Consumed.

As always, updates are available if you would like to scroll, and prayer list is at the bottom of the page. To start, I’d like to share some stories, then we’ll get to business.

SHORT STORIES – CONSUMING WAVES

Have you ever been to the beach? One of my most early beach memories was to go out in the water and go wave jumping (my Daddy’s favorite beach past time). I remember as a little girl, walking boldly into the ocean with my brother and my Daddy, boogie board in hand. The vastness of the sea didn’t scare us. We would take it a step at a time and wade through into the deeper part of the best wave zone. Once we reached the deeper section, I would get scared because (while y’all all know I’m short now), back then, I was pint-sized. Nevertheless, Daddy would encourage me that he would not let me drown. He helped me wait for the best waves, brave the current, jump on, and ride it all the way to shore. We had SO MUCH FUN wading through the water and running to ride the wave, with childlike laughter, cheering, and salty smiles. My Mommy would watch and applaud as we spent the entire day basking in the glory of God’s creation.

Another one of my beach memories is from our honeymoon. On May 27th, I married the best man in the entire world, Derek Rock. While Derek and I were on our honeymoon, we had the opportunity to go snorkeling.

Now this was not a first-time, “let’s get in a kiddie pool with the goldfish and snorkel gently” moment. We had been on a great boat tour (an incredible wedding gift from Derek’s amazing Mom and Dad!) that brought us to a part of an island that had very dangerous waves, strong currents, and sharp rocks. But in one special zone, if you RAN, you could beat the big waves and make it to the lifeguard out there on his surfboard, and snorkel in the deep. It was like I skipped snorkeling for like K-12 and went straight to SNORK University. But I wasn’t about to let it stop me from seeing the beauty! So we took our fins in our hands, waited for the shore lifeguard to time it just right. GO! We ran our legs off through the water, as the next swell of a dangerous wave built up. And….we made it to the deep ocean checkpoint out in the water. Slipping on our flippers, we dove down and saw schools of rainbow fish, silver fishies, and even a yellow fish that looked like the “BUBBLES! MY BUBBLES” fish from Finding Nemo. What a thrill!

Now it was time to head back. The surfboard lifeguard did his checks with the shore lifeguard, and he counted us down. Ready, set, SWIM FOR YOUR LIFE! We swam as FAST as we could, as the swell came up. I could feel the current pulling my legs back as I fought to get to shore in time. I thought if I could just…..nope.

A consuming force lifted me, spun me and I got caught in the wave. Forcefully tumbling, violently spinning, holding my breath, the panic quickly took over, but there was nothing I could do but submit to the current. The wave swept me up, and it crashed me onto the sand. With a thud, I groaned and felt the grains of sand with my toes on my right foot. I had lost my flipper. I heard the lifeguards coming and they sent one running after my flipper. The other one said, “Are you okay, you look like a beached mermaid!” I certainly felt like a beached mermaid. Like Jonah after the big fish was done with him. Reliving the scene from The Little Mermaid, where Ariel is just finding her legs, I lifted my dripping head and squinted to see if I had survived. A smiling lifeguard ran up to us, holding my flipper and said “Ah, so you’re the 5/7. (that was my flipper size)” My nickname for the rest of the trip was 5/7. What a WAVE!

During my experiences now, I have felt a lot more like the second story than the first. I know my Father goes with me (and a lot of others who are standing with me, SO grateful) into the great deep. I know that God will never leave us or forsaken us, or let us drown, and HE HASN’T! He’s with us! But quite frankly, sometimes I feel like I am repeatedly either fighting as fast as I can, spinning in the current of my circumstances, or I’m a beached mermaid, disoriented with my face in the sand, and missing a flipper.

We’ve had wave after wave after wave of the current of CANCER slamming against every area of our lives. No breaks, I wake up, and it’s still there. I try to hide for a little while for a moment of air, and there’s another phone call. It’s all consuming. We can’t make lists fast enough for all of the tasks, even though we are fighting every day to stay organized and not live in a constant state of panic. We know the truth of God’s presence, but we’re still getting hammered by the crashing waves on a daily basis.

CURRENT UPDATES

FERTILITY

At the end of last week, we had an appointment with the fertility office. We consulted about fertility, and we were shocked to find out that they wanted to start treatment IMMEDIATELY.

Derek and I discussed all the options, prayed, and made decisions together for our future. Because of the urgent nature of my cancer treatment and surgery, the doctor recommended us to start that same day. The office assisted us in finding/applying for grants that we qualified for because I’m a cancer patient. God also provided the means to get started. Hallelujah! We will still have a journey there, but there are no delays in my treatment with fertility so far. PRAISE THE LORD!

We had to act quickly to submit all of our paperwork, get organized, and turn everything in as fast as possible. All of my medicine was approved and ordered, and I am on schedule with everything so far. I have had many appointments there, they are watching my progress and taking blood work (more needles) each time.

All of my results have been encouraging in this area, and God is going ahead of us. I have had to get used to following my daily protocol from the doctor and everything that entails. This is a EXCEEDINGLY emotional and nerve-wracking part of our journey, and we are working through it together as best we can.

SURGERY – INSURANCE/APPEALS

I got the call from the insurance company yesterday. One good thing was that they said that was one of the best appeals letters they have ever seen (my sister-in-law is a beast!). The rest of the call was not good news. Access denied.

We knew this may be a possibility, so we have several options that we are working on.

Option 1: We found another surgeon, from our home hospital. may have scheduling conflicts or possible delays with my date for surgery. That’s rolling the dice, and every day the disease is growing. Surgery delays, not good. Still, we have appointments for consultation next week. So we’ll see.

Option 2: Start a new round of consultations with another hospital with 2 in-network doctors who can do the same surgeries. I have appointments this week and next. I was recommended to them by a dear friend who had the same surgery and knows others who have had the surgery done, with great success. The biggest question will be how FAST can they schedule me for surgery? Again, our goal is minimal delays for the surgery date.

Option 3: God may provide for us to follow our original plan, somehow, if so we can do this option. He is able, as always. But we know this option is not likely. If we did that, my surgery date would stay on January 20th.

WORK

*Church – Derek and I met with my leadership to talk about plans for the youth choir/tracks that I lead at our church. This choir also has tracks that have drama, dance, tech, and worship band elements. We asked for help, and we have had wonderful support from our church staff and volunteers! God is providing a good team of leaders to help teach the kids. We only have a few more slots to fill and details to iron out. Creating a master lesson plan for the next 5 months took me 2 days and a LOT of my brain power. My mind is exhausted, but I’m able to hand off the lesson plans to whoever God provides. THANK YOU LEADERSHIP! THANK YOU STAFF! THANK YOU GRACIOUS PARENTS! THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS! I’m gonna keep advising and tweaking our plan until you have everything you need to keep serving these awesome kids! Keep praying for more volunteers at our church!

*Co-op – I have the BEST coordinators in the world working diligently to cover all of my responsibilities at the homeschool co-op as we fight this battle. I have subs for ALL classes now. I have passed the baton of lesson plans and had to push to give completed plans, again with MUCH BRAIN POWER, to the right individuals. THANK YOU LEADERSHIP! THANK YOU GRACIOUS PARENTS! THANK YOU VOLUNTEERS! Knowing that you have my back as we journey together is the sweetest gift and brings so much relief as we keep fighting.

TODAY, HERE IS HOW YOU CAN PRAY FOR THE ROCKS:

• Pray for rest, peace, endurance, and provision for Hannah, Derek, and our families as we walk through this together.
• Pray that God’s hand will take hold of us in the waves, and that by his love we will not be consumed.
• Pray that God will continue to provide our financial needs during this season. Pray for grants/applications for programs that we are earnestly working on to submit in a timely manner.
• Pray for Hannah’s work, for God to continue to provide subs/volunteers/helpers to keep programs running during this season.
• Praise God for the green light on immediate fertility treatment! Praise God for providing the means to begin this process!
• Pray for future fertility, that God’s will would be done in our family.
• KEEP Praying specifically for the surgery date, January 20th or as close to that as possible!
• Pray for us as we have appointments and assess the above Options for surgery. Pray that God will lead us to the right team at the right time. His timing is perfect.
• Pray for a successful Double Mastectomy & DIEP flap surgery and everything that means.
• Pray for Hannah’s recovery after surgery. For no complications, for healing and a good report.
• Pray that the breast cancer cells would stay put, and not move to the lymph nodes.
• Pray for all the doctors and teams involved in this process.
• Pray that God would bring opportunities for us to share the love and grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ with others through this hard time. 

Consumed, but holding fast to the Father’s hand in the waves,

Hannah Rock