It couldn't have gone either way...

Why? Because God already knew what the CT was going to show and what the doctor was going to say to us today. Let me begin with yesterday...

We left Rosa really early and made it to Stanford early. Which obviously meant we could take a nap. After our half-hour siesta, we made it into the CT office. When they called "Daniel", Dan popped up and went with the nurse. Unfortunately, she had meant a different Daniel. Another nurse came out and asked for a "Daniel Howen". Oops. I told her he had already been taken back. This led to an older Daniel angrily yelling at the receptionist and the "little girl" (me) who lied to the nurse. Eventually, he realized that she had called a different Daniel and the other nurse finally listened to Dan as he informed her that he wasn't getting a chest x-ray. Oy. Anyway, the CT was done quickly and the team got him into his PET scan early. After 17 hours of not eating, Dan took me on a breakfast date before we settled at the Sizelove house for a 3 hour nap!

Before the good news, I have to thank the Sizeloves for all their hospitality and warmth. No matter the season or the time we arrive at their door, they let us sleep in their guest room, use their hot water and play with their children. We are so very thankful to have met them and been welcomed into their family.

Alright, on to the great part. Dan and I got to Stanford on time, got his labs, met his mom in the waiting room and then settled in for a long wait. Thankfully, the wait proved short and we were ushered into a little room. Just being honest, I was shaking like a leaf...my pulse was nearly 140! (Yes, I realize I need to cut down on the caffeine and the stress.) Dan and Jamie talked about football and did a crossword. The time crawled a bit, with every click-clack of a pair of heels in the hall making us all glance toward the door. Finally, Dr. Cho opened the door and popped her head in. "Dan, did you get a PET Scan? I can't find it! Oh, good news on the CT scan. I'll come back." Now, we are all excited.

About ten minutes later, the doctor came back with the results of both scans. She was very cheerful, asking about life and smiling and showing off her kids (keep in mind, this isn't normal). Eventually, she noticed our hungry gazes and told us the good news. The CT showed shrinkage of EVERYTHING (cancer-related, Dan feels I must clarify here). The liver tumors were noticeably smaller with only two being big enough to measure. Even the pancreas tumor got smaller...without any human interaction. On the PET scan (used to measure the metabolic activity of cells...tumors are very metabolic), nothing lit up! When we asked about the next step at this point, Dr. Cho said she was hesitant to do anything because she wasn't even sure the pancreas mass was active cancer anymore. It could just be a scar or a dead tumor shrinking away. Whoa! The doctor was just beside herself. It's easy to see why. Anyone looking at Dan and his scans a year and a half ago would have been willing to do away with all hope.

Thankfully, for us, we do have hope.

I can't imagine a better reason to celebrate this Christmas season. There is no better gift that I can look for under the tree. My heart is light today and my smile continual. My husband was right again. Even better...he is alive and well. How great is our God? He is the Healer in this situation...well, in all situations.

Thank you for all your prayers. God leaned down and listened.