By the time we got to South Haven, Michigan, I had pain in my back like I had never experienced before. We tried to hurry back home but only made it to the Ontario border at Sarnia. Lisa called the ambulance and it came within ten minutes. The ambulance took me to the hospital where they did some tests and gave me some pills. They sent us home with an appointment at the London Cancer Centre.

We went to London on March 9. They performed a very painful bone marrow test and discovered that I had Leukemia A.L.L. cancer. We went home with very heavy hearts.

The next day the doctor called and said that he wanted me in the hospital by Monday morning to begin chemotherapy treatments. My brother Peter and some other family members came over. Peter phoned around to other people who had experienced similar problems. He asked them about a doctor in Juarez, Mexico, and they encouraged us to go and take the treatments there.

We seriously prayed about this matter and felt that the doctor for us was in Juarez. We left Saturday and got to El Paso, Texas by Monday night. Tuesday morning we crossed the border and saw Dr. Soto for the first time. He took a blood test and found that the cancer was worse than he had first thought. He called Dr. Rico, a specialist in cancer treatment with chemotherapy. Dr. Rico took a bone marrow test. After the results were in, the doctors had a meeting and they became very serious.

That night was one of the worse nights yet. The pain was so bad that I could not walk by myself. I looked at Lisa and saw her crying because she didn’t know how long I would be with her. I looked back on my life and it seemed so empty; I felt I had not done enough for Lisa and the Lord. It was especially hard to see that the dreams we had for our life together seemed to be dying.

We prayed to the Lord and we know that a lot of friends and family and people in different churches prayed for us. We know that God does answer prayer. He has given me an extension, a second chance at life.

On Thursday, March 16, they started the first phase of chemotherapy and I was okay until Sunday night. Then my nose bled so much that I was too weak to take a shower by myself. I thought a lot about the poem Footprints where God carries the person when life is the most difficult. Knowing that God was right there with us was a source of comfort.

The first phase of chemotherapy lasted about four weeks. The doctor took another bone marrow test and it looked good. That was the first good news we had heard in five weeks. Dr. Rico waited a week to give my body a chance to recover, then the second phase of chemotherapy began.

They put four needles into my spine. The first needle was so painful that it felt like my head was going to explode. The other three were not as bad. They wanted to do one needle every week but couldn’t because the chemotherapy was too strong. The whole process lasted just over ten weeks and was very expensive.

I really want to thank everyone for the prayer and financial support. Without all the support and the good doctors I don’t think I’d be here today. We can see that as we prayed seriously and consistently, God did answer our prayers. We had a lot of visitors, which was a real blessing as well.

My cancer is now in remission. This means it will not spread any further right now, but we are not through yet with the battle. Please continue to pray for us, that God’s will be done through all of this. Thank you again for everything you have done for us.

Lisa and Dave Froese are members of the Straffordville EMC.

Editor's note: This article is published by The Messenger as a spiritual testimony, not as a support for any particular medical treatment.