Ok everybody...a few of you have been wondering what is going on, because I had scans done on the 15th, and haven't given out results yet! Sorry about that. I didn't want to post prematurely until we had a game plan for the next phase of all this, but I should have at least let you know what was happening.
We have not been able to visit with my regular oncologist to discuss the scans. (That is partly why I have no game plan.) He had an emergency the day of our visit, and we saw a new doc, who was very kind, but didn't have all of the results in my file, nor were the actual scans available for us to look at. It was disappointing, and I was nervous. We will see Dr. Kenyon this Monday the 29th to go over some options regarding the next phase. The good news is that from what they did see on the written reports, (and if I'm understanding things correctly) is that the lesions in the brain are inactive, and lesions in the liver are inactive, and the lesions in the spine stopped progressing. This, according to Dr. K's notes, is "excellent", and puts me close to remission. This is what I'd asked for prayer for last time. I want to know which of you have this straight line up to God!! Please, nobody stop-you're doing great! I would have liked to see some extra healing happening, but a stop in progression is fantastic. We'll shoot for that this next time. They gave me an extra dose of the contrast dye before the brain MRI, so the two remaining spots did light up a bit, but they believe it's from the extra dose of stuff, not that anything dire is happening.
The question we'll be discussing on Monday is how to proceed with the chemotherapy drugs. I'm still on an I.V. dose of Navelbine each Thursday. He is thinking of omitting this drug so my body can have a chance to rebound from the toxicity. I could be off of it for approximately 6-12 months before needing to be on it again. The other drug, Xeloda, is in pill form and is taken am and pm, 2 weeks on then one week off. It's a fairly high dosage,is tough on the system and really messes with my blood counts but evidently it does cross through the blood-brain barrier. We just don't want it to take out all my bone marrow in the process. Kenyon will likely suggest I stay on Xeloda. We'll be asking him his opinion on this, vs. using one drug one week and the other the next, or any other options and their potential outcomes/risks. Whichever way we decide to go, the supplements and diet are going to continue to be important. They've been a great asset so far, and have carried me through a crazy summer, so I'm really hoping that they will be a key ticket in helping my body to recover and pick up some of the healing process on it's own. I think this will be the only way I will ever get off of these drugs totally. (I'm Hopeful) I will still be on a monthly dose of Zometa, the bone density protecting I.V. drug. It should help bring my bones back to a normal level hopefully within a year. I've shown some bone loss due to the lesions in the spine. I am not at a level of osteoporosis yet, but it would be the next jump.
So, pray for healing, con't. "no-growth" of the cancer, and for wisdom in how to proceed from here. It may take a few months of playing with stuff to see what works or doesn't. Yikes. At least we're off to a good start, I think.
I'll be participating in is a "Sail for the Cure" on September 25, 2005. My brother, Chris, and his wife,Cheryl, are avid water people, and have invited us to participate with them. And since they just bought a really cool 36 foot sail boat, it would be insulting to not go check it out, right? :D This event is a benefit for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. They are good about getting current info. out there, and helping people walk through the process. They don't seem quite as "bogged down" as some organizations, and have some good research. (I have mixed feelings about some of these groups, as I am a big proponant of saving the big guns of some of these heavy drugs for when NEEDED, and using more natural means whenever possible. A lot of these places scoff at that idea, but don't give you much hope or options and their motivation is not "cure based", but maybe fear based or dare I say profit motivated??? That's what I liked about Dr. Kenyon-he encourages people to see a Naturopath, admitting that he sees good results with the combination. Anyway, enough soap box. For information re. the Sail, you can to go their web page at www.owsa.net. (This is the Oregon Women's Sailing Association) If anybody's interested in donating to the event, you could mail a check to us at home here, and we'll take it up when we go. Checks should be made out to the "Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation", and let us know if you want a receipt to see if it's tax deductable. (They say to check with your tax advisor about that). Please send anything so it gets here in plenty of time for us to get it before Sept. 24th. If anyone's interested in participating, you get a t-shirt, and it sounds like if you don't have a boat, they'll find one you can ride in. They will have the sail from 12:30-3 pm with registration from 10 am-12 pm. From 4-6 is a silent auction and awards, and from 6:15-9 pm is a benefit dinner with a speaker. I've never done this before, but Cheryl has, and says it's a lot of fun. If you're interested, early registration is Sept. 1, and after that the entry fee goes up a bit.
Well, I've done it again-taken up a good portion of your day reading this blog. I keep thinking they'll get shorter somehow. Maybe when life is less complicated? Does it get less complicated? Always an adventure, anyway!
Love you all, and may God bless you ALL! Thank you for caring, and your continued kindnesses.
Jeanne H.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
A New Season
From Jeanne:
August 9th was Pat's and my 24th anniversary. It feels a little bittersweet this year. Dad passed away on the 17th of July, with one of his brothers preceding him in death by about 4 hours. I'm happy for them that they could cruise out together, but it did leave a bit of a hole here for the rest of us.
Dad was a very gentle, patient person, with a great sense of humor. He will be, and is very missed. I know now that he has no pain, has no more earthly concerns, and gets to rest. The rest of us still have to pay our taxes, work out our daily routines, deal with telemarketers from Pakistan and be concerned about identity theft. (Although if anyone were foolish enough to exchange identities with me at this stage of the game, they'd be NUTS!) It's a sad time, but also a season of release: release of Dad's illness, his discomfort, the pain that I had because I was not being able to be with him to care for him during his last months due to my own health. That's still a tough one to get around. I miss stroking his silky hair, and seeing his sparkly eyes.
There was a great DVD made of his life. It helped to remember the days in Alaska when we were all together and he was full of health. (*to view his obituary, see below.) It was a very strengthening time for me to be with my brothers, also. I am very grateful that we were all able to be there for the funeral, and be a support for one another. Kay's children also were there, and it was good to be able to have the extended family around. They were extremely helpful with many of the details of the funeral, housing our kids, etc, as well as being able to be with Dad as he died, as Pat and I were on the road and couldn't make it down in time. Thanks also to my friend since high school, Shelley, her husband Steve and their family, for their hospitality and care.
Thankfully, Dad's passing was quick, and he didn't have to suffer much. The Pastor who performed the funeral was the one who's church we attended as a family in Medford. He did the funeral for Mom, married Dad and Kay, and Pat and I. It was perfect to have someone who had all of that family history with us. It feels a little lonely now doing cancer myself without Dad around, but at least he doesn't have to battle anymore.
From Pat:
Jeanne was very blessed this week by a friend (her timing was perfect) who nominated her for the “Delicious Living Spirit Award.**” While the award is immaterial to us, the words and thoughts that she expressed in her essay about Jeanne touched both of us. As I read it, I was impressed how little things to us, can have a huge impact on others. Jeanne is impacting people in such a lasting way, it makes me proud to be married to her.
Jeanne and I spent our anniversary evening watching the sunset from Mary’s Peak. For those of you that do not know, we were married on Mary’s Peak. During the funeral service for Jeanne’s Dad, the Pastor, (who also married us) fondly recalled our “field fairy” wedding. We have come a long way!
As far as medical news, on Monday, August 15th, Jeanne will have a CT and MRI again to check the progress. We will get results on Thursday the 18th. After all that has been going on, we were concerned there may be some setbacks. Yet, Jeanne's CEA level dropped to 3.6 at her last test. And, her blood test results have been good enough to receive full chemo doses weekly. So, please pray that the scans once again reveal continued reduction in size and number of the tumors. (Ideally, complete absence of tumors in the liver and brain, and no new lesions in the spine.)
* electronic version of Lloyd Lund Sr’s obituary: http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0719/obit/obit.htm
** Delicious Living is a natural foods, healthy living magazine. This is not meant as a pro or con endorsement. (http://www.deliciouslivingmag.com/win/spiritawards/)
August 9th was Pat's and my 24th anniversary. It feels a little bittersweet this year. Dad passed away on the 17th of July, with one of his brothers preceding him in death by about 4 hours. I'm happy for them that they could cruise out together, but it did leave a bit of a hole here for the rest of us.
Dad was a very gentle, patient person, with a great sense of humor. He will be, and is very missed. I know now that he has no pain, has no more earthly concerns, and gets to rest. The rest of us still have to pay our taxes, work out our daily routines, deal with telemarketers from Pakistan and be concerned about identity theft. (Although if anyone were foolish enough to exchange identities with me at this stage of the game, they'd be NUTS!) It's a sad time, but also a season of release: release of Dad's illness, his discomfort, the pain that I had because I was not being able to be with him to care for him during his last months due to my own health. That's still a tough one to get around. I miss stroking his silky hair, and seeing his sparkly eyes.
There was a great DVD made of his life. It helped to remember the days in Alaska when we were all together and he was full of health. (*to view his obituary, see below.) It was a very strengthening time for me to be with my brothers, also. I am very grateful that we were all able to be there for the funeral, and be a support for one another. Kay's children also were there, and it was good to be able to have the extended family around. They were extremely helpful with many of the details of the funeral, housing our kids, etc, as well as being able to be with Dad as he died, as Pat and I were on the road and couldn't make it down in time. Thanks also to my friend since high school, Shelley, her husband Steve and their family, for their hospitality and care.
Thankfully, Dad's passing was quick, and he didn't have to suffer much. The Pastor who performed the funeral was the one who's church we attended as a family in Medford. He did the funeral for Mom, married Dad and Kay, and Pat and I. It was perfect to have someone who had all of that family history with us. It feels a little lonely now doing cancer myself without Dad around, but at least he doesn't have to battle anymore.
From Pat:
Jeanne was very blessed this week by a friend (her timing was perfect) who nominated her for the “Delicious Living Spirit Award.**” While the award is immaterial to us, the words and thoughts that she expressed in her essay about Jeanne touched both of us. As I read it, I was impressed how little things to us, can have a huge impact on others. Jeanne is impacting people in such a lasting way, it makes me proud to be married to her.
Jeanne and I spent our anniversary evening watching the sunset from Mary’s Peak. For those of you that do not know, we were married on Mary’s Peak. During the funeral service for Jeanne’s Dad, the Pastor, (who also married us) fondly recalled our “field fairy” wedding. We have come a long way!
As far as medical news, on Monday, August 15th, Jeanne will have a CT and MRI again to check the progress. We will get results on Thursday the 18th. After all that has been going on, we were concerned there may be some setbacks. Yet, Jeanne's CEA level dropped to 3.6 at her last test. And, her blood test results have been good enough to receive full chemo doses weekly. So, please pray that the scans once again reveal continued reduction in size and number of the tumors. (Ideally, complete absence of tumors in the liver and brain, and no new lesions in the spine.)
* electronic version of Lloyd Lund Sr’s obituary: http://www.mailtribune.com/archive/2005/0719/obit/obit.htm
** Delicious Living is a natural foods, healthy living magazine. This is not meant as a pro or con endorsement. (http://www.deliciouslivingmag.com/win/spiritawards/)
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
July 2005 update
Hello, everybody: Well, I think my body is recuperating from company and running around for two weeks plus. Three weeks ago I went to do chemo on Thursday am, and afterward went to Medford to be with Dad and our step-mom. My 2 brothers also came, one from Portland, and one from Texas with his wife and two daughters. We got quite a bit done in the way of prearranging my Dad's funeral, and sitting in with Hospice so they can get some help, and my step mom can get some more breaks in. Dad loves to see everyone, and especially for times like this it would be nice to be closer physically. Pat and the kids came home on Sunday so he could return to work, and my bros.,Valerie, and I stayed until Wednesday to finalize some things. We got home Wed. eve., then got up and I had chemo Thursday morning.
Right after receiving the chemo, we once again jumped in the van, and this time went to Lincoln City on the beach. My brother Lloyd (TX) and his family were there, our sister-in-law, Sherry, Pat's dad and step-mom and our whole family. (It was a big house.) It was great to see Bob and Ginny, Pat's folks, and spend some more time with my brother. We don't get to see each other much! Sherry and all the girls had a nail painting evening, and a few got to go shopping at the outlet malls nearby, and there was quite a bit of time for walks on the beach. The World Championship Kite Flying Festival was happening, so we saw people from France, Germany, Japan, and all over, and the weekend concluded with a huge fireworks display over the ocean. The house we stayed in had a balcony, so everyone ran upstairs for the best view. We got back from the beach on Wednesday afternoon, and were going to go out for dinner, but my body gave up and rebelled. Due to some chills, rough muscle aches and pains, and general cruddy feelings, Pat put me on bed rest for the night and brought back some food for me. Chemo was the next morning, and an extra blood draw, so we thought I'd better settle down. I put ice on my feet on the way to the infusion office, and did some hot/cold in the shower to boost the white blood count. If my counts are too low, I don't get a full dose of chemo. I had two weeks of a half dose, and was determined to get a full one this time. Something worked, God answered some prayers (again) and I got a full dose. Yeah! (NOT that I love the stuff!!! I just want it to get in there, work hard and get out of my body fast!) The last CEA I got on June 23rd registered a slight increase-up to 4.2 from 3.6, so I have been a little nervous between that and the cancer in my spine. It was probably due to the nature of the trip to Medford and the ensuing stress, so I'm hoping that now that things are settling down it will reduce down into the 3's again. I heard that dehydration can make this happen also. Dr. Kenyon says that staying between 3 and 5 is going to be fine, it’s if it keeps going up that we would get worried and think about changing things. Jonathan T. (Herbalist/nutritionist) had said to expect it to go up and down a bit, and to not panic if it did this, but to rely more on the scans as to how much cancer was progressive or regressive. Dr. Kenyon has also reassured me that we're going in the right direction, so I have to sit back and trust. And take the supplements, which are still helping a tremendous amount, and take the chemos which are as well. Pray for no ongoing damage from the cancer treatments, please! It would be a drag to make it through all of this and have kidney damage or something. Hopefully I'm drinking enough to avoid that and the supplements are protective enough.
Robert and I just returned from the Hartwig's house a bit ago, where he and a group of other home-schooled boys took their test for the year. We are supposed to test after 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grades, so this was Robert's first. He thinks he's done all right, and doesn't seem too traumatized, so we're both happy it's hindsight now. We've spent this week in preparation for it, so that was great. Thanks, Linda! He said he had fun, but I think that was because he had a whole group of boys he was with, and no girls for once! Time to get the next batch of kids and bring them home-thanks for your prayers. Keep them coming! Mentally and spiritually I think I'm in one of the most challenging places I've been in since the beginning of this diagnosis so prayers for peace and of course ongoing healing are coveted. It’s amazing how much mental energy this disease can consume, as well as physical. It’s a huge journey for myself, but to not be able to be there for my Dad as much as I would like because I need to protect my own health goes against my grain in a big way. God has shown Himself to be very large on my behalf, and I have to trust that He will be there for my earthly father as well.
Housekeeping note: We still have many pans and containers from folks who delivered meals. If you have a pan or dish missing, please contact us And we found the lid to Deb's soup pot. Deb, I’ll try to get that back to you-it’s been a little busy.
Post script...sort of...
Daniel had Special Olympics this last weekend, and received a gold medal in the 100 meter relay, a silver medal in the soft ball throw, and a bronze for the 100 meter dash. Fun.
Time to rest!!!
Love you all, and many blessings to you-
Jeanne H.
Right after receiving the chemo, we once again jumped in the van, and this time went to Lincoln City on the beach. My brother Lloyd (TX) and his family were there, our sister-in-law, Sherry, Pat's dad and step-mom and our whole family. (It was a big house.) It was great to see Bob and Ginny, Pat's folks, and spend some more time with my brother. We don't get to see each other much! Sherry and all the girls had a nail painting evening, and a few got to go shopping at the outlet malls nearby, and there was quite a bit of time for walks on the beach. The World Championship Kite Flying Festival was happening, so we saw people from France, Germany, Japan, and all over, and the weekend concluded with a huge fireworks display over the ocean. The house we stayed in had a balcony, so everyone ran upstairs for the best view. We got back from the beach on Wednesday afternoon, and were going to go out for dinner, but my body gave up and rebelled. Due to some chills, rough muscle aches and pains, and general cruddy feelings, Pat put me on bed rest for the night and brought back some food for me. Chemo was the next morning, and an extra blood draw, so we thought I'd better settle down. I put ice on my feet on the way to the infusion office, and did some hot/cold in the shower to boost the white blood count. If my counts are too low, I don't get a full dose of chemo. I had two weeks of a half dose, and was determined to get a full one this time. Something worked, God answered some prayers (again) and I got a full dose. Yeah! (NOT that I love the stuff!!! I just want it to get in there, work hard and get out of my body fast!) The last CEA I got on June 23rd registered a slight increase-up to 4.2 from 3.6, so I have been a little nervous between that and the cancer in my spine. It was probably due to the nature of the trip to Medford and the ensuing stress, so I'm hoping that now that things are settling down it will reduce down into the 3's again. I heard that dehydration can make this happen also. Dr. Kenyon says that staying between 3 and 5 is going to be fine, it’s if it keeps going up that we would get worried and think about changing things. Jonathan T. (Herbalist/nutritionist) had said to expect it to go up and down a bit, and to not panic if it did this, but to rely more on the scans as to how much cancer was progressive or regressive. Dr. Kenyon has also reassured me that we're going in the right direction, so I have to sit back and trust. And take the supplements, which are still helping a tremendous amount, and take the chemos which are as well. Pray for no ongoing damage from the cancer treatments, please! It would be a drag to make it through all of this and have kidney damage or something. Hopefully I'm drinking enough to avoid that and the supplements are protective enough.
Robert and I just returned from the Hartwig's house a bit ago, where he and a group of other home-schooled boys took their test for the year. We are supposed to test after 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grades, so this was Robert's first. He thinks he's done all right, and doesn't seem too traumatized, so we're both happy it's hindsight now. We've spent this week in preparation for it, so that was great. Thanks, Linda! He said he had fun, but I think that was because he had a whole group of boys he was with, and no girls for once! Time to get the next batch of kids and bring them home-thanks for your prayers. Keep them coming! Mentally and spiritually I think I'm in one of the most challenging places I've been in since the beginning of this diagnosis so prayers for peace and of course ongoing healing are coveted. It’s amazing how much mental energy this disease can consume, as well as physical. It’s a huge journey for myself, but to not be able to be there for my Dad as much as I would like because I need to protect my own health goes against my grain in a big way. God has shown Himself to be very large on my behalf, and I have to trust that He will be there for my earthly father as well.
Housekeeping note: We still have many pans and containers from folks who delivered meals. If you have a pan or dish missing, please contact us And we found the lid to Deb's soup pot. Deb, I’ll try to get that back to you-it’s been a little busy.
Post script...sort of...
Daniel had Special Olympics this last weekend, and received a gold medal in the 100 meter relay, a silver medal in the soft ball throw, and a bronze for the 100 meter dash. Fun.
Time to rest!!!
Love you all, and many blessings to you-
Jeanne H.
Monday, June 06, 2005
This Month's Muse
Well, we spent a week with multiple visits to multiple diagnostic areas at Good Samaritan Hospital this week, and here are the latest findings...
The Pros...
The first news we recieved was last Thursday, which was the blood work. My CEA level has dropped once again and is now at 3.6 down from 4.0. 0 to 3.4 is where I'd like to be/stay. That was great news.
Next was the liver lesions-Dr. Kenyon went over the scans with us, and I'm now down to three lesions from six at the last visit. They look "hypodense" and "may reflect inactive lesions", according to the doctor who read the scans. Yeah!!
Dr. Kenyon also reviewed the brain MRI with us, which was a little difficult, as the lesions there were so hard to even see. We couldn't remember where they had been, and finally Dr. K's trained eye found a tiny circled pinpoint-the radiologist had evidently circled it for us. According to the report, there are still two lesions, but are shrinking still, and there were no new lesions found. This is a huge blessing.
The questionable part of this whole thing (besides the liver being able to carry on and complete it's healing) is the bone involvement at this point. Evidently there was more than we had thought at first, which hadn't shown up in either of the last scans. I had shown 3 vertebrae affected last scan, and they are "lytic sclerotic" which I believe means that the cancer had made a hole in the bone (lytic) but the calcium deposits (sclerosis=hardening) indicated that the lesions were being healed. This is good. On this scan, however, new lesions appeared involving 8 more vertebrae-some are "blastic", meaning they were new, and some mixed. Dr. Kenyon's interpretation was that the chemo, etc, was working on the liver and breast, and it's also working on the bone as well-that's why the scerosis is happening. While I'm quite pleased with the liver/brain reductions, and I'm glad that the calcification is happening to stop the cancer growth, it is admittedly nerve wracking to have the added bone involvement. The report reads "progressive osseous metastatic disease to the spine." I definitely prefer the "hypodense, inactive" conclusion. I have this sense of the chemo and herbs having to chase the cancer around, and it is a cat and mouse thing. This is one area I don't want to be "progressive" in. Please be praying that everything works for good to stop this stuff!! They are giving me an injection of Zometa once a month for the bones, and this is supposed to have an anti-cancer effect on them. I just had the 2nd one this last Thursday, so my hope is that this will be taking effect along with everything else. Dr. Kenyon's attitude has been great, and I go back to the day when I was asking him about expectations re. my first scan after beginning chemo, and he said "there is always hope".
The other area of prayer we could use is for my Dad. He is coming into his last days, and will probably not last for another month or two. He has had prostate cancer for over 14 years, and has done amazingly well with it. His cancer was discovered in his bones in January of this year, and it had spread with a vengeance. We don't know how long it had been there. He has been bed ridden for about 2 months now, and requires more care, but still has a fantastic sense of humor, and his patience and kindness are still very intact. He's a great guy. If you could pray for peace, comfort, and healthy communication for our family, that would be appreciated. It is a hard time for everyone, and an easy time to "short circuit". Dad's walk with the Lord has been varied through his life, so if you could pray for his relationship to grow strong at this time as well, it would help. We will be traveling back and forth to Medford more frequently in this next season, and will need to guard against fatigue and illness (esp. for myself). My brother and his family will be coming from Texas to visit, and Pat's folks from Florida, so June will be a busy time.
All the kids piano and violin recitals/concerts are done now, and Dan's Special Olympic track meets (One left in July) are about done, so that helps a lot. We'll continue with dog 4-H through the summer, and the kids are planning on entering a variety of things in the fair, so we'll still be quite occupied. Hopefully just not on such a crazed level.
Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers,etc.-you are very loved.
Jeanne H.
The Pros...
The first news we recieved was last Thursday, which was the blood work. My CEA level has dropped once again and is now at 3.6 down from 4.0. 0 to 3.4 is where I'd like to be/stay. That was great news.
Next was the liver lesions-Dr. Kenyon went over the scans with us, and I'm now down to three lesions from six at the last visit. They look "hypodense" and "may reflect inactive lesions", according to the doctor who read the scans. Yeah!!
Dr. Kenyon also reviewed the brain MRI with us, which was a little difficult, as the lesions there were so hard to even see. We couldn't remember where they had been, and finally Dr. K's trained eye found a tiny circled pinpoint-the radiologist had evidently circled it for us. According to the report, there are still two lesions, but are shrinking still, and there were no new lesions found. This is a huge blessing.
The questionable part of this whole thing (besides the liver being able to carry on and complete it's healing) is the bone involvement at this point. Evidently there was more than we had thought at first, which hadn't shown up in either of the last scans. I had shown 3 vertebrae affected last scan, and they are "lytic sclerotic" which I believe means that the cancer had made a hole in the bone (lytic) but the calcium deposits (sclerosis=hardening) indicated that the lesions were being healed. This is good. On this scan, however, new lesions appeared involving 8 more vertebrae-some are "blastic", meaning they were new, and some mixed. Dr. Kenyon's interpretation was that the chemo, etc, was working on the liver and breast, and it's also working on the bone as well-that's why the scerosis is happening. While I'm quite pleased with the liver/brain reductions, and I'm glad that the calcification is happening to stop the cancer growth, it is admittedly nerve wracking to have the added bone involvement. The report reads "progressive osseous metastatic disease to the spine." I definitely prefer the "hypodense, inactive" conclusion. I have this sense of the chemo and herbs having to chase the cancer around, and it is a cat and mouse thing. This is one area I don't want to be "progressive" in. Please be praying that everything works for good to stop this stuff!! They are giving me an injection of Zometa once a month for the bones, and this is supposed to have an anti-cancer effect on them. I just had the 2nd one this last Thursday, so my hope is that this will be taking effect along with everything else. Dr. Kenyon's attitude has been great, and I go back to the day when I was asking him about expectations re. my first scan after beginning chemo, and he said "there is always hope".
The other area of prayer we could use is for my Dad. He is coming into his last days, and will probably not last for another month or two. He has had prostate cancer for over 14 years, and has done amazingly well with it. His cancer was discovered in his bones in January of this year, and it had spread with a vengeance. We don't know how long it had been there. He has been bed ridden for about 2 months now, and requires more care, but still has a fantastic sense of humor, and his patience and kindness are still very intact. He's a great guy. If you could pray for peace, comfort, and healthy communication for our family, that would be appreciated. It is a hard time for everyone, and an easy time to "short circuit". Dad's walk with the Lord has been varied through his life, so if you could pray for his relationship to grow strong at this time as well, it would help. We will be traveling back and forth to Medford more frequently in this next season, and will need to guard against fatigue and illness (esp. for myself). My brother and his family will be coming from Texas to visit, and Pat's folks from Florida, so June will be a busy time.
All the kids piano and violin recitals/concerts are done now, and Dan's Special Olympic track meets (One left in July) are about done, so that helps a lot. We'll continue with dog 4-H through the summer, and the kids are planning on entering a variety of things in the fair, so we'll still be quite occupied. Hopefully just not on such a crazed level.
Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers,etc.-you are very loved.
Jeanne H.