Julie

My friend Julie has ovarian cancer. She has suffered with it for a few years. The chemo keeps putting her into remission, but it's always brief. She is currently undergoing her fourth round of treatment. The treatments are poison.

Every Monday is chemo day. Maddie and I just returned from bringing dinner to her and her family and she is not doing too well. She says that the first day is always the hardest; she should know. They keep trying different drugs on her and they all bring a different set of side effects: horrid mouth sores, terrible rashes, very painful neuropathy, stomach upset, loss of hair.

Julie is not yet 50. She has a husband and four children, the youngest a daughter who is entering college this fall. She is a sweet person, good-hearted, kind, gentle and funny. She played a joke on her family who joined her for the Walk for the Whisper a couple of months ago. She stuffed her bra to bursting with towels and told them that it was a side effect of the chemo. What a laugh they had!

She is a good and faithful Christian. Through all of this, even through her fear, she prays and praises the Lord. She is beautiful in her faith and she inspires me.

I pray to you, God, that you relieve Julie of her suffering, that she may be comfortable and sleep well at night. Please take her pain and fear and replace it with comfort and your loving touch. If it is your will, I ask that you please perform a miracle and just take her cancer and destroy it forever. Thank you Lord that you have given her the will to fight and that she seeks you at all times. Thank you for your gifts.

Amen.