Hello Everyone,

This morning about 10:00am Joe won victory over his cancer and is dancing in the streets of gold in Heaven right now. Joe is an amazing man, father, and friend to so many and will be missed greatly.

Arrangements for Joe Lent are as follows:
Friday, February 20
Visitation from 5-8pm

Saturday, February 21
Funeral Service at 2pm

Both at Mountaintop Community Church, 225 Centerview Drive Birmingham, AL 35216

Instead of flowers the family has requested that donations be made to the Family Life Center at Mountaintop Community Church.

God Bless!

Dear Friends and Family,

Over the last two weeks, Joe and Crystal have had some very precious and adventurous times together. One night Joe awoke and was planning an adventure for the day. His request landed Joe, Uncle Lee and Crystal in Folley, Alabama at Lambert's restaurant. (A four hour trip each way.) It was a long trip but it was a typical Joe excursion with Crystal right there making his wish come true. And then, God allowed Joe to travel to Texas with Crystal this past weekend to visit Matt. Matt was given an academic award at MMA and asked his parents to be there. Crystal and Joe flew and spent the weekend with Matt. The visit was challenging but they were each given precious moments during their time together. God was in the details by providing several compassionate people along the way.

As far as Joe's physical condition, last week he began to develop some secondary infections/complications. An infection from one tumor is entering his blood stream and is causing his system to become septic. Hospice prescribed a powerful oral antibiotic; however, Joe has only been able to keep down a small dose. His liver is failing and now he is vomiting quite regularly. Yesterday, hospice also diagnosed a urinary tract infection. These infections have triggered a fever. It's all very complicated and interconnected.

So, where do we go from here? Prayer! Please continue to lift up Joe, Crystal, Josie and Matt. Each one has his or her own needs but God knows them all and is able to meet each one specifically. Let's intercede on their behalf!

The Lord's presence is evident in this home. Joe and Crystal are sound followers of Christ, and knowing that brings hope and peace. They truly trust the Lord with their future.

Hebrews 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.
Blessings to you all!

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Sunday, January 25, and Crystal has requested an update to Joe's blog. She is now home full-time caring for Joe. Hospice is assisting but Joe definitely prefers his precious wife. In the last 3 weeks, the cancer has progressed significantly and his body is struggling. Joe has lost over 20 pounds in 2 weeks. Eating and drinking are very difficult for two reasons; one, the roof of his mouth is now open because of the tumor in his face so liquids and solids escape through his nose and secondly, food and liquids enter his lungs instead of his stomach so he chokes often, with this choking comes the risk of pneumonia. Hospice has made suggestions about how to remedy these issues including thickening liquids, trying straws, placing small amounts on spoons, using sip cups, etc. but nothing seems to help.

Recently, Hospice adjusted Joe's medications and added a steroid. This was done to see if his agitation, confusion, slurred speech, and poor balance were coming from swelling in his brain. The answer was yes. Some who visited were a bit confused by his temporary improvements. He had two days of increased activity, appetite, peacefulness, clear speaking, a sense of humor but also the realization that he had no memory of the previous 2 weeks. He wept with Crystal and was able to have a heart-to-heart chat with her. He told her the Lord is calling him home, and he asked Crystal if she was going to be able to let him go? It was very difficult for her to answer yet she continues to do what is best for him above all else. At this time, he also requested no more steroids. The steroids would only temporarily alleviate his symptoms and have negative effects on other parts of his body. He assures Crystal he is ready to be with his Heavenly Father and does not want to prolong this at all. That night Joe prayed and thanked the Lord for all his caring family and friends. He knows where he's going; he wants to be sure we'll be joining him there, also.

The steroids have cleared his body now and he is sleeping most of the time. When awake, he seems confused and far away in thought. His speech is hard to understand. He looks and asks for Crystal with each waking. Her presence definitely comforts him.

Please continue to pray for Joe and his family. Revisit his life verse, Revelation 2:10. Jesus is our only source of hope now and always.

September 25, 2008

Hey Everyone,

Joe went to the doctor on Monday which took most of the day. I think it takes me a couple of days to process the information they give because it is just so much. I am a person that has to process or put things down to visualize what the are saying. Then I have to research the information so I can attempt to be on the same page.

With that being said, Joe had a CT scan on his body and another on his head. The body (liver, kidneys and lungs) are getting worse. This is where I have to see a diagram to understand.

I will start with his liver: the widest point of his liver is about 20cm and tallest point is 17.5cm. The tumors that were measured (only the 2 largest) were 10.2cm x 10.8cm and the other was 8.4cm x8.2cm. Joe has been scanned 3 times this year and each time the tumors have doubled in size so if the pattern continues then at the end of December his tumors will be larger than his actual liver!

Kidney's: same thing here - if they double again the tumors will outgrow the kidney's.

Lungs: we did not even talk about his lungs - not sure why but with all the other information it did not even cross my mind.

Brain: More swelling around one of the brain tumors in the area that controls his balance, coordination, dexterity, etc...

Face tumor: Joe will go in on Monday to see the ENT doctor and also see an Anesthesiologist to have a biopsy done on the tumor coming through the roof of his mouth. The doctor did verify that's what it was for sure the tumor coming through. That tumor is massive in size when you look at the scans. It is hard to believe that tumor is so large in his face. - I don't know if they are planning the biopsy on Tuesday or Wednesday we are still waiting on a call.

Joe is still determined to help others and this Saturday he will ride his bicycle to raise money for MS (Multiple Sclerosis) in Mobile with a couple of friends. The ride is 150 miles in 2 day - I'm not sure how he is going to feel on Monday but I cannot tell him "No". He keeps his mind on the Lord to see him through all of this and I stand with him. That's not to say I'm not scared when he rides his bike but I am learning to handle it better.

The Lord is blessing us through all of this and we love all of you.

God Bless,
Crystal

September 20, 2008

Hey Everyone,

Please forgive me that I have not kept you up to date on Joe. Things have been very busy and Matt is off to school in Texas now and we miss him very much. We pray the Lord keeps him safe and under his wing while he is away from us.

Sometimes it is hard to determine how Joe is doing day to day because most days he looks great. The doctors have given us bad news after bad news. I get very nervous when we have to see the doctor because of what they are going to tell us next. This is the latest information I have:

The tumor in Joe's face that they did radiation on the end of May has grown significantly. The ENT doctor called Friday afternoon and wants Joe to come in Monday the 22nd for a CT scan of his face including sinus and eye cavities so they can see where the tumor has gone. It was the size of my fist about 3 weeks ago and is still growing. Joe has a hole in the roof of his mouth were the tumor looks like it is coming through. It is just taking over in his face. It is causing him problems with his eating, jaw (talking) and headaches. The ENT wants Joe to also come in on Monday the 29th to get Pre-Admission testing. Not sure what they are going to do but that sounds like surgery to me. I will try to find out Monday what they are going to do.

The next thing is a brain tumor they did Gamma Knife on in May has started growing again and also has some swelling around it. They have placed Joe back on Steroids to minimize the swelling and try to control the swelling from the tumors in his body which have become worse.

His belly has swollen quite a bit in the last 2 weeks and I hope the doctor gives us some in site on that Monday. I read that it is caused from tumors in the liver but I don't have confirmation of that. Nights are long as he cannot sleep very well. He keeps me up most of the night having conversations or thinking it is daytime. He woke me up the other night asking me why I was out in the driveway doing u-turns?? I was not outside doing u-turns but he was convinced that I was and wanted to have a conversation about it. :-) It was about 2:00 in the morning.

There are many other little goofy things but I have listed the major ones we know of right now. I will know more once we see the 2 doctors on Monday and have both scans done.

His mood/spirit is great as anyone knows that have talked to him. He says the doctors are promising him paradise and they can't deliver! He also says that he is past his expiration date. His love of the Lord is contagious and it just draws you to him. He is so awesome and has such a peace beyond understanding. Joe was telling me about some pain he was having and I told him it was caused by the cancer and he looked at me like Who has cancer? He made me think I was crazy to say that. That's okay though because we deal with it differently.

We love you all and thank you for keeping up with Joe. I apologize again for not keeping this blog up to date like I should be.

Love and God Bless,

Crystal

June 1, 2008

Hey Everyone,

The radiologist was able to treat 3 of the brain tumors with Gamma Knife. Joe is having a lot of pain right now and is back on pain medicine for a while. The next couple of weeks should show how well the Gamma Knife and radiation went. It will take that long for the swelling to go down in Joe's face (if the radiation worked). He cannot open his mouth very wide making if difficult to eat and he says everything taste like cardboard.

I will keep you updated...

God Bless,
Crystal

May 27, 2008

Hey Everyone,

Joe is having Gamma Knife again in the morning. The nurse said today that he is scheduled to have it done on 2 or 3 of the tumors depending on position.

The radiation on his face tumor is almost done. If he can have his last treatment done tomorrow after the Gamma Knife then he will not have to get radiation on Friday morning. They have him scheduled on June 9th for a body MRI. It will show how fast the other tumors are growing in his body. They will also do another brain scan in one month to see how the brain tumors have responded.

I will place another update after Gamma is done tomorrow.

Love,
Crystal