>> Go do a loop and go up there
00:00:25.15\00:00:27.16
and come back.
00:00:27.16\00:00:28.02
>> How do you tell your child
00:00:33.80\00:00:34.86
"you have cancer", you know, do
00:00:34.86\00:00:36.00
you just say it? You know, that
00:00:36.00\00:00:37.30
kind of thing. And do you talk
00:00:37.30\00:00:38.13
about death? Do you not?
00:00:38.13\00:00:40.40
>> It was a big, big, big shock.
00:00:40.40\00:00:42.14
We'd always seen the world this
00:00:42.14\00:00:43.84
way and now this world of
00:00:43.84\00:00:46.14
childhood cancer was suddenly --
00:00:46.14\00:00:47.64
>> Very real.
00:00:47.64\00:00:48.91
>> Very real.
00:00:48.91\00:00:49.78
His blood results kept coming
00:00:51.95\00:00:53.85
back normal which was really
00:00:53.85\00:00:55.35
baffling everyone. They have no
00:00:55.35\00:00:58.32
idea what causes childhood
00:00:58.32\00:00:59.72
cancer. It could be the
00:00:59.72\00:01:01.56
environment, it could be
00:01:01.56\00:01:02.42
genetics. It was not even on our
00:01:02.42\00:01:04.23
radar.
00:01:04.23\00:01:06.73
>> How is it possible that all
00:01:06.73\00:01:08.20
things could work together for
00:01:08.20\00:01:09.80
good to those who are called by
00:01:09.80\00:01:12.80
God and those who love Him?
00:01:12.80\00:01:14.20
>> Welcome and thank you for
00:01:24.61\00:01:25.71
joining us on It Is Written
00:01:25.71\00:01:26.61
Canada. You
know I was reading in
00:01:26.61\00:01:29.15
the Bible this morning from
00:01:29.15\00:01:30.52
Romans chapter 8 verse 28 and
00:01:30.52\00:01:32.35
there's an incredible promise
00:01:32.35\00:01:34.52
there: "All things work together
00:01:34.52\00:01:37.53
for good to those who love God."
00:01:37.53\00:01:39.96
>> Yes, those words are very
00:01:39.96\00:01:41.50
encouraging especially when you
00:01:41.50\00:01:43.13
can see that all things are
00:01:43.13\00:01:45.00
working together for good.
00:01:45.00\00:01:46.53
>> Yeah, when all things are
00:01:46.53\00:01:47.84
working and you see that your
00:01:47.84\00:01:49.47
work is working
out, you've got a
00:01:49.47\00:01:50.87
good job,
you've got good health,
00:01:50.87\00:01:52.81
your kids have good health, and
00:01:52.81\00:01:54.81
they're doing well, and you have
00:01:54.81\00:01:57.31
enough money in the bank, but
00:01:57.31\00:01:58.81
what if things aren't working
00:01:58.81\00:02:00.42
well? What if you can't see that
00:02:00.42\00:02:02.52
it's working out well?
00:02:02.52\00:02:03.65
>> Today we are visiting in the
00:02:03.65\00:02:05.42
home of Nick and Mary Coursey
00:02:05.42\00:02:07.89
here in Lillooet, BC. They have
00:02:07.89\00:02:10.43
an amazing story of how their
00:02:10.43\00:02:12.89
faith was tested. Welcome, Nick
00:02:12.89\00:02:15.36
and Mary, and thank you for
00:02:15.36\00:02:16.63
joining us on It Is Written
00:02:16.63\00:02:17.83
Canada!
00:02:17.83\00:02:19.13
>> Thank you.
00:02:19.13\00:02:20.57
>> Nick and Mary, the way in
00:02:20.57\00:02:21.50
which you came to Canada, you
00:02:21.50\00:02:23.71
didn't always live in Lillooet,
00:02:23.71\00:02:24.74
British Columbia where we are
00:02:24.74\00:02:25.71
today. Can you tell us a little
00:02:25.71\00:02:26.71
bit about that?
00:02:26.71\00:02:27.74
>> Yeah, right before we came
00:02:27.74\00:02:30.15
here we had been living in
00:02:30.15\00:02:31.95
southeast Arizona in the little
00:02:31.95\00:02:34.22
town of Willcox working for a
00:02:34.22\00:02:35.95
family farm. We were very happy
00:02:35.95\00:02:37.69
there and then the farm decided
00:02:37.69\00:02:41.12
to close and so
then we were left
00:02:41.12\00:02:44.96
wondering what God had in store
00:02:44.96\00:02:46.29
for us.
00:02:46.29\00:02:47.83
>> We were like not sure what to
00:02:47.83\00:02:50.53
do and got a call -- an
00:02:50.53\00:02:53.34
opportunity up
in Lillooet, BC. We
00:02:53.34\00:02:55.94
loved the situation, it was
00:02:55.94\00:02:57.67
great, but our hearts were kind
00:02:57.67\00:03:00.08
of in going back east to Alabama
00:03:00.08\00:03:02.01
closer to family. A close family
00:03:02.01\00:03:04.01
friend gave us some advice and
00:03:04.01\00:03:07.52
guidance. The decision that we
00:03:07.52\00:03:09.72
ended up making was based off of
00:03:09.72\00:03:10.99
that was what's best? What's the
00:03:10.99\00:03:13.19
best environment for your
00:03:13.19\00:03:13.82
children?
00:03:13.82\00:03:14.56
>> Spiritually.
00:03:14.56\00:03:16.06
>> Yeah,
physically, spiritually,
00:03:16.06\00:03:17.76
mentally. And
so we chose to come
00:03:17.76\00:03:19.66
here with our hearts kind of not
00:03:19.66\00:03:21.86
in it, but knowing that this is
00:03:21.86\00:03:24.00
where God's leading us.
00:03:24.00\00:03:25.10
>> And so you're faith was
00:03:25.10\00:03:27.37
already being
tested and you were
00:03:27.37\00:03:29.34
trusting the
Lord, He was guiding
00:03:29.34\00:03:30.37
you. Nico is your firstborn. So
00:03:30.37\00:03:32.37
we've got Nico and V who's your
00:03:32.37\00:03:34.64
other little boy and little Nali
00:03:34.64\00:03:36.34
wasn't here at that time.
00:03:36.34\00:03:37.61
>> Nope. She was on the inside.
00:03:37.61\00:03:39.58
>> She was on her way out.
00:03:39.58\00:03:41.65
>> So that was in September of
00:03:43.59\00:03:44.82
2017 so we were here a few
00:03:44.82\00:03:47.42
months.
00:03:47.42\00:03:48.76
>> Just about a month.
00:03:48.76\00:03:49.89
>> And that's when we started
00:03:49.89\00:03:50.86
noticing Nico had a little bump
00:03:50.86\00:03:52.63
on his cheek and at first we
00:03:52.63\00:03:55.10
didn't pay much mind to it. He'd
00:03:55.10\00:03:56.63
never really been sick before.
00:03:56.63\00:03:59.33
>> We did take him in just as a
00:03:59.33\00:04:01.20
precaution, you know, and the
00:04:01.20\00:04:03.07
doctor -- our family doctor
00:04:03.07\00:04:04.91
thought it was just a sebaceous
00:04:04.91\00:04:06.61
cyst, it would
dry up on its own.
00:04:06.61\00:04:08.88
So yeah, we kind of left it at
00:04:08.88\00:04:10.48
that, but it just kept growing.
00:04:10.48\00:04:12.45
>> So even your
doctor, Dr. Hoff,
00:04:15.38\00:04:17.45
who was in town, he had measured
00:04:17.45\00:04:21.29
the cyst or
what he thought was a
00:04:21.29\00:04:22.92
cyst on Nico's
face to begin with
00:04:22.92\00:04:24.23
and he thought, "This isn't
00:04:24.23\00:04:26.23
really all that important."
00:04:26.23\00:04:26.90
Right?
00:04:26.90\00:04:27.40
>> Right.
00:04:27.40\00:04:28.33
>> It was just
by providence that
00:04:28.33\00:04:30.07
he was even on campus. We didn't
00:04:30.07\00:04:32.33
go to the office, he was coming
00:04:32.33\00:04:33.70
to get carrots
from the farm. The
00:04:33.70\00:04:35.50
Dixons, our friends, they said,
00:04:35.50\00:04:37.77
"Hey, you should go check out
00:04:37.77\00:04:38.81
Nico." And so
he showed up at our
00:04:38.81\00:04:40.54
house and that triggered this
00:04:40.54\00:04:42.14
whole chain of events.
00:04:42.14\00:04:43.65
>> It was sometime about four
00:04:46.55\00:04:47.72
weeks before Christmas, we were
00:04:47.72\00:04:50.99
in dialog and obviously we were
00:04:50.99\00:04:52.65
friends with
Nick and Mary and we
00:04:52.65\00:04:55.96
had been kind of going --
00:04:55.96\00:04:57.39
following
through this process of
00:04:57.39\00:04:58.49
knowing that this growth is
00:04:58.49\00:05:00.40
growing on Nico's face and we
00:05:00.40\00:05:04.03
knew that he had gone to the
00:05:04.03\00:05:06.77
local doctor,
which is our doctor
00:05:06.77\00:05:08.27
as well, Dr. Hoff in Licton, he
00:05:08.27\00:05:10.31
had come up and bought carrots
00:05:10.31\00:05:11.77
and squash from Fountainview and
00:05:11.77\00:05:13.14
so there was an on-going
00:05:13.14\00:05:15.04
relationship there. Dr. Hoff, he
00:05:15.04\00:05:17.21
had initially
seen Nico, but then
00:05:17.21\00:05:19.75
he was apparently out of the
00:05:19.75\00:05:20.95
office and they were trying to
00:05:20.95\00:05:22.15
get a follow-up visit with Nico
00:05:22.15\00:05:23.25
and they said, "Well, Dr. Hoff's
00:05:23.25\00:05:25.05
out for three or four weeks,"
00:05:25.05\00:05:26.79
some long period of time. That
00:05:26.79\00:05:29.76
was quite concerning, especially
00:05:29.76\00:05:31.29
because this thing is getting
00:05:31.29\00:05:32.76
bigger on Nico's face. Well, one
00:05:32.76\00:05:34.73
day Dr. Hoff randomly stopped by
00:05:34.73\00:05:37.57
the farm here
to buy some carrots
00:05:37.57\00:05:41.30
and I had
gotten to talk with him
00:05:41.30\00:05:42.50
and I said, "Hey, would you
00:05:42.50\00:05:44.24
consider coming up to the house
00:05:44.24\00:05:46.51
and just taking a look?" And he
00:05:46.51\00:05:48.94
agreed to do
that. And so he came
00:05:48.94\00:05:50.21
from the farm up to their house
00:05:50.21\00:05:53.21
and he took a look at Nico and
00:05:53.21\00:05:54.75
he's like, "Oh," you know, "it
00:05:54.75\00:05:56.48
doesn't look much worse." But, I
00:05:56.48\00:05:58.25
mean, you know,
his mom, she sees
00:05:58.25\00:06:00.39
him every moment, and so she's
00:06:00.39\00:06:01.26
like, "No, it's definitely
00:06:01.26\00:06:02.56
getting bigger." And so he's
00:06:02.56\00:06:04.36
like, "Do you have a tape
00:06:04.36\00:06:05.23
measure?" So we found a tape
00:06:05.23\00:06:06.16
measure and he was able to pull
00:06:06.16\00:06:07.93
up his files from the doctor's
00:06:07.93\00:06:09.36
office and he
realized that, yes,
00:06:09.36\00:06:11.13
it was growing and actually
00:06:11.13\00:06:12.13
growing quite fast, faster than
00:06:12.13\00:06:13.77
he had
originally thought just by
00:06:13.77\00:06:14.87
looking at him. And he ordered a
00:06:14.87\00:06:17.37
stat or an emergency-, I guess
00:06:17.37\00:06:19.41
you could say, ultrasound, is
00:06:19.41\00:06:20.64
that correct?
00:06:20.64\00:06:21.48
>> I think so.
00:06:21.48\00:06:22.74
>> Yeah, and so then he said,
00:06:22.74\00:06:23.85
"You need to go in and have this
00:06:23.85\00:06:25.41
done right
away." Looking back on
00:06:25.41\00:06:27.42
that situation, we saw that as
00:06:27.42\00:06:29.88
God leading for sure, an answer
00:06:29.88\00:06:32.15
to prayer because, I mean, it
00:06:32.15\00:06:34.29
could have been
four weeks later,
00:06:34.29\00:06:35.39
five weeks later, it could have
00:06:35.39\00:06:36.66
just snowballed and taken much
00:06:36.66\00:06:39.06
longer to get
him in and actually
00:06:39.06\00:06:39.86
seeing a doctor, but just
00:06:39.86\00:06:41.90
everything lined up, from our
00:06:41.90\00:06:44.37
perspective, lined up perfectly.
00:06:44.37\00:06:46.50
>> He consulted with a
00:06:46.50\00:06:48.30
pediatrician who suggested we
00:06:48.30\00:06:50.37
take him in to the ER to get an
00:06:50.37\00:06:53.27
ultrasound and
we did that and at
00:06:53.27\00:06:57.05
that point a
radiologist had said
00:06:57.05\00:06:59.08
it was not cancerous and that it
00:06:59.08\00:07:01.42
was just a different kind of
00:07:01.42\00:07:02.65
cyst, an epithelial cyst, and so
00:07:02.65\00:07:05.49
then we
followed back up with our
00:07:05.49\00:07:07.12
family doctor who quickly
00:07:07.12\00:07:09.66
referred us to a plastic surgeon
00:07:09.66\00:07:12.09
and they got us
in rather quickly
00:07:12.09\00:07:13.96
as well and he was able to be
00:07:13.96\00:07:16.93
seen on the plastic surgeon's
00:07:16.93\00:07:19.17
last day before his holiday on
00:07:19.17\00:07:22.40
December 21st.
00:07:22.40\00:07:24.37
>> And if you
hadn't have had the
00:07:24.37\00:07:26.27
procedure on the 21st of
00:07:26.27\00:07:27.64
December, you would have had to
00:07:27.64\00:07:29.14
wait until the new year to even
00:07:29.14\00:07:30.48
do the procedure, right?
00:07:30.48\00:07:31.98
>> Yeah.
00:07:31.98\00:07:33.08
>> And just in that one month,
00:07:33.08\00:07:34.15
month and a half, it had -- I
00:07:34.15\00:07:36.08
mean, it's
growing exponentially.
00:07:36.08\00:07:37.39
And it's becoming -- he's having
00:07:37.39\00:07:41.12
trouble with some of his vision
00:07:41.12\00:07:42.42
being able to see down and we
00:07:42.42\00:07:44.46
would have --
we don't know. Just
00:07:44.46\00:07:46.63
it was amazing looking back that
00:07:46.63\00:07:49.63
the chain of events transpired
00:07:49.63\00:07:50.70
that way.
00:07:50.70\00:07:51.57
>> You can see on the pictures
00:07:51.57\00:07:52.57
how quickly that had grown just
00:07:52.57\00:07:54.90
within a few days, few weeks and
00:07:54.90\00:07:57.44
so if he had not gotten in at
00:07:57.44\00:08:00.11
that specific
time, then it could
00:08:00.11\00:08:01.84
have been at least about three
00:08:01.84\00:08:03.35
weeks later before he would have
00:08:03.35\00:08:04.61
seen someone who was a
00:08:04.61\00:08:05.48
specialist. A minimum of three
00:08:05.48\00:08:06.58
weeks later, yeah.
00:08:06.58\00:08:07.15
>> He didn't complain about any
00:08:09.58\00:08:11.12
pain or anything like that?
00:08:11.12\00:08:12.49
>> No. I mean, touch it,
00:08:12.49\00:08:14.16
whatever. It's not painful at
00:08:14.16\00:08:16.39
all. It was more just visible
00:08:16.39\00:08:18.09
than -- for him.
00:08:18.09\00:08:19.63
>> We're so thankful that it was
00:08:19.63\00:08:21.76
in such a
visible area. With this
00:08:21.76\00:08:24.50
type of cancer
it can be internal
00:08:24.50\00:08:27.50
and then you don't know. Some
00:08:27.50\00:08:30.37
families don't know that their
00:08:30.37\00:08:31.34
child has it until the tumour is
00:08:31.34\00:08:33.34
way bigger.
00:08:33.34\00:08:34.51
>> So you went in, saw the
00:08:36.08\00:08:37.41
plastic surgeon, the plastic
00:08:37.41\00:08:38.31
surgeon came out and said, "Hey,
00:08:38.31\00:08:39.55
I got rid of it, it's OK."
00:08:39.55\00:08:41.98
>> No, unfortunately for us and
00:08:41.98\00:08:43.59
the plastic surgeon who was
00:08:43.59\00:08:45.52
visibly upset, this was not his
00:08:45.52\00:08:48.26
area of expertise and so he came
00:08:48.26\00:08:51.29
out and met us in the post-op
00:08:51.29\00:08:52.76
area and proceeded to inform us
00:08:52.76\00:08:56.13
that it was not a cyst
00:08:56.13\00:08:58.67
as they had thought.
00:08:58.67\00:09:00.34
He told us that at that
00:09:00.34\00:09:01.44
point BC Children's Hospital
00:09:01.44\00:09:02.84
would be taking over care.
00:09:02.84\00:09:04.94
>> We spent two days at Kamloops
00:09:04.94\00:09:07.11
hospital until the pediatrician
00:09:07.11\00:09:09.08
convinced BC
Children's that Nico
00:09:09.08\00:09:11.35
looked fine and
that he should be
00:09:11.35\00:09:13.58
able to go home for Christmas.
00:09:13.58\00:09:15.62
>> His blood results kept coming
00:09:15.62\00:09:18.35
back normal which was really
00:09:18.35\00:09:21.56
baffling everyone. They had sent
00:09:21.56\00:09:23.32
the biopsy also
down to Vancouver
00:09:23.32\00:09:26.06
to the
Children's Hospital and so
00:09:26.06\00:09:28.60
that took a few days to get down
00:09:28.60\00:09:29.86
there because of the weather and
00:09:29.86\00:09:32.40
the holidays and so we didn't
00:09:32.40\00:09:34.37
actually get the full pathology,
00:09:34.37\00:09:38.17
the final one for a few weeks
00:09:38.17\00:09:40.34
afterwards.
00:09:40.34\00:09:42.64
>> And so they let us go home
00:09:42.64\00:09:44.11
with the promise that we'd show
00:09:44.11\00:09:45.58
up at BC
Children's the day after
00:09:45.58\00:09:47.12
Christmas to do scans and tests
00:09:47.12\00:09:48.62
and everything and so at this
00:09:48.62\00:09:50.35
point we've been told by the
00:09:50.35\00:09:52.02
pediatrician at
Kamloops that she
00:09:52.02\00:09:54.36
doesn't think it's what they
00:09:54.36\00:09:55.32
think it is. And so we're
00:09:55.32\00:09:57.13
thinking, naively, "Oh, it could
00:09:57.13\00:09:59.13
just be something innocent," you
00:09:59.13\00:10:00.40
know, and we're so hopeful and
00:10:00.40\00:10:04.77
confused and
shocked even at this
00:10:04.77\00:10:07.14
point that, you know, we feel
00:10:07.14\00:10:09.57
like there's a chance that it's
00:10:09.57\00:10:10.61
something simple. And so we go
00:10:10.61\00:10:12.87
home, have Christmas, go to BC
00:10:12.87\00:10:15.48
Children's, they do --
00:10:15.48\00:10:17.11
>> A PET scan. And we wouldn't
00:10:17.11\00:10:19.11
hear anything
for another week or
00:10:19.11\00:10:20.48
so.
00:10:20.48\00:10:21.35
>> Yeah, and then I think it was
00:10:21.35\00:10:23.18
a Thursday they called us, the
00:10:23.18\00:10:24.89
4th, I think, of January to tell
00:10:24.89\00:10:27.66
us the plan is for us to come
00:10:27.66\00:10:29.79
down and he
needs some treatment.
00:10:29.79\00:10:30.76
And at the time they hadn't
00:10:30.76\00:10:33.26
really told us the official
00:10:33.26\00:10:34.50
diagnosis. So we were a bit
00:10:34.50\00:10:36.53
confused, so I was like, "OK,
00:10:36.53\00:10:37.50
what is it?" And that's when she
00:10:37.50\00:10:39.40
officially told
us the diagnosis.
00:10:39.40\00:10:41.60
>> It ended up being
00:10:41.60\00:10:42.74
rhabdomyosarcoma which is a
00:10:42.74\00:10:46.37
soft-tissue cancer.
00:10:46.37\00:10:48.51
>> So they said they'd get back
00:10:48.51\00:10:50.51
to us to tell us when they want
00:10:50.51\00:10:52.21
us to come down and so that next
00:10:52.21\00:10:54.72
Monday we got a call saying come
00:10:54.72\00:10:56.22
down today, plan to be here two
00:10:56.22\00:10:57.72
or three weeks. At the time they
00:10:57.72\00:10:59.75
were telling us that he would
00:10:59.75\00:11:01.79
need treatment every three weeks
00:11:01.79\00:11:04.16
and not much else. We were just
00:11:04.16\00:11:08.03
reeling trying to take in this
00:11:08.03\00:11:10.17
information. At the same time
00:11:10.17\00:11:11.67
they wanted to do more testing
00:11:11.67\00:11:12.63
which was frustrating to us
00:11:12.63\00:11:13.64
because they didn't want to tell
00:11:13.64\00:11:15.17
us everything until they were
00:11:15.17\00:11:16.64
sure what they knew from all the
00:11:16.64\00:11:18.64
testing. So they did a bone
00:11:18.64\00:11:20.81
marrow biopsy?
00:11:20.81\00:11:21.58
>> Mhmm.
00:11:21.58\00:11:22.74
>> And they put in a port which
00:11:22.74\00:11:25.05
is surgically
implanted under the
00:11:25.05\00:11:25.95
skin.
00:11:25.95\00:11:26.95
>> Oh, that must have been hard
00:11:26.95\00:11:27.38
on him.
00:11:27.38\00:11:28.48
>> Yeah. So they sat us down
00:11:28.48\00:11:30.29
later that week after they had
00:11:30.29\00:11:31.59
their tumour
board which is where
00:11:31.59\00:11:32.42
a bunch of doctors -- all the
00:11:32.42\00:11:33.76
specialists get together and
00:11:33.76\00:11:35.02
discuss him to determine what's
00:11:35.02\00:11:37.06
the best -- should they do the
00:11:37.06\00:11:38.69
three
modalities: surgery, chemo,
00:11:38.69\00:11:40.83
and radiation
or not? And kind of
00:11:40.83\00:11:44.00
gave us their report. They told
00:11:44.00\00:11:46.00
us, you know, this is what their
00:11:46.00\00:11:47.54
plan is: radiation and chemo.
00:11:47.54\00:11:50.21
Surgery they
ruled out because it
00:11:50.21\00:11:52.34
would be disfiguring at this
00:11:52.34\00:11:53.88
point and that they wanted to
00:11:53.88\00:11:56.44
start the next day.
00:11:56.44\00:11:57.88
>> Wow. Do you remember Nico's
00:11:57.88\00:11:59.55
reaction? He's being prodded and
00:11:59.55\00:12:01.98
poked and cut and --
00:12:01.98\00:12:03.49
>> He was terrified.
00:12:03.49\00:12:04.39
>> Yeah, he struggled, you know,
00:12:04.39\00:12:06.76
when they had to draw blood,
00:12:06.76\00:12:07.79
whenever they had to put in an
00:12:07.79\00:12:08.46
IV, I mean, it just -- he had
00:12:08.46\00:12:10.76
never really been to the doctor
00:12:10.76\00:12:11.76
other than just basic checkups,
00:12:11.76\00:12:13.19
he's never had to get blood
00:12:13.19\00:12:14.96
taken. It was very traumatic for
00:12:14.96\00:12:17.73
him. And for us as parents,
00:12:17.73\00:12:19.77
trying to know how we can help
00:12:19.77\00:12:22.54
him. And we
just -- you know, how
00:12:22.54\00:12:25.01
to make it easier for him, he
00:12:25.01\00:12:26.24
doesn't understand really what's
00:12:26.24\00:12:27.98
going on even as much as -- you
00:12:27.98\00:12:29.78
know, we sat him down between
00:12:29.78\00:12:32.45
Christmas and the official talk
00:12:32.45\00:12:34.52
that we had
with the doctor's and
00:12:34.52\00:12:36.22
told him, you know, we had done
00:12:36.22\00:12:38.49
some research; how do you tell
00:12:38.49\00:12:39.62
your child that
they have cancer?
00:12:39.62\00:12:40.99
Do you just say it? You know,
00:12:40.99\00:12:42.26
that kind of thing and do you
00:12:42.26\00:12:43.63
talk about
death? Do you not? And
00:12:43.63\00:12:45.46
so we had to have a serious
00:12:45.46\00:12:46.56
conversation
with him and present
00:12:46.56\00:12:49.40
what we felt he
could handle. And
00:12:49.40\00:12:51.77
you know, he's like -- and we're
00:12:51.77\00:12:53.17
like, "Do you have any
00:12:53.17\00:12:53.97
questions?" He's like, "No," and
00:12:53.97\00:12:54.97
he just went
back to playing, you
00:12:54.97\00:12:55.90
know. For him
it just didn't sink
00:12:55.90\00:12:58.64
in, you know, like it does for
00:12:58.64\00:12:59.87
us. And later he had questions
00:12:59.87\00:13:01.58
once he started
seeing stuff, but
00:13:01.58\00:13:04.38
at the time, you know, it didn't
00:13:04.38\00:13:05.28
really phase him so we were
00:13:05.28\00:13:06.78
relieved about that, but in this
00:13:06.78\00:13:08.32
process we're grieving because
00:13:08.32\00:13:11.22
cancer --
00:13:11.22\00:13:12.52
>> And shock.
Shock and grieving.
00:13:12.52\00:13:14.02
>> Big shock and cancer is real
00:13:14.02\00:13:16.36
now, it's official, it's not a
00:13:16.36\00:13:18.83
mistake. We were hoping that
00:13:18.83\00:13:21.03
there was a chance it was
00:13:21.03\00:13:21.56
nothing.
00:13:21.56\00:13:22.56
>> And we were hoping that maybe
00:13:22.56\00:13:24.10
now that they've removed it it
00:13:24.10\00:13:25.37
would be gone,
right? But we were
00:13:25.37\00:13:27.67
seeing it grow back. It was
00:13:27.67\00:13:30.67
growing back within just the few
00:13:30.67\00:13:32.64
weeks between that initial
00:13:32.64\00:13:35.68
surgery to when he started chemo
00:13:35.68\00:13:39.25
therapy.
00:13:39.25\00:13:40.45
>> Yeah, the plastic surgeon,
00:13:40.45\00:13:42.15
being that that's -- his
00:13:42.15\00:13:43.65
specialty is not anything to do
00:13:43.65\00:13:44.92
with cancer, just decided to cut
00:13:44.92\00:13:47.46
out what he could see from the
00:13:47.46\00:13:49.52
tumour and so he didn't get what
00:13:49.52\00:13:51.86
they call "clear margins" which
00:13:51.86\00:13:53.40
would eliminate all the cancer
00:13:53.40\00:13:56.10
cells and it just takes one for
00:13:56.10\00:13:58.10
it to grow back and you have to
00:13:58.10\00:13:59.83
have healthy tissue all the way
00:13:59.83\00:14:00.90
around and I don't know that he
00:14:00.90\00:14:02.74
could have at
the time because it
00:14:02.74\00:14:04.84
would have been
very disfiguring.
00:14:04.84\00:14:07.04
So it grew back in about three
00:14:07.04\00:14:08.08
weeks. We had to start accepting
00:14:08.08\00:14:12.08
it at that point. You know, we
00:14:12.08\00:14:14.98
had never
thought about childhood
00:14:14.98\00:14:15.65
cancer.
00:14:15.65\00:14:17.52
>> We always
thought that we were
00:14:17.52\00:14:19.19
giving our children the best
00:14:19.19\00:14:20.46
chance so it was not even on our
00:14:20.46\00:14:23.73
radar. We had made all of these
00:14:23.73\00:14:25.73
changes before we started having
00:14:25.73\00:14:28.23
kids and they had always been
00:14:28.23\00:14:29.70
plant-based and, you know, whole
00:14:29.70\00:14:32.93
foods and trying to live in the
00:14:32.93\00:14:34.74
country and get fresh air and
00:14:34.74\00:14:36.17
exercise and
drink water and, you
00:14:36.17\00:14:38.21
know, all of those types of
00:14:38.21\00:14:39.21
things and so it was a big, big,
00:14:39.21\00:14:41.94
big shock. We'd always seen the
00:14:41.94\00:14:43.68
world this way
and now this world
00:14:43.68\00:14:47.62
of childhood cancer was
00:14:47.62\00:14:49.12
suddenly --
00:14:49.12\00:14:49.92
>> Very real.
00:14:49.92\00:14:50.92
>> Very real and understanding
00:14:50.92\00:14:53.46
that, you know,
they have no idea
00:14:53.46\00:14:55.29
what causes childhood cancer. It
00:14:55.29\00:14:57.03
could be
environment, it could be
00:14:57.03\00:14:58.83
genetics, it's not lifestyle.
00:14:58.83\00:15:03.03
Some babies are born with cancer
00:15:03.03\00:15:04.57
from the womb, you know, and so,
00:15:04.57\00:15:08.14
yeah, so then that was a big,
00:15:08.14\00:15:10.07
big, big shock.
00:15:10.07\00:15:11.84
>> You know, in the back of your
00:15:16.75\00:15:17.78
head, you think of someone
00:15:17.78\00:15:20.08
fighting cancer, right? In at
00:15:20.08\00:15:21.82
least my experience, very rarely
00:15:21.82\00:15:23.08
do you have someone that goes
00:15:23.08\00:15:25.32
through a cancer experience and
00:15:25.32\00:15:26.55
come out alive on the other end.
00:15:26.55\00:15:27.52
Most of the people, family
00:15:27.52\00:15:28.96
members or friends, that I saw
00:15:28.96\00:15:30.06
start to have cancer, they never
00:15:30.06\00:15:32.83
survived. I didn't really think
00:15:32.83\00:15:34.30
about it a lot, but in the back
00:15:34.30\00:15:36.06
of my mind I'm like, "You know
00:15:36.06\00:15:37.83
what? This could end the way I
00:15:37.83\00:15:39.80
have always pictured cancer
00:15:39.80\00:15:41.27
ending." Right?
00:15:41.27\00:15:42.34
>> There was a lot of tears. I
00:15:42.34\00:15:45.71
just remembered
so often thinking
00:15:45.71\00:15:47.04
to myself that she was so strong
00:15:47.04\00:15:51.65
and recognizing that, for a lot
00:15:51.65\00:15:54.02
of parents, they were living the
00:15:54.02\00:15:57.02
worst thing that we often think
00:15:57.02\00:15:59.69
could happen to
our children. And
00:15:59.69\00:16:01.72
just watching God carry them
00:16:01.72\00:16:03.29
through each day. Some days were
00:16:03.29\00:16:04.96
better days,
some days were a lot
00:16:04.96\00:16:06.80
harder days, but regardless, God
00:16:06.80\00:16:08.50
was just sustaining them and for
00:16:08.50\00:16:10.77
me it just made me realize in a
00:16:10.77\00:16:14.50
tangible way how real God was.
00:16:14.50\00:16:16.24
>> So now, Nick and Mary, you're
00:16:18.97\00:16:22.01
living in the world of cancer; a
00:16:22.01\00:16:24.01
terrible place, dark place to go
00:16:24.01\00:16:25.65
into. What's it like?
00:16:25.65\00:16:27.55
>> You know, in general, we just
00:16:27.55\00:16:28.85
-- surviving day to day and what
00:16:28.85\00:16:31.62
do we need to get done today?
00:16:31.62\00:16:32.49
What do we need to plan? How to
00:16:32.49\00:16:33.89
we need to --
you know, we have a
00:16:33.89\00:16:35.26
dog; got to figure out who's
00:16:35.26\00:16:36.42
going to take
care of our dog and
00:16:36.42\00:16:37.36
our cat and where we're going to
00:16:37.36\00:16:39.86
live, and we found out where we
00:16:39.86\00:16:41.13
were going to live. We had to,
00:16:41.13\00:16:44.93
you know, start
the process. They
00:16:44.93\00:16:45.87
wanted to start treatment the
00:16:45.87\00:16:47.57
next day. We committed to the
00:16:47.57\00:16:49.47
process. You
know, it was kind of
00:16:49.47\00:16:51.31
a bit of a whirlwind and so by
00:16:51.31\00:16:53.04
the time he even got the chemo,
00:16:53.04\00:16:56.28
you know, we
were just going with
00:16:56.28\00:16:57.31
it. That first treatment went
00:16:57.31\00:16:59.01
pretty well. He didn't really
00:16:59.01\00:17:00.98
have much
nausea. He had some arm
00:17:00.98\00:17:02.32
and leg pain. We were expecting
00:17:02.32\00:17:04.09
the baby in a couple months at
00:17:04.09\00:17:06.32
the time and so we just kind of
00:17:06.32\00:17:09.02
settled in and
got into the cycle
00:17:09.02\00:17:10.43
of going to the hospital
00:17:10.43\00:17:12.13
depending on
the treatment cycle.
00:17:12.13\00:17:13.56
It's three weeks of repeating 13
00:17:13.56\00:17:18.20
times, I think
it was. And so the
00:17:18.20\00:17:20.57
first week is a more intensive
00:17:20.57\00:17:22.04
chemo treatment that would knock
00:17:22.04\00:17:24.04
out his immune system basically
00:17:24.04\00:17:25.54
and the next two weeks a lesser
00:17:25.54\00:17:27.84
type chemo that doesn't affect
00:17:27.84\00:17:30.05
the immune system allowing it to
00:17:30.05\00:17:32.31
recover for the next one, the
00:17:32.31\00:17:34.52
next round. So that first three
00:17:34.52\00:17:35.82
weeks went pretty smoothly. We
00:17:35.82\00:17:37.55
were like, "OK, we can handle
00:17:37.55\00:17:38.82
this." You know, his appetite
00:17:38.82\00:17:40.76
hadn't really
dropped, his energy
00:17:40.76\00:17:42.79
level was still good. The fourth
00:17:42.79\00:17:46.53
week is a treatment of five days
00:17:46.53\00:17:48.23
in a row and
that's where kind of
00:17:48.23\00:17:51.00
the wheels fell of the wagon for
00:17:51.00\00:17:52.30
us. By the time we got to week
00:17:52.30\00:17:55.20
four, his hair
started coming out
00:17:55.20\00:17:58.01
a little bit. This treatment
00:17:58.01\00:18:00.18
causes diarrhea, is one of the
00:18:00.18\00:18:01.91
side effects.
He started getting,
00:18:01.91\00:18:03.58
midweek, very nauseous. We tried
00:18:03.58\00:18:06.08
giving him his medicine in the
00:18:06.08\00:18:07.05
morning and he'd start throwing
00:18:07.05\00:18:08.32
it up. His weight went from 19.4
00:18:08.32\00:18:12.09
to 16.6 kilograms and he just
00:18:12.09\00:18:16.36
really was struggling. And so
00:18:16.36\00:18:19.83
they suggested at that point if
00:18:19.83\00:18:22.30
he'd get an NG tube put in, that
00:18:22.30\00:18:24.80
way we an feed him when he's
00:18:24.80\00:18:26.53
sleeping or whatever, and he can
00:18:26.53\00:18:28.30
get his medicine in without
00:18:28.30\00:18:29.47
having to take
it orally. When he
00:18:29.47\00:18:30.87
got the NG
tube, I think that was
00:18:30.87\00:18:32.54
really difficult for me because
00:18:32.54\00:18:34.78
it was just such a visual
00:18:34.78\00:18:36.41
reminder. We're already
00:18:36.41\00:18:38.55
struggling with the fact that,
00:18:38.55\00:18:40.02
you know he's six, doesn't have
00:18:40.02\00:18:43.05
much control over his life in
00:18:43.05\00:18:44.82
general as a six-year-old and
00:18:44.82\00:18:46.29
then they're pumping stuff into
00:18:46.29\00:18:48.02
him through his body and his
00:18:48.02\00:18:49.96
nose. He has no
control of what's
00:18:49.96\00:18:51.69
happening to his body.
00:18:51.69\00:18:54.00
>> And it was really just
00:18:54.00\00:18:55.00
day-by-day. We didn't know,
00:18:55.00\00:18:56.50
especially during the harder
00:18:56.50\00:18:57.57
weeks, we
didn't know how the day
00:18:57.57\00:18:59.17
would go and if
he would be pukey
00:18:59.17\00:19:02.60
all day or if he would be fine
00:19:02.60\00:19:04.87
and so you just -- we learned
00:19:04.87\00:19:07.61
those first few months just to
00:19:07.61\00:19:10.11
take it -- what the day, just
00:19:10.11\00:19:12.68
take it by the day.
00:19:12.68\00:19:14.32
>> And in the meantime, because
00:19:14.32\00:19:16.32
he has a port, it's a bacterial
00:19:16.32\00:19:18.59
risk because it's exposure --
00:19:18.59\00:19:20.79
your body's being exposed
00:19:20.79\00:19:21.72
somewhat to the
outside world and
00:19:21.72\00:19:23.32
so any time he got a cold, he'd
00:19:23.32\00:19:27.30
usually get a
fever and that's an
00:19:27.30\00:19:28.96
instant trip to
the ER. They draw
00:19:28.96\00:19:31.30
blood from his port, draw blood
00:19:31.30\00:19:32.30
from his arm, that way they can
00:19:32.30\00:19:33.84
culture it. They have to stick
00:19:33.84\00:19:35.54
this swab way up in his nose
00:19:35.54\00:19:37.04
which he horribly hated, but
00:19:37.04\00:19:38.81
that's the way to determine what
00:19:38.81\00:19:39.57
type of virus it is. So while
00:19:39.57\00:19:42.34
constantly those weeks of not
00:19:42.34\00:19:44.05
knowing how he's going to handle
00:19:44.05\00:19:45.68
the chemo, it
was also "When's he
00:19:45.68\00:19:47.55
going to get sick?" And so you
00:19:47.55\00:19:49.52
can't really plan your life
00:19:49.52\00:19:50.79
beyond three weeks of treatment,
00:19:50.79\00:19:53.56
and then if he gets sick then
00:19:53.56\00:19:55.39
it's day-to-day. It was
00:19:55.39\00:19:58.96
paralyzing is the word that I
00:19:58.96\00:20:00.30
could think of because you know,
00:20:00.30\00:20:02.30
people say, "Well," you know,
00:20:02.30\00:20:03.16
"What do you guys do?" I don't
00:20:03.16\00:20:04.97
remember.
00:20:04.97\00:20:05.77
>> "What do you do all day?"
00:20:05.77\00:20:06.53
>> We just try to survive, you
00:20:06.53\00:20:07.74
know. You try to live for those
00:20:07.74\00:20:10.14
off weeks, try
to make it fun, do
00:20:10.14\00:20:12.24
exciting, fun things and so we'd
00:20:12.24\00:20:13.78
go to, you know, indoor bounce
00:20:13.78\00:20:15.24
places when we felt like he had
00:20:15.24\00:20:17.51
the -- able to do that and --
00:20:17.51\00:20:19.95
>> Just try to do normal things,
00:20:19.95\00:20:21.45
right? Like take him out to ride
00:20:21.45\00:20:23.82
his bike or -- yeah.
00:20:23.82\00:20:26.76
>> So in the midst of all this
00:20:26.76\00:20:29.72
now you're expecting Nali. What
00:20:29.72\00:20:32.96
does that look like? I mean,
00:20:32.96\00:20:34.20
there's a lot going on. The
00:20:34.20\00:20:36.97
emotions must be pretty high.
00:20:36.97\00:20:38.47
>> Yeah. Yeah. We didn't know
00:20:38.47\00:20:41.60
when she would
be coming and then
00:20:41.60\00:20:44.97
we didn't know how that would
00:20:44.97\00:20:46.37
correspond to
where Nico would be
00:20:46.37\00:20:48.48
in treatment at that time. So
00:20:48.48\00:20:50.51
then it was
such a blessing to be
00:20:50.51\00:20:52.45
able to have support from the
00:20:52.45\00:20:55.28
midwives and having the
00:20:55.28\00:20:56.92
flexibility to either give birth
00:20:56.92\00:20:59.42
in Abbotsford where we were
00:20:59.42\00:21:01.86
living at the time or in
00:21:01.86\00:21:05.29
Vancouver at BC Children's if
00:21:05.29\00:21:06.76
that's where Nico ended up being
00:21:06.76\00:21:08.96
at that time as well. We came to
00:21:08.96\00:21:11.27
the point in Nico's treatment
00:21:11.27\00:21:12.47
where he needed to be inpatient
00:21:12.47\00:21:14.27
so then we decided that all of
00:21:14.27\00:21:16.50
us, my mom and my sister were
00:21:16.50\00:21:19.24
here already at that point. She
00:21:19.24\00:21:21.54
was about a
week late so that was
00:21:21.54\00:21:23.95
not what we were expecting
00:21:23.95\00:21:25.95
because my other pregnancies had
00:21:25.95\00:21:27.45
been early or
right on time. That
00:21:27.45\00:21:28.75
kind of threw us off a little
00:21:28.75\00:21:30.22
bit, but we decided when he went
00:21:30.22\00:21:32.72
inpatient we would all go to
00:21:32.72\00:21:34.42
Vancouver and
then stay overnight
00:21:34.42\00:21:36.22
just in case anything happened.
00:21:36.22\00:21:38.19
So he had his
inpatient treatment
00:21:38.19\00:21:40.90
and then he has
to stay overnight
00:21:40.90\00:21:42.16
so they can monitor and do
00:21:42.16\00:21:44.17
hydration and
flushing and I went
00:21:44.17\00:21:48.70
into labour early that next
00:21:48.70\00:21:51.74
morning. And so by like 7:00 I
00:21:51.74\00:21:56.41
had called the midwife in
00:21:56.41\00:21:57.71
Vancouver letting her know about
00:21:57.71\00:21:59.41
my contractions and she said
00:21:59.41\00:22:00.98
she'd meet me at the hospital in
00:22:00.98\00:22:02.48
about 30 minutes so then we
00:22:02.48\00:22:05.49
headed over there and thankfully
00:22:05.49\00:22:09.52
it was a shuffling -- it was a
00:22:09.52\00:22:11.66
very well
choreographed shuffling
00:22:11.66\00:22:14.20
of people. My
sister, my mom, and
00:22:14.20\00:22:18.00
V, and my nephew, we all drove
00:22:18.00\00:22:22.50
there and my sister dropped my
00:22:22.50\00:22:25.24
mom and I off at the hospital at
00:22:25.24\00:22:28.24
the women's labour and delivery
00:22:28.24\00:22:30.01
entrance and so we went in and
00:22:30.01\00:22:34.75
she went with the boys to park
00:22:34.75\00:22:36.95
and then go upstairs on the 8th
00:22:36.95\00:22:39.25
floor where Nick and Nico were
00:22:39.25\00:22:40.96
and so then she stayed with the
00:22:40.96\00:22:43.73
boys and Nico and so Nick could
00:22:43.73\00:22:46.73
come down to where I was with my
00:22:46.73\00:22:48.46
mom and then be there for the
00:22:48.46\00:22:50.27
labour and so
it was quite a day,
00:22:50.27\00:22:53.97
quite a day. So
then she was born
00:22:53.97\00:22:58.04
a few hours later and then later
00:22:58.04\00:23:01.88
that day Nico was discharged and
00:23:01.88\00:23:05.85
yeah. And so everything went
00:23:05.85\00:23:07.85
well, praise the Lord. And who
00:23:07.85\00:23:10.89
would have thought that we'd be
00:23:10.89\00:23:13.12
at the -- you
know, Nico would be
00:23:13.12\00:23:15.39
getting treatment and his sister
00:23:15.39\00:23:16.93
would be born right just a few
00:23:16.93\00:23:19.46
floors away
from each other so it
00:23:19.46\00:23:21.63
was a crazy -- we have a crazy
00:23:21.63\00:23:22.86
story to tell about her arrival.
00:23:22.86\00:23:25.63
>> Yeah, so that is good news.
00:23:25.63\00:23:28.70
>> Yes.
00:23:28.70\00:23:29.87
>> She was born and everything
00:23:29.87\00:23:31.91
went well there. So everything
00:23:31.91\00:23:34.98
was going well, it was working
00:23:34.98\00:23:36.68
out well and the chemo was
00:23:36.68\00:23:38.71
starting to settle down and you
00:23:38.71\00:23:40.18
were starting
to get used to that
00:23:40.18\00:23:40.25
starting to settle down and you
00:23:40.88\00:23:41.02
>> Right.
00:23:41.25\00:23:42.05
>> What was the next thing?
00:23:42.05\00:23:42.62
>> Right.
00:23:42.62\00:23:45.59
kind of got
into the new routine,
00:23:45.59\00:23:47.19
had the baby at
home, luckily the
00:23:47.19\00:23:48.56
family was there to help and I
00:23:48.56\00:23:51.33
think we did
one or two more two-
00:23:51.33\00:23:52.73
or three-day stays at the
00:23:52.73\00:23:54.03
hospital for fevers and those
00:23:54.03\00:23:55.66
kind of things,
but then we found
00:23:55.66\00:23:58.67
out the plan when we -- for
00:23:58.67\00:24:01.74
radiation. We talked to the
00:24:01.74\00:24:04.24
radiologist at BC Children's and
00:24:04.24\00:24:06.24
initially she thought they'd be
00:24:06.24\00:24:08.48
able to do radiation here in
00:24:08.48\00:24:10.98
British Columbia, but that they
00:24:10.98\00:24:13.88
always check
with the States that
00:24:13.88\00:24:17.69
has proton
radiation, they always
00:24:17.69\00:24:19.59
double check that that might not
00:24:19.59\00:24:20.49
be a better option and it all
00:24:20.49\00:24:22.72
depends on location, type of
00:24:22.72\00:24:25.23
cancer, all these different
00:24:25.23\00:24:26.46
variables and so
00:24:26.46\00:24:28.20
she met with the people that she
00:24:28.20\00:24:30.23
could connect with in British
00:24:30.23\00:24:31.57
Columbia and then in our
00:24:31.57\00:24:35.20
discussions we asked, "Where
00:24:35.20\00:24:36.47
would we go if we went to the
00:24:36.47\00:24:38.24
US?" And she
said, "Seattle's the
00:24:38.24\00:24:39.47
closest place that has proton
00:24:39.47\00:24:40.71
radiation." So we asked, being
00:24:40.71\00:24:42.71
that we're from Arizona, if all
00:24:42.71\00:24:45.18
things were equal could we go to
00:24:45.18\00:24:46.92
Mayo Clinic in Arizona since
00:24:46.92\00:24:48.22
that's where we moved from? My
00:24:48.22\00:24:49.45
mom lives there, we could stay
00:24:49.45\00:24:50.42
with her. We have friends and --
00:24:50.42\00:24:52.15
very familiar."
00:24:52.15\00:24:53.79
>> So your fear with radiation
00:24:53.79\00:24:55.62
was?
00:24:55.62\00:24:57.33
>> Well, from our conversation
00:24:57.33\00:24:59.79
with her, before we knew it was
00:24:59.79\00:25:02.83
going to be proton, was very
00:25:02.83\00:25:06.10
serious secondary side effect --
00:25:06.10\00:25:08.10
you know, the treatment area was
00:25:08.10\00:25:11.84
equal for all
radiations, but the
00:25:11.84\00:25:15.01
collateral
damage so to speak, or
00:25:15.01\00:25:16.54
the secondary
effected areas that
00:25:16.54\00:25:18.25
don't have cancer, she went over
00:25:18.25\00:25:20.98
that list of --
00:25:20.98\00:25:22.18
>> Long-term side effects.
00:25:22.18\00:25:24.02
>> Long-term issues, you know,
00:25:24.02\00:25:25.02
could lose an eye, definitely
00:25:25.02\00:25:27.99
dissymmetry in the face, his
00:25:27.99\00:25:31.66
adult teeth are
in that area and,
00:25:31.66\00:25:35.00
you know, in the end she said,
00:25:35.00\00:25:36.50
"The good news is," you know,
00:25:36.50\00:25:37.90
"there's going
to be no cognitive
00:25:37.90\00:25:40.30
damage."
00:25:40.30\00:25:41.50
>> Loss. Yeah.
00:25:41.50\00:25:42.77
>> And we're like, "Uhh," you
00:25:42.77\00:25:43.71
know.
00:25:43.71\00:25:45.37
>> Like, we didn't even -- oh,
00:25:45.37\00:25:46.98
that's the good news!
00:25:46.98\00:25:49.21
>> You're expecting to see
00:25:51.55\00:25:54.65
decrease in
health. You expect to
00:25:54.65\00:25:56.99
see significant decline in
00:25:56.99\00:25:58.32
health, but it was such a neat
00:25:58.32\00:26:00.89
experience. Yes, Nico had his
00:26:00.89\00:26:03.09
battles. Yes, he had significant
00:26:03.09\00:26:05.39
challenges along the way. The
00:26:05.39\00:26:07.36
Lord sustained him every step of
00:26:07.36\00:26:08.66
the way.
00:26:08.66\00:26:10.10
>> I just remember just feeling
00:26:10.10\00:26:14.64
so many emotions, but being --
00:26:14.64\00:26:16.57
feeling just peace. Just seeing
00:26:16.57\00:26:18.84
what He was doing in their life
00:26:18.84\00:26:20.34
and knowing that He promises to
00:26:20.34\00:26:21.84
do that in all of our lives.
00:26:21.84\00:26:22.81
>> Friends, if you are currently
00:26:25.68\00:26:28.05
experiencing
suffering and you're
00:26:28.05\00:26:30.19
wondering how
is it possible that
00:26:30.19\00:26:32.39
all things could work together
00:26:32.39\00:26:33.86
for good to those who are called
00:26:33.86\00:26:36.36
by God and those who love Him? I
00:26:36.36\00:26:38.86
just want to encourage you with
00:26:38.86\00:26:40.66
these words
from the written word
00:26:40.66\00:26:41.93
of God. They're found in
00:26:41.93\00:26:44.37
Philippians chapter 4 verses 6
00:26:44.37\00:26:46.33
and 7 where it says, "Be anxious
00:26:46.33\00:26:47.87
for nothing, but by prayer and
00:26:47.87\00:26:50.61
supplication with thanksgiving
00:26:50.61\00:26:52.07
let your requests be made known
00:26:52.07\00:26:53.84
to God. And the peace of God
00:26:53.84\00:26:56.24
which surpasses
all understanding
00:26:56.24\00:26:57.85
will guard your hearts and minds
00:26:57.85\00:26:59.85
in Christ Jesus." Let's pray.
00:26:59.85\00:27:02.65
Heavenly Father, we thank You
00:27:02.65\00:27:05.09
that this kind of pain and
00:27:05.09\00:27:06.89
suffering that was caused by
00:27:06.89\00:27:08.62
cancer is not a part of Your
00:27:08.62\00:27:10.96
perfect plan
and that we can turn
00:27:10.96\00:27:13.16
to You and that You will guard
00:27:13.16\00:27:15.63
our hearts and minds in Christ
00:27:15.63\00:27:17.13
Jesus. In Jesus' name we pray,
00:27:17.13\00:27:20.07
amen. So thank
you for joining us
00:27:20.07\00:27:23.10
on It Is Written Canada. I just
00:27:23.10\00:27:25.61
want to remind you of the words
00:27:25.61\00:27:27.38
of Jesus where He said, "It is
00:27:27.38\00:27:30.15
written, man shall not live by
00:27:30.15\00:27:31.95
bread alone, but by every word
00:27:31.95\00:27:34.28
that proceeds
out of the mouth of
00:27:34.28\00:27:36.02
God."
00:27:36.02\00:27:37.62
>> When somebody is ill,
00:27:41.86\00:27:43.66
especially if it's a child. I
00:27:43.66\00:27:46.90
mean it's just so devastating to
00:27:46.90\00:27:48.56
hear about it,
but then the first
00:27:48.56\00:27:50.10
thing you say is, "Oh, we've got
00:27:50.10\00:27:51.93
to do something!"
00:27:51.93\00:27:53.60
>> I was just trying to think of
00:27:53.60\00:27:55.60
ways that I could help and since
00:27:55.60\00:27:58.17
they were so
far away, prayer was
00:27:58.17\00:27:59.44
what came to mind.
00:27:59.44\00:28:00.51
>> We were in shock and we went
00:28:00.51\00:28:05.15
through a grieving process.
00:28:05.15\00:28:07.02
Thankfully we had an
00:28:07.02\00:28:09.98
understanding
of His character in
00:28:09.98\00:28:12.42
the sense that He is love and He
00:28:12.42\00:28:15.69
is not the author of pain and
00:28:15.69\00:28:18.19
suffering. We live in a sinful
00:28:18.19\00:28:19.56
world.
00:28:19.56\00:28:21.13
>> He was in church and the
00:28:21.13\00:28:22.43
pastor said, "Is anyone
00:28:22.43\00:28:23.87
suffering?"
00:28:23.87\00:28:24.90
>> And Nico looked at me and he
00:28:24.90\00:28:27.10
said, "Not
anymore." Not anymore.
00:28:27.10\00:28:30.44
Praise the Lord.
00:28:30.44\00:28:31.97