A new school year

Hey,

For us in Australia our school year begins in January and ends in December, therefore this past week has seen all schools start the 2023 school year. Therefore, it has been a big two weeks in the Nowak household! With new schools, their third in three years, for Cali, Hugo and Ted, a new job for myself and recovery from Surgery for Murphy. It has been pleasing to see each of them demonstrate courage whilst still having such love and care for Murphy.

See below pictures of the kids first day of school, and at the end of this post you’ll find a video of Murphy’s dance moves post-surgery!

As a family, it is part of our routine to pray together each night before bed, Murphy prayed a prayer last Sunday night that just broke Nat and I. As we sat around before bedtime and talked about the week ahead, with Calista, Hugo and Ted starting a new school, the siblings asked Murphy to pray first. His prayer was simply this, “Dear Yord (Murphy has trouble pronouncing his L sounds), I pray for my new school, let me make friends, and let them not see that I’m sick, because I’m not sick. Amen.”

Out of the mouths of babes. Murphy doesn’t see himself as sick.

 Murphy sees himself like you and I. Sure enough, he has a few extra external features that you and I don’t exhibit, such as a central line, and a Nasal Gastric Tube, but his mind and character show us that he sees himself like any other four-year-old boy. (Insert tears here last Sunday night!) Therefore, on the back of that prayer, Nat jumped into action and engaged like the caring and loving mother she is! After a couple of days and numerous phone calls later, Nat had Murphy enrolled at the local kindergarten! This was in consultation with the oncology team at the hospital because it is unprecedented that a patient like Murphy would dare to consider going to Kindy like a regular kid. The doctors were pleased with Murphy’s blood work and couldn’t see there to be too many risks involved, therefore by Wednesday this week Murphy was able to have a visit to the kindy and meet his teachers! Once again, we have been shocked by the resilience and determination of Murphy! The Kindy has been incredibly welcoming and have allowed Murphy to come and go as much or as little as he is able. This has built our faith, because we have had the privilege of still having some normalcy amidst journey that Murphy is on and sending him to kindergarten like a normal four-year-old, is preparing him for schooling, in faith and declaration for the full life he will have after this year of treatment.

 A report on post-surgery recovery:

 “Remarkable and unprecedented” – the words of the Head Surgeon. We are incredibly thankful but not surprised. Your prayers for Murphy have seen him return home from surgery so quickly that is has surprised many nurses and doctors! The procedure Murphy underwent was major (the scar is there to prove it) but this would not deter our young man from being active! According to doctors, Murphy should have been ‘weight bearing’ by day 4, and walking day 7. The ICU was booked for 5 days post-surgery, and they anticipated him being in hospital for 2 weeks minimum. However, Murphy, along with God’s help, had different plans. On day 2 post-surgery he asked Nat to stand up, and on day 4, he and his sister had a dance party (which only lasted 2 songs, but it filled the room with joy and a spirit of overcoming!). By day 6, post major surgery, Murphy was discharged and allowed to go home.

 

I have said to many people of late that God is working on the major miracle of the complete eradication of Murphy’s cancer, but He cares so much about the little things along the way. Murphy returning home to his loving family 6 days after surgery is one of those “little things” that become one of those miracles along the way.

 

Nat and I have had a lot of friends and family reach out to us expressing their love of Murphy and their fervent prayer. We are so humbled and blessed by the many testimonies we hear of people all around the world of who are praying at any time of the day for our Murphy. The nice reality is that when our overseas prayer warriors are storming heaven during their daylight hours, it brings a peace over our long evening hours. For those prayer warriors, we call them our night watchmen. Thank you. And to our Australian friends and family, we thank you for standing with us in prayer in the daytime hours.

 

Treatment ahead:

 This week Murphy has several appointments on Tuesday, to prepare him for round 5 of chemotherapy on Wednesday. This will be the conclusion of the first phase of treatment. Personally, I am nervous about how sick this round of chemo will make Murphy. The combination of drugs he will be administered are the same as what he had in round 3, which if you remember was a hard cycle for him to endure. Please pray that supernaturally Murphy remains strong through this cycle, and that his body responds better (while still killing all that cancer) than it did last time, in the conclusion of this Induction phase. Please pray specifically for this.

 

Last week during church, one of the team shared this Bible verse; James 1: 12. As a family, we sat around and read through the whole chapter after the service, and we realised that we could go through many trials with the help of God! That conversation sustained us all this week, with each of our respective ‘tests’. May this verse encourage you, as no doubt you too are going through or have been in moments of trial and tests. Our God is a God who sees us, knows us, cares about us, weeps with us, loves us, and ultimately rewards us for our perseverance through these challenges.

 

James 1:12 - Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Below is a video of Murphy only a few days post-surgery. To see it, you’ll need to be on the blog website, click HERE to see it.

Our little champion

Hey,

 I’m writing this blog post from the hospital room, sitting next to Murphy, who has done a remarkable job recovering from a major operation. I want to update you on how good God has been this week, from preparation, through to recovery, His hand has been over it all! Thank you for your mighty faith and prayer for both Murphy, and the rest of the family. If you click HERE, you can go to the website page of the blog, where you will be able to see a video of Murphy thanking you all only hours after his operation!

 In the last blog post (Click HERE to read), I explained what the week entailed, and today I want to give you a pleasing report on what great success Murphy has had. On Wednesday night, in preparing for surgery on Thursday, the whole family felt some nerves, thinking about Murphy in such a large cold room with many surgical team members opening him up and removing the primary tumour. Before bedtime Wednesday, as like most other nights, we gathered before bed to pray. Nat encouraged Murphy to hold his hands out to receive from God, and he responded immediately with arms fully stretched out in faith! Check it out…

Your prayers for peace and comfort were felt in our home, with the whole house having the best sleep we’ve had in weeks, which goes against what we ‘should’ have encountered the night before a major opperation!

 

Thursday rolled around and we set off for hospital, where Murphy had some idea of what to expect, but his wonderful childlike faith and approach to life caused him to RUN into hospital!

 

A few hours of waiting followed the early arrival time into the admissions unit, and then Murphy’s name was called. Nat and I held onto each others hands tightly, and we walked Murphy to the surgical unit. Through all of this, Murphy put a brave face on, but as parents, we knew there was a nervousness underneath. In the pre-op room Murphy put on his gown and walked with Nat into the operating room. A sterile, white,  cold and populated room. Murphy looked into his mummy’s eyes and said to Nat, “My scared”. Like any comforting mother, Nat pulled on all her strength to assure him, “It’s ok”. Meanwhile I was waiting for Nat’s return in the pre-op room, where another mum walked back into after she had released her son to the surgical team. This mother fell apart in the room and needed the comfort of the nursing staff. Back in Murphy’s operating room, Murphy jumped up on the operating table, lay down, and away the team went and put him to sleep. Nat walked back out to the waiting room, and we held each other tight and knew in our hearts Murphy was going to be ok.

 

Only a few hours later, one of the doctors called to say that they had completed what they needed too, and were in the process of putting him back together to close up! This phone call was only 3 hours into a surgery that could have taken up to 10 hours if there were complications. Now, here is the good news; there were no complications at all, and in fact, the doctor was shocked at how well it went! When the head surgeon said to the anaesthetist that it was time to close, the anaesthetist responded to him, “What, so soon.” Thank You Lord that everything went even better than what was expected.

 

Murphy was shortly thereafter returned to the Intensive Care Unit, and Nat and I could see him. It was a beautiful sight, our boy, lying there, minus the insidious large tumour taking over his body! He was heavily medicated and peacefully sleeping, as his body recovered from the trauma to the body of a huge incision and invasive surgery.

The surgeon spoke to us immediately after with a smile on his face saying he was able to remove the WHOLE tumour and two lymph nodes that also had suspected active cancer cells. A success, in his words! This is great news because it means the entire tumour can now be analysed to determine how best to proceed with the remainder of his treatment. Praise God! In terms of what Murphy has faced so far, this is a HUGE win in his Cancer Journey.

 

In the past day, post operation, Murphy has shown radical strength and determination, progressing through the healing process in great fashion! Check these wins out:

 

1.     He was transferred out of intensive care in less than 24 hours, whereas the doctors anticipated he might stay in ICU from 5-7 days!

2.     Murphy has completed some lung exercises in the first day! Most patients take 7 days to complete these exercises!

3.     Murphy’s body is processing fluid quickly, and he has shown early signs of improvements for his bowels. (Passing wind is a success, and he has made a ‘fart dance’)

4.     Murphy’s appetite is growing, and he’s desperate to drink water. The doctors have yet to allow him to eat, to which Murphy strongly disagrees with them, haha!

 

Thank you for your prayers and support! If you want to keep up to date, make sure you subscribe below, and this will send you an email notification once every blog post is written and published.

 

The power of Prayer has been so evident in the outcome of this week’s surgery. Thank you. May your faith be encouraged.

Go Murphy!

Love the Nowaks x

Surgery Week

Hey, thanks for sharing this journey with us and for your constant messages of love and support!

It has been a delightful two weeks since I’ve written last, and we’ve loved soaking in the hot Aussie summer and enjoying all that this ‘break’ from treatment has afforded us. There is much to update you on, as well as ask your help in prayer for the upcoming procedure.

Firstly, we were a little surprised (in a good way) by the news that Murphy’s 5th round of Chemotherapy was postponed in order to make way for surgery. The shock of this news left us a little disconcerted, because as two high school teachers, Nat and I like things going to plan, haha! However, after having some initial concerns answered, we were very comfortable at the news that surgery is now booked for January 19th a decision that was made because Murphy’s December scans were very pleasing to the oncologist, and the treating team. Therefore, in this window of time, we have had an absolute blast! We’ve been out to cafes, riding bikes, walks at the beach, being blessed with a trampoline, many great visits to Nanna and Poppa’s house, as well as Uncles and Aunty’s homes for coffee catch ups and dinners! There was one huge highlight for me, and that was seeing Murphy back IN CHURCH taking communion and worshiping! Murphy hasn’t had the opportunity to go to church since his diagnosis in September of last year. Needless to say, there were not many dry eyes in the rows around us – thank you to the helpful pastoral team at Influencers Church for helping make this happen. Check out these pics…

 

FAITH has been a word that continues to be prevalent as we delve deeper into reading and learning the Bible’s scriptures on Healing. The verses I shared in another post speak of healing as the product of faith! I was woken up a few days ago in the middle of the night with the picture of the disciples of Jesus in the boat lacking faith! (Mark chapter 4) These guys had seen Jesus perform miracle upon miracle, and then they woke Him in the middle of the night to inform Him that there was a storm going on. Jesus, in the most humble and patient manner, calms the storm with His spoken word, then He informs His followers that they lacked faith, by waking Him instead of trusting that He was in control. Murphy is in the great care of our saviour, Jesus Christ, therefore, join us in faith for Murphy’s healing. There’s a reason this blog has the title it has – in faith we declare a miracle for Murphy.

 

Truthfully though, I traverse the two sides of faith and the practicalities of treatment. Today we sat in a meeting with the senior surgeon who will be performing Murphy’s procedure this Thursday. There’s no denying I was saddened at the reality of our boy, Murphy, lying on that operating table surrounded by strangers who will cut him open, move vital organs, and cut out the primary tumour. This 5-10 hour operation will require a room of professionals working on our helpless boy – this image breaks my heart. But; we know this procedure is vital for the progress in Murphy’s treatment. We are full of faith that the operation will go to plan and the primary tumour will be removed in Jesus name. I can’t wait for the surgeon to find out that the primary tumour has in fact shrunk even further, and that he is able to remove what little is left! It is this faith that Murphy has too, when we talk about it with him, here is Murphy’s approach to the idea of being cut open and have it removed:

“Let’s go to hospital right now and get the biggest sick lump out of me as the big sick lump (primary tumor) powers-up the little lumps, so we take away its power. Then the little lumps will blasted by the chemo after and I’ll have no more sick lumps.” Oh to have childlike faith!

 

Can you be childlike for a moment and have the faith of Murphy to see his lumps be gone!

Lastly, if you would like to know the ‘plan’ for the year, here is what was explained to us the other week, according to the national protocol to treat stage 4 Neuroblastoma.

1.     Recovery from surgery

2.     Round 5 of Chemo

3.     2 rounds of high dose Chemo, with duel stem cell transplants

4.     Radiation

5.     Immunotherapy

 

All of this treatment will take around 12 months, lots of toy rewards, many chicken nugget Happy Meals, but also countless nights in hospital, tears of joy and tears of pain, and a lot of discomfort for our boy. Please pray that this miracle happens so much sooner than what we can see in our human eyes.

Murphy’s showing off his Mr Potato Head that he made with his grandpa, whom he calls Grannar

What an inspiration he is!

 

Let me finish with some of the most exciting news to-date. This news came from our oncologist last week, who read us the results of a urine test. His facial expression and his whole body bounced out of his chair delivering the news that the ‘marker’ they look for in Murphy’s urine was so dramatically reduced it was virtually the same level as a ‘normal’ kid walking off of the street. He then emphasised this again by using some great Aussie language, “It’s bloody fantastic news”…

Let this ‘bloody fantastic’ update fuel your faith as we look ahead to a significant part of Murphy’s treatment.

 

Dan

Harvest Week

Good days and not so good days.

When you think Murphy’s looking healthier and improving, you get hit with something new. Saturday night we were back into hospital with a fever, (Any infection for Murphy’s body will be too much for his body to fight). Therefore, any temperature reading that’s over 38 degrees gets Murphy a ticket straight into hospital! Murphy had gone to sleep well, after a day of playing, going for walks along the Brisbane River in his pram, and eating crackers and hummus, Murphy struck a high temperature. Within 20 minutes we were in the ED being seen by the doctor. After a whole blood and platelet transfusion, and a round of medication and antibiotics, his energy levels rose on Sunday. We are learning to ride the waves of the not so good days, along with the good days. It’s a pity some days the hard waves feel a LOT bigger and longer than the waves of the good days.

There are a multitude of encouraging passages of scripture which direct us to look to God through trials. Within the 7000 promises that the Bible give you and I, the one that stands out is that we CAN and WILL go through the valleys of life. My favorite word in Psalm 23 is ‘Through’. It doesn’t say ‘remain’, or ‘stay’, or ‘slow down’, it simply says that we walk THROUGH valleys! God, we praise You for guiding us THROUGH valleys (the tough days).

Here’s proof they’re not all bad! A good day last week was on Thursday when Murphy didn’t need sedation to have a dressing change on his central line! Murphy sat on Nat’s lap and let it happen without a huge battle; he’s been known to kick and scream when changing dressings! Moments such as this make Nat excited! Please God, may there be many more victories like this.

Update on Murphy’s procedure this week:

Either today or tomorrow (1/11) will see an extraction of Murphy’s stem cells for a bone marrow transplant, because he will need that bone marrow for when he has even higher doses of chemotherapy in phase two of treatment in 2023. The extraction can only take place when Murphy’s body is ready to handle it, and that requires a precise reading of several factors. Please pray that it is possible to undergo this procedure this week, because after this week, the doctor seems to think it is unlikely his bone marrow will be of any use to harvest following this current round of chemotherapy.

The harvesting procedure will take 4-5 hours, and Murphy is required to stay still for this procedure… yes, you read that correctly, Murphy must stay still! For those of you who know Murphy, know that this will be the hardest part of his treatment! It will be on this day, and during this procedure, where many parental promises are made, to bribe him (oh, and I forgot to mention he cannot be sedated for this procedure, hence my concern for Murphy remaining still!). Who knows what will be on the bribe list: food, Happy Meals, Tech Decks, Lego!

·       Pray that the procedure can happen. For the perfect levels of his blood and other related factors – we’re desperate for this procedure to take place this week – because we get one shot to harvest!

·       Pray for Murphy to be comfortable during the 5 hour procedure

Thank you for your ongoing love, care and support of Murphy and our family.

One tough cookie

Is there any better picture than a little one peacefully sleeping?

 

When I get the chance to witness Murphy sleeping, it brings a collision of peace and heartbreak to me at the same time. Each night, when Murphy falls into a deep sleep, my heart breaks for him, knowing the pain he endures when he wakes each day, but it brings great encouragement as I watch him sleeping, knowing how much courage he has demonstrated thus far in his first month of treatment. It was reported by the doctors this week that Murphy has shown signs of being one of the sickest patients going through chemotherapy that they have seen in a long time. Murphy, on the other hand, defies odds by smiling through it and eating a Happy Meal each day, or some Aussie Vegemite toast!

Murphy eating some Vegemite toast!

 

Praise God for Dr Ashley, her care and love for Murphy has been amazing. Dr Ashley shared with Nat that Murphy is so special to her, that he is one of only a handful of kids in this country with this current condition and treatment plan. This news reminded me of last week’s blog! Gideon needed only 300 for the battle!

 

Memo for future: Murphy, when you look back on this blog in years to come and are healthy and playing sport, know that God delivered you through this cancer when all odds were stacked against you. God had you, and still has you, in the palm of His large and loving hand. And Murphy, the same goes for all your family and friends, therefore keep telling them of His great power.

Murphy being a cheeky boy with mum and dad

 

Ok, now for an update on what is to come this week, as you need to know, so you can besiege heaven in prayer with us!

 

Tuesday marks the beginning of 5 days of pre harvesting preparation for Murphy’s stem cell harvesting next week, in preparation for a Bone Marrow Transplant in the future. This includes many procedures, and a treatment with a high degree of difficulty due to the blood levels needing to be at a precise point for the harvesting to take place next week. There cannot be any infection in his body, and Murphy needs to be healthy in the lead up to the procedure. Murphy will receive a port into the leg this week, which will allow the procedure to take place next week; however, the injections for the pre harvesting through this port are said to be extremely painful (Murphy’s needing that courage that I mentioned earlier). Pray for peace and comfort through these procedures, and for health in his body. The harvesting next week is critical, and the doctors believe there is one opportunity to do this, therefore we need to pray that everything works at the right time.

Murphy playing a game of Hedbanz

 

On a lighter note to end, this past weekend was full of smiles and ‘sibling therapy’. Praise God we can share some happy moments between treatments. Thank you for your prayers and support, our family is forever grateful for them.

More Firsts

Another week. And yet another week of firsts! First day out of the hospital for our little man, first night in a new house, first time ‘bathing’ (the term is used loosely!), first time trying some foods that were not Pringles 😊, but also a first time for Nat hearing some challenging news and Murphy experiencing some new side-effects of his treatment.

The highs of the week were that Murphy had a few days in our newly rented Brisbane home – for which we are extremely grateful to those who have donated! This home would not be possible without your generosity! Nat’s mum, and resident super grandma, Glenda, helped to get the house fit for Murphy’s first stay in it. Nat and Glenda set up Murphy’s new room, and the medicine cabinet, which is more like a hospital storeroom than a household medicine cabinet! Again, thank you to those who donated, as we have encountered some out-of-pocket expenses for these pharmaceuticals. To finish last week on a high, the joy Murphy has had in our new house has been amazing to see laughter, playing, relaxing and time with siblings.

Last week brought some challenging times, and it is within those times your support and prayer become poignant. The excitement of staying the first night out of hospital was evident last week but coupled with a truck load of information that Nat and Glenda had to learn in preparation for a safe stay. The countless medical professionals all had to give their handover notes to Nat before leaving the hospital, and therefore by the time Murphy finally went to bed on that first night at the new home, the whole house was exhausted. Furthermore, there were some difficult conversations had with Murphy’s oncologist. With the basis of this conversation the fact that results had come in that confirms the doctors suspicion. There is a ‘marker’ in Murpy’s bodily make-up that means his body tends to get confused in the making of cells. Meaning what we’re trying to eradicate through chemo will need to match, and surpass, what the body is doing when it keeps producing an exceptionally high number of cancer cells. (Rapid and aggressive are now a words I don’t like). The positive is this is that we know that no matter what the diagnosis, or report, or confirmed test shows, our God is greater. Gideon had 22,000 men, then only 10,000, then God gave him victory with a mere 300 men. May Murphy have the same story as Gideon!

This week, Calista, Hugo and Ted have had a special treat with a visit from their uncle Scott and Aunty Danielle, which has been a welcome distraction. And then they are in Gympie with their Nanna and Poppa before we go back on Friday to Brisbane. Our Gympie community, and support from church, has been beyond amazing! Our family has felt love and care from every direction we look! Thank you!

Last night after Murphy went to sleep, Nat’s parents, as well as Nat and I joined in prayer for some time, declaring healing in the name of Jesus. It was evident God’s presence was in the house, and after we finished, we felt a lightness, and our burdens were lifted. That is the power of prayer, it allowed us to see this situation how God sees this situation. Can I ask you to pray this prayer over Murphy this week.

Dear Heavenly Father, the healer, counsellor and great physician, I pray healing in the body of Murphy right now. I declare health in the Name of Jesus. I ask for Your Angel Army to surround and uplift Murphy, and may Murphy feel a sense of peace throughout his body this week. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.

The week that was for Murphy!

Welcome to the first official post, journeying Murphy’s miracle! Nat and I are so thankful for the support we have received over the past 2 weeks. It has been an overwhelming situation for our boy, and our family, but the love and care that has surrounded us has been remarkable!

To begin, we must share the things for which we praise God for, the moments where we can see God’s hand. The highlight for my week is hearing the report from the head oncologist for NSW and QLD report that Murphy’s bloodwork numbers do not reflect his current condition. That one comment has something we’ve held onto, because it means Murphy should be lacking energy, flat, tired, depleted on all fronts, but in fact he is giggling, talking with medical staff and family, and being his cheeky self!

This weekend just been, the other kids and I were able to visit Nat and Murphy in hospital, and share two days with him. This was a special time as the family spent much time in the room, and simply sharing time with one another. Here are some pictures of the weekend.

Last week, Murphy could have gone home if everything went to plan, but that was quickly derailed with a temperature recorded on Wednesday and Thursday nights. This high temperature meant there could have been an infection, therefore protocol is that he needed to begin antibiotics straight away, and he needed to stay in the hospital for a little longer.

Red Kite, Starlight and allied health groups have assisted Murphy, and the family, have some moments of joy in these first few weeks. Murphy enjoyed his visit from the clowns and from ‘Captain Starlight’.

One final short story to leave you with: Nat decided to purchase a small toaster from Kmart last week for the patients and staff in the hospital. Currently in the family kitchenette there’s a sandwich press, and Nat felt that was a travesty because toasting one flat piece of bread was a joke. However, before she could even plug in her toaster Nat was stopped by hospital staff and informed it was not allowed because in years gone by there were too many fire alarms set off from toasters!

Murphy’s favourite foods at present, plain pringles and cheese toasties. Have one for Murphy this week. 😊

Keep praying for his recovery, and don’t forget to thank God for his high spirits in the midst of great pain in his body.

Dan