Raised:
USD $6,140
Campaign funds will be received by Benjamin Cook
It all began very subtly. Ben felt that he was experiencing chronic fatigue since around the beginning of 2022. Since there were no other symptoms, we suspected possibly sleep apnea, or thyroid issues, etc. and planned to get him checked out at some point. The sleep apnea test came back as very low probability, so we dismissed it. By the time fall came around, we had not yet got around to checking thyroid. Life was very busy. Ben had started our emergency bathroom remodel and was working every spare minute he had on that. Around Thanksgiving 2022, Ben caught some kind of cold/virus that was going around at the time. Towards the end, he began to experience shortness of breath & coughing fits. This lasted for about 2 weeks and tapered off. We thought nothing more of it until approximately the 2nd week of January, when the shortness of breath and coughing returned, along with constant fatigue. During this time, we had begun the process of relocating from Ellensburg, WA to Bonners Ferry, ID. Ben felt that he was just pushing too hard with trying to wrap up his job, while packing and moving. He attempted to slow down and rest so as to overcome the symptoms. On Thursday, Jan 12, a few brethren helped us load a trailer, and we took our first load to the new place in ID. Over the weekend, Ben seemed to progressively get worse. Eventually, he couldn't walk across a room without being out of breath. Ben was beginning to think it might be pneumonia, and decided to get checked out. Monday, Jan 16 Ben visited a family doc in Bonners Ferry. The doc promptly sent him next door to the Bonners Ferry hospital for a chest x-ray, EKG, and a full panel of blood work. Within a couple hours, the results began to come back. The family doc called and stated that the chest x-ray showed Ben's right lung was totally incapacitated by fluid around it, and that his heart and left lung were being affected by the pressure. He suggested that Ben head for the larger emergency room at the Couer D' Alene hospital. Shortly after hanging up with the family doc, Ben received another call from the Bonner's Ferry hospital. It was their doc that is in charge of reviewing all outpatient testing. He told Ben that his case had caught his eye, and that he suspected Lymphoma. He seconded that Ben should get to a larger ER as soon as possible. We made the 1.5hr trip to the Couer D' Alene hospital, and were admitted to the ER. From there, it was a whirlwind of bloodwork, CT scan, echocardiogram, chest tube installation, etc. The staff was extremely professional, kind, and efficient! Once the CT scan came back, they immediately found an 14 x 18cm mass growing in the center of Ben's chest. This along with the presence of fluid around the right lung caused them to also suspicion Lymphoma. Tuesday, Jan 17, the docs ordered a biopsy of the mass. They also continued doing blood work each morning to watch various levels. Ben's calcium was high, as well as uric acid. They were able to bring those levels under control, and continued to monitor him closely. Over time, 3 liters of fluid were drained from around Ben's right lung, allowing him to breather better. They released it slowly so as not to collapse the lung. It worked and the lung successfully regained its capacity. For the next several days, they simply continued to correct various levels, and flush him with IV fluids. Finally, on Friday, Jan 20, Ben requested an anointing, and our dear brethren from Cascade Valley made the long trip over. We enjoyed a precious time of worship and prayer with anointing in the hospital room. The docs also started Ben on a high dose of steroids in an attempt to keep the mass from encroaching on arteries, throat, heart, etc. After monitoring Ben through Sunday morning, Jan 22nd, they finally discharged us so that we could go home and pack for Germany, which brings me to the fact that we found a renowned doctor over there who has an extremely good track record of treating cancer.
To shorten a really long story.. we have made 3 trips to Germany in the past 2 years, spending a total of 7 months in Europe, and have chosen to continue treatment in the USA at this time. The doctor in Germany is world-renown and we thank God for the ability to travel and receive treatment there, as he has saved Ben's life and has also become our friend. Please see post #1 for more current details. :)
Praying
Healing prayers
Sending love
Jehovah- Jireh the Lord will provide!
Blessings of Gods healing upon you!
Praying for you and your family.
Praying for Gods healing hands to touch you and that you may find joy in this hard journey of life.
We’re praying for your family and trust God will continue to provide for your daily needs and Ben’s healing.
Praying for you brother. I pray for his will to be carried out in you life and this season in life has brought you closer to Christ. Wish I wasn’t in Texas and could stop by and encourage you. God bless you and your beautiful family. 2 Cor 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Praying for your family!
February 11th, 2025
Thank you to each one of you who have graciously given us money to help us pay for rent, gas, food, insurance, etc.. your sacrifice deeply touched our hearts and was a direct answer to our prayers & pleadings for God to help us.
Since Ben has not had very much work for the last 3 weeks, we have been trying to use the time wisely and have filled it up with as many therapies and detoxes as possible. We try to do something every day. Meanwhile, I’m trying my best to consistently make healthy meals with whatever stock of food we have on hand and trying to buy as minimally as possible the rest of the groceries needed. Through a kind friend, who also has a large network of friends.. we have been given milk every week, and some organic fruits and veggies. This friend’s husband recently died of cancer and has a lot of knowledge that she has learned to help her husband, and has kindly offered to help us. It brings us to tears the way she is reaching out to love and help us, and we are so thankful. It hasn’t come easy for us to say yes to the help, though.
God has sustained us through the past 2 years Ben has had cancer.. being ok with hard circumstances is something that we have struggled and wrestled through and many times have had to come to a place of surrender. We wonder what God is doing and why He hand-picked us for these trials? We hope our lives bring Him glory and that we learn the deep lessons He has for us.
We have more big things ahead of us.. 2 weeks ago our landlords asked us to move again, as they want to move into our house. They wanted to give us plenty of time to find a new place to live and gave us 4 months. Please just pray for us.. that God will provide what we need and that we will keep our trust in Him. The news was especially hard for me, as we have been asked to move 3 times in a little over 2 years, all the while my husband has not felt well. (And that doesn’t count the 3 trips to Europe for Ben’s cancer treatment!) It felt like the rug got pulled out under our feet. Again. And yet, it must be somehow an answer to our prayers.. and we know God will provide. Ben and I are just plain tired. It seems like all we have been doing the past 2 years is packing, moving, unpacking.. starting to settle in to a new place/new routines and then have it all repeat over again. God has not failed us and has given us an abundance of help from so many people with those moves. We are praying that God will help us find a mold-free house in the country, that has room for a garden, room for a sauna & big bathtub for Ben’s detox baths.. and that the rent will be less expensive. That’s pretty much asking for a miracle in this area. Will you join us in praying?
We also have been researching and praying about the next steps for Ben’s cancer treatment. Since the last update he has steadily had less energy and has more negative symptoms from his cancer growing back. Please pray God will show us what the best options are for Ben, and provide for our needs while he has to be off work.
Our heart’s desire is not to still be in this place of need, but to be helping others. But if you wish to help us, you can here on our GiveSendGo site.
Or, checks can be sent with a sticky note that it’s for Ben Cook to:
LAMB Services, Inc.
PO Box 1050
Ceres, CA, 97307
May God bless you for upholding us during this season of our life.
~Heidi Cook
January 11th, 2025
Hello friends,
It’s time for a long-overdue update on our lives and where Ben is at in his cancer treatment and recovery. Our life has been incredibly full and busy since returning home from Europe near the end of May last year. We managed to squeeze in 3 camping trips, and moved in July to a new house.
As soon as we got home from Europe, Ben started going to a clinic near home where he has regularly received treatment for his cancer. Vitamin C, Curcumin, Alpha Lipoic Acid as well as other therapies like red bed therapy to minimize inflammation, and help detox his body from the negative impact that chemo has on a person. We dove into learning more about diet and started out on the carnivore diet for a week or so, and then keto diet as best as we could. Each week Ben would juggle his schedule between 1-2 days at the clinic and working the other days of the week. An ongoing conversation we have around our house is how we are supposed to balance rest/work/treatment and church/social events without neglecting family time. It’s been hard for Ben to find something that will pay the bills but allow him to only work 3 days per week.
Ben’s CT scan in August showed that the size of his lymphoma mass was 1.1 x .9 inches. A more recent scan right before Christmas showed it had grown to 2.6 x 3.5 inches. Sigh. Not the report we had wished or prayed for. It’s been interesting to note the rate of growth and seeing if there are any predicable growth patterns. A year ago (December 2023), it had grown back to basically the same size it is right now. Ben’s body has thankfully responded very well to the treatment every time, but we have changed directions slightly as to the type of treatment he is receiving in hopes that it will get to the root of the problem and stop the growth ideally forever. Only God knows. In addition to the local clinic, have a new oncologist in Boise, Idaho, that shared with us that Lymphoma is similar to Leukemia because it’s a cancer of the blood. Miraculously, Ben’s cancer has not ever spread and is not even detected in his lymph nodes which is incredible since its lymphoma. Also, the scans show that the rest of Ben’s organs are in good working condition and we credit that to the good care of our Doctor in Germany and all of your prayers.
We are very thankful that Ben has felt relatively good the last 7 months. He has had some negative side effects still from the chemo.. memory loss and cold hands and feet. He’s had a few episodes with bad migraines, low energy and generally not feeling well some days, but overall has been doing pretty good. We think that all the efforts we’ve put into his diet and going to the local clinic has helped his quality of life tremendously.
The plan for now, is for Ben to keep going to the local clinic a couple times a week, and follow the protocol our Doc in Boise has prescribed, keep being consistent with diet, and as many things at home as we can do, like Epsom salt baths and using the sauna in our basement.. and check in with our Doc in Boise in a month. We may also make a trip to Boise soon to use the photodynamic machine that ozonates the blood. Our goal for the year ahead is to build Ben’s immune system, while detoxing and using therapies to keep pressure on the cancer, so that his body can fight it itself.
Please keep praying for us! I wish we could know how much impact your prayers have made in our lives during Ben’s cancer, and what our lives would look like now if we wouldn’t have had them. We are grateful for every prayer, every bit of encouragement you have offered, and every dollar you have given to help us with our living expenses. We pray God will bless and reward you, and that through our pain and heartaches that God can be glorified and help draw you closer to God too.
We do have some needs, and it’s so hard to share them with you. It’s hard to be honest about it. I think it gets harder every time to share it, especially after so much that you have given over the past 2 years. God has always helped us -sometimes just in the Nic of time and our faith has really put to the test. We don’t doubt that he will leave us hanging now, not after everything He’s done in the past. Our living expenses are about $6,000 a month ($2,000 of that is rent), and we don’t know how we will pay for rent, or Samaritan Ministries insurance that’s due the beginning of February. Let me tell you a story though.. this summer we were down to approximately $300 left in our bank account, and waiting on 3 different job payments to come through. For some reason or another, all 3 people were late on paying for work that Ben had completed and rent was due. We knew God would help us but not sure how.. yep, it was pretty stressful! On the 29th of the month, our landlord texted me to say that someone had covered our rent for us that month. Oh, the tears of joy we shed. God heard our prayers, saw our needs and cared. Our heart’s desire is not to still be in this place of need, but to be helping others. But if you wish to help us, you can donate here on GiveSendGo, Or, checks can be sent with a sticky note that it’s for Ben Cook to:
LAMB Services, Inc.
PO Box 1050
Ceres, CA, 97307
Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, Equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:20-21
With love,
Benjamin, Heidi, Elsie & Katie Cook
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