Christmas Greetings for 2008

That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord’s glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in King David’s hometown a Savior was born for you. He is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in baby clothes and lying on a bed of hay.”         Luke 2:8-12 CEV

Dear Family & Friends,

The year of 2008 began with some apprehension in our household. Perhaps like the shepherds we did not know what was in store us. Although after 2007 we had every reason to be optimistic. Indeed God has answered our prayers and watched over us in 2008.

A milestone was the completion of Mary’s active treatment for cancer. By early May weekly, if not daily visits with a host of doctors have changed to quarterly scans and meetings. Thus far all of the scans have come back clear. The cancer that clouded much of the last year has retreated. Mary has delayed any reconstruction until the summer of 2009, when we will, with God’s help, have had a year of clear scans.

In early June the whole family traveled to Addison, New York for the wedding of my oldest nephew, Chris. Mary and I drove up with my parents while the girls flew in for the wedding. We got to spend time with much of my family. The wedding was a wonderful affair punctuated by a running of the cows during the fireworks that night. You had to be there to truly appreciate it.

In August Mary and I attended Haiti Partnership conference in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition to the conference we spent a few days looking at lighthouses of the South Carolina and Georgia coast. Then in late September we got the chance to take a lighthouse cruise off Cape Cod and spend most of a week in northern Maine.  While not at their peak the fall leaves were lovely. We also got spend some time with our dear friends Gail and Charlie Black while in Maine. In all we put about 2,000 miles on our rental car during that week.

Both Sarah and Rebecca are living at home. Sarah is at a new school and making progress toward a Masters in the Art of Teaching. She continues to substitute teach in middle schools (6^th, 7^th & 8^thgrades.) We are hopeful she will graduate by this fall and be able to get a full time teaching position. Higher education is about to do us all in. She is also very active in the children’s ministry at Buckhead Church in Atlanta. Rebecca is now a driver for Papa John’s Pizza. As she says, she is paid to drive around in circles. No small feat given the overall quality of drivers in our area.

We thank God for our many blessings. We wish our friends & family a Happy Healthy 2009.

Michael, Mary, Sarah & Rebecca

Cars

Not that many years ago we had the year of the car. At the start of the year we owned four cars, during the course of the year we bought six more cars,  yet at the end of the year still had only four working automobiles. We are now in the month of the car and it is not yet half over.

To start the month my daughter was in a seemingly minor collision. With older cars you never know what will be repaired and when the insurance company will total it. While the car was (is) drivable, the radiator is leaking and the hood doesn’t open. More specifically if it is opened, it will not close again. So this vehicle has been sidelined, until we hear from the insurance company.

Next my truck has been acting up, not wanting to go into reverse. A useful feature when driving around town, or parking at home (the driveway is not circular.) So before I left town last Thursday I dropped at at my favorite mechanic, to have a them look at it. It doesn’t take much to realize that the transmission was the likely cause of the problem. So now we have a fourteen year old truck that needs a new transmission.

So, it would seem that it is time to explore the options for acquiring a new vehicle. Now things get interesting. Mary was at her mother’s for the weekend, about 250 miles from here. It seems a cousin of her brother has an older van that he wants to sell. He is a mechanic, the van seems well cared for and the price is reasonable; so we buy it. After all trying to get three people to jobs in Gwinnett County requires a vehicle for each or a taxi service.

Well our convenient purchase was not such a good thing, as it turns out. The newly purchased van had only been on short trips in the recent past and the 3 hour drive back home was just too much for it. About an hour from home it stopped and had to be towed in to our favorite mechanic, joining my truck. I have reserved parking at the garage, with a fleet of four we are frequent visitors.

So Monday afternoon I go over the options with the mechanic. The truck needs a transmission, about $3,000 (four wheel drive.) The van it turns out, needs a new engine, cost $4,300 or so. This requires a little thought but after a good nights sleep, it seems that both vehicles are headed for that big garage in the sky. So this morning I go by the garage to pick up any valuables and have the radios removed (they are the best part of each  vehicle.) Well the van is out front, and doesn’t have anything in it. And the truck?

The mechanics give me a rather blank look. When they saw the van on Monday they assumed I had limped home in the truck. No, it seems that over the weekend, most likely on Saturday, someone took a liking to my truck and drove off in it. There was some broken glass on the ground but otherwise, there is no sign of it. So now I am out a truck, a set of jumper cables, an ice chest, some bungy cords and a pretty nice radio.

Not that I am feeling sorry for myself, it is only stuff, but I really do wish that Gwinnett County had mass transit.

Recovery in Mississippi

We left on Thursday afternoon, covered by your prayers. The heavy weather coming across Alabama stayed to our North. Dark clouds covered the sky to our north and west but other than wind we were untouched. We arrived at about 10:30 and settled in for the night.

 

Friday morning arrived and we started looking for the boat motor. (Remember – you folks at Good Shepherd provided the funds to make this project possible so Chris Allenbaugh could return to his livelihood).  Actually Chris has been in conversation since earlier in the week with the manufacturer in Michigan and New Orleans. By mid morning it was determined that the motor in New Orleans was not the correct model. The motor will be available on Monday.

 

There were an assortment of small projects available at the church in Long Beach and at the Allenbaugh’s. Our first project was to meet with a local family to look at the furniture we have brought on recent trips. While the furniture wasn’t what they needed we had an opportunity to talk with Rodger about his house and how things were going. They are trying to put the final touches on the family home, a small ranch about 3 blocks off the beach. He is partially disabled and can no longer climb ladders or do much in the way of heavy work. While Rodger wasn’t on our original list of projects it was soon clear that we were being called to help complete the house.

 

This house was originally built in the late 1950’s. It has survived two major hurricanes, for the most part. During Katrina they had 3 to 6 feet of water in the house. A 20′ by 20′ addition at the rear of the house was removed and a tree came through part of the roof. Rodger and his son have rebuilt the interior of the house and much of the outside. Now they needed a little help to finish off the higher portions of the exterior. In talking with Rodger we learned that his insurance company had paid out only $24,000 to cover the damages. In the mean time he has expended his savings to buy a second house while they work to rebuild the family home.

 

On Saturday we hope to have the outside of the house completed. Chris Allenbaugh will be join us to repair some rotted potions of the soffits. We will also be distributing some of the furniture on Saturday evening.

 

This evening in our devotion we looked at Luke 10:38-42. How often dowe spend our time focused on what we believe to be important, over looking the work of God that is right in front of us?

 

 

See You in July

See you in July… that was the consensus on the first of May when we meet with the Oncologist and the general surgeon. The PET scan from April 25th show no activity of concern. That is probably not the official medical description but that was the message. No more doctor appointments until July.

After nearly a year of appointments, treatments, radiation and scans, everyone is pleased with the results. Now we wait, peacefully in this case, until July. For the first year we can expect regular scans. Possibly every three months. If all continues to go well then the time between scans will be extended, until we get down to once a year.

Next steps include some time off. A vacation this June, to go exploring and attend a family wedding. After four to six months we can talk to the plastic surgeon about reconstruction options. This will be challenging but it can be done on Mary’s time table; there is no rush. For now we can return to normal, whatever that was.

I will try to make periodic posts here, but as you can tell I still haven’t mastered the art of blogging on any sort of regular basis. I also expect the posts to take on a different flavor as we attempt to move cancer from the center of our lives, where it has been parked for the past year.

Once again we want to thank all of you for being faithful friends and prayer partners in this journey. To have reached this point in about a years time is a blessing. The hand of God has surrounded us with a wealth of friends. His hand has brought doctors, medicine and treatments; and enabled them to work. It was also by his grace that many of you entered our lives at the time when you were most needed. We thank all of you and we praise God, who is always faithful.

To old and new friends please stay in touch. Let us know if you have a need that we can lift up in prayer.

May the grace and peace of Christ be with you, Mike & Mary

Time Flies, When …

It seems that time flies regardless of what we may be doing. I knew I was behind in making an update but it wasn’t until I looked that I realized how long ago my last message was. So here we are the middle of April. I hope you got your taxes filed on time. On to the important stuff.

Mary had a good week at the OR Nursing Conference, actually they call it a Congress. It was a chance to get away and catch up with old friends. The real surprise came when she went back to the doctor the Monday after her return. Only five treatments remained, just one week.

What that means is that the radiation treatment was completed on the 11th of April. (I have been trying to send this note since then.) Did you hear the rejoicing? Your prayers and her natural tendency to tan rather than burn made the side effects of the radiation minimal. Still it was a burden to show up each afternoon for six to seven weeks, and it does tire you out by the end of the week.

All that is behind us now. Mary will have another CT scan on the 25th. Then she meets with the doctors over the next two weeks to get their evaluation of how the treatment went. The hope is that, like the last scan, we will see no evidence of cancer. That being the case, we wait three months and check again. With each good report we can increase the time between check ups until it gets down to once a year. But I am getting ahead of myself. The important thing is to take each day as it comes and let God handle the big plan.

Speaking of faith, I must once again express our heartfelt appreciation for each of you. Your prayers have been a major part of the process and you have been faithful beyond words. It is always a joy when I bring in the mail and a note for Mary arrives. Or when I meet one of you around town and your first words are to inquire about how Mary is doing. And when we least expect it a note or a phone call from a friend will brighten the day, bringing joy to the whole week.

Until next time may the grace and peace of God be with you, Mike

We Pause …

This week we (Mary) takes a break from all treatment and the daily routines. This is the week of the annual convention of operating room nurse’s. I believe the formal title is the AORN Congress, I’m sure there is more in the title but I don’t feel like look it up. Besides if you are not an OR nurse it may not mean much to you.

This has been an annual event at our house almost sine we were married. It was more exciting when the girls were little, but we learned we could get along for  week without mom. We also learned that Dad (me) isn’t a bad cook, but I don’t keep notes. So reproducing a memorial meal could be a challenge. But I wonder off course.

The date and place of the Congress varies from year-to-year but it is usually in early spring. Which means that a year ago, cancer was something that other people dealt with. My how times change. It also means that this will be the first time Mary has seen an number of folks in a while, and it may be the first they have heard of her journey with cancer in the past 10 months. I makes me stop and think how many people all of us come in contact with during our lives. Regretfully we don’t always do a good job of keeping in touch. It makes the support so many of you have expressed n so many ways that much more meaningful.

I think this week will do Mary as much or more good than all the medicine. It is a chance to regain some control of things. Don’t we all want to control our own lives? It means a return to normalcy on some level. It also means a break from treatment and work. Hopefully it will recharge her emotionally and physically as she nears the end of active treatment. (I will make another post and an mail on that soon.)

So when you read this say a little prayer that she has a good week, doesn’t over extended herself and is able to renew so long term friendships. Until next time may the grace and peace of God be with you.

Mississippi Gulf Coast

Speaking of the Mississippi gulf coast, I learned this morning that there is a “Before and After” link on the home page of Sun Herald that has a fast collection of before and after images and stories. So here is a link to that site if you are interested. (http://www.sunherald.com/217) On a note of personal interest today’s headline deals with renovations of the Biloxi Lighthouse. Which if you hav been to our house you know Mary and I have more than a passing an interest in lighthouses.

March 14th Sun Herald http://www.sunherald.com/100/index.html

A Change

Life is about changes. Some change is good, some change we understand, some change will challenge us and some change is just change. Watching radiation treatment is a lot like that. I can’t detect much of a change and Mary hasn’t reported lots of change, which I suppose is a good thing, but it is changing.

For one thing the days left in the treatment process are decreasing. I think it is safe to say that we have passed the halfway point. Earlier in the week the doctor reported that treatment for the Hodgkin’s was nearing completion. By next week they will only be treating for the breast cancer. Then last night Mary reported that they have changed the orientation of the radiation treatment. I guess this means we have indeed moved to a new phase of the treatment.

Two noticeable side effects from the radiation are worth mentioning. The most significant is an irritation of the throat. This has made swallowing difficult for Mary. It is not that she can’t swallow as much as it is a lingering sore throat. As a result she prefers softer foods that are less of an irritant. The less significant effect is that what e called the chemo cough has returned. Good news is that these should fade away once the radiation is complete. We are hopeful that completion of the Hodgkin’s treatment will decrease the irritation to the throat, since that treatment was focused on the breast bone.

Another area of change is Long Beach, Mississippi and the Gulf Coast in general. It is now eleven months since my first trip to this area since Katrina. In that time our church has made numerous tips, at least 8, to the area. We are seeing change but it is slow. I haven’t been here since last November. Our small group got in late last night, so it will be interesting to see what has changed when we go out this morning. Changes, improvements are slow to come but they are coming. The speed of the change challenges us to continue our efforts. As a society we have come to expect results, on our timetable, usually quickly. Some change takes time. Like treatment for cancer, rebuilding after such a devastating event takes time. There is so much to be done that it can be overwhelming.

In the end we must trust in God and rejoice in the small steps that we are able to accomplish and see first hand. Our faith must be in God, who uses all things for good; when we work on His time table and not our own.

May the grace and peace the comes from knowing God be with you.

Half WayThrough Radiation

By this afternoon Mary will have completed 15 of the 33 radiation treatments. Her natural tendency to tan rather than burn has severed her well to this point. Some of the other people she has meet during treatment have had the anticipated sunburn effect along with peeling skin. Thus far she has not had any of that.

On the down side the radiation for the Hodgkin’s tumor has caused some irritation in her throat. It hurts to swallow rough foods and she has some hoarseness and a slight cough. She is eating a lot of soft foods and dripping vitamin E tablets down her throat to keep it from getting any worse. On the whole she is doing well and goes to work most days.

We were told to anticipate a short break in the treatments but for the time being she goes by each weekday after work for a 30 to 40 minute treatment. I think the worse part is the extra traffic se encounters on her way home. Let’s pray that will continue to be the most noticeable effect. As always we covet your prayers.

May the grace and peace of God be with you, Mike

Miracle Walkers

This is a special note. A more complete posting in the main blog (see Radiation) will bring you up-to-date on Mary. To sum things up radiation treatments started on February 18th. By the end of this week she will have had ten treatments. That’s about one-third of the way through the entire process. So far all is well. Side effects from the chemo-therapy still linger, but friend who have been there say those will continue for some time.

The real reason for this message is a special event coming up on April 12th in Atlanta. A young lady from my church, Chiquita Staton, has organized a team to participate in the local walk to raise money for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Some of you know Chiquta, she is the same age as my daughter Rebecca. If you know her you are aware that her mother, Cassandra, has Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Despite this disability she has raised two wonderful daughters of her own.

Chiquita and others in our church will be participating in the local walk on April 12th. You can join them by walking, if you are near by, or by making a pledge. There is a link in this message and on the blog itself that will allow you to make a pledge through the Internet and you can be here in spirit.

Battling cancer or other life threatening disease can be a challenge. But one thing that has kept us going is that we can see an end. Someday it will be behind us, God willing. Research is making this a possibility for more and more people with a number of diseases.

There are many causes that I am personally involved in but I am going to ask you to consider joining this one. Join the Miracle Walker Team if you can. Thanks and God Bless.