First IV Infusion Completed

This morning I was impressed by the Lord to talk about Psalm 16:5-9 The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; Thou dost support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me. I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night. I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh will dwell securely. There is so much of these verses that fit my current situation it is like God wrote this for me. I never have any issues with sleeping yet tonight God counseled me and instructed my mind about how securely God has me in His hands so that I will not be shaken. I have a glad (joyful) heart that rejoices and my flesh is very secure.

I had the first round of infusion of the two other chemo drugs yesterday at 9:30 am. There was no unpleasantness with the port, the drugs, the experience, or the time it took. Julie the Shadow Solider had a great time, Jan was my great supporter, and all the prayers that were being lifted up for me were very definitely felt. At one point I asked the nurse if she was sure the drugs were actually in the bags she was hanging because I was not having any issues. She laughed and assured me I was getting the full doses I was due. It is a little intimidating to see the nurse put on gowns and re-glove several times because she was handling the bags with the drugs. I realize that she hangs bags all day and it protects her from any possibility of contamination but these are very powerful drugs to warrant that kind of protection. These are the drugs being infused directly into my blood stream. It truly is God’s provision that I can be sitting here with no ill effects writing about God’s provision for my flesh. I am so confident in His provision that I will most likely be at work today. My wife has taken on the control of my blood sugar variances by setting up a sliding scale insulin regime. Evidently the Dexamethasone (steroids) really mess up the amount of glucose in the blood such that the cells cannot process it without much more insulin so it stays in the blood. All that is to say I will be checking my level and injecting insulin tomorrow before going to lunch. That is a new experience for me.

We are now into the full court press against this cancer and I really feel like we have it on the run. Thank you for your faithfulness in this battle against my flesh. I will have the next infusion next Monday at 9:30 am. Please keep praying and supporting my family. Thank you, Price

Chemo Starts Tomorrow!

I am mostly a man of action who loves challenges and likes to solve problems.  However, from the first of this adventure we have been on I have sought direction from God for every step forward, every step backward, and every season of waiting.  He has blessed me, sustained me, encouraged me, and answered prayers in a mighty and humbling way.  Most of the blessing, sustaining, encouraging, and prayers to be answered has been accomplished through all of the people God has brought to this fight.  I say all of that because today He allowed me to exercise some of my drive to be in control by dealing with insurance rules, hospital protocols, medical regulations, and other challenges that have nothing to do with healing my cancer and everything to do with the world and the disruptor.  All of the roadblocks and bureaucracy are meant to discourage and defeat one’s soul.  The verse in Isaiah 49:16 states that Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; Your walls are continually before Me.  I take comfort in that verse because it lets me know that I am always on God’s mind (think about how often throughout a day we look at our palms or use them as a writing tablet to document things we do not want to forget).  The second part of the verse reminds me that He is diligent to maintain the hedge of protection around me no matter what my worldly circumstance is at any one moment it time. 

What God allowed today was for me to take an active part in setting up the first of the chemotherapy sessions.  It was a glimpse of the in control Price who does not know the answer no.  I do not state that with pride, only satisfaction.  I do not presume to take any of the credit for completing the task, only that God used me like he has used all of you to get me this far down the road to healing.

What has been accomplished is nothing like my expectations were just a few short days ago.  Pretty much everything related to my treatment has changed as well as the timing of the treatment.  As it stands now I will start tomorrow morning taking one of the three chemo drugs by mouth.  Two pills in the morning and two at night for fourteen days.  Every fourth day and every eleventh day during those two weeks I will go Presbyterian Hospital for four or five hours of infusion of the two remaining chemo drugs.  The first infusion will be this coming Monday at 9:30 am.  Talk about an answer to prayer!  I am encouraged to finally be starting the process while always understanding that God is the one who is in charge of the destruction of the cancer growing in me.

As always please continue to support us in all the ways God ordains but most especially in prayer. 

 

Thank you, Price

Each Day A New Adventure

I looked up adventure in the dictionary. There were parts of the definition that do not apply to this Robertson Adventure. But there were some parts that do. “A remarkable occurrence”, “labor, project, task”, were some that seemed to fit. As a verb I read “try” “seek”. I read one that said to “put on the line”. I think the author meant it in a risk sort of way. I think that fits, but with out the risk part. We are putting on the line the most secure proposition that ever was.....there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still. We are confident in that. The title “Robertson Adventure” came from a birthday card Carol sent a few weeks ago before this started. She wrote at the bottom that the coming year would be a “wonderful adventure”. When I read it I felt a strong confirmation that the words were indeed true. So, our title came from that occurrence. It truly seems like each day is a adventure with twists and turns. Yesterday we thought fairly late in the day that Chemo would start today. Late in the day we met with the doctor and he talked with us about changing our protocol. We will now start Friday or Monday. There are many variables that the doctors consider when prescribing a certain protocol. We are thankful for the doctors careful consideration. The Lord is guarding us from discouragement. His mercies are new every morning. We are finding the treasure that is JOY. He is keeping his arms of love and comfort around us. Thank you for the prayers that I know you will continue.

Jan

Good Lab Report!

Prayer works so well and God is so good. Dr. Strauss liked my bilirubin level and liver function so much he wants to start chemotherapy this week. We will make the appointment tomorrow morning. Thank you all for getting me this far and on the road to recovery. Please keep praying.

Thank you, Price

**Update: We just found out that Price will start chemo at 1 pm tomorrow (Wednesday)!!**

Cloud of Witnesses

The beginning of a marathon (although I have never run in an actual marathon) is exciting, you are full of energy, hope, adrenalin, confidence, and you are focused.  As I begin the marathon of beating pancreatic cancer I am now full of energy, faith, joy, hope, and love.  Four dear friends each with their own marathon experience came over yesterday to help Jan and I complete some very important tasks and most importantly to share their experience and the marvelous way God carried them through their marathon. There was a glorious time when my family (my girls were in town again this weekend) and these four brothers and sisters in Christ circled around me and we had a great time of prayer.  It was appointed of God and provided us with that extra boost as we start the race.

A very familiar verse is Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”  The Bible goes on to list many examples of faith.  Some of those are hard to understand while others are very comforting.  In Verse 11:6 it says “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” The unshakable faith God provided me was built on the faith in God I have had since May of 1972.  That is when I accepted Jesus and all he did for me to restore my relationship with God.  On September 14th, God gave me Unshakable Faith because He knew I would need that kind of support.  Additionally, in Hebrews 12:1 it says “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us , let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin (unbelief) which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Verse 11 talks about the great cloud of witnesses, God is bringing this great cloud to surround my family even as recently as yesterday.  All of you who have reached out with thoughts, deeds, notes, tangible support, and most importantly prayer are a cloud of witnesses to me. You are preparing me for the race just as God is.  You are obedient agents of God and your impact is immeasurable.  Please continue to be faithful to God’s purpose in providing a cloud of witnesses to my family as we continue on the Robertson’s adventure.

There may not be as many updates going forward but for sure there are two dates I need your prayers for.  This Monday, October 22nd at 2:00 I will have blood drawn to check liver function and bilirubin levels.  Dr. Strauss wants the liver to be as healthy as possible and my bilirubin level to be 1 or below.  Last Monday it was 4.2 which was much improved from a high of 11 two weeks before.  This is part of getting ready for the marathon. The next date would be October 29th which is when I am scheduled to start chemotherapy, assuming the liver and bilirubin are willing to cooperate.  Every step forward takes a measure of faith but we seem to be more comfortable when taking those steps.  The “waiting room” is the tougher test because we can do nothing but pray and seek a closer walk with God.  In my vernacular, a closer walk with God is when I fall back into His arms and let Him wrap me in love.  The waiting room is also the time the cloud of witnesses has the biggest impact of supporting me.
 
Thank you, Price

October 19- Prayer for you.

The first week back at work was perfect.  I had my old energy level and caught up pretty quickly.  As usual there were lots of meetings to stay engaged in and a few action items to take care of.  The thought that struck me during the day was the amazing level of unselfishness that everyone had.  What I mean by that is while at work I became aware of issues people are dealing with every day.  While away from work I was isolated from these revelations.  Learning of the variety of things others are dealing with helped me appreciate the sacrifice all those people who have been thinking of me, sending notes, supporting my family and most importantly praying for us have made to put aside their concerns and devote time to the Robertson’s.  That is extra special to me.  I was led to pray for the things I had been made aware of and offer my family’s prayers for any one that wishes them.  Please send me a note asking for prayers and the Robertson’s will respond. 

Thank you, Price.

Back To Work

Today is my first full day to be back at work. The blood work yesterday showed great improvement in my bilirubin level but not enough. It fell from a high of 11 when the stent was put in place on September 28^th to 4.2 yesterday. They want it to be below 1 before starting chemotherapy. The next blood test is Monday October 22^nd at 2:00 pm. I did get some great sunning in since yesterday was such a beautiful day. In Colossians 3:16 it says “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”. That is what your prayers, notes, and love letters from God do for me every day. It is the many many answers to prayer that lift me up and maintain my strength. As I am driving often a song will come on the radio that speaks to me in the most amazing way. It is just one more affirmation of how He looks over each one of us in such a personal way. When you let Him quicken your spirit to reach out to me and my family you are His arm of love. Please keep close to Him and continue to support me and my family as we continue on this marathon. Thank you, Price