Christmas 2009

Christmas dinner





Christmas breakfast


Dad trying out Wii Golf


Mom trying out Wii bowling









Ryan hadn't seen Missy since July and had lots of lovin' to catch up on!

Mom's Favorite Song

He Knows My Name

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hands

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And He hears me when I call

This day last year....

we were sitting at Johns Hopkins in a waiting area while Mom was in surgery for over 10 hours. My mom's brother and his wife waited with us as well as our close friends, Mack and Kendra. This evening we were with Mack and Kendra on Dec. 26 again, yet instead of waiting for reports from the surgery like last year, we were enjoying time together as we laughed at a Tim Hawkins DVD and played the Wii in the comfort of home!

Happy Birthday, Dad!!!!

Yes, today is Dad's birthday! December is a big birthday month for our family...Lisa's (my sister) is on the 2nd, Dave's is on the 6th, Dad's on the 12th, and Ryan's (Lisa's son) on the 13th!

Yesterday Mom and Dad received the therapy boots that will allow Mom to do her therapy everyday at home for the lymphedema in her legs. The best part is that insurance covers it too! So now she won't need to go to her therapy sessions 2-3 times a week in Ocean View, and there are 2 boots so it only takes 45 min. at home instead of 1 hr, 30 min with the therapist (only 1 boot).

Also, Mom and Dad went to Hopkins on Thursday for a CT scan since the CA-125 numbers had gone up. The next day they were called and told that it appears that there is a platinum resistance so the chemo will be changed, and she will receive it every 28 days.

Mom has been feeling pretty good and has even been able to do all her Christmas shopping! December looked alot different for Mom last year, and we are so thankful she can enjoy the holidays this year! (Click here for the post from last year)

Another praise report is that God has provided so that my sister's family can stay at their current residence and will not have to move as originally thought, and Ali will be able to stay at the same school. This time last year, Lisa's family had just moved to Florida so that John could start a Master's program in ministry at Southeastern Univ. Today he graduates from the program, and as Lisa points out, "what has been accomplished this year is about so much more than a masters degree." Now he has one year to complete his thesis.

Update

Tomorrow, Mom will have her 4th treatment with 2 treatments to go (Dec. 14 and 21).

Over the summer, Mom developed lymphedema in her legs"which refers to swelling that occurs most often in your arms or legs. The swelling occurs when a blockage in your lymphatic system prevents the lymph fluid in your arm or leg from draining adequately. As the fluid accumulates, the swelling continues." Mom started receiving therapy this past week on Thursday and Friday about only 10 min. away in Ocean View. She really likes the therapist and has already seen and felt improvement. Dad was shown how to do the massages, and they showed Mom how she can massage her legs herself. Next week, she will have 3 therapy sessions.

We are excited that Lisa's family will be able to spend Christmas at Mom and Dad's. They will be flying into Baltimore on Christmas Eve Day and will ride with Dave and I to Delaware. Although they won't be with us for Thanksgiving, they will still enjoy time with family since our cousin, Jennifer, and her family live in Tampa less than an hour away. Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Judy have been in town visiting Jen's family so Lisa's family will enjoy time with them as well.

Here is an UPDATE on Lisa's husband, John (written by Lisa after their appt. at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL on Nov. 4).
The specialist asked many questions, looked at medical records, did a physical assessment, and gathered the info regarding all that has transpired since July 25th. Based on his knowledge, experience, and assessment, he believes that John has Transverse Myelitis. Here is a link that explains it in detail. http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/transversemyelitis/detail_transversemyelitis.htm We believe this onset was probably from a viral infection - as John was sick with ear infections and some type of virus right before all of this started - so it may have stimulated some auto-immune issues that are similar to GBS. However his symptoms do not meet the criteria for GBS or PLS or ALS. Based on the fact that John made improvements after his first hospitalization, and has recently begun to make more progress, he feels that John should have significant recovery. He believes that the setback John had the end of September could have been exacerbated by a vaccination he received. We were told that he should focus on getting stronger in physical therapy and give it time. We feel a whole lot of relief that this is something that should get better over time, when there were other diagnoses mentioned to us that would have meant worsening symptoms as the years go by. Whew!

Thank you for your continued prayer and support for Mom and Dad!

Prayer for Team Wingate

For those who weren't already aware, Mom has been back at Hopkins for a CT scan and later a PET scan (which is used to detect cancer and assess its response to chemo). This past Monday was the appointment with Dr. Giuntoli to discuss the PET scan and the prescribed treatment. This Monday (Oct. 19) Mom will starts 6 weeks of chemo treatment (3 cycles). At the end of the 6 weeks, there will be another PET scan.

I know so many of you prayed for Mom and Dad before, and I have no doubt that every prayer was heard. Your prayers are needed again, and I thank you in advance for them.

Please pray:
~for strength for both Mom and Dad
~for remembrance of God's faithfulness in the past
~for the chemo to be effective and for healing of this area behind the bowel
~for minimal side effects
~for the pain in her abdomen/back to subside


Healer
You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

I trust in You
I trust in You

I believe You're my Healer
I believe You are all I need
I believe You're my Portion
I believe You're more than enough for me
Jesus You're all I need

Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
Nothing is impossible for You
You hold my world in Your hands

Mom's in Florida!!!!!

So, that last time I posted, I mentioned Mom's FIRST attempt to fly down to Florida before Ali started Kindergarten. We had booked her flight but then decided to cancel it since it wouldn't have been the best for Mom to have been around Lisa's son, Ryan, who was sick at the time.

Mom hadn't flown in about 23 years which was back when Lisa was involved in an Odyssey of the Mind event in Arizona. Today, Mom went through security and found her gate with no problems so before we know it, she'll be a seasoned traveler! She even made a friend...a woman was behind her in the security line, and somehow Mom discovered this woman was also headed to Lakeland. So they sat near each other at the gate, and the woman even sat next to Mom on the plane...and it's funny since Mom had said, "it would be nice if there was someone I could chat with next to me". Another connection they had is that they are both Christians...not sure how they discovered that...possibly because of the books Mom brought along. So that was just one more little way that God blessed Mom as she traveled today! Mom plans to fly back home on either Saturday or Sunday so Ryan and Ali will have almost a week with their Mom-mom!

Mom wanted to fly down to Lakeland, FL today so she could be with Lisa and the kids while John is in the hospital. For those who weren't aware, Lisa's husband, John, was diagnosed with Meningitis and Gullian Barre Syndrome in late July, and here are the recent updates from Lisa:

(As a follow-up to my post from August, John was able to come home from the hospital BEFORE Ali started Kindergarten which was an answer to prayer!)

Sept. 22
We have hit a little snag in John's recovery process and I wanted to ask you to please pray. It has been 5 weeks since John has been out of the hospital. While he was there for almost a month he made great progress - going from not being able to hardly move his legs while lying in bed- to being able to walk with a walker. He came home and started physical therapy 2-3 times per week. Progress seemed to slow down, even plateau. The end of last week, he was complaining of his legs feeling more tired. Sunday afternoon, he fell twice - having never fallen since being home. Today at PT, John was in the hydrotrack and his legs started to give way - causing an emergency evacuation that got the staff's adrenaline flowing! The doctor at the rehab suspects that John might be experiencing some kind of relapse.

Sept. 23
Last night after the neuro eval, the doctor suggested that the numbness could be caused by something other than the GBS, b/c he has some leg strength and his reflexes are good. There has been another series of back and brain MRI's - but nothing significant has emerged yet. They have started him on a IV steroid treatment, to treat any inflammation that might be contributing to this.

Sept. 24
From the beginning of this - when John was first diagnosed with the Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS) - it was also told that he had a very atypical presentation. There were some things that didn't add up, but he received the protocol treatment and improved as time went on and he had physical therapy. As he has been evaluated by his neurologist this time, there have been some things that have again not fit the GBS profile - especially hyper-reflexes and good muscle strength. Also - before, his right leg was the weakest - but this time it is his left leg. The neurologist has now narrowed this down to 2 possible new diagnoses, the first of which he is leaning more towards. They are called Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (MNN)http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/multifocal_neuropathy/multifocal_neuropathy.htm and Primary Lateral Sclerosis (PLS)http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/primary_lateral_sclerosis/primary_lateral_sclerosis.htm.He is seeming to think it is the MMN, and will be doing more testing to see. Treatment for the MMN often includes the mmunoglobulin treatments he received when they believed it was GBS. These 2 conditions are rare - so much so that the neurologist has hardly seen any cases. So it is possible we might be reaching out to some more docs in time, possibly at Mayo clinic in Jacksonville, who have more experience. For now, he will be finishing out his steroid treatments, and will be possibly be going to the rehab floor again. There will be some more testing, and we will go from there.

Sept. 28
Nerve study that seemed "good" but keep praying.... increased numbness in his legs and hands compared to last Monday.

So as Lisa requested, please pray for John and the medical staff who is treating him and trying to figure everything out. I also ask that you'd pray for strength for Lisa as well as she continues to her household and her job.