Dear friends,
It is Friday and Greg left a few hours ago to go to Seattle to get Jenni. She flew from Baltimore to Las Vegas yesterday. Her connecting flight to Spokane was cancelled due to weather and they told her it would take a few days to get another flight. She figured out a way to get to Seattle on another flight last night since we know there are lots of shuttles between here and there.
Once she got to Seattle last night, she slept in the airport and was unable to get a flight to Spokane today. They told her maybe Monday there would be one. She tried the bus station and there are no bus seats either. So, Greg and I decided that the only way to get her home was to go and get her. So he is driving over the Cascades now. After getting her he will turn around and come back. It is a 5 hour drive in good weather. Greg has chains for the truck with him.
I am doing pretty well. The pain meds are working well and I am taking it easy. I will go to get the cathetor taken out on Monday. If I can produce enough volume they will leave it out. If not, they will have to put it back in and the doctor may have to loosen the sling she put under my urethra. We'll see.
Christmas blessings to each of you! Nancy
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Home from the hospital
Dear friends,
Thank you for praying for my surgery yesterday. Everything went well. They put me in a nice private room for recovery for the day. At 5:00 the nurse who came on shift did what she needed to do to get me checked out last night. I came home with a catheter so I will need to go to the doctor to get that out at some point. I have to take antibiotics because that too.
My doctor checked my bladder carefully and could see no problems in there at all. So the next step is to see a urologist or nephologist (kidney) doctor in a month or two if there is still blood in my urine.
There is a major snow storm here, so Greg had to come get me in the truck with 4 wheel drive. It took him a while to get there since so many of the streets were blocked off because of ice and snow causing sliding. We got home about 8:30 last night. I plan to sleep and rest today! Blessings- Nancy
Thank you for praying for my surgery yesterday. Everything went well. They put me in a nice private room for recovery for the day. At 5:00 the nurse who came on shift did what she needed to do to get me checked out last night. I came home with a catheter so I will need to go to the doctor to get that out at some point. I have to take antibiotics because that too.
My doctor checked my bladder carefully and could see no problems in there at all. So the next step is to see a urologist or nephologist (kidney) doctor in a month or two if there is still blood in my urine.
There is a major snow storm here, so Greg had to come get me in the truck with 4 wheel drive. It took him a while to get there since so many of the streets were blocked off because of ice and snow causing sliding. We got home about 8:30 last night. I plan to sleep and rest today! Blessings- Nancy
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Nancy in hospital
This is from Greg, Nancy's husband. Surgery went well this morning, but Nancy was slow in recovery and in pain. So, the doctor elected to keep her in hospital care overnight. She asked me to give this quick update. I expect to bring her home tomorrow. We are having a significant snowstorm in Spokane today that has made the roads very slippery and it is very cold.
Surgery on Wednesday 12/17 at 7:30 a.m.
Dear friends,
I just drank my last drink of water and finished a snack. I am not allowed to eat or drink after midnight. Greg and I leave for the hospital at 5:30 a.m. I check in at 6:00 and surgery is scheduled for 7:30. It is supposed to take about 1 1/2 hours. Everything is straight forward and my doctor will also take a very careful look around inside my bladder to see if she can determine the reason for the blood that has been showing up in my urine. If she notices anything, she will call a urologist to come and look and take care of whatever is wrong. Other than that she is fixing the anterior wall of my pelvic muscle which has a hernia in it, allowing my bladder to colapse in. She will put in Bovine mesh which heals well and will also put a sling under/around my Urethera to prevent the sagging of that also.
We expect to be done and home by early afternoon, and I plan to just lay low and rest. Jenni is coming home ready to help me Thursday night and I was able to get most things done today that I needed to. Surgery eve is always a strange time for me. I have to keep telling myself not to drink or eat before we leave. Putting trust in the team of medical folks tomorrow is a little strange, but I like to just rest in the Lord as I put my trust in them. Often we get to share our lives somewhat before and after the surgery. I hope Greg and I can be an encouragement to someone tomorrow.
Please pray for my surgeon's skill to be in top form, and that the Lord will guide her hands. Pray for me to recover well and it would be nice to come home without a catheter. Pray that if there is anything for them to find in my bladder, that they would see it. Pray for me to have no clotting problems now that I am off Coumadin. And pray for speedy healing and also for Jenni to be able to get in even though they are expecting snow Wed. and Thurs.
And please pray for those in Arrissa, India who are suffering tremendous persecution.
I will update you tomorrow on how it went. Thank you again for praying! Blessings- Nancy
I just drank my last drink of water and finished a snack. I am not allowed to eat or drink after midnight. Greg and I leave for the hospital at 5:30 a.m. I check in at 6:00 and surgery is scheduled for 7:30. It is supposed to take about 1 1/2 hours. Everything is straight forward and my doctor will also take a very careful look around inside my bladder to see if she can determine the reason for the blood that has been showing up in my urine. If she notices anything, she will call a urologist to come and look and take care of whatever is wrong. Other than that she is fixing the anterior wall of my pelvic muscle which has a hernia in it, allowing my bladder to colapse in. She will put in Bovine mesh which heals well and will also put a sling under/around my Urethera to prevent the sagging of that also.
We expect to be done and home by early afternoon, and I plan to just lay low and rest. Jenni is coming home ready to help me Thursday night and I was able to get most things done today that I needed to. Surgery eve is always a strange time for me. I have to keep telling myself not to drink or eat before we leave. Putting trust in the team of medical folks tomorrow is a little strange, but I like to just rest in the Lord as I put my trust in them. Often we get to share our lives somewhat before and after the surgery. I hope Greg and I can be an encouragement to someone tomorrow.
Please pray for my surgeon's skill to be in top form, and that the Lord will guide her hands. Pray for me to recover well and it would be nice to come home without a catheter. Pray that if there is anything for them to find in my bladder, that they would see it. Pray for me to have no clotting problems now that I am off Coumadin. And pray for speedy healing and also for Jenni to be able to get in even though they are expecting snow Wed. and Thurs.
And please pray for those in Arrissa, India who are suffering tremendous persecution.
I will update you tomorrow on how it went. Thank you again for praying! Blessings- Nancy
Friday, December 12, 2008
Hey, I,m back!
Dear friends,
Wow. It has been a loooong time since I wrote. Since last time I have been to the east coast for almost 3 weeks and had my computer "scrubbed" after backing it up. (That means my computer was emptied of all files and then carefully reloaded with programs.) It seems faster, but this is the first time I am using it since I got home. On the road I had little access to a computer, so I didn't write. I appreciate your prayers for my trip. We only hit a little weather in Pittsburgh last Sat. and I stayed healthy the whole time. Let me catch you up now...
Medical Update
I had told you that I would be seeing some doctors before leaving on my trip. I did get answers to many questions. My sore knee puzzled the PA at the orthopedic surgeon's office, and eventually she and my surgeon decided that it probably is a ruptured plantaris muscle. I had an MRI done on Tuesday morning to confirm that and I haven't heard the results yet. The good news is that it will heal without any surgical repair if that's what is wrong. It will take physical therapy and I am not supposed to go walking while it heals. I should find out tomorrow what the MRI showed. I can walk just fine, but certain movements set it off and it aches if I stand for a long time.
I am scheduled to have surgery next Wednesday, Dec. 17th at 8 a.m. I saw my gynecologist before going on my trip, had some tests done, and she said my bladder has gotten worse. It is sagging since my pelvic floor is not able to hold it up anymore. It has moved into the area where my colon was before it was repaired about a year ago. My doctors are also concerned because I have blood showing up in my urine. That count is up to 50. I was supposed to see a urologist who was going to put a camera into my bladder to look around since the CT scan of my bladder and kidneys didn't show any reason for the blood. My gynecologist is planning to do a cystocele repair, and put a sling around my urethra. This will prevent ever increasing leaking problems, and put my bladder back where it belongs. While she is doing that, a urologist will come and look around inside my bladder to try and solve the mystery. The concern is that something has to be causing this blood in my urine, and we are hoping that it isn't cancer. Also, a factor that plays into me doing this now, is that I have already paid all of my out of pocket insurance deductible money for the year. Please pray that I stay healthy between now and then.
I told you before that there was no cancer on my left chest wall, and all the lumpiness there is scar tissue. So this week, I began having massage to break up the scar tissue. Boy, is that painful! I have a long way to go, but I really need it done so that I can avoid the complications of the scar tissue causing lymphodema in my left arm. So please pray that I will be brave or numb or something! I held my breath and didn't talk much yesterday.
I had my dental check up and my dentist sent me to an endodontist since my jaw has been sore and one of my back teeth is loose. The endodontist thinks the jaw pain is caused by the fact that I had several teeth pulled on the top and bottom of my right jaw, and the top of my left jaw a few years ago because they had infection under them- osteomyelitis. My jawbone is still clear of infection, but because I have missing teeth, the muscles in my jaw are imbalanced and getting pulled. He said it is kind of like having a pulled muscle in your leg. Since there are no teeth on the right side, my bite isn't even and that is stressing the joints. The jawbone has also lost mass since there have been no teeth there for so long. My sinus cavity is literally millemeters from my gum. His solution is to do some major rebuilding of the jaw bone and then make teeth and get them in before I loose more teeth. Feel free to email me if you know anything or have gone through this. nancyfritz@aol.com
I started having these infections 10 years ago, and then got breast cancer. Then I didn't get teeth because I figured it would be a lot of money to spend, and what if I did and then ended up dying of cancer? I took the 'wait and see' approach. Then I got cancer again, then I moved, and now my jaw hurts and I have to deal with this. Greg and I decided that we need to spend the money and do this. Why not assume that I won't get cancer again? There is no way to know, and I guess I need to have teeth, right? So my dentist and endodontist are talking and will get back to me about how to proceed.
As of last night, I am off Coumadin! Yahoo! I am going to eat a grapefruit as soon as I can get my hands on one! I have taken this blood thinner for 6 months because of the DVT's in my legs this summer, and 6 months is the usual time to take it. So I said good-bye to my pharmacist at the anti-coagulation clinic yesterday. She has become a friend over these months. Until surgery, I am not allowed to take several supplements and only certain pain relievers. We are expecting a foot of snow here starting tomorrow, and every joint and muscle in my body knows it!
Greg is fogged out
I got home about midnight on Monday and Greg stayed in Pittsburgh to teach Perspectives for another few days. Today he spent all his time trying to get home. First he flew to Denver and then on to Spokane. Spokane was fogged in, so they landed in Seattle. They put special equipment on the plane to help with the fog, and flew to Spokane again. It didn't work again. Now he is in a hotel in Seattle and should get into Spokane at 8 in the morning. I just want him home- and he wants to be home!
Other stuff
Is Christmas really 2 weeks away? The wedding Allison was going to be in has been postponed, but since she already has a non-refundable ticket to come home, she is coming on Christmas eve and goes back on the 4th. Laura will get in for 5 days on the 24th also. Jenni gets home from Grove City on the 18th. Friends from church have offered to bring meals for the days after surgery. I am almost done putting up the Christmas decor and tomorrow will concentrate on helping Jesse get his letter about his trip to Africa out. It is hard to believe that my youngest child is about to graduate from High School (January 23rd). He is quite a young man! He received 'the most improved' award at Starbucks which was quite an honor his boss tells me.
Our trip was amazing. We enjoyed all the connections when Greg spoke. He spoke in a business class at Grove City College, at his home church briefly, at a citywide meeting in Pittsburgh about Partners International, and then 4 Perspectives classes. We enjoyed our time with Greg's family and 19 of us skyped Allison in S. Korea on Thanksgiving. She was overwhelmed when she saw 4 generations all on her screen at once, including Michael, our nephew's son- the first of his generation.
We visited my mother and brother and aunt and uncle. We went to Niagara to visit with friends for a few days. Through connections they have, I actually talked on the phone with a worker in an African country who was driving through the jungle at the time. Our mutual friends in Canada felt that the Kidzana ministry would be fantastic in that country and wanted us to talk. I would ask you to pray for the logistics of that happening. Many in Pittsburgh were interested in getting Kidzana training as well. (See last blog.) I got to connect with a friend of the Canadians who is just finishing her treatment for breast cancer. We were both encouraged by each other. We also stopped along the way and visited with a guy Greg lead to the Lord in college at Penn State who teaches at Moody Bible Institute. He told Greg of the many spiritual generations who have come through that branch of the family of God.
I got to visit Laura and meet her friends. I cooked a turkey, stuffing and sweet potato and green bean casseroles for Laura's international friendship group the Monday before Thanksgiving. That was really special. And I won't even talk about playing Guestures with a bunch of 20 somethings!
Greg and I had dinner with a group who are beginning a focus on a specific people group of 3 million that has only a small handful (3?) of believers so far and no one reaching them. Greg had some good wisdom for them. I met with the children's ministry director and a few staff in Pittsburgh at a church which is doing a great job teaching missions to kids. Greg's uncle let us use his Lexus for all this traveling and I must say that I miss that woman's voice telling me where to turn now that I am home!
I sure hope to get a Christmas letter and card out before surgery. I basically have to have everything that needs doing, done before the 17th that requires any legwork. I will write again before surgery. I deeply appreciate your prayers and congratulate any of you who actually made it to the end of this entry! God bless you! Nancy Fritz
Wow. It has been a loooong time since I wrote. Since last time I have been to the east coast for almost 3 weeks and had my computer "scrubbed" after backing it up. (That means my computer was emptied of all files and then carefully reloaded with programs.) It seems faster, but this is the first time I am using it since I got home. On the road I had little access to a computer, so I didn't write. I appreciate your prayers for my trip. We only hit a little weather in Pittsburgh last Sat. and I stayed healthy the whole time. Let me catch you up now...
Medical Update
I had told you that I would be seeing some doctors before leaving on my trip. I did get answers to many questions. My sore knee puzzled the PA at the orthopedic surgeon's office, and eventually she and my surgeon decided that it probably is a ruptured plantaris muscle. I had an MRI done on Tuesday morning to confirm that and I haven't heard the results yet. The good news is that it will heal without any surgical repair if that's what is wrong. It will take physical therapy and I am not supposed to go walking while it heals. I should find out tomorrow what the MRI showed. I can walk just fine, but certain movements set it off and it aches if I stand for a long time.
I am scheduled to have surgery next Wednesday, Dec. 17th at 8 a.m. I saw my gynecologist before going on my trip, had some tests done, and she said my bladder has gotten worse. It is sagging since my pelvic floor is not able to hold it up anymore. It has moved into the area where my colon was before it was repaired about a year ago. My doctors are also concerned because I have blood showing up in my urine. That count is up to 50. I was supposed to see a urologist who was going to put a camera into my bladder to look around since the CT scan of my bladder and kidneys didn't show any reason for the blood. My gynecologist is planning to do a cystocele repair, and put a sling around my urethra. This will prevent ever increasing leaking problems, and put my bladder back where it belongs. While she is doing that, a urologist will come and look around inside my bladder to try and solve the mystery. The concern is that something has to be causing this blood in my urine, and we are hoping that it isn't cancer. Also, a factor that plays into me doing this now, is that I have already paid all of my out of pocket insurance deductible money for the year. Please pray that I stay healthy between now and then.
I told you before that there was no cancer on my left chest wall, and all the lumpiness there is scar tissue. So this week, I began having massage to break up the scar tissue. Boy, is that painful! I have a long way to go, but I really need it done so that I can avoid the complications of the scar tissue causing lymphodema in my left arm. So please pray that I will be brave or numb or something! I held my breath and didn't talk much yesterday.
I had my dental check up and my dentist sent me to an endodontist since my jaw has been sore and one of my back teeth is loose. The endodontist thinks the jaw pain is caused by the fact that I had several teeth pulled on the top and bottom of my right jaw, and the top of my left jaw a few years ago because they had infection under them- osteomyelitis. My jawbone is still clear of infection, but because I have missing teeth, the muscles in my jaw are imbalanced and getting pulled. He said it is kind of like having a pulled muscle in your leg. Since there are no teeth on the right side, my bite isn't even and that is stressing the joints. The jawbone has also lost mass since there have been no teeth there for so long. My sinus cavity is literally millemeters from my gum. His solution is to do some major rebuilding of the jaw bone and then make teeth and get them in before I loose more teeth. Feel free to email me if you know anything or have gone through this. nancyfritz@aol.com
I started having these infections 10 years ago, and then got breast cancer. Then I didn't get teeth because I figured it would be a lot of money to spend, and what if I did and then ended up dying of cancer? I took the 'wait and see' approach. Then I got cancer again, then I moved, and now my jaw hurts and I have to deal with this. Greg and I decided that we need to spend the money and do this. Why not assume that I won't get cancer again? There is no way to know, and I guess I need to have teeth, right? So my dentist and endodontist are talking and will get back to me about how to proceed.
As of last night, I am off Coumadin! Yahoo! I am going to eat a grapefruit as soon as I can get my hands on one! I have taken this blood thinner for 6 months because of the DVT's in my legs this summer, and 6 months is the usual time to take it. So I said good-bye to my pharmacist at the anti-coagulation clinic yesterday. She has become a friend over these months. Until surgery, I am not allowed to take several supplements and only certain pain relievers. We are expecting a foot of snow here starting tomorrow, and every joint and muscle in my body knows it!
Greg is fogged out
I got home about midnight on Monday and Greg stayed in Pittsburgh to teach Perspectives for another few days. Today he spent all his time trying to get home. First he flew to Denver and then on to Spokane. Spokane was fogged in, so they landed in Seattle. They put special equipment on the plane to help with the fog, and flew to Spokane again. It didn't work again. Now he is in a hotel in Seattle and should get into Spokane at 8 in the morning. I just want him home- and he wants to be home!
Other stuff
Is Christmas really 2 weeks away? The wedding Allison was going to be in has been postponed, but since she already has a non-refundable ticket to come home, she is coming on Christmas eve and goes back on the 4th. Laura will get in for 5 days on the 24th also. Jenni gets home from Grove City on the 18th. Friends from church have offered to bring meals for the days after surgery. I am almost done putting up the Christmas decor and tomorrow will concentrate on helping Jesse get his letter about his trip to Africa out. It is hard to believe that my youngest child is about to graduate from High School (January 23rd). He is quite a young man! He received 'the most improved' award at Starbucks which was quite an honor his boss tells me.
Our trip was amazing. We enjoyed all the connections when Greg spoke. He spoke in a business class at Grove City College, at his home church briefly, at a citywide meeting in Pittsburgh about Partners International, and then 4 Perspectives classes. We enjoyed our time with Greg's family and 19 of us skyped Allison in S. Korea on Thanksgiving. She was overwhelmed when she saw 4 generations all on her screen at once, including Michael, our nephew's son- the first of his generation.
We visited my mother and brother and aunt and uncle. We went to Niagara to visit with friends for a few days. Through connections they have, I actually talked on the phone with a worker in an African country who was driving through the jungle at the time. Our mutual friends in Canada felt that the Kidzana ministry would be fantastic in that country and wanted us to talk. I would ask you to pray for the logistics of that happening. Many in Pittsburgh were interested in getting Kidzana training as well. (See last blog.) I got to connect with a friend of the Canadians who is just finishing her treatment for breast cancer. We were both encouraged by each other. We also stopped along the way and visited with a guy Greg lead to the Lord in college at Penn State who teaches at Moody Bible Institute. He told Greg of the many spiritual generations who have come through that branch of the family of God.
I got to visit Laura and meet her friends. I cooked a turkey, stuffing and sweet potato and green bean casseroles for Laura's international friendship group the Monday before Thanksgiving. That was really special. And I won't even talk about playing Guestures with a bunch of 20 somethings!
Greg and I had dinner with a group who are beginning a focus on a specific people group of 3 million that has only a small handful (3?) of believers so far and no one reaching them. Greg had some good wisdom for them. I met with the children's ministry director and a few staff in Pittsburgh at a church which is doing a great job teaching missions to kids. Greg's uncle let us use his Lexus for all this traveling and I must say that I miss that woman's voice telling me where to turn now that I am home!
I sure hope to get a Christmas letter and card out before surgery. I basically have to have everything that needs doing, done before the 17th that requires any legwork. I will write again before surgery. I deeply appreciate your prayers and congratulate any of you who actually made it to the end of this entry! God bless you! Nancy Fritz
Monday, November 17, 2008
No Cancer on My Left Chest Wall!
11/16/08
Dear friends,
Kidzana
It is Sunday evening. The last time I wrote I was on my way to Seattle for Kidzana training. The training was excellent. We were trained for 2 ½ days in how to do children’s ministry in a way that is transferable to any culture in the world. Many times Americans go overseas and take all of our “stuff” to do children’s ministry or VBS’s. We learned that doing this can discourage national leaders in other countries. They know they can’t compete with American bells and whistles, and don’t feel empowered at all. This training covered all the basics of evangelism and discipleship, parenting, special needs kids and how to be creative in planning lessons without the stuff. One strategy they have is to go on a trip overseas to train teachers rather than kids. The teachers can then teach their own children, and you have multiplied yourself in them. The teaching can then go on as they train other teachers as well.
I guess you can tell that this was exciting for me! I went with Arlene who works at Partners International with Greg. What a perfect match this ministry is with our focus on indigenous ministries in the 10/40 Window! Many of our partner ministries have probably gotten some of this training, but we plan to be purposeful in getting it to the rest. I was told tonight that China is asking for exactly this kind of training. Now, that excites me even more! We are making arrangements to have the Kidzana director visit our headquarters in Spokane and we will talk about Kidzana becoming a “like-minded ministry.” That would give us a formal tie to this great training. We will have to see where this leads, but for now, I have been invited by our family pastor to give this training to our youth group in preparation for their mission trip to Mexico next summer.
Jesse to Africa
Someone else I am arranging to teach these concepts to is Jesse, my 17 year old boy, Allison, my 22 year old English teacher in S. Korea and Jesse’s friend, Taylor. Jesse and his Taylor have bought their tickets to go to French speaking Africa. Jesse is scheduled to leave on February 1st and return on June 17th, 2009. They will have amazing opportunities to serve under the leadership of our ministry partners in several countries in West Africa. Jesse is starting to feel like this will really happen now that he bought his plane ticket and has appointment for his shots! Anyway, Jesse, Taylor and Allison, when she is here for Christmas to be in a friend’s wedding, will go through the basics to have some great resources to take with them.
Allison
Allison was on Skype with us last night for an hour. We had such a nice visit and asked each other lots of questions. She is learning Korean two nights a week and the class happens to be at her own school. Some others are traveling an hour to get to there, so she is grateful to be close. Also two teachers from her school who she really enjoys are teaching it. She said she can phonetically read anything in Korean now, and sometimes she even knows what it means! She can say the basics and get around and figure out prices at the store, etc. She is doing very well.
Medical update on me
I saw my excellent surgical oncologist on Tuesday last week. She checked the scar tissue I have been noticing on my left chest wall, and agreed that it has changed since June. She asked me to go for an ultrasound of that area and explained that any cancer cells would have a blood supply. Scar tissue would not. My concern was that if there was already a blood supply, aren’t we already looking at cells traveling, etc? She explained to my satisfaction that the blood supply they would see is 2-3 mm. That is extremely small! No cancer growth would even be discernable to the touch until it was much larger than that. So this test was REALLY a good way to make sure I don’t have cancer on my chest wall right now.
I had the test on Wednesday and ended up with two ultrasound techs and a radiologist. Everyone looked very carefully and there were NO BLOOD VESSELS there! We had a happy time in there! I just can’t help praising God at times like that and one of the lady techs even gave me a hug and told me how happy she was for me. I am so grateful I don’t need any surgery there (or chemo, or radiation, etc!)!
This Tuesday I have several doctor appointments- dentist, gynecologist, and my orthopedic surgeon’s Physician’s Assistant to try and solve the problem of what is going on with my left knee. When my leg folds/bends at the knee it is fine to a point, and then when it gets past that point, it shoots with pain. I’ve tried extensive icing, no daily walks for 2 weeks, etc. There is a small swelling there. We know from an ultrasound that it is not a Baker’s cyst and that it isn’t vascular. But what is it? This orthopedic surgeon is the one who did my shoulder last year and he is the best in town. I have no idea what needs to be done, but if it requires any surgery, I need to try to get it done before the end of the year since I have paid my whole deductible for the year. My gynecologist may do a small surgery before the end of the year also- a cystocele. I did 2 ½ months of pelvic floor therapy over the summer which didn’t fix my worsening bladder problem. The tricky part of all this is that I get off of Coumadin on December 6th, so that it will be out of my system on the 9th when I get back. My INR (clotting indicator) was 4.3 the other day. My blood looked like pink water when she took a drop for the test! So I decreased my dose for a day and skipped another day, and get that checked on Tuesday also. I am relieved that I get to stop taking it and that I can eat what I want to again! Grapefruit and mangos and ginger cookies and green tea! Anyway all these appointments are Tuesday because on Wednesday…
East Coast Here I Come!
I leave on Wednesday for Pittsburgh. I will see a few folks, get Jenni who finishes her last test at 2:30, and weather permitting, drive to Baltimore to stay with Laura for a few days. On the 26th I will pick up Greg in Pittsburgh and we will head to his parents’ for T-giving. Laura and Jenni will get Jesse at Baltimore airport and also head for Greg’s parents. So we are looking forward to a fun time with everyone. We haven’t been together for a long time. I have a grand nephew to meet.
Greg and I will go see my mother on Sunday the 30th, Jenni will go back to school and Laura will take Jesse back to the Baltimore airport. He will be home with a college guy we know until I get home on the 8th. Greg and I will go for a day up to Niagra/ Hamilton to see friends for a day and then down to Pittsburgh to do some speaking. He has 5 engagements. I might meet with some people also. I will head home after he begins his Perspectives classes on the 8th, and he will follow me home a few days later.
Since I didn’t know when medical things might be happening when I get back, I asked Greg to help me put up the Christmas lights outside the house today. I still need to do the front porch, but he did a great job on the high stuff. We have offered our home to the Moody Bible Institute Spokane girls from one of our townhouses for Thanksgiving. One of their dads is coming and they are excited to have a place to cook with all the equipment they need and a place to relax. It is nice to have our home be a blessing to them.
Well, I need to sleep now, finish packing tomorrow and take care of little details, do the doctors on Tuesday and fly out on Wednesday. My 51st birthday is approaching. I was thrilled that there was no cancer showing up, because I just don’t have time for cancer now. There is too much on my plate. I would love to mentor other young teachers in teaching missions to kids, and I am finding them gradually. Again, our days are in His hands! He knows how many I have, and I pray I will use them for his Glory. I will try to write before I leave about my knee mystery. God bless you! Nancy
Dear friends,
Kidzana
It is Sunday evening. The last time I wrote I was on my way to Seattle for Kidzana training. The training was excellent. We were trained for 2 ½ days in how to do children’s ministry in a way that is transferable to any culture in the world. Many times Americans go overseas and take all of our “stuff” to do children’s ministry or VBS’s. We learned that doing this can discourage national leaders in other countries. They know they can’t compete with American bells and whistles, and don’t feel empowered at all. This training covered all the basics of evangelism and discipleship, parenting, special needs kids and how to be creative in planning lessons without the stuff. One strategy they have is to go on a trip overseas to train teachers rather than kids. The teachers can then teach their own children, and you have multiplied yourself in them. The teaching can then go on as they train other teachers as well.
I guess you can tell that this was exciting for me! I went with Arlene who works at Partners International with Greg. What a perfect match this ministry is with our focus on indigenous ministries in the 10/40 Window! Many of our partner ministries have probably gotten some of this training, but we plan to be purposeful in getting it to the rest. I was told tonight that China is asking for exactly this kind of training. Now, that excites me even more! We are making arrangements to have the Kidzana director visit our headquarters in Spokane and we will talk about Kidzana becoming a “like-minded ministry.” That would give us a formal tie to this great training. We will have to see where this leads, but for now, I have been invited by our family pastor to give this training to our youth group in preparation for their mission trip to Mexico next summer.
Jesse to Africa
Someone else I am arranging to teach these concepts to is Jesse, my 17 year old boy, Allison, my 22 year old English teacher in S. Korea and Jesse’s friend, Taylor. Jesse and his Taylor have bought their tickets to go to French speaking Africa. Jesse is scheduled to leave on February 1st and return on June 17th, 2009. They will have amazing opportunities to serve under the leadership of our ministry partners in several countries in West Africa. Jesse is starting to feel like this will really happen now that he bought his plane ticket and has appointment for his shots! Anyway, Jesse, Taylor and Allison, when she is here for Christmas to be in a friend’s wedding, will go through the basics to have some great resources to take with them.
Allison
Allison was on Skype with us last night for an hour. We had such a nice visit and asked each other lots of questions. She is learning Korean two nights a week and the class happens to be at her own school. Some others are traveling an hour to get to there, so she is grateful to be close. Also two teachers from her school who she really enjoys are teaching it. She said she can phonetically read anything in Korean now, and sometimes she even knows what it means! She can say the basics and get around and figure out prices at the store, etc. She is doing very well.
Medical update on me
I saw my excellent surgical oncologist on Tuesday last week. She checked the scar tissue I have been noticing on my left chest wall, and agreed that it has changed since June. She asked me to go for an ultrasound of that area and explained that any cancer cells would have a blood supply. Scar tissue would not. My concern was that if there was already a blood supply, aren’t we already looking at cells traveling, etc? She explained to my satisfaction that the blood supply they would see is 2-3 mm. That is extremely small! No cancer growth would even be discernable to the touch until it was much larger than that. So this test was REALLY a good way to make sure I don’t have cancer on my chest wall right now.
I had the test on Wednesday and ended up with two ultrasound techs and a radiologist. Everyone looked very carefully and there were NO BLOOD VESSELS there! We had a happy time in there! I just can’t help praising God at times like that and one of the lady techs even gave me a hug and told me how happy she was for me. I am so grateful I don’t need any surgery there (or chemo, or radiation, etc!)!
This Tuesday I have several doctor appointments- dentist, gynecologist, and my orthopedic surgeon’s Physician’s Assistant to try and solve the problem of what is going on with my left knee. When my leg folds/bends at the knee it is fine to a point, and then when it gets past that point, it shoots with pain. I’ve tried extensive icing, no daily walks for 2 weeks, etc. There is a small swelling there. We know from an ultrasound that it is not a Baker’s cyst and that it isn’t vascular. But what is it? This orthopedic surgeon is the one who did my shoulder last year and he is the best in town. I have no idea what needs to be done, but if it requires any surgery, I need to try to get it done before the end of the year since I have paid my whole deductible for the year. My gynecologist may do a small surgery before the end of the year also- a cystocele. I did 2 ½ months of pelvic floor therapy over the summer which didn’t fix my worsening bladder problem. The tricky part of all this is that I get off of Coumadin on December 6th, so that it will be out of my system on the 9th when I get back. My INR (clotting indicator) was 4.3 the other day. My blood looked like pink water when she took a drop for the test! So I decreased my dose for a day and skipped another day, and get that checked on Tuesday also. I am relieved that I get to stop taking it and that I can eat what I want to again! Grapefruit and mangos and ginger cookies and green tea! Anyway all these appointments are Tuesday because on Wednesday…
East Coast Here I Come!
I leave on Wednesday for Pittsburgh. I will see a few folks, get Jenni who finishes her last test at 2:30, and weather permitting, drive to Baltimore to stay with Laura for a few days. On the 26th I will pick up Greg in Pittsburgh and we will head to his parents’ for T-giving. Laura and Jenni will get Jesse at Baltimore airport and also head for Greg’s parents. So we are looking forward to a fun time with everyone. We haven’t been together for a long time. I have a grand nephew to meet.
Greg and I will go see my mother on Sunday the 30th, Jenni will go back to school and Laura will take Jesse back to the Baltimore airport. He will be home with a college guy we know until I get home on the 8th. Greg and I will go for a day up to Niagra/ Hamilton to see friends for a day and then down to Pittsburgh to do some speaking. He has 5 engagements. I might meet with some people also. I will head home after he begins his Perspectives classes on the 8th, and he will follow me home a few days later.
Since I didn’t know when medical things might be happening when I get back, I asked Greg to help me put up the Christmas lights outside the house today. I still need to do the front porch, but he did a great job on the high stuff. We have offered our home to the Moody Bible Institute Spokane girls from one of our townhouses for Thanksgiving. One of their dads is coming and they are excited to have a place to cook with all the equipment they need and a place to relax. It is nice to have our home be a blessing to them.
Well, I need to sleep now, finish packing tomorrow and take care of little details, do the doctors on Tuesday and fly out on Wednesday. My 51st birthday is approaching. I was thrilled that there was no cancer showing up, because I just don’t have time for cancer now. There is too much on my plate. I would love to mentor other young teachers in teaching missions to kids, and I am finding them gradually. Again, our days are in His hands! He knows how many I have, and I pray I will use them for his Glory. I will try to write before I leave about my knee mystery. God bless you! Nancy
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Off to Seattle tomorrow
Dear friends,
What a busy day! I went to Bible study this morning, and then home to work on the curriculum on Money and Missions I am writing for 2 missions organizations. I am close to done with what I have to get done before leaving at 10:50 for the airport in the morning. I am going to a training conference by a group called Kidzana to learn how to teach children in other cultures. Hopefully what Arlene and I can learn can be put to use at Partners International with our partner ministries working with children in the 10/40 Window.
I have been making lots of doctor appointments. The swollen area behind my knee is going to be checked next by the orthopedic surgeon who fixed my shoulder last year. I have an appointment on the 18th. If it isn't vascular or a cyst, what is it that is causing the pain when I bend my leg? He will decide what test to do to figure it out. Hopefully it will heal on its own or be easy to fix. I have been told a few times that the chances of it having to do with cancer is very, very small, but I do know someone who had cancer in his knee. I just can't let my mind go there.
My left side scar tissue (due to radiation mainly) which is getting ever lumpier and more sore, will be checked next Tuesday by my breast surgeon. She is an excellent doctor. She has had me have 2 MRI's this year. She says that if it is cancer it will develop blood flow. My main question for her is, if there is cancer growing there (my particular type of cancer looked and felt like scar tissue) and we wait for it to develop a vascular system, hasn't it already got a highway to metasticize all over my body? I think the cancer we found 2 1/2 years ago was small, and that was in my favor. I am wondering if she can talk to my Denver surgeon to get my background. I guess I will see on Tuesday.
I am also going to the dentist for a check-up and then to a dental surgeon to get checked as I have some sore areas in my jaw. My INR was high the last 2 times I went, but I think it was due to my eating some Newman's ginger cookies. They have a lot of ginger in them and it never even occured to me that I am supposed to stay away from ginger while on Coumadin. It is on my "never eat" list. So, hopefully the mystery is solved.
Greg and Jesse brought home no plunder from the mountains, but they did have a great time together. They are not excited about cooking for themselves this weekend, but I left them well supplied. I need to finish packing. I hope you are well. Blessings- Nancy
What a busy day! I went to Bible study this morning, and then home to work on the curriculum on Money and Missions I am writing for 2 missions organizations. I am close to done with what I have to get done before leaving at 10:50 for the airport in the morning. I am going to a training conference by a group called Kidzana to learn how to teach children in other cultures. Hopefully what Arlene and I can learn can be put to use at Partners International with our partner ministries working with children in the 10/40 Window.
I have been making lots of doctor appointments. The swollen area behind my knee is going to be checked next by the orthopedic surgeon who fixed my shoulder last year. I have an appointment on the 18th. If it isn't vascular or a cyst, what is it that is causing the pain when I bend my leg? He will decide what test to do to figure it out. Hopefully it will heal on its own or be easy to fix. I have been told a few times that the chances of it having to do with cancer is very, very small, but I do know someone who had cancer in his knee. I just can't let my mind go there.
My left side scar tissue (due to radiation mainly) which is getting ever lumpier and more sore, will be checked next Tuesday by my breast surgeon. She is an excellent doctor. She has had me have 2 MRI's this year. She says that if it is cancer it will develop blood flow. My main question for her is, if there is cancer growing there (my particular type of cancer looked and felt like scar tissue) and we wait for it to develop a vascular system, hasn't it already got a highway to metasticize all over my body? I think the cancer we found 2 1/2 years ago was small, and that was in my favor. I am wondering if she can talk to my Denver surgeon to get my background. I guess I will see on Tuesday.
I am also going to the dentist for a check-up and then to a dental surgeon to get checked as I have some sore areas in my jaw. My INR was high the last 2 times I went, but I think it was due to my eating some Newman's ginger cookies. They have a lot of ginger in them and it never even occured to me that I am supposed to stay away from ginger while on Coumadin. It is on my "never eat" list. So, hopefully the mystery is solved.
Greg and Jesse brought home no plunder from the mountains, but they did have a great time together. They are not excited about cooking for themselves this weekend, but I left them well supplied. I need to finish packing. I hope you are well. Blessings- Nancy
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