Thursday Evening

Good evening to all!

Hope you all had a great day in God's presence, receiving His grace and love.

We started our day today with Isaiah 12:5 "Sing to the Lord, for He has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world." How awesome it is to think about this verse from Isaiah which is so old and yet is so revelant for today. So let me sing to the Lord. Well, the family says that I can only sing solo - that is "so low" that no one can hear me. But I want everyone to hear how good God is so let me just write it out here, hopefully using the right words in the right places and spelling them correctly. But if I don't do that I hope that all the world can know the glorious things that God has done anyway.

Marty has had an okay day today. She has gotten some Christmas decorations out between her many naps in the chair. This has been a day of a lot of sleep, we believe to be an indication of her need for blood and/or platelets. We will go to Dukes in the morning for a CBC and then do whatever is called for. It may or may not mean a trip to Indy, but the blood work that was done yesterday was already saying there was a need for platelets. So we are pretty sure, without trying to second guess God, that we will go to Indy. Marty's throat seems to be responnding to the salt water and med doc said to use for it. Praise the Lord it is feeling better. Marty was able to eat all three meals today with less discomfort. God is good - all the time. All the time - God is good. Her ankle seems to be improving. The color is starting to come back to normal and there seems to be less discomfort each day. Her NOSE is actually not as bad today too, what a blessing. There has still been some red drainage, but not at all like the last two or three days. We are just so thankful that everything does not hit at one time. God has spared us that and we say thank you Lord.

Well that about covers Marty's condition and the day I do believe, so may we all "sing to the Lord for he has done glorious things;...."

Have a great evening, a night of rest that refreshes you for your ministry tomorrow.

Take care and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Evening

Good Evening or Good Morning:

This is a WARNING! This is a WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

NEVER TRY TO SECOND GUESS GOD'S CREATION, GOD'S PLAN, OR GOD! NEVER! NEVER!

All week we have been saying when we would be going to Indy for blood and/or platelets and all week WE HAVE BEEN WRONG. We did not go again today, the numbers are close but Dr. Lee though we could wait until Friday and then in all probablity get both blood and platelets on the same trip. Other wise if we had gone today for platelets, we would probably have had to go down on Friday for blood. So this way it will be all in one trip. If in fact Marty does not have a major noise bleed. To-day she has had a drippy bloody noise. It has not been realy bad, but just a bit unhandy. Of course, not holding her down or even really slowing her down. She just wipes her noise and keeps on going.

Dr. Lee told us today that Marty has the strength and stamina of a person 10 years younger that she is. He as been so pleased at how well she has gotten along and apprentantly is a lot better than most people her age. Praise the Lord! Thank you Lord and thanks to everyone for the support, prayers, and help on this adventure.

We also talked to Dr. Lee about the lump that started Sunday and on Mondy turned into a score in the very lowest part of her throat. It has been hurting when she swallows, and when she eats anything it can really hurt. At any rate, Doc said this type of condition is to be expected when the white blood count is low or "0". He said when the WBC comes back it will go away. In the mean time she is to take some warm salt water and swallow it as well as use the med for the mouth scores. Marty has also been drinking a couple of cups of hot tea since we got home and says that seems to help for a little while. We pray that this will go away soon and espically before it really effects Marty's ability to eat.

We have also noted that her left shin and right calf have started hurting again. She had this before the chemo each time, then some of the meds during chemo help it, and afterwards it comes back. So now is the time. Again we are hoping that some time, sooner rather than later, we will find out what is causing this discomfort. God has been so good to us, and we know that He will take care of these things as well. Praise the Lord!

Again be reminded, don't second guess God, let His plan roll out and be ready to go the direction and do the things that God wants you to do. Stay in touch with God always, because God is always there to be in touch with you. Praise the Lord!

It has been a great day and we hope that yours has as well.

Take care and have a blessed time with the Lord.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday evening

Good evening to all!

We hope that you have had an awesome day on this beautiful November day! Wouldn't it be great if we could have about 150 more days in a row like we have just had? That is certainly a dream, but we still say God's presence, grace, and love are not a dream but a reality that makes each day so awesome no matter what the weather. Praise the Lord!

Marty's day has been pretty good. The tiredness has been hanging around, but she has not given into it. She has had a light bloody drainage from her noise and still the discomfort in her back, hip, ankle, and shins. Also since about Saturday she has felt a "lump" like feeling just below her voice box in her throat. We don't know what that is, but are hoping to be able to find out yet this week. With her history from four years ago, we have an idea what it might be, but are hoping we are wrong. Never-the-less, she has been up and around, doing a lot of different things (dusting, cooking, washing,etc.), taking a nap this afternoon and still going. She is like the battery on TV that just keeps going, and going, and going so that I have trouble keeping up with her. Praise and thanks be to God!

Tomorrow we will go to Dr. Lee's office here in Peru for the blood work. We will be so surprised if we don't have to go to Indy for blood. But then we didn't have to go Monday, so we may not have to go until Friday and that would not be all bad.

That is our story for today and we are staying with it, becasue God has been so gracious and loving to us. Thank you Lord!

We hope that you have a great evening, a good night's sleep, so that you have lots of energy to praise and glorify the Lord tomorrow in all that you do. Have a good one!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday evening

Greetings to all:

Praise the Lord there was not a trip to Indy today!! Thank you Lord! The WBC was 100, hemoglobin was 9.7, and platelets were 51. The WBC shoud be "0" for sure on Wednesday and the hemoglobin only went down .2 since Saturday, so it may still be okay on Wed. which would still mean no trip. Today Marty has been tired and had some shortness of breath with physical activity. Both of which she has had before when the numbers were low. She did have a good visit with some of her co-workers and sure was glad to see them.

God gave us a productive day and we are grateful and thankful for that!

Have a good nights rest, glorify the Lord tomorrow and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday morning

Gretting to all!

Sure hope that everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving Day and week-end. We sure did and was it ever busy too. But God is so good and we are so glad that we are on His side and in His presence and line of love and grace.

Just a quick review to bring you up to date. We did indeed have a wonderful day last Thursday with Eric and Erin. Erin, of course is 5 now, and she is growing up so fast. She and Marty had a wonderful time doing so many things together including making the pumpkin pies. Erin was right in there and mixed things up as well as laid out those crusts. It was great! Our whole meal was wonderful and just the perfect topping for a day that was so full of thanks to the Lord and others. It was so great to have Erin and Eric to share, even though it was just the day, with us as Erin had to be back that night.

Friday was kind of a day of rest although there was a trip to the store for food shopping. It really went pretty well. I tried to get Marty to ride one of the electric carts, but you know her - she did not want to call attention to herself or do anything out of the ordinary. So she did promise me that if she got to tired she would let me get one for her. Of course, that never happened!

Saturday was a busy day with getting blood work done and making a trip to St. V's for platelets. Her numbers were: WBC 3.3 (we kind of expect that to be "0" today);
hemoglobin 9.9 (we expect that to possibly be down to 8 or below today) and platelets were 15 which when they get below 25 she needs to have more. Also if the hemogolbin is at 8 or below today or for sure by Wednesday Marty will have to have blood. So today or Wendesday we will be headed for Indy. All of the above is expected. It is what the chemo is to do and does. It is what Marty will have to go through three more times after this. We continue to praise God for how well she and her body has done so far with all this and continue to ask for His grace and blessing on her as we travel this road and to the best of our ability to do God's will. Praise the Lord!

Sunday was another busy day: Jack preached and Marty sang in the choir. It was a good feeling to be with our community of faith in the presence of our God. The attendance was very low, many gone away for the holiday, but the Spirit was there and our awesome God was at work. Praise the Lord! During the afternoon we did some Christmas decorating in the house. Eric and Jack had worked outside on Thursday and Jack finished up the outside decorations on Friday. It was great weather, way to good to pass up. Sunday got the tree in the family room up and decorated.

All the lights and decorations at/and during Advent and Christmas are so wonderful as a reminder of the joy and celebration due to God for the gift to you and me of the Way, the Truth, and Life in the Light of the World, Jesus Christ, God's Son, our Guide and Saviour. Man, what a gift! When we really take that gift and place our faith in it, and make it the first loyality in our lives, how in the world can one go wrong? Praise and thanks be to God!

Sunday we also enjoyed the company of Cheryl and Francis before finishing off the day watching the Colts. Go COLTS!!!!! It was a lot better and easier game to watch than the week before. They just have to go all the way this year. Go COLTS!

We will soon be going to get Marty's blood work done and that will determine our day. To have the blood drawn will be a good thing as we will go to the unit on which Marty works to have it done, so she will get to see her co-workers and that will be good.

Through all of the above Marty has been doing pretty well. However, again I would have to honestly say maybe not as well as the first time around, but still pretty darn good. Her back and ankle are still giving her more discomfort than we would like, but she continues to take meds for that. She has also had a different feeling this time than the last, which being a nurse she has been trying to track down. Last night she was in the "pill book" looking up some of the new meds she was put on when leaving the hospital last week to see the side effects. She found a four of them that may be the casue. So when we get the blood numbers, she will call the doc. office and see what they have to say. Here is hoping that there can be some adjustments that will help her to genereally feel better. Along with the above, of course, the tiredness is at a high level righ now becasue the hemogloban is low and getting lower. Praise the Lord that we can at least have some idea of what is going on and make corrections for it.

Well I think that brings you up to date, sorry is has been so long but as you can see we have been on the go and then I did have some problems with the equipment becasue I really don't know what I am doing. I know that some of you look for an update daily, and we really appreciate your interest, support, prayers and all. I will try to do better in keeping you informed, maybe I can make them shorter and daily. We will see!

In the mean time, have a great day, glorify the Lord, praise the Lord, and be blessed by the Lord.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday about noon

HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL OF YOU AND TO ALL WHO YOU LOVE!

WE HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GREAT DAY WITH FAMILY AND/OR FRIENDS AND OF COURSE HOPE THAT YOU ARE NOT EATING TO MUCH!

BUT MOST IMPORTANT WE HOPE THAT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE GOD'S PRESENCE WITH YOU AND THANK GOD FOR ALL HE HAS GIVEN YOU AND YOURS THIS YEAR AND ALWAYS!

This year how can the words THANK YOU LORD, even from the bottom of our hearts, be enough to express how we feel. God has given us so much and been so present with us to deal with the situation we have been in for the last three and a half months. God has also been so visible in those who have ministered unto Marty and me and all who have been supporting us on this journey. What a blessing! It seems pretty obvious that God is using Marty in all of this to ministry to others and that God has more for Marty to do on this earth. Thank you Lord for that plan! But putting all this together just makes it too big to just say THANK YOU LORD!

So again this day we want to rededicate our lives to be a "LIGHT" for our God in all that we do. It seems to us that that is what God taught us to do through Jesus Christ's ministry here on earth. That is the meaningful way to say THANK YOU LORD. That is the way we have tried to live our lives and we will continue to do so to the very best of our ability. And in that way we pray that God will be glorified, becasue God is so good!

Marty is continuing to do well. We do not have any numbers yet since we left the hospital. We are going to Dukes in a little while and have a CBC done. We really do not expect them to be down to "0" or to the point where she will need blood and/or platelets until Sunday or Monday. I will try to keep you updated on this if not daily at least every other day. I am planning to preach Sunday and as many as possible as well as be in the office as possible. Marty's back, from the four pinched nervers, are giving her a lot of discomfort at this time and the ankle is still making itself known to her. So with the chemo working she does have to head to the chair for a little break more often that she use to and for the most part more often than she would like to. She has gotten tired of her hair still coming out, so she is right now shaving the rest of it off and that will take care of that!!!!!

Eric and Erin arrived last night and will leave tonight. Jennifer and family are headed to TN to be will Travis's parents. His dad is not able to receive any more treatment for his pancreatic cancer at this point. And it seems like it might be growing, so it is not a good situation. We continue to pray for them and ask you to do the same, Travis and Mae Taylor. Marty and Eric got the turkey in and we will sit down at our over blessed table about 3pm. What a blessing! Eric and I are going to work on the outside lights to get them up.

So I guess I better go now and get some other things done. Again HAPPY THANKSGIVING and God bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Evening

Blessing to you and here we are from Peru Indiana:

Yes, we are home and so pleased to be. Even Buddy was sooooo happy to get out of the motorhome and run around the house as fast as he could. I guess he wanted to make a fast check of things and then slow down and smell the roses. At any rate, we are indeed pleased to be home.

Marty has had a pretty good day with nothing really out of line. We did learn this morning from the doc. that her ankle is not just swollen, but that the muscles have been pulled away from the bone. Tonight it is really painful, probably becasue she has walked more and been on it more today.

We also learned this morning that two of the chrosones (5 and 7) from the bone marrow that are involved in Marty's illness are back to normal. That is really, really, really good. It will lead to a much better and longer remission. Praise the Lord! Thank you Lord!

Today's chemo went well and Marty is sure glad to be done with that stuff for a while. Now the effects of it - by Sunday or Monday her WBC should be down to "0" and the others will also be down. So blood and platelets will be needed and as one or the other is needed we will have to go to Indy for it. Also if at any time her temp is 100.5 or above we have to call the doc. and if the WBC is "0" we will have to head to St. V's. So as you can see for the next four months our lives are going to be lived on the edge and with the need for flexiblility. God will provide what we need when we need it and we will praise Him always.

When Marty will get the next chemo is yet unkown. Her WBC will have to go down and then come back up to at least 5000 before we can even think or talking about more chemo. So that was another new revelation today. We thought we would be going down in 3 weeks, but instead we will not be going down until the WBC comes up. So there sure is a lot in our lives that right now is dependent on those poor little old white blood cells. I sure hope and pray that they do what they are supposed to do and do it quick. But then God is in control and that is a good thing. Praise the Lord!

This morning and for most of the day I have been praising God for the awesome fact that God's grace is new every morning. Think about it, what a blessing! And besides our God is an awesome God. Praise and thank you Lord.

Have a great day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Night

Well good evening, or good morning and which ever Praise the Lord! Today has again been a blessed day for us and we pray for you as well. And of course a part of our blessing is you our family, friends, supporters, prayers, God's hands and feet for us and for others. Thank your Lord!


Today has been a pretty good day for Marty. She was getting her next to the last chemo tonight when I left her, infact it was almost finished, Praise the Lord. Her ankle is continuing to go down and the pain is not as bad. In fact today was only one pain pill. But then again we are only walking 3 times instead of 4 and only half the distance. But it is so good that she can do any walking at all. She ate three good meals today even though she was only hungry for about one of them. She has continue to drink a lot and the blood work for the "plumbing" is looking good. Speaking of blood work, Dr. Lee is pleased with all that it is doing. Praise the Lord.

The plan as of now is that she will finish her last chemo about 9:00am + or - and we will come home tomorrow afternoon. At this point we do not know what "afternoon" means. So we will get there when we get there.

Well I had to come to Buffalo Wild Wings again tonight and they are cleaning all around me since I am the only one in this section. I get the idea that they would not mind if I would leave. Besides, I have to get back to take Buddy for a walk and then I have a "few" dishes - actually containers - to wash. You know I used the great kind of dishes that I could take care of real easy, but I have some pots, pans, and containers that need washed. So I need to get that taken care of tonight.

So I better finish this and my beverage and hit the road. Oh yes, I have heard from a couple of folks who have wondered if I come here more for the beverage than for the wilreless internet. And I have assured them that it is for the internet!

I, no we, will get back with you tomorrow from home. Until then, take care, glorify God with all that you do, and God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Evening

Well like I said it is after the Colts game, so I am "down" (Ha, ha knew it had to come and hoped it would come now and not later), and yes I am again at Buffalo Wild Wings. I lelt enough time for the crowd to clear out and it is not quiet as "Wild" as yesterday. But the music is louder than I would have it. Of course, I am from the "dark ages" when everything was soooo different.

For Marty today, particularly late this afternoon and evening, it has be restless again. Not as bad as Friday, but certainly not as good as yesterday. The ankle is improving, it is going down in size and the pain is not as bad, even when she walks. We have taken three short walks today and she has really done well. I believe that she has only had two pain pills today as well, so that is good. Praise the Lord! Her temp has gone back to normal and been staying there, so what was going on Friday is anyones guess. The WBC has also come down for the high yesterday which is good, since that is what it is to do. The hemoblobin stayed the same and the platelets came down. Marty got more chemo last night and this morning, so we are 2/3 of the way through this treatment. Praise the Lord! She will get more tomorrow night and then Tuesday morning. Then we are hoping to get home Tuesday afternoon but that will depend on the numbers. She is still eating well, but lunch and dinner she have to work a little harder at it and didn't eat quiet as much.

So that is about the story. It doesn't seem like it is going quiet as well as the last time, but is still a lot better that it could be. We are again grateful to God for His presence and His grace. God is good - all the time. All the time - God is good.

I hope all is going well for you and your loved ones and that in all you are doing you feel God's company and presence. I am so thankful that God is a part of my life, and that you and all my sisters and brothers in the Triune God are a part of my life. You know to think about that gives me a lot to be thankful for, more than I can even name off to the Lord. That is indeed how good God has been to me! Praise the Lord! So, so, so often we let the few negative things that are around us rule our live and all of the positive things that are in and around our lives. That's not good or right! Just take a moment to think about how that puts God down, if you will. God is with us in all that we go through and wants the best for all of us, for all of His children, so if we don't allow that to happen in our lives (becasue of the negative and/or for any reason) it seems to me that is a "put down" for God. So as we go through this Thanksgiving week, let us truly be positive and give God the thanks and praise that is do Him. There is no doubt in my mind that we will feel better and that God will be glorified. Praise the Lord!

I want to get back to the hospital and spend a little more time with Marty before saying good night, so I really need to get going since it is 9:15pm.

So have a good night, get lots of rest and God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Afternon

Greetings to all:

I am doing this from the West 86th Street Buffalo Wild Wings, Grill and Bar and is it "Wild" in here. In the corner I am in there is on large screen and four regular TV, not all on the same ball game. The place has all kinds of people that are watching the different games and cheering for their team. So if at any point I don't make sense, please don't mind and forgive. (Of course I know, you will just say - "What's the difference?")

You are probably wondering why you did not get a message yesterday and why I am here today. I wish I knew. I could not get on the internet at the hospital yesterday or today. I was in touch with a person at the hospital earlier this afternoon and still no success. I have also been on the phone to Peru about it, and I have even been to a coffee shop. Finally I ended up here and got on. Praise the Lord! I knew it would happen some how - besides the onion rings and beverage are not to bad at all. I knew there was a reason to come here!

At any rate we are moving right along with God as our Guide, Supporter, Protector, our all. Yesterday for Marty was a restless day. It started during the night and just kept on going. She was really having a bad time,not being able to sleep, not being albe to keep her legs still, having a head ache, and it was almost like you name it and she had it. But she kept right on going - taking her walks, eating, and doing all that she was to do. God is so good to give her that strength and deter-mination to do what she has to do. And she is so good to do it. Praise the Lord! Finally in the afternoon they gave her a pain pill for her head ache and that seemed to help settle things down. Marty was so thankful that it was not a chemo day, what a blessing. She did sleep pretty good last night, I believe only being up once. That was good.

Today has been a falling day. It seems that Marty fell in the shower this morning and was down, trying to get up, for what at least seemed to her to be 10 to 15 minutes. I was not there yet, and the string to pull for the nurse was on the other side of the room, so she had a problem. Finally she heard the nurse in her room and called her to come help. They took her down to x-ray for her left ankle and the report is that there are no breaks. But ooooooh does it hurt. We do believe that the walks are sure going to be limited for a day or two. She is doing her best to keep ice on it, but it seems to me that it is still getting bigger. Thank the Lord that it hasn't stopped her from drinking and/or eating her lunch, infact that's eating at all.

Marty has also been running a low grade temp since yestereday afternoon, from what we don't know. And her WBC went up today while the other two went down. It seems like something might be going on but we don't known. God does and He will take care of everything. He has already taken care of the fact the Dr. Lee, our Doc., is on call this week-end. So he will be right on top of everything.

Well I am not sure that there is anything else to report at this time. I am hoping that by getting the LP to work here that it may work at the hospital. If not I guess I will just have to come back here tomorrow after the Colts - Go Colts - game and give you another report.

This morning when I looked out side I said to myself, "Oh what a beautiful morning, oh what a beautiful day." And so it is! Maybe it is not all going the way I wish, but it is still so beautiful and so awesome to be a part of it. Praise and thanks be to God. Don't forget to join your Community of Faith tomorrow to together praise and thank God, this Thanksgiving Week, for all He has give you.

Have a great day and God bless.

Jack
John 3:16

Thusday Evening

Greeting from Indy!

Here is the present data about where we are:

St. Vincent Hospital
2001 West 86th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46260

Room 6603

1.866.338.2345 ext. 80702 800 number
1.317.338.0702 Local Direct

And of course you can get to us with a comment on the blog.

At present we are to be here until next Tuesday, so we would be delighted to hear from you.

We are doing fine. Marty had a central line put in early this afternoon so that will be a big help. The doc had a hard time getting it in becasue of scare tissue but it is in and we praise God for that. At times they have had so much trouble getting a IV started in Marty that this sure makes things a lot better. We just pray that they will let her go home with this in place becasue she will have to have a lot of blood work done when we get home. CBC every other day.

The trip down was uneventful, but the fog and misty rain were not the greatest thing to drive in. It was really a dull, dreary day - a lot different than when we
arrived in September. But that is all a part of God's creation and plan and we give God thanks for that. The afternoon has gone rather slow, waiting for this and that but the chemo is now going in. And we pray that it will do its job to kill off those bad cells, and be kind to the good cells and the organs. We again pray for God's will to be done and know that He is good, all the time.....

Marty has already taken her first walk around the 6th floor and checked it all out. Oh yes, by the way, this time our room is on the other side of the nurses station and is much smaller and the view out the window is the building that hold the other side of the 6th floor. What a great view! And they are even working on that side of the building. So I told Marty we will be able to watch them and maybe even be "side walk superintents". Ha Ha Ha We are so thankful that we were on the other side for the long stay and certainly hope that is the case for those who have to stay for a long time. We can certainly handle this for a week. Besides God will provide the light, sunshine, and views that we need.

Well I am sorry this is so late and I better get it published before it gets any later. So we will be back on with an update tomorrow. Until then praise God for all you have, have a great evening, get a good nights rest to serve the Lord tomorrow, and God bless you and all who you love.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday evening

Praise the Lord! THANK YOU LORD, THANK YOU! God is good and we give Him praise and thanks.

Good evening!

We are indeed very please, happy, delighted, excited, and all of those other adjectives that express joy. Dr. Lee this afternoon was also very happy as he told us that Marty's numbers were perfect (WBC 7.4 [normal 4 - 10.5] HGB 11.4 [normal 12.5 - 16] PLT. 216 [150 - 450] and that she is right where he wants her to be and is to be considered in remission. Praise the Lord! Thank you Lord, thank you!

Dr. Lee explained it to us this way. To have AML one has 10 to 12% blasts in their blood. Marty had 10% at the time of the first bone marrow biopsy. At the time of the second one (last week)she had 3%. This change is significant and consideres the AML is in remission. However there are still a fairly significant number of blasts in the blood so that is why there is the need for the consoladation treatment. Each one of the four treatments will lower the blasts that are now consideered 10 to the 9 by 2. So that by the end of the four treatments they will be 10 to 1. And that will be considered a full remission. There is no way to know or determine how long it will stay in this full remission - it could be a month or two or it could be years. Dr. Lee has told us of people who have gone 3 - 4 years and we have even heard of longer.

Also, when all of the above treatment is done Dr. Lee wants us to see the bone marrow transplant people again. So we will have to see.

Now for these "consoladation treatments". Marty will be back in St. V's for 6 to 7 days for each of them. She will receive the same chemo as before twice a day on the 1, 3, and 5 days. When she gets home she will feel pretty good for the first 4 to 5 days. Then the problems can occure. At that point her white blood count will be down to "0" and her platelets will be low. The chance that she will need blood and platelets at that time will be 100%. There will also be a 50/50 chance that she will get a temp. of 100.5 or higher and will have to go in St. V's for I V antibiotics. Of course, how all that goes will depend on how the infection responds to the antibiotics. Finally, Marty will begin to feel better and it will be time to do it all over again.

We are so happy and thankful that Marty does not have to go through the Remission Induction again and can move on to the consoladation. God is so good! We are just so grateful, becasue it is a stong indication that God still has more for her to do here on earth. Thank you Lord! We know that the next four months are not going to be easy either, but God has seen us through this first part which is so awesome and is a must for the second part to even take place. So thank you Lord.

Today, we thanked Dr. Lee for being open to God for the wisdom and guidance for Marty's treatment thus far and he said let's just thank God. So again thank you God!

We will be back tomorrow on the blog with room number and all down at St. V's because we are to be down there at 10am for her admisssion for the first treatment. We again thank all of you for your prayers, support, love and all during the last 3 months and certainly would appreciate your continued prayers, support, love, and all in the future.

Have a great day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Evening

Good evening

We hope that you have had a great day. We have and we praise God for it. Now only is it the day of "rest" and to praise the Lord, it has been an awesome day for Marty. She has really felt good and the most like herself that she has for a long time. Her ankles are looking real good, she did not have to lay down after her shower this morning, wanted to and was able to sing in the choir this morning, did take a nap this afternoon, but after all it was Sunday and there was football on TV, GO COLTS, so what else is there to do. At any rate Marty has had good energy today and we thank the Lord for that. Her shins are about the same, very sore to touch and we still have no idea as to why. But so many other things are going so well, praise the Lord! We pray for more days like today!

May you have a good night and start your week off praising the Lord and glorifying Him with all that you do.

Good night (or good morning) and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Evening

Good evening, or good morning - which ever let us praise the Lord! You know our God is an awesome God and has given us so much to be thankful for. God is good - all the time. All the time - God is good.

Today is the 17th day that Marty has been home and the 24th day since she has had to have blood and/or platelets. Praise the Lord! And today was the day for another CBC which was good. The red blood cells and platelets where in normal limits at 5.9 and 220 respectively and the hemoglobin at 10.9 which is still a little low but okay. So even though they have come down since the last one, the doctor says that they are real good. Infact, he was very pleased with them. Then also today was the day for the bone marrow biopsy to tell if the cancer is in remission or not. Those results we will get next Wednesday the 15th. But Dr. Lee was very, very positive and said today that if he was a betting man he would say that it is in remission. Praise the Lord!

We discussed with the doctor again today Mary's ankles, her shins, and her neck and shoulder that are still giving her much discomfort. He has ordered a bone scane for next Tuesday to see what that showes, particularly for the neck and shoulder. He now thinks the shin may be the lupus, and he adjusted the water pill to hopefully help the ankles. The tiredness kind of comes and goes, however she does sleep in longer in the morning every day and often naps some in the afternoon. But yes she is up and around, and out to church, even choir again tonight. Yesterday she even drove herself to do some shopping. One cannot hold her down! Today was a busy day with going over to the hospital to see the folks that we were in the room next to and some other folks. Then we went down to Methodist Hospital to see a young girl from the church that had been in the hospital, only to find out that she went home on Tuesday. I had mentioned her earlier for prayer, Jessie Davenport, and I would ask that you continue to keep her in your prayers. She has a long way to go, a lot of healing to do.

We go day by day and are indeed so grateful for all that God is doing. Each day gives us the chance to glorify God in all that we do and that we are hopefully doing. We already know of several situations that have been inspired and perhaps could even say blessed by what has happened with Marty over the last 3 months. To God be the praise and thanks!

Well I have some other things to do tonight so I guess I better close this for now. However, again I do want to say that we do indeed appreciate your interest, love, support, prayers, and all that has been done for us by family and friends. Please know that it has been and is very meaningful and helpful. We praise and thank God for all of you and the support you are providing through this journey.

Have a great night of rest and a super day tomorrow so that God is glorified.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Evening

Good evening - isn't it great to know that the elections are now over and we will not have to watch and/or hear any more of the political ads. Thank you Lord!

Well, I guess we are here tonight by popular demand, one might say. We have been and the office has been getting requests for an update, so here we are.

Marty is doing pretty good, while riding a see-saw of good days and not as good of days as the Doc. told us to expect. Last Thursday she really had a great day. It was no doubt the best day since all of this started back in the summer. Friday was also pretty darn good, with Erin and Eric arriving for the week-end. Saturday and Sunday were also good, but probably each one not being quiet as good as the day before. Some of the noted areas of "problems" have been the ankles retaining fluid again, the shins hurting again to the touch (actualy more in the back than the front this time), tiredness increasing, and appetite not being as good. So as these issues increased Monday and Tuesday the day were pretty much down days.

Of course, the schedule is to have the bone marrow biopsy on Thursday and then on Wednesday the 15th get the results of the test and enter the hospital for treatment according to the results as to whether the cancer is in remission or not.

God is still so graciously with us and we certainly desire His will to continue to be done. It is so good to feel God's presence and know His love. God is so good and we want to praise His name and glorify God, our Creator, our Saviour, our help in all situations, in all that we do. And so again tonight we say, thank you Lord, thank you for all of Your grace, love, and mercy. Praise the Lord!

Have a great evening and a better day tomorrow. God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Evening

Praise the Lord!!! Happy November - Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

We have so very much to be THANKFUL for and Marty and I are so full of THANKSGIVING to give to the Lord! We certainly do praise and thank the Lord.

Today Marty had a CBC and we saw Dr. Lee. The CBC came back with good numbers - Praise the Lord! - WBC - 10.7; Hemoglobin - 11.0; Platelet - 449. And Dr. Lee had a good report. After looking at all the numbers and talking to Marty and giving her an exam he thinks that she just may be in remission. But it will be another two weeks until we know for sure. We go to Indy. next Thursday (11/9) for the bone marrow biopsy, thought that would be tomorrow, but we believe that since things are going so well that he wants to be sure it continues before he checks it. Also, I did not think they would do all of the studies again on the bone marrow, but from what Dr. Lee said today I guess they will. Therefore it will take the six days until we get the results and know for sure what the Lord hath had done.

That day, Wednesday, Nov. 15, when we find out, or Thursday the 16th, we will go back to St. V's for the consolidation which will take 6 to 7 days, if all goes well. Dr. Lee suggested that we come on the 15th prepared to go to Indy. So we shall see! Once Marty gets back to the hospital she will have chemo twice a day, just like the last time, only just on the 1st., 3rd., and 5th. days, so this will be half as much chemo. But it will still take her numbers down again, in fact WBC will go to "0" again, but not for as long. She will have the same chance for bleeding, infection, and complications as before. Also will have similar eating problems, etc. but she will come home as long as she does not have a temp of 100.5 or higher. And as mentioned before this will be done for four months and will be the same each month.

There is still a long way to go, but God's plate can handle it and as far as we are concerned it is on God's plate. God has been good with us this far and we have no reason to believe that anything will be different and/or to expect anything different. Praise the Lord! Isn't it awesome that God has been so good that we can have that kind of faith and assurance in Him. What a blessing!!

Marty is still having a lot of fatigue but the Doc says that that is the way it goes. He said she will be spending a lot of time in the recliner, on the couch, because she is so tired and lacking energy. From what he said we are to take that it will pretty much be this way for the next four months.

As we enter this month of November - THANKSGIVING - I want to encourage all of us to each day write down just one thing that we are thankful for. Just one thing per day, of course, it needs to be something different each day, no doubles. And then on Thanksgiving day let us take time with the family to share each of those things and again give God praise and thanks for them. What an awesome opportunity to glorify our God!!

May you have a good night, get great rest, and let your light shine for God tomorrow. God bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16