When Your Friend Tells You She Has Cancer Part 2: Hitting A Bump In The Road

It's been a couple of months since I posted a very personal and difficult blog about one of my very best friends that is presently battling stage 4 cancer.

If you missed that blog, you may want to head over and check it out. After you do so, come back and continue reading! It's been a journey for Jessi and if you've read up until now, you're taking it with her, with us. We thank you. We appreciate you. We love you!

I can't begin to dive into every detail of the last 9 months, but I will share with you her personal blog which she updates every so often for those who would like to keep up with her journey. Since my original post, I have been able to go back and visit Jess again.

I apologize for the bad quality cell phone picture, but it's us and still cute!

It was such a blessing to go and spend a couple days with Jess and her sweet family. She moved her 2 year old daughter into big brother's bedroom and I slept in little Natalie's room while I was there. It was super comfortable and just being able to "do life" with them for a couple days really meant a lot to me! Of course, any amount of time I get to be with my bestie, sick or well, is time well spent.

We haven't lived in the same state in 15 years, but when you have a strong connection with someone, distance really doesn't change that. While there, she was still well enough to go out to lunch and it truly felt just like old times. I can't tell you how often, as teenagers, we would set out in one of our vehicles, aimless, and end up with aching bellies - from eating too much chinese food or the laughing fits, who knows!?

Reminiscing is fun and I know we will never stop doing it, especially when we are together, but the present is of utmost importance right now.

Not too long ago (please forgive me for not looking up exact timeline dates), Jessi was supposed to undergo a potentially life-saving surgery called HIPEC (hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy). It's a serious, long and invasive surgery that she was looking forward to as the possible miracle cure for her cancer. This surgery provided hope for all of us.

As the time drew near for the big surgery, she became quite sick and her Dr. ordered a CT scan just to check and be sure nothing new was happening in her abdomen which is where the disease is located.

The CT results were not good. They brought her in to remove 8 pounds of fluid build up and also decided to postpone the surgery.

This was a huge blow for Jessi and her family. It was devastating, to say the least. You can read all about her thoughts about this news, in her blog which is linked above. She obviously can describe her feelings much better than I can! She is my writer friend and we have always shared that love. I hope she will write her book, one day. It's going to be a best-seller. That's just a fact!

So, here we are. Surgery is postponed and new chemo is taking place in the interim. It was hard to swallow and really tough to be completely at peace but that's the place she is now. She's at peace about it. Throughout the last 9 months, she has stayed positive. She believes the surgery is going to happen when it's supposed to happen and she wants to be in the best possible condition for that moment.

When your friend tells you she has cancer, it feels like the wind is knocked out of you. A thousand thoughts rush through your mind and when you finally get them all sorted, she still has cancer.

We've always been close and that will never change but there is one thing that cancer has done that I'll never hate it for: it has brought us closer as friends, as family. It has added new cement to the old foundation and I somehow hate that and am so thankful at the same time. I'll never take her for granted, again.

I'll never take anyone for granted, again.

I've heard it said
That people come into our lives for a reason
Bringing something we must learn
And we are led
To those who help us most to grow
If we let them
And we help them in return
Well, I don't know if I believe that's true
But I know I'm who I am today
Because I knew you...

- "For Good, Wicked the Musical"

Will you continue to pray with me, for her? God is with her every single moment of every single day and even though we don't understand this, I'm trusting Him still. I know He catches every single tear.

Exodus 14:14 – The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Blessings,