Cowboy Update — And Special Prayer Request

5Aug/102

Cowboy Update — And Special Prayer Request

I heard from Cowboy this morning. Clearly, sleep is not on his agenda. And this is understandable. Today is a big day. And it is one that Cowboy is not looking forward to. I don't blame him.

I go in this morning for scans of my liver. In an hour, I *get* to start drinking a contrasting fluid so that my different internal parts will show up better on the films.

The stuff is NOT yummy!

Then, to the Radiation department, where I'll be "tabled" and run part way through a scanning tube.

This is the most serious of the tests I'll have done this week. The blood and urine samples will show some stuff--much of it the doctors already know, like that my kidneys and liver don't function as fully as they should. When I started chemo back in the late -70's, they put me on massive doses of what was then an experimental chemical. Though they checked kidney and liver function constantly, there was still a lot of damage done that couldn't be helped.

Late term effects to treatment like this are only recently being studied seriously. I'm not sure, but I think at least part of the reason these effects have been ignored is that doctors, researchers, and patients have considered the effects as the price they pay to still be alive. It's only been recently, when cancer survivor rates have increased so dramatically, that people have been comfortable asking questions about what this stuff will do to you down the road.

Anyway, I'm babbling because I'm nervous. I've been awake (nerves) since 3 AM. I'll be ok once the test is over, even though I won't know anything about the results for a maddeningly long time.

What this means is that Cowboy is going into the thick of it. And he has requested prayers to help see him through.

my family could use more of your prayers this morning at about 11:00.

So, I would kindly request that each of you of faith take a moment out of your hectic mornings to remember to God our brother, Cowboy (Mathew).

Toward the end of doing what we can on his behalf as he struggles through today, I would like to start us off with the following:

Dearest Jesus, today we humbly request that you stand at the side of your Father's adopted son, Mathew. Please for the sake of this faithful servant of God, provide comfort to Mathew - lessen his anxiety - increase his confidence in Your Promises. Let Your Love overwhelm him in the knowing that you are indeed present with him through his trials today. Offer him strength to persevere, as you did when the most Holy Cross was hoisted on your bloody shoulder. Permit us, his friends, to assist Mathew from afar... should he begin to stumble, let us be there to lighten his load to the extent possible - if only to provide for him a moment to catch his breath. Let our prayers be like a cool, damp cloth on his forehead, a sponge to his lips, loving arms of comfort.

Holy Spirit, please heed our request! Our brother, Mathew, is in need of thy presence and guidance today! Descend upon him so as to produce calm in his anxious heart. We entreat Thee to fill him with strength to face today's challenges with grace... with the knowing that today's sufferings can be placed at the foot of the Altar of God as a most holy and worthy sacrifice on behalf of all souls in need of the Christ's Mercy. Be with him today, most Holy Spirit, Giver of Wisdom.

Father, we beseech Thee! Your adopted son, Mathew, is in need of Your Strength today. Place a hand on his shoulder, Glorious Father! He is a soldier for Your Son, Our Lord, the Christ!

Oh, most Gracious Virgin, Mathew is in need of your courage today. As you witnessed the suffering of your most Blessed Child on the Most Holy Cross... as you witnessed His resolve to die so that we might live... as you witnessed His Suffering on our behalf, you provided comfort to Him by staying close to Him. Please, template of Motherly Love, pray for our brother Mathew today - that his suffering be not in vain, but lend to those in most need of Your Son's Mercy!

We ask this through Christ, Our Lord, Amen