A Time to Wait!

Hello Everyone,

I'm sorry I haven't written for 11 days. Been trying to take it easy....which has been possible with Linda and Wayne arriving Sat. the 16 and leaving Wed. the 27th. What an incredible blessings for us and the resort. Michele, our daughter, is here for the week-end to catch me up.

Yesterday (29th) Michele took me back to Denver to see a couple of Dr.s Met with Dr. Kaplan my nuerologist and Dr. Sedlacek my oncologist. Both are stumped on what happened to me Sept. 14th. She still thinks it was a TIA or a migraine with nurological side effects....but they didn't exactly fit those patterns either!! Dr. Kaplan did say the spinal tap came back normal...TYL!! (thank you Lord)! And Dr. Sedlacek insists the Arimidex (cancer drug) or black cohash for hot flashes I now have) did not cause the 'spell' either!! While at the hospital in Denver they printed off info. and gave us that said the 2 drugs above could have side effects taken together!!! Oh my....what to think....yet so easy to know that there is one that does know....and God sees the bigger picture. Love Psalm 138:3 You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways!! That's like God reaching down with a hug....isn't it?
I did quit taking the black cohash...will just suffer like millions of other women do. I'm blessed I made it this long with out them!!

I'm really feeling the same as I did before Sept. 14th. Still having BIG pain with my expanders. I do have enough pain pills to get me to surgery on the OCT. 17th. Seventeen more days....and I am counting!! We are so blessed that our daughter Teresa from Tx. will fly in Oct. 11th to help us the last few days to close the resort (Oct. 15th)...PLUS be here for the surgery. It will mean a lot to all of us to be together that day. It has been so hard on Teresa being in Texas when we didn't know what was happening to me on the 14th.

Teresa mailed me a book that I've enjoyed so much. It's called... Just Enough LIGHT for the Step I'm on ....by Stormie Omartian. Guys....this is an awesome book for ANYONE going through challanges in their life. A GREAT GIFT if you want to try to help someone.! She also wrote.."The Power of a Praying Wife"...which is great!!

I agree so much with Stormie when she says this: "None of us like pain, uncertainty, strife, or frustration. We want things to run along smoothly. But the challenging and miserable times are not without their aspect of good."

"Things happen to us during those times that are as precious as diamonds. For it is then that we have the opportunity to experience the Lord's presence in a deeper way. If we embrace the moment, we see Him in it!!!" (Stormie Omartian)

How very true. I have felt God's presence in each event of this journey. My daily prayer is that God can use my life for His glory. He know the reasons and the timing for all of us!

When you are talking with God, please whisper the following:
1. For extra strength for our family...especially Lloyd. He is working so hard.
2. For me to not be over whelmed with the pain...just enough strength for each day.
3. That the surgery goes will and the pain will be gone with the permanent implants.
4. And God will be gloryfied!!

I'll write again before surgery. Thanks so much for all your concerns and especially your prayers. I know tons of you have put me on your church prayer list and asked many of your friends to pray also......there just enought words to express what that means to us!! We had a card yesterdary from "Westmoreland Church" in Westmoreland, Tn.???? Have no idea who or where....but God does and He's answering their prayers!! Blessed beyond measure!!

I'd like to close with the first page of "Just Enought Light":

Sometimes only the step I'm on,

or the very next one ahead,

is all that is illuminated for me.

God gives just the amount of light I need

for the exact moment I need it.

At those times I walk in surrender to faith,

unable to see the future

and not fully comprehending the past.

And because it is God who has given me

what light I have,

I know I must reject the fear and

doubt that threaten to overtake me.

I must determine to be content where

I am, and allow God to get me where I

need to go.

I walk forward,

one step at a time,

fully trusting that

the light God sheds

is absolutely sufficient.

Look for the light,

Donna

P. S. I'm baby sitting the resort down the street, (Connie's brother died) and writing this on her computer and when I clicked on 'spell check'....I needed to change something on the computer.....so here goes another one with errors!!

Thank You--Thank You For Your Prayers

Hello Family and Friends,

Just a short note to let you know I'm still around. I'm so terrible sorry to scare everyone to death!!

This evening I can say I'm feel about like I did on Thur. morning. It brought back such vivid memories of 1977 when I was touched by God's hand and healed after 5 weeks in the hospital of a mystery major illness. Had massive infection in the right side of my brain that paralayzed my left side.

Another illness hit Thur. Sept. 14th about one o'clock.....with some vision problems about 5 minutes later numbness in right arm and side of face and 30 second the left side and slurred speech. But THANK YOU LORD I was coming out if some what by 12 hrs. and back to almost normal the next morning. I'm so very, very blessed! It appeareaed so serious!!

I had a spinal tap at about midnight Fri. Ever since that procedure I've had HUGE headaches when I would stand or sit.......ended up with a leak where they went in. Linda and Wayne took be back to the hospital in Denver at 1:30 today. They did a blood patch!! Took blood from my arm and place in the whole where they did the puncture in my back. Almost before I was moved from the table my headache was gone! Kind of sounds like a tire patch doesn't it??

The thing that is hardest for me to accept is my surgery to take the expanders our was to have been today and now I have to wait another month!!! But I know there is a reason for this delay.
One positive thing is that the resort will be closed 2 days before.

I need to go lay back down.....but felt such a need to THANK YOU FOR YOUR AWESOME PRAYERS.....THEY ARE PRICELESS TO MY FAMILY AND ME!!

God Bless each and everyone of you!

Loving Him and you,
Donna & Family
Ps...don't feel like spelling...I'm sure there are errors!! :}

Thank you for your continued prayers!

Mom was released from the hospital yesterday evening. They are still waiting on final reports from the spinal tap. Specifically West Nile Virus. I spoke with her a couple of hours ago and she still has a bad headache, which she thinks is from the spinal tap. She also did not sleep well last night.

She is currently staying at Michele's right now, Dad is at the resort and I don't know what type of schedule they are working on or who will be helping Dad at Estes.

Her surgery has been postponed until October 17th, which I know is a disappointment for mom, but I am thankful that she will be able to truly rest after this surgery becuase the resort will be closed the first part of October.

Please pray for God's continued protection of Mom and her health. We are praying for no repeat episodes. Pray a hedge of protection around Dad and Michele also, one can not experience what they did with Mom and not be effected. Pray for Mom to get plenty of rest as she prepares for the second surgery. Since we do not have a clear diagnosis, please pray for wisdom and discernment in the ALL the details of their lives over the next few weeks.

We thank God for each of you and are blessed to know that we can call on others in our time of need. We are thankful that God is at work and is in control!

Love,
Teresa

PRAISE GOD!!

Mom received a spinal tap at midnight last night, her experience with so many spinal taps 30 years ago were very painful. Modern medicince has improved and the most pain was the local that they gave her before the spinal tap. Michele was able to be with her during the test.

We just received the results and everything came back clear! PTL!!

The diagnosis is still not clear but they are treating it as a TIA, which I think is like a mini stroke but does not show up on an MRI. She will need to take an asprin everyday and monitor her blood pressure and cholesteral (sp). They also think that it may have been a complex neurological migrane (sp). She will be given a perscription for migranes to take if she feels one coming on. She had symptoms of both of these, which is why the diagnosis is not clear.

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all of you who have been praying for our family. I can not begin to tell you how comforting it is to know that we can reach out and ask for others to pray on our behalf. We rejoice in knowing that God was with us and heard our prayers.

We are encouraging Mom to stay at Michele's for a couple of days before going back to Estes Park. We assume that the surgery will be postponed to give her time to rest. We will keep you posted.

Love,
Teresa

Update on Mom

This is an update on the past day and a half since an urgent prayer request was made for Mom and our family. Thank you Beth for posting the request. Please forgive me if I don't have all the details correct or the timing exactly right. But I know at 3:00 mountain time yesterday I called the resort to talk to Dad and I knew something was wrong. Donna Schrag, a friend and manager of another resort answered the phone. Dad had rushed Mom to the emergency room with blurred vision, slurred speach,memory loss, numbness on one side and severe pain. Michele drove up to Estes Park and Mom did not even recognize Michele when she arrived. It was really a frightening situation. Their good friend and doctor, Barry also met Dad and Michele at the hospital in Estes. After a CT scan was performed it showed to be clear but they felt like an MRI needed to be performed. This hospital did not have an MRI so they transported Mom by ambulance to St Luke's in Denver. She was incoherent off and on through out the night. She did not recognize Barry or her plastic surgeon, Dr Baker who came to check on her last night. She could not tell them where her pain was and they did not want to give her any medicine for the pain until she saw the nuerologist. Dad and Michele stayed with her at the hospital and they said she had a restless night and kept saying "pain, pain, pain". At some point she was able to tell them it was her head that hurt so bad.

Thank you for all your prayers last night because by this morning the doctors were amazed at her progress. All of her symptoms had ceased except for the severe headache! And she also remembered everything from last night!

At some point today they did give her some medicine to ease the headache but it was coming back late this afternoon. Today was a day of waiting for test to be run. So far they have done a sonogram of her heart and an MRI of her head. Both test came back clear! Thank you God!

They will perform a spinal tap this evening and will have final results on this sometime tomorrow. Her white blood count is slightly elevated, they are leaning towards some type of viral infection at this point. Which will have to run its course. Please pray for this procedure to be without complications.

Please continue to pray for my mom, when I spoke with her this afternoon she assured me that everything was going to be ok. Pray that her headaches will ease and that she will get a good nights sleep tonight. Please pray for Dad and Michele, that they will feel God's peace, it is very scary to see a loved one in the shape that Mom must have been last night. Please pray for safe travel for Uncle Wayne & Aunt Linda who have been traveling and should arrive tomorrow at noon. Please pray for the doctors as they continue to rule out possibilities, we are grateful that the MRI was clear. Please pray for me too - it is hard being so far away.

Our desire and Mom's desire is that God would be glorified through it all. We praise God for prayers that have already been answered!

Thank you again for all your prayers!
Love,
Teresa

Please Pray Urgently for Donna, Lloyd and the Girls!

Blog Under Construction-- Some awesome news!

Hello Family and Friends,

I wish Beth Rudy was here... instead of Pa.... so I could hug on her neck. My blog appeared to have lost most of the posting for a while. Beth is the special person that helped me make my blog May 18th, when I learned I had cancer..... and she was able to retrieve it last night! Thanks Beth....again a blessing for me!

Awesome news.....MY OTHER HALF (TWIN SISTER) Linda and her hubby Wayne are heading their van west to the mountains this Sat. to be her for my surgery Tues. 19th!!! A HUGE BLESSING!! Linda wanted to get here so I can give her a refresher course Monday in helping Lloyd run the resort!! Michele was planning on coming up to help for the week....but having Linda here is so great. Michele has her hands full with, 2 kids,, home and job to take care of. Michele will be available if I need her when Linda and Wayne leave. God is sooo good!! Plus this is not nearly as major a surgery as before. About 3 hrs and I will get to come home the same day.

I've struggled to write since the last entry Aug. 29. I know many of you great people are daily looking at the blog. You must have thought I fell off the mountain!!! I've wanted so bad to have good news about my journey to share before I wrote....but the past 2 weeks have been really, really hard. I'm so thankful that we made the decision to take out the last "fill up"...it has helped....but still I struggle with the pain...feels like the expanders are cutting into my flesh.

The Zoloft that I was so hoping would help.... made me nauseau, headache and slight trembles....cut it in half after a week... and the side effects left....but at the same time I was struggling to go from 2 Percocets a day.... down to one....so I saw NO relief in the pain level...it went up! I made it 4 days with just 1 pain pill and had trouble even working....so back on 2 now. I have 2 a day left to get me to surgery. The 12 - 16 Ibuprofen a day caught up with my stomach last week so have changed to Tylenol....which doesn't work as well...but the stomach pain is better! TYL (thank you Lord). I just feel like a broken record...but want this to be a factual journey. Praying I won't need to be refered to a pain Dr. after surgery....I'm counting on doing LOTS better when I get the expanders out. I under stand the implants are much softer and more natural!!

I do know God as a plan and a purpose for this pain. Perhaps it's not for me to know this side of heaven what it is....but I've found peace in my heart that He does know. I love to dwell on Psalm 139....the whole chapter......but .especially verse16...."All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be"!! HE KNOW EACH OF OUR DAYS!!

My prayer for several years each morning before my feet hit the floor has been..."I don't know what you have in store for me today Lord, but use me for your glory." It has helped me focus on the events and people He puts in my life each day....thinking God put it/them here today for His reason. Please, Please Please ....I'm sharing this not because I'm trying to say I'm great or perfect...I'M NOT!!!! I'm just a humble servant who wants to be His hands and feet to others.

I feel when He touched my body and gave me an instant healing from a major ilness in 1977.....He allowed me to live for the purpose of a ministy to help others suffering with illness. (If you would like to know that incredible miracle....just leave a note on the blog... and I'll send it to you). This journey will surley give me a broader understanding of suffering. I pray I don't ever loose an opportunity to share about God's grace and mercy.

Do I fail??? YES..YES...YES....every day and I'm broken hearted when I do.......do I see each opportunity He puts in front of me? NO... and I'm so sad when the opportunity walks away without me opening my mouth.........praying for His forgiveness.
I've been praying for many weeks that instead of taking the pain away....just give me strenght to bear it this day. I don't want for anything in this world to miss what God will use this journey for. I just pray the Master Scluptor will mold me and use me as He sees fit.

One of my very favorite songs is the "Servants Prayer...Use me, Lord" by Randy Whittern.
I was in a Sunday service last year at the YMCA when Randy sang it! I've never had a song effect me so much....with tears streaming down my face....I said..."Lord this is my "heart's words and desire to be your servant"!! It's playing now as I write...I keep it on repeat...almost have it worn through!!

I pray that each of you reading this will continue to see the need around you where God can use your help!! Many of you are awesome example that have inspired me!!! There are so many people who are hurting with broken hearts, illnesses or many other needs that we meet each day....and YOU are the one that is ministering to them. God Bless You!!

I'm just over whelmed by your priceless gift of prayers for us. All the cards, e.mails and gifts for me and my family and beyond measure. I hope that some day....in some way....God allows me to repay you.

When your praying for us, I would ask for you to include:

1. Safe journey for Linda and Wayne as they drive here Sat. and Sunday from Cape Girardeau, Mo..
2. That God would give wisdom, focus and skilled hands to Dr. Baker as he does my surgery Tues. Sept. 19th. It's scheduled for 10:15 a.m. I truly feel God has given Dr. Baker a special gift.
3. That God would give a special peace to Lloyd , our daughters, Teresa & Michele along with the rest of our family as they wait for the surgery to be done.
4. And extra strength for Lloyd. He has been so awesome through this journey. I truly know his pain is as much as mine. It's hard to see your life mate suffer. He's been such an encourager, patient and loving partner....truly one of my greatest blessings.

It's getting late and bed is calling me....but I want to close with another verse from Psalm 139...verse 8-10....If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand wuill guide me, your right hand will hold me fast!!!.....and so dear ones....I'm off to sleep knowing He is holding me fast!!

Blessing for each of you,
Donna

P.S. please excuse the spelling....the ABC won't check tonight.....guess it's tired also!