Happy Thanksgiving

Dear Family and Friends,
Last year we thought it might be our last Thanksgiving together. Now here we are year later and Joe isn't feeling any worse than last year. What a blessing! We are gathered at Kev and Tracy's,(our youngest son) house in Bloomingdale and we have had a very relaxed day. We actually have three dogs with us and they are all dong well together.
Today brings to mind the verse from Jeremiah - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Joe and I had a nice dinner out last night and talked about why he was still here and feeling well. We decided that there is still work God wants us to do together so we are trying to be open to what that is. Does that sound like bargaining with the Lord? We hope not but we feel truly blessed by the time we have had and hope we have a lot more.
Hope you all are enjoying a great Thanksgiving with family and friends. We continue to pray for all those who are praying for us. God Bless. Mary Anne
P.S. The new picture to the right is from our trip to Paris in September.

Summer's Over!

Most of the leaves are off the trees and I have already put up the outdoor Christmas lights. Wow! Summer is definately over and winter is upon us. Even though I won't turn on the Christmas lights 'til Thanksgiving night, they are up and I actually chose a day where it was 68 degrees to do it in. Normally, I like to wait until it is about 20 degrees with a strong wind and then put them up.

I have been going to Dr. Ayre and getting IPT every week since the results of the last Pet CT. My queasy stomach is about the same. It's not so bad; it is just disconcerting! Dr. Ayre is perhaps the most caring physician I have ever encountered. He would be more than willing to come in on a Sunday if I could not get in at another time.

I have been making sawdust in my workshop.....making some things for Christmas....stuff for the neighbors. Cassie, our daughter, who is very artistic put the finishing touches on them and made it look really good. She is very talented and most willing to help.

We will be celebrating Thanksgiving at Kevin and Tracy's house. We will all be together except Karen who is in Phoenix and will have her best friend Kelli there with her. Karen will come in for Christmas but Michael and his family will not. We will fly to Cleveland on December 15 to have Christmas with them. It is so hard to get the whole family together at one time. After being gone for so long it is so good to be back home and attend services at our church here in Carillon. We will actually be home for about two months before we leave for Bonaire (God willing).

Mary Anne's back is hurting her as she has a bulging disc. She is scheduled for an MRI. We are praying that it will resolve on its own and ask for your prayers also.

With Thanksgiving almost here, I think we are all reminded of the vast number of gifts that God has showered upon us. Each of you who read this blog and pray are certainly among our gifts. Thank you!

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Joe

Back Home

We did drive back to Chicago on Wednesday the 7th of November. On Thursday I had lunch with Ben Pahlow the co-founder of Global Family Rescue (see link to their website). They are having a fund raiser on Saturday (today) and I am MC-ing it. What a great cause. On Friday, Mary Anne and I went to see Dr. Ayre. I got another IPT treatment and he talked to us about the results of the most recent Pet CT. Not very favorable. The report was not very clear and rather general in nature but it said that the number of tumors in my lungs had increased. I don't know whether this meant from the five that were there to six or to sixty. It also said that some of the tumors had increased in size....no mention of what percentage increase. It also said that the tumors in my liver may be experiencing more viability on the outside ring (the inside is dead). Disappointing that the report was so non specific. The bloodwork that I had done was ALL normal including the CA 19-9 which is the first time that has been normal in a year and a half. (19-9 is a marker for gastrointestinal cancers) We will take the CD of the Pet CT down to Dr Mary Mulkahy at Chicago Northwestern and have her look at it. I am also going to increase the treatment from once every other week to every week and then have another Pet CT in 6 or 7 weeks and see if the increased treatments helped. With the exception of the queasy stomach I am still feeling well.

My continued thanks for your prayers. God bless you,

Joe