Promises Today

Usually I would have 2 good weeks after 1 bad week after the chemo went in. Here are a few things that happened:

Email to all:

Hello everyone,

I am now in the middle of my two “good” weeks and so far, doing great! I have been busy at work, which has been so nice as it makes me feel normal-ish again. I’m trying hard not to overdo it, but most of you know very well that it’s not easy for me! :o)

My Macmillan nurse has recently sent me some information regarding a “Special Day”, which is offered by The Willow Foundation. It’s for people under 40 who are suffering from a serious illness. I wasn’t sure that cancer and subsequent treatments were considered as serious illness, but she assures me that it is. Well, we’ll see when I have submitted the paperwork. What an amazing opportunity though hey? Problem is, I don’t know what to do! They give ideas like West End shows, family days out, pampering spa breaks, country hotel breaks, helicopter rides, motor racing, sports event tickets, you name it! So, I have to decide what kind of day I want. I can include anyone I want. Not sure whether to do something to include my boys or not… They did not specify a budget either, so I’m even more confused! I need help. Anyone got any ideas of what I can do? I want to make it a special one, something that I wouldn’t ordinarily do for myself…. Help!?!?!

Please could I ask you to pray for my health? I have had a bit of a sniffly cold for the past couple of days and I feel it getting worse. My immune system is weak and so any cold could potentially get out of hand and need antibiotics. I’d rather not go on anymore antibiotics or drugs!

I hope that you are all well.
Lots of love,
Hayley
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A week later:

Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well and having/had a great weekend. I have had a fabulous couple of “good weeks”, enjoying family, friends, work, church and life in general. This weekend has been fab. Friday I was at a Christian conference in Bedford called Heaven Touches Earth, where I was tangibly hit by the presence of God and felt a strong surge in my faith. Thank you Lord! Saturday was a lovely day, which I had been dreading as it meant a whole day alone with my boys, as D was off to the same conference. The boys were angels and we had a lot of fun together. Saturday ended in a great birthday party. I was feeling very unfeminine whilst getting ready and actually shed a few tears over my lost hair and steroid weight gain. Silly huh? I slapped some makeup on, balanced my wig on my bonce and went anyway. I had a really good time. It was nice to spend time with people I normally work with up at the school and even got to square dance with the headteacher! What a laugh that was. I haven’t laughed quite that hard in a while! LOL Today has been a bit more relaxed and later we’re off to my parents to celebrate my lil sis’ birthday. :o)

Tomorrow is chemo number 4. I’m kinda sad, but also feel resolute that I’m not going to let this bring me down. I know that God is with me throughout this and I know that a lot of you, all around the world, are praying for me right now. Thank you so much!!  I want to suffer well, for His glory. I have recently heard about a man called Matt Chandler, who is currently going through brain cancer treatment. ABC news in the US have even written an article about him. I want to say “what a man!” but the reality of his story is “what a God!!!!!” Have a look….

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wirestory?id=9709397&page=1

In one of his recent sessions, and I can’t remember which one of these two: http://vimeo.com/11707938 or http://vimeo.com/10959675 , he mentions the parable of the two houses, one built on sand, the other on rock. The man’s house on the rock was not suddenly exempted from the storm coming, but his house stood. People should never think that becoming a Christian and believing in Jesus  is suddenly going to make their life all fluffy and easy. We are all still going to experience storms!! I just hope that throughout this chemotherapy “storm” I’m enduring, I stand firm on the rock. I want my confidence to rest in Christ alone, as He is the author and perfecter of my faith!

I hope and pray that you can know the kind of strength there is to be found in Him.

Love you all very much.
Hayley
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A few Facebook updates:

Hayley Geurts is going to bed early! I know my limits (sometimes…)
05 May at 22:49

Hayley Geurts has voted. Done.
06 May at 19:05

Hayley Geurts is having brekkie with a girlfriend at Cafe Rouge.
07 May at 09:41

Hayley Geurts is off to IKEA!! Perhaps @dmgeurts should have taken my CC away…
07 May at 19:48

Hayley Geurts is looking forward to seeing Chris Rolfs this afternoon!
08 May at 11:14

Hayley Geurts is finding it hard to get out of such a comfy, warm bed this morning.
09 May at 10:02

Hayley Geurts feels sorry for her hubby who is suffering from the dreaded MAN FLU! Ug.
10 May at 21:22

Hayley Geurts is overdoing it again! Need to learn to say no and start taking care of me for a while…
13 May at 00:22

Hayley Geurts just laughed so hard! I’m listening to Cam n’ Clegg on BBC and Sam says, “he sounds like Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins!” Haha! Bless!!!
13 May at 08:21

Hayley Geurts is looking forward to a day at Heaven Touches Earth. I’m ready and willing Lord! :o)
14 May at 09:24

Hayley Geurts has just been knocked off her feet by the power of the Living God! Haha!
15 May at 00:01

Hayley Geurts is having a lovely day with her boys. They let me go to 3 shops and now I have thanked them for being so good with Little Rascals playtime.
15 May at 13:46

Hayley Geurts just had a fab time at Tania Hawkins birthday! Laughed so hard whilst “stripping the willow”! Excellent stuff!
16 May at 00:17

Email to all:

Hi everyone,

I’m sorry I haven’t sent this update out sooner. I know a lot of you have been worrying about me since my last update on Thursday last week. I want to thank everyone for their replies that day. I’m sorry that I haven’t responded to you all, but please know that your lovely messages and certainly your prayers kept my head up that day. I seemed to received an email every half an hour or so throughout the day. Amazing. You guys are FAB!

A real answer to prayer was my energy levels! On Thursday night I was still unsure if I would be able to get myself up and into London for the Colour conference, but on the Friday morning I woke up and felt strong and raring to go! Praise God!! A lot of great things happened and I was encouraged, empowered and strangely refreshed! I got home on the Saturday evening at around 11:30pm but didn’t get to bed til about 2am! I was too busy telling Djerk all about it!! LOL For those who are thinking “what on earth is Colour?” it’s a Christian women’s conference hosted by Hillsongs in London. http://www.colourconference.com/ If any of you girlies would like to join me next year (Wembley Stadium in 2011!) please let me know!

Since the weekend we have had a lot of good days filled with a lot of nice things, until today that is. We have had a bit of an issue at school and me, being me, couldn’t let it go without getting involved. I perhaps shouldn’t have, but as most of you know me well, I don’t do passivity… It’s still an ongoing thing and I hope that a resolution can be reached, but I have kinda placed myself in the firing line. I would appreciate your prayers in this one.

My energy levels are still great so I’m looking forward to my 2 good weeks. Next chemo will be the 17th May.

Love you all!
Hayley
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Email to all:

Morning all,

This update email is going to come straight from the heart. I don’t know how else to write it.

I’m tired, so so tired. This week has been very low for me. I feel drained, so much so that I hardly recognise myself. So many things are happening around me and I just don’t have the energy to deal with it emotionally or physically. I know that I am coming to the end of “bad week” after chemo, but still, things are feeling a little hopeless in me this morning.

My Grandad passed away a year ago today. I miss him so much.  I can’t quite believe that it’s been a year. Sometimes it seems like only yesterday that it all happened so suddenly, but at the same time it feels like forever ago. I am stunned by the strength of my Nan. It’s been so lovely to spend time with her as she comes up to Hitchin to look after me and the boys directly after my chemo sessions. Thank you so much Nan! I love you very much.

I am due to go into London tomorrow with Mum and some friends from church. Please pray for my energy levels. Right now I can hardly face the thought of getting up, let alone traveling into London for a conference. I know God has plans for me there, so I’m going to get there!

There are other things going on at the moment that I can’t really go into detail, but please continue to pray for me and my family. Your love and support is definitely felt! Thank you all.

Much love,
H
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I had to go back to Bishops Wood Hospital for the third chemo. I almost stayed the night, but decided that my own bed would be much better.

A couple of Facebook updates:

Hayley Geurts on the way to hospital again for chemo number 3.
23 April at 11:56

Hayley Geurts is feeling tired and drained from the chemo but the sickness is no where to be seen!! Woohoo!!!
24 April at 09:39

Hayley Geurts is shocked that her delish hubby is sitting watching Sense and Sensibility and absolutely loving it!!! Haha!
25 April at 21:44

Hayley Geurts is feeling so much better than the previous 2 chemo sessions. Praise God!!
25 April at 23:20

Hayley Geurts is wide awake at 5:30am. Hmmm… No idea why.
27 April at 05:32

Hayley Geurts has got to learn not to rush things! Get better first woman! Arrrggg!
27 April at 18:37

Hayley Geurts needs some energy! Where can I get it from??
28 April at 10:45

Hayley Geurts is so completely and utterly blessed by the amazing people around her. I’m still feeling drained but being uplifted by friends who cook and clean and by a hubby who buys me cake!! :o)
28 April at 20:14

Email to all:

Hi everyone,

Chemo number 3 was meant to happen this morning. However, the nurse came, tried to use the port and something has gone very wrong. I’m now in quite a bit of pain. The area around the port is swollen and it seems that something has ruptured. I’m now on my way to Bishops Wood Hospital (Watford) to see my oncologist. He’ll do an ultrasound to check it out. I’m hoping the chemo can still happen today or tomorrow. I need to be on my better week by next Friday 30th April as I am going to the Colour conference with mum and friends from church. Please pray that the pain goes, the swelling goes down, the port gets sorted (without more pain preferrably!) and that chemo can go ahead asap.

Isn’t life fun???

Will keep you updated.

Hugs.

H
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Later that day:

Hi all,

Well, today turned out to be a very different day than I expected. We spent 4.5 hours waiting at the hospital only to have the doc test the port (ouch!!!!) and tell me that it’s working perfectly. No infection, no leaking. This means that it was likely just the nurse not doing it right. Sigh…

This now means that I’m off to the hospital again tomorrow with mum. The chemo will be done there at 12pm. Due to the sickness/nausea part, I may have to stay overnight, but I’m hoping not.

So, a very long day… But I’ve had some people with me on the journey today, you know who you are!! I want to thank some of you.

Faith x2, you have been my heroes today (Reynolds and Hojeer). Thank you for stepping in and taking care of my boys. Rosalind, the dinner, left on our doorstep for our return from hospital, was delicious!! I’ve had many texts, emails and Facebook messages from so many of you, filled with encouragement and support. I can’t thank you enough.

Djerk, you are incredible. You were with me through the pain, the tears and the laughs. I love you so much.

At the time, through the pain, it was hard to see, but now in hindsight, I see God’s hand in so much of what happened today. Thank you Father for who you are in my life. For sustaining me throughout the tough stuff, even though I find it hard to see you.

I hope you are all well and enjoying the adventure that is LIFE!

Chemo number 3, here I come.

Night all.

H
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Some days were just a little bit random.

Hayley Geurts has decided that sleeping pills are completely overrated!
04 April at 02:15

Hayley Geurts and 4am are NOT friends…
04 April at 04:20

Hayley Geurts is cooking a roast, with a LOT of help from mum and dad… In fact, they are kinda cooking it for me…
05 April at 13:47

Hayley Geurts wants so much to not look and feel like a chemo patient…
05 April at 22:42

Hayley Geurts just had a curry for the first time in ages! Nice to do something “normal” again.
06 April at 22:03

Hayley Geurts has worked out that she has 87 days left of chemo rubbash to get through. Bring it ON!
07 April at 13:02

Hayley Geurts is roasting parsnips. Cos she can. So there.
07 April at 17:16

Hayley Geurts baked chocolate brownies at 10pm. I think I’m losing it…
07 April at 23:52

Hayley Geurts is at Standalone Farm, sitting in the sun, watching her boys playing. Life is good.
08 April at 14:17

Hayley Geurts just laughed so hard she cried! Sam, sitting at the dinner table, says “tomorrow after the Muppet Show…” At which point I fall about laughing. Djerk Geurts and Jeremy Harrison are taking their two eldest boys to the GADGET Show tomorrow. HAHA! I personally don’t think there is much of a difference!
08 April at 18:41

Hayley Geurts has just realised that it’s past 12:30AM and should be in bed!! Next Online has kept me hostage I swear!
09 April at 00:38

Hayley Geurts is buying new hair today, how bizarre is that???
09 April at 08:23

Hayley Geurts has just done the first proper exercise since mid-February! Wii Fit Plus rocks! Burned a mighty 104 calories! I am SO lame! Haha! Taking it easy for obvious reasons, but feels so good to get the heart pumping again. 🙂
09 April at 09:15

Hayley Geurts has just witnessed something on TV that has shocked her to the core. I am still shaking. I have made a life-changing decision to cut death, murder and the like from my life. Enough CSI, NCIS, Bones, Criminal Minds and other similar programs. I am done.
09 April at 23:55

Hayley Geurts wonders if anyone has a breadmaker lurking in the back of their cupboard that they don’t use anymore and would like to give it a good home (ie our home!)?
10 April at 22:35

Hayley Geurts has a breadmaker! Now making Nutella bread! (Ok, not so healthy but it’ll get better, promise…) Woohoo! Thanks Kim Kerr-Barr!
12 April at 19:55

Hayley Geurts is so tired but feels good that lots got done today. Me overdoing it?? Never!!
14 April at 22:49

Hayley Geurts has had a rather healthy breakfast of porridge, mango pieces and a carrot/apple/lemon juice (fresh from the juicer!!) I’m not sure my body can handle this…
15 April at 09:08

Hayley Geurts This morning Sam got a letter in the post, very boring, just Natwest. Josh was upset that he hadn’t received anything. Later there was an envelope on the doormat with Josh’s name on. Inside was a letter, saying “I heard that you wanted a letter, so I wrote you one. I hope you like your letter. Love Sam.” That’s my boy. I couldn’t be a prouder Mummy right now. 🙂
15 April at 21:50

Hayley Geurts is off to Saaaaafend Seafront with her boys, D, sis, bro-in-law and nephew. 🙂
16 April at 13:40

Hayley Geurts is going exploring with her boys. Walking to Hutton Common. 🙂
17 April at 11:08

Hayley Geurts ‎, although tired, has managed to get a lot done. 🙂 Hurrah!
18 April at 16:11

Hayley Geurts is going Ebay crazy!!! Someone stop me!!
18 April at 18:43

Hayley Geurts loved the chocolate workshop with Dawn Fry at The Melting Pot – chocolate making workshops for all – it was incredible! Dawn, you are fab! The choccies I made look and taste amazing! You’re a great teacher.
21 April at 23:11

Email to all:

Hello everyone,

Chemo number 2 was last week and I’m finally feeling a bit more human. This time around the nauseous feeling was quite bad but for a shorter time. The steroid slump was quite deep so the Easter weekend was mostly spent on the sofa. Nan came over from Friday to Sunday and then Mum and Dad came on Easter Monday. It was nice to spend time with them all and fun to cook a roast dinner between the 4 of us, but such a shame that I felt so weak.

The big news for this update email is my hair. It was still coming out slowly and my scalp was getting very sore, so, it’s gone! Djerk shaved my head on Sunday and I now look like GI Jane! It’s still coming out, so soon I will be bald but it’s better than waking up with hair all over my pillow or taking handfuls out when I shower or brush my hair! I am getting a wig on Friday and will be investing in some new scarves and hats! Shopping! Woohoo! It does mean that I now actually look like a chemo patient, but as many of my lovely friends and family have been saying on Facebook, my beauty is NOT defined by my hair. Praise God!

One prayer request I have is for my immune system. Although having the neulasta booster is likely helping a lot, I am feeling a bit of a sore throat coming on. Please pray that the cold bugs stay away!

I have started a countdown of my treatment and now it’s 87 days to go! Bring it on!!

I am looking forward to the rest of the Easter holidays, hoping for a bit more energy to take my boys out and spending time with friends and family.

God bless,
Hayley
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Email to all:

Hi everyone,

It’s 5:20am and I have just woken up with a strange sensation in my arm. I feel that I now have almost full maneuverability in my arm!! Except for a small tendon or nerve, or something else called “cording” which doesn’t allow me to fully extend my arm to the sides. However I can now stretch my arm above my head! Something I could NOT do last night. I am claiming a miracle here… Trust me, this was not possible last night!

I have a feeling that a lady, or ladies, were praying for this specifically last night. Whether you would like to tell me or not, thank you SO much for your faithfulness to Him, He hears.

I have generally felt so much better during this chemo treatment number 2, compared to the last time, so again, thank you for everyone’s prayers.

Thank you Lord for who you are in my life.

Remember guys, Easter isn’t about bunnies and chocolate, it’s about remembering Jesus’ death and resurrection. He died with all your sins on his shoulders and rose again to be with his Father, sending his Holy Spirit to be with us to help us daily. Healing is available for everyone, through what he did on the cross. All you have to do is accept him into your heart and reach out. He’s waiting…

Love you all very much.
Hayley
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Email to all:

Hi everyone,

Well, today is chemo number 2. The nurse is due at 10am. I am mightily blessed by being able to have my chemo sessions at home instead of at hospital. Through my health insurance I am able to take advantage of a Bupa scheme where they send all the equipment to your home and the nurse comes to give the chemo drugs. I am hoping this will help greatly with reducing the sickness. Last time I had to travel for an hour directly after the treatment and got home feeling terrible! This way I can easily climb into bed and sleep it off! 🙂

My hair is still coming out, but it seems that it is just thinning, so looking good still!

I am nervous, but through that feeling I am giving all of this to God. Greater is He who is in me, than he that is in the world. I stand in Him and in His name I claim a side-effect free treatment! It’s wonderful to know that so many of you are praying for me, thank you so much!

As always, a thought for today:

Empty hands held high
Such small sacrifice
If not joined with my life
I sing in vain tonight

May the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Let my lifesong sing to You
Let my lifesong sing to You
I want to sign Your name to the end of this day
Knowing that my heart was true
Let my lifesong sing to You

Lord I give my life
A living sacrifice
To reach a world in need
To be Your hands and feet

So may the words I say
And the things I do
Make my lifesong sing
Bring a smile to You

Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Let my lifesong sing to You

What’s your Lifesong?
Hugs to you all.
H
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Facebook:

Hayley Geurts is leaving it all in God’s hands. Nothing else I can do anymore.
01 April at 00:12

Hayley Geurts has had chemo treatment number 2. Feeling a bit wibbly, but otherwise doing ok. 🙂
01 April at 14:14

Hayley Geurts slept for a couple of hours, woke up with the nauseous feeling but after some water and her gorgeous hubby making her laugh, feeling bit better.
01 April at 17:43

Hayley Geurts is feeling rather more nauseous than last time and has aching arms and legs. 🙁
01 April at 19:47

Email to all:

I spoke too soon! My hair started to “thin” yesterday. Not handfuls yet, but a lot more coming out than the usual daily amount…

Hopefully it’s just a little bit.

Keep praying!

Lots of love,
Hayley
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