Covenant and "Mark 11:22"

Following the chemo treatment and radiation, Mom was enrolled in a clinical trial.  I do not know the specifics as to why the doctors felt she needed to do this but I assume it is because the initial treatment was not as effective as they would have liked it to be.  We learned later on down the road that the decision makers literally flipped a coin to determine who would be accepted and who would be denied.  Thankfully Mom was accepted into the clinical trial. Plans were in place to sell the farm in the 50% chance that Mom was not accepted into the program.   Endless prayers were said in hopes of getting the call that she had been accepted.   Once again, God delivered!

The graphic details of the clinical trial were given to Mom and Dad during one of their many meetings with her doctors in Omaha.  Rochelle and I were told that Mom would be in the hospital in Omaha for a portion of the summer so she could continue to get well.   We were invited to the University of Nebraska Medical Center Lied Transplant Center for a tour so we could better understand where Mom would be spending her time.  I have faint memories of the meeting with Dr. Reed and her staff.  We sat in a small conference room around a table and were given a synopsis of what was in store.  I remember not fully understanding what was going on but I remember feeling sad for my Mom.  Little did we know that Mom was literally going to experience “hell on earth” during her lengthy stay at the transplant center.

Back to the theme of normalcy, we hosted a 4^th of July party at our house for family and friends.  I don’t remember much about the party other than it seemed very normal.  I vaguely remember dreading the next day because I knew Mom and Dad were leaving for Omaha but I also remember feeling excited about the party because our friends and family were gathering at our house for a cookout and fireworks.   I am sure Mom and Dad had terrible pits in their stomach knowing what was waiting for them when they got to Omaha the next day. In order to help pass the time, a trip to California was booked for Rochelle, Grandma Schmidt and I.   We spent 7-10 days in Redwood, California visiting our aunt and uncle during the first part of Mom’s high dose chemotherapy.

The protocol for the treatment was extremely intense.  One of the doctors told Dad that Mom was going to be knocking on death’s doorstep only to be brought back again.  From what I understand, this was a pretty accurate representation of what was to come.  She was hooked up to a continuous drip of high dose chemo for 4 straight days.  Mom also underwent a bone marrow/stem cell transplant.  Thankfully the cancer was not in her bone marrow but she underwent the transplant as part of the clinical trial.  Mom’s immune system was literally bottomed out.  They warned us that even the slightest cold and/or infection would kill her.  Due to her lack of immunity, Mom was kept in isolation for the duration of her stay.  

Mom has very few memories of her month long hospital stay.  She said she felt it was God’s way of protecting her so she could move on and not be haunted by the memories of the (lifesaving) experience.  One story that I remember Mom and Dad sharing with us is the terrifying story of when Mom thought she would never be able to speak again.  She was violently ill from all of the toxic chemo medications.  At one point she remembers throwing up and up with it came a large collection of tissue.  Mom thought it was her voice box.  She remembers being terrified that she would never be able to talk again.  The doctors reassured her that it was all of the dead cells from her mouth, throat and stomach, not her voice box.  

Celine Dion’s song, “Because You Loved Me” was a song both Mom and Dad held close to their hearts.  During Mom’s one month stay, she couldn’t talk, she was very weak, she “slept” a lot, etc.  This song really is symbolic to the strength and love Mom and Dad have/had for one another.   I am sure it was awful being the patient but I cannot imagine Dad having to see it firsthand, knowing there was nothing he could do other than pray and be there by Mom’s side. 

Below are the lyrics to the song:

For all those times you stood by me
For all the truth that you made me see
For all the joy you brought to my life
For all the wrong that you made right
For every dream you made come true
For all the love I found in you
I'll be forever thankful baby
You're the one who held me up
Never let me fall
You're the one who saw me through it all

You were my strength when I was weak
You were my voice when I couldn't speak
You were my eyes when I couldn't see
You saw the best there was in me
Lifted me up when I couldn't reach
You gave me faith because you believed
I'm everything I am
Because you loved me

You gave me wings and made me fly
You touched my hand I could touch the sky
I lost my faith, you gave it back to me
You said no star was out of reach
You stood by me and I stood tall
I had your love I had it all
I'm grateful for each day you gave me
Maybe I don't know that much
But I know this much is true
I was blessed because I was loved by you

You were always there for me
The tender wind that carried me
A light in the dark shining your love into my life
You've been my inspiration
Through the lies you were the truth
My world is a better place because of you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CkKuA86Mis 

Dad also told us a story years later about a very high powered antibiotic called “shake and bake.”  During her lengthy stay, Mom started exhibiting signs of an infection. In an effort to save her life, “shake and bake” was administered.  Dad asked Dr. Reed why they were referring to it as “shake and bake.”  Unfortunately, he saw with his own eyes why doctors and staff used this terminology to identify the powerful antibiotic.  Dad remembers Mom shaking so hard almost instantaneously.  He described it as if she was having a seizure.  The experience will forever be imprinted in Dad’s mind but thankfully, Mom did not remember much of her experience.   

Dad spent a vast majority of his time by Mom’s side in Omaha during her lengthy hospital stay.  Our wonderful neighbors and friends were helping with the farm back in Indianola.  I want to take a minute to give a shout out to the people of Indianola and the surrounding area!  There are some of the nicest, compassionate people that live in Indianola and the area.  Everybody looks out for their neighbors and they don’t think twice about helping a fellow neighbor out.  God knew what he was doing when he blessed our family with the most caring neighbors around!  The fellow farmers took care of the farm basically all summer.  They helped with wheat harvest despite the fact they had their own farms to tend to.  They also took care of watering the irrigated fields and praying for a speedy recovery for mom.  I am sure there were many other neighborly acts of kindness that took place and we will be forever grateful.   

Dad occasionally would leave Omaha, drive 4 hours west to Indianola, check the farm and drive back to Omaha all in one day.  He is such a dedicated man, father, husband, farmer, friend, etc.  I am sure it was extremely difficult to leave Mom’s side but he was doing what any father would do.  He was trying to maintain the balance and maintain normalcy for my sister and I.  

One evening Dad was on his way back to Omaha to be with Mom.  He said he was driving down I-80 and he was so angry.  He was under so much stress with the thought of losing his wife, the mother of his children, the love of his life.  He was 36 years old and the thought of walking through life without his young wife, raising two daughters by himself was more than he could handle at that moment.  He started praying, asking God to show him He was there.  Next thing Dad knows, he sees some lights right behind him, literally right behind him.  Dad looked in his rear view mirror and hit his brakes to signal to the vehicle behind him to get off his tail.  The headlights moved to the left as the vehicle passed Dad.  Dad looked up to the left as the vehicle passed him.  The vehicle that passed Dad was a Covenant Truck. 

Definition of “Covenant”: A covenant is how God has chosen to communicate to us, to redeem us, and to guarantee us eternal life in Jesus.”  What an awesome message and the timing was impeccable!  God knew at that very moment Dad needed reassured that Mom was going to get through this very trying time.  Coincidence? Like I previously mentioned, I do not believe in coincidence.  Signs are all around us.  We just have to open ourselves up and be aware.  This was a defining moment for Dad.  This confirmed that everything was going to be okay.  He knew we still had a long road ahead of us but this was God’s way of reassuring Dad that He is in control.

Dad had a lot of down time at the hospital.  Mom spent the days in a deep sleep due to all of the medications that were being administered.  Dad spent a lot of time with the other husbands whose wives were going through the same clinical trial as Mom.  Unfortunately a vast majority of the other women did not beat the battle following the clinical trial.  We were blessed to have Mom get through it and live another 20 years! One day when Dad was in the visiting with the group of husbands he decided to pick up the Bible.  He randomly flipped to the book of Mark.  He then decided to look at chapter 11 verse 22 (because his birthday is 11/22).  He read “Have faith in God.”  WOW!  Once again, God knew Dad was struggling and he needed to know everything was going to be okay.  This story is how the blog got its name.  During our 20 years with Mom to current day, we have had Faith in God! 

Rochelle and I decided to write a poem for Mom.  To this day I can still remember our little poem.

“For all the things you’ve done for us

You know we love you very much.

The cooking, washing and the sewing

You also do the outside mowing.

When you come home from McCook

You help us with our spelling book

Of all the good things God has done

Saving you, Mom has been the best one!”

We were so proud of our poem.  Looking back, I have to laugh a little at our poem. Mom did not sew but we needed a word that rhymed with “mowing.”  We wrote each verse in a different color from our collection of colored pencils.  We used a wallet size photo from our school pictures and glued our pictures to the top left (Rochelle) and bottom right (me) of the paper.  Rochelle was wearing a pink sweater and I was wearing a blue and white sweater.  I believe we both had turtle necks on underneath and we were both sporting our huge, 90s’ styled permed bangs! We found a 5x7 wood frame and put our “master piece” in the frame.  I believe either Lloyd and Mary Ogorzolka and/or Dennis and Kem McConville took our gift to Omaha. The frame was delivered to Mom who was in the ICU.  The poem is so simple but as a mother, I am sure it brought tears to her eyes.  She cherished the poem and it eventually was a permanent fixture on her dresser in Mom and Dad’s room.

We recently went through some of Mom’s stuff at the farm and we came across the framed poem referenced above.  Here is a picture of our lovely poem.

I will never forget when Mom and Dad surprised us by coming home early.  Mom was discharged a little early because she really came around and surprised the doctors with how well she recovered from the intense inpatient stay.  I remember calling Dad on his bag phone asking what he was doing.  I remember him saying, “Oh, just driving around Omaha.”  This should have signaled red flags because knowing Dad, he is a country boy through and through.  He did not like driving in the city but as a kid, sometimes putting two and two together does not happen.

Shortly after I talked to Dad, I went to my room and pulled out my new trumpet.  School was getting ready to start and I was going into 5^th grade and Rochelle was getting ready for 7^th grade.  Fifth grade is the year when you can join band.  Grandma Schmidt took me to Hershberger’s in McCook to pick out the perfect trumpet.  I remember looking at my new Holten trumpet and then I heard the doorbell.  I ran upstairs and was so excited when I saw Mom and Dad!  It was so nice to have our family be under one roof again!