As we sit and wait

Right now we are waiting. We have finished the biopsy and we are waiting until Friday for results. This week is dragging on. In the midst of this storm I am comforted by God’s word. I feel blessed to know I have an amazing heavenly father and friends and family surrounding us and flooding us with love. My emotions feel like a roller coaster as I am trying to wrap my mind around this whole thing. I am trying my best to keep it together as I dig into the Internet researching doctors and treatments of lymphoma. As I’m waiting I am setting us up with other doctors for second and third opinions. I want to make sure we can get Chase to the best doctors while still keeping him comfortable and not stressing him out. It is a lot to take in all at once but we are plugging away one day at a time. Lord help Friday to get here peacefully.

Below are some verses that I felt I needed right now in my life. I am going to start declaring these out loud at least once a day and holding on to God’s word. It is so hard not to want to blame someone or something for this but I know in my heart this is NOT God!

In the same way; the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.

Romans 8:26-27

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

James 5:16

The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.

Proverbs 18:10

Trust in the lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:3-4

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Hebrews 11:1,6

So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

1 Corinthians 10:12-14

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. DO NOT be terrified; DO NOT be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil and heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:10-12

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are MINE. When you pass through the waters, I WILL BE WITH YOU; and when you pass through the rivers, they WILL NOT sweep you over. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”

Isaiah 43:1-2

I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

Psalms 121:1-2

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the son may bring glory to the father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

John 14:13-14

The Lord is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made. The Lord is near to all He has made. The Lord is near to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145:17-18

So I say to you: ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

Luke 11:9-10

For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

2 Chronicles 16:9

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petitions, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe you are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

Romans 10:9-10

Jesus said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

Luke 18:27

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

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.

Lamentations 3:21-23

You are worthy; our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.

Revelation 4:11

Jesus answered, “I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

John 14:6

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

Our Story

For those of you that don't know our story, I figured I should start at the beginning. Chase and I met on thanksgiving 2012 in Scottsdale, Arizona. I know it sounds cliche, but I knew he was the one when I met him. We spent some time getting to know each other while doing the annual hike camelback mountain. It was quite humorous how our families kept trying to set us up. We would "coincidentally" end up sitting next to each other for meals and we "coincidentally" were left to hike the mountain alone. Chase still jokes about how I was always trying to copy him; from the meals we would eat to the matching Birkenstocks. For the record, I was never purposely copying him we were just meant to be together.

I went back to college after that break and continued thinking about Chase and trying to figure out a non-creepy way to stay in contact with him. By March we were talking every night on the phone and I couldn't imagine not pursuing him. I knew he was my soulmate. 

Long story short, we were in a distance relationship for a a year or so and when I graduated May of 2014 I knew there was no way I could live apart from him any longer. I moved to Nebraska the day I graduated. August 29, 2014 Chase took me to a fancy dinner at the Nebraska club at the top of the US Bank in Lincoln where he proposed to me with the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. The next day I got to go to the Husker football game with my new fiance. 

January 3, 2015 was the best, most exciting day of my life. I married my best friend on the top of Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, Arizona where we first met. A year has gone by and we have grown so much; individually and as a couple. But nothing in life could have prepared us for the news we were about to receive. 

As long as I have known Chase he has had some type of health issue and lack of energy. Chase has been having chest congestion and difficulty breathing for over 3 years now. recently it has gotten really bad. He gets to the point where he is coughing so hard he starts vomiting. Back in May of 2014 I was very worried about him and had him go in for a complete physical. At this time he had blood tests run to screen for everything. I wanted to rule out cancer because of his family history.  Side note: Chases Dad, Brian, suffered from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. He fought off the cancer through Chemotherapy to the point where his body was free of cancer. He passed away in September of 2009 from a rare disease called richter's syndrome. It was a sickness caused from his fifth round of Chemo. 

With this history in the back of my mind I have always worried about Chase getting cancer so this full screening was extremely important to me. The results came back completely normal and his breathing issue was ruled Acid Refulx and Allergies. He was sent home with some medication that would 'fix' this problem. Months go by and still no progress. He continues to go back for visits with his family practitioner for the breathing and he was prescribed cough syrup and an inhaler. Nothing worked. Since nothing worked we chalked it up to an unhealthy diet and being out of shape. About 1 year ago Chase started to develop dry patches of skin on his eyelids and around his ears that would flake off and ooze. These patches would heal in one area and spread to another. We thought it was eczema. We went to the doctor and dermatologist for these issues but nothing worked. After about 6 months it just went away. 

Once the patches began to heal he started to develop extremely itchy skin. There wasn't much he could do to relieve the itch. He visited the doctor and they told him it was dry skin, prescribed him another cream and he was out the door. 

A few more months go by and now it seems as though things are getting worse. Chase's Uncle Mark Eilers suggested we try out another doctor for a second opinion. He recommended Dr. Messbarger at Kearney Family Practice Associates. I called over on January 5th to set up an appointment. They said the soonest they could see Chase was January 20th and all the doctors were not taking on new patients so he would need to be seen by someone who was still working on their residency. At this point I was just looking for some answers and any other opinions so I took the appointment. 

The next day, Friday January 8, 2016, Chase found a painful lump on his groin so Mark called and got him a walk in appointment for that same day. We left work immediately, had his records sent over from his old doctors office, and drove out to Kearney. 

We were seen by a doctor on call named Leanne. We sat there and explained every little symptom Chase had. From the difficulty breathing, to the loss of weight and energy, to the lumps on his leg arm and groin. Even the fact that his urine smelled really strong and his body oder started smelling differently.  

She was speechless after we explained all the issues. She asked us to sit tight as she went out to speak with Dr. Messbarger. After about 20 minutes both Messbarger and Leanne came in and told us they were very concerned. Their game plan was to run a blood test and take a urine sample. The blood came back just fine as it did before and the urine sample showed their were red blood cells present. They ordered a CT scan of the groin area to see what that lump was and we were sent home and hour and a half later. 

On Monday morning they called with the scheduled CT scan for later that day. Chase went over to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney and got the scan done. Within an hour Dr. Messbarger called Chase to let him know he found an abnormal amount of swollen lymph nodes throughout the scan of his lower chest cavity and groin area. He asked us to come in first thing the next day to review the images. 

Tuesday January 12, 2016 we went in to talk with Dr. Messbarger and he informed us the scan looked as though Chase had Lymphoma. He said Chase needed a biopsy as soon as possible to determine what kind of lymphoma he had so that we could get moving on treatment options sooner than later. He expressed his concern and he said if it was him he would be very worried and get moving as soon as possible. He scheduled an appointment for Thursday at 10:30 am with Dr. Connely for a Pre-Op for the biopsy of a lymph node in his neck. The blessing in all of this is that Dr. Rob Messbarger (the doctor we were fighting for from the beginning) just so happened to be the doctor available for Leanne to discuss Chase's symptoms with. He eased our mind by letting us know that even though he wasn't taking on new patients he agreed and insisted that he be Chase's new family practitioner. Such a blessing. 

Wednesday the 13th I took Chase back to the clinic because he had a coughing attack and he felt like he had fluid in his lungs. We saw the doctor on call (Dr. Amy Paysen) and she said she thought he had fluid around his heart. If it was bad enough they could have the cardiologist drain it that day. In order to figure out the extent of it we had a chest CT scan done. Paysen read the results and called us and said there was fluid around his heart but not enough to drain. She also confirmed that he had lymph nodes throughout his lungs and chest cavity. I got a copy of a disk with all the images from both CT scans and we left. Anne Chases mom flew out and arrived the 13th that evening. This seems to put Chase at ease to have his mommy here to help me take care of him. I am grateful for any help I can get. 

Thursday the 14th Dr. Connely scheduled the biopsy for first the next morning. 

Friday the 15th Chase went in for the biopsy and they removed a lymph node in his neck because they said it is less invasive than removing one in the groin and the ones in the neck yield better results. Following the surgery Dr. Connely came out to tell Anne and I that everything went as planned and it could take up to 10 days to get final results. 

The next step was to make an appointment with Dr. George Bascom, the oncologist at Platte Valley Medical Group in Kearney, Heartland Hematology and Oncology. Bascom will be giving us results of the biopsy and his opinion on the next steps for us in the treatment process. Our appointment with him is Friday the 22nd at 9 am. 

We will be seeking 2nd opinions and researching our options as soon as we get the results hopefully on Friday at our appointment with Bascom. If they get the results any sooner they will call us and squeeze us in to discuss the results. I have so many questions and am anxious for some answers. I know the Lord is ultimately in control of this situation and he already knows the answers. I trust he has a plan and, like my dad said, this did not catch the Lord off guard. He had this in his plan for some reason from the beginning. My prayer is that the Lord will give the doctors and myself wisdom. I believe he will put the perfect doctor in front of us and we will have the wisdom to choose the right doctor and treatment for my husband.

I plan to keep our family and loved ones updated via this blog. If you have any questions or comments please leave them below. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated. Our goal in this process is to remain positive and continue to live an active healthy lifestyle. Although the Lord may have allowed this to happen to Chase, this Cancer is not of the Lord. I believe this diagnosis is an attack of the devil. We are ready to kick this cancer in the butt. Chase is a fighter in all aspects of his life; he gets a goal in his mind and nothing can stand in his way! He is an amazing man who loves his family, employees and cares deeply about his wife. He is willing to do whatever it takes to get better. 

We love you and thank you for all your support. I promise to keep you in the loop as we continue this journey to back to health. 

xoxo,

Danielle Eilers

"Be at rest once more, Oh my soul, for The Lord has been good to you. For you, Oh Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living" - Psalm 116:7-9