I am so grateful to The Lord for His mercy and faithfulness in making the procedure to remove fluid from my belly successful! The doctor was able to remove 6 liters (12 lbs.) of fluid which was far more that anyone expected. Well, I thought I would feel like a million dollars after that, but actually I have been extremely ill with extensive pain, no energy, and an overall feeling of sickness all over my body. It was explained to me that after the rib cage and all the muscles had been stretched out by that much fluid, that the trauma of removing that buffer around my major organs after it is has been there so long is going to be painful and will take a while to return to normal. Meanwhile, I have been on a lot of pain medication, unable to go to school, and praying that my recovery will be speedy. Dr. Ioana Hinshaw, the gynecologic oncologist at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Denver who ordered the procedure to be done also recommended the same chemo regimen that the team of doctors at the University of Colorado Medical Center recommended - adriamycynl with possible cytoxan. After I get an echo cardiogram on Thursday, I hope to begin chemo treatment early next week. It will be administered here at the Shaw Regional Cancer Center once every three weeks, which should mean that I will have time to regroup between treatments and continue to go to school during the two weeks between treatments. Bob and I drove back from Denver after the procedure in the first major snowstorm of the season - without snow tires on the car and very hazardous road conditions! Now we are enjoying the beautiful fall colors again but know that the cooler temperatures mean that winter weather is not far away. I'll try to keep you updated as often as I can, but some days I feel too weak to do anything. Please continue to pray for all of us as I get ready for the next phase of my treatment. Thank you for your cards, good wishes, prayers, phone calls, and unselfish support. Love you much!