Faith over Fear: Join Isa's Miracle
Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
-Mark 11:24
Do you believe in miracles?
My best friend does, and journeying through life with her side by side has allowed me to believe as well. Her name is Isa and if you allow her into your life – the way that so many of us have – you will have the opportunity to share in the miracles that God has planned for her life. We share her story below.
In May of 2015, God revealed to Isa what was next, humorously enough through Facebook! Many of you know that Isa and Alex have known each other since they were young kids in elementary school. They lost touch for twenty-something years until Isa reached out to Alex via FB messenger and they reconnected, going on their first date in September and getting married in January 2016. I have known Isa for more than half of my life and have never seen her this joyful, thoroughly excited about the future with her new family: Alex and the boys.
Yet, Isa and Alex quickly found themselves in the biggest battle of their lives.
In September 2017, Isa was having trouble swallowing. She went to the gastroenterologist and within days was told she had a baseball-sized Adenocarcinoma at the junction between her esophagus and stomach. It was breaking through the lining of the esophagus and prohibiting food (even liquid) from passing to her stomach.
This was shocking news to everyone, including the gastroenterologist. As he explained everything to Isa and Alex, he commented on how well they were handling the test results. He said, “I've given much less severe results to various patients today and they have responded with such fear… but not you.” To which Alex responded, “The difference is that we have God. Get ready to witness a miracle.”
Next, they went to see an oncologist who ordered a PET Scan, and that’s when things got complicated. The results showed that there was much more cancer present than they had originally found as it had spread. We were now dealing with Stage IV Gastric Cancer, covering the entire lining of her stomach with metastases to the bones (including the femur, collar bone, ribs and skull cap), lymph nodes and other major organs including her lungs. Isa began chemotherapy soon after and the prayer warriors began praying!
The chemo Isa received is extremely aggressive and caused many unbearable side effects. In fact, the first chemo almost killed her. She was rushed to the ER on Thanksgiving weekend for multiple blood transfusions with a blood pressure of 57/37.
The prayer warriors continued praying, and God pulled her through, but the side effects continued. Isa began experiencing peripheral neuropathy in her hands as well as other advanced complications… One night, for example, she wiped a tear as she was watching a movie and the top layer of her skin came off. She decided that was enough.
Unfortunately, the oncologists that treated Isa in the States have nothing else to offer her. They want her on chemo every 2 weeks indefinitely. Chemo for the rest of her life is just not something she can agree to. So, on January 9th, 2018, as Isa and Alex celebrated their 2nd Wedding Anniversary, Isa received her 4th and final chemo.
Isa and Alex found they needed a new plan for moving forward, so they took a few weeks to explore options and prayed for wisdom on what to do next. Together they decided to seek treatment at a clinic in Mexico that uses just about everything available in both alternative and conventional medicine to heal their patients. Flying to the west coast only days after she got accepted into the program, Isa started her next wave of treatments in Mexico on Monday, February 12th. 
There is no doubt that this is where Isa needs to be right now. God has been affirming their decision with endless confirmations since their arrival. Isa is especially grateful for her nurse, who she feels is heaven sent. 
The oncologists in Mexico have also been able to offer Isa and Alex much more hope, proposing an immunotherapy treatment that the doctors feel will be highly successful in Isa’s case. This has us all very optimistic about the future, but Isa and Alex need our help in order to afford these additional treatments, which they will need to pay for out-of-pocket. Their expenses and financial stresses are mounting. The care in Mexico isn't covered by insurance, and the care in the US is only partially covered. Every little bit of help will make an impact on their ability to move forward with treatment.
Since Isa received her diagnosis; Alex has been by her side as her primary caregiver. This has meant that, except for a few days here and there, he has been unable to work. Isa has really needed him to be with her, monitoring her medications and appointments and, most importantly, caring for her as she has struggled through this rollercoaster of a process, where she can be feeling great one minute and then suddenly find herself vomiting from abdominal spasms, followed by who knows what the next minute. The unpredictability of the disease takes a tremendous toll on the whole family.
Being away in Mexico has meant that they had to leave their 2 boys and the newest member of their family, their dog Duke, back home. They miss them tremendously and pray daily that God is providing them with a sense of peace during these very difficult times. Please take a minute to pray for the boys.
Isa and Alex have been moved and humbled by the support and love they have been receiving from their loving parents and families, their childhood friends and all of the people they have met along the way. Even those they haven't met that have simply heard their story and are praying for them.
There is a very important group of friends that Isa wants to acknowledge – let’s call them the “M’s”: Madeline, Maria, Maribel and Munley (that’s me!). Together the “M’s” have traveled across the country leaving their own families and young children to come help Alex take care of Isa. They have sat with Isa through the pain and tears, been through chemo treatments, cooked meals, cleaned the house, driven to appointments (stopping along the way for those spontaneous nausea moments, of course), purchased plane tickets to Mexico and even packed Isa’s bags to make sure she made it with all the cozy socks and hats that every little bald head needs to feel comfy.
Isa and Alex also want to give a special thank you to their family at Spring of Life Fellowship for their constant and never-ending support. These prayer warriors are the real deal! They have her drenched in prayers daily. They have shown Isa a new level of faith, which Isa and Alex know is the very source of her healing and is also one of the many blessings that this trial has brought into their lives.
This isn’t my first time going through cancer with Isa. I had the privilege of being by Isa’s side when she survived cancer and treatments in both 1996 and 2004, when she was battling thyroid cancer. And although we never thought that it would return - especially after 23 years of being cancer free - we know that Isa is already healing, and that is the miracle that we are all praying for. 
The intention of creating the Go Fund Me is to help my friend receive the financial support her family needs, but also to give us each the opportunity to share in Isa’s story and the miracles surrounding her, so we can begin noticing the miracles in our own lives.
My life has shifted greatly since getting the news from Isa that she has cancer again. My heart has burst open feeling the depth of my love for her, and gratitude for the history we have shared and the memories we have created since 1991. This has allowed me to stay open and present to the love I feel for all of those in my life. I am more alive feeling the realness and rawness of life, and choosing to stay in the present moment. Sharing in this challenging time with Isa and Alex has allowed me to have more trust in God, has opened my eyes to the potential and miracles in my own life, and has instilled in me a spirit of Faith over fear.
I will not die: Instead, I will live to tell of what the Lord has done.
- Psalms 118:17
I have no doubt; given the chance, Isa will share her story courageously, vulnerably and with the intention to help others heal. This is who she is and what she has always done. Please join us in celebrating God’s work in Isa’s life with your financial support and prayers.
With our deepest gratitude,
Jennifer, Isa and Alex