Prayers are working for me.

I asked everyone to pray Wednesday when i thought I was dying. I told rob over and over I love him and to tell the kids I love them. That’s all I had in my mind.

Not that I wished I worked more, or bought fancier clothes, or had spent more time trying to lose the chemo weight. All I thought about was trying to not die and breathe, and making sure my love for my husband and children was known. It was traumatic, but I know God was near me by sending me people who love me and having people send me love. And by some miracle, I lived. It wasn’t the pulmonary embolism. I didn’t need the surgery. They think it’s the cancer and sent me home.

I even taught the next day, and loved every second, because I COULD. I was ALIVE.

Yesterday prayers surrounded me all over again. We realized I had to be at the hospital earlier and had to drop off Morgan and Quinn much earlier. I knew Morgan would be ok, but Quinn gets belly aches on hospital days and it was really early , 7:30. I texted some teacher friends if they could keep an eye out for him. Candy Perry is my sorority sister from Cortland. Joanne Armstrong is a sister in Christ. Torre Falkner worked with me for years in both Roanoke and Aquebogue and is the living example of if you expect miracles, you get miracles.

Three women.

Three.

They immediately texted me back and his teacher Mike Kanter also hopped on the support train and told the ladies to send Quinn to him. Torre met us in the parking lot, I quick cried on her shoulder as Quinn got out and couldn’t see, them he went off with this woman I love as we pulled away and I cried. I wish I took a picture of him with her. My child is surrounded by angels in Pulaski.

On my way to the hospital I set up my Amazon account to donate .05% of every purchase

To metavivor. They are suggesting Susan g Komen, a machine that only donates 19% to stage four research, which is the only thing that will cure cancer. The salaries of their admins are outrageous. They spend most of their money on mammogram awareness. By what happens when you get out of the mammogram? It was super easy. Take two minutes and register with amazon smiles and choose metavivor today.

http://www.smiles.amazon.com

I also got a message that a school district has decided that for October, instead of the usual pinkwashing for breast cancer awareness month, they will donate to Metavivor. Thank you, Bayport Blue Point!

Amen.

We got to the hospital and the ladies at the main desk know me well by now. Everyone loved my “I’m just here for the warm blankets” shirt. Tara brought me in to the room, and Tim got to work right away trying to find a vein. When he said all he saw was my bottom knuckle of my pinkie, I whispered “Fuuuuuuck”. As I’ve said before, I tend to say that before saying “Jesus, help me”. I’m working on that.

I knew it would hurt, Tim knew it would hurt, and Rob knew it would hurt. I buried my face into rob and prayed. It hurt beyond belief, but it worked.

Thank you, Jesus.

I thought about how there’s some saying , “I can do that with my eyes closed and with my

Pinkie”.

Apparently it’s true.

I went to the radiation room and got the same speech about radiation and not being near pregnant women or small children for hours, but they left off any superpowers I was hoping to get. They laughed at my answer on my form to the question of how many previous scans have I had.

“Too many to count”.

Wayne was my tech, and the hour passed by quickly in isolation. I was strapped down with chest plates and belly plates and the my head had the mask strapped over my face with my earplugs in. Wayne played the entire Nat King Cole Christmas Album for me, I looked at the upside down sailboat picture from the mirror on my mask by my forehead, heard the whirring and clanging and beeping and buzzing, and fell asleep.

Yup.

I dreamed and saw rainbows over and over. I had seen a rainbow appear on my book about Jesus and Buddha on the car ride in and even took a picture.

So in my dreams, during an hour long test where i was strapped down and listening to Christmas music, Hods promise was in my dreams.

We finished and Wayne kept his poker face, which is never good for me. But we joked and said that next time it will really be Christmas and the music will be appropriate. I wished him merry Christmas, we groaned about traffic this coming weekend, and off I went to rob.

We went to a diner and i ate eggs as Donnie suggested. I got a text from my TA that all was well in school, and at the end of the day she sent me pictures of them playing with bubbles and chalk and laughing. My AP sent me a text with a picture of him and my kids all in red at lunch, so my heart was happy.

As we ate at the diner, there are high booths and I kept being called to look at a waitress. I couodnt stop looking over at her section and even rob noticed and asked why I was staring at her. I couldn’t tell him. When we finished eating, he went to pay the bill and I walked over to her. As soon as I did, I knew. She had an elephant pin on her tie. I asked her about it, and she said her daughter gave it to her for Mother’s Day. I explained I just got out of the hospital and elephants mean so much to some cancer patients, and seeing her pin was a sign from God for me. She offered to give it to me, I said no, I just wanted a picture. I touched her arm and said thank you, and she said she had chills all over when I touched her.

That was God.

Elephants don’t get cancer, as they have a proliferation of P53 genes and some scientists are studying them. Trunks up are also symbols of good luck. Stage four patients are also called the pink elephants in the room. That’s why God sent me to see her.

We came home and rested on the couch. Wednesday caught up with us. Rob slept, and I researched. Twitter is FULL of oncologists and researchers sharing clinical trials and studies. One study looked at exceptional responders… “outliers”… and found the majority of them still drank. What the heck? I gave up all alcohol when I was diagnosed and have had maybe five drinks in three years. I’ll ask Donnie about that one. Ha!

I researched coffee enemas. I even watched a video. My mind is like…”Ewwwwwww”. But there are testimonials galore from people who do them daily and it cleans them out, detoxifies their liver, and gives them energy. I received messages from people who have done them and swear by them. I’ll do anything to live, and yet this is blocking me. Preconceptions and social norms are powerful. I’ll keep you updated on my “Starbutts” issue.

Or not.

I went to meet Quinn as he got off of the bus and it was the first time I ever saw him get off the bus. Ever. He ran across the grass to me and hugged me. I know how lucky I am. Many women are getting diagnosed younger and younger and can’t have children. I also know many families have lost children. I thought of them all as I hugged my boy and thanked God for this day.

I went in the car and drove to get Morgan, and a blue bird flew right by me. That’s my sign from my poppa. We all spent the night at home, resting.

It was a week.

I’m still in pain in my side and can’t take deep breaths. Instead of the drug store near me, they sent the prescription to a different one. We went to get it, and it wasnt Percocet. It was OxyContin.

No thank you.

I’ll stick with Motrin. Plus, when the tumor was growing in my neck bones, I felt it and it was painful. But I also felt it as it decreased in size and I felt better.

Today at 9 people are praying all over the world for me. A friend of my sister has organized it and sent it to prayer groups everywhere.

It reads as follows;

“A friend of my family has organized a call for prayer for my sister Keri as she continues to fight for her life and the lives of all Stage IV cancer patients.

Please join us Saturday morning for prayer at 9:00am. If you can make any mass in any church please do. If you can’t make a mass, please pray the below prayer, or any prayer at 9:00am.

********please share************

Call for Prayer

Please join us in prayer on Saturday, September 21, 2019, at 9:00am for Keri Stromski and her family. People will be praying from all over the country and we ask that you, and anyone that you know, join us. The power of prayer is an amazing thing!

Two Easy Steps

1. Please attend Mass on Saturday, September 21, 2019, at 9:00 AM at any parish of your choice, if you are not able to attend Mass, please take time to offer a prayer at that time.

2. Please pray to Sister Claire Sullivan, (a Daughter of Wisdom who was born on Sept 21, 1934), to intercede for Keri Stromski and ask God for healing.

You may use this prayer as an example:

Sister Claire Sullivan, you devoted your life to Jesus through the Blessed Mother. You spent years of your life working with the disabled and suffering. I ask for your intercession at this time for the healing of Keri Stromski. Intercede on her behalf and ask Jesus and Mary to grant Keri Stromski

the Grace to continue,

the Strength to persevere, and

the healing power of God’s loving Mercy.

Sister Claire, please grant us this request in the name of Jesus and Mary. Amen”

So , if you have time at 9:00 am EST, please stop and pray for me.

I get results on Monday. The clinical trial is filling up quickly and only has three spots left. They want a biopsy again quickly. Donnie is prescribing something else. I pray for clarity and healing.

May it all be so.

In Jesus’s name. Amen.

Xoxo

Keri