It's Time to CELEBRATE!

Chemo is OVER! Praise the Lord! It is time to celebrate a little and since it will be a while before John feels like celebrating, we're throwing a little party right here on our blog!

Here goes...yippeehorraywhoopwhoopyeehaawoohoohalleluijahamen!

CELEBRATE!
庆祝 - Chinese
fejre - Danish

ipagdiwang - Filipino

célébrer - French
feiern - German
εορτασμό - Greek
celebrare - Italian
świętować - Polish
comemorar - Portuguese
celebrar - Spanish
fira - Swedish

And since a lively party is more fun with some lively music...grab someone and dance along to these...

Celebrate
Walking on Sunshine
Everybody Dance Now (Stickman)
Twist and Shout

Thanks for coming to our party! We'll keep everyone updated on John's progress and again, we appreciate all your prayers.

My Favorite Things

Like everyone's Christmas season, mine has been busy too. I've let quite a few things go by the wayside and that is ok. I tried to do those things that I thought the family would enjoy the most - the tree, outside lights, and cookie favorites.

Thank the Lord for on-line shopping, free shipping coupon codes and UPS! Thanks, brother Jim in Santa Rosa, for the Christmas ham (Yum!) so we have Christmas Eve dinner and some good sandwiches coming. The house is clean - ok, I paid someone for that and I feel like a queen! And I'm taking some vacations days this week.

I wanted to share a few of the things at our house that I enjoy the most this season:

Of course, John and the kids are top on my list. Wish JR were around more. The picture is of the Recliner Club members, although Audrey is feeling better but sleeping quite a bit. John is really exhausted and just wants to "get it over with."

The wonderful cards and letters we get from you folks. Receiving those words of encouragement mean so much and I want to express how it makes us feel to know so many folks are praying for us. To know that our brothers and sisters are walking along beside us brings us great joy.

And for comic relief, Jewels, our friendly cat, helped as I was wrapping gifts. Actually, her falling asleep and leaving me to the task was a great help as she is pretty persistent for attention. She is my yard work buddy too.

Merry Christmas, friends, and have a blessed New Year! I know we're looking forward to it. As John likes to say, "The cancer will abate in 2008 and we'll be doin' fine in 2009!"

Angels Among Us

^{Matthew 5
14}"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Seems there are angels among us and we are so very touched by the kindnesses folks have shown us. We've had some unexpected surprises from some very special people and just can't tell you all how much everything you have done for us means. That you think so highly of us is humbling. John has even been prayed for in Bethlehem. How cool is that?

John continues to feel pretty lousy and we can't wait to get the last chemo behind us. Although we don't want to rush the holidays, we are looking forward to feeling better in the coming months. Audrey has improved with the steroids, but after nine days is tired of laying around and sleeping. She and John are founding members of the Recliner Club and when not napping, are reclining side-by-side enjoying the TV and Christmas tree.

For you, I quote the following as a poem:

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

My prayer is:
Lord, please make
my hands gentle,
my feet swift,
my heart tender, and
my lips encouraging.

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and healthy New Year!

Musings

Today John began another chemo treatment. One more to go. He was actually excited to go this morning, but this afternoon he is feeling pretty puny. His blood counts are good though and he is staying pretty healthy. Recovery is slower but he was able to attend his office luncheon yesterday and he really enjoyed seeing everyone. It was a real boost. Plus, he drove with me to pick up some Chinese food one evening. While we're trying to keep up with the whole foods, seems like we mostly get in regular, home cooked food with as few preservatives as possible and Audrey and I get the occasional break by picking something up.

Speaking of Audrey...she was feeling under the weather this week and as an insurance policy to keep John healthy, the Dr. wanted to see her to be sure she didn't have strep. She had the usual fever, headache, sore throat, swollen glands and body aches. While she does not have strep, she does have mono and this morning felt even worse. Poor dear. I'm back to two patients again and am working from home for now. The fun just never ends! I'm praying Audrey feels better soon and this doesn't necessitate an extensive recovery period, plus I hate seeing her feel so bad. It could be worse, though.

On a brighter note, she was accepted at the University of Dayton and is supposed to begin Jan. 5, but has not yet received registration materials. The most important thing is that mono doesn't delay her studies. I hope UD is a good fit for her. She'll be living at home and commuting 15-20 minutes downtown. Thank you for praying about this. Firming this up has relieved tension around our house. Well, just mine as her dad never had any! Oh yeah...Mr. Smoooth.

With the Christmas season upon us, we of course ponder the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. What a wonderful time of year. The miracle of birth in itself is pretty amazing, but celebrating the birth of Jesus provides occasion to reflect. Yesterday, I was thinking, "Jesus! Where are you? When are you coming back? I'm ready!" Interestingly, sometimes at night I just flip open my Bible and read just a verse or two. Last night I flipped to these passages. It really makes you think about God's wrath and how it is not to be taken lightly!

Zephaniah 1:2-3

I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth, says the Lord. I will sweep away people and animals alike. I will sweep away the birds of the sky and the fish in the sea. I will reduce the wicked to heaps of rubble, and I will wipe humanity from the face of the earth, says the Lord.

So I ask you, what do you think would happen to you if Jesus came back?

With thanksgiving for many things - Pam

More Good News

Chemo was delayed one day so John was able to mostly enjoy Thanksgiving day. Son John and his girlfriend Mindy came up for a few days, but left Friday morning to join Mindy's family for their dinner. He had to be back on the news desk on Saturday. Although short, it was a nice visit. We all joined Pam's family at her parents and John was able to stay about 4 1/2 hours, so that was great!

John isn't feeling too great now but with chemo on Friday and the removal of the infusion pump today, this is expected. We did have some really great news from the oncologist on Friday...John's CEA (tumor marker) is .5! This is really great as normal for a post cancer patient is 2.5 and John's has moved from 55 when we started, to 25 following his first chemo regimen, to 3.5 following his surgery and now .5. We think that is fantastic news and give God the glory!

The tree and outdoor lights are up for John to enjoy and we're hanging tough...most days anyway.

I invite you to take a few minutes to relax and focus on the greatness of God at these links: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5-6gwssX0Y&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybDjb6tQes4&feature=related

Time to Come Clean

Ok, I admit it. I've been avoiding talking to my in-laws. There has been good reason though - I knew I would cry. I look at my own two children and can't imagine what it would be like to watch them go through what their child is going through. I have felt like I needed to hold them up in some way but didn't have the strength. Tonight, I knew I had been incommunicado for too long so made sure I participated in our weekly Skype call. Sure enough, I cried, and continued afterwards until I had achieved one of those gargantuan headaches. Real smart, Pam. After talking I was again reminded how much our families love us, how much grace they show us, how much faith they have, and that we can only rely on God to do the carrying.

We had a fabulous weekend as John felt pretty darn good! We spent time doing what regular, healthy folks do and enjoyed ourselves immensely. Puttered around the house, talked about things we want to do, went to church (yay!) and picked up a sandwich on the way home. We even got in the hot tub. To our surprise, son John phoned Saturday night saying he was 90 minutes away and coming for a quick overnight visit.

Whoop, whoop for Audrey! Our oven hinge broke this week and since it is not our practice to farm out repair jobs, under her dad's direction from the recliner she went downtown and purchased the part, took the stove apart and installed the new hinge with only one odd screw left over! Girl power!

Prayer request - John's Aunt Lou went for a knee replacement but has been in the hospital several weeks and needed multiple units of blood for severe anemia. Progress in deciphering this has been slow and her knee has become somewhat frozen during the wait.

Below is a poem that I'm sure most of you have seen and sometimes, when I'm feeling like cancer has stolen our lives, I have to remind myself of it. If you are having your own challenges, replace the word "Cancer" in the title with your own burden.

Cancer is so limited...

It cannot cripple love

It cannot shatter hope

It cannot erode faith

It cannot eat away peace

It cannot destroy confidence

It cannot kill friendship

It cannot shut out memories

It cannot silence courage

It cannot invade the soul

It cannot reduce eternal life

It cannot quench the spirit

It cannot lesson the power of the resurrection

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted but not abandoned; struck down but not destroyed. 2 Corinthians 4:8

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5

And with my husband softly snoring beside me, I wish you good night.

It's Been A While

So it has been a while since I updated. The truth is, I just don't know what to write. This is a long process and we've been at it going on six months now.

Third chemo was last Thursday and it hasn't been easy, but we know it could be so much worse. So, we're trying not to complain although I miss my loving husband, his sense of humor and the feeling that we're moving along toward our goals in life.

It was nice to hear from several folks recently and nice to make some phone calls to catch up with a few folks this weekend. Pam's mom (you remember...she had the open heart surgery four days after John had his surgery) is energetic and active and has brought us some meals and Pam's dad has chopped up leaves. A neighbor brought some delicious vegetable soup, a friend cleaned out our gutters and we receive encouraging notes. As you can tell, we are loved.

With everything going on, we have of course not attended church but have relied on our TV church and even that can be sporadic. I think I needed to hear one of our favorite pastors when he said to be a witness no matter where you are. Because we're feeling stagnant and so caught up in John's medical needs, I often feel I am not much use at building the kingdom. Don't get me wrong, I know I'm doing what I am supposed to do, but I sometimes feel like something is missing. So, dear friend, I will just take the opportunity to say, if your commitment to God is lukewarm, or you have never made a commitment, or your priorities aren't what they should be; make a change. Accept Him wholly, trust in His word, examine where you're going, and serve wherever you are.

For God so loved the world, that He gave us His son, that we should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16.

Getting Back On Track

After a few days in the hospital, we are back home and John is doing well. We found out the blood clot actually formed in his left leg and small pieces broke off and traveled to both lungs. He will be getting shots of Lovenox in his belly twice a day and is also taking Coumadin. The shots will end in about a week but he will be taking Coumadin for about a year.

This was a pretty scary process but we are so grateful that he had the baseline CT Scan scheduled, and that this was discovered before we got into a really serious problem - or worse. He had no symptoms at all, although he may have been a little short of breath. Since he has been inactive going on six months now and the huge surgery and chemo, sometimes it is a little hard to distinguish what is abnormal based on what he has been through.

Anyway, praise the Lord he is home and doing ok! We are just so thankful for one another, our family, and all you great prayer warriors.

Love, Pam

Unexpected Turn (May Day)

We need your prayers (as usual).

John went today for his CT scan and we were surprised to learning late this afternoon that he had blood clots in both lungs and he needed to head to the ER. He was admitted this evening and his stay will depend on how his body reacts to the drugs that are supposed to dissolve the clots.

While this was certainly a shock, we are grateful he had the CT scan scheduled to get a look at the lungs as a post-surgery follow-up. He had no symptoms that usually accompany blood clots in the lungs and we are grateful for that as they sound scary.

It really is a bummer to have this happen but we're thankful to get it taken care of. Please pray this issue will resolve quickly and without incident.

Thanks so much for praying.

Love, Pam

Doing OK

Hey all.

John is doing ok since chemo last Thursday. He is tired and has had some of those three nap days but yesterday I think he just took one. The physical therapist came to the house this morning to help him with his shoulder. This is the right shoulder and has been problematic since the surgery almost eight weeks ago. They really did rough him up during surgery. He found the experience encouraging and has exercises to do. The pt will come twice a week for a while.

We enjoyed a short visit with JR this weekend when he came home to vote. Also enjoyed visits from some other folks. We really appreciate the encouragement and prayers we receive from so many. John remains in good spirits but misses his work very much. Pam misses John.

Truthfully, it is strange when people tell us what a great example we are and how we have such a positive energy. What I really feel like is a soggy tissue, wet from tears and boohoo stuff. Still, even though we're having some tough times, and operating in a manner that is pretty off the mark for our family, we know we have so many blessings. Very kind people, some of whom we don't even know, have done some very nice things for us. We feel undeserving.

Prayer requests: That we would really feel God's presence and hear his voice. That John would handle the chemo and that it will stick - for good! That Audrey and JR will get their footing. And a BIG prayer request - that Pam would actually be able to keep her mouth shut and not ask her daughter what her school plans are. I'm pretty redonkulous (family joke) with crabbing about that.

And this very appropriate message came today from our favorite pastor: Bayless Conley.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says,

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

The word temptation in this verse also means test or trial. With that in mind, here are a couple of thoughts to encourage you today.

1. Whatever test, trial, or temptation you are facing today, it is "common to man." That means that you are not the only one who has gone through whatever you are facing.

It is comforting to know that others have faced similar problems before us and made it through!

2. God makes a way of escape with the trial or temptation. That means you're not stuck! Before your difficulty ever arose, God designed a way of escape. And that means of escape comes with the problem.

So if you find yourself embroiled in trials, tests, or temptations today, start looking for God's way of escape--it exists. Trust Him to guide you safely through and out of your difficulties!

Aren't we blessed that the Lord Jesus dwells among us.

-Pam

Hard To Explain

This Thursday will be seven weeks out from John's surgery. He is doing pretty well but continues to have real issues with his shoulder on the side where the two ribs were removed. He also has diminished muscle strength in his upper back - probably from them cutting through so much muscle - and it is difficult for him to sit up in a regular chair for an extended period without pain. Hence, he loves his recliner and we are thankful to have it!

Progress is slow but he does not have to use pain meds much - maybe at night so he can sleep. We have been able to take a few short car trips on errands and that has been nice. He would like to make it to the Wednesday of Worship (WOW) Service at our church this week for a short period. Chemo is again this Thursday, the 31st. That will be two down, four (and hopefully that is all) to go!

We have kind of been in a strange time the last week. Chemo can make John a little emotional and when he is, I am big time emotional. Somehow, the feeling of relief we expected to have while on the run to home plate hasn't materialized. John says we lost our stride but we'll get it back. For me, the lack of time for prayer and Bible study has taken a real toll. I have felt lost, sick and exhausted. Fortunately, I'm improving and will get my game on. As usual, John bounces back quickly with grace and gratitude (and I love him so much for that and so much more).

I think the thing that kind of started the ball rolling in our slide was receiving a very difficult phone call from an old family friend of John's parents. John's folks had just seen this man and his wife at a military reunion and after they arrived at our house, he phoned to say he had just been diagnosed with terminal cancer, was refusing treatment and they were giving him a few weeks. We received another phone call from this gentleman after John's folks had left us, and it subsequently turned into one of those "good-bye" calls. The essence of it just kind of rocked our little world and many emotions spilled over. Our prayers go out for Jack and his family.

God continues to bless us with residual income for John, even though he is unable to work, and other support. We have so much to be thankful for.

May the spirit of the Lord wash over you like refreshing rain. Amen.

Pam

Where To Begin

First, John is still recovering from surgery but trying to do more each day. His folks have been keeping him company during the day and helping out here and there with some projects. They will be getting on the road next Tuesday for a few days in Indiana with family and then on to California. It has been so nice to have them visit!

We need your prayer because chemo begins tomorrow (10-16). I'm fairly concerned because frankly, I just don't think John is healed enough to tolerate the ravaging affects of chemo very well. It just really kicks your tail and his tail is still dragging the ground most of the time. We're trusting the Lord to help us through this. I had my pre-chemo breakdown last night. It would be so nice to have one more week to do a few things before John feels miserable and I feel like my husband has temporarily checked out. He won't finish until the end of January so we have a long stretch ahead.

Friday is our 26th wedding anniversary. Last year, we spent it nursing our son back from a fairly bad auto accident. This year it will be looking for some level of comfort for John. Although we'd rather be doing something else, we're very thankful to be together, no matter the circumstances.

I've been reading in Daniel lately and have felt like I had several good things to share, but once again, the last few days have been a bit of a struggle. Still, what a fascinating book it is about the end times. I will close with this message to Daniel 10:18 Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and I felt my strength returning. ¹⁹ “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!”

Great news!

Although John continues to have quite a bit of pain, we did get some really good news. He had a CEA blood test (tumor marker) last week and the results showed he has dropped to 3.4. Normal is 2.5 and we started out at 55, dropping to 24 about halfway through the first chemo round.

The dread of chemo starting next week is beginning to set in but we're praying faithfully and know the Lord will be walking us through. Have also started John on a fairly strict regimen of Reliv products as we have heard good things for cancer patients. This, along with the JuicePlus, means he is popping down quite a few supplements but we are very grateful to have the opportunity to use them.

Please remember our daughter, Audrey, in prayer. She needs to make some decisions regarding school in the very near future and itis weighing heavily on her.

Until next time, I pray for God's grace and mercy for you.

Pam

Saw the Docs

I've been a bit busy and it has been hard to update. Seems like there is always something going on.

First, we saw both John's surgeon and oncologist on Tuesday. All went well, or perhaps as expected. The surgeon released John and felt he was doing well. The oncologist gave us the next chemo regimen, which will begin on Thursday, October 16. He will have 6-8 treatments, with one occurring every two weeks. If he stays on schedule and tolerates everything well, he will finish on January 22. This will be a long haul for us. Chemo is hard enough but with having just finished his last regimen on August 21 and having such an extensive and painful surgery on Sept. 11, this will not be an easy go. But, we know we'll make it through.

Deuteronomy 31:8
The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

We are delighted to have John's parents from CA, Bob and Joyce, parked in our driveway in their home on wheels. It is nice to have them there after a four year absence and Joyce seems to be doing very well - in spite of catching an Ohio cold.

PAM'S RANT - As a Christian, I'm ashamed to say it is hard for me to "keep a stuff upper lip" all the time. In other words, my faith waivers and I sometimes feel like I'm spinning out of control. Here is my advice to you, to help folks like me...PLEASE DON'T say with a gloomy expression, "Good luck with that." Luck is not involved. Prayer, focus on God's grace, diligent medical care, good nutrition, restful nights, positive support, caring and loving family/friends, and some semblance of control in at least a few areas of one's life, are what is involved. None of this has anything to do with luck - just lots of faith and lots of hard work. (PS - You wouldn't believe the number of medical personnel who used the good luck line on us! I mean, get a clue, people!)

Also, don't shy away from people who are facing serious medical situations or are hurting. People avoid us. It sucks. If it helps, practice something positive and encouraging to say beforehand. If you say you're praying for someone in need, then do it! Even a quick prayer is better than none. We know of someone who lost their son when he fell from a roof and people avoid them too. Hurting and grief are part of life. We can pretend they aren't there for our own comfort, but it is so much easier for the hurting or grieving person to have a brother to walk the path with.

Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

I hope you have peace in your heart today.

Keep on keepin' on

Little by little, John is improving and is able to do a few more things for himself daily, and is making progress walking up the street each day. He is still tired and having a great deal of pain. We are concerned that his right shoulder may have been damaged during surgery as he has an inordinate amount of pain there. We see the surgeon and oncologist on Tuesday and hope we can get some guidance on this.

Pam's mom is healing up nicely and returned home early this past week. She was really only with us a scant five days. She is trying to take it easy and Pam really appreciates the folks who have carried in meals for them it is one less thing to be concerned about.

We appreciate all the nice cards of encouragement that come our way and especially the prayers. In addition to John's continued healing, Pam would really appreciate your prayers for strength and rest for both her and Audrey.

We want to give special thanks to our friends, Curtis and Cindy Reeves. They have been so supportive and call regularly and beg for things to do for us. Cindy is a great cook! God has blessed us with such great friends and they truly demonstrate the love of Christ.

A cheerful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22

Grace, grace, God's grace.

This past week has been a whirlwind!

John continues to improve slowly. He has substantial pain and although that hasn't abated a great deal, he is able to move around a little more each day and today he was able to walk about five houses down the street with a walker and some spotters.

The really good news is that there was no cancer in the bone. This was wonderful to hear along with the fact that the margins of the areas removed were clear of cancer. When we visit the oncologist in a few weeks, we will be able to ask if the actual tumors removed were dead tissue, and are certainly praying that is the case.

We also received Pam's mom from the hospital yesterday (Friday) and she is getting along quite well. She was really struggling in the hospital with nausea and vomiting, and although they were a little reluctant to send her home with the vomiting, she felt she would get better much faster if she could just "break out." Happily, the problem has disappeared and she is eating and resting well, and amazingly, getting along with just Tylenol as she doesn't tolerate strong pain meds well. She is pretty mobile and we're working on her breathing deeply. Happily also, the mass of cells in her heart were benign (I might have said that already). Dad pops in a out to visit and sometimes mow the lawn and I'm sure he'll be glad to have her back home soon.

We were without power (like much of Ohio thanks to Hurricane Ike) through about half of the time John was in the hospital and actually stayed an extra day because of that - and that he felt pretty miserable.

This weekend has been a bit busy with family in and out and we were scolded by John's visiting nurse for that. There is always a chore to do and we've had extra tasks with trying to get mom's things here and get all the right mix of elixirs to help everyone get regular after anesthesia and narcotics.

We are grateful to have John's brother, Jim, here from CA to help out until Monday evening. He has been very helpful and we have all enjoyed his visit - especially John. Happy to have JR here this weekend also. And, thank the Lord for Audrey!

We have enjoyed receiving cards of encouragement and ask for your continued prayer. I'm sure the only way I'm doing what I'm doing is through the grace of God.

Be kind to one another.

Pam

Whew!

What a whirlwind the last few days have been! I guess I'm one of those folks who feels like you need an advocate with you when you're in the hospital. Unfortunately, I've gotten to know my way around Kettering Hospital pretty well the last few years.

John is doing fairly well considering the extent of his surgery. He has a pretty high pain level. He was actually supposed to go home today but that was nixed because we have been without power since last Sunday due to Hurricane Ike. This afternoon, when we found out our power had come back on they let us choose if we wanted to stay and we decided staying would be best - especially with Pam's mom just down the hall.

And now for that update...Marjorie's surgery went very well yesterday morning. The surgeon said it was a tricky and unusual surgery but she came through fine. She was moved from ICU today to John's unit (maybe a little early) and although her blood pressure is a little low and she is uncomfortable, she is doing ok.

Various family members have been in and out to help and Audrey has been keeping the home fires burning and her boyfriend, Caleb, doing lots of yard clean up. John's brother arrives tonight and once we get laundry rolling and the fridge gets cleaned out and restocked, we aught to be in pretty good shape.

Funny story - I think word is getting around the hospital that both John and mom are here as I've had total strangers working on the floor who have stopped me and asked if I was ok. I look at them and ask what they mean? They they explain they know about both family members and have wondered how I'm holding up. A few times I could only stammer, "God is good."

Improvements

<sup>Small improvements today. A little walking and sitting up in a chair. One chest tube removed and we're looking forward to the other one coming out tomorrow. The picture is of John with what he calls his "antlers," actually his chest pillow, and his glowing, red, oxygen sensor on his finger. He says he's Rudolph.



Our encouragement to you:

I Peter 3:8</sup> Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.

Working Through It

Hard day for John. When I arrived at the hospital at 9:30 this morning (that is when ICU hours begin) he was bright eyed, sitting in a chair with zero pain. At noon, he was moved to the regular cardio unit.

Unfortunately, as the day went on, his pain increased dramatically and they were not able to control it. At 9:00 p.m. they called in the anesthesiologist and he checked the epidural to be sure everything was ok. All looked good to him so he doubled the epidural dosage and quadrupled the bolus dosage (an occasional blast of extra meds to control pain). This seemed to do the trick and John was able to drift off to sleep so I left about 10:00 p.m.

The encouraging news is that the oncologist visited. While we still have to wait for the pathology, he was not overly concerned about the bone issue and didn't feel that the tumors had invaded the bone. We're still very eager to get the pathology report but are encouraged.

Hope to get the chest tubes out tomorrow, which should make life more pleasant, as they are large boogers and invade the chest cavity on each side, going in about 8-10 inches. Looking at a Monday release date if all goes well.

Blessings and Praises (even when it is hard)

Fear is the Opposite of Faith

Since it is quite late, I'll try to keep this pithy! Well...

John had surgery today. All went well. They were able to remove the large tumor in the lower left lobe, and orthoscopically removed two small areas in the left lung. They could not see anything more in the left lung.

The one area of concern (as if we didn't already have enough) is that the large tumor had attached itself to some ribs. They removed two ribs and those will be sent to pathology to see if the cancer invaded them. Based on what the surgeon said, we believe the oncologist will order a bone scan to see if there might be cancer in any bones and the ribs will be tested. This was a blow at first, but with encouragement from our daughter and our good friend, Cindy Reeves, we are considering it a good sign that the surgeon felt confident to move ahead with his plan and remove what he thought appropriate. He had told us before that if he didn't like what he saw he would close John up and not continue.

That said, John was very comfortable this evening with zero pain, thanks to an epidural, and our needs now are for you all to pray that a bone scan would reveal that absolutely nothing is present and that John would heal quickly.

Other drama has been brewing. As many know, Pam's mom had some pre-op testing for a knee replacement and a problem with her heart was discovered. She had some tests, came home for a few days and went in this past Wed. for a heart cath. That all went peachy, but she does have a benign mass in her left ventricle. Needless to say, the knee surgery was canceled but she will have open heart surgery on Monday. We're grateful for pre-op testing as undiscovered, this could have been a big problem by causing a major stroke.

I'm very grateful for sister, Vickie Nicholas, from Columbus, for coming down to look after the folks. She was pretty busy.

Also grateful for friend Cindy Reeves who showed up at he hospital to sit all day, comfort us, and bring a cooler of healthy, nutritious food!

Thanks to Audrey's boyfriend, Caleb Roe, for grass cutting and some other chores, encouragement and words of wisdom like, "Fear is the opposite of faith."

Our kids and family have been great with gathering close and prayer support. We are very grateful to have daughter Audrey home and all she contributes, and son John's prayerful concern and visits.

When It Rains

^{James 1:2} Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

¹² God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

¹⁶ So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. ¹⁸ He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.

This week had its share of trials. Although John continues to gain strength, Pam's mom has endured some tribulations. She was to have a knee replacement on the 9th and went in last week for pre-op tests which revealed a problem with her heart. Seems there is a benign mass in the left ventrical and after a few days in the hospital getting it checked out, she was sent home today but will return next Wed. for a heart cath which will be followed by heart surgery.

We are grateful it was discovered before more severe problems occurred, as the Dr. feels it caused her TIA last year.

So there is a possibility we'll have two folks recuperating from thoracic surgery at the same time.

Surgical Consult

We had John's surgical consultation this morning. All went well and as expected with surgery scheduled for September 11. Hospital stay will depend on the procedures performed but we're thinking about five days.

The plan is to perform a thoracotomy on the right lung and a visual laparoscopic thoracotomy on the left lung. There is a chance that they would change the program and open him up on both sides, but they're hoping not to do that and fairly certain that won't be necessary.

Also, there is a slight chance when they get into the lungs, things will look worse than they expected and they will close things up but the Dr. is not expecting this - and let's pray this doesn't happen!

We ask for continued prayer for John's healing and prayer for the surgeons, Drs. Pavlina and Borsody.

We are grateful and happy, but also sad, to have Audrey home from college. She left for school on Sunday the 24th but felt a real pull to be at home. After giving it some serious thought and consulting with some trusted folks there, she withdrew from Taylor University and returned home on the 28th. She has enrolled at Wright State University, which is close to home, with a full load of classes. She will reconsider her plans over the coming months as to where she will finish her education. We appreciate her love, dedication and help.

We enjoyed a visit this weekend from several folks! Son John and girlfriend Mindy came up from KY for a few days. John's Aunt Diana, her husband David, daughter Allison and her husband Michael and son Owen all came from Indiana to visit. Owen is a delightful, four year old who loves to play ball! Pam's brother, Steve, stopped by with daughter Allison and son Ben, and Ben's girlfriend. Very busy time but good for John and he held up well!

Our prayer lives continue to grow as does our faith. We have much to be thankful for.


Lift up holy hands in prayer, and praise the Lord.
Psalm 134:2

Healing Up

John is healing up from this last chemo. Feels pretty pooped but in pretty good spirits. We still have our appt. for the second surgical consult on Sept. 2 but are hoping to get an idea of a surgery date tomorrow so that some family can make plans. With the same follow-up chemo regimen planned post surgery, we're figuring John will be mostly out of commission until after the holidays.

Audrey is really struggling with being back at school and it is highly possible she will return home and complete her degree at the local state university. This has been a fairly tough time for all of us, although John Sr. seems to take most everything in stride.

We work to not let Satan steal our joy and to praise God in all things. We have many things to be thankful for and God continues to make his presence known to us.

Blessings.

Chemo Today, etc.

Today is the last chemo for this round. After consulting, the oncologist and surgeon decided that we should maintain our Sept. 2 appointment with the surgeon and set a surgery date from there. However, we do know they would like to do the surgery as soon as possible and we expect it will be scheduled shortly thereafter.

Pam's dad is now out of the hospital and getting around ok with his knee and we hope the spells that are spooking us are over. Pam's mom has decided to resume with her plans to have knee replacement and got back on the schedule for Sept. 9.

Audrey has to head back to school on Sunday and this is proving to be very difficult for her as she feels she should be here with us. It is heart wrenching to see her so torn.

It was great to have JR home for this past weekend although it ended up being a pretty busy time. We're already looking forward to another visit.

Luke 17:13 - And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

God is Good

I am so thrilled to report that the oncologist called today with the final pathology report on John's liver and the initial negative report stands - there is NO cancer in the liver! Of course, we had totally claimed that!

John is pretty pooped. I did some driving for him this morning so he could do a little work and then we popped into the oncologist's office for a quick finger stick to check his numbers, as we wanted to be sure he would be prepared to get what is supposed to be his final chemo this Thursday. If his numbers had been low, they could have given him some type of injection to boost him up, but everything looks good so we should be all set! I think that perhaps the biopsy just took more out of him than we anticipated.

The church we attend does about 99% rock and roll worship music. While we have gotten accustomed to this and enjoy it, we still miss our old hymns so here is my gift to you today.

If you want to sing along, here is a great recording.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDn-jnbQ744

On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found;
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain:
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.

To God be the Glory!

Praise Jesus!

Although we still have to wait for the complete pathology report, the initial pathology of John's liver biopsy today indicates there is no liver cancer! Again, we still need to wait for the complete report but we are claiming it and giving God the glory!

While John is resting comfortably here at home, I'm doing a praise Jesus victory dance all over the place with a big smile on my face!

Your continued prayer for more healing is needed and appreciated.

Romans 15:11 - And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.

Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Hebrews 13:15 - Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

James 5:13 - Is any one among you suffering? Let him pray. Is any cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Hallelujah!

Pam

Some stuff

So we saw the surgeon today and got the low down on timing and what to expect for the lung surgery. They would want to remove the largest tumor in the lower right lung via an incision in the back. The smaller tumors they hope to remove laproscopically. The surgeon says it is not a difficult or dangerous surgery but recovery is brutal. They would want to do the surgery as soon as John's white cell counts return to an acceptable level following his chemo on Aug. 21 (next Thursday). For now, we have kept his white cell count in a good range so surgery could happen fairly quickly.

Here is the kicker. As you may know, there is a suspicious spot on John's liver. The surgeon wasn't aware of this as he was making plans for the lung surgery. He indicated the liver needs to be taken care of before the lungs. As of today, we had not seen the oncologist to discuss the liver so the surgeon called the oncologist. When we arrived home, we got a call from the oncologist that he didn't want to assume the worst until John had a needle biopsy. We are scheduled for that this Thursday (14th).

Please remember us in prayer - that we will be blessed with good news and the liver will be clear so we can move along with the lungs.

We were blessed with a visit from John's cousin from Chicago, Chuck Brush, his wife Shari and their three boys. They are a lovely family and we thoroughly enjoyed their visit as they passed through on vacation travels.

We also had a visit from my cousin, Cameron Kelley and his wife Sandra and their two lovely daughters, Caroline and Clara. They are another very nice family.

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

Pam

And so it goes

John is coming along with this treatment and all is as expected. He is managing well but extremely tired.

We did learn last week that his CT scan revealed something suspicious on his liver. His oncologist has been on vacation and although we did hear from his nurse assistant, we are waiting to hear from the Dr. at some point about this. Although it was initially extremely upsetting to me, I have been working on not worrying and am feeling better. We have so much to be thankful for! John feels this does not alter anything.

Tomorrow morning we see the surgeon to get his take on things. Your continued prayer for encouraging news and healing is appreciated.

Because of the Lord's great love, we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man (cancer) do to me? Psalm 56:3-4

We may have some family visiting tomorrow. John's cousin Chuck Brush and family are in town from Chicago area, and Pam's cousin Marylou Starr from Texas, as well as Cameron Kelley and family from Cincy are also in town and may stop by. We're hoping John is up to seeing everyone. It is a nice reprieve.

As our son John's tattoo says, Press On. (It's ok - I already outed him to most everyone I think.)

Love, Pam

Chemo on Track

Chemo is underway and on track. Today is going pretty well but we'll expect John to go down hill beginning tomorrow about noon as always.

This is a short update but please, please continue to pray for us and John's healing.

When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, In God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me? Psalm 56:3-4

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning' great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

Love, Pam

CT Scan

So this morning, John had a CT scan. We hadn't expected to get the results until next week as his oncologist is on vacation this week; however, while John was waiting for the test, the Dr. who did his needle biopsy appeared. John was in his office area and he knows this Dr. as he spent quite a bit of time with him quoting a new roof for his home.

The Dr. asked the technician to send the images to him immediately and he took John back to his office. The tumors are shrinking, John believes probably by about 1/3 thus far. While we had both hoped that there would be no tumors in the images, that wasn't the case. We are pleased that the chemo appears to be working and hope to see more progress with the next two treatments coming up on the 7th and 21st.

Your prayers for the chemo to effectively do its job are appreciated, as well as lifting John up as he receives and recovers from the treatments. Each time it gets a little harder to recover although we were pleased to go to church on Saturday evening and even to Bob Evans to share some comfort food afterwards. John was thrilled as I have hardly let him eat anything out and he really enjoyed having sausage!

We do enjoy hearing from folks. If you get the chance, log in to comment on the blog as an anonymous visitor and you can just leave your name in the body of the comment if you like.

God Bless!

Pam

Remembering

So I have been a bit tired and haven't wanted to update. Sorry.

I entitled this post Remembering because we all need to remember to praise the Lord, every day, all day, for everything! I haven't told you that John has been working on reading the Bible through since he is kinda trapped here in the house. I think he felt like since I read through in '07, he wanted to have that on his "resume" too. Anyway, it sure isn't going to take him a year to do it as he is cooking along. I'm sure it helps that he has regularly read his Bible for many years where I had always been waaaay too sporadic. It is too easy to let the mundane take over our lives and forget what is important - deepening our relationship with Christ, praising him in all things and continuing his mission.

That said, here are some things I wanted to share before I update you on John...

I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High. Psalm 7:17

The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my savior! Psalm 18:46

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 21:14

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:13-14

John continues to gain strength and (against my wishes) drove himself to check on a few jobs and to the office today. Praise the Lord that he felt like going! He has had his puny times and holds down his recliner much of the time but is napping less now. Drat that chemo will be upon us again next Thursday!

We are also thrilled that John's parents plan on making a trip east in their motorhome sometime Sept./Oct. We will be very happy to have them with us for as long as they are able. It has been some time since we have had their "home on wheels" in our driveway and it will be a welcome sight.

And so I close with this:

Psalm 33:20-21 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.

Love, Pam

For You

John continues to gradually improve and he was able to skip the morning nap; however, he was definitely ready as soon as lunch was finished!

I probably already said that he will have the CT scan on August 5 and we will also see the thoracic surgeon on August 12. It is a little nerve wracking waiting these appointments.

Since we can't always make it to church we very much enjoy recording and watching Bayless Conley, John Hagee and Joel Osteen on tv when John feels like focusing on the message. So last night we were following along with our Bible's and I ended up in the wrong book. Anyway, what I read just struck me that we should also be an encouragement to you rather than receiving all the encouragement, so I pass this on to you.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Galatians 6:9

Blessings,

Pam

Not so hot but hopeful

As we expected, today isn't so hot but John is counting on this treatment being like the others with this being his worst day and gradually gaining strength throughout the week. Poor guy. He is sleeping quite a bit today when he isn't running to the bathroom.

Audrey and I are taking a break inside where it is cool. I finished trimming the shrubs today and she and I just thoroughly washed and waxed her car. I think that might be the last time we do that. It doesn't look so hot and we need to go back out and try to buff it some more.

More chemo

Saw the Dr. today before chemo. John will have two more treatments on Aug. 7 and Aug. 21. I guess this is not a surprise but still, it would have been nice to just have the four treatments rather than six. Sometime before the next chemo on Aug. 7, John will have a CT scan to check the tumors.

A thoracic surgeon will be calling us for a consult. Our oncologist surprised us a bit by saying that the surgeon will have to determine if he could operate. We asked him what if he says he can't, and his reply was that we would look for another surgeon. The oncologist did say that each lung would likely be operated on separately.

There will also be follow-up chemo after the surgery.

All in all, I guess I walked away a little down but John thinks that is just me. Physically, John is feeling as expected with this treatment.

Please pray for us. We know God is bigger than any cancer cell but this still just stinks.

On a lighter note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! to John's mom, Joyce, in CA. We are so thrilled she is able to spend her birthday traveling in the motorhome!

Pam

Chemo tomorrow

Please remember John in your prayers. He will have his fourth chemo treatment tomorrow and, of course, is dreading it.

Sometime after this treatment, he will have another CT scan so your prayers that we will have another great report are needed! The Dr. will be making decisions about future treatment based on the scan so for now, we don't know what to expect.

He has worked part days each day this week and has been feeling pretty good. Hair is a bit thin but not terribly noticeable because he keeps it buzzed off.

Keep the faith

37 For in just a little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. 38 But my righteous one will live by faith, And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. Hebrews 10

John continues to enjoy a few days of feeling pretty well. His energy comes and goes but he has been able to do a few small jobs around the house and we were able to run a few errands together. It was nice to get out with him.

Have a wonderful day.

A good day

John has had a pretty good day. Did some desk work at home and has been alert and up all day. We went on a brief walk this morning and he is cracking some jokes which makes me happy.

I'm wondering if the zinc losenges and shitake mushrooms we're giving him are helping to build those white blood cells so that he is recovering faster? This is something we read about in a trial study of folks who were receiving chemo without a recovery drug.

Still very doubtful we will go to Pam's family reunion in Cincinnati on Sunday but we're hoping to make it to church on Saturday evening.

Not too hateful

John is managing very nicely. Pretty fatigued and occasionally nauseous but doing well. I did some tree trimming and burned some of the many dead limbs that fall from our trees yesterday afternoon in our "recreational" fire pit and John came out and sat in a lawn chair to supervise for a bit. It was great to have him outside with me!

It has helped him tremendously to adhere to his normal routine with dietary regimen and we attribute his having an easier time this go round to our decision to "maintain the norm." Without giving too many details, after John's original colon cancer and bowel resection, he takes three immodium per day and uses metamucil fiber twice per day. The Dr. advised to double his immodium and cut the fiber out to combat the affects of the chemo. However, this was a big mistake as John's body did not react to the chemo in the way expected. Needless to say, sticking to the routine has helped tremendously.

Some days are harder than others but we thank God daily for his mercy and compassion.

Love, Pam

So far, so good

So far, this chemo is very similar to the treatment two weeks ago. John felt rather puny receiving chemo at the Dr's office and getting hooked up to the two-day pump on Thurs., but didn't feel too bad yesterday and I drove him to a short sales appointment. If the trend continues, we expect he may begin to feel pretty yucky this afternoon; however, we are making dietary and med. adjustments and are hoping this helps. There are periods of trial and error to see what works best to combat the nausea and keep his digestive system on an even keel.

Everyone is doing well though.

A shout out to the Somheil family who will be having their reunion today in Brazil, Indiana. Wish we were there and hope you all have a great time. We'll miss seeing you.

"Don't tell God how big your storm is; tell your storm how big your God is."

Love, John and Pam

Fabulous News

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! We were thrilled to have the Dr. tell us this morning that John's tumor marker has dropped from 55 to 22!!! He said that was a very good drop and the staff seemed very pleased too.

We can't begin to tell you how happy we are and how we feel that the Lord is hearing our (and your!) prayers. So please keep praying and praising God for healing, strength, and the ability to make it through the treatments!

1 Chronicles 16:36
Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,who lives from everlasting to everlasting! And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

Love, John and Pam

Chemo tomorrow

Chemo is scheduled for tomorrow so please pray that John will tolerate this well. The two previous treatments have really kicked his tail and typically, chemo has a cumulative effect. So...your prayers are paramount!

Thanks for your calls, cards and comments. They are needed and appreciated.

Thanks also to Marc Dupont for giving us his book, Healing Today. We have really been enjoying it and are learning many things.

John and Pam

God is faithful

We are thankful for John's returning stamina. We were able to attend church on Saturday evening (and go to the grocery). Had a good time of prayer with Marc Dupont, a pastor on staff at our Dayton Vineyard who travels extensively with a healing ministry. On Sunday John felt like his tumor areas were achy. Hmmm. We see the Dr. on Thursday for a quick check before chemo (yuck!) and wouldn't we LOVE to hear that his tumor marker is normal!

We are drawing near to God and feel our spiritual relationship deepening and growing. In spite of the circumstances, we are thankful for so many things.

Psalm 41: 1-3
Blessed is he who has regard for the weak; the Lord delivers him in times of trouble. The Lord will protect him and preserve his life; he will bless him in the land and not surrender him to the desire of his foes. The Lord will sustain him on his sickbed and restore him from his bed of illness.

Psalm 138
I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the "gods" I will sing your praise. I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word. When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. May all the kinds of the earth praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth. May they sing of the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great. Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly, but the proud he knows from afar. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch our your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O Lord, endures forever - do not abandon the works of your hands.

Love, Pam

Slow progress

We'd really love to be telling folks that recovery has been miraculous but in truth it is very slow. John is still very tired and needs to rest often. He woke up feeling really refreshed yesterday and decided to drive himself for some blood work, to a job site and the office but returned shortly after exhausted and hadn't made it to the office. Unfortunately, he is now plagued with heartburn and insomnia each night.

Blood work was to check his tumor marker and although we don't know the results yet, your prayers that it will be significantly lower are appreciated as this indicates the chemo is working.

Although this whole mess stinks, we know there are positive things happening spiritually for various folks as a result. So that is something to be thankful for.

It is nice to have John and Mindy here for a few days and Mindy and Audrey are really helpful in the kitchen.

Happy 4th.

Kinda down

We're a bit down today. John is still struggling with fatigue and although he seems somewhat improved, he has no plans to leave the house for now. It is hard to feel like we're doing everything we possibly can to make him comfortable but it isn't enough. I know many of you are not unfamiliar with this feeling.

Good news is, he sold a roof to our neighbors so that only involved a few trips across the street and some phone calls. I have turned into his sales assistant when I'm not at work.

Oh, and in addition to the air conditioning going out in Audrey's car, our internet service is kaput so just a few more ridiculous things to mess with. Yesterday, my mom had a bad misstep on an already very sore knee which resulted in a Dr. visit, using a walker, and being out of commission. Fortunately, she had good improvement in the night and is able to hobble with the walker today with less pain.

So today is kind of a down day and your prayers for strengthened bodies and renewed spirits would be appreciated.

We have really appreciated your words of encouragement.

Love, Pam

Well...not everything is different

Unfortunately, not all the chemo side-effects are different with the miracle pills. Seems like same as with the treatment John received several years ago, it really kicks his tail and he is pretty pooped for quite a few days after the pump comes off. Sleeping so much and being confined are what really get to him. He had hoped to work a bit today but it was apparent this morning that if eating scrambled eggs and sitting in his recliner made him tired, he probably wasn't going anywhere.

Thankfully, his appetite is fairly good so Audrey and I are working hard to build him up with really nutritious meals, protein shakes, whole food supplements, and today, we are going to add back in some juicing although will probably wait until tomorrow for the dreaded "green juice."

Audrey is working on a green juice video, by-the-way. Hopefully we'll be able to get that up and running sometime this week for your viewing pleasure. Speaking of viewing pleasure...seems like "some people" (a.k.a. our son) just can't give up the shenanigans. One of John's friends gave him a bow, with no bowstring or arrows, but that did not stop him and his roomie (an intern at the newspaper he sublets to) from shooting flaming arrows. What the video does not show are the cops showing up, John sweet talking his way out of any trouble, and the cop radioing dispatch to cancel the firetruck. BUT, you can still hear the sirens in the video!

http://www.tgomilk.blogspot.com/

God is faithful.

Totally Different

We are happy to report that the "miracle" pills have really worked and he hasn't suffered from nausea since Thursday! Hasn't even needed the extra nausea meds to help the expensive one out. We are really grateful for the improvements. As for work, he started out Friday with the idea to drive himself to the office and make some other job stops, then decided to have Audrey drive him, but in the end, he changed his mind and took a nap instead. :o) Was able to make it to two short appointments in our neighborhood in the late afternoon yesterday. Praises for this improvement.

As for fatigue, he isn't as fatigued as the last treatment. Hoping that continues but I think he is bracing himself for it over the next few days. Chemo pump comes off at 12:00 noon today but we hardly notice that anymore.

Here are some cool things:

Dave (a cancer survivor with mental health issues and John's project the last few years) has asked to go to church with us tonight (we're praying John has the energy to go). We have asked Dave to church countless times and he always has an excuse.

Pray for energy and that Dave doesn't chicken out.

Also, we met a woman in the chemo chairs who is about our age, a dentist and who has been told she has about 18 months to live due to metastatic breast cancer in her pelvic bone. Her name is Josie. John is always great about talking to people, but not me. I got up enough nerve to ask if she had a church home, which she didn't. I just happened to have a really old and dirty business card from one of the pastors at our Vineyard Church to pass along and invited her to come. She seemed really grateful and we're praying she might show up some Saturday evening.

If you are new to blogging, I set it up so that you don't have to sign in to leave a comment. You can click that the comment is "anonymous" but can sign your name in the body of the message instead. Signing in is a pain.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6

Chemo Today

Second chemo today. The Dr. cut out Atropine in his IV at the office and that helped cut down on his dizziness and wooziness which John appreciated. Atropine was supposed to help with nausea but it wasn't working out. He also told us to discontinue use of the Phenergan and Compazine for nausea and put him on Dexamethasone which seems to be working better. The $100 pill (Emend) has cut down on nausea about 25-30%. We were hoping for more but he is definitely better and perhaps when he takes the Emend tomorrow and Saturday he will notice a big difference.

He is a good sport about wearing the chemo pump for 48 hours - this gets hooked up by a home nurse after he leaves the oncologist's office - and he is always happy when she returns two days later to remove it.

So prayers for an easier time have been answered.

Audrey could use some prayerful encouragement. It's a bummer to be 19, bogged down with school work all summer and watching dad have a rough go of it
.

Soaking Prayer

We received Soaking Prayer at our Vineyard Church on Sunday, June 22 at the suggestion of one of the pastors. This is a time of intensive prayer from a dedicated and gifted prayer team. The two ladies who prayed with us that day were Vickie and Leslie. Joel also left some written thoughts for us that he had prepared ahead of time but was schedule to pray for someone else.

I doubt I can do justice to the time we spent in Soaking Prayer but will try. You are asked only to receive what the Lord has to offer. It is suggested that you fast the day before, or if you are unable to fast for health reasons that you give up something else. We felt it was best for all of us to not fast but we gave up television and sweets from Friday evening until after the prayer time and tried to focus on scripture and prayer during this time as often as possible.

The prayer team had many scriptures, pictures, words, and encouragement for us. They asked questions as they prayed and used a tag-team method. In the interest of space, I will make a few lists.

Words
Shalom - Malachi 4:2 - Peace = sound mind, prosperity, wholeness, physical healing, divine health.
Belief, Deliverance, Breath of Life (filling us), Hope, Strength, Released, Restoration, Healing, Sound mind, Justice

Pictures
Healing bowls of prayer in heaven filled to over-flowing! Bowls flow out over their tops into the floor of the throne room. God hears a chorus of voices singing as the bowls are tipping, and what flows out is the living water of Christ's heart - his very blood - poured out for our family. We are transformed by the light of God and come to know the power of his love in the center of our heart. We will know, that we know, that we know.

God's angels descending down to protect us.

John's tumors in the hands of God, squeezing and shrinking them.

Word: Restored and transformed. Released and free from all doubt and fear. Living testimony to the power and glory of God. A testament to the power of prayer. A living stone infused with the power of God; able to withstand all forces set against it.

Verses:
In the interest of space, I will not type these out but encourage you to look them up on your own. All these were excellent verses for us.

I Peter 2:4-5; 9-10
Revelation 5:8; 13-14
Psalm 42:7
Ephesians 3:14-21


Also, some verses that were given to me the day before were:
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

We came away from our soaking prayer time with very full hearts, feeling drained but peaceful and hopeful. Although we have always been close, we feel like this experience has drawn us closer together as a family and that God has great things in store for us.

I really could ramble on but I’ll close by saying that all of you praying for us during that time made a significant impact on us and we deeply appreciate it.

P.

PS – We did tell our prayer team how many people were praying at that time and they prayed for blessings to pour out on all of you!

Dr. Visit Today

Back again. Just wanted to give an update on our visit with the oncologist today. We were originally scheduled for chemo today but asked that it be delayed until Thursday so my work week wouldn't be so disrupted with caring for John.

The last chemo (June 12) was pretty rough. John felt bad immediately upon its administration in the chemo chair and continued to feel miserable beyond the 48 hours he wore the chemo pump at home. He was nauseous for days after, very uncomfortable, exhausted and didn't feel well enough to work much until this week. In fact, yesterday was the first day he felt mostly back to "normal." Today hasn't been great as he has some "bathroom" issues and always feels bad on those days. However, the Dr. felt the Compazine and Phenergan we had been using for nausea probably contributed to his feeling so bad, so he is prescribing a new miracle drug (three magic pills at $100 a pop) which he feels will make a real difference. Also, they are skipping one anti-nausea drug that he receives in the chemo chair which the Dr. felt contributed to his wooziness.

So, we are grateful for these new drugs and hope you will pray that they make a real difference, that the chemo is exponentially effective, that our family would be protected and we would have strength and feel the fullness and presence of God.

Tomorrow, I will tell you about Soaking Prayer!

Why A Blog?

Hi, friends, family and kind people who don't really know us but are prayer warriors.

I'm creating this blog so that it is easier to keep folks updated throughout John's cancer process and also so that folks who are praying for us will know our specific prayer needs. John and I have surely been blessed by the many, many folks who have prayed for our family so far and we know we will be relying on prayer warriors throughout this process.

For those who might not know us, we are the Zambenini family, John, Pam, John R. (Zambo) and Audrey. John Sr. was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in Nov. 2003 and has unfortunately had a manifestation of colorectal in his lungs (metastatic lung cancer). This was quite a blow but John has had a great attitude and we are going for victory!

God bless!

Pam