Easterbrooks Family

Speaking of pie and crow bars...

2009-07-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Summer Friends and Family!

Here's part one of the HOW-COULD-I-HAVE-GOTTEN-CANCER-IN-THE-FIRST-PLACE? discussion.

That's really a loaded question isn't it? I’ve been discussing it on another forum I’m a part of and there are some pretty plausible answers if we stop and think.

One overall thought that keeps surfacing is having a balanced life. Healthy eating alone just isn’t enough to keep us whole. Health must be managed in terms of the pie! A slice of healthy eating is only one small slice of pie, isn’t it? What about emotional health? Spiritual health? Social health? Fun and laughter health? Exercise health? Purpose and work health? Family health? Etc. etc. I can tell you right now that my pie slices were outta whack!!! I can now see, on the other side of course, where my pie slices are deficient! Believe me, eating healthy is important, but it is more important to keep all the other pie pieces just as healthy! This is why cancer can happen to anyone. My lesson has been learned at a high cost. However, since I’m not dead and don’t plan to be anytime soon, I have to take my lumps of life and learn from them and move on down the road. The healthy pie road, that is.

For me, I’m taking more time to balance myself out this summer. I started knitting. I LOVE KNITTING!!! I don’t know why those two little sticks and a ball of yarn intrigue me so, but they do. I’m working on a washcloth. Guess what you all may be getting for Christmas this year?

The other few things I am doing for me this year are…. Learning to play the guitar and taking a Christian yoga class. Those classes start in the fall and they give me something to look forward too. I’m also totally reworking/revamping how I relate in my small sphere of family life. When did things get so intense? How did we lose our fun and laughter? I’m looking at EVERYTHING now in a new light and trying to make small changes in each pie piece. The thing is…it is quite a bit more difficult to make adjustments AFTER a major illness, than before. I encourage all my friends now to make adjustments to the pie TODAY. Don’t wait for your pie to adjust itself. It won’t. It will simply continue to disintegrate until a blowout occurs.

God has always been a mainstay in my life, but even that is having to shift and change. I’ve been a bible-reading, knee-praying Christian for quite a few years now. However, God has been so kind to point out that I seem to have difficulty letting my death- grip hold go on ALL aspects of my life. The “let go and let God” principle seemed to have escaped me. I am working on prying my hands off of all my difficulties/challenges. It is hard, my hands have been in a death grip for so long that they don’t want to or know how to let go. One finger at a time....and a good crow bar will do the job! I know now that it is not God’s plan for us to stress ourselves to death!!! I’ve tried it and it just isn’t any fun! I distinctly recall God requesting/commanding us to NOT worry and to NOT fear. Funny how I didn’t get that figured out until AFTER getting cancer. Well friends and family, I sure don’t want to see you all getting sick from worry and stress.

Get your crow bar out and start prying your fingers off of …everything, and let God do His job. He has been dealing with humanity for quite some time and I know He can get all of our problems ironed out. He’s promised. And God doesn’t get stressed out, at all, over our difficulties. I am learning, still learning, principles of peaceful living!

I truly pray for you, family/friends, for a BALANCED AND PEACEFUL LIFE!!! God bless you all on this hot, hot, fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk day! ( I hope my kids don’t read this, they WILL want to try frying an egg on the patio!)

Melissa

On the healing path.

2009-07-08T21:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Another milestone and another thanks! Last Friday, the oncologist nurse called to say that my cancer marker from my blood draw was 0.5. The baseline or normal marker is at 5.0. Interpretation: Low count is good. Very good!

Now to broach a rather delicate and sensitive subject…my treatment plan. Get a paper sack and take a seat. We have decided to pursue alternative/natural health care at this point (OK, stay seated and use the paper sack to counteract hyperventilating). We are very confident in our plan and will keep orthodox treatment in our “toolbox” (so to speak) and use it in the future, if we need it. Many of you may be wondering what in the world “alternative treatment” means. It means I’ll be taking things and doing things that clean-up, repair and rebuild my body. I know this sounds scary to many of you, but have faith in me, have faith in God (He is used to working outside the box) and watch and see what can happen when a person like me uses God’s healing agents. I am not throwing the baby out with the bath water either. The oncologist is following us on this journey and will be doing his routine of blood draws and CT scans at prescribed intervals.

If you are still feeling weak in the knees about the whole thing, I encourage you to read what Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Colin T. Campbell and Dr. Joel Furhman have to report on the subject. It is not all fanciful pictures of carrot juicing dancing in my head! Read up, think on it, pray, and then …let it go! It’s unhealthy to worry too much ya know.

On to a lighter topic. Kids. They cannot be squelched from having fun, can they? I recently walked into my kitchen the other day only to discover Thomas (1yr) sitting in my frying pan, getting pulled around my kitchen floor by big sister Bethany! Thomas finds joy everyday in turning the dog water dish over and getting his newly changed clothes (from breakfast) all wet! He is such a funny boy and a real bright spot for all of us during this time of recovery. The kids all have fun activities they are pursuing this summer—baseball, crocheting, biking, swimming, summer camp, trips to relatives/friends, camping out in the backyard, etc. I believe, overall, they are having a wonderful summer! Thanks to many of you who have picked them up/had them over/driven them places. My mother heart is happy that they are happy.

I do hope my news has not caused any of you un-necessary fear. Please remember to go “a-faithing” for me and not “a-fearing.” God is still able to do more than I can think or ask.

Next time I’ll be writing about possible reasons why I ended up with cancer in the first place, so stay tuned…

Love you all,

Melissa

Pass the platter of Faith, please.

2009-06-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

Friends and Family,

We’re still here! And I (Melissa) finally have a bit of news. Last Tuesday a CT scan revealed that indeed I do not have any detectable cancer in my upper abdomen/thoracic area (lungs, kidneys, liver, you know…). The doctor did let me know that I have been officially diagnosed with A (as in one) kidney stone. Yahooo, hooraaah and whoopeedooo! I CAN LIVE WITH A KIDNEY STONE (unless it troubles me, that is). I have heard that they are down-right gut-wrenching-please-kill–me-now type pain when passing. I’ll do whatever I need to keep that stone happy and immobile…passive…apathetic and unmotivated to move!

Next stop… colonoscopy the sixth of July. The docs are on the lookout for errant polyps that COULD develop into cancer in the future. I am glad I will be essentially “comatized” for this procedure. I am having a few anxious thoughts about the whole thing and I need to be brave. For some reason, I fear this more than the surgery! Go figure…

I guess it is time to get to brass tacks about life in recovery. To be honest, my lemonade metaphor sounded soo….soo….happy, skippy, and la-tee-dah. Real life soon set in though and thoughts of anger, self-pity and doubt kept me in a bit of a lather for several days. I knew I needed to let my feelings run their natural course, yucky thoughts and all. One of the great things about God is He doesn’t begrudge us our humanity. I do have scary thoughts and feelings, but I am not stuck there. God has given me the opportunity to go, what I’ve termed “a-fearing” or “a-faithing.”

“A-fearing” is just too natural for my own good (human nature that is). That road is just plain dark, terrible and tormenting and never- ending. Not the path to take for a decent recovery.
“A-faithing” is a bit harder to step on. It’s a bit ethereal and scary in its own right too. It believes, in spite of hard facts to the contrary. So, I’ve decided to write and speak and talk of God’s faithfulness and ability to heal.

Here is one of my favorite verses…

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water. It does not fear when heat comes; it leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17: 7&8

Please keep in touch! I am praying for you all now and asking God to bless you and work His ways in your families…

Melissa

P.s. All seven kids (technically Mike is an adult) are surviving and dealing with this in their own unique way. Some have really stepped up to the plate, others have thrown the plate away. Keep them all in your prayers, they need it.

Melissa here!

2009-05-29T13:48:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody! Melissa here, with the lemonade report!

I've been home almost 4 days now and I am recovering nicely (as nicely as one can recover from surprise cancer surgery). I'm receiving such excellent care from the locals. Really, the role of family and friends cannot be underestimated. You all are my lifeline!

At home recovery is…well….wonderfully erratic! There is no such thing as scheduled quiet rests for mom and yet I manage to sneak them in here and there. I spend glorious minutes basking in the sunshine, watching the children cavort around, wishing I could play with them but knowing that will be NEXT summer. I grab quick recovery rests on the couch amidst the normal noise and activity of a house with five kids (Clayton being in school and all). I eat blended food a lot. I’m developing a taste for blended salads! I eat green smoothies and fruit smoothies in abundance. Raw food is giving me quite the boost in energy! I may too have been helped by having that hideous mass removed from my stomach. It sucks the energy right outta ya!

We saw the surgeon and oncologist yesterday. The plan…. Two tests must be performed before we can go any further. We must have a colonoscopy and CT scan performed to make sure there are no more surprise “bombs” in the body. The thought of finding more surprises just plain gives me the quivers. After these have passed “muster” then a six month long plan of chemical cocktails await me. Six months. How about a nice tidy 10 weeks or something? SIX MONTHS!!! Mike and I are wrapping our brains around all this info. Getting cancer is just not convenient with a large family!!!!

I'm, quite honestly though, looking at alternatives. Chemotherapy is not the only way to beat cancer. I know many of you are horrified at the thought of something unconventional, but if you know me at all, "unconventional" is my middle name. I can’t seem to help it…maybe I’m just a genetic throwback??

We will keep you up-to-date on what our testings find. Remember, for now it is just a colonoscopy and a CT scan. I really don’t want to think beyond those possibly life-changing tests.

Until then, know that your prayers, cards, phone calls and visits are all treasures to me. God is doing such a great work here…. He is such a lemonade maker, you know. Life is always throwing us lemons but my God always, and I mean ALWAYS, twists and turns things in his heavenly way to make some fine lemonade! At the end of all this, I’m gonna be drinking a vat full!!

May God sustain us all with his strength and courage!

Love you all more than you know.

--Melissa

God 1 - cancer 0. And a recipe.

2009-05-26T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone I'm Holly! Friend #8,242 of Melissa and her sweet family.

I'm one of the lucky ducks who's had the opportunity to be in the presence of GREATNESS; also known as MELISSA-IN-HER-KITCHEN. I've learned a thing or twenty about her awesome eating habits and benefited greatly from her culinary healing ministry. I've also gleaned a whole gob about her amazing faith in God, her hope for the future and deep, abiding love for her family! I always walk outta there thinking I can love the whole wide world and lose ten pounds too!

That is, until I get back home where the Hostess Twinkies and Fritos are calling my name from the cupboards.

So, I know exactly what you're thinking when you hear the words "cancer" and "Melissa" in the same sentence.

How can someone who eats so healthy get colon cancer?!?

Ahhhh, the question of the century that has no easy answer; other than the one I bet Melissa would give me if I were sipping a cup of tea in her cozy kitchen --

She'd probably remind me that there are no guarantees. That the world is fallen and impure and elite athletes sometimes die in their prime. Cancer is no respecter of persons either. It's a sneaky bugger and if we knew what makes it do what it does then I'd likely be in Melissa's kitchen right now arguing with her about why she thinks I should eat something that resembles petrified sawdust topped with alfalfa hay instead of a Moon Pie!

To her credit, some of the recipes she's taught me are absolutely dee-licious (see below). In fact, Melissa's way of eating is how many of the cancer doctors tell their patients to eat in order to battle the cancer. Go figure!

But, given my propensity for the aforementioned donuts and ice cream, THANK GOD I learned more from her than just-a-bunch-a recipes! Like, the rewards of teaching my children one loving drop at a time and how to bless the snot out of my marriage and most of all that-- no. matter. WHAT! -- if everything I put my trust in falls down around me no ONE and no THING can take away the song of hope that I will sing my whole life long to a God who is strong and steady and holds me so tight in the palm of His mighty hand that I leave permanent indentations there! Isaiah 49:16

So, the moral of my story is this. The grip of fear that might be lurking around you or me or anyone in the Easterbrooks family may as well just skee-daddle because it's no match for the One who sits on the Throne and in Melissa's kitchen.

If you are someone who might be providing meals for the Easterbrooks, this recipe is one that they can eat. It may sound weird but man is it satisfying! Try it on yourself if you don't believe me.

RAW Taco Soup
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sun dried tomato
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon cumin
Blend in a blender until creamy and slightly warm.

Add:
1 cup fresh or frozen corn
3 ribs celery chopped
2 tomatoes diced
1 can of black beans (drained)

Serve with a dollop of Daisy on top and ENJOY!

The eye of the storm.

2009-05-25T09:51:00.000-07:00

The last four days have been good ones. Melissa is making steady improvement in her strength and healing. Yesterday my sweetie got a shower, complete with hair, and her toenails painted. When I saw her, she was in her jammies and just looked terrific. Thanks so much to those who are selflessly caring for her!

I feel like I entered a storm the moment we were clubbed over the head with the colon cancer news. Then the surgery really tested my faith and produced fear. Now there is calm. She is recovering in a predictable course. Improving every day toward health. The end of the eye is coming in two days when the pathology comes back and we enter back into the storm. We need prayer for good news, and wisdom to make the right decisions.

Let's face it, I need wisdom and strength just to make every decision right now. The calm has been good. I've had opportunities to re-connect with all the kids and to prepare for the changes we will be facing. Thanks to God for the "Eye of the Storm." Thanks to everyone who has been so helpful, and to those willing to continue to help us to get back on our feet. We love you and are overwhelmed with the support.

God Bless.

-- MikeE

A little help from our friends...

2009-05-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, I'm Tracy. Family Friend of the Easterbrooks.

I just wanted to say that I saw Melissa yesterday. We were on vacation when she went into the hospital and had surgery so it was the first time I was able to see her.

She looks great and is in such good spirits.

It breaks my heart to see these sweet, gentle people going through this. It was so wonderful to hear and see all of the ways that the Lord has been working through this. I could definitely see and feel the hands of the Lord upon them.

I have had many people calling me asking if they can help this precious family. At this point they have out-of-town family visiting and helping cover everything. But in the coming week the family will be leaving and a LOT of help will be needed.

I will be setting up an online calendar that will allow everyone to sign up for meals, cleaning, childcare, errands and much more for them. If you would like to be a part of the calendar please email me at faytk@msn.com. The family does have some dietary restrictions but there are easy ways you could help in this area.

Thank you for all of your prayers and support. They were both overwhelmed with just how many people care for them. They had no idea that so many people cared about them. I just laughed at them, because it is easy to see why so many people love them, they are very dear people.

Please continue to pray for all of their family.

--Tracy

The "C" Word

2009-05-22T09:35:00.000-07:00

Hi Everybody! Melissa's husband, Mike, here with an update. Thank you so much for taking the time to pray for our family as we navigate this new and unexpected journey through colon cancer.

There are others who may post for me from time to time to keep you all in the loop. But allow me to bring you up to speed on what we know at this point.

Melissa has been having abdominal cramps for over a month now and they have been getting progressively worse with each "episode." The night of May 18th was the worst. The cramping was so bad she was vomiting for most of the night. I took her in to the ER around 8am on May 19. Everything in the ER goes in slow motion. They eventually took her into X-Ray for a couple pictures. We were determined to get to the bottom of this as she was just miserable. The pictures came back and another was ordered from a different angle. When that came back the doctor came in and asked us if we just wanted to keep going to figure this out and suggested a CT Scan. The prep for the scan took a bit over an hour as she has to drink some funky liquid to help things show up on the machine. The scan was read and the bomb was dropped. The doctor came in and said there was a mass blocking the flow of material in the colon about 2cm in size and the mass was cancer!

There it was, the ugly "C" word had shown up in MY family.

Of our six children, two were waiting outside the ER and the rest of the family was holding down the fort at home. I had no time to process this wickedness that had just entered our lives. The surgeon was consulted prior to our receiving the news and suggested that we should expedite this situation so Melissa was admitted to the hospital.

With surgery scheduled for the next day, I took the kids home. It was now 2:40 in the afternoon so I grabbed Clayton from high school on the way and took everybody to the house. I sat them all down and told them the truth about what we knew. We had prayer.

The surgery went well on May 20th. It was going to be in the morning, but as the surgeon was just working us in, Melissa did not go in until about 1:30pm.

Some good news and some not so good. Her colon was very long and, while they took 2ft of it, there is plenty left to return her to close to normal bowel function. There was no sign of the disease any where else in the body cavity. The somewhat disturbing news was that the tumor had grown through the colon wall and there were a couple places it was visible outside. We will have to wait for the pathology to determine final staging. This will determine our options moving forward.

Thank you so much for your love and prayers as we move forward with faith and hope.

Sweet Melissa

2009-05-21T10:37:00.000-07:00

Hi Folks!

You've made it to the Easterbrooks Family Blog and we're glad you're here! Keep checking back as often as you like for updates on our dear Melissa. We'll do our best to keep it current and real. You can also leave comments, love and prayers in the comment section.