WOW!

Last week I received a letter from Kris who is Terry’s cousin’s wife. This is a lady whom I’ve only known for about the past 10 years and only see occasionally. In fact she and her husband moved to Arizona about three years ago and we’ve only seen her twice since then. Kris told me that she has been following my blog and that it inspired her to reconnect with her faith. She said that she started praying for Terry and I, putting us at the top of her list. But she did not feel like she was doing enough. One day she was cleaning out a night stand drawer a found an old pair of Rosary beads. She decided that she was going to say the Rosary every day for us. But then she realized that she had forgotten how to say the Rosary, which beads were Hail Maries, which were Our Fathers, and what was said for the middle bead and Crucifix section. She was ashamed. The next day Kris went to the store and when she stepped out of her car she noticed a blue piece of paper leaning against the curb. It was in pristine condition, not rained on, nor wrinkled nor dirty. She said it was as if it had been placed there. She picked it up, looked at it, and started to cry. It was a pamphlet entitled “How to Say the Rosary”. Kris said the Rosary now feels like an old friend and she’s been saying it for us ever since. Kris’s letter really moved me. To know that someone is praying so hard for us is truly a blessing. And Kris is praying for Terry as well as me. That’s a beautiful thing. But then add the fact the a little miracle helped her to do that is amazing. It’s as if God was saying “keep those prayers coming”. That has to mean that the prayers are doing some good. When I read Kris’s letter it brought tears to my eyes and to Terry’s. Kris pointed out that little miracles lead to bigger miracles and she said to “Keep the faith”. She has bolstered mine. Wow, thank you Kris. Today, before treatment, I had breakfast with Denis, my friend from Georgia who was in the area to visit his parents. When Terry and I visited Denis and his family in April they hosted a barbeque. One of the guests was their friend Jim. Jim and I were talking and he indicated that he was due for a colonoscopy. I gave him my lecture about having an endoscopy done at the same time and urged him to do so. Today Denis told me that Jim did have the endoscopy as a result of our conversation. They discovered he had Barrett’s Esophagus, a condition that often leads to esophageal cancer. He will now be monitored so that if it does they will catch it early. There are also treatments and diet changes he can make that may help. Wow! It is very satisfying to know that I made a difference. Last week my daughter Heather spent her vacation time volunteering as a counselor at a camp for children with cancer. As I mentioned in a previous post she does not do these things because of me. She was doing them long before I was diagnosed. There are many good people in the world and Heather is one of them. I’m a proud father. Last week, my third week without chemo, I felt good and regained some energy. Nothing great; in fact it was the way I used to feel with only one week off. That’s the cumulative nature of the toxins. But it was nice. The taste buds didn’t come back until very late that week and then only slightly so McDonalds didn’t get the windfall sales they might have. My apologies to anyone who bought the stock. Dr. George put me back on a three week cycle so this time I’ll only have two chemo free weeks. The Chemo Kaiser has stuck again. Carry on. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------