Hi all: I'll begin with good news: the New York company I've been talking to has extended an offer. We're negotiating, but it is looking like a go. Your persistent prayers made this possible and I thank each and every one of you. Working from home is the best scenario for our family.
With chemotherapy done, Karen is looking at her options now. We home school 11 year old Shelby - which has been a real joy - but Karen is very anxious to get back into window treatment design on a part time basis. She continues to investigate the possibilities.
We need much prayer right now for our 7th grade daughter Kylie. This is a hard age, as you're all aware. Add to this the stress of her mother's situation and our economic concerns over the last few months in addition to just being in 7th grade.....
Humor is important to have when dealing with something like cancer and I have a story to share with you from last week. Karen fixed a beef stew recipe from a cookbook I bought her early in the cancer struggle called "The New American Plate Cookbook". It is a cookbook with many recipes rich with antioxidants (necessary for fighting the beast). Near the end of the meal, I found a hair in the stew. I pull it up and show it to Karen with a quizzical stare. She takes off her scarf to reveal a bald head and says "Don't blame me!".
We go to Kansas City tomorrow to see Karen's extended family, most of whom haven't seen her since the diagnosis. It's hard to see her mother, who has dementia so bad she will probably not remember us.
God's love to all of you today!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Chemo is over...now, the vigil
Hi everyone: Last Thursday Karen did her final chemotherapy treatment. Saturday and Sunday were spent inside with excruciating joint pain (especially in the legs) and disrupted sleep. She is not due to return to the doctor until the end of February, and then the vigil begins.
In the last blog I mentioned that her CA125 - the measurement of protein that reacts to ovarian cancer - was down even further, which of course is good news. This test will be the standard of measure from here on out. We will much more earnestly pursue the no-sugar diet we began in November - Christmas somewhat got in the way, as you can imagine - and we've both started drinking Xango, a mangosteen juice that has been proven to help with inflammation. I take this for recurrent headaches, which have since disappeared...and I don't yawn anymore, even after I have only slept a few hours. If you want more information about this let me know: soulwise@msn.com.
Last Friday we received a beautiful goodie basket from my sister Marilyn Beyer and her team at Kemper Insurance in Jacksonville, FL. The girls and I immediately gravitated to Season One of "The Office" and Karen went right for the dark chocolate! :) Thank you to them! Karen and I continue to write Thank-you acknowledgements from the benefit as well as for the many gifts given to us through this whole ordeal.
Prayer is still needed as we approach the "now what" question in our lives. I'm still waiting to hear from an out of state company about a position that would be ideal for me that nobody else has interviewed for. Please keep this situation in prayer. Resolution of this would ease Karen's mind and make her life easier. She talks about going back to work, but I believe she needs to rest and focus on herself - something she doesn't like to do. Of course, Kylie and Shelby are both at challenging ages (12 and 11) and dealing with this at this crossroads in life is challenging. In the meantime I continue working at Allianz and just focus on the day by day.
Keep watching this space and we love e-mails and posts to this site - they keep us encouraged.
In the last blog I mentioned that her CA125 - the measurement of protein that reacts to ovarian cancer - was down even further, which of course is good news. This test will be the standard of measure from here on out. We will much more earnestly pursue the no-sugar diet we began in November - Christmas somewhat got in the way, as you can imagine - and we've both started drinking Xango, a mangosteen juice that has been proven to help with inflammation. I take this for recurrent headaches, which have since disappeared...and I don't yawn anymore, even after I have only slept a few hours. If you want more information about this let me know: soulwise@msn.com.
Last Friday we received a beautiful goodie basket from my sister Marilyn Beyer and her team at Kemper Insurance in Jacksonville, FL. The girls and I immediately gravitated to Season One of "The Office" and Karen went right for the dark chocolate! :) Thank you to them! Karen and I continue to write Thank-you acknowledgements from the benefit as well as for the many gifts given to us through this whole ordeal.
Prayer is still needed as we approach the "now what" question in our lives. I'm still waiting to hear from an out of state company about a position that would be ideal for me that nobody else has interviewed for. Please keep this situation in prayer. Resolution of this would ease Karen's mind and make her life easier. She talks about going back to work, but I believe she needs to rest and focus on herself - something she doesn't like to do. Of course, Kylie and Shelby are both at challenging ages (12 and 11) and dealing with this at this crossroads in life is challenging. In the meantime I continue working at Allianz and just focus on the day by day.
Keep watching this space and we love e-mails and posts to this site - they keep us encouraged.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Good news today
Karen went to the doctor this morning in advance of the final chemotherapy treatment on Thursday. Her blood work in January showed a further decline in the CA125 test. In December it was at a 6. Now it is down to a 5. This is one more indication that treatment has been working. It's also an indication that your prayers for healing are being answered.
We're still caught up in the afterglow of the benefit on the 27th. What a blessing it was! We are in the process of acknowledging and thanking everyone who attended or made a donation.
In the meantime, please pray for us. We are in search of direction for our future. There are a number of factors at play here that I won't take the time to get into here, but God knows what they are. Just keep this in prayer and continue to watch this space...and thank you all for your persistent prayers, the encouraging e-mails, the phone calls, just for being there for us.
We're still caught up in the afterglow of the benefit on the 27th. What a blessing it was! We are in the process of acknowledging and thanking everyone who attended or made a donation.
In the meantime, please pray for us. We are in search of direction for our future. There are a number of factors at play here that I won't take the time to get into here, but God knows what they are. Just keep this in prayer and continue to watch this space...and thank you all for your persistent prayers, the encouraging e-mails, the phone calls, just for being there for us.
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