1 November 2007
Houston, Texas

A litany of mercies

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I'm sitting next to my son Everett in room 6 of the Ambulatory Treatment Center on the second floor of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. His nurse, Elicia, just hung an infusion of ifosfamide, one of three chemotherapeutic agents being used to treat Everett's cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma of the left pelvis, diagnosed in September. The drugs run in through an intravenous catheter that stays in place just under his right collar bone. Today, the infusions will last about five hours, and then we'll head back to our apartment not far from here. All of his treatment is being done as an outpatient, requiring almost daily visits to the hospital.

Managing the frequent hospital visits would be much harder if we had not been offered an apartment about five minutes from the medical center. Memorial Drive Presbyterian Church in Houston, which sponsors apartments for cancer patients and their families, is graciously providing one of their apartments for us. Their generosity helped us at a critical time of need and allowed us to focus on getting Everett started on his treatment.

Everett has tolerated chemotherapy remarkably well. The high doses of drugs he is receiving would typically cause severe nausea and vomiting, extensive, painful mouth sores, and debilitating bladder irritation; but he has remained almost free of those terrible side effects, thanks to additional medicines designed to prevent them. His good response has allowed him to eat well enough to maintain his weight and even have some fun while in Houston. Last week we had a picnic under a crystal clear blue sky and in the shade of some magnificent oak trees on the grounds of Rice University, near our apartment.

We have every reason to believe that Everett's chemotherapy is working well. After being on constant doses of narcotics to control his pain, he eventually was able to wean off all pain medicines. Just before Thanksgiving, his doctors will repeat the scans to see how much the tumor has shrunk. The plan is to continue chemotherapy for a year, with surgery in February or March to remove residual tumor.

Knowing how long Everett’s treatment will take, we were unsure if we would be able to continue serving the Presbyterian Church as missionaries. Last week, however, the church’s International Health Ministries Office asked us to serve as consultants for them for the next year. We will help the church determine how it should approach its overseas medical mission work, and we’ll assist in implementing that work. This is a job we can do from Houston, and as Cindy and I will share the position, one of us will always be available to provide the care Everett needs at this time.

So my report on our progress over the past month is a litany of mercies. God has looked upon our family in one of our darkest moments and extended to us his grace and showed us his love. Sitting here next to Everett as he receives his chemotherapy, I can only pour out my gratitude for the many ways God has blessed us in the past few weeks. And I pray that he will continue to have mercy upon our son.

Yours,

Leslie Y. Morgan
PC(USA) Mission Co-Worker / Bangladesh

The 2007 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 115