Faith and Healing

First thing this morning I received a call from my father-in-law with a request for prayer that became heavy on my heart. He informed me that his sister's granddaughter had just been diagnosed with osteosarcoma. I have been praying for this child for about 3 weeks now and have been very burdened for this family. Brianna is a 15 year old, beautiful, Christian girl who I have had the pleasure of being around on several occasions. She is spunky, yet humble, and loves the outdoors. She loves riding horses and has ran track for several years. About 3 months ago, she came to her mom complaining about pain in the upper part of her arm. As most of us moms would think, maybe she just injured the muscle or maybe it is just going pains. This went on for the next couple of months before her mother took her to see the doctor. That was three weeks ago when they found the mass in her arm and told the family that a biopsy would need to be done for proper diagnosis. After surgery, the doctor seemed very positive that it did not look like cancer. However, test results arrived yesterday with the heart wrenching news that Brianna has osteosarcoma in her arm. She will be undergoing 10 hours worth of testing tomorrow to find out if the cancer has spread to other parts of her body and will begin three months of chemotherapy within the next week.

I have been doing some research on the disease and have found that osteosarcoma is diagnosed mainly in children ages 10 to 20. It develops during growth spurts in the second decade of life. It is also more prevalant in children who are participating in sports involving direct stress(impact) to their bones. I could give you statistic after statistic that I found for the percentages of survival etc., but My God is more powerful than that. So I just ask that you join me in praying for Brianna and the Duke Family as they go through the next several months of chemotherapy and full recovery. I ask that you pray for peace and that their faith will not be shaken. That they will hold strong to the hand of God and that they will be brought through this victoriously and quickly.

I also ask that you not live in fear, but understand that we do have an enemy who comes to destroy. Please, don't take anything lightly when it comes to your children( or yourself for that matter). When they have pain that seems to be uncomfortable for days at a time, please take them to get it checked out. They are gifts to us and though we know that the Lord is covering them each day, we have to use the brain He gave us when it comes to making sure they are safe and healthy. About 6 weeks ago, Emalee had a pain in her leg that was really bothering her. I had already heard of another case of disease in a limb, so I took her in. Nothing there, but hey whats a $30 copay when it comes to my child?!

Have a blessed Summer and thank you for your willingness to pray for this precious child and her family.

Amanda