Home FROM the Holidays!

Travel is exhausting!  Fun, but it wears you out.   We had a wonderful visit with my mom.  We had everyone in our family at Christmas in California (except for Jon and Chelsea) and it was great!  We have several family traditions that just begin as a one time occurrence.  Then they are continued the next year until they are part of the whole experience. A new one that I "vote" to be a tradition is the brisket that Christy and Don made the last 2 years for our "big" dinner.  It is from Don's Aunt's recipe and it is a winner! 


My eating is getting better all the time now.  I still have some challenges, and some episodes that pass a little more quickly than before. The great news is that I have lost 6 more pounds since I last posted!  A total of 37 now.  I am finding that it is easy to eat the "wrong" things because they are easier or quicker or taste good and don't hurt, but are not what I need to be eating.  I need to focus on protein and exercise. 


We have enjoyed many blessings and a few Christmas miracles when it came to our travels.  God is so good and we are so unworthy.  

¹¹ Lord, you are great and powerful. 

       You have glory, victory, and honor. 

       Everything in heaven and on earth belongs to you. 

    The kingdom belongs to you, Lord; 

       you are the ruler over everything.

 ¹² Riches and honor come from you. 

       You rule everything. 

    You have the power and strength 

       to make anyone great and strong.

 ¹³ Now, our God, we thank you 

       and praise your glorious name.

1 Chronicles 29:11-13

(New Century Version) 

3 more days

The word is "survive" - - - the last 3 days before Christmas break. The only other time for "survival" in schools is the first week, and the last week. :)

Chelsea's mom

Update on Janna: She is improving. She is at home with nursing care. They are looking for a doctor in the states to treat her.

One more pound = yay!

Blessings: Numbers 6:24-26

²⁴ “The LORD bless you

and keep you;
²⁵ the LORD make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
²⁶ the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace.”

some good news...

I saw the hematologist yesterday and my white blood count levels are already improving. She said it was probably a result of an infection I had about 3 weeks ago, or the meds I took for it, or several other factors. I have to go back in a month just to make sure. (They did draw blood - 12 vials of it!) and the Dr. had the results before I saw her- she had even looked at it under the microscope and said it looked healthy)

John went with me and I am so glad he did. It was an unnerving place. It was beautiful and well organized and ran like clockwork. But it was just scary when you walk into a place named, "Cancer Care Center of South Texas." So many people were there for chemo, radiation, or such like that. A young lady (high school age) came in with her mom, she had short hair in places on her head where she still had hair, and they said they were there for radiation. The impact of that place was tremendous! Christmas decorations up and such life threatening treatments going on. I am so blessed with health that others are struggling with and have a positive attitude about. Why is it so easy to get "caught up" in our own triviality?

Yesterday, we got an email from our school nurse saying that we have a 4th grader at my school, and all he wants for Christmas is a Christmas tree. Thanks to some benefactors, they have been able to get a tree and lights, and asked for donated ornaments (one from each staff member) to go with the tree. Such simple things to make a child happy.

Is this what Christ was telling us? to come to him like a little child? We are the ones who make things so complicated. It doesn't have to be that way does it...

¹⁴ Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Matthew 19:14 (New International Version, ©2010)

Thorough Explanation of Chelsea's mom's situation

Chelsea is my new daughter-in-law. She is married to Jon our youngest son. They were married in October and her mom, Janna and I hit it off right away. Janna is a vibrant and sweet lady and her pain is shared by all who care for her. I asked Chelsea if I could post this on my blog. It is such a good explanation of what is going on with her mom. It is rather lengthy, but worth the read. Please continue prayers on her behalf.

from Chelsea:

"My Mom, has been having several surgeries because of Idiopathic Scoliosis. That disease, is passed thru generations, usually skips one (grandma has it, then it goes to the grandchildren) in my family's case it was my mom's Grandma, then her, then me (the skipping generations did not occur). Also, of all the people who have scoliosis only 1 out of 7 are boys, the rest are girls (this is y i got it, and not my brothers). She had her first surgery in her early teens, and has had several several more (20+).

Over ten years ago, mom had surgery on vertebrae L1 (L stands for lumbar, meaning lower back). When she had this surgery done, one of her lungs was punctured and 2 of her ribs were broken of and taken out. (i thought it was so cool when i was young, because i could see her heart beat thru the hole where ribs were no longer there). I used to think that she had such a pure heart, that i could literally see her heart thru her skin!

Then, during the summer of this year, she had another surgery to fix a pinched nerve (vertebrae L3 and L4) that was causing her lots of pain. The surgery had apparently gone well, but a couple of days later, when she was not healing, and the doctors took the stitches out and the incision reopened, they discovered that she had a very bad infection. They took her into emergency surgery, scooped out all of the infected tissue, put a catheter thru her heart to pump antibiotics and after 3 months, it had seemed to gone away.

Now the problem is that,she went to the hospital because she could not take the pain any longer. Doctors took blood and found that the infection came back. To know more about the origin of the infection, they did something called a "Bone Gamaeotomy," which is dying all of her bones ~ the die is one color with healthy bone and another color with sick bones. They found that ALL (L1, L3, L4) vertebrae were infected. Looking back at her past history, they dont know if the infection started with the surgery of L1 and just now surfaced, or if it happened during her last surgery of L3-L4. The doctors don't know how to begin treating her because they dont know the origin of the infection.

Usually what would happen: The doctors operate again, take all of the plates and screws from any previous surgery, and leave the spine unstable (very painful~ no walking for several months, just bed rest).

the problem: her back is waaay too unstable, and while doing the surgery, they would have to puncture her lung to undo the L1 surgery, and take out completely vertebraes L3 and L4. Most likely she will die if this is done.

What is being done: she is being pumped with very potent antibiotics, trying to get her as strong as they can, to fly to the US and have surgery.

I hope that for everyone wondering what is going on, this is a good explanation. Please keep praying for her!!!!"

12 weeks!

30 pound mark attained today! Yay!

Update from Chelsea (daughter in law) about her mom, Janna.

"They did the bone biopsy ... similar to a spinal tap (very painful) It takes 4 days to get the results back."

Please continue prayers for pain relief, healing and wisdom.

Quote:

"There is divine purpose in bringing out the best in one another."

-Denis Waitley

news from Chelsea

this is a text from Chelsea late this afternoon.

"News!!! My mom was way too weak to undergo surgery, apparently it was cancelled and they put a catheter into her heart to give her antibiotics. Tomorrow the will take a piece of bone from her spine to check if the infection hasn't gotten to the bone there."

"They have to help her regain strength before they can do anything else."

Please continue to pray for healing and wisdom.

thank you,

Cheryl

From Chelsea (Jon's wife)

Chelsea says:

Pray for my Mommy!!!! Her infection is back and is having surgery at 4pm!! All the screws and plates that doctors had previously put in her back are now hurting her and creating incredible pain that is barely relieved by morphine. After they take them out, several months of bed rest are to come, probably no walking either. Her body is soo weak even b4 surgery that she is needing blood transfusions!!! PLEASE PRAY!

urgent prayer request

We just found out that my daughter-in-law, Chelsea's mom is having urgent surgery tomorrow to remove/replace the plates/screws in her spine due to a recurring infection. She has a history of multiple back surgeries and this one will be one of the most painful. They have asked for prayers and I am posting this to reach as many folks as possible. Her surgery is supposed to be at 4:00 pm and will last many hours.

Knowing that:

"The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:16

Thank you for your prayers and to God who will provide.

Thank you!

Thank you to those who have responded with a comment. I appreciate your encouragement.

Here is my favorite verse:

²⁰ Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, ²¹ to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3: 20-21

Curiouser and Curiouser

For those who read my blog, I would love to know who you are. Leave a post for me and I won't publish it if you don't want me to. I am so curious when I see visitors from all over the country and I wonder if it is someone I know. Last week when we were in Abilene, one of the waitresses at Cracker Barrel (who knows Jon) came over to our table and introduced herself and said she reads my blog all the time! Also some of her family reads it. I was so touched that she wanted to meet me. I had no clue- there is a visitor from Dahlonega, Georgia that I would love to know who it is.

Anyway, if you feel comfortable just letting me know who you are in a post, I would love to satisfy my curiosity. Again, I won't allow it to be "seen" on my blog if you don't want me to.

Blessings,
Cheryl

Thursday Dec. 2: good news!

Today I went to my primary care Dr. and he had copies of the blood-work I had done earlier in the week.

Great news! He looked at them and said, "WOW! The bottom has dropped out of your cholesterol!

• It was 199 in June and now it is 126! woo-hoo!
• My triglycerides are 59 (reference is 55-200)
• HDL is 39 (reference is 35-95)
• LDL is 75.2 (reference is 35-95)
• Chol/HDL ratio is 3.2 (reference is 0-130) Risk factor is LOW (3.3 - 4.4)

WOW how is that for good news???

My iron, vitamins, and everything else is right in the normal to low-normal range.

Just had to share!

from Peggy's book:

"I believe that in each little thing created by God there is more than what is understood, even if it is a little ant."

-Teresa of Avila

Eleven Weeks!

2 1/2 months. One more pound, but many changes in how clothes fit. I am pleased.

I was having a conversation with a co-worker who had this surgery 11 years ago and we agreed that for folks who consider this surgery "the easy way out," they have NO clue. This is anything but easy. If it WAS easy, I wouldn't have needed to make the decision to have the surgery. It is difficult to explain to anyone who has never had a serious weight problem. It seems to be a perfectly logical situation, "put the fork down and walk away" is not as simple as that. As with most situations, please don't judge others when you don't know them, and then don't judge them anyway. :)

Eating: I have not had an "episode" (vomiting) for 3 weeks! YAY! I have had some serious nausea, but without the "violence" so that is a great step to acknowledge. I go back to see the surgeon on Friday and have some questions for him about meds and some eating questions.

If you know about the website, Simple Truths, there is a great little movie (less than 3 minutes) titled, "It's Not Just Me" it is written for women.

Here is the link: http://itsnotjustmemovie.com/ it is worth watching!

Quote (from Peggy's book):

"In what seems ordinary and everyday, there is always more that at first meets the eye."

-Charles Cummings