Wow! Do you here that? Absolutely peaceful quiet! Nothing but the wind blowing and the sweet whisper of Mark resting beside me. How I wish he would open his eyes and act like none of this ever happened and it was just my imagination!
Our weekend started with a little fall injury on Friday that has been a thorn for him the rest of the time. Unfortunately he hurt his backside. Not good when that is about the only side that is comfortable to be on. We are praying hard it resolves quickly so he can rest more comfortably. Ironically, Saturday was his best day in a while. He woke up almost perky! He asked for breakfast, ate 2 eggs, toast, juice and milk, and wanted to go to the home and garden show! His ambition ended up being a little bigger than his energy would allow, but he did get out for a ballgame and a visit. He even got to meet the newest great niece and nephew. He held one in his arms while we met the other long distance on Skype. That is plum amazing. The things we can do with technology! In his words, "It was a great day."
It didn't quite carryover to Sunday. Sunday was a sleepy day. He was up for a few visitors, but spent the rest of the day recovering from Saturday I suppose.
Hope everyone enjoys all of God's blessings in your new week! With love, Missy
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday evening.
Mark had the sternal wire removed on Wednesday. He did very well. It is healing quite nicely, and he is glad to have relief from that pain. Thank you so much Dr. Obney, Brandi and Keith for making it all work. We are so blessed by such good people. The rest of our week has been pretty up and down. Mark's condition is about the same. Still very tired and sleeping a great deal. His appetite and eating are minimal. He started having visits from the supportive care nurses. They will be coming once a week to check on him. They are helping to try to make things better for him, right now focusing on his energy and his appetite. He is taking medication for both of these, and we are hoping to see some improvement there. They have been very attentive, and it is a relief to have someone to call on for any needs that we have.
Muncle Mark has a new niece and a new nephew today. That is right. Two babies born 9 minutes apart to two sisters who are several years apart and live many, many miles apart. AND, both babies weighed the same amount. God is good. While the proud grandparents couldn't be in two places at once, Judy happened to be here and got to be the surrogate grandparent for little Julia. And, on top of that, I could stay with Mark that because I didn't have to be at the hospital to work. WoooHooo!
Thanks for all the continued love and prayers. Still praying for a miracle, Missy
Muncle Mark has a new niece and a new nephew today. That is right. Two babies born 9 minutes apart to two sisters who are several years apart and live many, many miles apart. AND, both babies weighed the same amount. God is good. While the proud grandparents couldn't be in two places at once, Judy happened to be here and got to be the surrogate grandparent for little Julia. And, on top of that, I could stay with Mark that because I didn't have to be at the hospital to work. WoooHooo!
Thanks for all the continued love and prayers. Still praying for a miracle, Missy
Monday, February 21, 2011
Catching up.
I can see I have much catching up to do. It has been a while. I do apologize, I just can't keep up sometimes. The blood was great. Unfortunately the wait to get it was a little exhausting. There was almost instant relief, and he even said he felt better the next day, but then he was back to very tired again. Dr Diaz was here through Saturday. His treatments were very limited over the last 3 days due to Mark's lack of tolerance for any activity. He was pleased with a couple of things as he left. He feels that Mark's jaundice has improved slightly. He says that the tumor that he has been palpating since the day he met Mark was unchanged. He says that there is some passage of bile through the liver and he is pleased that Mark has been able to eat without nausea or vomiting He left instructions for care while he was gone and promised to keep up with how we were doing regularly.
By Sunday, Mark had great difficulty getting going in the morning. He feels he doesn't have the strength or energy to keep up with his nutrition, supplementing, and treatments. It was a very emotional morning at the Brown house, but it was nice to have some quiet time with the kids to visit and answer questions. Doing so brought a certain peace in the house. Mark can relax now knowing that if he doesn't have the energy to get up, he doesn't have to. If he is not hungry, he does not have to eat, and especially something that doesn't taste good to him! He had a great day with visitors. The kids and I got to see him laughing, visiting, playing dominoes, holding our newest nephew, and actually enjoying himself. Thanks to everyone who lifted his spirits on Sunday. Today was a fairly quiet day, and tomorrow we see about taking care of a broken sternal wire that is causing Mark a great deal of discomfort.
Thank you God for all you have provided for us along this not so yellow brick road. We know so many good people who have taken such good care of us. Thank you for placing each one in our lives at just the right time as you carry out your plan. Please God, give us wisdom and give us strength as I cannot forsee how I can possibly find the magnitude of strength necessary within myself.
By Sunday, Mark had great difficulty getting going in the morning. He feels he doesn't have the strength or energy to keep up with his nutrition, supplementing, and treatments. It was a very emotional morning at the Brown house, but it was nice to have some quiet time with the kids to visit and answer questions. Doing so brought a certain peace in the house. Mark can relax now knowing that if he doesn't have the energy to get up, he doesn't have to. If he is not hungry, he does not have to eat, and especially something that doesn't taste good to him! He had a great day with visitors. The kids and I got to see him laughing, visiting, playing dominoes, holding our newest nephew, and actually enjoying himself. Thanks to everyone who lifted his spirits on Sunday. Today was a fairly quiet day, and tomorrow we see about taking care of a broken sternal wire that is causing Mark a great deal of discomfort.
Thank you God for all you have provided for us along this not so yellow brick road. We know so many good people who have taken such good care of us. Thank you for placing each one in our lives at just the right time as you carry out your plan. Please God, give us wisdom and give us strength as I cannot forsee how I can possibly find the magnitude of strength necessary within myself.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Someone pinch me!
I can't believe the world we are living in. Who would have ever thought Mark and I would be where we are now. It is like something out of a dream, only not such a good one. We are still up and down on that roller coaster all the time, or maybe it was the see-saw, you're either really high or really low. You remember how it was always fun to try to balance the see-saw perfectly still in the middle - perfectly balanced? I would take a little of that in our lives right now. I am ALL FOR just a plain ole right in the middle, straight up boring!
Mark remains very, very tired. Dr. Diaz is back and Mark has had some improvement since the weekend, but he is just too tired to be able to keep up with his treatments. Sometimes it is hard to just hold his head up. While we know that the condition of his liver is contributing to this, it is also probable that his low blood counts are not helping him out either. Mark desire is to gain more enegy so he can keep working hard with Dr. Diaz. Last week was a really positive week and he is hoping, that he can get back to that point. He will go for some blood today and God willing, that will give him extra energy. He will follow that with some more time with Dr. Diaz, so busy day for him today.
Love to all, Missy
Mark remains very, very tired. Dr. Diaz is back and Mark has had some improvement since the weekend, but he is just too tired to be able to keep up with his treatments. Sometimes it is hard to just hold his head up. While we know that the condition of his liver is contributing to this, it is also probable that his low blood counts are not helping him out either. Mark desire is to gain more enegy so he can keep working hard with Dr. Diaz. Last week was a really positive week and he is hoping, that he can get back to that point. He will go for some blood today and God willing, that will give him extra energy. He will follow that with some more time with Dr. Diaz, so busy day for him today.
Love to all, Missy
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Fishing trip.
The weekend didn't turn out quite like we wanted. Mark was very low on energy, so getting out of the house took so much out of him. Nonetheless, he did make it out to the fishin hole in Wichita with the kids and Danny and Sherri. The kids got to catch their own lunch. Then they help clean and cook the fish and even learned how to eat whole fish right off the bone (a first for me too. I sure was glad he cut the head off before he put it on my plate!) This picture was the last fish caught for the day.
Abby Singing
Just thought you all would enjoy Abby's latest performance. The girls all did a great job at Grace Care Center for their music recital. Abby was a little anxious about youtube. She doesn't want someone to find her and try to get her! What a smart girl! So, you will have to use the link below to get to it. I couldn't make it a true link, so you will have to copy and paste it into your browser search. Thanks and hope you have a great day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2FSf_i11dM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2FSf_i11dM
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Off for the weekend.
We are so excited about having the weekend off. It is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL! Hope that holds out. Mark is so ready to get out of the house, go for a drive, and soak up some sunshine. If it were only just a hair warmer, he would probably have the jeep out for the drive. (I don't count that out yet!) Dr. Diaz finished up a week here on Friday. About midweek, he decided he would like to stay longer with Mark. He sent for his family from New Mexico so that he could spend time with them over the weekend. They have travelled to Dallas to worship at a church there on Saturday and then possibly attend with Aunt Judy and Uncle Donny on Sunday. He actually made a special trip back to Scotland on the way to Dallas to meet us. I was with Abby at a basketball game, but several of Marks family were here and got to meet his wife and 5 young children. We can't thank them enough for the sacrifice they have made in sharing him with us during this time.
Dr Diaz left instructions for the weekend, mostly in the way of diet and supplements. Mark will rest from all "physical" treatments over the weekend. I have to tell you all what an AMAZING man Mark is. I think it is really important to let you all know how very sick he is, and yet, if you saw him, you might not realize the magnitude of it. In fact, if it weren't for his color, I would speculate that you would have no idea what was happening inside of his body. The picture on paper is far different from what we see in him in person. I promise that it is God's work that is giving us each day with him. A friend asked me yesterday, "How do you explain him feeling better, and being able to get out...and DRIVE!" He is a fighter, and he has gone many, many rounds, not just in the last two years, but throughout his lifetime, but most importantly, he has the best man in his corner! Each day He gives us is truly a gift, I can "Only Hope" and pray for lots and lots more gifts. Coincidentally, that is the song Abby is singing today, "Only Hope". It comes from the movie "A Walk to Remember". I watched it with the kids last night. Abby sings the song beautifully, but she had never seen what the song was really about. Let me just say it had been quite some time since I had seen the movie, and I didn't even remember what the song was about! Consequently, I bawled through much of the movie! It was good for me though. It reminded me that sometimes, "miracles don't come in the form that we want them to." Sometimes miracles happen when we don't even realize it. While saying, (or typing in this case) those words is barely possible for me, accepting them seems almost intangible right now. And so, I will keep asking, and praying, and begging for a healing miracle in Mark.
I can't thank everyone enough for all that you have done for us. The magnitude of people praying for him is a constant inspiration to us. So many people asking for a renewal of his health. I just wish I knew what the secret was - how God chooses those he is going to heal. And in the bible, it was so fast. He said to rise up and walk, and it happened; he laid his hands, and they were healed. So I have faith that in the blink of an eye, if He chooses, it can happen!
Mark is feeling fair. He is not having pain, but is very tired and tolerates very little physical activity. He is eating well and does not suffer with nausea or vomiting. His digestion is about as good as it has been since his bowel surgery in January of 2010. He is able to visit and is likely to have something witty to say make you laugh. He is an inspiration.
Many of you ask about the kids. They are doing really well. We are very open with the kids. They know how sick he is and they know that he will only be healed through God. They are very receptive and responsive with Dr. Diaz and he includes them daily. They respond fairly well to the ever-changing agenda in our home. In our busy world, they have definitely been trained to "go with the flow". That is definitely a challenge for them sometimes, but they really try hard to make it all work, and I really try hard to let them be kids!
We love you all, Missy
Dr Diaz left instructions for the weekend, mostly in the way of diet and supplements. Mark will rest from all "physical" treatments over the weekend. I have to tell you all what an AMAZING man Mark is. I think it is really important to let you all know how very sick he is, and yet, if you saw him, you might not realize the magnitude of it. In fact, if it weren't for his color, I would speculate that you would have no idea what was happening inside of his body. The picture on paper is far different from what we see in him in person. I promise that it is God's work that is giving us each day with him. A friend asked me yesterday, "How do you explain him feeling better, and being able to get out...and DRIVE!" He is a fighter, and he has gone many, many rounds, not just in the last two years, but throughout his lifetime, but most importantly, he has the best man in his corner! Each day He gives us is truly a gift, I can "Only Hope" and pray for lots and lots more gifts. Coincidentally, that is the song Abby is singing today, "Only Hope". It comes from the movie "A Walk to Remember". I watched it with the kids last night. Abby sings the song beautifully, but she had never seen what the song was really about. Let me just say it had been quite some time since I had seen the movie, and I didn't even remember what the song was about! Consequently, I bawled through much of the movie! It was good for me though. It reminded me that sometimes, "miracles don't come in the form that we want them to." Sometimes miracles happen when we don't even realize it. While saying, (or typing in this case) those words is barely possible for me, accepting them seems almost intangible right now. And so, I will keep asking, and praying, and begging for a healing miracle in Mark.
I can't thank everyone enough for all that you have done for us. The magnitude of people praying for him is a constant inspiration to us. So many people asking for a renewal of his health. I just wish I knew what the secret was - how God chooses those he is going to heal. And in the bible, it was so fast. He said to rise up and walk, and it happened; he laid his hands, and they were healed. So I have faith that in the blink of an eye, if He chooses, it can happen!
Mark is feeling fair. He is not having pain, but is very tired and tolerates very little physical activity. He is eating well and does not suffer with nausea or vomiting. His digestion is about as good as it has been since his bowel surgery in January of 2010. He is able to visit and is likely to have something witty to say make you laugh. He is an inspiration.
Many of you ask about the kids. They are doing really well. We are very open with the kids. They know how sick he is and they know that he will only be healed through God. They are very receptive and responsive with Dr. Diaz and he includes them daily. They respond fairly well to the ever-changing agenda in our home. In our busy world, they have definitely been trained to "go with the flow". That is definitely a challenge for them sometimes, but they really try hard to make it all work, and I really try hard to let them be kids!
We love you all, Missy
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