MY STORY: COLON CANCER DEATH SENTENCE REVERSED!

WHAT A PEACEFUL DREAM...

Gentle waves rock me to that place you go just before falling asleep. The sun soothes my skin, as the wind whispers her lullaby of rest. I don’t have to be anywhere anytime soon. Here on my imaginary raft, everything is warm, soft, peaceful, comfortable…perfect.

Later, hovering in the place between sleeping and waking, I am aware of a strange sensation near my belly button. Still dazed with anesthesia, I notice discomfort radiating from my abdomen. What is this? Struggling to reach full consciousness, I move both hands toward my abdominal area. It’s lumpy…What is that? I wonder. Except for the pain in my stomach lately, I have always been in good health.

FIGHTING THROUGH TO MORPHINE HAZE

Finally managing to lift my eyelids, I gaze into the weary eyes of my husband, Abraham, now haggard from lack of sleep. He takes my right hand in his, as he did the day we were married. "Honey," he says sweetly, his brown eyes filling with pools of love and deep concern, "You’re okay. You’re in the hospital. You had to have emergency surgery to remove a blockage from your colon."

"Dr. Dewar performed an exploratory colonoscopy and found a tumor that had completely blocked your colon," he continued. "You needed emergency surgery. He called Dr. Rutledge, who removed the tumor and a section of your colon. He couldn't reconnect your colon right now, so he gave you a colostomy."

TOTAL HELPLESSNESS

The oncologist arrived next. Cold and inattentive, he blurts, "Yes, it’s colon cancer, and it’s spread to your liver. Come to my office, and we’ll start chemo." With a flourish of his white lab coat, he turned on one heel and disappeared. I did not like him. I felt helpless.

Get a second opinion, I reasoned. Surely they can remove lesions from my liver, or even remove part of the liver itself, allowing it to
re-grow cancer-free. The CT machine in Houston, however, produced more hopeless details, multiple lesions. My liver looked like a gumball machine, filled with tumors. The operation was a no-go. I was crushed.

AT LAST, A RAY OF HOPE!

The doctors at The University of Texas M. C. Anderson Cancer Center were the first to offer hope. They instructed me to proceed with chemotherapy with the goal of allowing the chemo to shrink and eliminate as many tumors as possible, then return for re-evaluation. I eventually switched oncologists, so that they could collaborate with a former colleague who had relocated to Fort Worth.

Their 12-month customized treatment plan – although physically grueling and financially draining – has cleared all but three tumors from my liver. I am now a candidate for surgery! Two final operations will remove the diseased tissue and allow my liver
to re-grow cancer-free.

NEED FOR SURGERY

Without these operations, I may live for another couple of years, but the tumors will definitely return. Where they reappear determines how long I will live.

Until now, no one who has had the disease in such advanced stages as I once did has responded to treatment well enough to even be considered for these operations. Most people with advanced Stage IV colon cancer are considered beyond help and usually die within 6-12 months of diagnosis.

ONE FOR THE MEDICAL RECORD BOOKS!

Having already outlived the average Stage IV patient, I will be in the medical record books! What’s more, I have an opportunity to have surgery to be cancer-free! And although Dr. Abdalla can’t guarantee I will remain cancer-free forever, he is confident these operations will tremendously increase my odds--giving me a fighting chance to live a long and healthy life.

I was not ready to die at the time of the initial diagnosis, and I am not ready to die now! Abraham is not ready for me to die, either, and has laid down his career to help me live. Our personal financial resources were exhausted more than 18 months ago. Only through my family’s generosity have we made it this far. Unfortunately, their financial resources are now exhausted, as well.

URGENT NEED FOR ASSISTANCE

I am tentatively scheduled for the first of two operations at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center on January 28.

Here’s how you can help us pay for the operations I need to save my life:

1. Pray. If God chooses to heal me through this rather than deliver me out of it, please pray specifically that Jesus guides Dr. Abdalla's hands during surgery, that the Holy Spirit tangibly fills the operating room and keeps the entire surgical team focused and sharp, that all the equipment functions properly and that I have a painless recovery.

2. Make an individual donation online through PayPal's secure server.

- Copy this email address: ColonCancerDeathSentenceReversed@yahoo.com.
- Click here to open PayPal.
- Click on the Send Money link at the top of the page.
- Paste the above email address into the To field.
- Type your email address into the From field.
- Enter the amount of your donation into the Amount field.
- Click the Service/Other button.
- Click Continue to complete the transaction.

3. Make an individual donation in person.

- Deliver your check made payable to:
Mary L. Weeks-Ayala Medical Donations Account
to any Frost Bank location in Texas, the only bank we found to give same day deposit credit.

4. Make an individual donation by mail.

- Mail your check made payable to:
Mary L. Weeks-Ayala Medical Donations Account
c/o Frost Bank
5561 Bryant Irvin Road
Fort Worth, TX 76132

- Call us at 817-569-7621 or click here to email us for more information. Every prayer counts. Every dollar counts. Both are greatly appreciated.

God bless your gracious generosity!

Mary and Abraham


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