Today's treatment goes down as the least painful of all my treatments. I did take a pain pill before installation (which unfortunately didn't stop all the pain of the installation) to take the edge off. It was my only pill today as the rest of the eight hours were entirely pain free. The only thing that was different was the amount of blood and bloody bits that I had today. It started up three hours in and lasted for another 4 1/2 hours.
Another thing that was normal today was my lack of appetite for regular food. I made a sandwich for lunch and that was the last good piece of food that I ate except for my treatment day indulgence of chocolate chip cookies. For some reason, I get a real sweet tooth during my treatment day and don't allow myself to feel guilty about over doing it on the cookies.
One more treatment day next Wednesday and then I'm off for another 3 months. I'm very thankful for all the emails and well wishes from everyone. Most importantly, the prayers from everyone are being answered and while the day is exhausting, it was mainly pain free. Besides the treatment days, please continue to pray for my body to heal and that the ever present fatigue will go away. I'm tired of being tired and would like to have some time of feeling normal again before my next 3 treatment cycle starts again in 3 months.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Treatment #10 Is In the Books
Treatment #10 was very similar to treatment #9. I did take a preemptive pain pill today to help with the installation and it seemed to have worked. Because it was such a nice day today in Franklin, I went for a two mile walk with Nancy after the installation to help slosh the solution around the bladder. Then it was back to the rocking chair to finish the two hours of holding it. The next 6 hours was water, water and more water. The only side effects today were some blood (which is very normal) and an extremely sore and worn out bladder. I had virtually no appetite today and suspect that I lost a couple of pounds today.
It was great to get through today and the treatments are starting to get routine. It is certainly a full day with twelve trips to the bathroom in a six hour timeframe and one gallon of chlorine literally down the drain to kill the TB virus in the toilet bowl. Now I'm trying to decompress after the intense day and I'm hoping for a good night of sleep.
Thanks to everyone that was praying for me today and we get to do this all over again next Wednesday.
It was great to get through today and the treatments are starting to get routine. It is certainly a full day with twelve trips to the bathroom in a six hour timeframe and one gallon of chlorine literally down the drain to kill the TB virus in the toilet bowl. Now I'm trying to decompress after the intense day and I'm hoping for a good night of sleep.
Thanks to everyone that was praying for me today and we get to do this all over again next Wednesday.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Cystoscope Shows All Clear
Today was a BIG day! I had my cystoscope today and it showed that no cancer has returned. With this all clear, I can now get ready for 3 more BCG treatments starting March 21st.
The stress leading up to this procedure has been very high. Any trace of cancer will mean that my treatment will change dramatically with a high probability of losing the bladder. So, to get a clear test was what we were all praying for. I laid down and slept four hours this afternoon after getting home. I'm hoping the stress was a main contributor for my fatigue that doesn't seem to go away.
My friend, Dan Stewart, who also had his consultation for his cancer today, said that someone at work recommended reading Romans chapter 8 and it certainly help to settle me down (along with the valium). Dan's tests came back all clear as well and commented that the Lord has given his life back. I'm so happy for Dan and his family. Now we wait and pray for the same results for the third Cat Financial employee, Jack Sollner.
Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. Nancy and I could not make it through this without them.
The stress leading up to this procedure has been very high. Any trace of cancer will mean that my treatment will change dramatically with a high probability of losing the bladder. So, to get a clear test was what we were all praying for. I laid down and slept four hours this afternoon after getting home. I'm hoping the stress was a main contributor for my fatigue that doesn't seem to go away.
My friend, Dan Stewart, who also had his consultation for his cancer today, said that someone at work recommended reading Romans chapter 8 and it certainly help to settle me down (along with the valium). Dan's tests came back all clear as well and commented that the Lord has given his life back. I'm so happy for Dan and his family. Now we wait and pray for the same results for the third Cat Financial employee, Jack Sollner.
Thanks to everyone for your prayers and support. Nancy and I could not make it through this without them.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
A Tough January, But February's Coming
As I've stated in previous blog posts, the trip to Moldova was exhausting. January was really a month to try to get my energy back and it has taken all month. I'm feeling about 85% and happy with that. Today, the good news was that I got up and ran. The bad news was it was only a mile. It's amazing how fast you can lose muscle tone, but at least I got back on the road.
I also was able to play golf this weekend for the first time this month and it felt great getting back on the course. Because of the weather being cold, the ground wet and the air windy, we played from the senior tees this weekend. It was fun to play from those tees for the first time and to have a different line to hit down. I was happy with my 82, when you figure in the 5 penalty strokes. Three birdies helped.
February will be fun with a cruise to the Caribbean in the middle of the month. I plan on getting a lot of rest on the ship and enjoy the weather and scenery in Mexico, Belize, Honduras and the Caymans.
Next big date medically is February 27th, when I have my next Cystoscope. We are looking and praying for an all clear of no cancer and then I can resume my BCG treatments in March.
I also was able to play golf this weekend for the first time this month and it felt great getting back on the course. Because of the weather being cold, the ground wet and the air windy, we played from the senior tees this weekend. It was fun to play from those tees for the first time and to have a different line to hit down. I was happy with my 82, when you figure in the 5 penalty strokes. Three birdies helped.
February will be fun with a cruise to the Caribbean in the middle of the month. I plan on getting a lot of rest on the ship and enjoy the weather and scenery in Mexico, Belize, Honduras and the Caymans.
Next big date medically is February 27th, when I have my next Cystoscope. We are looking and praying for an all clear of no cancer and then I can resume my BCG treatments in March.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Moldova Trip Coming To A Close
Today is January 3rd and it is my final full day in Moldova. I'm still at the team house and everyone else is at the orphanage in Orhei. I hit the proverbial wall yesterday physically and had to elect today to stay back in Chisinau. With my recovery timeline from my recent BCG treatments and the travel to Moldova, my body finally said, "enough". It was very humbling to watch everyone leave and a reminder to me that the process of treating my cancer is going to be a full 2 year process. This will certainly be my last trip to Moldova until at least 2013 when I finish my treatments.
The trip has had more highlights than I can post, but here are some:
Having Nancy along and experiencing a mission trip together to Moldova. Watching her with the girl in Falesti and seeing her literally give the sweatshirt off her back, so she could have a new piece of clothing like everyone else was classic Nancy. These kids grabbed a part of her heart. I know this trip was out of her comfort zone and I love that she was willing to come and do this trip by my side. I can't imagine going through this life without her. I truly out kicked my coverage with her!
The quality of some of the orphanages that we saw for the first time and the leadership of the directors. I always worry about the motives of an orphanage director and we met some high quality ones on this trip that are looking out for the kids. The numbers of orphans are going down in this country and facilities will need to be shut down. I pray that they shutdown the right ones.
The JMI team really operated as one on this trip. There was great harmony among everyone and everyone contributed. The team was led by Jennifer Kelly was has a heart for the kids of Moldova that is seldom scene. Her organizational skills are great. Probably her most impressive skill is her ability to remember every child and who sponsors them. It was a huge highlight watching her greet the children that she sponsors and mothers.
The kids are the reason we make this trip and they continue to pull on the strings of my heart. The anticipation of seeing a sponsored child is no different from waiting for your own child to get home after a long absence. Watching the kids faces when Father Christmas walked through the door was priceless. Even the older boys would have big smiles on the faces when they walked up to get their presents.
Lastly, the two images that will stand out for me the most were of two little girls that were experiencing the exact opposite emotion. One little girl was walking to a taxi with her mother for some time at home. The huge smile on her face and the twinkle in her eyes were ones that I will never forget. The other small girl had just been dropped off to the orphanage for the first time. When we were done handing out presents to everyone, we realized that she wasn't on our list and everyone quickly got her a bag of food and a present. Hopefully, we made the worst day in her young a little better.
Tomorrow will be the bittersweet day of being excited to get home and disappointed because of leaving those we have come to love in Moldova.
The trip has had more highlights than I can post, but here are some:
Having Nancy along and experiencing a mission trip together to Moldova. Watching her with the girl in Falesti and seeing her literally give the sweatshirt off her back, so she could have a new piece of clothing like everyone else was classic Nancy. These kids grabbed a part of her heart. I know this trip was out of her comfort zone and I love that she was willing to come and do this trip by my side. I can't imagine going through this life without her. I truly out kicked my coverage with her!
The quality of some of the orphanages that we saw for the first time and the leadership of the directors. I always worry about the motives of an orphanage director and we met some high quality ones on this trip that are looking out for the kids. The numbers of orphans are going down in this country and facilities will need to be shut down. I pray that they shutdown the right ones.
The JMI team really operated as one on this trip. There was great harmony among everyone and everyone contributed. The team was led by Jennifer Kelly was has a heart for the kids of Moldova that is seldom scene. Her organizational skills are great. Probably her most impressive skill is her ability to remember every child and who sponsors them. It was a huge highlight watching her greet the children that she sponsors and mothers.
The kids are the reason we make this trip and they continue to pull on the strings of my heart. The anticipation of seeing a sponsored child is no different from waiting for your own child to get home after a long absence. Watching the kids faces when Father Christmas walked through the door was priceless. Even the older boys would have big smiles on the faces when they walked up to get their presents.
Lastly, the two images that will stand out for me the most were of two little girls that were experiencing the exact opposite emotion. One little girl was walking to a taxi with her mother for some time at home. The huge smile on her face and the twinkle in her eyes were ones that I will never forget. The other small girl had just been dropped off to the orphanage for the first time. When we were done handing out presents to everyone, we realized that she wasn't on our list and everyone quickly got her a bag of food and a present. Hopefully, we made the worst day in her young a little better.
Tomorrow will be the bittersweet day of being excited to get home and disappointed because of leaving those we have come to love in Moldova.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Running on Empty in Moldova
It's been a long 5 days in Moldova...
First, let me say that physically, it has been one of my toughest trips ever of my 6 trips to Moldova. I thought that based on my trips to Europe in August and October that I would be able to handle the travel, but what I failed to realize was that the prior trips were direct to London and Dublin, so the travel time was not too bad. Getting to Chisinau, Moldova means a 22 hour trip with a 7 hour layover in Frankfurt that has brutal on most of us. I've been dealing with a bad cold most of the trip and the 30 degree weather is not helping. But, I'm very glad to be here and do not regret the decision to come back.
Now, the orphans. We have been to at least one orphanage a day since getting to Moldova. Thursday we were in Drachia, Friday in Falesti, Saturday in Balti and Sunday in Chisinau. All of visits have included a time to get to know each other, games, crafts, singing, worship time and then Father Christmas comes out with all the presents. Oh, we also shot off fireworks, thanks to Cat Financial's givings and they were spectacular at Falesti.
Nancy had a nice moment in Falesti with an older girl that because of her size did not receive any clothing from the team that would fit. So, Nancy gave her the Nashville sweatshirt that she was wearing and the girl did not leave her side the rest of our visit. It was very touching on how much one act of kindness can have on a child.
I've really enjoyed spending time with my Moldovan boy, Igor yesterday. His english is much better and it is a lot easier to communicate. It was fun to watch him interact with the kids at Internat II, where he was an orphan for 8 years. We had both Igor and Eduard along with us and they both sang and played the guitar during our singing time.
The new orphanages that we visited in Drachia and Balti had children that were very open to sharing their stories with us. We also visited a transitional living home for at risk children in Balti that was amazing. It was very clean and had big rooms, with one that included a number of computers. It was nice to see the upgraded facilities compared to the orphanages, but with the limit of 18 months for each child you could see that they were all worried about what was going to happen to them after they were moved out of the house.
The winter trip is very much different from the summer trip because of the short amount of time that we spend at each orphanage versus spending a week at one camp. But, the trade off is that you get to bring gifts to kids that get maybe one gift from the state. They light up when Steve Davis walks in dressed like Father Christmas (Santa Claus).
Due to the limited bandwith of the Internet hear in Chisinau, I don't know if I will be able to post any photos this week. I will definitely post photos when I get back home.
First, let me say that physically, it has been one of my toughest trips ever of my 6 trips to Moldova. I thought that based on my trips to Europe in August and October that I would be able to handle the travel, but what I failed to realize was that the prior trips were direct to London and Dublin, so the travel time was not too bad. Getting to Chisinau, Moldova means a 22 hour trip with a 7 hour layover in Frankfurt that has brutal on most of us. I've been dealing with a bad cold most of the trip and the 30 degree weather is not helping. But, I'm very glad to be here and do not regret the decision to come back.
Now, the orphans. We have been to at least one orphanage a day since getting to Moldova. Thursday we were in Drachia, Friday in Falesti, Saturday in Balti and Sunday in Chisinau. All of visits have included a time to get to know each other, games, crafts, singing, worship time and then Father Christmas comes out with all the presents. Oh, we also shot off fireworks, thanks to Cat Financial's givings and they were spectacular at Falesti.
Nancy had a nice moment in Falesti with an older girl that because of her size did not receive any clothing from the team that would fit. So, Nancy gave her the Nashville sweatshirt that she was wearing and the girl did not leave her side the rest of our visit. It was very touching on how much one act of kindness can have on a child.
I've really enjoyed spending time with my Moldovan boy, Igor yesterday. His english is much better and it is a lot easier to communicate. It was fun to watch him interact with the kids at Internat II, where he was an orphan for 8 years. We had both Igor and Eduard along with us and they both sang and played the guitar during our singing time.
The new orphanages that we visited in Drachia and Balti had children that were very open to sharing their stories with us. We also visited a transitional living home for at risk children in Balti that was amazing. It was very clean and had big rooms, with one that included a number of computers. It was nice to see the upgraded facilities compared to the orphanages, but with the limit of 18 months for each child you could see that they were all worried about what was going to happen to them after they were moved out of the house.
The winter trip is very much different from the summer trip because of the short amount of time that we spend at each orphanage versus spending a week at one camp. But, the trade off is that you get to bring gifts to kids that get maybe one gift from the state. They light up when Steve Davis walks in dressed like Father Christmas (Santa Claus).
Due to the limited bandwith of the Internet hear in Chisinau, I don't know if I will be able to post any photos this week. I will definitely post photos when I get back home.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Fatigue Is Gone...Just in Time for Jet-lag!
Merry Christmas Everyone! One of my New Year's Resolutions will be to get out a blog post on a regular basis.
One the health front...I have been feeling stronger everyday for about two weeks. The fatigue seemed to have hit me much harder during this round of 3 treatments in November. But, the hard fatigue that would dog me all day long has been reduced to to mainly feeling worn out only at night. It is much easier to deal with.
On the personal front...The fatigue is gone just in time for jet-lag to set in as Nancy and I travel to Moldova for my 6th mission trip to the orphanages of Moldova! We will be traveling with 14 others with Justice and Mercy International. I'm very excited about being with Nancy as she experiences the wonderful kids that we get to meet during the week. I will post to this blog whenever I have Internet access.
I'm including a blog post that I did two years ago from Moldova to give you an idea why I go to Moldova:
One the health front...I have been feeling stronger everyday for about two weeks. The fatigue seemed to have hit me much harder during this round of 3 treatments in November. But, the hard fatigue that would dog me all day long has been reduced to to mainly feeling worn out only at night. It is much easier to deal with.
On the personal front...The fatigue is gone just in time for jet-lag to set in as Nancy and I travel to Moldova for my 6th mission trip to the orphanages of Moldova! We will be traveling with 14 others with Justice and Mercy International. I'm very excited about being with Nancy as she experiences the wonderful kids that we get to meet during the week. I will post to this blog whenever I have Internet access.
I'm including a blog post that I did two years ago from Moldova to give you an idea why I go to Moldova:
How does a country that I never heard of until Rolling Hills went on it’s first international mission trip in 2003, grab the heart of a church and not let go? The answer is pretty easy to figure out when you look at the pictures and comments that we post during our visits.
Today, in my first interview with a 14 year girl, I asked her to describe her best day. Immediately, tears started to flow out of her eyes and she said, “there are no best days, when you are an orphan.” I looked at Boris, my interpreter, and said that it was going to be a long day. The stories of these children’s lives continue to show a hurting group of kids that have done nothing wrong. Yet, they have to live in a world where the actions of their parents or others have brought consequences on them that they can not understand and certainly don’t deserve. Their overriding wish is to get their family back together and to be like normal children in a normal family. We provided a lot of gifts this week, but none of them were the gift that they are praying for.
I came back to Moldova with a list of things that I wanted to accomplish…interview children that need American sponsors, see in person what is happening at the Grace House, talk to Sasha and Lucia about taking in some boys for a Hope House, spend time with my Moldovan son, Igor and lastly, give out Christmas presents to children that don’t normally get a gift. I accomplished all the things on my list this year. But, what I wasn’t expecting was how God has shown me, with increased intensity, the importance of what Justice and Mercy International is doing in this country. How do we at JMI get this message out to the people who can help?
If you are reading this blog and are not sponsoring a child, please pray about starting. If not us, who will take care of these children. Their parents have are either dead or can’t afford to keep them. The orphanage that they live in gives them food, shelter and an education, but it doesn’t give them all the love they desire or need. If you sponsor someone, tell a friend about the blessing it is to you and your Moldovan child and see if they will join in with us. If you’ve never been to Moldova, pray about making one trip to see for yourself how we are brightening up these children’s lives for at least a couple of days a year in their world where there are no “best days!” You will get to put smiles on the children’s faces that don’t have many reasons to smile and you will look at the blessings in your life in a whole new way.
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