green light

the doctors gave the go-ahead for the chemo treatment to begin today, but upon seeing the growth of the other tumors, changed it to an even stronger one.

when reading my Bible this morning, i came across this passage and found it appropriate:

Psalm 86

1 Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.
2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you.
Save me, for I serve you and trust you.
You are my God.
3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,
for I am calling on you constantly.
4 Give me happiness, O Lord,
for I give myself to you.
5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive,
so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.
6 Listen closely to my prayer, O Lord;
hear my urgent cry.
7 I will call to you whenever I’m in trouble,
and you will answer me.

8 No pagan god is like you, O Lord.
None can do what you do!
9 All the nations you made
will come and bow before you, Lord;
they will praise your holy name.
10 For you are great and perform wonderful deeds.
You alone are God.

11 Teach me your ways, O Lord,
that I may live according to your truth!
Grant me purity of heart,
so that I may honor you.
12 With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God.
I will give glory to your name forever,
13 for your love for me is very great.
You have rescued me from the depths of death.[a]

14 O God, insolent people rise up against me;
a violent gang is trying to kill me.
You mean nothing to them.
15 But you, O Lord,
are a God of compassion and mercy,
slow to get angry
and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.
16 Look down and have mercy on me.
Give your strength to your servant;
save me, the son of your servant.
17 Send me a sign of your favor.
Then those who hate me will be put to shame,
for you, O Lord, help and comfort me.

your prayers are coveted.
thank you.

a vacation and 'the real deal' in the new year

well, dad got a week off from his chemo treatments as his radiation ended the day before Christmas. what a gift to not have to see doctors or the inside of a cement room between Christmas and New Year's~! but with sores in his mouth subsiding, the "burn" and blistering side effects came on like a freight train with enough pain and itching intensity to drive a man crazy! the dark color of the burn has begun to take on a nice rosy hue and the tumor alongside dad's left jawbone has drastically reduced in size; in fact it's not even noticeable... yay!

on the other side of that coin -- or rather his face -- a few other tumors have popped up, one the size of a small macadamia nut under his right eye. it doesn't seems to let up, not even for a minute...

so, today, dad has a dr's appointment to see about the next step -- good blood levels for a new, more intense [dad calls it 'the real deal'], chemotherapy infusion tomorrow. we'll see and i'll keep you posted.

mom is doing okay, though it is hard for her to see her love in pain. she has been so strong through all this. they both have; i see where the example of my own strength has stemmed from -- all rooted in Jesus and a good attitude about life.

please be praying.... ask God to lead you in your prayers. as we have experienced in times past, God does hear the prayers of His people.

42 years together and the after-effects of radiation

today is my mom and dad's 42nd anniversary -- wow! congratulations you two love birds...

on another note, dad finished his radiation treatments Christmas Eve. We were able to spend Christmas together, enjoying traditional Swedish feast on Christmas Eve, opening gifts from Santa Christmas morning, then visiting Brian's family and mom's sister's family on Christmas Day. it was action packed but so good for all of us as we were able to remember 2 precious lives who were lost to us this year -- my husband Brian and mom's sister Nancy -- with those who loved them. we ventured to the OC to commune with Brian's mom, brother, and sisters. Nancy's husband, Joe, drove up from the desert to spend the evening with mom's other sister Priscilla and her family and friends in Pomona. it was a really good day despite the loss of two dearly loved ones.

now, for dad, the aftermath of the radiation is setting in. burning and pain -- worse than the worse sunburn you've ever experienced -- and because it was on a portion of his face, he has extremely painful sores in his mouth that basically limit his eating ability -- he barely eats enough for a bird. he is in a lot of pain and doesn't quite know what to do. please pray for him. he is intense need of it.

we hope you all had a merry Christmas and that the new year will bring health, happiness and God's blessings to you in abundance.

home sweet home

don got out of the hospital on 12/11 -- just in time to see the grandgirls in their performance of a christmas carol at APU. he expressed to the docs how important it was for him to be there, and after assessment, they let him go home after a week's stay in the hospital.

thank you for your prayers. he has started up chemo again and radiation too. he'll be having radiation until Christmas eve... [merry Christmas to you, donald! hehe]

anyway, he still has a bit of a cough and finished up his antibiotics today.

oh! on a kind of fun note, don's son gregg and his wife cindy came over for a visit and brought him a yummy homemade carrot cake filled with pineapple, raisins and all the yummies... it was delish. that was their Christmas present to dad... that and a pleasantly lengthy 4 hour visit :)

pray for a restful holiday time with family as we all are dealing with events of the past year and that God is clearly made known to those around us, in us and through us. have a wonderful holiday season!

time for an oil change

yup, it's that time again... white cells are high and hemoglobin is low so don had another bood transfusion last night. that means that he'll be in the hospital until at least tomorrow. mckenna and avery are a little sad because there's a chance that he'll miss their performance in a christmas carol tomorrow night... be praying he'll be able to join the live audience!

anyway, here's a photo of him getting that oil change and mckenna keeping him company :)

at least there's a smile!

God's goodness

don is still in the hospital as the docs deduced that he had pneumonia in one of his lungs. he'll be there for another day or two while they give him some antibiotics via IV and just monitor his overall health.

as far as the memory loss, they think it could have been fever spikes, as there is no tumor action happening near the brain -- thank God! he will be resuming radiation & chemo treatments next week.

God is good and prayers are being answered. will post more when more is known... thanks so much!

hospitalization for monitoring

this afternoon, dad was taken to the ER because his fever was persistent from last night and the docs all warn that fever could be the sign of infection. so with all of the happenings of yesterday, mom decided to take him in.

he had blood tests, CT scan, chest x-ray and a couple other tests to see what was causing fever. he has also contracted a cold with deep chest cough. because of these things, he will be kept in the hospital for a few days so that his fever/symptoms can be monitored, and they can be certain that there is no sign of pneumonia.

please continue to pray for him; i will make it a priority to keep posting re: his condition.