from Jared

My dad went to rest with the Lord this morning. God blessed me and mom to spend last night with him and to be with him, holding his hands, as he died. He is my only hero. I pray the Lord helps me become half the father he has been.

Your prayers and concern have helped me and mom so much. "So much" isn't enough, but that's all I have for now. God bless you all for how you carry our burdens.

Your brother in Christ Jesus,

Jared

Wednesday AM

Gerald had to be taken to ICU last night and will stay again today, but hopes to be back in a regular room tomorrow. He was supposed to be transitioning home today, but it looks like that won't happen for a few more days, at least. Thanks for your continued prayers.

update on gerald from jared

The Dr told mom this morning that he saw no need for add’l PET scan. He was confident that dad has cancer in his right lung (but not left) and in his liver. He recommended a form of chemotherapy treatment to begin tomorrow (Tuesday) and dad has agreed. If this makes dad really sick, he doesn’t have to take anymore treatments. The next option is hospice.

Dad has some pain in his chest last night, and it seems that’s from the cancer, but we can’t be sure.

So that’s where we’re at. Nothing great, but perhaps the treatments can get him strong enough to go home for a little while.

Friday night

Blogger just ate my update. Here's the shorter version...

No PET scan today (hospital error, collect $200?--Monopoly)

CT scan and brain scan--results Monday, I think

Lung biopsy yesterday--results Monday

Will meet with oncologist Monday to discuss results and treatment options--Please pray that there will BE treatment options.

Jared is at hospital tonight, Shirley is home in BG to rest tonight and gear up for another several days at the hospital.

Praise that oxygen levels seem to be somewhat improved, although this is the result of being on higher dose of oxygen. Pray antibiotics/steroids begin to take effect to clear up pneumonia and that this will bring some improvement in his breathing and clear up some of his confusion.

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. Please keep them coming.

Friday morning

Thanks to the Paschals and Folkers coming down and staying with our kids (even baby Luke!), Jared and I were able to go up to see Gerald together for a couple of hours. It was good to see him! He still has his sense of humor, as long as he's getting plenty of oxygen, but when he exerts himself (talking, moving around much), he begins to get confused until he gets his oxygen levels back up. He is on antibiotics and now steriods for the pneumonia, so hopefully when that takes effect, his oxygen levels will be better. We had been concerned that the confusion was something worse, but now that he's on oxygen, that seems to have improved, which is at least a small relief.

He is having the PET scan this morning as far as we know. I think it will be afternoon before those results are in. Please pray about those results. It is difficult to know what to pray for. We know God can heal him completely if that is His will. We also know He can take Him quickly if that is His will. We also know that in this fallen world, sometimes illness is a long and difficult process, and really we are hoping that will not be the case for him, but we trust God knows what is best for all of us, including Gerald. Thank you for keeping up and for praying for him.

**Thanks also to all of you who have emailed, called, prayed, offered to keep kids, etc. I know we are not the only ones who have gone, are going, or will go through this. Thank you for all of it. We hope to be more and more like the Jesus we see in each of you.**

5:15 update

The bronchoscopy showed that there are some spots which appear to be pneumonia (as expected) and also a mass pushing on some part of his lung that is causing his difficulty breathing. They biopsied this but will not have results until probably Monday, which means he will be in Nashville until at least Monday. Also, plans are now to go ahead with the PET scan tomorrow (Friday) morning. Thanks again for praying. God is good.

checking in

Jared just called and said the tests this morning did not yield any answers so Gerald is currently undergoing a bronchoscopy (?). Don't know what time we'll know the results of that.

Update, sort of

There's not much to update, but I talked to Jared a few minutes ago and he said they did a CT scan early this morning, but the lung doctor hadn't been in yet to tell them the results. Apparently the top priority right now is finding out what is wrong with his lungs/breathing. For now, the PET scan has been postponed. They have told him he should expect to stay at Centennial at least a few days as they figure out the breathing problems and how to treat. I'll try to keep updating this blog as we find out more specifics to pray for. Thank you for lifting our family before the Father.

prayers appreciated

I've hesitated to ask for prayers for some reason, but I'm asking now. My precious father-in-law, Gerald, is in the hospital for (I think) the 3rd time in about as many weeks. Some of you know, he had lung cancer last year (a small tumor removed surgically and 4 rounds of chemo), but seemed to be doing pretty well. He started having pain a couple of months ago and no real explanation could be found. It did not appear at that time that the cancer had returned. As new symptoms starting piling on, more tests were done which led one of his doctors to think it was cancer, but his oncologist did not believe it was. So he came to Nashville for a 2nd (3rd?) opinion a couple of weeks ago. Plans were made for a PET scan to be done today in Nashville to determine whether the cancer is back and if so, to what extent. At one of his trips to the hospital in BG, a scan showed the possibility that it is also in his liver. In any case, he had to go to the emergency room in BG yesterday (Wednesday) and they believe he has pneumonia, and he is having a very difficult time breathing, even on oxygen. He was transferred last night to Nashville (Thanks, Dana!!!!!), we thought so that he could have the scheduled scan and appointment with his oncologist here today, but now it looks as though they may not be able to do the scan.


In any case, he needs your prayers. For healing, for peace, for understanding, for strength, for the doctors and medical personnel who tend to him, for Shirley and Jared as they care for him and make decisions, for the kids as they process that Grandaddy is not the same as he's always been to them. For whatever God lays on your heart. We KNOW He is in control, and, as Jared said just a couple of days ago, these are the times when we either believe it or we don't. It feels like it's been a tough couple of years in our family, though obviously there are many, many others who have had it worse, and we have had some major blessings in those times as well. One of those blessings has been feeling so intensely the support of the prayers of others. God has been good. He has given us more than we deserve. We are forever grateful to Him for His great mercy. Our greatest prayer is that His will be done. We hope we are a part of that, and hope you are, too.



**Several people have asked, but right now I don't know of anything the family needs besides prayers, although cards would be nice, too. If you don't have their address, email me and I will get it to you. I'm not sure about visitors yet, or food, or anything like that. I will try to post again if I find out more.**

Who are you?

My friend, Laura Beth, put a similar poll on her blog and I thought it was a neat idea, so I borrowed it. Please respond to the poll on the right! Yes, I'm curious...maybe even nosy...so feel FREE to leave a comment as well, so I know who you are! I'd like to promise you that I will have something interesting to say in the near future, but it appears that everything I have is going toward growing this fat baby Luke, even my ability to write, apparently. Thanks for voting!

Wowsa

"Little" Luke weighed in at his 2-month checkup at a whopping SEVENTEEN pounds 3 ounces. He seems pretty tickled about it, too..

7-26-08

7-23-08

7-22-08

7-21-08

Obviously, I got a little carried away with the photo editing.

Don't they look like naturals?

Can you believe my oldest baby brother is going to be a Daddy?? They're going to be amazing parents!