{"id":295,"date":"2024-02-17T23:50:28","date_gmt":"2024-02-18T04:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/?p=295"},"modified":"2024-02-17T23:50:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-18T04:50:28","slug":"smiling-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/2024\/02\/17\/smiling-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"Smiling Eyes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So many memories came flooding back.&nbsp; Just 8 months ago, in that same bathroom stall, I was trying to avoid hyperventilating and passing out on the news of Chris\u2019s sudden health diagnosis.&nbsp; It was like I was weak all over again but my husband is well.&nbsp; Just remembering was exhausting and overwhelming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sitting on the same bright blue vinyl waiting room couches, more memories.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was the eyes of the doctor and nurse who cared for us in those early days that broke through the memories.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Behind their masks were smiles, though I could not see them I knew they were there.&nbsp; Their eyes could not hide their feelings and their voices in controlled Thai style shared our joy that we had returned, and Chris was well.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my last post I mentioned how our return feels surreal.&nbsp; When we returned to our house I had so many memories flooding back, memories from last May.&nbsp; It was a challenging time and we had no idea when or if we would return.&nbsp; To have returned so well and so quickly is nothing short of miraculous, a gift from God, a gift only he can give.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In late December, just before we left the US, Chris had his first CT scan in Grand Rapids.&nbsp; His cancer screenings will occur every three months, alternating blood work with both blood work and a CT scan.&nbsp; We wanted his first check to be done before we left Grand Rapids.&nbsp; It was a blessing to make all the final preparations knowing he had a clean bill of health, both blood work and CT scan came out perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once we arrived in Thailand we gathered all the paperwork regarding his treatments and made an appointment with his original Thai cancer doctor, Rattiya.&nbsp; We knew it was best to meet her early before we needed future testing.&nbsp; While it was not fun to revisit the space that held so much grief and fear, it was redeeming to see their smiling eyes.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chris will have his next blood work in March and will have his second CT scan with bloodwork in June.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pray for us that our return would be an encouragement to others, especially to our Thai community.&nbsp; Many of our Thai neighbors had heard the news of our sudden departure, and have since stopped by to welcome us back. Please pray that our return would open doors for them to be more open to the truth of Christ\u2019s love for them, His sacrifice, and the freedom only He can give.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">May they see Him in our smiling eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1 Cor 2:9<br>However, as it is written: \u201cWhat no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived\u201d\u2014 the things God has prepared for those who love him\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>So many memories came flooding back.&nbsp; Just 8 months ago, in that same bathroom stall, I was trying to avoid [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":298,"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions\/298"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hirtfamily.net\/chris\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}