Trust in HIM at all times.
Pour your heart out before HIM.
God is your refuge.
Psalm 62:8

the last 24ish hours have been eventful.

the greatest news we heard was that the chemo was successful because it did not show up in the lymph nodes or the bladder. they did find some cells in the prostate but they are confident but since it is removed it should not be an issue.

Dr. Moses said it the best, "Mike... the cancer... IT is in a bucket somewhere not in your body." The tangible image of this brings me GREAT comfort.

yesterday dad started running a fever, and he had an irregular heart beat. the home health nurse said she thought it might be an infection and she thought it would be a good idea to get it checked out. so dad went back to Emory.

in the beginning they were thinking pneumonia and after x rays they wanted to rule out blood clots so they did a ct scan with contrast. the scans showed clots in both his lungs and one leg. so he is check back in to Emory and they are treating him with a blood thinner and monitoring him as this teeters on the healing process of his surgery.

we are all SO thankful for the good news! the set back of the clotting is in God's hands.

how thankful i am that the Lord has placed you in my life. your prayers and encouragements are the GREATEST comfort and strength.

while the image of the cancer being in a bucket is one of comfort and victory. the image of the Lord caring for us throught this and giving us just what we need for each day has expanded my perspective. my perspective of Him and the truths proclaimed in scripture have become even more real.

Rise

I see you dreaming by the ocean window
I hear you breathing like the waves upon the shore
The tide is turning on your time of sorrow
You will never be so lonesome any more

The breezes whisper as the curtain dances
Your dreams are deeper than the mystery of the sea
The sun itself is in the room beside you
With a message of how good your life can be

I know that a heart can just get buried
Stone by stone, crushing hope until it dies
Far away, but the message somehow carries
Beloved, it is time for you to rise. Time for you to RISE UP...

With a sudden sense of wonder | Though the promise goes unspoken
As the joy comes to your eyes | When the joy comes to your eyes
From the burden you've been under | For your soul was never broken

Beloved, it is time for you to rise, time for you to rise.

There's nothing wrong with taking time for sleeping
Your eyes are weary with the things that you have seen
A deeper promise your soul is keeping
Right in time for this appointment in your dream

Angels whisper so as not to wake you
There's nothing else in this whole world for you to do
But follow on to where your dream may take you
To see your footsteps from an eagle's point of view

© David Wilcox, all rights reserved

has it come to this...

i think i am in love with JACK BLACK... i mean i may have to put together a collage of pictures and hang them in my locker... i mean bookshelf by my desk. he just seems to have that quality... that factor... or maybe it was just his acting in portrayal of a character that really never existed...

these are lifes greater questions... ?

GOOD NEWS!

WOOHOOOOOOOOO! The results of the PET scan came back great! I won't type all the details but the big thing is that the lining of the bladder did shrink and therefore they can go through with the scheulded surgery on AUGUST 29th.

The next BIG prayer is that they will be able to remove ALL the lymph nodes that may contain cancer.

Thank you for your dedication to prayer and your constant encouragment!

update on dad

so as of today daddy mike is done with chemo... thursday he goes for the PET scan which will finalize some things and secure his surgery date which is tentatively set for August 29th.

a little/big miracle.... so i have learned that blood readings platelets, cells red and white are all a huge factor in the progression of treating cancer. so a week and a half ago dads platelets were an low low low and a transfusion was almost inevitable... so he went to check in a few days later he went back to have blood work done and they had jumped by thousands ... the miracle part comes in by way of platelets don't increase unless a. you stop chemo or b. you have a transfusion... woohhoo!!! coming off this final cycle of chemo has been a little rough but we are all hopeful that this is the end of the road for the chemo segment... and if it isn't we will all just gear up again.

in anticipation of getting to move on to part III (surgery) please pray for the surgeon his name is Dr. Nieh (knee) ... dad thinks he is great so i back him on that... they met about two weeks ago and he went through the process with him... the BIGGEST factor in the surgery is removing ALL the lymph nodes... i am trying to learn more about this but i hear it can be difficult to insure removing all of them. please pray that they would be apparent and easy to remove. he will have his bladder removed and there will be some reconstruction.

thank you for being faithful to pray for him.

today our spirits are definitely higher but there is much anticipation to have the PET scan and hear the results (August 7th)....

we will keep you posted.

summer is over ... not the season but the vaccation...

it has been a different summer but a good summer none the less.

from pulling dad through his chemo ...

a move...

taking a new job...

picking apples...

beach...

bring back prices right but this time with drew carey...

buying my first lottery tickets... (and on a regular basis)

hanging out with old friends...

starting a new art class... figure drawing... challenging but worth it.

not having a summer job...

going to mama mia with nicole kidman and keith urban but most importantly dear dear friends...and then againg with my dad

driving a big rig over mont eagle...

going to the robert plant allison kraus show...

saying good bye to the last five years...

taking a tour of the mayfield dairy...

embracing the sonoma lifestyle without leaving the great state of georgia...

and oh so much more...

so tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life... and yours too!

early retirement...

the summers that i do not work i find myself in early retirement...
this summers retirement in the simplest form is reduced to the prices is right, playing the lottery (Mega Millions, Quick Pick, with the Cash Option), and reading the obituaries... did you know bozo the clown died two weeks ago.