Nothing There!!

Since Carol does all the driving now, it wasn't unusual for her to be slipping in behind the wheel, with me on the passenger side, returning from a recent Dr's. appointment. In her effervescent way she exclaimed, "Isn't it great that there was nothing there!!" The only slightly disturbing part of this picture is that we were talking about a CT Scan of my brain/head. And yes it was good news that there was nothing there that could be suggest the spread of cancer to that area of my body--just another precautionary assessment ordered by our watchful doctor.

Sometimes the journey I'm on brings humour, sometimes faith, and it's amazing how close these first cousins are in the illness family.

Our grandson Billy sent me an email the other day. "Hey Papa, Hope you're going to feel really better and maybe last for like another, I don't know. Lot's of years would be better. Very very better." And on another occasion, "Do you still have the cancer in your body? Are you getting drugs? I hope you are gonna get better, our prayers still have you in our mouths." Nothing jaded or cynical here, just the ongoing language of faith and longing and "in the mouth" of my 8-year-old grandson! Does it get any better than this?

The past couple of weeks has had me adjusting to pain medication in the morphine family in an effort to get a benchmark for future increases/decreases in the medication. It has brought moments of laughter for Carol and me as I try to process the drug-induced "real" world and the real, real world. I've said some pretty stupid things, done some equally crazy things that would embarrass me to no end if I had known they were happening at the time. In reality they do make me feel embarrassed even now when I think of them, but I hope the nurses and staff got a laugh out of them. I did--ultimately, and of course Carol did--immediately. Bottom line of this is that I am pain free most of the time--which is a great blessing.

I began chemotherapy again last week and, depending on how my body responds, could be on for as long as 21 weeks (one treatment every three weeks). Thank God I do not respond to the chemo with severe side effects. We are also taking a proactive step in the world of non-traditional medicine. We believe God has led us to a trustworthy person who will help us profit from the natural substances and processes that will help my body do what the body is intended to do, healing itself once the right conditions have been restored.

May God give us all the right mixture of faith, humour, reactive and proactive responses to the journey he is leading us along.

Thankful for Family

We had a wonderful six days with our kids and grandkids in Regina—Dec. 25 to 31. The pictures tell the story best.

All of our amazing grandchildren!

Tim, Kim, Colby-9, Gracyn-7, Carson-6, and Mykenna-3

David, Ann, Billy-8 and Manny-5

Papa, Grammy, and Auntie with the kids

Bob’s pain was managed pretty well with his medication, but he was liable to drop off to sleep at any given moment!! Sleeping overnight at Barbie’s gave him the opportunity to get more rest. He had dialysis twice in Regina and we arrived home in time on the 31st for him to have dialysis on New Year’s Eve. The Renal Unit isn’t the most partying atmosphere, but it offered exactly what was needed!!

Then on Jan. 2nd, Bob’s sister Lois came to visit us for four days. She and her husband Duane just returned from Uruguay in mid-December for their furlough and have settled in Eugene, OR where Duane’s mother lives. Lois was able to take the Amtrak up from Eugene to Bellingham, WA—just 30 minutes south of the border from us. We had a great time together—mostly just lounging around, having good conversations, laughing, praying, and drinking lots of coffee—along with the post-Christmas goodies that still seem to be in abundance. We even roasted a turkey to share together.

Bob’s pain has been increasing, requiring him to take larger doses of pain medication—a type of morphine. While we’re so thankful that he has access to effective pain management, we’re concerned about the source of the pain and the need to begin treatment as soon as possible.

Today he saw his oncologist who is proposing a different chemo protocol to begin towards the end of next week. His kind of cancer—“metastatic urothelial carcinoma”-- is somewhat rare, so there haven’t been many studies on various treatment options. He has responded quite positively to the two six-month rounds of chemo that he’s had, but each time they are less effective.

While we are encouraged that the cancer hasn’t moved to other organs, it has spread in the kidney/ureter/bladder area and now lymph nodes are enlarged, possibly the source of his pain.

We had some good conversations with our children about their dad’s condition and how we all are processing it. The kids suggested that we plan right now for the next family gathering so that we are looking into the future with hope and expectancy. So we’re all planning to converge here this summer and spend a few days together in July at a wonderful retreat centre just south of the border called Cedar Springs. It’s the most beautiful setting nestled in the foothills of Mt. Baker and the food is absolutely fabulous!!


Here’s a bit of news on other family members:

KIM completed all of her treatments for breast cancer and is feeling like she’s pretty close to normal once again. Her condition will be monitored every few months with much hope and prayers that she will remain cancer-free for the rest of her life.

JIM’s recent CT scans have come back without any alarms, however he just can’t seem to gain weight and wishes he felt stronger. The doctors assure him that his recovery has been very good considering all he’s been through and that the weight issue may be the new norm.

My MOM and DAD have settled very well into their new home in the Oklahoma City area and are loving being near family. Mom’s been getting considerable relief from her unrelenting headaches through frequent chiropractic treatments. This is such a blessing.

So again, we are full of thanks for all that the Lord has done for us as a family this past year. We’re grateful for all of the good medical attention we’ve received in every form, but our ultimate dependence is on the Lord. So we look forward to this new year with a sense of growing expectancy in His provision of strength, healing, and the peace that passes human understanding.