Hi Kids

Monday afternoon and we are ready for our cup of tea. Yesterday’s cold temperatures were a good excuse to stay home and just relax. Dad was fighting a low grade fever and thought it best not to go to church. When I saw it was -32C, I decided to stay home too. And we went back to bed and slept another two hours. Around 12:30 pm, Richard came to drop off a CD from the morning’s sermon, so of course we invited them in for coffee and a time to get connected. Later that afternoon, Don had another visitor for tea. From the response of all those who phone, email, send cards & flowers, we are not short of support. And all the messages are so encouraging, referencing us back to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. What would we do without him.

Dad had a restless sleep last night, having a lot of pain. I think it was a combination of doing his exercises too much, and not wanting to become dependent on pain killers. Tonight I will make sure he takes them, so we can both get a good night’s sleep. Finally after midnight, he fell into a sound sleep, and so did I. The alarm went off at it usual time at 6:15 am. I rolled over and woke up again at 8 am; both of us felt much rested.

Once a month, a group of ladies go out for breakfast. It’s an event that I look forward to, and even -25C couldn’t keep me away. While the car was getting warmed up, our good neighbour Roy took the time to clean off all the snow and ice. Am I spoiled? It is so nice to connect with other women, sharing joys and concerns, tidbits of knowledge as some have been on the path that I am now venturing for the first time. And we continue to share our dreams for the future.

Afterwards, I picked up Dad as he needed to go to the Immigration Office to verify when his family landed in Canada. This is needed for him to apply for his old age pension, even though he has a birth certificate. When we got to the forks, found a parking spot and got out of the car, Dad asked me where the envelope that contained his documentation was. It was at home on the table. I did not realize it was needed, and he assumed I was taking it with me. No sense in getting frustrated, so we got back in the car and finished off the other errands on our way home. One advantage of leaving him in the car when I run in, is returning to a nice warm car, LOL.

When we got home, we both felt tired and took another nap. It’s now tea time. I want to leave you with a reflection received from Ida Mutoigo, director of CRWRC, from a book called "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young. She writes from the perspective of God talking to us in reference to passages from Psalm 18:29, Psalm 91:11-12 and 2 Corinthians 5:7:

"Follow me one step at a time. That is all I require of you. In fact, that is the only way to move through this space/time world. You see huge mountains looming, and you start wondering how you're going to scale those heights. Meanwhile, because you're not looking where you are going, you stumble on the easy path where I am leading you now. As I help you get back on your feet, you tell Me how worried you are about the cliffs up ahead. But you don't know what will happen today, much less tomorrow. Our path may take an abrupt turn, leading you away from those mountains. There may be an easier way up the mountains than is visible from this distance. If I do lead you up the cliffs, I will equip you thoroughly for that strenuous climb. I will even give My angels charge over you, to preserve you in all your ways. Keep your mind on the present journey, in My presence. Walk by faith, not by sight, trusting Me to open up the way before you."

Love, Mom & Dad

Hi everyone;
This Dad/Don writing. I'm at home in my easy chair looking out on a -32 C day. The sun is shining bright and we count each day a blessing.
Things have happened fast here. Wednesday I had a pin put in my hip/upper leg. I think it was just an excuse for taking a biopsy. Friday afternoon I was back home. The intent is to go from the crutches, to the cane and then to normal walking. (I am at the cane stage.) I am debating but I think I will take a few days of disability so that I can go through this process. There are several exercises and I need to walk around the house every 45 mins minimum.
The results from the biopsy should be available in a week and a half. At first things look very dark. the doctors thought that there was a primary sources inside my abdomen that had moved to the bones. This does not appear to be the case and the hopeful scenario now is that I have Lymphoma which relatively easy to treat with chimo. Eva and I feel we have been give a second chance.
Who knows where this comes from. Over the years, I have come in contact with a lot of stuff especially when growing potatoes. When we were dating I would pick up Eva and her co-workers would tease her about my orange hair. I was spraying a top killer that could have been related to agent orange.
The Lord is good. We see this as a valley we need to go through. At the other end we hope to come out better understanding others. Some of us are tough and it takes a hard hit on the head to mellow us. Thanks for taking this trip with us to the other side of this valley. Keep praying, there is a big journey ahead and I cannot go though it alone.

Hi Kids

Dad is home again, and we are happy. I told Dad that I feel that we have been given a second chance.

Yesterday, Dad called the church office to let me know that I could pick him up at 5 pm. I wasn’t too sure this was possible from the reaction of the dr when I was there the day before, so told him to call me back after the oncologist came. I think God was saying, “get him” by sending a snowstorm, dumping eight inches of snow in six hours. Pastor Don had to go out for an appointment, and when he came back shortly before noon, told me to leave as the driving conditions were so bad. I had trouble getting out of the church parking lot, and when got home, asked our neighbour Roy if we could pick up Dad in his SUV. Good thing, as the snow ruts would have over taken my little car, adding to the stress. Dad was dressed and ready to go, and even had the flowers wrapped up against the cold. 15 minutes later, we were in the car, heading home again.

Dad spent the rest of the day in his chair in the living room, snoozing off when he wasn’t reading. I spent it close to him. Thank you to everyone who prayed. God answered.

Today, we slept in till 9:00 am, unheard of, but we needed it. It’s now 11:00 am, and we are still in our pj’s with no hurry to go any where.

One of my favourite songs is playing right now, “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus”, song by Selah: Hiding Place. It portrays how we both feel right now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hzYKovRsJ8

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,

Vast, unmeasured, boundless, free!

Underneath me, all around me, is the current of Thy love

Leading onward, leading homeward to

Thy glorious rest above!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,

Spread His praise from shore to shore!

How He loveth, ever loveth, changeth

Never, nevermore!

How He watches o’er His loved ones,

Died to call them all Huis own

How for them He intercedeth, watcheth

O’er them from the throne!

O the deep, deep love of Jesus,

“Tis a heav’n of heav’ns to me

And it lifts me up to glory, for it lifts me up to Thee!

As of early this evening Dad is at home and resting comfortably. Dad called and said he's feeling ok, but pretty tired. He squeezed in a nap this afternoon and is going to bed early tonight. :) One of the tests they ran today was to check for a serious infection as the possible cause for all of this. They are gonna keep checking things till they find out what they are dealing with for sure. Dad said one of the reasons he wanted out of the hospital so soon was that his roommate was a nightowl and he got woken up 3 or 4 times last night so wasn't getting enough rest.

Mom's more detailed update of last night's visit with Dad and the Doc:

Now I know for sure they are testing for lymphoma, myeloma (here is a good link for info on this one http://www.emedicinehealth.com/myeloma/article_em.htm ) , and infection. Dad’s blood pressure is a low, which is a minor concern. Dad is eager to come home, but the doctor said they would like to see his leg heal before then.

Earlier that day, they had Don up, using a walker. I asked him why it wasn’t in his room now, and he said it hurt too much, and that he needs to go for physio, beginning today.

This morning I got a call from Dad, saying I can pick him up at 5 pm. He knows I am very reluctant. Not that I don’t want him home, but I know he is pushing for it. He promised me that he would wait for the oncologist before leaving.

this afternoon: "Hennie just called. She went to see Dad this morning. He had breakfast, first time Since Tuesday’s lunch. They also had him up, using a walker. They want him to put his full weight on the leg. He is being given something to handle his pain. When she left, two more people from church were on their way to see him."

This evening: Mom called tonight to update us. She went to see Dad after work. Dad is in much better spirits and really wants to get out of the hospital tomorrow. Both Mom & the Dr. think that's not a good idea since he could have trouble taking care of himself at home yet. The Dr. also wants to keep Dad in longer so that they can get to the bottom of where the cancer is coming from. They are still waiting on those biopsy cultures from yesterday, but they are also going to be doing any testing they can at the hospital to narrow it down. Hopefully they can figure it out soon so they can get a treatment plan set up.

Wednesday, January 26

Dad went into surgery at 11:30 am, and came out at 2 pm. I was there at 2:30, but could not see him till 5 pm when they put him in his room. One reason is bc were so many surgeries and the patients needed the full attention of the nurses. I stayed with Dad till 6:30. He was doing fine, falling in and out of sleep. I plan to see him again today after work.

They put in a pin, and took a biopsy. The culture takes two weeks for results. They expect that he will be in for 5 days.

-Mom

Welcome!

In November, Don began to experience pain in his hip. He expressed his concern to our family doctor who took tests, but could not find anything and recommended pain killers. In December, the pain became severe enough for Don to use a cane. Again he went back to the doctor who ordered an x-ray, but could not find anything. In January, Don was using crutches. Our family doctor referred him to an orthopedic surgeon who ordered another x-ray. Two weeks from the first one revealed the tendon had separated from the top of the thigh bone, which was now discoloured. A few days later, Don had a bone scan, which revealed lesions on his thigh, vertebrae, elbow and sternum. The following week when Don & Eva met with the doctor, they were told it was cancer. He then had a ct scan on the body tissues, which revealed spots on his lungs and bowels. Tuesday, Jan 25^th, we met with the oncologist who determined it was necessary for Don to have surgery. Wednesday, he had a pin placed in the thigh to stabilize the bone. We are now waiting to hear back from the doctors as they need to establish staging and the primary so they can determine the best course of action and chemo. Chemotherapy isn’t standard across the board, it’s essentially a cocktail and what’s in the cocktail is dependent on what type of cancer we are facing.