in the early stages of.
After months on this regimen, my sister's condition was certainly no better. At best, the Avastin had slowed the progression of the cancer. Madeline was suffering physically from bone pain and had lost almost 40 lbs. Nausea set in, sometimes with a vengeance. A few months ago she trekked to her oncologist's office in NYC. The receptionist told her that the oncologist was recently diagnosed with an advanced form of cancer and that he was now in treatment at Sloan-Kettering. She met with him and he told her "we are now in the same boat together." He was unable to give the level of care to his patients needed and referred my sister to another facility in New Jersey (Morristown Hospital) close to her home, but he told her - "I will be here for you as long as I am here!"
Madeline is now on a just recently FDA approved medication for renal cell carcinoma called Nexivar. The
results of phase III clinical trials of this drug produced by Bayer and Onyx were so positive that the trial was halted in mid-stream and the drug was put on the fast track for approval. She is showing marked improvement now in her condition - the cancer is no longer progressing - it appears to be arrested. She is not out of the woods by any means, but for the first time since her diagnosis there is real hope that she will stay with us and have the "good years." Lord, may it be so!
Is it possible for cancer to be a gift?? You might want to ask hundreds of survivors about that. How could it possibly be so? Well if it helps one to recognize the preciousness and beauty of life then it must have been a gift for that individual. Recognizing that truth for us can help us to open our eyes to life's blessings and assist us in embracing our own lives because life is "very good" after all.
As I have reported about previously, on August 1st of 2005, my son Matthew, 13, returned from three-week summer camp, seriously ill with a colitis flare-up. My wife took him to the ER of Texas Children's Hospital the next day. This was the "two" of the "one-two" punch for me in 2005. Yet the punches were far from over before the end of the year! He needed a blood transfusion due to severe intestinal bleeding but this was only the beginning of an ordeal that was to continue for the rest of 2005.
Before I give an update on my son … My niece, 27, learned last year that she was suffering from pulmonary embolisms that almost caused her death. She is slowly recovering from this and is now engaged to be married in 2006! My cousin's son, also 27 was in a serious car accident that could have been disastrous. He was hospitalized for over a week for his injuries, almost fully recovered now.
My son's oddysey
Back to my son … he spent 25 days in Texas Children's hospital to quell the fire of his flare-up. When we finally brought him home he had not eaten for weeks. He had a port in his arm to receive total parenteral nutrition (TPN). He was also on intravenous antibiotics for a staph infection he got in the hospital. He would be on home health care for some weeks. My wife and I were on round-the-clock nursing duty for him. Right after we got home Katrina hit, then Rita came along. As every person living in the greater Houston area had to consider, I had to make a decision whether or not to evacuate with a sick son.
We made a last minute decision to leave by car. I had packed up everything I could fit in our Mazda, including a large cooler of just Matthew's medications and large bags of nutrition, enough to last a week. We joined what would become the largest traffic jam in US history. It took us eventually 21 hours to reach our hotel in Dallas. It was far from a fun adventure with a sick teen, limited opportunities to gas up or stop for bathroom breaks (with my son having colitis - a disease that requires frequent trips to the bathroom). Fortunately after 12 hours in traffic we arrived at College Station where we were finally able to get gas and have dinner at the Black Eyed Pea restaurant.
Nine hours later, now 4 A.M. we arrived at our hotel. Very fortunate that they kept our reservation made days earlier. Five days later, with Matthew even sicker, we drove back to Houston at night in under 5 hours. His condition had turned worse while in Ft. Worth - he now had rather serious nausea to contend with. He was back in the hospital a few days after our return home.
This second time we would spend 47 more days there. Matthew would need more blood and a lot of care. It was back to hell all over again. After a few weeks, Matthew's condition was only slightly better if at all. His lower colon was very badly affected by the colitis since his initial diagnosis over 2 years before. He needed 2 more transfusions. We were moving inexorably toward a fateful decision: to have his colon removed. I can assure you it's the last thing I would have ever wanted, but in time we came to understand that this was inevitable. Days passed without his being able to eat. Every medication for the disease had been given a shot. We finally had no choice but to agree to do what was for me extremely difficult - Matthew had colectomy surgery on Nov. 3 by a gifted pedi-GI surgeon named Bob Bloss. Following this 2.5 hour procedure in which his large intestine was removed and an ileostomy constructed, Matthew's long struggle with ulcerative colitis was ended.
He stayed another 10 days in the hospital recovering from the surgery and the disease. His feeding tube was removed and he began eating again - a thing of joy. His medication regimen came to a complete end! We said goodbye to the friends we made in the hospital - for now - and returned home to continue recovery. Matthew will have two more surgeries to restore normal bowel functions. His digestive system is compensating for the colon we thanked and said goodbye to. He is now feeling so much better that he returned to school right after the holidays! He is eating normally and growing once more.
He received his report card for the first semester that he missed entirely. He made all A's despite not attending one single day of school (he had a teacher in the hospital and one who came to the house)! We have all counted our blessings - especially that Matthew did not have Crohn's disease which cannot be cured, even by removing parts of the digestive track. One long ordeal has ended for our family with a miracle.
We will go back to the hospital on March 2nd for surgery number 2. It will be very different this time - Matthew will walk into the hospital on his own two feet, rather than be carried in, and will undergo the surgery in a healthy state. May it all go well.
We spent a total of 72 days in the hospital - a highly significant number in Kabbalistic numerology - the number of names of God. During many of those days I had no idea what the future would be like. I felt deep despair often. We didn't know if Matthew would get better. Some days I wondered when would we ever be able to take our son home. I cried and prayed. There seemed no end to the pain and suffering at times. I worked on Matthew with Kabbalistic healing many times. Ultimately, I managed to hold onto faith and trust that all is for good purpose. Very difficult. A shower of love from friends and family fell upon us, lifted us up and helped us get through it all. Healers of all types worked on Matthew. Many people prayed for him in their synagogues and churches.
Looking back now, it was all an incredible experience. Even though I wish to never have to go through anything like this again, I continue to reflect on it and learn from it. What an experience - in some ways it was like obtaining another Ph.D. degree! I will continue sharing with you what I've learned in hopes that you may draw strength from it in your own life.
Kabbalistic prayer for you
Just before Matthew's surgery I composed a prayer in the stunningly beautiful chapel in Texas Children's Hospital. Here it is:
May the words of our heart be acceptable to You, O Lord.
May we know that faith, hope and love are Your gifts to us,
that will lead us back to You in whom lies our complete redemption and salvation!
May we realize that You are ever present with us, morning, noon and night -
sustaining, protecting, supporting and loving us in the presence of Your Great Light!
May we come to know that Ours is the Kingdom, the Foundation, the Glory, the Victory,
The Beauty, the Justice, the Mercy, the Understanding, the Knowledge, the Wisdom, and
The Sovereignty that is the wellspring of Eternal Life in all its Great Goodness. Amen.
Please use this prayer as you deem appropriate. If you feel it has helped you please write and let me know how!
Thank you for the love that you all are! May you be blessed a thousand times with the knowledge, understanding and wisdom that comes from Truth!
Thanks for joining us this month here at Divine Healing Prayers. Your interest and support of our work is
deeply appreciated! ;-)
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