Month: July 2020

The past week was challenging for us as a family both mentally and physically; there were so many periods of heaviness and times of physical pain- yet Our Journey continues as we remind ourselves that the battle isn’t ours, it belongs to the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:15).

In Episode 3, I mentioned briefly how God sent His Word through scriptures, songs, and the prayerful support of family and friends. Our Journey has taught us to never take for granted the people whom God continues to use every day to show us His love. Family and friends make huge impacts especially during fiery trials.

Among the valuable lessons being embraced in this season, we’re also learning the value of friendship and family as we continue to navigate this hard-pressed road. We will forever treasure friends who came to our rescue when we launched a Go Fund Me in July 2019 to help with the expenses of Kerry’s cancer treatment. We were ecstatic by the overwhelming responses of those near and far who contributed to the cause- some of our contributors were friends we grew up with, others were friends we met along our more senior years and friendships we formed during adulthood. Still, there were also friends of relatives who felt our pain and were moved with compassion to give, as well as strangers who became “good samaritans’ feeling the need to show support through their generosity. We are forever grateful to everyone who allowed himself or herself to be touched by our need and Our Journey – great will be your reward in heaven, as Matthew 25:40 declares, “the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” From our family to yours… a big thank you! 🙏🏽🤗

As welcoming as friendship support is, our Journey would have been very unstable without the love and grace of extended family: our mom remains a tower of strength and grace as she continuously pours motherly love and spiritual intervention into our cups. Our dad continues to do his best to be brave in supporting us through the season and our aunts and cousins in Florida, New York and Canada have been in constant prayer and care for us through this trying time. This is also a hard season for our older brothers who will always have our backs no matter how much older we become as their sisters. The calls, the text messages, the visits are all appreciated and help us to know that we are not alone on this Journey. We take this time to say we love and appreciate all that you are doing and saying! It really helps! 🤗

As we continue in our fight and declaration of healing, we ask for your ongoing prayers. Pray that Kerry’s strength will not fail her as her body goes through the severe pain and ordeal of changes; pray that God will give us His peace and perseverance so that we may “endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2: 3-4); pray that our faith will remain strong and that God will continue to give us courage in the face of adversity. We will continue to stand in faith knowing that “God is faithful, [and He] who will not suffer [any of us] to be tempted above that [we] are able;” He will preserve us through this season and it’s going to be OK!

In ‘Our Journey, Episode 6,’ I will share with you how we’re coping with some daily symptoms. Until then, walk good.

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Growing up, Kerry was always the ‘go-getter’ while I was the uncertain one – she is always logical and knows what she wants to do… at least that’s how I see her. My sister is entrepreneurial and is always reaching for the stars – for example, in 2004, she started a bookstore and a computer repairs/accessories internet cafe – with Jamaica’s economy at the time, I still have no idea how she managed to pull that off for almost two years before she left the country. Her tenacity and determination to succeed is always motivating her to try new things! Her husband is equally zestful and the two are always up to taking on tasks that to the average person, seems risky. It was no surprise to the family that in 2018, they announced and started an international grocery store in Texas. Kerry’s determination and zeal are her signatory marks and I strongly believe that God has given her the same spiritual strength and courage for this season of pain. She has been very strong and brave despite the enemy’s attempt to steal, kill and destroy. Notwithstanding, we armored up and prepared ourselves for the chemotherapy (chemo) journey.

Chemo does not have the same effect on everyone and while the doctors do their best to help patients through its use, the reaction of each patient is highly subjective. After Kerry’s first surgery was done to remove her glands, the next step was to tackle the tumors in her liver and pancreas with an attempt to shrinking them. We prayed, fasted and trusted God to lead us into the process and to guide the doctors with wisdom and knowledge. Humanly speaking, there is always a feeling of fear that seeks to overtake us when an outcome is uncertain and the chemo pathway was no different… my eyes were opened to so many things in life that I had begin to take for granted. The first chemo was in the form of injections – those started in late August 2019. Kerry had to keep returning for the injection treatments as an outpatient and we were happy about this because she got to be in the comfort of home with her family.

About three (3) months into the treatment and by mid- to late November 2019, we were a bit saddened after the doctors tested and realized that the tumors were not responding to the medication. Kerry looked okay on the outside but the tumors were being stubborn. We fought hard emotionally to stay strong and every day God sent His Word through scriptures, songs, and the prayerful support of family and friends. With the unresponsive tumors, the doctors recommended changing the chemo and in late November to early December 2019, Kerry started taking oral chemo. To our dismay, within three (3) days of her starting the oral chemo, we started seeing some very discouraging signs. Almost instantly, Kerry’s body began to respond negatively to that treatment – her body was poisoned and as a result, she developed severe inflammation in her mouth and throat; she could not eat for days. Her face started swelling disproportionately, she was rapidly losing more hair, and her complexion changed to an even darker pigmentation – to say we became very concerned is an understatement! The new developments had sprung up so quickly and by the first week in December, Kerry was back in the hospital for two (2) weeks – she had to be fed through a tube. The season pressed us extremely hard but our faith remained anchored in Jesus.

Speaking of an anchored faith, I am reminded of the scripture which says,

“These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold- though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

1 Peter 1: 7 (NLT)

My family’s trials are many but we have chosen to not lose hope. We believe that God is with us every step of the way – we believe that through our trials, we are learning to love each other more; we are also growing in our belief and in our faith in Jesus. While our faith continues to be tested, we choose to trust our God with every fiber of our being just because we know and have proven that He is faithful! Hallelujah! In ‘Our Journey, Episode 5,’ I will share with you how family and friends can make a huge impact especially through fiery trials. Until then, walk good.

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When I was 10 years old, I attended a church service on a Tuesday night with my mom. We always had to go to church; we had to go at 11 am on Sundays and again at 7 pm for Gospel service… we went during the week on Tuesdays (Bible Studies), Thursdays (prayer meetings) and Fridays (youth service) – rain or shine… tired or faint… did I say always? It was our norm. This particular Tuesday night, I was at church with my sister and our peers and somehow I fell asleep during the service – let’s just say that I was really… really tired 😓. In between dozes, I woke up to see Kerry and some of our peers moving towards the front of the church to sit on the front row… naturally, I did what any little sister would do… I got up and followed without a clue about why they were going! This impromptu action reminds me of how we should respond when the Holy Spirit prompts us to do something – without questioning or second guessing ourselves – just follow His lead! It turned out that those of us who were moving to sit on the front bench were invited to commit ourselves to following Jesus through water baptism. After I found out, I was too timid to go back to my seat and decided to give it a try; I’m so glad that I did! Over the years, Jesus helped me to honor my commitment to Him; He is a God of His word and He wants us to always try to honor our commitments no matter how young or old we are.

One of the challenges that Kerry faced while in the hospital was an attack on her mind. Her speech was sometimes delayed when she spoke and there were times when it seemed like she was trapped within her own mind battling forces that wanted to destroy her. Kerry was unable to remember some basic things and sometimes she had trouble recognizing us. The high cortisol levels in her body made her emotionally unstable and to complicate the turbulence, in July 2019, the doctors told her that her cancer was incurable. The enemy repeatedly used this diagnosis to demotivate and bring discouragement to our family. There were moments when we really broke down; there were tears, sleepless and long nights, there were even times when we felt powerless. God used this to remind us that His grace is sufficient for us for His power is made perfect in weakness; it is when we are weak then we are strong in Him (2 Corinthians 12:9). In mercy, God sent people – some whom we never even knew – to pray, support and encourage us. Our immediate relatives and extended church families in New York, Florida, Canada, Jamaica, London and many other places began to intervene on our behalf. We found strength through their prayers, support and through the Word of God.

Are we worried? Not anymore. God has given us peace and like David, we now say:

“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.”

Psalm 55: 22

Was there a time when you felt that you couldn’t make it without God’s help and the support of a community whether family, friends or even strangers? How did it turn out? Share your story with us in the comments below and let’s build each other’s faith; For with God, nothing will be impossible (Luke 1:37). In ‘Our Journey, Episode 4,’ I will share with you the road to attempted chemotherapy and the unexpected outcome. Until then, walk good.