Thursday, September 21, 2006
SCHOOL CHAPEL
Tuesday morning a lady from our church and I had the privilege of doing the chapel service at a small private school. There were 11 kids, maybe Kindergarten or first grade through eighth grade. The lady from our church retired this year after 30 years of teaching middle school science--21 years at one school. She is multi-talented. She played the keyboard, led the kids in singing and gave them some great lessons using science as the basis or illustration. Me? Well I just sort of sat there and enjoyed the whole thing. I did a devotion and prayer at the conclusion of the chapel time. I was sure they had told me the chapel was 30 minutes long. I wound up after 30 minutes but the teacher in the room said, "Oh no! It is an hour!" No problem! The lady with me was more than capable of using the time. We'll go back in a month or two and the lady will get more into science demonstrations, using those to teach about God. She does this at our church monthly for the children in our worship services.
The only black mark on the day is that I was ill before, during and after the program. So I spend the rest of Tuesday and all day Wednesday at home. Not a fun time!
Better now,
Jim
posted by jim 8:59 AM 0 comments
Friday, September 15, 2006
A GREAT TIME
I had a great time on my trip to Alabama last weekend. It was pleasant to drive in a good rental car (2006 Chevy Malibu) and listen to a variety of tapes and CDs. I listened to some good music, some study-type material and some of my favorite fiction writing--mysteries! The weather for the trip was great the entire 4 days. My daughter and I had a great time together and did some serious eating at good old Southern barbecue places. Of course I came home with a lot of University of Alabama clothes for my Grandson and also for myself. And I didn't forget to bring something to others, too. In addition to all these good things, our team (the University of Alabama) won their football game. We had terrific seats at the game, too.
Karon got along well while we were gone. Our other two daughters who live in the area were a great help. Our oldest daughter stayed with her at night and throughout the weekend. I think Karon had a good time with our Grandson as much as possible. She didn't feel very well some of the time and wasn't able to make it to church Sunday. She came down with a cold Monday and still isn't feeling very well plus the side effects of the Chemo.
She had another Chemo treatment this past Wednesday. The other Chemo drugs weren't doing any good. The CAT and bone scans she had this past Tuesday showed that the cancer in the bones and the tumors in the lungs hadn't changed much. But the tumor in the liver had increased in size--again. In February it was one centimeter; in July it was two centimeters and now in September it is three centimeters.
The doctor wasn't so concerned with the size as with the fact that it is growing. So he is trying some different types of Chemo drugs and a different treatment schedule. She will have a treatment once a week for two weeks, then off a week, then another two weeks of treatments and off another week. We don't know how long this will continue. After three or four of these treatments they will do another CAT and bone scan to determine if this is working to reduce the size of the tumor or at least stop the growth.
Karon's brother from San Diego is visiting this week. My very good friend of many, many years and his wife and two adult children will visit this weekend also. So it will be a busy time at the Ewing household.
Until next time,
Jim
posted by jim 1:28 PM 0 comments
Thursday, September 07, 2006
MINI-VACATIONTomorrow I take off by myself for a mini-vacation--Friday through Monday. I'm headed for Alabama and will attend the University of Alabama football game with Vanderbilt University, Nashville, on Saturday. Our daughter from the Atlanta area will come over to Tuscaloosa and attend the game also.
We'll hang out in Tuscaloosa and then after church Sunday head for her place. I'll come on back home Monday.
Our oldest daughter will look after Karon while I am gone. I'll be worried (well,maybe concerned is a better term) but I'm determined to get some rest and have a good time!
Yesterday was the regular doctor visit day and it was also supposed to be Chemo therapy treatment day. However, all that happened was a visit to the doctor. His decision was what Karon hoped it would be: wait a week for any Chemo. Karon's blood work is okay--which is what they usually use to determine if a patient can have a Chemo treatment or not. But in Karon's case her overall condition is not good enough to allow a Chemo treatment at this time. The nerves in her hands, feet and also internally in her throat, esophagus and stomach are all so irritated that it affects her ability to swallow, tolerate food on her stomach, etc.
The doctor is going to change to another chemo drug. This one isn't doing the job. Three weeks ago the tumor (cancer) count was 63.1 and today it was 83.3. It is disappointing that after all the misery of the side effects of the chemo that it isn't having any effect on the cancer count. He is going back to a chemo drug she had a while back--Taxotere. We'll hope it does the job on the cancer cells and that she doesn't have such severe side effects.
She will have a bone scan and a CAT scan next Tuesday. This will show if there is any change in the tumors in her liver, lungs and on the bones. The plan is for the doctor to have the results of these scans when we see him Wednesday afternoon.
So I'll post about the trip when I return. I've been planning this trip for along time. I hope it is all good. Probably not the best time to take a trip but then when is there ever a really good time? I've rented a car for the trip and will head out to get it now.
Jim
posted by jim 2:48 PM 0 comments
