Home for the Weekend!

For in him we live and move and have our being. Acts 17:28a

It's so good to be home! We made it back tonight after a long trip home - flash floods, water over the interstate, semi off the road. God protected us and it's now so great to be in our own house for a couple nights, hoping to see some family and friends this weekend.

I've made it through the first 5 days of radiation! 20 more visists to go. Chemo pills start on Monday. Please continue to pray that God will guide every radiation beam and pill directly where it should go to best heal me. Pray also for no side effects. My ears have been plugged today and the doctor explained that could be from the radiation. They go in at 5 different spots and 2 of them are right above my ears. Pray that my hearing will be protected. I've also been having a hard time sleeping - not sure if it's being away from home or if it's from the treatment/medication. Pray that I can receive some much needed rest. And pray for peace to overwhelm me each day.

We'll be heading back to Iowa City Monday morning. God bless!

Strong and Courageous

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

For those of you who know my husband, he tends to think he's the Asian Lance Armstrong when out riding his bike. The other day in a waiting room, he found a magazine with Lance on the cover so of course he had to take a look. For those of you unfamiliar with Lance he was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which had also spread to his brain and lungs. He battled back from cancer to win the ultimate cycling race, the Tour de France, 7 years in a row. He also started the LIVESTRONG campaign to raise cancer awareness and encourage people to be strong in their cancer battle.

The thing that stuck out to us in this article was that Lance said he approached his battle with cancer with the same determination that he approaches a bike race: focusing on the finish line. I may not be a world cyclist, but I have this same determination in my battle. I am focused on the finish line. However, where I'm different from Lance is that my key to living strong is Christ living in me. I have Christ with me every day keeping me strong and courageous. I have set my mind on the finish line - living with Christ every step of the way.

Another day done and I'm feeling great! Continue to pray for NO side effects through this - please continue to check the left side of this website for specifics. We have continued this week getting more information on the chemo and will start that on Monday. It will be in the form of a pill and I will take it for approximately 6 months. We continue to try to live a normal life - more visitors today with Zac's mom bringing his 2 nieces out for a fun lunch.

Our Home Away From Home - Hope Lodge

Lamentations 3:21-26

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him."

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him,

it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Just wanted to give an update on our home away from home for the next several weeks. One of Stacie's nurses got us in touch with a place called Hope Lodge. It's kind of like a Ronald McDonald House, only for adults with cancer. It's been a huge blessing and God completely opened the door for this - with one room available. The facility is brand new (0pened in October) and it's in a great location. For those of you familiar with Iowa City (and who love Iowa Football!), her doctor's app't are right across the street from Kinnick Stadium and Hope Lodge shares a parking lot with Carver Hawkeye. So we're in walking distance of all her app't. As you can see from the picture above, it faces the woods (we saw deer yesterday!). You can see our bedroom - it's on the top floor, left corner. There are no tv's in our rooms, because they try to get you out in the dining room and tv rooms to meet people and feel like a community. We also have a shared kitchen and make our own meals.

One thing I've learned over the last two years about my wife, is how encouraged Stac gets from receiving mail. My goal through this time is to shower her with cards throughout the next few weeks and beyond. Her address in Iowa City is:

Hope Lodge

Attn: Stacie McGregor #301

750 Hawkins Drive

Iowa City, IA 52246

Our address at home is:

Zac and Stacie McGregor

3007 SW Westwood St

Ankeny, IA 50023

Day 2 went well - a couple of app't and second day of treatment. Stac's spirits are high and she's feeling great - she's a trooper . The highlight of the day for both of us was having dinner with our good friends, Mike and Danielle. Thank you all so much for your love and support. Again, we have been so blessed by all of you.

Day 1 - in the books!!!

Psalm 103:1-5

Praise the LORD, O my soul;

all my inmost being,

praise his holy name.

Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits -

who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

We made it through the first day. Praise the Lord! God is so good!

We started out bright and early this morning with our first app't at 8:00 AM with the eye doctor. This was to get a baseline reading of my vision to compare throughout the process. Then we headed straight to radiation oncology for treatment #1. I was fitted for all the equipment last week so we were ready to go. I basically lay on a table (they cover me with a blanket and rubber band my feet together to help keep me from moving). Then they put a mask on me that is fitted to my face, along with a mouthpiece. All of this is to keep me as still as possible. If I move even a millimeter, there are sensors on the mouthpiece that tell the computer I've moved and it shuts down the radiation. They then have to come back in and adjust me back to my original spot. This is all so that the radiation hits exactly the precise spot it's supposed to. They said I did great - I didn't move at all today!! Last week when I tried all this on, it was hard to relax and breathe easily. It's definitely easier today, but pray that I can stay relaxed through this process. It's fairly quick and also painless, which is a blessing!

Please pray that the radiation beams will always hit EXACTLY where it's supposed to. Pray for the staff, that they will be alert and focused. I've really been praying that God's HAND would guide the radiation, and also the chemotherapy and other drugs to EXACTLY where they need to go to be most effective.

After this we stopped at Hope Lodge to check in. We will post a picture, hopefully tomorrow, of where we're staying and give you more details. Then we were off to an oncology app't to discuss the chemo with my doctor. We were told in more details the side effects of the chemo and our doctor explained at length that it will cause infertility. This has given us new things to pray about. Please pray for us as we meet with our team of doctors tomorrow to discuss this more.

Thank you so much for your prayers. It's been a long day and we're exhausted so we'll write more tomorrow. We love you all and are humbled by your support! God Bless!!

Update, Please Pray

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven." - Ecclesiastes 3:1

It's been two years already since Stacie was first diagnosed with a brainstem glioma. The doctors have all been in agreement to wait for treatment until symptoms were increased. As of recently, she has experienced more intense changes and we headed to the University of Iowa Hospitals this week for a last opinion. Following these appointments, we have decided that it's time to begin treatment. Our next season of life consists of 5 weeks of treatment in Iowa City.

We feel very comfortable with the team of doctors and staff and believe we are in good hands. Stacie will be receiving radiation along with chemotherapy. Wednesday she had a series of tests and exams and was fitted for some of the equipment that will be used for radiation. This morning we headed back and they walked her through what treatment will consist of. Monday morning everything will officially begin. God's hand has already been shown in mighty ways. One of those being that we already have a place to stay during the week and will hopefully be home on the weekends.

Bottom line, we covet your prayers. Please look at the prayer requests to the left and continue to pray with us as we ask for God's protection and healing hand during the next 5 weeks and many years to come. We will do our best to update you with this blog throughout this journey.

Thank you and God bless.