January 30, 2008

Hey Everyone,

Things are good - Praise GOD!

So far Joe has had one Chemo treatment and now his hair is falling out, has aweful mouth sores, terrible joint pain, headaches, chest pain, ringing in his ears, fatige, but most of them you would not be able to tell by looking at him. He is very good at not letting people know that he is hurting. They have increased his pain medicine to help with most of the symptoms. He has to go back next Tuesday to have another brain scan and Wednesday to receive his next dose of Chemo (which will be a larger dose).

He has a very positive attitude and has been keeping me very busy since he is no longer working. He is trying to wrap up several projects around the house that have been on the list for a long time. Miscellaneous things that he said would make him feel better to know that they are all done.

Joe wanted me to add that each day he says "This is the day the Lord has made for me and I will rejoice and be glad in it" He also read in his study that "The Lord wants to involve us in his ministry of drawing people to him by the attitudes we have, the things we say, and the way we act - especially in times of adversity and trouble." Don't be afraid to share your faith with others - spread the JOY!

God Bless,
Crystal

January 15, 2008

Hey everyone,

Joe had his first Chemo treatment yesterday and it took a little over 5 hours. The nausea medicine is working well and he has not felt sick as long as he is taking the medicine. Today he has experienced severe heartburn so the doctor called in some Nexium for him. They said the chemo would kick in around the weekend and he could experience nausea, vomiting, weakness, fatigue, low blood counts, sore mouth, hair loss, etc...

Joe asked the question, " What if I do not take any treatments, how long would I have?" The doctor said, "Your prognosis is pretty damn bleak." She went on to say, "You could possibly at the most have 6 months and in taking this treatment we will not know if it will lengthen that time until the end of April when we do another CT scan."

We know God did not cause Joe's terminal illness. There is nothing good about it but God is also not blindsided by our suffering or Joe's. I read that God causes all the circumstances to work together for good. If we make Christ more at home in our lives, the Spirit of God can be seen in our suffering. And in those circumstances, people clearly see Christ.

Just as Bill said in the service - the devil is on the prowl everyday for all of us and we need to put on our armour each day and pray for each other. It will take all of our brothers and sisters standing together in unity to defeat the evil one. Faithfulness will concur all and we will clearly see Christ in all of this!

There will be a 5k fun run for Joe at Heardmont Park on February 24th for all that want to join us. More details to come so save the date.

In Christ,
Crystal

January 8th - 2008

Hey everyone,

Joe had the Gamma Knife Radiation today and he did great. We were there a long time but well worth it. They did radiation on the 2 spots they removed the tumors from on Dec. 7th. He will be monitored closely for the next year on his brain. They will do CT scans once every month to detect any tumors that may start growing in his brain. He will have a headache for about week but that should go away. The headache is due partly to the halo that was screwed into his head to keep it still during the procedure.

Chemo will begin on Monday the 14th to make an attempt to slow down the cancer already in the head, lungs and liver. We won't know how the chemo is working until they rescan Joe later in the treatments.

Joe's spirits are still very good and it is very hard for him to sit still but he is working on it. He took his Faith booklet with him today and highlighted some areas while he waited. He even cracked a few jokes.

Thank for all the help, thoughts, and prayers we have received. If you don't have a prayer card for Joe yet please let me know and I will get one to you. They are little cards that have a rainbow on one side and a reminder to pray on the other with Joe's name and a bible verse. Thank you Joey and Kelly for creating them. They are very special to Joe and I - so if you would like one please let me know.

God Bless,
Crystal

Something Joe circled in his book today:

"My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior."
Luke 1:46-47