. . . the journey . .

Tuesday morning was ESCAPE DAY!! We finally made it home and back to our favorite recliners! Those hospital beds and chairs as necessary as they are just arent home!!! Orin is still on IV antibiotics every 12 hours here at home and will be through tomorrow and then will switch to oral meds. The Decadron has been increased because of the CT scan results. There is more swelling than they want to see around those tumor sites. Orin had a bad day Wednesday with severe headache and nausea and generally feeling bad, but has felt pretty good since. Hopefully with this recent decadron increase the headaches will decrease. We will see our Oncologist on Tuesday. That may be a difficult day and we ask your prayers. We will need to again make treatment decisions. We continue to praise God for his goodness. For two wonderful and caring Doctors, For our Kids and family, especially Mike who has been here daily, sometimes twice or three times just to check or do, for our wonderful friends who love an

It is Saturday and I realize that I have not written here since early Tuesday afternoon. It's been a bit of a busy few days. Shortly after my last entry Dr Mathews (oncologist) asked Dr Edwards (our internist) to admit Orin to Girard Hospital and treat the infection. So at about 4 pm tuesday in one of those rain "showers" where you expect to see frogs falling and where the worms were already crawling on the sidewalk gasping for air we splashed our way to the hospital. They of course did lab, started IV fluids and by two antibiotics, both IV also. Orin was tired, weak and still having difficulty coming up with words for what he wanted to say. Wednesday Morning I arrived to find out from the nurse that his sodium had been low, they had switched his IV to normal saline and when I got to his room he was much more alert. Thursday The drainage from the fistula had decreased significantly, the antibiotics are beginning to working. He slept well last night but isnt feeling

After a turnaround and a good weekend we saw Dr yesterday and decided to try another chemo treatment. However Orin woke up this morning with a headache and nausea and the treatment had to be postponed. I had gone in to work as Mike our son was going to take him to this chemo treatment. When I got home Orin seemed not only ill but and complaining of the problems with his head but having difficulty thinking and communicating exactly how he felt. Each time that these "spells" happen I see him getting a little weaker and am reminded that his time to go home is getting nearer. While the Doctor will not say so, I just feel that the tumor on the right temple has not been successfully eliminated. He continues to complain of pressure there. Still, God is in absolute control and we will trust him to care for Orin and for all of us in the coming days and weeks. I was reading in the Psalms a few days ago that God has names for every star.... EVERY STAR!!!! if he has done that h

Hebrews 11:1 says Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. We've studied that recently in a class I am leading and I have challenged our ladies to make that verse personal to them. For me it is this " Faith is the solid ground on which I can place my trust no matter what the circumstances and because God said it I know it is absolute truth. How blessed that I just recently was challenged to do that because today I must lean on that definition. Things aren't going so well. The chemo that should have by now been well in to the third or forth round has yet to start the second. In fact Orin has had only one chemo treatment since the tumors were discovered in his brain. I was warned that sometimes it is difficult to recover from the radiation and steroid treatment enough to resume chemo. That was complicated I think by the fact that I became ill with pneumonia and a couple of other bacterial infections that I may have passed to him ( or

Grandpa and Lily Claire enjoy a game of Patty Cake. Lily is our youngest granddaughter. We will celebrate her first birthday the end of April. She is Mike and Emily's daughter and Anna's sister. We are thinking she may be the athlete of the family as she already likes to throw a ball! As you can see, she kind of likes games with grandpa too!

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David. Psa 8:1 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Psa 8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. Psa 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; Psa 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? Psa 8:5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Psa 8:6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: Psa 8:7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; Psa 8:8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. Psa 8:9 O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

We are so proud of Granddaughter Rachel who recently graduated from the DARE program at Haderlien Grade School! This Drug awareness program has been a real success in our school system and the kids participation is not mandatory. Rachel is our oldest grandaughter ,loves history, horses and paint ball! Rachel has two sisters Kinsie and Olivia ( in picture) and two brothers , Blake and Andrew . Her Mom and step dad are Sheila and Scott Gronau.