April 27,2007 Friday

Hi dear friends and family,
Well Joe had a banner day yesterday. It was his 67th birthday and calls started pouring in about 8 A.M. from friends and family wishing him well. He got calls all through his treatment and last night we celebrated and went to Baci's (which was originally in Plainfield but moved out here 6 years ago) for a free dinner. That is what we call it when we go off raw vegan rather than cheating. Frank the owner has always treated Joe as a friend and he fussed over Joe so well last night. He made a special appetizer for us, gave us a bottle of wine,and then a sample of a pasta. We were almost full before our entrees. Karen and her boyfriend Mike joined us for the evening and we were probably there for two hours. Mike is way too polite for our family as was our daughter- in-law Tracy. He never interrupted so he didn't get to talk much. We even had dessert and Joe had his favorite, carrot cake. Yesterday was officially 9 months of fighting this disease even though Joe had it for a year before that. He continues to do well. He is a trooper about taking his heparin, his supplements and his treatments. The P.E.T. scan is Monday and results next Wednesday. His blood counts drop each week but they give him shots to bring it back up and his body is responding well. His cancer markers continue to stay the same or drop being about 50 now for the CA19-9. His spirits are good which makes it easier for me.
He is excited about helping Karen get her new condo in shape. This week he went and installed shelves in her outside closet on her patio and picked out a picture at Kohls for her living room.
We have cell group tonight with friends from Karen's church (I guess it is our church away from home) and then tomorrow Karen moves to her new condo. I have taken the week off swimming and just been working on new recipes to use my new dehydrator. The first thing I made was onion bread and the whole condo smelled of onions for two days as it takes 36 hours to dehydrate. We are enjoying the nice warm weather here and it will be 99 today. Our prayer requests for now are that the pet scan will show much reduction in the tumors and that we can keep our eyes focused on the Lord and his plan for our lives. We know we still have work to do and we are trying to be patient and wait on his word. Thanks to you all for making yesterday special. God Bless Mary Anne