Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202103S
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00:00 >> Hello and thank you
00:01 for joining us on. 00:02 It Is Written Canada. 00:04 At the end of March 2011, 00:06 Holly Albersworth was 00:07 diagnosed with bilateral 00:09 breast cancer. 00:11 >> After her intense 00:12 treatment, she thought she had 00:13 beat it, but a second 00:15 diagnosis came in 2013. 00:19 >> From 2014 to February 2017, 00:22 Holly was diagnosed with 00:24 cancer five more times. 00:26 >> For her seventh and final 00:28 diagnosis, she had her left 00:30 arm amputated. 00:32 >> At this stage, no one would 00:33 fault you for asking, 00:35 "How in the world is she" 00:37 "still standing?" 00:38 But today Holly is much more 00:41 than a cancer survivor. 00:43 >> Holly Albersworth is a 00:44 child of God, a loving wife, 00:47 and adored mother of two sons, 00:49 a diligent student who is 00:51 completing her masters degree 00:53 in educational research, and 00:55 is living an active lifestyle 00:57 as an amputee. 00:59 >> In a moment we will visit 01:01 with Holly and hear her 01:03 miraculous story. 01:05 ♪♪ 01:47 >> Hello and welcome back to 01:49 It Is Written Canada. 01:50 Thank you for joining us here 01:51 in Airdrie, Alberta where we 01:53 are visiting with Holly 01:55 Albersworth, whose story, from 01:57 the first time we heard it, 02:00 we have just about repeated it 02:01 to just about everyone we meet 02:03 because it strengthens our 02:05 faith so much and I'm sure 02:07 it'll do the same for you. 02:09 >> So, Holly, thank you so 02:10 much for joining us on 02:12 It Is Written Canada today, 02:13 we're so glad that you're 02:15 here today with us. 02:17 >> Thank you, I'm very happy 02:18 to be here as well. 02:19 >> So, Holly, I want you to 02:21 take us back a year before 02:23 your first diagnosis, you had 02:24 a traumatic experience. 02:26 You wanna tell us about that? 02:27 >> Certainly. 02:29 In April 2010, my sons and 02:31 I were coming back to Airdrie 02:33 on the QE2 and it had been a 02:35 snow storm and all of a sudden 02:38 my 15-year-old son that was 02:40 driving was driving in between 02:42 vehicles going down the 02:43 highway as fast as he could go 02:45 and I looked at him and said, 02:46 "What are you doing?" 02:47 And all he did was point 02:49 behind us and so I turned 02:50 around and there was a 02:51 jack-knifing fuel tanker 02:53 flying at us, just careening 02:55 down the highway, hitting 02:56 everything in its path and 02:58 just before it hit our 02:59 vehicle, because we couldn't 03:00 get away fast enough, 03:03 the truck-- our truck lurched 03:05 ahead, just like a metre and 03:07 I'm so grateful because 03:09 if that hadn't happened, my 03:11 younger son who was sitting in 03:13 the back seat of the quad cab, 03:14 would have been squished. 03:16 And then it hit us and we went 03:17 spinning and flying down the 03:19 ditch, probably the length of 03:20 a football field and we 03:22 stopped and the dust settled 03:23 and the first thing my older 03:24 son did was he turned around 03:26 to my younger son and said, 03:27 "Why were you yelling?" 03:29 And my younger son, 03:31 frustrated, said back, 03:33 "I wasn't yelling," 03:34 "I was praying!" 03:36 And I am so grateful, in that 03:38 moment of stress, in that time 03:40 period that that was 03:43 happening, that he had the 03:45 confidence to reach out 03:46 to God. 03:47 Because of God, 03:48 my family was alive. 03:51 >> So what were the injuries 03:53 that you sustained? 03:55 I had a concussion and I 03:57 didn't realize it at first, 03:58 but I had screaming headaches, 04:01 I had dizzy spells, I would 04:04 try and read and I'd read for 04:05 maybe ten minutes and 04:07 everything would be blurry. 04:09 And during that time I got so 04:11 frustrated with myself. 04:13 It was about December, 04:15 actually, I noticed that I had 04:17 lumpy breasts and so I was 04:20 getting ready to go back to 04:21 work and so at one of those 04:22 doctors appointments I said, 04:24 "You know, I think I need" 04:25 "a mammogram." 04:26 And so the doctor sent me for 04:28 a mammogram and then it just 04:31 went from there. 04:32 >> So, Holly, do you think 04:34 that the stress and all the 04:36 traumatic experience that you 04:38 had a year before had anything 04:40 to do with your first 04:42 diagnosis of your bilateral 04:45 cancer? 04:46 >> One hundred percent. 04:48 It is so important for us to 04:50 control our thoughts and guard 04:51 our thoughts because if we get 04:54 under too much stress or 04:56 things are too negative in our 04:57 lives, our immune systems are 04:59 affected very negatively. 05:01 And so it's so important just 05:02 to give our problems to God 05:04 because even though things are 05:06 happening in this world that 05:07 we don't understand and things 05:09 are confusing and stressful, 05:10 we just need to trust that God 05:12 has a plan and that's why I 05:15 love Romans 8:28, you know, 05:17 that everything happens for 05:19 the good of those who love. 05:20 God, for those who are called 05:21 to His purpose. 05:22 And that's a verse that I 05:24 cling to every day because 05:26 every day, things can happen 05:28 and life is an adventure. 05:30 >> So how many kinds of 05:31 treatments, what kind of 05:33 treatments did you have from 05:35 the time that you were first 05:37 diagnosed with breast cancer? 05:40 >> From the time I met my 05:41 oncologist, I was given a week 05:43 before we started treatments. 05:45 We did six months of very 05:46 aggressive chemo and then from 05:49 there, I had a bilateral 05:51 mastectomy and lymph nodes 05:53 removed, and after that, I had 05:57 25 rounds of radiation. 06:00 [Rene] So, Holly, you've just 06:02 had these intense treatments 06:04 and everything's done with the 06:06 treatments and so you're 06:08 thinking, "I'm probably safe" 06:09 "after all those treatments," 06:11 "there's no way the cancer's" 06:13 "coming back," but then in 06:15 January of 2013 you start to 06:18 feel these little lumps 06:19 underneath your left armpit. 06:21 Can you tell us what happened 06:23 from there, Holly? 06:25 >> Yes, I had said goodbye to 06:27 cancer, but it didn't say 06:28 goodbye to me, and so I went 06:31 in to see the oncologist early 06:32 January, and they were 06:34 marble-sized lumps, and so I 06:36 said to him, "What is this?" 06:37 And he says, "I don't know," 06:38 "but you need to see the" 06:39 "surgeon again." 06:41 And so then I went to see my 06:43 young surgeon and he said, 06:44 "You don't have an" 06:45 "ultrasound, you need to go" 06:46 "and get an ultrasound and" 06:47 "then come back and see me." 06:49 And so it was a little bit of 06:49 a back-and-forth and then 06:50 finally decided, yes, I needed 06:52 to do a biopsy and then he 06:53 booked me for surgery and a 06:54 little bit of reconstruction. 06:57 After the surgery, I went to 07:00 see him, the young surgeon 07:03 again, and he said to me, 07:05 "You know, we didn't get all" 07:08 "the cancer." 07:10 "You need to go right now to" 07:11 "see... to the medical" 07:13 "oncologist's office and he's" 07:15 "gonna send you to see" 07:16 "another surgeon." 07:18 And so I went in to the 07:19 medical oncologist and he said 07:21 to me, "I need you to go meet" 07:22 "Dr. Temple, he's experienced" 07:25 "and he says he may take you" 07:27 "as a patient, but you have" 07:28 "to go meet him." 07:30 "You need to run across the" 07:31 "parking lot to the Women's." 07:32 "Health Centre and run" 07:33 "quickly because he's waiting" 07:34 "for you." 07:36 And so I quickly went across 07:38 and went up to the Women's 07:40 Health Centre in the area 07:41 where the breast cancer clinic 07:42 is there and Dr. Temple was 07:44 waiting for me and he saw me 07:46 and he was wearing the 07:48 goofiest hat I've ever seen, 07:50 but he decided that I was a 07:53 good candidate for another 07:55 surgery, he decided that I had 07:57 enough spunk in me that he 07:58 wanted to continue my 07:59 treatment. 08:01 He, however, was leaving to go 08:03 on a holiday to China for 08:04 three weeks and the surgery 08:05 was gonna be booked 08:06 after that. 08:08 In the meantime, I was sent to 08:10 see a radiologist and she told 08:13 me she was stopping all 08:15 treatment altogether and that 08:17 I had six months to live and 08:18 she wanted to take over my 08:20 file and coach me through the 08:21 next six months of 08:22 palliative care. 08:24 I was not happy. 08:27 And fortunately I had an 08:28 appointment with my plastic 08:30 surgeon who was gonna do the 08:31 reconstruction again the day 08:33 after that and she happened to 08:35 be the daughter of Dr. Temple. 08:38 And she said to me, "Don't" 08:40 "listen to that radiologist," 08:42 "if there was no hope, my dad" 08:45 "would not be doing surgery" 08:48 "and no one tells my dad" 08:49 "what to do." 08:51 And I loved it, I loved that 08:52 there was someone with 08:54 experience and that who wanted 08:56 to stick up for me and 08:57 continue my treatment. 08:59 >> Mm-mm, so hopeful. 09:00 >> That's right, that's right. 09:02 And then, so I had that 09:04 surgery and reconstruction and 09:05 I thought things were going 09:07 good, but then in 2014, as per 09:09 my pattern that continued, 09:12 the cancer was back. 09:15 And then in, again in 2015, it 09:19 was back again and so surgery 09:21 chemo, and then 2015, surgery 09:24 and then I started chemo again 09:27 and the oncologist that 09:28 happened to see me one day 09:30 said to me, "I don't think" 09:31 "this chemo's gonna work for" 09:32 "you," and it kinda horrified 09:34 me a little bit. 09:35 And then I had an appointment 09:37 to see another medical 09:39 radiologist and so I went to 09:41 the Tom Baker Cancer Centre to 09:42 see him and he told me, 09:45 "You're gonna have a very" 09:47 "painful and imminent death." 09:49 And I was like, "OK..." 09:51 I wasn't sure what to do with 09:52 that so I went home and it was 09:54 quiet and I prayed for a while 09:55 and I started calling my 09:56 friends from church and they 09:58 told me, "Holly, you've" 09:59 "gotta go to Mexico, you've" 10:01 "gotta find a different" 10:02 "perspective, you've gotta" 10:03 "find someone that will" 10:04 "actually help you." 10:05 >> So, Holly, on the good 10:07 advice of your good friends, 10:09 you go down to the Sanoviv 10:11 Cancer Treatment Centre in 10:12 Rosarito, Mexico. 10:14 Tell us about that experience 10:15 for you. 10:16 >> It was wonderful and it was 10:18 a time of growth for me 10:19 because I learned that my 10:22 immune system was very 10:23 important to beating cancer, 10:25 just like any other infection, 10:26 your immune system is 10:27 paramount and so it's 10:28 important to build your immune 10:30 system, which includes 10:31 positive thoughts and green 10:32 juice and all kinds of healthy 10:34 things that you can put into 10:35 your body to reinforce and 10:37 build up your immunity. 10:39 >> So what did the doctors 10:40 tell you down there? 10:42 >> Oh, I remember my first 10:43 meeting with Dr. Armony. 10:45 She told-- I was-- I think I 10:47 was shivering, like I was just 10:49 nervous, like what is this 10:50 doctor gonna tell me? 10:51 I was nervous about what she 10:52 was gonna say about my 10:54 prognosis, like, I just wanted 10:55 hope, I wanted some doctor to 10:57 give me hope and she said to 10:59 me, "Stop running from the" 11:00 "monster," and that was huge 11:04 because being afraid, 11:06 living in fear, lowers your 11:08 immune system. 11:09 And I had another doctor say 11:11 to me, "How old do you think" 11:12 "you wanna live to?" 11:14 And I kinda thought for a 11:15 moment and I said, 11:16 "How about 88?" 11:17 And he said, "That's a good" 11:18 "goal, let's go for it." 11:21 >> So, Holly, how was this 11:22 experience a turning point in 11:24 your life? 11:26 >> It was a mind shift because 11:28 I kind of learned that I 11:31 didn't have to listen to 11:32 medical doctors, that there 11:33 were things I could do. 11:35 Some things that we did down 11:36 there were the hyperbaric 11:38 oxygen therapy, I learned that 11:40 chiropractic's very good for 11:41 your immune system, and as 11:44 well as we had a spa treatment 11:46 every day, it was a wonderful 11:47 experience with gourmet meals 11:49 cooked for each meal and 11:50 someone doing my laundry 11:52 (laughs) and living in a 11:53 beautiful facility. 11:55 >> So this was a very positive 11:56 experience for you? 11:58 >> Yes, it was a very good 11:59 experience and to God 12:00 be the glory. 12:04 ♪♪ 12:22 ♪To God be the glory♪ 12:25 ♪Great things He hath done♪ 12:28 ♪So loved He the world♪ 12:31 ♪that He gave us His Son♪ 12:35 ♪Who yielded His life♪ 12:38 ♪an atonement for sin♪ 12:41 ♪And opened the life-gate♪ 12:45 ♪that all may go in♪ 12:50 ♪Praise the Lord♪ 12:54 ♪Let the earth hear His voice♪ 12:57 ♪Praise the Lord♪ 13:00 ♪Let the people rejoice♪ 13:04 ♪Oh, come to the Father♪ 13:08 ♪Through Jesus the Son♪ 13:11 ♪And give Him the glory♪ 13:14 ♪Great things He hath done♪ 13:22 ♪♪ 13:36 ♪Oh, perfect redemption♪ 13:40 ♪the purchase of blood♪ 13:43 ♪To every believer♪ 13:47 ♪the promise of God♪ 13:51 ♪The vilest offender♪ 13:55 ♪who truly believes♪ 13:59 ♪That moment from Jesus♪ 14:03 ♪a pardon receives♪ 14:09 ♪Praise the Lord♪ 14:13 ♪Let the earth hear His voice♪ 14:16 ♪Praise the Lord♪ 14:20 ♪Let the people rejoice♪ 14:24 ♪Oh, come to the Father♪ 14:27 ♪Through Jesus the Son♪ 14:31 ♪And give Him the glory♪ 14:34 ♪Great things He hath done♪ 14:41 ♪♪ 14:44 ♪Great things♪ 14:45 ♪He has taught us♪ 14:47 ♪great things He has done♪ 14:51 ♪And great our rejoicing♪ 14:54 ♪through Jesus the Son♪ 14:58 ♪But purer and higher♪ 15:01 ♪and greater will be♪ 15:04 ♪Our wonder, our transport♪ 15:08 ♪when Jesus we see♪ 15:12 ♪Praise the Lord♪ 15:16 ♪Let the earth hear His voice♪ 15:19 ♪Praise the Lord♪ 15:23 ♪Let the people rejoice♪ 15:27 ♪Oh, come to the Father♪ 15:30 ♪Through Jesus the Son♪ 15:34 ♪And give Him the glory♪ 15:38 ♪Great things He hath done♪ 15:42 ♪Oh, give Him the glory♪ 15:47 ♪Great things He hath done♪ 15:55 ♪Amen♪ 16:06 >> Holly, I'm sure you can 16:07 agree with the first line of 16:09 that song, "To God be the" 16:10 "glory, great things He has" 16:12 "done," because He's done 16:13 great things for you in 16:14 your life. 16:15 >> Amen, but the best is 16:17 yet to come. 16:18 >> What, what do you mean the 16:20 best is yet to come? 16:22 >> It's a long story. (laughs) 16:25 I came back from Mexico and, 16:27 again, I was diagnosed with 16:29 can... another tumour, which I 16:31 had surgery and they removed. 16:34 I think that's when they took 16:35 my tricep and so I had to 16:37 relearn to use my arm again 16:40 and so then, of course, again 16:42 I had another chemo and then 16:44 in 2016 I, once again, was 16:47 diagnosed with another tumour 16:49 and so I had surgery again and 16:51 then they gave me more chemo 16:54 and it was palliative chemo 16:59 and I had spent a lot of time 17:01 praying and begging God and 17:03 saying, "Lord, I know You can" 17:05 "heal me right now." 17:09 "Why aren't You healing me?" 17:12 And one night I went to bed 17:15 and I had a dream and in that 17:16 dream an angel came to me and 17:18 said, "You're gonna have" 17:19 "cancer one more time" 17:21 "and then you will be OK." 17:24 And I sat up in bed, 17:26 "Get back here, what does" 17:27 "'OK' mean? I wanna know and" 17:29 "God can heal me right now," 17:30 "I don't need to have cancer" 17:32 "one more time!" 17:36 And that was about November, 17:38 as I said, and then January I 17:41 had my checkup. 17:42 So I had my CT scan and then 17:43 the results come back and I 17:44 went to see my medical 17:46 oncology team and they said, 17:47 "Oh, such good news, there's" 17:49 "no cancer to be found." 17:51 Two or three weeks later, I 17:53 started noticing that there 17:54 was quite a bit of pain in my 17:55 left shoulder and so I 17:56 thought, "I'd better go" 17:57 "see my surgeon." 17:58 "Maybe I just need some" 17:59 "physio therapy and that" 18:00 "would be good, right?" 18:03 And so I went to see my 18:04 surgeon and he pulled up the 18:07 CT scan and I said, 18:09 "Well, the radiologist said" 18:10 "it was clean." 18:12 And he says, "Yes, but if we" 18:13 "actually look at the scan," 18:14 "look here," and he says, 18:16 "You're in trouble." 18:18 And he kinda told me that I 18:19 needed to get my head around 18:21 the fact that I may need an 18:22 amputation. 18:25 He wanted my husband to come 18:26 to the next appointment, 18:28 'cause I had so many medical 18:29 appointments that Ted didn't 18:30 come to all of them 'cause he 18:31 needed to go to work or 18:33 someone needed to go to work. 18:35 And so the next week he came 18:36 to see the surgeon with me as 18:39 support and they gave me four 18:41 choices and the first choice 18:44 was just to leave it and let 18:46 the cancer progress and just 18:49 live out my palliative life. 18:52 The second choice was to do 18:54 some surgery, take as much 18:56 cancer as they could, but 18:58 still leave the arm intact as 18:59 much as they could and then 19:01 maybe there was some chemo. 19:03 The third choice, I don't 19:04 really remember, but it 19:06 couldn't have been a good 19:07 choice otherwise I would have 19:08 remembered and the fourth 19:09 choice was, he said, "We're" 19:12 "going to dust off the power" 19:13 "tools and take your arm" 19:16 "and your shoulder." 19:19 And I looked over at my 19:20 husband and he was looking 19:22 very sad and Dr. Temple, he 19:25 was on sabbatical then, but he 19:27 came into that appointment as 19:28 well so there was more than 19:29 one surgeon there and he 19:31 pulled the Kleenex box out and 19:33 handed me some Kleenex and 19:34 said, "Don't be so tough." 19:38 And I said, "Which one" 19:40 "gives me the best chance?" 19:42 "I want to live." 19:44 And he said, "The amputation." 19:47 And so that's what we booked, 19:49 the surgery for April 5th 19:50 of 2017. 19:53 >> Now you know that your arm 19:54 is going to be removed, 19:56 what was that like? 20:00 >> Um, you know what, I just 20:02 had the joy of being done with 20:03 cancer and the hope of being 20:05 done with cancer. 20:06 And I had the angel story 20:08 still in the back of my mind, 20:09 one more time 20:10 and then I would be OK. 20:11 >> Did you share that with 20:12 anyone else? 20:13 >> Not yet. 20:14 >> Why not? 20:15 >> Because I didn't want them 20:17 to think I was crazy! (laughs) 20:19 Now I'm OK with it, years 20:20 later I'm OK sharing that 20:21 story because it's pretty 20:23 remarkable and the compassion 20:25 that God had on me, allowing 20:27 me to have that dream because 20:31 after you've had cancer and so 20:33 many recurrences, every lump, 20:35 bump, ache, can send you into 20:37 a tizzy because you don't 20:39 know, is it back? 20:40 But I've got that dream. 20:43 God's with me and He's taking 20:44 care of me. 20:46 >> So tell us about the 20:47 amputation surgery. 20:50 >> Ah, yes, I remember being 20:51 wheeled into the operating 20:53 room and the lights were super 20:54 bright and there were so many 20:56 people, there was like a dozen 20:57 people running around, trying 20:59 to get things ready because 21:00 the surgery time had been 21:01 bumped up and the surgeon was 21:05 talking to the anaesthetist and 21:06 they were discussing things 21:08 and I perked up and I said, 21:09 "Excuse me, but we" 21:11 "need to pray!" 21:13 And everyone froze. 21:16 That busy, bustling operating 21:18 room became silent. 21:20 And the surgeon stopped and he 21:22 looked at me and he said, 21:23 "Do you want me to pray?" 21:26 And I said, "No, I'll pray!" 21:28 And I-- so I prayed that God 21:31 would guide those surgeons' 21:32 hands and that through the 21:34 glory of God those margins 21:37 would be clean and all the 21:39 cancer would be gone and the 21:41 surgery would go well. 21:43 The PET scan that I'd had 21:44 earlier indicated that the 21:46 cancer was in my shoulder and 21:48 they thought my ribs as well. 21:50 But after a 7-hour surgery, 21:52 I still had all my ribs. 21:54 It was a miracle. 21:58 And after that they-- I was in 22:00 the hospital for nine days in 22:02 recovery, lots of family came 22:04 to see me and church members 22:05 as well. 22:06 I remember one friend from 22:08 church coming and she wanted 22:09 to see the surgery where 22:11 they'd done the incision and I 22:12 was like, "Really?" 22:14 He says, "Yes, I'm fascinated" 22:15 "by those kinds of things." 22:16 And so I showed her and she 22:18 told me it was beautiful 22:20 and it still makes me kinda 22:21 tear up because losing your 22:23 arm is a little bit traumatic 22:24 even though it meant I was 22:25 cancer-free, I was so happy to 22:27 walk away from cancer, 22:30 but just to be told that an 22:32 amputation is beautiful is 22:33 a gift as well. 22:37 >> Holly, I often wonder how, 22:41 you're a Christian, how did 22:43 you cope through this whole 22:45 journey, like, how did God 22:47 help you, because you had 22:49 cancer for seven times and 22:51 then the seventh and final 22:53 time, you end up having an 22:55 amputation, how did you cope 22:58 through this cancer journey? 23:00 >> This was actually surgery 23:02 eight, but I held onto God 23:06 with all my strength, just 23:08 like Jacob wrestled with the 23:09 angel, that's how I envisioned 23:11 myself wrestling with God. 23:13 Or when the lady with the flow 23:16 of blood wanted to touch 23:18 Christ's hem, I would beg, 23:19 "Lord, please just let me" 23:21 "touch Your hem" 23:22 "because I know that I can" 23:24 "be healed by You." 23:26 And it's through the grace of 23:27 God that I am alive today and 23:30 it's been years, it's been 23:31 since 2017 and I just praise 23:34 His holy name every day and 23:36 thank Him for that angel dream 23:37 that said, "One more time" 23:39 "and then you'll be OK." 23:41 I'm happy with that now. 23:42 >> So I'm sure there's people 23:44 wondering, what's it like for 23:46 you, your lifestyle now as 23:47 an amputee? 23:50 >> Oh, um, things have changed 23:52 a little bit, you know, 23:53 I have to learn to do things 23:55 with one hand, but 23:57 I was sent to the Calgary Pain 23:58 Clinic because as an amputee, 24:00 I have phantom pain and it was 24:03 there that I met with a 24:04 kinesthesiologist that told 24:06 me, "You need to start doing" 24:07 "sprints and you need to keep" 24:10 "paying attention to what" 24:11 "you're eating and getting" 24:13 "enough sleep and taking care" 24:14 "of yourself," and I always 24:15 had done that kind of thing. 24:17 And, in fact, before my 24:18 surgery, my oldest son who's a 24:20 power lifter had gotten me 24:21 doing squats and lunges 24:22 because he said, "Mom, you" 24:24 "need a strong core." 24:25 It's so important to be 24:26 healthy, but running sprints 24:27 actually increases your energy 24:29 and so I continue doing that. 24:30 My youngest son has me doing 24:32 movement exercises just to 24:34 keep my hips moving and that 24:36 sort of thing and I do my 24:37 sprints and I still do my 24:38 lunges and my squats and 24:40 because of the encouragement 24:41 of my sons and the 24:42 kinesthesiologist, I exercise 24:44 three times a week and I 24:45 continue doing that even with 24:46 my amputation and I even enjoy 24:48 jumping on the trampoline 24:49 still. 24:51 >> Holly, I know that people 24:53 going through chemo therapy 24:54 often lose their hair, how 24:56 many times did you lose 24:57 your hair? 24:58 >> I've been bald four times. 25:01 And in fact after my 25:03 amputation, I went to the 25:05 medical oncology office to see 25:07 the medical oncologist just to 25:09 see what he wanted to tell me 25:10 and he came into the room and 25:12 he said, "I'm really sorry," 25:13 "but there's no more chemo" 25:14 "to give you." 25:16 And I burst into tears, I just 25:17 had tears flowing down my face 25:20 and he's an older guy, he came 25:21 up and was patting my back and 25:23 saying, "It's going" 25:24 "to be OK," and I'm like, 25:25 "You don't understand," 25:27 "I'm so happy! I don't have" 25:29 "to have chemo ever again!" 25:31 (laughs) 25:33 It was a blessing, actually. 25:35 >> So, Holly, can you tell us 25:37 how your husband and your sons 25:39 related to your cancer? 25:42 >> My husband was a rock. 25:44 He supported me one hundred 25:45 percent through all of this 25:47 and through all my treatments 25:48 and all of them held puke 25:50 buckets for me, I've had so 25:52 much chemo, and just have 25:53 been-- drove me to 25:55 appointments and just been 25:56 wonderful, and prayed for me 25:57 lots, too, so it was a 25:59 blessing. 26:00 >> This is a long journey, six 26:01 years, how long have you been 26:03 cancer-free now? 26:04 Since April 5th, 2017. 26:06 >> That's a long time. 26:07 Well, praise the Lord. 26:09 [Rene] Holly, it's been so 26:11 wonderful having you here 26:12 today, but unfortunately we've 26:13 come to the end of this 26:14 program and so I wonder if 26:16 you could please pray for us? 26:18 >> Of course. 26:20 Dear merciful Lord in heaven, 26:21 thank You. 26:23 Thank You for taking care of 26:24 each of us, thank You for 26:25 loving us, and thank You for 26:27 helping each of us through our 26:28 journey, in Jesus' name, amen. 26:30 Amen, amen. 26:33 Thank you so much, Holly, for 26:34 being prepared to share your 26:36 journey of how God has been 26:39 leading in your life and it's 26:40 really been a source of 26:41 inspiration for us just to 26:43 know and just to be with you 26:45 and see how you're just a 26:46 woman of prayer. 26:49 >> Well, thank you for 26:49 having me. 26:51 >> Friends, the Bible promises 26:53 us in James chapter 5, verse 26:55 15 that the prayer of faith 26:57 shall save the sick. 26:59 And in Holly's case this 27:00 certainly held true. 27:02 However, you may have 27:04 discovered that God does not 27:06 always say yes to every 27:08 request for healing. 27:10 So our free offer for you 27:12 today is Healing Prayer which 27:14 explains why God does not 27:15 always say yes to every 27:17 request for healing. 27:19 >> To request today's offer, 27:20 just log onto 27:22 www.itiswrittencanada.ca 27:26 If you prefer, you may call 27:27 toll-free at 1-888-CALL-IIW. 27:31 And thank you for your prayer 27:33 requests and your generous 27:34 financial support. 27:36 >> Before you go, we would 27:38 also like to invite you to 27:39 follow us on Instagram and 27:41 Facebook and subscribe to our 27:43 YouTube channel and also 27:45 listen to our Podcasts. 27:47 And if you go to our website, 27:49 you can see our latest 27:50 programs, including our 27:52 cooking demonstrations, our 27:54 short spiritual messages, 27:55 entitled, Daily Living, and 27:57 our exercise workouts called, 28:00 Experiencing Life. 28:02 >> We want you to experience 28:05 the truth found in 28:06 the words of Jesus when He 28:07 said, "It is written," 28:10 "man shall not live by bread" 28:12 "alone, but by every word" 28:14 "that proceeds out of the" 28:16 "mouth of God." 28:19 ♪♪ |
Revised 2021-10-13