Dear friends,
I got a call tonight from my friend Julie who called me from the other side of the planet. She told me it would be better to update you and let you know that I am waiting for test results, than to wait until I have them.
My pollop was clear of cancer, so I don't have to go back for 5 years...And I went to see Dr. Sienko, my oncologist, the day after I wrote last time. Greg tried to go with me, but they were running behind and he needed to get back to work.
Dr. Sienko decided after we talked that I should have a CAT scan of my neck, one of my chest to my hips and a total body bone scan. I haven't had one of those for many years. The tests are all done and I will call tomorrow to see if I can get the results. He scheduled an appointment with me later this month to go over test results, but maybe I can get them to move it up since the tests are already done. Now it is just the waiting. Thank you for your prayers.
I saw a tiny picture of the bone scan right afterward. I would like to see it in more detail. It didn't look like my right ribs were showing anything, so that is good. My right shoulder was lit up, but that makes sense because of my shoulder repair. I will let you know after I find out. B.y the way, my PT signed me out on Thursday. I am officially on my own with my shoulder now. I am supposed to do my exercizes at home 3-4 times a week until summer. My shoulder is doing well.
My ears are not all better yet (it has been a month) but I am hearing fine, so it is much better than it was. There is still some inner ear fluid left, and it isn't bothering me too much.
Greg and I saw a huge bull moose on our way home from church last week. It was a much better view than the first one we saw. This one was walking in a meadow out in the open. When he got about 25 yards away Greg suggested I get back in the car, because they are apparently pretty fast. I just am amazed that we live in a place where we can see moose within a mile of our house! Who would have thought this a year ago?
This is a big week at Partners International. The leaders are in from all over the 10/40 Window. Thursday they are going to be giving reports and I plan to be there for most of that day. Please pray for the leadership team and their planning meetings and budget setting this week. It is intense for the staff who work here, and just think of the ones who have jet lag on top of all the meetings! Greg's department is in charge of all the logistics and computers and power points, etc. I'll try to collect a few stories to share with you.
Well, thanks for waiting with me! God bless you- Nancy
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
At least I know my heart is beating!
Dear friends,
The last time I wrote, I was up with an ear ache. It is now 15 days since my left ear filled up and about a week and a half since my right one did. I am at maybe 1/2 to 1/3 level of being able to hear. I am missing lots of conversations going on around me and feel for the deaf and hard of hearing. Wow. I also can hear my heart beating in my head, but the rhythm is a little different in each ear which is driving me a little crazy. It impresses me how regular and hard my heart works. God invented some amazing systems when He designed the human body. I am very ready for my hearing to come back, however.
I went to the doctor for the second time and am now on steroid nasal spray to help clear up my sinuses and ears. Antibiotic didn't touch it. If I still can't hear in another week and a half, he will refer me to an ENT doctor. There has been some ear pain and terrible headaches, but I did go to church this week and to Bible study and the grocery store yesterday. So although I am sleeping a lot, I am getting some things done. Thank you for praying for my ears. It is such a small thing in the scheme of things. A chance for me to learn patience.
My colonoscopy went well. They are right that the prep is worse than the procedure. I had one pollop (sp?) and a lot of pockets which were not too deep. I should find out tomorrow the pathology on the pollop, but my experience is that when it is bad, they call you sooner. So I am not concerned about it.
On Monday I also saw my Integrative Medicine doctor. Dr. Valley is fantastic. Very smart and kind and is helping me with supplements and with my cholesterol, etc. One medication I am on for the rest of my life (Femara) is causing it to go up. I take that to help me avoid further cancer. But it has the side effect of bone density loss and increased cholesterol. Anyway, Dr. Valley ordered some blood work that he reviewed with me. My liver is doing better so I am now allowed to do my candida diet for a few months.
I have a yeast overgrowth in my body called candida. Lots of you know what that is, but I will tell you a little about it just in case. I also had this 3 years ago and got rid of it by doing a special diet and taking an antifungal for a few months. Cancer treatment in '06 included steroids for anti-nausea and antibiotics and chemo, etc., that allow candida/yeast to flourish. So I have known I had it again since before we moved lat summer, but my liver wasn't doing well enough to handle flushing out the candida when it dies. It is a strain on the liver to do that. Now that my liver numbers are better, Dr. Valley gave me the go-ahead. This might also help to lower my cholesterol. It did the last time. Last time I also lost 25 lbs. doing the candida cleansing. I don't need to loose much this time, but hope I will feel better when I am done. I have been very tired since my last cancer episode.
Tomorrow I see my oncologist for a check up. Greg might be able to come with me and meet Dr. Sienko, as the oncology office is a few hundred yards from the Partners International office. My physical therapist (for my shoulder which is doing great by the way), chiropractor, Dr. Valley, and my internist, all want Dr. Sienko to find out why my right side is hurting. A place on one of my ribs hurts when palpated, and also when I move certain ways. I used to get a stabbing pain once in a while, and I thought maybe my rib was out of joint or something, but it has gotten more frequent and has been hurting more and more. Now it is every day, almost all day. The oncologist's rule I learned almost 9 years ago is, "If something hurts and gets worse and not better in 2 weeks, come and see me."
You can guess where my head goes when that happens. I try to steer it away from the idea of cancer. Bones is one of the places breast cancer metastasizes to. But then I remember that the Lord is the author of my days, and He gives me peace when I remember that each day any of us has here on earth is a gift from Him. This life is so brief in the scope of eternity. But I do want to be totally His each day and not worry about what might be coming in the future. It could be something other than cancer that is not serious. God can heal it. But since I have had cancer twice, I sometimes wonder if that battle is looming again around the corner. If the worst that can happen is starting my stint with Him in eternity, then there is NOTHING to worry about!
So you can join me in prayer. Let's pray for God's perfect will, and for healing for my ears, sinuses and right side. And wisdom for Dr. Sienko. He might order a scan. Much of my prayer is also praise for the wonderful friends He has brought into my life. I am so very blessed, with amazing kids and a great husband and church and neighbors and Partners...I could go on all night, but I think I need to sleep. I am grateful for you too. Any and all who read this.
By the way, Erin, who we bought this house from, commented on my last blog entry that she saw 2 moose that day hanging out by her house. Pretty cool.
Blessings- Nancy
The last time I wrote, I was up with an ear ache. It is now 15 days since my left ear filled up and about a week and a half since my right one did. I am at maybe 1/2 to 1/3 level of being able to hear. I am missing lots of conversations going on around me and feel for the deaf and hard of hearing. Wow. I also can hear my heart beating in my head, but the rhythm is a little different in each ear which is driving me a little crazy. It impresses me how regular and hard my heart works. God invented some amazing systems when He designed the human body. I am very ready for my hearing to come back, however.
I went to the doctor for the second time and am now on steroid nasal spray to help clear up my sinuses and ears. Antibiotic didn't touch it. If I still can't hear in another week and a half, he will refer me to an ENT doctor. There has been some ear pain and terrible headaches, but I did go to church this week and to Bible study and the grocery store yesterday. So although I am sleeping a lot, I am getting some things done. Thank you for praying for my ears. It is such a small thing in the scheme of things. A chance for me to learn patience.
My colonoscopy went well. They are right that the prep is worse than the procedure. I had one pollop (sp?) and a lot of pockets which were not too deep. I should find out tomorrow the pathology on the pollop, but my experience is that when it is bad, they call you sooner. So I am not concerned about it.
On Monday I also saw my Integrative Medicine doctor. Dr. Valley is fantastic. Very smart and kind and is helping me with supplements and with my cholesterol, etc. One medication I am on for the rest of my life (Femara) is causing it to go up. I take that to help me avoid further cancer. But it has the side effect of bone density loss and increased cholesterol. Anyway, Dr. Valley ordered some blood work that he reviewed with me. My liver is doing better so I am now allowed to do my candida diet for a few months.
I have a yeast overgrowth in my body called candida. Lots of you know what that is, but I will tell you a little about it just in case. I also had this 3 years ago and got rid of it by doing a special diet and taking an antifungal for a few months. Cancer treatment in '06 included steroids for anti-nausea and antibiotics and chemo, etc., that allow candida/yeast to flourish. So I have known I had it again since before we moved lat summer, but my liver wasn't doing well enough to handle flushing out the candida when it dies. It is a strain on the liver to do that. Now that my liver numbers are better, Dr. Valley gave me the go-ahead. This might also help to lower my cholesterol. It did the last time. Last time I also lost 25 lbs. doing the candida cleansing. I don't need to loose much this time, but hope I will feel better when I am done. I have been very tired since my last cancer episode.
Tomorrow I see my oncologist for a check up. Greg might be able to come with me and meet Dr. Sienko, as the oncology office is a few hundred yards from the Partners International office. My physical therapist (for my shoulder which is doing great by the way), chiropractor, Dr. Valley, and my internist, all want Dr. Sienko to find out why my right side is hurting. A place on one of my ribs hurts when palpated, and also when I move certain ways. I used to get a stabbing pain once in a while, and I thought maybe my rib was out of joint or something, but it has gotten more frequent and has been hurting more and more. Now it is every day, almost all day. The oncologist's rule I learned almost 9 years ago is, "If something hurts and gets worse and not better in 2 weeks, come and see me."
You can guess where my head goes when that happens. I try to steer it away from the idea of cancer. Bones is one of the places breast cancer metastasizes to. But then I remember that the Lord is the author of my days, and He gives me peace when I remember that each day any of us has here on earth is a gift from Him. This life is so brief in the scope of eternity. But I do want to be totally His each day and not worry about what might be coming in the future. It could be something other than cancer that is not serious. God can heal it. But since I have had cancer twice, I sometimes wonder if that battle is looming again around the corner. If the worst that can happen is starting my stint with Him in eternity, then there is NOTHING to worry about!
So you can join me in prayer. Let's pray for God's perfect will, and for healing for my ears, sinuses and right side. And wisdom for Dr. Sienko. He might order a scan. Much of my prayer is also praise for the wonderful friends He has brought into my life. I am so very blessed, with amazing kids and a great husband and church and neighbors and Partners...I could go on all night, but I think I need to sleep. I am grateful for you too. Any and all who read this.
By the way, Erin, who we bought this house from, commented on my last blog entry that she saw 2 moose that day hanging out by her house. Pretty cool.
Blessings- Nancy
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Isaw a moose with my own eyes!
Dear friends,
On Valentine's Day, Greg and I drove the loop down by the Little Spokane River just to see deer and maybe a moose. It was the end of the afternoon. Greg saw some cars pulled over so we went to investigate. And there it sat! A full fledged moose. There was a fence between us and it was sitting down, so we got to watch it for a while without having to worry about it coming closer. Greg said they have lost their antlers already, so we don't know if it was a male or female. Exciting for me! It was on my list of things to see in my life.
I am up early because I have a pretty bad earache in my right ear. I have done all the suggestions on web md, and the pain has decreased a little. I have had a sick week. Very sore throat on Monday, then to my sinuses, then all that and my left ear closed up, a cough joined the lineup and now my right ear hurt a lot! I was hoping to go to church, but we will have to see.
My surgeon called to tell me that the MRI matched the ultrasound and that there appears to be no cancer in the new scar tissue on my left side. So I will see her again in six months unless something else comes up. That is a praise. My cancer looks just like scar tissue, but it would have extra blood supply if it were cancer, and that just wasn't there.
I am scheduled for a colonoscopy on Thusday, so I have adjusted my diet for that for the next few days. Greg had one last week and was totally clear. He turns 50 today and I am feeling sad that I am sick on his birthday. We were going to go look around at Cabella's which just opened near here. He had a big celebration at the office for his 50th. All sorts of 50 jokes and black balloons, etc. I will post some pictures later.
Well, I think I might be able to get to sleep now, so I will say goodnight. Blessings- Nancy
On Valentine's Day, Greg and I drove the loop down by the Little Spokane River just to see deer and maybe a moose. It was the end of the afternoon. Greg saw some cars pulled over so we went to investigate. And there it sat! A full fledged moose. There was a fence between us and it was sitting down, so we got to watch it for a while without having to worry about it coming closer. Greg said they have lost their antlers already, so we don't know if it was a male or female. Exciting for me! It was on my list of things to see in my life.
I am up early because I have a pretty bad earache in my right ear. I have done all the suggestions on web md, and the pain has decreased a little. I have had a sick week. Very sore throat on Monday, then to my sinuses, then all that and my left ear closed up, a cough joined the lineup and now my right ear hurt a lot! I was hoping to go to church, but we will have to see.
My surgeon called to tell me that the MRI matched the ultrasound and that there appears to be no cancer in the new scar tissue on my left side. So I will see her again in six months unless something else comes up. That is a praise. My cancer looks just like scar tissue, but it would have extra blood supply if it were cancer, and that just wasn't there.
I am scheduled for a colonoscopy on Thusday, so I have adjusted my diet for that for the next few days. Greg had one last week and was totally clear. He turns 50 today and I am feeling sad that I am sick on his birthday. We were going to go look around at Cabella's which just opened near here. He had a big celebration at the office for his 50th. All sorts of 50 jokes and black balloons, etc. I will post some pictures later.
Well, I think I might be able to get to sleep now, so I will say goodnight. Blessings- Nancy
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
A moose on our street!
Dear friends,
On Saturday when Greg went out to clear snow and ice away from drains with the neighbors, he spotted moose tracks! 6-7 inches long. They went up the side of the street and around the corner and up the next street. One of my goals is to see a moose in person, and although I didn't see it, I am closer to my goal than I was a week ago. There is so much snow in the mountains that they are coming down into populated areas more than normal this year. My friends know to call me if they see one so I can possibly get a glimpse.
The last time I wrote we had just gotten to Orlando for the Call2All Congress. The congress was very inspirational. The worship was excellent and we enjoyed fellowship with pastors and mission leaders from around the world, as well as a few former co-workers and friends. It was so great for Greg to be there to represent Partners in that setting. He was able to share what Partners is doing in the least reached parts of the world with indigenous ministries. As agencies were strategizing ways to get the last 600+ groups reached, it was good for Greg to be able to offer information about what our partner ministries might already be doing amoung these groups.
The schedule was demanding and we stayed 40-60 minutes away, so I got pretty tired. I felt sick on Thursday that week and actually took a 2 hour nap on 4 seats up in the balcony of Northland Church while Greg attended a round table discussion. We saw a preview showing of the Ben Stein movie called Expelled. It was very powerful. Ben Stein was actually there. It is being released by the same company that did The Passion. It will be relased in theaters in April. Also, we heard about a new website about to be debuted called YahWay. It is similar to Yahoo but being done by Christians.
After the conference we visited Greg's Uncle Fred and Aunt Beth who have a winter home in The Villages north west of Orlando. Allison was able to meet us and we had a relaxing time with them and her until we left for home at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday the 3rd. Jesse ended up having the entire week off from school because of snow and had a great time with Andrew and his friends.
Allison is in the home stretch and graduation is April 27th at Southeastern. Her student teaching is in full gear. Greg and I hope to go for her graduation. Thank you for praying for her and our other kids.
I have had some medical check ups. My hysterectomy/rectocele has healed well, but she told me to be careful of lifting and to avoid it when I can for the rest of my life. Also, now that my rectum is back where it is supposed to be, my bladder is decending into the viod where my rectum was. I am not planning to do anything about that, and so far it isn't a problem.
I had an ultrasound last week to check the scar tissue on my left side. It is new since last May and is from radiation. I learned that it usually grows for about 1 1/2 years and then stops. It has been 13 1/2 months since I finished radiation. I also learned that if there were cancer in my scar tissue, there would be an active blood supply there. The ultrasound indicated that it is just scar tissue, but my surgical oncologist also wanted me to have an MRI to make sure the ultrasound picked up everything. If after comparing them, the ultrasound showed everything, next time she can check it with just the ultrasound which is much cheaper. I had the MRI yesterday.
The MRI people had me positioned like Superman flying for 40 minutes which has made my shoulder sore. But I am sure that is just temporary. My shoulder is doing well and after PT next week, I am going to be able to finish my therapy at home. My range is good, but I just need to strengthen my shoulder for over the head reaching. I forget a lot of days that I even had my shoulder fixed.
I will see my oncologist later this month. I tried going off my Femara for two weeks to see if I would feel less achy. There was no change, so I am back on Femara and my oncologist will have to see if he can figure out what is going on. I had blood work done which will hopefully give him some clues. My integrative medicine doctor and breast surgeon are also planning to see me in the next few weeks. I would appreciate your prayers for me to have pereverence. Greg and I were talking over the weekend and when thinking about it, I couldn't think of the last time I felt good. I feel like I got hit by a truck most days. We are tired of all the doctor visits, and would love to turn the corner from that...for me to feel good and have energy again. I have a bad sore throat today and spent the day resting.
Greg turns 50 on Sunday. He got Geritol outside his office yesterday and a deck of "Uh Oh, Five O!" cards today. The staff are having fun teasing him! He is such an amazing guy. It is an honor to be his wife. This summer it will be 25 years. I remember his 25th birthday back in Pasadena.
I need to get to sleep, but know that it was important to get this done today as I haven't written for 2 weeks. God bless you! I will write soon and let you know how the MRI results come out.
Blessings- Nancy
On Saturday when Greg went out to clear snow and ice away from drains with the neighbors, he spotted moose tracks! 6-7 inches long. They went up the side of the street and around the corner and up the next street. One of my goals is to see a moose in person, and although I didn't see it, I am closer to my goal than I was a week ago. There is so much snow in the mountains that they are coming down into populated areas more than normal this year. My friends know to call me if they see one so I can possibly get a glimpse.
The last time I wrote we had just gotten to Orlando for the Call2All Congress. The congress was very inspirational. The worship was excellent and we enjoyed fellowship with pastors and mission leaders from around the world, as well as a few former co-workers and friends. It was so great for Greg to be there to represent Partners in that setting. He was able to share what Partners is doing in the least reached parts of the world with indigenous ministries. As agencies were strategizing ways to get the last 600+ groups reached, it was good for Greg to be able to offer information about what our partner ministries might already be doing amoung these groups.
The schedule was demanding and we stayed 40-60 minutes away, so I got pretty tired. I felt sick on Thursday that week and actually took a 2 hour nap on 4 seats up in the balcony of Northland Church while Greg attended a round table discussion. We saw a preview showing of the Ben Stein movie called Expelled. It was very powerful. Ben Stein was actually there. It is being released by the same company that did The Passion. It will be relased in theaters in April. Also, we heard about a new website about to be debuted called YahWay. It is similar to Yahoo but being done by Christians.
After the conference we visited Greg's Uncle Fred and Aunt Beth who have a winter home in The Villages north west of Orlando. Allison was able to meet us and we had a relaxing time with them and her until we left for home at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday the 3rd. Jesse ended up having the entire week off from school because of snow and had a great time with Andrew and his friends.
Allison is in the home stretch and graduation is April 27th at Southeastern. Her student teaching is in full gear. Greg and I hope to go for her graduation. Thank you for praying for her and our other kids.
I have had some medical check ups. My hysterectomy/rectocele has healed well, but she told me to be careful of lifting and to avoid it when I can for the rest of my life. Also, now that my rectum is back where it is supposed to be, my bladder is decending into the viod where my rectum was. I am not planning to do anything about that, and so far it isn't a problem.
I had an ultrasound last week to check the scar tissue on my left side. It is new since last May and is from radiation. I learned that it usually grows for about 1 1/2 years and then stops. It has been 13 1/2 months since I finished radiation. I also learned that if there were cancer in my scar tissue, there would be an active blood supply there. The ultrasound indicated that it is just scar tissue, but my surgical oncologist also wanted me to have an MRI to make sure the ultrasound picked up everything. If after comparing them, the ultrasound showed everything, next time she can check it with just the ultrasound which is much cheaper. I had the MRI yesterday.
The MRI people had me positioned like Superman flying for 40 minutes which has made my shoulder sore. But I am sure that is just temporary. My shoulder is doing well and after PT next week, I am going to be able to finish my therapy at home. My range is good, but I just need to strengthen my shoulder for over the head reaching. I forget a lot of days that I even had my shoulder fixed.
I will see my oncologist later this month. I tried going off my Femara for two weeks to see if I would feel less achy. There was no change, so I am back on Femara and my oncologist will have to see if he can figure out what is going on. I had blood work done which will hopefully give him some clues. My integrative medicine doctor and breast surgeon are also planning to see me in the next few weeks. I would appreciate your prayers for me to have pereverence. Greg and I were talking over the weekend and when thinking about it, I couldn't think of the last time I felt good. I feel like I got hit by a truck most days. We are tired of all the doctor visits, and would love to turn the corner from that...for me to feel good and have energy again. I have a bad sore throat today and spent the day resting.
Greg turns 50 on Sunday. He got Geritol outside his office yesterday and a deck of "Uh Oh, Five O!" cards today. The staff are having fun teasing him! He is such an amazing guy. It is an honor to be his wife. This summer it will be 25 years. I remember his 25th birthday back in Pasadena.
I need to get to sleep, but know that it was important to get this done today as I haven't written for 2 weeks. God bless you! I will write soon and let you know how the MRI results come out.
Blessings- Nancy
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
I'm in Florida with Greg!
Dear friends,
We are sitting in Northside Church in Orlando, Florida betting ready for the Call2All Congress to begin in an hour. Greg's boss, Jon Lewis, sent him here to network for Partners International. This circle of folks are those Greg knows from his years working at Caleb Project. Already we have met several we know as we have been registering. It is good for Greg to be here with his Partners International "hat" on.
Why am I here? Well, Greg had some frequent flyer miles stored up from days gone by, and we thought it would be good for me to come to the conference with him to help him network, and also Allison goes to college 1 hour from here. So, on Sunday we got on a plane and waited 2 hours for it to be de-iced and the runway plowed, so that we could take off from snowy Spokane. We flew through O'Hare and earned 2 tickets by volunteering to be bumped to a later flight. So we arrived in Orlando at 10 p.m., picked up our rental car and headed to the north side of the city to stay with the parents of one of Allison's college friends- the Gingerich's.
We had lunch with Rhonda and Phil Gingerich yesterday and talked as fast as we could for 3 hours and kept finding new points of contact. One of the last questions Phil asked Greg was,"Have you ever heard of Bobby Clinton?" If you have any history with us you know that Greg has been mentored by Bobby and got his doctorate under Bobby at Fuller Seminary. Anyway, we felt like before even coming to this conference, we had already made a profound connection with the Gingerich's that I am sure will lead to further contact. It is so exciting when God does these amazing divine appointments between His people!
We left Jesse in Spokane with one of his youth group leaders who is a Whitworth Univ. student. Then we got word that there continued to be so much snow that both Jesse's school and Whitworth were closed on Monday. Spokane is expecting another 18 inches this week. I am thinking that as I sit in sunny Florida, I made the right move in leaving Spokane this week! Everyone is telling us that the snow this year is more than it has been for a decade. I do enjoy wearing sandles and a sweater rather than dressing for sub-freezing temperatures. Thank you Lord!
Yesterday we got a chance to see Allison after she got done with student teaching and took her and her roommates to dinner. She showed us her apartment and the updated campus at Southeastern. In a few months she will be a graduate! And Allison gives fantastic hugs to her Mama, which I enjoyed totally! At the end of the evening, we swung by and visited my Uncle Jack and Aunt Mary. It was nice to say hello and share a few hugs with them as well. We plan to be with Allison Friday and Saturday when we visit with Fred and Beth Baker.
Greg is better from the flu he had with only a little cough and a persistant problem with his eyes. It held on a long time. His pink eye seems to be lingering in both eyes, so after more than 2 weeks we are wondering if he needs to keep using the drops or not. He helped me build shelves in the basement last weekend which really excites me. I have been able to set up my sewing area at long last! We also got the basement future family room area set up with couches and our movie viewing equipment. Before leaving for college, Jenni helped me staple fabric to the wall framing that was already there, so it looks like a room with walls. So nice to have that done! Jesse had friends over for the first time, and I think they will be back now that they know they can come over for movies.
Healthwise, I appreciate your continued prayers. I am 10 days into my 2-week test of not using Femara (a Tamoxifen type of med for those of you who know what that is) to see if it is what is causing my body aches and pains. If I am still hurting at the end of two weeks I will resume the medication, and we will do some tests to find out why. If I do feel better, we will switch the medication to another and hope for fewer side effects. I have a few constant aches in bones and muscles that could be something serious. My posture is still to not borrow tomorrow's trouble. But my mind does wonder about my mortality at times like this. Will I be here a year from now, and if not, how should I be using these days? I might be fine, but I might have to start another battle with cancer. I know all too well what that means. I'm sure you can imagine what I am thinking and can pray accordingly. I appreciate your prayers for my Heavenly Father's most perfect plan for my life. He is the author of the book of all of our lives, right? Thanks.
So I need to wait and see. I have a few appointments when I get home next Monday that should help me figure it out. I am very sore where my rectocele repair was done, and I am hoping that nothing is going wrong with that. I'm sure I have lifted more than I was supposed to at some point, although I have been trying to be good. I will see that surgeon on Monday when I get back. My shoulder is doing very well, and doesn't even hurt enough for me to remember I had it fixed most of the time. I am faithful with my exercises and am getting great reports from the surgeon and PT.
Greg and I have been talking finances a lot since we have the tenants so far behind on their rent. We have decided to either rent it to someone else, or to sell it. They are moving out Feb 14th and will still owe us the back rent. If we sell it, or rent to own it, that would be the best for us. Otherwise, I probably need to get at least a part time job to make ends meet. Honestly I feel too tired to do that now, but I am trusting that it will all work out. We would appreciate your prayers for this. If you know anyone who would want to rent or buy the house next to the one we lived in, let Greg know. 509-990-8479. It is 785 Nothridge Rd. Highlands Ranch, CO 80126.
Meanwhile, this conference is beginning to happen around me. I am hearing accents from around the world, and am starting to see people even I know! 3000 people attending from all over the world. A taste of heaven! And all here share a heart for world evangelization and pray. May the Lord do amazing things through this gathering! I'll sign off for now. Thank you so very much for your love and prayers. It is surreal for me to think about anyone reading what I write on these blog entries, but some of you tell me that you read them faithfully, so I will keep thm coming.
Blessings on your day! Nancy Fritz
We are sitting in Northside Church in Orlando, Florida betting ready for the Call2All Congress to begin in an hour. Greg's boss, Jon Lewis, sent him here to network for Partners International. This circle of folks are those Greg knows from his years working at Caleb Project. Already we have met several we know as we have been registering. It is good for Greg to be here with his Partners International "hat" on.
Why am I here? Well, Greg had some frequent flyer miles stored up from days gone by, and we thought it would be good for me to come to the conference with him to help him network, and also Allison goes to college 1 hour from here. So, on Sunday we got on a plane and waited 2 hours for it to be de-iced and the runway plowed, so that we could take off from snowy Spokane. We flew through O'Hare and earned 2 tickets by volunteering to be bumped to a later flight. So we arrived in Orlando at 10 p.m., picked up our rental car and headed to the north side of the city to stay with the parents of one of Allison's college friends- the Gingerich's.
We had lunch with Rhonda and Phil Gingerich yesterday and talked as fast as we could for 3 hours and kept finding new points of contact. One of the last questions Phil asked Greg was,"Have you ever heard of Bobby Clinton?" If you have any history with us you know that Greg has been mentored by Bobby and got his doctorate under Bobby at Fuller Seminary. Anyway, we felt like before even coming to this conference, we had already made a profound connection with the Gingerich's that I am sure will lead to further contact. It is so exciting when God does these amazing divine appointments between His people!
We left Jesse in Spokane with one of his youth group leaders who is a Whitworth Univ. student. Then we got word that there continued to be so much snow that both Jesse's school and Whitworth were closed on Monday. Spokane is expecting another 18 inches this week. I am thinking that as I sit in sunny Florida, I made the right move in leaving Spokane this week! Everyone is telling us that the snow this year is more than it has been for a decade. I do enjoy wearing sandles and a sweater rather than dressing for sub-freezing temperatures. Thank you Lord!
Yesterday we got a chance to see Allison after she got done with student teaching and took her and her roommates to dinner. She showed us her apartment and the updated campus at Southeastern. In a few months she will be a graduate! And Allison gives fantastic hugs to her Mama, which I enjoyed totally! At the end of the evening, we swung by and visited my Uncle Jack and Aunt Mary. It was nice to say hello and share a few hugs with them as well. We plan to be with Allison Friday and Saturday when we visit with Fred and Beth Baker.
Greg is better from the flu he had with only a little cough and a persistant problem with his eyes. It held on a long time. His pink eye seems to be lingering in both eyes, so after more than 2 weeks we are wondering if he needs to keep using the drops or not. He helped me build shelves in the basement last weekend which really excites me. I have been able to set up my sewing area at long last! We also got the basement future family room area set up with couches and our movie viewing equipment. Before leaving for college, Jenni helped me staple fabric to the wall framing that was already there, so it looks like a room with walls. So nice to have that done! Jesse had friends over for the first time, and I think they will be back now that they know they can come over for movies.
Healthwise, I appreciate your continued prayers. I am 10 days into my 2-week test of not using Femara (a Tamoxifen type of med for those of you who know what that is) to see if it is what is causing my body aches and pains. If I am still hurting at the end of two weeks I will resume the medication, and we will do some tests to find out why. If I do feel better, we will switch the medication to another and hope for fewer side effects. I have a few constant aches in bones and muscles that could be something serious. My posture is still to not borrow tomorrow's trouble. But my mind does wonder about my mortality at times like this. Will I be here a year from now, and if not, how should I be using these days? I might be fine, but I might have to start another battle with cancer. I know all too well what that means. I'm sure you can imagine what I am thinking and can pray accordingly. I appreciate your prayers for my Heavenly Father's most perfect plan for my life. He is the author of the book of all of our lives, right? Thanks.
So I need to wait and see. I have a few appointments when I get home next Monday that should help me figure it out. I am very sore where my rectocele repair was done, and I am hoping that nothing is going wrong with that. I'm sure I have lifted more than I was supposed to at some point, although I have been trying to be good. I will see that surgeon on Monday when I get back. My shoulder is doing very well, and doesn't even hurt enough for me to remember I had it fixed most of the time. I am faithful with my exercises and am getting great reports from the surgeon and PT.
Greg and I have been talking finances a lot since we have the tenants so far behind on their rent. We have decided to either rent it to someone else, or to sell it. They are moving out Feb 14th and will still owe us the back rent. If we sell it, or rent to own it, that would be the best for us. Otherwise, I probably need to get at least a part time job to make ends meet. Honestly I feel too tired to do that now, but I am trusting that it will all work out. We would appreciate your prayers for this. If you know anyone who would want to rent or buy the house next to the one we lived in, let Greg know. 509-990-8479. It is 785 Nothridge Rd. Highlands Ranch, CO 80126.
Meanwhile, this conference is beginning to happen around me. I am hearing accents from around the world, and am starting to see people even I know! 3000 people attending from all over the world. A taste of heaven! And all here share a heart for world evangelization and pray. May the Lord do amazing things through this gathering! I'll sign off for now. Thank you so very much for your love and prayers. It is surreal for me to think about anyone reading what I write on these blog entries, but some of you tell me that you read them faithfully, so I will keep thm coming.
Blessings on your day! Nancy Fritz
Friday, January 18, 2008
Taking care of the sick ones!
Dear friends,
It has been a very interesting week. Greg began getting a very sore throat on Thursday last week. I gave him all of my home remedies and teas and Airborne, etc. He still got sick. It turned into a messy case of pink eye and his eye swelled shut. Now he is on meds for that and has added in a cough. He is sleeping better now that we have cough syrup for him. Others at the office have been dealing with this for weeks, so we are praying and hoping it gets better more quickly than that.
Last Thursday Jenni got her wisdom teeth out- fortunately only 3. So I was on the end of bringing someone home from surgery instead of being the one brought home. It is hard work caring for someone. Jenni has done well and began eating less soft food yesterday, and moved back toward a more normal diet. That is very helpful. I was running out of soft ideas!
Then on Tuesday I signed up to take a meal to a person in Greg's department who broke her ankle and had to have surgery on it. I was so excited to take food to someone like others had brought food to us those dozens of times. So I got it cooked and set out to deliver it to their house about 15 minutes from here. I had directions and a flashlight to be able to see them, and knew generally where I was going. Well...
In the dark, the road turned, a bus was ahead of me, lanes shifted to the right, but because of the snow and me making sure the bus had plenty of room, all of a sudden, "BOOM!" I had hit the curb in the median that started there. I knew the tire was blown- at least the front left one, maybe both left ones. Also the windshield cracked from top to bottom. I limped to where I could pull off, called Greg and the kids who came with the truck to help me. Remember that Greg is sick and it is 20 degrees outside. So he got the idea to take the tire off and go to Costco, not too far away and get a new tire. We did that and since we had gotten the tire from there initially, we got a new one for $47. They put it on the bent wheel and we drove the car home after going back to where we'd left it and putting the new tire on. Ironically 2 strange noises the car was making have stopped since. When we can afford it we will get a new wheel and the alignment checked. It is a praise that I didn't get hurt or hit anyone or anything else. I got to deliver the meal while my family got the tire off. And hopefully I didn't total the car. We will know more of the story after getting the car checked all over.
I have a prayer request. We have chosen to put our retirement money into rental property in Denver. One of our renters is $6500 behind on rent and we would like to invite you to join us in praying that they can get caught up with their rent so they won't have to move. This situation is making it hard for us to pay our bills for the first time in our lives. They asked for prayer for a job interview for the husband. He has been out of a job for several months. He interviews possibly today. It would be fantastic for him to find something so they can get caught up. Thanks for praying for David.
Also, I saw breast surgeon Dr. Stephanie Moline today. She was absolutely excellent. She is having me try going off one of my meds for 2 weeks to see if all my joint pain lets up. I have been so sore that getting up and moving just hurts all the time. I began to wonder if there is bone cancer happening or something like that. Switching meds is much easier than checking for bone cancer and I think that is a great idea. Bone achiness is one of the side effects for some people.
And she said with an MRI she can tell if what I have going on my left chest wall is scar tissue or not, as there is a blood supply with cancer and not with scar tissue. And she has the same kind of test results from Denver so she can compare. She spent 45 minutes with me and talked clearly and told me enough for me to know that she totally understands my situation with the kind of cancer I had (twice) and that it is hard to track and doesn't make a lump- it spreads. So she was very smart and thinking clearly and also was good at listening and asking and answering questions. I felt that I was given a gift to be given her as my breast surgeon referral. She will do the MRI sometime soon. If things look clear of cancer, she will just keep short tabs on me. She said she had been looking forward to meeting me after talking to my oncologist so she could see the questionable lumpiness for herself. Once she examined it, she totally understood why we are concerned about it. Something about having a woman breast surgeon makes the communication easier for me. At least this one and the one I had in Denver have both been excellent matches for me. I am thanking God for this connection. She really did understand that the last thing I want to do is another surgery after so many last year. I am glad she has ideas to try before doing that.
But she will be honest with me too, however the test results come out.
I saw a few doctors last week too. I was screen for skin cancer and that was an "all clear." I saw my shoulder surgeon for a followup and he I am doing extremely well. He is encouraged and will check in with me again in a few more months. My physical therapist has me coming one time a week now and I do about 1 1/2 workouts a day at home. I had to back off some because I was hurting myself by exercising too much. Now we seem to have a good balance. I am steadily getting strength back in my shoulder.
I also saw my integrative medicine doctor. He went over bloodwork I had done in December. It shows some things going on with my liver that could indicate trouble, so we are going to recheck those liver numbers toward the end of February to see if they have changed. Want to hear some thing exciting? From Sept. to Dec., my colesterol went from 313 to 212! He asked me what I had done, but I really haven't changed anything. Stress is the biggest factor that has decreased that we can think of. So you can join me in praying for those labs to improve in the next several weeks. Thanks.
I hope you are having a great 2008 so far. I am finally getting into the habit of writing '08 on things. I hope you have more sun than we do here. Jenni is getting tired of it. She goes back to Grove City on Sunday. She just got a letter congratulating her for making the Dean's List for having above a 3.75. So she is pretty happy about that.
Well, this is much too long, so thank you for hanging in there is you got all the way to here! God bless you ! Nancy Fritz
It has been a very interesting week. Greg began getting a very sore throat on Thursday last week. I gave him all of my home remedies and teas and Airborne, etc. He still got sick. It turned into a messy case of pink eye and his eye swelled shut. Now he is on meds for that and has added in a cough. He is sleeping better now that we have cough syrup for him. Others at the office have been dealing with this for weeks, so we are praying and hoping it gets better more quickly than that.
Last Thursday Jenni got her wisdom teeth out- fortunately only 3. So I was on the end of bringing someone home from surgery instead of being the one brought home. It is hard work caring for someone. Jenni has done well and began eating less soft food yesterday, and moved back toward a more normal diet. That is very helpful. I was running out of soft ideas!
Then on Tuesday I signed up to take a meal to a person in Greg's department who broke her ankle and had to have surgery on it. I was so excited to take food to someone like others had brought food to us those dozens of times. So I got it cooked and set out to deliver it to their house about 15 minutes from here. I had directions and a flashlight to be able to see them, and knew generally where I was going. Well...
In the dark, the road turned, a bus was ahead of me, lanes shifted to the right, but because of the snow and me making sure the bus had plenty of room, all of a sudden, "BOOM!" I had hit the curb in the median that started there. I knew the tire was blown- at least the front left one, maybe both left ones. Also the windshield cracked from top to bottom. I limped to where I could pull off, called Greg and the kids who came with the truck to help me. Remember that Greg is sick and it is 20 degrees outside. So he got the idea to take the tire off and go to Costco, not too far away and get a new tire. We did that and since we had gotten the tire from there initially, we got a new one for $47. They put it on the bent wheel and we drove the car home after going back to where we'd left it and putting the new tire on. Ironically 2 strange noises the car was making have stopped since. When we can afford it we will get a new wheel and the alignment checked. It is a praise that I didn't get hurt or hit anyone or anything else. I got to deliver the meal while my family got the tire off. And hopefully I didn't total the car. We will know more of the story after getting the car checked all over.
I have a prayer request. We have chosen to put our retirement money into rental property in Denver. One of our renters is $6500 behind on rent and we would like to invite you to join us in praying that they can get caught up with their rent so they won't have to move. This situation is making it hard for us to pay our bills for the first time in our lives. They asked for prayer for a job interview for the husband. He has been out of a job for several months. He interviews possibly today. It would be fantastic for him to find something so they can get caught up. Thanks for praying for David.
Also, I saw breast surgeon Dr. Stephanie Moline today. She was absolutely excellent. She is having me try going off one of my meds for 2 weeks to see if all my joint pain lets up. I have been so sore that getting up and moving just hurts all the time. I began to wonder if there is bone cancer happening or something like that. Switching meds is much easier than checking for bone cancer and I think that is a great idea. Bone achiness is one of the side effects for some people.
And she said with an MRI she can tell if what I have going on my left chest wall is scar tissue or not, as there is a blood supply with cancer and not with scar tissue. And she has the same kind of test results from Denver so she can compare. She spent 45 minutes with me and talked clearly and told me enough for me to know that she totally understands my situation with the kind of cancer I had (twice) and that it is hard to track and doesn't make a lump- it spreads. So she was very smart and thinking clearly and also was good at listening and asking and answering questions. I felt that I was given a gift to be given her as my breast surgeon referral. She will do the MRI sometime soon. If things look clear of cancer, she will just keep short tabs on me. She said she had been looking forward to meeting me after talking to my oncologist so she could see the questionable lumpiness for herself. Once she examined it, she totally understood why we are concerned about it. Something about having a woman breast surgeon makes the communication easier for me. At least this one and the one I had in Denver have both been excellent matches for me. I am thanking God for this connection. She really did understand that the last thing I want to do is another surgery after so many last year. I am glad she has ideas to try before doing that.
But she will be honest with me too, however the test results come out.
I saw a few doctors last week too. I was screen for skin cancer and that was an "all clear." I saw my shoulder surgeon for a followup and he I am doing extremely well. He is encouraged and will check in with me again in a few more months. My physical therapist has me coming one time a week now and I do about 1 1/2 workouts a day at home. I had to back off some because I was hurting myself by exercising too much. Now we seem to have a good balance. I am steadily getting strength back in my shoulder.
I also saw my integrative medicine doctor. He went over bloodwork I had done in December. It shows some things going on with my liver that could indicate trouble, so we are going to recheck those liver numbers toward the end of February to see if they have changed. Want to hear some thing exciting? From Sept. to Dec., my colesterol went from 313 to 212! He asked me what I had done, but I really haven't changed anything. Stress is the biggest factor that has decreased that we can think of. So you can join me in praying for those labs to improve in the next several weeks. Thanks.
I hope you are having a great 2008 so far. I am finally getting into the habit of writing '08 on things. I hope you have more sun than we do here. Jenni is getting tired of it. She goes back to Grove City on Sunday. She just got a letter congratulating her for making the Dean's List for having above a 3.75. So she is pretty happy about that.
Well, this is much too long, so thank you for hanging in there is you got all the way to here! God bless you ! Nancy Fritz
Monday, January 07, 2008
I'm in Colorado!
Dear friends,
I am sitting at my friend's computer in Highlands Ranch Colorado. I came to visit our church in Denver for the weekend to do a missions presentation to the Bible Blast Sunday School class. The church brought me here to meet with the class and do one of the 3 lessons a year I used to do with them. I got to teach 120 kids yesterday about the Dalits or "Untouchables" of India.
I had a hard time with the curriculum writing for this one, and a friend from formerly Caleb Project and now Pioneers, shared some curriculum she had written that dovetailed wonderfully with the points I wanted to cover. So thank you! to Karen Hardin. I took the statistics she had written up and blended them with specific information about the Dalits. One thing we did was to collect a large number of items to put into a simulated trash dump. Our trash was of course very clean and had lots of potential. We had the kids try to make up toys or games using the things they found in the trash pile. 25% of the kids were assigned to be upper caste, and they had to play with ready made games. We also gave them clean water and the Dalit kids had to drink water with vinegar and food coloring to make it look dirty. The morning went very well. We took out our 18' x 36' map of the world out and did the "Global Cookies" demo. It shows how unevenly the food in the world is distributed. Most graphic is Asia with 12 kids and 1 cookie to share, and North America with 1 person and 9 cookies. The kids got a chance to understand poverty and I think the Lord was there and that it really sunk in for them. Their prayers at the end reflected that. I did this for 2 hours with several adults helping.
I gave the class a little stuffed moose with "Washington" written on it and a piece of paper stapled between his antlers that says, "Pray for the Fritz Family." So, all this is to say that when I was feeling overwhelmed with this task, the Lord showed up and in my weakness His strength was obvious. The first hour a little 6 or 7 year old named Aaron raised his hand to tell me, "I really want to travel a lot to tell people about Jesus' love for them so they can know him in their heart." It was all I could do not to cry. He was extremely humble about saying this and when I told the kids that some children die from the effects of unclean water, like diareah, he raised his hand and asked if you could really die of that. The kids were amazed. So pray with me that what they learned sticks with them and that they remember to pray for the Dalits.
I go home tomorrow and plan to put away Christmas. Our visit with Heng Hua was absolutely fantastic! We love you Heng Hua! Several days after Heng Hua left, our dear friend Deb Sanders came to visit. We had lots of fun with her too. She and I especially had fun on New Year's Eve watching the Sound of Music while Greg, Jesse, Jenni and Allison went to downtown Spokane for a special celebration. They had fun together too. Jenni remains home until the 20th, and gets her wisdom teeth removed this Thursday. She got fantastic grades her first semester of mechanical engineering and is enjoying it. Allison started student teaching 1st grade on Thursday and I think it is safe to assume that she had been elevated to a level just below God in the eyes of those little cuties. They say very cute things and the first day asked if she could eat lunch with them and that she had pretty shoes.
I also saw my oncologist for a check up and he is sending me to meet a surgeon so she can monitor the scar tissue growing again where I had radiation. I met my new internist and he is just right for me. He also happens to go to our church and know someone at Partners International where Greg/we work. This week I have several medical appointments when I get home and I'll let you know if anything turns up.
God bless you today! Nancy Fritz
I am sitting at my friend's computer in Highlands Ranch Colorado. I came to visit our church in Denver for the weekend to do a missions presentation to the Bible Blast Sunday School class. The church brought me here to meet with the class and do one of the 3 lessons a year I used to do with them. I got to teach 120 kids yesterday about the Dalits or "Untouchables" of India.
I had a hard time with the curriculum writing for this one, and a friend from formerly Caleb Project and now Pioneers, shared some curriculum she had written that dovetailed wonderfully with the points I wanted to cover. So thank you! to Karen Hardin. I took the statistics she had written up and blended them with specific information about the Dalits. One thing we did was to collect a large number of items to put into a simulated trash dump. Our trash was of course very clean and had lots of potential. We had the kids try to make up toys or games using the things they found in the trash pile. 25% of the kids were assigned to be upper caste, and they had to play with ready made games. We also gave them clean water and the Dalit kids had to drink water with vinegar and food coloring to make it look dirty. The morning went very well. We took out our 18' x 36' map of the world out and did the "Global Cookies" demo. It shows how unevenly the food in the world is distributed. Most graphic is Asia with 12 kids and 1 cookie to share, and North America with 1 person and 9 cookies. The kids got a chance to understand poverty and I think the Lord was there and that it really sunk in for them. Their prayers at the end reflected that. I did this for 2 hours with several adults helping.
I gave the class a little stuffed moose with "Washington" written on it and a piece of paper stapled between his antlers that says, "Pray for the Fritz Family." So, all this is to say that when I was feeling overwhelmed with this task, the Lord showed up and in my weakness His strength was obvious. The first hour a little 6 or 7 year old named Aaron raised his hand to tell me, "I really want to travel a lot to tell people about Jesus' love for them so they can know him in their heart." It was all I could do not to cry. He was extremely humble about saying this and when I told the kids that some children die from the effects of unclean water, like diareah, he raised his hand and asked if you could really die of that. The kids were amazed. So pray with me that what they learned sticks with them and that they remember to pray for the Dalits.
I go home tomorrow and plan to put away Christmas. Our visit with Heng Hua was absolutely fantastic! We love you Heng Hua! Several days after Heng Hua left, our dear friend Deb Sanders came to visit. We had lots of fun with her too. She and I especially had fun on New Year's Eve watching the Sound of Music while Greg, Jesse, Jenni and Allison went to downtown Spokane for a special celebration. They had fun together too. Jenni remains home until the 20th, and gets her wisdom teeth removed this Thursday. She got fantastic grades her first semester of mechanical engineering and is enjoying it. Allison started student teaching 1st grade on Thursday and I think it is safe to assume that she had been elevated to a level just below God in the eyes of those little cuties. They say very cute things and the first day asked if she could eat lunch with them and that she had pretty shoes.
I also saw my oncologist for a check up and he is sending me to meet a surgeon so she can monitor the scar tissue growing again where I had radiation. I met my new internist and he is just right for me. He also happens to go to our church and know someone at Partners International where Greg/we work. This week I have several medical appointments when I get home and I'll let you know if anything turns up.
God bless you today! Nancy Fritz
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