You all know of the devastation in Haiti. Bryan and I particularly attuned to the welfare of an orphanage there called For His Glory. It is home to about 120 children, many of whom are already part of a family in the US, but who are waiting there for the 2 - 3 years it takes for their paperwork to be processed.
We are friends with 4 different couples in our church who are pursuing adoptions from this orphanage. My heart aches for them as they are helpless to protect their children right now. Helpless, that is, if it were not for prayer and a Mighty God.
The following is a copied post from their web site:
URGENT CALL FOR PRAYER
We received word from Pierre this morning that the situation in the orphanage is becoming dire.
We would like to ask EVERYONE that receives this to use this information to get on your knees before our Lord and ask Him to provide.
We have one nanny that is deceased and the orphanage needs her body to be removed.
The orphanage has no drinkable water.
In addition they need:
formula for babies
medicines
IV fluids (one child is currently on an IV)
charcoal to cook
diesel
cash to buy supplies if they find them.
They are running out of cash and there are no banks open to get cash, so it needs to be delivered by someone already on the ground or by helicopter.
Others are beginning to rob them of what supplies they do have.
There are helicopters flying over the orphanage and they have made a sign on the roof that says they are an orphanage and need help.
The staff is also working to get together all the paperwork for each child that has an adoptive family in a way that it can be attached to their body if there is an opportunity to evacuate.
For His Glory is doing everything we can on this end to contact people who may be able to help. Please pray. Currently, that is the best thing you can do to help.
Trusting in Him,
For His Glory
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Wellness Update
I'm wearing a pressure sleeve and a pressure glove, so typing is not all that easy.
Or, I could say that typing is easy, and making typo's, even moreso. All this makes me given to brevity.
My follow-up with the lymphedema therapist is on Monday, whence we'll see whether I'm responding to the pressure-sleeve-therapy. I also "manually drain" my lymphatic system. Who even knows anything about the lymphatic system let alone that one could "manually drain" it?
I have 7 radiations left to go, and my skin, this week, has finally screamed in protest. I'm glad I don't have a nerve connected to that chest wall, because it's now covered in a 2nd degree--bordering on 3rd degree--burn.
After the 3:30 treatment, it's pretty uncomfortable (from the bit that I can feel). But by morning, it's converted to mostly a tan. In all, I'm pretty thankful the skin has been responding so well. I'm thankful, too, for the lydocaine-aloe gel that I can apply liberally.
On the other hand, the rest of my body is pretty aware that a chunk of it is having the cancer burned out of it. And it's working really hard to restore the damage. I'm so exhausted. All the time. I'm sleeping about 10 hours a day, and still feel like I could take a nap at any given moment.
Ah, well. Only 7 more treatments.
Or, I could say that typing is easy, and making typo's, even moreso. All this makes me given to brevity.
My follow-up with the lymphedema therapist is on Monday, whence we'll see whether I'm responding to the pressure-sleeve-therapy. I also "manually drain" my lymphatic system. Who even knows anything about the lymphatic system let alone that one could "manually drain" it?
I have 7 radiations left to go, and my skin, this week, has finally screamed in protest. I'm glad I don't have a nerve connected to that chest wall, because it's now covered in a 2nd degree--bordering on 3rd degree--burn.
After the 3:30 treatment, it's pretty uncomfortable (from the bit that I can feel). But by morning, it's converted to mostly a tan. In all, I'm pretty thankful the skin has been responding so well. I'm thankful, too, for the lydocaine-aloe gel that I can apply liberally.
On the other hand, the rest of my body is pretty aware that a chunk of it is having the cancer burned out of it. And it's working really hard to restore the damage. I'm so exhausted. All the time. I'm sleeping about 10 hours a day, and still feel like I could take a nap at any given moment.
Ah, well. Only 7 more treatments.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Happy Birthday
To Sister #4!
Today's lymphedema appointment went very well. I was really pleased with the therapist's knowledge and experience. She says the chances are good that we can reverse this. More details to come. . . In the meantime, thank you for your prayers.
As for Bryan's fabulous shirt: One of his colleagues in Korea--whose call sign is "Rude Boy,"--had a shirt like this. To his great credit, Bryan couldn't resist having one made for himself.
Today's lymphedema appointment went very well. I was really pleased with the therapist's knowledge and experience. She says the chances are good that we can reverse this. More details to come. . . In the meantime, thank you for your prayers.
As for Bryan's fabulous shirt: One of his colleagues in Korea--whose call sign is "Rude Boy,"--had a shirt like this. To his great credit, Bryan couldn't resist having one made for himself.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A Rhinestone Studded Evening
Bryan and I went to the JFCC-IMD inaugural awards dinner on Friday night. 2 months ago, this evening was to be the General's retirement party, and I told Bryan I wouldn't plan on it. I had no way of knowing what I'd be feeling like 5 weeks into radiation, right? And at 30 bucks a ticket, it wasn't the kind of thing I wanted to have to decline at the last minute.
1 month ago, it became both the General's retirement party, and the Christmas party for the command. Same price. I had the same answer.
2 weeks ago, it stopped being the General's retirement party, because he's no longer retiring. It continued to be the Christmas party and now it was also to be an awards dinner. And Bryan had been nominated for field grade Officer of the Year.
And I was feeling pretty good with the radiation.
So then:
The evening was a delight. They held it at a hall on the Air Force Academy campus and the meal was actually really delicious. The people seated at our table were very talkative, a few of them were very funny. I had a great time.
Bryan won the award. As he went to the front to receive it, I told James, who sat next to me, "Shout out for him to take his jacket off." And James did.
Everyone in the hall laughed. Then silence. Then I called out, "No, seriously, take it off!" and everyone laughed again. But it was a less confident laugh. A "What the heck are they talking about?" laugh.
What were we talking about?
1 month ago, it became both the General's retirement party, and the Christmas party for the command. Same price. I had the same answer.
2 weeks ago, it stopped being the General's retirement party, because he's no longer retiring. It continued to be the Christmas party and now it was also to be an awards dinner. And Bryan had been nominated for field grade Officer of the Year.
And I was feeling pretty good with the radiation.
So then:
The evening was a delight. They held it at a hall on the Air Force Academy campus and the meal was actually really delicious. The people seated at our table were very talkative, a few of them were very funny. I had a great time.
Bryan won the award. As he went to the front to receive it, I told James, who sat next to me, "Shout out for him to take his jacket off." And James did.
Everyone in the hall laughed. Then silence. Then I called out, "No, seriously, take it off!" and everyone laughed again. But it was a less confident laugh. A "What the heck are they talking about?" laugh.
What were we talking about?
Bryan's way-fab shirt, that's what. He had it tailored while in Korea. But he wouldn't take his jacket off up front. This is one way Bryan and I are different from each other.
He did remove it after returning to our table, and so James and I were vindicated for shouting out in the first place. If you ask me, Bryan may have won the award, but he missed his moment for fame.
But here was the highlight of my evening:
That Friday afternoon, I was talking with my friend, Mike, who mentioned that he'd seen a made-for-TV movie recently about the man who invented/developed Herceptin. This is the protein therapy, you may recall, that has single-drug-edly raised the survival rate of patients with this particular breast cancer from 23% to 83%.
We talked for a bit about medical research, and how humbled I am by it, especially by all the women who participated in the clinical trials that led to Herceptin becoming standard treatment. What a gift to me. From people I don't even know and can't even thank. Then our conversation moved along to the business at hand.
A few hours later, there I was, at the Air Force Academy, chatting with a couple during the
He did remove it after returning to our table, and so James and I were vindicated for shouting out in the first place. If you ask me, Bryan may have won the award, but he missed his moment for fame.
But here was the highlight of my evening:
That Friday afternoon, I was talking with my friend, Mike, who mentioned that he'd seen a made-for-TV movie recently about the man who invented/developed Herceptin. This is the protein therapy, you may recall, that has single-drug-edly raised the survival rate of patients with this particular breast cancer from 23% to 83%.
We talked for a bit about medical research, and how humbled I am by it, especially by all the women who participated in the clinical trials that led to Herceptin becoming standard treatment. What a gift to me. From people I don't even know and can't even thank. Then our conversation moved along to the business at hand.
A few hours later, there I was, at the Air Force Academy, chatting with a couple during the
mingle time. They were Filipino Americans, and I mention this because, to my knowledge, only a Filipino woman would think to wear the following piece of jewelry at a formal military awards dinner: A giant, pink rhinestone studded ribbon pendant on a multi-colored rhinestone chain.
I said to her, "I notice your pendant."
She said back to me, "I am a survivor!"
I said, "I am on my way to becoming one myself." And with that, she launched into her war story, which focused mostly on her reconstruction surgery.
Then her husband mentioned, "She was part of the Herceptin trial, and now it is standard treatment."
The tears welled up. I couldn't believe it. Just couldn't. I hugged her and said, "Thank you, thank you for being part of that trial, I've always wanted to be able to thank the women who helped me this way."
What a gift to have met her. And the timing of it! God just doesn't stop.
And, hey, let's also hear it for giant, rhinestone studded pink ribbon pendants.
I said to her, "I notice your pendant."
She said back to me, "I am a survivor!"
I said, "I am on my way to becoming one myself." And with that, she launched into her war story, which focused mostly on her reconstruction surgery.
Then her husband mentioned, "She was part of the Herceptin trial, and now it is standard treatment."
The tears welled up. I couldn't believe it. Just couldn't. I hugged her and said, "Thank you, thank you for being part of that trial, I've always wanted to be able to thank the women who helped me this way."
What a gift to have met her. And the timing of it! God just doesn't stop.
And, hey, let's also hear it for giant, rhinestone studded pink ribbon pendants.
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