Saturday Night

Greeting to all!

BALD IS BEAUTIFUL!!!! Yes, one of the events for the day was to shave the rest of Marty’s hair shaved off. She had lost about 75 to 80% of it. So, she thought it was time to just do away with the rest. So, it is gone again, and the reality around here is that bald is beautiful, because Marty is just as beautiful now as she was before. Praise the Lord!

We certainly appreciated the visit of Marty’s sister and husband all the way from Chicago, and the visits today of Beth E., Susie G., and Pat and John S. Actually I am sorry I missed Pat and John because I was out to dinner with Marty’s sister and husband. But, I really appreciate that they stopped and were with Marty for a while when I was gone. It is always good to see folks from home; we do appreciate when you stop in.

Marty is pushing and fighting hard. She is still eating, walking, staying awake more, shaking a lot because of the medicine, pulling her O2 tail around wherever she goes, while her lungs seem to be gathering more “junk” in them. She has had to have two breathing treatments today because of wheezing in her lungs. She has also had to have insulin because her blood sugar has gone sky high because from the methylprednisolone she is on again. Her voice is coming back, but, at times you cannot hear a word that she says. I will be so glad when that gets better and she is talking right. She is a fighter and we give God thanks for that.

Ecclesiastes 7:14 reads: “When Times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other…” Praise the Lord! Yes, God does indeed have a plan and He uses what we consider to be “good” and “bad” to fulfill it and to glorify Himself. Because we do not know the entire plan, we do not always understand what is going on and/or what is “good” and what is “bad.” Take for example the death of Jesus, when that happened it was definitely thought to be a bad thing by those who followed Him, believed in Him, and accepted Him as the Christ. Then, the whole resurrection and salvation happened and it was good. Besides that it was realized that we could not have the resurrection and salvation without the death. And God was so gracious to do that for us, for you and me. So, indeed when we make those judgment calls about good and bad, let us consider that God has a plan and has and does use all things to fulfill that plan. Thanks and praise be to God! Glorify Him! Praise the Lord!

Have a positive day tomorrow and glorify the Lord in all that you do. God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Noon Special

Greetings:

Just a quick note to let you know that Marty had a good night and on the outside looks like she is doing much better. However, we understand that the tests are showing that she is stable but still in the woods. There are still some issues that they are keeping a close watch on and will for a few more days.

Marty's sister and husband are here and it is good to see them.

Today is God's day, and He is to be praised.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Night

Greetings to all!
Praise the Lord! So far so go! Actually, Marty is feeling a little improved tonight and is “wired” from the steroids. She is hoping that she can sleep tonight because she has not been able to sleep all day. That is sure different because the last two days sleeping is about all that Marty has done. So, it has been good to see her awake.

The, Lung Specialist, Dr. Barnes was in and he believes the Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome will be reversible and should be able to be done up here in the room. He is really does not expect Marty to have to go to ICU and agrees with the steroids and antibiotics that Dr, Lee had already started early this morning. Praise the Lord! He said there are a couple of things that will make his job easier, one is that she has never smoked, and second that she has not been around second hand smoke in the home for 27 years..He did not change a thing. I guess we have about another 48 hours to go. When I asked Dr. Lee this morning about how much time this might take to see if it will reverse, he said from 3 days to 3 weeks. So, hopefully today was not all steroids “wiring” her up, rather some progress on the ARDS.

Dr. Lee did come back this afternoon and did the biopsy. So, we should have those results by next Wednesday give or take a day. It was very difficult to do and to get enough bone marrow. He actually had to go into the bone three different times to hopefully get enough to do all the tests that he wants to do. Of course the first test will be to see if the AML is in remission or not. The difficulty he had getting the samples was another indication that it probably is not in remission. The difficulty possibly had to do with the hardening of the bone marrow because of the large number of cancer cells (“blasts”) that are packing up in the bone marrow space. But we can’t second guess, every time we do, we are wrong. We must wait on the Lord and put our faith and trust in Him.

Psalm 16:5 reads “Lord you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.” What does that verse say to you? One thing that I find interesting with this verse is that even the writer of this psalm was aware that God had a plan for him and that his life was secure, was safe, was guided by God. Another thing this reminds me of is the Lord’s Supper (portion and cup), and God’s gift of salvation to me. And putting the two of those things together I have to ask, why is it that so many people fear death? I am particularly thinking here of what some people will say that some things in life are better than the alternative, meaning death. And I have always wondered if this is so, that death is that bad, then how can we affirm the biblical statements about trusting God, and confessing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior?

This morning when Marty and I were faced with the words of the doctor for the second time in a month that her death could be near, all that we could say was that God’s will is our will and what ever happens will be okay. Now this certainly does not mean that we want Marty to die, because we both pray that it be God’s will that there are other things that God wants her to do on this earth. Particularly of interest to Marty is to see and be involved in the grandchildren growing up. But it does mean that we trust God for her salvation and for eternal life that will be a good thing. It seems to me that a basic fear of death is a fear of the unknown, but if indeed our faith and trust is in God, and our salvation is in God, then there is no unknown, because there is God! Praise the Lord! For the Christian death is a going home and we all know that is a good thing. We all like to go home after a trip. You know we say how great it is to be home again. I suggest that it is the same with death and after life. Praise the Lord! Thank you God!

Did not mention above but want to say now that Marty enjoyed having Jennifer D. here this afternoon for a second visit. Also, Marty is now up to almost 100 cards hanging in her room, which is indeed a wonderful reminder of the prayers, support, love, and grace that God has sent to her through so many people. Praise the Lord!

May you have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

FRIDAY MORNING SPECIAL (7:45 am)

Greetings:

Just wanted to let you know the latest. Dr. Lee has told us that Marty has ARDS in her lungs. That is Adult Respiratory Distress Syndrome. He said that this is an inflammatory response of the lungs to "something," ie. drugs, fungus, virus, bacteria any one or combination of them. It will be treated with antibiotics, steroids, and a lung specialist is to be called in. He is hopeful and feels that there is a reasonable chance to reverse it. However, it may take a trip to ICU.

He is also planning to come in this afternoon and do a bone marrow biopsy to see where all of that is. Her numbers today showed another increase in WBC to 28.8, her HGB. at 8.9, and platelets at 88, with blasts at 2.

God is good - all the time. All the time - God is good. This is all in God's hands, we are praying for His will to be done and that He will be glorified. In all that God does He is gracious and loving and we pray and ask for the ability to not only know and feel His presence, but to know and feel His grace and love. And to God be the glory.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Night

Greetings!

Well, let’s start right in with Marty and let you know that we did not get home today. The reason being that there is a whole new issue – that of the O2 saturation in the blood. We first thought that there might be a problem in this area yesterday morning when the nurse got a 81% reading. Marty had just wakened she moved around a little and it came up to 98%. So, nothing was done about it. Then last night when it was checked again it was again 81%. They put O2 on her and got it up to 98%. Then they took the O2 off and the % began to drop. When it got to about 88 to 86% they put the O2 back on and it has stayed on for the last 22 hours or so. They have also done some chest and heart tests the results of which we hope to get in the morning. Also, just to check they have taken the O2 off a couple of times for short periods and again the % has started to drop right away. So, there is not a question about the fact that there is a problem. It is just a matter of finding out what the problem is and what can be done about it.

Other than the above, Marty has again been very sleepy and felt very weak today. She has taken about three walks so far and plans on one more, and eaten over half the food she has ordered but has not been able to eat it all. The pain level seems to remain under control with the patch and that is a good thing. Praise the Lord!

Her counts this morning were: WBC: 16.7; HGB: 8, and PLT: 13. So, she had 12 units of PLT today she had 12 unites of platelets and we expect that she will need blood tomorrow. We will see how right we might be.

Again ,today I was giving thanks to God that I am able to stay down here all the time with Marty. That is such a special and wonderful thing and I can’t help but praise God for the kind, loving people of First Presbyterian Church, Peru that are being lead to make that gift possible for me. What an awesome gift, thank you God, thank you First Presbyterian Church.

I was watching a DVD that John and Anna Peters loaned to me to look at this afternoon. What an awesome program it is. It is about the work that their son-in-law and daughter are doing in Calf. for individuals and for groups. It is awesome! I hope that I can figure a way to show it to everyone.

It is going to be another up at 4:30 am morning because I need to come over and see what the doctor has to say. So, I am going to close it off for now and say - have a positive day and God bless!

Marty and Jack
Daniel 9:4

Wednesday Evening

Greetings to all :

First I want to report that we have had a few visitors that we have certainly appreciated but have failed to record on the blog. So, to catch up we need to remember Wally J., Dan and Neil W., Linnie Y. Eric and Erin H. Yes, Eric and Erin were here today and it was great to see them and have them here as it has been to see all of those who have stopped by. Thank you!

Down to the business at hand, Marty has not had a very good day at all. She had a very hard time getting awake this morning, in fact has not been awake for a very long time at any time during the day. Before breakfast, I had to put the menu in her hand three times before she finally woke up enough to call down her order. She also had a lot of congestion in her throat and in her nose. She did cough up an example of what is down in her bronchial tubes for Dr. Lee to see and one to send to the lab. Dr. Lee thinks that she has a viral bronchial infection. I suppose we will have to wait a few days to see what the lab has to say. I suppose that because of the sleeping and the congestion ,she has had a low amount of oxygen several times today to raise the amount of oxygen in her blood. Marty has also been doing a lot of shaking today, as if she was cold, but she says that is not the reason. I asked the Dr. if he thought it had to do with weakness and he said that he thought it did. Finally, for now she has feet and ankles that are just unbelievably large. Even though she has been on large amounts of medicine to get the liquid out of her system and it has been working, it is still not getting enough out. Dr. Lee has been a little more aggressive with it today and hopefully will have it all out in another day or two at the most.

The word as of now is that we will go home tomorrow for probably about a week. Of course, this I suppose is dependent on how Marty is feeling in the morning and what the lab tests show. I also believe that she may need platelets before we can go. So, I don’t really anticipate that we will get away from here to early. Then, we will come back to the office about 7:30 am on Monday for the bone marrow biopsy and it will take until Thursday for Dr. Lee to get the results that he needs. He said this morning that he believes it will take a miracle for Marty to be in remission. He does not believe that this go around of chemo has put the AML into remission. If however, we find that it is in remission then we can go on with the transplant. But if we find that it is not in remission then another round of chemo will be necessary to try again. I asked Dr. Lee if there was a type of chemo that could follow the other so close, do the job that needs to be done, and leave Marty with a strong enough body to be able to do the transplant. And he said that he would probably use the same ones that he used this last time.

Well, I guess that is the story and we will have to stick to it until at least tomorrow morning, when we see what is happening.

Praise the Lord! Thank You Lord! “Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; burst into song, O mountains! For the Lord comforts his people…” (Isaiah 49:13) In our world, in our society, in our own little corner of things, perhaps it is we ourselves, or others around us that we know, or both that have things going on in their lives and/or around them, that need the “comfort” of our Lord. And praise the Lord, shout and sing, rejoice for we have the promise of the Lord of His comfort and His presence. So, again I must say, the issue is us and not the Lord. That is where the problem really is, with our relationship with the Lord. It is even Isaiah that is here telling us of the faithfulness of God and the response of the people. What is it that Isaiah suggests that we are to do: 1.) shout for joy
2.) rejoice
3.) burst into song.
Do we see these things happening today? For the most part I would have to say NO we do not see this happening in our homes, or in or lives. We tend to shield ours for the pressures of the world by doing our own things. We need to lean on the Lord, and Him only, for the way, the truth, and the live. Shout for joy, rejoice, burst into song, glorify the Lord right now and always.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night

Greetings to all:

Well, Marty thought I got a little long winded last night. So, I will try to keep it shorter tonight.

Marty has been doing and feeling improved today, until tonight when she is getting signs of the chest congestion and head congestion that she has been having. So, needless to say she is still not ready to take on the world, but she sure is more aware of the world and wanting to be a part of it. Praise the Lord! Today’s numbers were: WBC – 10.9 HGB – 9.0 PLT – 46 BLASTS – 2. Those numbers are considered good for someone in Marty’s situation and condition. The fact that the WBC went up and the BLASTS came down indicates that the bone marrow is working. However, it does not tell if the AML is in remission or not. So, as of now we believe that a bone marrow biopsy will be done early Monday morning, and we still have to find out for sure how long it will take to get the needed results. We know that it takes a week of working days or more to get the complete results but we also know that Dr. Lee had results that he need in 3 working days the last time. So, Dr. Lee is talking about letting us go home, perhaps on Thursday, go to his office on Monday morning and then mid-week either come back here for another remission induction or go to St. Francis for the transplant if a donor is available. In the mean time, he is taking Marty off the medicines she has been on to see how she does on her own. Tonight she will not have the TPN, even though she has been eating a regular diet all day. All of the IV medicines have been discontinued today, and she has not gotten a temp. or any other complication. It seems that Marty has handled the meals, etc so far today quiet well. The only problem is that she is really, really tired still and has all this congestion back. But with what she has been through who wouldn’t be tired. Praise the Lord for His presence with her!

Well, I guess this is where I really have to restrain myself. So, I just want to say how great and wonderful it is to live in a country where we can talk in public about God, pray, and share our faith. Part of this thought comes from the other day when the Social Worker, Bob, a summer intern chaplain Kim, and I stood up by the nurses’ station and talked about how God is involved in our lives. Part of it comes from the prayer that was just given over the loud speaker system to the entire hospital and is done every night at about this time. Part of it comes from the opportunity I had this afternoon to be with a family, we have gotten to talk to and to know, as their pastor lead them in a prayer of thanksgiving and healing as the doctor had just reported to them on the success of the surgery he had just done on their loved one. Praise the Lord! Part of it comes now from two occasions I have had in the downstairs hall to interchange with people who are passing and saying “God is good.” Of course I say “all the time”. And they respond “All the time” and I say “God is good.” What a joy to be able to do all that and more as a Christian, not as a pastor, but as a child of God’s. Most of the people that the above occasions were with do not even know that I am a pastor. Thank you God for these opportunities that come on daily basis, may we always use them to glorify You!

Have a positive and blessed day, knowing and feeling God’s presence.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Night

Good Evening, or Morning, or Afternoon, or Good Whenever You Read This:
(That is why I usually use “Greetings” but just thought that I would do
something different, because I get tired of doing the same thing all the
time.)


Marty has continued to have a better day physically and mentally. Praise the Lord! She has been very much with it today and I think is just beginning to realize exactly how sick she was last week. When I tell her things that happened and she does not remember them, she knew that she was sick, but didn’t think she was missing things.

Today has also been a day that she has worn the floor out to the bathroom and spent a lot more time on the “royal throne” than she would have liked to. Over the week-end she again retained liquid and gained over 15 lbs. from her ad-mission weight. So, she is now receiving two doses of Lasix and Zaroxolyn a day. When she got the first dose this morning, she proceeded to lose ONE GALLON (4000 cc+) of liquid from her body. And so far tonight she has lost almost a HALF GALLON (1900 cc+). That is a lot of liquid for the body to hold. And the problem is that her feet and ankles still look as big as they did last night and this morning. We cannot believe that she has gone that much and they are still that big. We are hoping and praying that that will change soon, real soon!

Marty has so far today had three walks in the hall and there will be another one before the night is out. They are going quiet well and with very little pain because she has had a Duragesic 25 mg pain patch since last Thursday. It has really been a great help for her leg, foot, hip, and back pain. Praise the Lord!

The number news of the day is that the WBC went to 4.1 (normal between 5 – 10) (that may or may not be a good thing), but the “blasts” (cancer cells/abnormal cells) went from 5 yesterday to 12 today (that is not a good thing)! You see there are a couple of problems that we hope will straighten themselves out this week. First, the WBC must go to “0” and so far it has only gone down to “0.3” and Dr. Lee says that that is not low enough. Second, the blast count should be “0” and it is going up. Dr. Lee says that SOMETIMES the numbers will go up and then drop again and hit the needed “0’s”. If this is to happen it should happen in the next couple of days. So, we will be waiting to see what happens the next few days. God’s will will be done, and to God will be the glory and praise.

Do you remember being told in school that “talking can get you in trouble, especially talking in class?” Well, I guess that I never learned that lesson, because today I got in trouble twice for “talking.” The first time was this morning when I told Marty I would be getting ready and coming over “shortly”. Well, about three hours later she called me to see where I was. I was just down the hall talking to either a nurse or a patient. I see too many people on the way in that it takes me too long to get all the way back the hall to Marty’s room. Then, tonight when I went to dinner and to the store to pick up a few things, I got back and Marty said that took you a long time. Well the problem was that I talked to two people in the lobby. The one was a woman that I talked to yesterday on the elevator and then saw coming back in tonight. So, we had to catch up. The other was a man on an electric cart that was headed the other direction and I made some teasing comments to him. Well, he picked up his wife, who actually rode the cart and came back to tease me. So, then we had to chat.

The bottom line is that I like God’s people and I like to have fun. So, that is what I am doing and as always I hope that Marty will forgive me for being late.
Oh yes, I just remembered when Marty called me this morning I was playing with a baby. His mother had put him in the stroller and he started crying and I started making faces at him and he stopped crying and his mother thanked me. In fact she thanked me a couple of times.

I may be wrong and all wet, but I can see Jesus doing those kinds of things. As we read the gospels we hear about him talking to all kinds of people and letting the little children come unto Him. So, it leads me to believe that maybe we really don’t do enough of that in our day and age and society. So often it seems like we are afraid to speak to others. The other day on the interstate I was behind a car when I noticed that something was dragging on the ground up by the left front wheel. I checked it out to be sure and then pulled up beside the car, and there were three women in the car, got the drivers attention, and told her that she was dragging something on the right front. She stopped and so did I. She had hit a curb the day before and now a piece of the bumper was just hanging on by one screw and was hitting the tire and wearing rubber off the tire. To me it was a dangerous situation and I was really glad that they had listened to me and stopped.

You know for the last 18 days I have had a lot of interactions with “strangers”, God’s children whoever they are, and I praise the Lord for all of those opportunities as well as all the opportunities to be with those that I have known. And I pray that I have glorified Him in the process of all of those actions. May we all look at how we might open our lives up to others of God’s children, whoever they are.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Night

Greeting to all!

Well, today has been probably the best day Marty has had for a week and maybe a little more than that. As we talk it seems like there are some things that she does not recall at all from some of her worst days. But that is over – praise the Lord! – and we are looking forward to moving on.

This morning I told you about the CBC. So, I will not go over it again now. Some of the good news from today is that Marty is again able to drink water. In fact, it sounds like she might try some soft foods tomorrow, if Dr. Lee approves. Her stomach seems to be feeling better and the nurse says that the bowel sounds in her stomach are sounding better. So, praise the Lord! We are certainly pleased about all that and hope that all will go well tomorrow. For a while there was some question about the central line and if it was working right or not. So, they did a chest x-ray and found it to be okay and have all the medicines going again. Because of Marty’s fall the other night, she cannot get up alone, but she is still getting up and so far today she and I have taken two walks. I think there is to be one more yet tonight. Marty is presently in the bathroom getting ready to settle down for the night.

The week-end we were pleased that both Eric and Jennifer and her family were here. Eric arrived yesterday, as a surprise to Marty, to be with her while I was in Greencastle for the wedding of Kevin and Alisa. It was an outdoor wedding on the campus of DePauw and turned out very nice. Eric and Jack then went to dinner last night and Eric decided to stay the night, I think particularly after he learned that Jennifer and family were coming today. Jennifer and Travis and boys arrived about 1:30 pm and Marty was indeed quiet surprised. It was a good surprise and Marty sure was glad that it was today and not yesterday. In fact, she does not really think that she could have handled all the activity. But today she did very well – Praise the Lord! I think it was a great day and I think that Marty held up to it all very well.

Well Dr. Lee will be here early in the morning. So, we better get this published and get some rest.

I was walking in the hall downstairs, first floor, coming back up to 6610 and I heard someone who was going the other direction say: “God is so good!” So, as I walked by I said “All the time!” The next thing I knew I was hearing them say “All the time!” And indeed I did say “God is so good.” It was so awesome to do that in a public place, walking down the hall, with someone I didn’t even know, never did look at, and probably never will know – other than to say that we are on the same page about God’s goodness. Praise the Lord! Thank you God for this opportunity to glorify You and witness to You. You are indeed good and great to be praised.

Have a positive night and day tomorrow and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Noon

Greetings to all!

Sorry, I did not get anything on the blog last night. It was a busy day with the Russell wedding and then Eric came last night. About 9 pm we choose to go get some dinner and then I did not come back to do the blog. So, here I am now.

Yesterday was still not a very good day, but perhaps a little better than the day before. The blood sugar never really got better and Marty had insulin several times. It was enough bruised that the back of her right arm has are a real big lump on it. I think they may have to try something else real soon. Her PLT are down to 19 this morning, so Marty is getting platelets today. Yesterday, her WBC was back to 0 .3 and this morning it was 1.0. Looks like it may be on the way up – praise the Lord! However, a couple of concerns: 1.) The numbers never went all the way down to “0” like they did the last time. This time 0.3 was the lowest that it ever went and then stayed there for a period of time before bouncing around between .3 and .5. This may be alright or not. 2.) Today, the CBC showed 5 blasts (cancer cells). This is the first time we have seen a blast report since June the 15th when there were 6 and on the 12th they were 8. So, Lord it looks like we still need your help big time! 3.) If I understand the report correctly the baby white cells are a higher percentage than the young maturing white cells. It seems to me they should be closer to the same. Well, if looks like tomorrow will be one of these early mornings to see Dr. Lee.

The question has been asked what if this does not get a remission which there must be to do the transplant. Well, my guess is that there will be the choice to have more chemo to try again, or to do nothing. That is another question for Dr. Lee.

Well, folks I have said many, many times: “God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good.” And I truly believe that from the bottom of my heart, and the top of my mind. It is so good to feel His presence with us, to be lifted up to Him in prayer, by so many across the nation, to have the chaplains stopping into see us, to receive all the cards, etc, that Marty as gotten, to know the love and support from so many, and to know that God has a plan that when He starts us into it, He will see us through it. Praise the Lord! It is so good to feel and know His love and grace and that God is faithful to all His promises. Our response is to glorify Him and to follow His will and way. As we wait upon the Lord’s plan and actions may we raise up our voices and may all of our actions glorify Him.

Well, praise the Lord for the rain that we have needed. At least, we have been getting here at St. V’s and hopefully you have been getting it as well. And hopefully you have been having a very positive week-end and day. Ours has been positive and we give God the praise. I will try to get back to you tonight with another blog and update.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Night

Greetings:

Today has not been the day that we were hoping for. So, we will try again tomorrow. During the night when Marty was trying to get up she slid out of bed, landing, of course, on the floor – did not call for help – and was about an hour, she thinks, trying to get herself up. At this point you would not believe how weak she is. For all the walking she has done here at the hospital, she has great difficulty getting herself off the toilet. I hate to think of what she would be like if she had not been doing the walking. Marty is also sleeping a lot. I still think more than what the medicine is causing. No doubt the medicine is causing some of it because she is on some heavy pain medicine. But to me her blood numbers could still be causing some problems: WBC .5; HGB 8.6; PLT 43. The last time the HGB was at 8.6 in one day it dropped to 7.2 and the PLT were 80+ yesterday before they dropped to 43 today. So, I will be happy to see what the CBC is in the morning.

She just had her blood sugar checked and it was 471. The nurse said it was probably because of the TPN and it goes away when she comes off the TPN. In the mean time she will be on some insulin. But this is certainly another thing that is making her feel so bad.

I think all the things that didn’t happen the last time, are happening this time. Hopefully they will stop soon and she will start building back up.

We had a couple of visitors today, but it was when Marty was down getting a chest x-ray and I was at the Kevin R. wedding rehersal. So, we missed them. They were Norma and Nancy G. We hope to be able to see them some time next week.

The Psalmist in 27:1 say “The Lord is my light and salvation – whom shall I fear?” What an awesome verse and how true it is when we truly believe and do put our faith and trust in the Lord. But the reality is that we have all kinds of fears. There are so many things in our life and society that we fear. Why?? Some of it is, I believe, because we are taught to fear, and particularly today because the media, including and especially movies, lead us in the wrong directions. Further, I believe that as Christians become even a smaller and smaller group of minorities the teaching of the Lord are not being past on with meaning. As a minority group Christians have not been as aggressive in proclaiming the Good News. We don’t want to be made fun of, we don’t stand up for what we believe. We all know that the morals in our society is a big part of our down fall, but do we speak out against them. Instead, we say that is the way it is today.

Having God as the first priority in our lives is when the Lord is our light and salvation, and we do not have to fear anyone or any thing else. What a blessing that is – praise the Lord. We must remember that Jesus started out alone – as One – and He added 12, and taught them before sending them out in 2’s to teach others. And 2000 years later we are called upon and need to do the same. There are many ways to do that, we just need to do it. We need to proclaim the Lord as our Light and Salvation and that because of Him we have no fear. There is nothing that God cannot overcome when we allow Him. But when we fear, we do not allow many things to happen.

Think about what you fear, and then turn them all over to the Lord. The nurse tonight was talking to us about something in her life that a couple of years ago was causing her fear and anxiety. She finally prayed about it and gave it to the Lord, has never taken it back from Him, and has not been bothered by it since. Praise the Lord! When God is our Light and Salvation, there is no reason to fear. Thank you Lord.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Morning

Greeting

Sorry about not getting this on last night. I went to Peru yesterday and when I got back Marty was in bed, I was tired and had not had anything to eat, so this is what had to wait.

Just to bring you up to date with the short story. Wednesday night, Thursday morning was really bad, bad, bad. She had really bad leg and foot pain that lasted for some time. Dr. said this was from the low hgb. which was 7.2 in the AM. So yesterday was 2 units of blood. Yesterday was better than Wednesday as far as tiredness but even after the blood she was having the leg and foot pain. The pain continued during the night as well so they now have her on a patch for the pain. It seems to be helping but she is still very, very sleepy - is it the med. or what????? She is still on the TPN feedings, but does have breakfast, lunch, and dinner of clear liquids. Right now this looks like an very low energy day but we will see.

We are now at 10 days since the chemo and Dr. Lee had told us that was a bench mark - it should mark the bottom and the start back up. So we are certainly hoping that is the case.

I want to get this on line for you, so I will stop for now, as we look forward to a positive day and the presence and grace and love of God with us. And may it be the same for you.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Night

Greetings:

Today has been a very TIRED day. Marty received 12 units of platelets this morning, had her liquid lunch, took her second walk for the day, got her shower and was really beat. She also found the room to be really cold today so we have been adjusting the AC and the clothes she has on. Marty is still on the liquids by mouth and receiving the TPN IV. It certainly does seem to be helping her stomach which has been feeling much better. The wish to feel as good as she looks is still very much alive and well, but certainly not the truth, even though Marty wishes it was. All who come in to see her comment on how good they think she looks, but it really doesn’t fit where she is. She only wishes that if she does indeed look that good that she felt that good as well. We just have to keep saying that that day will come.

We were really pleased to have Kyle B. stop by today on his way home from work. It was really nice to visit with him. Yesterday we also had a visitor that really surprised us and whom we enjoyed. Last fall, when we were in here, there was a real nice young black man who brought Marty’s meals on several occasions. And as she will usually do, she asked his name. Well she had to ask it a couple of time and even had him spell it. But she got it down perfect and as she called him his name each time he came in, he seemed really pleased. His name is Macaya.

Well, I saw Macaya the second day we were here this time and spoke to him. But he had not had the opportunity to see or talk to Marty because he had not brought any of her meals. So, yesterday after he got off work he came up and sat down and talked with us for a half hour or more. We are not sure where he is from but we know that he has not been in Indy for about a year, give or take.
The next time he comes in, we will have to try to find out more about his back-ground. He is really a nice young man and we feel really honored that he came to see Marty.

Cindy and Gayle also stopped in last night and it was good to see them after they had made the rounds at the Noblesville Home Show.

Finally for tonight, “you never know what a day may bring but the time for serving God is always present.” Last fall one of our good friends from Winchester called Marty a couple times when she was here in St. V’s to cheer her up and encourage her. It was really positive and we certainly appreciated it. Well about 3 weeks ago we got a call telling us that he was very sick and was in Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond. Then last Thursday we got an email that he was being taken to IU Med. Center Hospital because Reid still was not sure what was going on with him. Then, on Friday we got a call saying that he had Burkitt ’s lymphoma in final stages that meant he had 1 to 6 weeks to live and that they were going to take him back to Winchester to a Nursing Home. Thank the Lord, that I went down to I U Med. Center Hospital on Sunday, to see him, because today we got an email that he died at 11:00 am this morning. He was 66 years old. That sure is not what we expected today to bring, but we know that it is always time to praise the Lord. And we know that God has a plan and that His plan is good and that it will prevail. Praise the Lord!

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Evening

Greetings from 6610 St. V’s Hospital, Indy, IN

Well, don’t know about you, but we got some rain this morning, actually a couple of times, and then a beautiful, sunny afternoon. I am sure it was not enough rain, but it had to have helped some. Praise the Lord! There is supposed to be more coming, but let us hope it is not Friday or Saturday.

Well, it has been a better day for Marty today. Last night she put herself on clear liquids, because of the way that her lunch had affected her stomach. So tonight she is going to be started on TPN in order to give her stomach and colon a rest. Her blood counts today were very low: WBC still at “0. 3”, Hgb at 8.7 (another day or two and we’ll need blood); and Platelets at 20, which should mean she will need them tomorrow. The good thing is that the fibrinogen is now making itself and is back up into the acceptable range. Praise the Lord! Dr. Lee said this morning that all is going as expected to this point, that we need to take one day at a time, and that we are not out of the woods yet. Never-the-less, it is so good to see Marty feeling a bit better, and certainly headed in the right direction. Praise the Lord! Oh yes, I almost forgot, the Lasix was decreased and Marty has gained some weight back already. I hope that soon they will get that under control and decrease that liquid that she has been retaining. Her feet are really looking bad. Like Dr. Lee said, one day at a time and praise the Lord always.

Today has been one of those days that have reminded me for several reasons how quickly “things” can change. The first thing was sleeping in the motor home and hearing the rain hit the roof. Since we need the rain so bad, it was just great to hear it coming down. Then the rain stopped and so I decided I would take Buddy over to where Marty could see him out the hospital window. Well, I no sooner got her called to tell her we were outside the window and it started raining again. So, she sure didn’t get to see him very long. That was disappointing, but we will try again. Then, tonight Eric and Erin were to come over and Eric called saying that he was having car problems and they would not be able to make it. That too, was disappointing, but I am sure that Eric will make every effort to be over next week.

My thinking with all of this is gratefulness that God is so dependable. Indeed there are those times when we are not on the same page as God, but I believe that is not God’s fault, it is my fault and yours. I believe that we are far more self-centered than God. You know as I think about it, it is hard to come up with a specific time that the Bible talks about Jesus being self-centered. He was always God centered, concerned for others, and showing the love and grace of Almighty God. Praise the Lord! Further it seems to me that when we can do the same thing as Jesus we are not thrown out of relationship with God when these changes come. And that is a good thing. God is indeed dependable, He shows His love and grace to us in all situations whether we are on the same page or not. We do not have the entire picture, but God does and when we are God centered, rather than self-centered, we don’t have to worry about the entire picture because our faith and trust is in the One who has the picture and He will see to it that it is accomplished. So, let’s not let the “changes” in life derail us from centering our lives in God. Praise the Lord!

Have a positive one, and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Evening

Greetings:

Today is a day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it! Today, we had visits from Vern and Bev W. and Ken M. It was certainly good to see them and visit with them. Praise the Lord! God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good!

Meanwhile it is fair to say Marty had another difficult day! Dr. Lee told her this morning that her stomach is having some problems and Marty proved that right with lunch. She had a toasted cheese sandwich and chicken noodle soup. Following lunch she had to have medicine to settle her stomach and then she slept most of the afternoon. She will have done just four walks today, when she usually does about six. We expect from the comments of Dr. Lee this morning that she will probably be started on TPN, which is an IV feeding that will give her stomach a rest. This will probably last for just 3 or 4 days and then she will be back on regular food. At least that is the way it was according to our memory. All the numbers are about the same, maybe a little + or – but not enough to change the way Marty is feeling. But God is still in charge, and we praise the Lord for that.

Mark 16:16 says: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…” What an awesome promise. God in His grace gives us salvation for the simple act of acceptance and belief. That is all we have to do to have eternal life with God – accept His gift of grace and love, believe it to be true and make it part of our lives. That really seems rather simple, actually maybe to simple for us to accept as reality. Maybe, that is why we take it for granted. Or at least is seems to me that we often do that and when we do it that really being believers and up holding our baptism vows? It seems to me that another fair question with this verse is: having accepted, while believing, and having been baptized, thus receiving salvation, how does all this affect your daily life? What does it have to do with your priorities, your life style, and your relationship with others? It seems to me that these and other questions are really important for us to be considering on a daily basis. If we have made the commitment to God, we need to live it in all we do, not just wait until we need it.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack,
John 3:16

Sunday Night

Blessings and Greetings:

We hope that you all have had a wonderful family day on this Father’s Day. It has been a very hot day today down here, but cool inside in the AC looking out the window into the haze.

It seems like Marty has been feeling a little better today. Praise the Lord! There have been a few more smiles, at times a little more energy, and though no real reason to point to improve-ment, it seems like there was a slight general improvement. Praise the Lord! There was not a lot of movement with her numbers, but some did go up a little and some went down a little. At this point, we don’t ask why, we just give God thanks and praise for the improvement, a little better day by day.

The white blood count was 0.3 today. It should be to down to “0” in the next couple of days. When it does hit “0” Marty will be very vulnerable to pick up anything. So, she continues to try to keep strong and healthy, so that she will not pick anything up and be able to fly through the rest of the treatment time. At least that is our plan and we will see what God’s plan is.

Paul says in II Corth. 3:17 “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Praise the Lord! Isn’t that awesome? We try so hard to find freedom from so many things in our lives and society and when we don’t find it, we get anxious and angry and maybe even some other things. And here Paul tells us a very simple way to take care of it all: get with the Spirit of the Lord. And that is not that hard to do, because God wants to be with us, and Jesus told us that He would send the Spirit to be with us. So, it is just a matter of us seeking and accepting the Spirit of the Lord.

What are some of the things that keep us from the Spirit of the Lord, and freedom:
1.) Our desire to be in control and to control all that goes on in our lives.
2.) Our feeling that an issue is to small to bother God with, so we keep it to ourselves.
3.) Our need to take some things back from God after we have given them to Him.
4.) Our lack of patience to be on God’s time and not our own time.
5.) Our thinking that we know it all and can handle it all.
6.) Our sinful nature and need to get over it in some areas of our lives, so that other areas can be cleaned up as well.

Now it seems to me that the six items listed above are rather common to all of us and are really easier to deal with than we think. It is just a matter that we just have to want to accept the Spirit of the Lord and turn these things over to God. But, when we do, there is indeed “freedom” and it is a wonderful feeling. But, what is even greater is the fact that this is all in our control. Praise the Lord!

I think it is fair and honest to say that we all have issues in our lives that we need to turn over to God so that we can have freedom.. I know that I have some problems with # 3 because I have taken back some concerns I had turned over to God but could not leave with Him. So, as of right now, I am going to give them back to God, find the Spirit of the Lord and get the freedom that I need from those issues, and continue to hold on to it. I encourage you to join me with the issues you have in your life that you need freedom from. It is there for the taking! Praise and thanks be to God.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3: 16

Saturday Night

Greetings!

Today, we have had the honor to have visits from Cheryl J., Cheryl and Bruce E. and the guest they have from France, and Diane and Jim S. This was also a good day for cards and for phone calls. So, it was a good day to be in touch and to communicate with those we care about and are supporting us so very, very much. We are really grateful and thank you! Praise the Lord!

Today, has not been too much different for Marty than the last couple of days. Her blood, as shown by the numbers, is continuing to respond to the chemo and is going down. Her body is also responding to the chemo in negative ways. Today, it does not even like the taste of water – what a bummer. Here you are supposed to drink a lot and your body doesn’t like the taste of it. That is when you have to try to find some other things to drink. But then this too will pass – praise the Lord! We have also decided that there are 6 times of the day that Marty is not liking very well at this present time: 3 of these are when she has to pick up the menu to order a meal; and the other three are when the meals arrive and she has to eat them. But, give thanks and praise to the Lord, she is doing all of those things that she needs to do in order to get well.

Before we sign off for tonight, because it is rather late, we want to say HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all you fathers out there. We hope and pray that you have a very positive and wonderful day with your families and loved ones. It is of course a great day to remember our Heavenly Father as well and all that He has given to you, as well as all the love and support that is available through Him just for the asking. May you have a blessed day and to God be the glory.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

PS It has been called to my attention that the hospital toll free number I gave in the blog earlier in the week is a wrong number. The correct one is: 1.866.338.2345. Sorry for any problems this may have caused.

Friday Night

Greetings!

Sorry about last night, I could not get on line. I talked to one of the chaplains and he said that he could not get on either. He had tried from home to get emails and could not. So, they must have had it down for some reason. It has worked well today, so that is good.

Marty is still not having a good day. It seems like some of the things we were expecting last fall that did not happen are happening now. Today was another new thing that the nurses tell me is not unusually. Her fibrinogen which is part of the clotting agents in the blood has been low for the last couple of days. Today was 86 and it should be between 179 – 381. So, she was given two units of cryoprecipitate and we will see where it is tomorrow. Dr. Lee told Marty they have been watching this for a couple of days and will continue to, because it can cause bleeding from all the openings of the body, if not treated.. That, of course, we don’t want, so we are looking forward to this getting under control and keeping it that way. Marty has also continued to experience a blood pressure that is higher for her, but still in the okay range. We are just wondering what medicine or whatever is causing that. The tiredness, the loss of appetite, and the weakness are still very much alive, though we wish they were not. She did come down in weight this morning by 3.3 lbs. So, again that is going in the right direction. The weakness is getting to her ability to walk. As mentioned before PT had cut her walking distance in about half the first of the week, suggesting that she walk more times and less distance. That she has been doing. But, now she gets about 1/2 of the way around the oncology floor and she has to stop and rest for about 10 minutes before she can finish the walk. So, for the time being she is going to cut the walk in half again, so that she can make it without tiring her body out so much. She continues to order her three meals off the menu and eats all most all of what they bring, but it is easy to see that it is not because she wants to, but rather because she knows she has to eat. Her intake is still more than her output, so that is going well. Today has been some what different because she has not even had the TV on except for the evening news. That is unusual, because if at home Marty normally has the TV on all day long. I think that pretty well brings you up to speed on Marty.

In Romans 14:13 Paul says: “Stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” For someone like me being in the hospital as much as we have been the last 10 months has been interesting because I tend to talk a lot. Tonight coming back up on the elevator I was talking to a doctor who was already tired and is on call all weekend. It was a short but interesting conservation. This morning I had conservation with the relatives of a patient who just a few weeks ago was in very bad shape and today was going home. Also, today I had a fairly long conservation with a student chaplain. She is here for the summer and presently just in her second week. Her seminary studies right now is preparation for her second carrier. Having read Roman 14:13 this morning I was trying very hard to follow Paul’s instructions. I was trying not to be judgmental in any way of what was being said, and how it was being said, because I believe that often we are too often that way. I think that when we are talking to someone and something is said with which we do not agree we very quickly become very defiant and judgmental and so often throw stumbling blocks and obstacles in their way, so that they will either follow our way or get hurt. And that I believe is a big reason that we have so many broken relationships and dysfunctional families and folks who are hurting so bad. When we become judgmental we do cause a lot of hurt and separation, rather than love and reconciliation. Check out your own daily life and see if there is more grace than there are stumbling blocks and obstacles. You may just be surprised at what you find out.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Night (could not get it on last night so here it is Friday morning)

Greetings!

I do not know if this will get on line tonight or in the morning. I am having trouble getting on line tonight for the first time since we have been here. I don’t know what the problem is but I will try again when I finish this and if that doesn’t work I will try in the morning.

The word for today has been “SLEEP”! Marty has just been doing a lot of sleeping today. She really feels tired and weak. On her last walk for today, which was the sixth, she saw a chair in the hall down at the other end that just had her name on it. She had to sit down for about 10 minutes before being able to make her way back to the room. The morning assessment showed that she had lost .3 pound of weight. That is not much, but at least it was in the right direction. The doctor thinks the weight gain has been caused by the steroid, Decadron, she has been on. He is going to reduce it slowly because it also affects some of the pain that she is having. Her blood pressure is up for her, but not enough to really worry about. She has no desire to eat but she continues to eat each meal as it comes. Marty has always talked about the non-compliant patients and she does not want to get that tag pinned on her, so she just keeps going, and going, and going. Praise the Lord!

God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good! I think it is so interesting how something can happen in life that slows you down and says take it easy and watch what you are doing. I do not call these co-incidences, but I call them God-incidences. And one of those happened to me last night. I needed to move the motor home because I had a water leak last Friday that caused me to loose two-thirds of my fresh water. So, I decided that last night was the time to take care of that. I made sure that everything was okay inside before I took off, but I didn’t check EVERYTHING outside, because I took off with the electric cord still connected. That is not a smart thing to do and by doing it I proceeded to pull the electric wire completely out of the motor home. NOT GOOD! Then to fix it, it took me about 45 minutes instead of the 15 – 20 minutes it should have taken. But Praise the Lord I did get it fixed.

How often is it that we that we pull away from God, not because we want to, but because we get to busy and have to many other things on our mind? Think about it and think about what you can do to stop it from happening in our life. I know I am going to put up a reminder in the motor home to unplug the electric before I move it. How can you be sure that you are always connected to God, the source of your power, grace, and love? Get connected and don’t let go!!!

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Wednesday Evening

Greetings to all!

We hope you have had a blessed and positive day and that the heat has not gotten to you.

Eric and Erin have been here today and are on their way home now. It has been an interesting and busy day. Marty and Erin where busy playing Dora games, watching a DVD, taking walks with Erin riding on the IV pole, and sharing food. Eric called a little while ago and he was just getting on I 69 and Erin was sound asleep. Marty laid down after they left but did not go to sleep. I think she had a positive day, but is very tired.

Today, Marty has been very tired, forcing herself to eat her three meals, doing a fair amount of coughing, her stomach has not felt right, and generally has just not felt good. We have another concern that everyone is keeping an eye on and that is that her urine output is higher than her intake, but she is still gaining weight. The last four days she has gained about 14.9 lbs. and it certainly is not weight with the little she is eating in comparison to normal. So, we need to send up some prayers about that and keep an eye on what is going on. This is a waiting period of time and we really don’t need any problems while we are waiting. God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good! And His will will prevail.

Titus 3:1 reads: “Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good…” I like the last phrase of this verse. You know to do what that says, means that we cannot be selfish and we cannot be thinking only of ourselves. Because “to be ready to do whatever is good…” could mean that we are called on to do something for someone else before we do something for ourselves.

Today I had extended conservations with one patient and two relatives of patients. I think these were “good” things but I sure did not set out to do them. Rather, I was ready and willing to do them when the opportunity presented itself. And you know it helped me to feel “good”. In fact, I know that it helped me to feel better than if I would have just gone about my own business. You know it is so easy for us to get lost in our own little worlds and loose sight of God’s plan and direction for us. But in many different ways, God will call us back in line. Praise the Lord!

I encourage you tomorrow “…be ready to do whatever is good…” to the glory of God.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night

Greetings to all:

Praise the Lord always! What a beautiful, sunshiny, warm day this has been. In fact, it has been wonderful to sit on the inside, right inside the window under the air conditioning and watching the main entrance to the hospital. It is interesting to see people come and go all at different speeds and going in different directions, some alone and some with others.

For Marty, today has been another day about like yesterday, so – so. It certainly was not as good as the first couple of days in here, but not as bad as it was at home. Also, today we were very pleased to have a visit from Anna and John Peters. It was really great to be with them. Marty received two units of blood and her last scheduled chemo treatment. Now that she has had the 5 chemo we will wait until it does its work and kills off the white blood cells, the blasts, the cancer cells, and the abnormal cells. At this point the object is to kill the blasts off and take the white cells down so that Marty is in remission. Then, when everything is ready for the transplant she will get more chemo to kill the rest of anything that might be left, so that the new bone marrow does not have to deal with cancer or blast cells. Today, she had some stomach discomfort again after the chemo. So, we don’t know what that might mean for the future and the way that her body is responding and reacting to the chemo. She did not have it before and we certainly hope it is not an indication of what is to come this time. We shall see as we ask God for His grace, comfort, peace, and healing to be with Marty as His plan and will are fulfilled. Praise the Lord!

John 20:21 reads: “As the Father sent me, I am sending you.” Is that ever a significant and powerful verse that tells us so much! First and foremost, of course, it tells us that God sent Jesus into the world with specific tasks to do, mainly to reconcile the world to God and each other. Then second, Jesus is sending us, you and me, into the world to be His hands and feet and complete the work that He got started on earth. You know that is certainly trusting us a lot, and giving us an awesome responsibility. We are God’s children, God’s chosen, that are loved very much by God and cared for by God. We have a special place in God’s plan and thus it is that to God we should give the glory. Praise the Lord!

Since Jesus has sent you out as the Father sent Him, what is it that you are going to do today to glorify God?

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Night

Greetings:

Today was a so, so day but we still say Thank you Lord, and Praise the Lord!

Marty’s day has probably been the worst one that she has had since coming into the hospital. It is the fourth day of chemo and we think that has had a lot to do with it. However, beginning late last night she coughed up some sputum that was very pail yellow and had some fairly dark red/brown blood in it. So, the Doctor wanted her to try and get some up this morning and the next two mornings to go to the lab for tests. It happened this morning just fine and hopefully will do the same the next two mornings. Secondly, Marty has been up since 4 am, except for a couple short naps during the chemo. She needs to get to sleep earlier tonight and we will see if that can’t happen. Third, she had 12 units of platelets early this morning and expects to have blood tomorrow. Fourth, she had her Lasix increased to 30 mg. IV and the oral 20 mg. was stopped. She’s gained 12# since admission, although this morning her weight stayed the same even though she had Lasix 20 mg. oral and 20 mg. IV yesterday. We will see if that changes tomorrow. Physical Therapy was in this morning and said that she does not need deep heat and massage, but that she needs to continue the exercises she has been doing and added a couple to it. PT also wants her to take more walks and go a shorter distance. They said that if she comes from a walk hurting at #7 or #8 that she is walking too far. So, she walked this side of the floor 6 times today and her back, hip, and leg are not hurting her as much today. Also, when she finished the chemo her stomach was upset and then when she finished her dinner it was upset again. So, she got some Zofran medicine that seemed to help her stomach. But, she still says that she sure does not feel as good as she did the last couple of days. So, we Praise the Lord for the good times today, for the medicine that helped clear up some of the bad times, and for His presence as we travel this journey that He has planned. God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good!

This morning after having read some scripture, I was at the table eating breakfast. I looked out the window and there on the ground was the shadow of a cross. I was first reminded of suffering and salvation and then I wondered where it came from. And as I thought about outside, I figured that it was the parking lot light pole that was the object to make the shadow of the cross. Then, I looked out the door to see if I was right and I was. But, the thing that really surprised me is that the top of the pole is not nearly as big as the top on the cross in the shadow on the ground. It made me think about reality vs imitation or shadow. And though that is a very good topic I did not spend a lot of time with it because I think what God really wanted me to see and think about was the cross. And the other interesting thing about that is that the word “suffer”/”suffering” was the first thing to come to my mind when I saw the cross. And at first, that seemed very interesting to me, because I think the first word I usually think of is “salvation.” So, I thought more about the suffering Jesus and God did to bring us salvation, and the words of I Corth. 15, when Paul reminds us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Paul also reminds us that our suffering is not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed to those who are faithful to the Lord. At times in all of our lives it is very difficult to understand and/or follow God’s plan. But God does send us signs and messages to remind us of His love, grace, and constant presence with us. Praise the Lord! Thank you God!

Have a positive day and God bless!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Evening

Greetings!

Thank you Lord! Another wonderful day! Praise the Lord!

Jane and Gary H. were in to see Marty this afternoon and it was a real joy to visit with them. They had taken Sara to the airport to go to Mississippi for a work camp. Praise the Lord! Please pray for Sara and the group from the First Baptist Church as they spend this week in hard work for the Lord, and the people of Mississippi.

We were also surprised by a visit from 10 young people and four adults from First Presbyterian, Defiance, OH who were headed to Louisville, KY for a week of work camp. They called when they were about 20 minutes out and I didn’t tell Marty, so she was really surprised when they all arrived. It was good to visit with them and wish them well on their trip.

Marty has had another good day – she certainly is feeling better tonight than she was when she came in, and that is even with 3 treatments of chemo. Praise the Lord! Marty and I have talked about it and think some of the medication they have given her for her chemo and pre-Chemo meds are what is helping her to generally feel better. Also, with the area that she has to walk she has been gaining strength as well. So, Praise the Lord that she is feeling improved before the chemo really does its work and sends her blood counts into all kind of fits that can also totally mess up her body systems. But God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good! And He is and will be with Marty so that His will will be done. Praise the Lord.

Today in reading scripture I was reminded that Jesus sent His disciples out in twos and gave them both the same task and the same instructions. He did not tell one to do some work and take on some responsibility while the others just stood by and watched. No, they both were to take responsibility and work together to get the job done. Then in talking to the nurses who work on this floor and work in “teams” I have noticed and had confirmed by some of the nurses that they have been given the same task (take care of specific patients) and the same instructions (give them the best care that you can to help with getting healthy) and help each other in doing the work. So, when we put a light on and/or need something we don’t really know who will respond because it will be the one closest to the room to make the response. It may even be someone from the other team that cares for the patients on the other side of the hall. Remember they all have the same task and the same instructions, so they help each other out, they work together to do the best job that they can. And Marty and I are both certainly impressed and pleased with the care, love, and grace that she receives here. We have not found the first one that was to busy to help us and meet Marty’s needs and/or talk to me when I have a question and/or need something for Marty or for myself. Praise the Lord!

All of this reminds me of how we are to function as Christians inside the fellowship of believers and outside. We have all been given the same task and instruction from Jesus. We have certainly seen the example of Jesus that expected His disciples to work together, to help each other and to get the task done. Jesus never expects us to say that we are too busy to do His work inside the fellowship of believers and/or outside. Nor does God just expect one or two to do all the work while others sit by and watch. You know that old popular saying that 20% of the people in any group do 80% of the work for the group. As much as we accept that is the way things are, I want to suggest to you that inside the fellowship of believers and outside, that is not Christian and not the way that Jesus taught or is it what God want out of us. Yet, we see it everywhere and don’t think a thing about it. In fact, we even participate in the exercise because we are so used to it being the way it is.

How much better would it be, how much smoother would it be, if everyone of us would not follow the 20% – 80% rule and developed the 100% - 100% principal.

I urge and encourage you the next time that you see something that needs done, to do it and if you are asked to do something, do it. Let’s work for 100% because we know it is what God wants and God will be glorified. Besides it is so much easier for ALL concerned when all participate. Praise and thanks be to God!

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Saturday Evening

Greetings to all!

Thank you Lord! What a wonderful day! Praise the Lord!

As usual, Marty did not have a very good night’s sleep. She and hospital nights just don’t seem to get along. Tonight she is going to take a sleeping pill and see if that will make a difference. Last night she used ear plugs but that didn’t seem to help. So, we think it may be caused from a steroid called Decadron because insomnia can be a side effect of this medication. Today has been a busy day and a wonderful day, Praise the Lord, and Marty has not gotten much sleep so that should help tonight as well.

About 11:30 am Wally B. stopped by to visit for a while. It was good to see him and to fellowship with him. Then about 1:30 pm Jennifer, Travis, and the boys showed up to surprise Grandma. And it sure was a surprise for Marty and what a wonderful time we had. We had some birthday presents for all three boys and they just had a wonderful time being up in bed with Grandma and playing with the toys. It was a great afternoon.

As to how Marty has been physically today it has been somewhat mixed. Four times today, she has walked the complete halls as she has been done before. A good sign that she is getting stronger! Praise the Lord! It is certainly good to be able to say that the chemo went in again to-day without any problems. Praise the Lord! The biggest problem has been the stomach and the desire to eat dinner tonight. Breakfast and lunch went pretty well today, but dinner was another story. In the first place nothing sounded or looked good. I offered to go out and get her anything that did sound good. But that didn’t happen. So she ordered a dinner and then it did not land very well in the stomach. But they gave her some more Zofran for her stomach and that seemed to help. She has also had some problems with her bowels today, and it is the opposite side effect suggested for one of the chemo agents. So we are not at all sure what that means and need to be careful how it is handled so it does not go the opposite direction. As you can see there has been good and bad but we still know that God is good – all the time. All the time – God is good and is in control.

Tonight I want to stay on the kick about “trust” that I have been on, because I keep thinking about it so much, and I guess because we have to be doing a lot of “trusting” right now. So, were does “trust” come from? I want to suggest that it comes first from God and then we have to learn it. And where I am coming from her is the creation story. Adam and Eve were given trust by God and if they would have stuck with it, with trusting God for all their needs, they would not have the need to sin and try to have it all. And then think about a baby, they are very “trusting”, a natural, normal thing when they are born, until they learn that they cannot “trust” for some reason. Remember how Jesus wanted the children to come unto Him – they were still clean and innocent and trusting as God wants us to be.

So, again I must ask what is it that makes us not trust and not want to think about the trust level in our lives. Well, first it seems very clear that we are taught and learn in other ways not to trust. This of course happens in many different ways and situation in which we don’t get our way and/or get hurt and/or loose confidence in ourselves and/or others. And then a lot of times I think that more and more we do not even think about how “trust” affects our lives because we are taught to be “number one” and to be “right.” So in our minds we are always right and that certainly affects our relationship with God and one another. So I encourage you to think about how trust is active and inactive in your life.

Have a positive day and glorify the Lord!

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Evening

Greetings:

Hope you are all well and everything is going positively for you and all of those who you love.

Marty has had the first chemo treatment and all is going well. It started at about 12:30 pm and that is the time it will be given the next four days. So, if you think about it, you might say a prayer about that time the next four days. There are some pretty common side-effects to the agents in this chemo that she is getting but, so far she only has one and that it no big deal. One of the medications turns the urine to a blue-green color. That one is not a problem, but some of the others are not to be looked forward to. Hopefully, Marty will not have to experience them.

Today, she has made her rounds by walking the halls four different times. Yesterday, she walked about half the distance that she used to walk, two times. And today she increased that to three fourths of the distance and did it four times. So, that is really great. Praise the Lord! The walking has been hard on her back, hip, and leg but Marty is trying to take medication ahead of time and then lays down in bed as soon as we get back to the room. So, she is trying to manage the discomfort as best she can and it is working fairly well. Praise the Lord!

Marty has eaten her three meals today. Breakfast and lunch were kind of light but she ate all that she ordered. Then for dinner she had a chicken breast sandwich, chips, veggies, and fresh fruit. That was a good dinner and she ate it all.

So, all in all, this has really been a pretty darn good day. Praise the Lord! God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good!

I have been thinking more about my conversation on the elevator yesterday with the man about “trusting the elevator.” Have you ever thought about how much you trust people and things you really don’t know on a daily basis? That is a part of what I have been thinking about and the reality of it, I think is pretty amazing. Then, I have thought about how we don’t trust some others for no good reason, and maybe even on a rumor and/or gossip basis. Further, it seems to me that there are a number of times on a daily basis that we don’t even trust ourselves, for one reason or another. So, when it comes to “trust”, as important as it is in life, it seems like we are all over the board with our reasons for trusting and not trusting.

The experience Marty and I have had the past 10 months and are having now, has taken a lot of trust in God, in ourselves, and in those who have provided the medical care for Marty. But, it is not something that I have really thought about until the conversation yesterday. And then I have been putting in place how much I have “trusted” those I know and those I don’t know in so many ways, some that I realize and some that I don’t. It kind of becomes a “habit” and/or something that I take forgranted. That then raises the question, is that what we do with God as well? I think that it gives us a lot to think about not only with our relationship with God, but also with our relationship with one another.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Noon


Greetings:

Just got a message from the nurse that we will be changing rooms this afternoon. Marty will be in room 6610 and the local phone number will be 1.317.338.0709. Please make that change from last nights blog. The new room is bigger and a corner room. It has two sets of windows and a better view, but still not as good of view as 6616 had last fall.

Marty had the heart echo test this morning but we have not heard anything as of now, therefore the chemo has not started. The CBC this morning showed the numbers down and one can tell it in the way Marty feels - not good.

More tonight, but I wanted to get the room change to you as soon as possible.

Have a positive day.

Jack
John 3:16

Thursday Evening

Greetings from Indy!

Let’s start tonight by saying that Marty is in Room 6606 at St. Vincent’s Hospital. The address is 2001 West 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260. The direct phone number is 1.317.338.0705 and the toll free is 1.866.338.6795.

Now how did we get here? Yesterday when we went to Dr. Lee’s office for a CBC we were told that he wanted to see us also. So, when he came in the room, he sat down and said, “Martha it’s bad news.” Then he told us that the bone marrow biopsy done last Friday showed that there is 40 to 45% “blasts” in the bone marrow. Last fall, when Marty was treated with chemo, the “blast” or cancer cells in the bone marrow were 10 to 15%. Dr. Lee then said “You have two choices: first – do something towards a bone marrow transplant; or second – do nothing and you will die in two to three months. Of course, last Friday we had talked about the bone marrow transplant and the low odds that go along with it. At that time, Dr. Lee said that we had no options that had any better odds. Before you can really talk about the transplant, or maybe I should say, before the transplant can be started, Marty must be in remission. Therefore, we are in here now to do a remission induction. It will be done with chemo that Marty has never had. One agent is called VP 16 or etoposide and the other agent is mitoxantrone. Dr. Lee said that with these two we do have a realistic shot for remission. I am not sure what that means but at least it sounds good. Marty will have this chemo for 5 days beginning tomorrow and then we will wait for it to do its job and then for Marty’s body to recover. All of this will mean that we will be here for 4 weeks like we were last fall.

The transplant doc. is away this week, so we will talk to him next week. At this point we assume that he will start making arrangements for the transplant, but will not follow through until Marty is in remission. The last time we talked to that doc., he said that Marty has a pretty common bone marrow, etc. and that it should not be too difficult to match from the National Bone Marrow Bank. I guess we will see.

When we hear about the latest problems with the AML last Friday, Marty and I were talking and she said: “Either way I am going to die, but at least I would like to do so trying to live.” Praise the Lord! We are going to give it the very best shot that is possible, and we know that the staff here on the 6th floor will do all that they can to help. So, it looks positive and we certainly pray that it is God’s will and that He will be glorified by Marty’s life continuing on this earth.

You know we talk all the time of putting all of our faith and trust in God and often find that very hard to do. We can do that with some things, but most of the time not with all things. It seems like there are always those few things that we will not give up to the Lord.

Well this afternoon I was given an interesting thought, by a man I met on the elevator, about all that, that obviously I want to share with you. Do you ride an elevator when you are in a building that has more than one floor and has an elevator between them? When you do so what do you do with your faith and trust? Do you not put it all in the mechanical operation of that elevator? And do you not put your total trust and faith in the operation of the elevator? You don’t leave anything on the outside do you? Well, if we put our total faith and trust in an elevator, why can’t we do the same with God?

Please have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16,

Thursday Morning

Greetings to all:

There will be more to come this afternoon or evening, but this is just to let you know that Marty is going into St. V's in Indy this morning for another big chemo treatment. This will be a 5 day treatment and she will be in the hospital for about four weeks. When we get there and have more time I will tell you all the details.

Thanks for your continued support, prayers, love, and praise to the Lord.

"Today is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Jack
John 3:16

Tuesday Night

Greetings to all!

The report tonight is that the "cold" has shown some more improvement today, but is still not gone. Marty feels it in her chest, is still coughing, and coughing some up. The antibiotic finished today, so we are hoping that Dr. Lee will give her something more tomorrow. As far as every-thing else, it remains the same. God is good - all the time. All the time - God is good.

Tonight I would like to bring to our attention and thought Romans 5:5 which reads: "Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit..." Praise the Lord! What wonderful gifts God has given to us. At times, we or at least some people, may say that they don't see or know God and/or that God is not in a certain situation. I guess I have problems with that because God has given us the gift of the knowledge of two thirds of Himself. What an awesome gift and I wonder how many people give two thirds of themselves to others. Interesting thought isn't it? And thank you God for Your Son, Jesus Christ and Your Holy Spirit which do indeed give us the example of Love and put Love in our hearts. A positive hope does make such a difference in our lives. May we all be more positive and more hopeful, so the love of God may pour out of our hearts and into the hearts of others.

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Monday Night

Greetings to all:

God is good - all the time. All the time - God is good. Praise the Lord!

This will be another short one, even shorter than last night. But we wanted all of you to know that Marty is feeling a little better today. Her cold really seems to be improved. It is still in the chest, but Marty is not coughing as much. There is one more pill to take and we sure hope it will continue the process that the other ones have started.

As far as everything else, it is all about the same. It really does not seem like the blood or the platelets have helped at all.

"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me...and I lay down my life for the sheep." John 10:14, 15 Praise the Lord! What an awesome promise. No wonder we live in the faith and hope of the words of our God. What a blessing!

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Sunday Night

Greeting:

Just a short note to say that Marty is about the same. Her "cold" seems to have gone from the noise to the chest. We really are not sure that the antibiotic is doing that much good to make it go away, and Marty's body doesn't have the strength. So we are trying to keep a close eye on the situation and will no doubt get an appointment with Dr. Lee on Wednesday when he is in town. As far as the other things that have been going on - weakness, tiredness, not much appetite, no energy, etc. they are all about the same. Dr. Lee has said they are cause by the MDS/AML and the blood and platelets that she got the end of the week did not seem to help which he thought that they would. We do not know if we can expect that to happen at this point or what. More questions for the doctor.

Today's scripture is an awesome one, I Corinthians 2:9: "No eye has seen, no ear has hard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him...." Isn't that exciting and what a promise. As we go through the struggles of this time and this world Paul gives us a response - love God - and a reason to do it - God loves us and has made preparations for us.
Praise the Lord!

Have a positive day and God bless.

Marty and Jack
John 3:16

Friday Night

Good Evening:

Can you believe that there is another message already? Well, it just seemed a good idea to bring you up to date, whether it is what we want to say and hear or not.

Well, yesterday Marty got two units of blood here in Peru at Dukes Hospital. That was a welcomed change. The out patient unit at St V’s was too busy so we were allowed to get it here and it went very well. Then today after the biopsy she had to get 12 units of platelets and that was done at St. V’s.

Now as far as the biopsy, we will not have all of the results until sometime next week. But after doing the biopsy Dr. Lee said that he thinks the bone marrow is “fibro tic”. Now if you don’t know what that means, don’t feel bad, I sure didn’t either. So when I asked Dr. Lee he told me that it means that “the bone marrow is hardening” and that is not a good thing. This does not happen in all MDS or AML cases but he truly believes it is happening to Marty. The biopsy will tell this for sure. Dr. Lee is now suggesting that Marty have the bone marrow transplant. When I said that the odds for that are so poor, Dr. Lee said that any and all of the treatments that are available to Marty have very poor odds. As I have thought about what Dr. Lee said I believe that it comes down to this: there is no treatment for the hardening, therefore it must be totally removed from the body, which is very dangerous, and the attempt made to put new in the body. As we have mentioned before that whole process is very dangerous and there are a lot of things that can and do go wrong, and the odds of success for Marty are very low.

So we are asking that you pray that we will be able to discern God’s will for Marty in this situation.

Dr. Lee also said that all that has been and is going on with Marty right now is the illness. He had hoped that the blood would help her to feel a little better but it has not worked. So far nothing has helped the problems that she has been having since May 14th.

So we are also asking that you pray that we will know God’s will as far as Marty’s weakness, tiredness, etc. and that in God’s grace He will help her with this suffering and discomforts.

God is good – all the time! All the time – God is good! When we allow and cooperate with God He will use us in any and all situations. We know that God has been using Marty in many ways the last 10 months. Praise the Lord! Just today we got a letter from out of state from a person who only really met and talked to Marty once and yet she could see how God had and is using Marty to touch others, including this person. Praise the Lord! We don’t know what else God has for Marty to do, but we do know that God is with Marty in all that she is going through right now and we pray that His will and grace will be fulfilled, and to God will be the glory.

The verse on Marty’s scripture calendar for June 1 is Matthew 6:27 which reads: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” What an awesome verse because it is indeed true for each of us – worry can not add to our life. Therefore, all situations that concern us we must turn over to God, let God take care of it, and do not take it back from God. Worry about anything cannot be positive for us, as individual and/or as a group. Let God do the worrying as we do the ministry and mission that glorifies God. Join me as I let God be God and I discern His will to do it and to glorify God.

Marty is asleep and therefore will not read this over, so I will plead my case by saying that I have been up since 4:30am and it is now 12:30am. If I am not mistaken that is 20 yours that I have been up and yes, I am tired. So if I have missed some things in this that need corrected, please forgive. I am tired. And because I am tired I am going to close this now and go to be.

Again thanks for your prayers and support and may you have a positive day as you glorify God and God is with you and blesses you.

Jack
John 3:16