Update & Then Change Focus

  This spread is from last Saturday when we had a wonderful visit from my niece Laurie and her husband Wayne from California. More on that in a subsequent post. This was a lunch layout with deli sandwich fixin's, sausage cheese dip, buffalo chicken dip, potato salad, fruit and veggie trays, apple pie and more. Yummm!

  Here is the latest medical update and prayer request Then I hope to start making some "regular" posts more tilted toward gardening and such, as I feel stronger and Spring holds promise, in spite of this horribly long and cold winter.

  I had my second chemo treatment last Wednesday. The good news is that I have really had no side effects as yet from the chemo. The not so good news is that God is not finished healing me yet. The Ca 19-9 marker test was again greatly elevated and the PET scan was, in Dr. Gians words, "a mess". So I most likely have cancer still lingering somewhere in the abdominal area. Dr. Gian added Abraxane to my Gemzar chemo last Wednesday...the latest potent and expensive drug, I guess.
  Yesterday, I spent 2-3 hours with Rita's help cleaning up around the shop with 2 trips to the "dump". (The gutters were not correctly installed on the shop building and I had a lot of rot behind them. So had Terry (who built the shop for us (but not the gutters!) take them down, repair, and re-install correctly. So we cleaned up all the old and rotten wood. I may have overdone it; came in the house for a nap and next thing you know I had a 101 + temperature. Our doctor instructions were to call immediately if I ever had a temp over 100.5 because my white blood cell count is low. So.............a trip into the emergency room, 4 hour stay, x-rays and blood tests, IV anti-biotic, and then, thankfully, back home. Tests were all good, no infections, so just a cautious and preventative measure.

  I feel better and stronger than I have in months, but obviously I have a long way to go. Please continue to pray for healing. We serve a great God who is able. Praise and thank Him!