FEBRUARY 26

"bamaw. if papaw teaches about god why does god give him cancer why?"

This question was posted on Facebook by our 11 yr. old grandson, Tyler. I admit that I have thought the same thing many times and my heart breaks to think that my grandchildren have to go through this with us. Gary spent time tonight talking to Tyler on the phone trying to explain to him how just because you are faithful to God and His will, doesn't mean that bad things will not happen to you.

My prayer is that Tyler will see God work His will in all that Gary is going through and he will see his Papaw and Bamaw glorifying God no matter the outcome. As you pray for Gary tonight, please remember our children and grandchildren too.

FEBRUARY 24

Today, Gary woke up saying he wanted to get out of the apartment and walk in the mall ... so that is what we did. We did not stay very long, mainly because I was concerned he would over do it. He has not felt like doing anything like that for quite some time now. Gary mentioned that he has noticed he is not as sleepy as he has been before this last treatment. His pain levels have been better in his head also. We are hoping these changes are an indication that the cancer has diminished at least some. Thank you for your prayers!

TAKE TIME

Today, I was reading a devotional written by Chuck Swindoll at http://www.insight.org/ titled "Take Time". It was a blessing to me to be reminded of this verse and how we can tell Jesus how weary and over-burdened we are.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30

Toward the end of his devotion, he said ...

I suggest you accept Jesus' invitation---today. Come to Him. Tell Him how weary and over-burdened you are. Pull that heavy backpack loaded with all your stuff off your shoulders and drop it at His feet. Do it now. Then enter into His rest. Relax for a change---take an extra several minutes to enjoy His presence . . . embrace His peace. Before you turn in tonight, curl up alongside those who mean the most to you and tell them how much you love them, how valuable they are to you.

Good words for all of us, whether we are going through trials or not. "Thank you Lord, for taking my burdens, for dying on the cross for my sins and allowing me to feel your presence every moment of every day."

FEBRUARY 22

Gary was dismissed from the hospital today with an MTX level of .07. His Creatinine levels stayed at .8 the entire time. Everyone is please, especially Gary. We have an appointment to have MRI of head and PET scan done on Tuesday, March 2. Please join us this week praying that there will be a significant decrease of the cancer. Please pray for me to have a quite spirit and not be anxious waiting on news of whether the cancer has increased or decreased. Thanks!

FEBRUARY 21

Gary continued to fight the nausea today, but is handling it okay with anti-nausea drugs. His Methotrexate level this morning was .19. A good drop from the first reading last night of .59, so we are pretty confident that it will be below .1 tomorrow, enabling him to leave the hospital. We appreciate so much your cards, emails, and phone calls letting us know that you are thinking of us and praying for Gary.

FEBRUARY 20

Gary is still not feeling too well. He has not wanted to eat today. He does get up and walk down the hall in between naps. He is not holding onto the extra fluids they are giving him, so has not needed the diuretic. Tonight they took the first blood draw to check the MTX levels. We will know in the morning what that is. Thank you for your prayers!

FEBRUARY 19

Valentines Day has passed, but I wanted to share a special card Gary received. Esther is 6 yrs. old and has been dealing with cancer for quite some time now. Her parents are missionaries in India and are now attending the same church as Gary's parents in Tulsa. Her little note really touched our hearts. She certainly taught me something with her simple words of faith. I still have days I struggle with why God would allow this to happen to Gary. Esther's little note reminds me to stop asking why and just give God the glory... whatever happens. Thank you Esther.

Gary has not felt well today, not wanting to eat. Tonight he finally asked for an anti-nausea drug. They have started the rescue drug so now we wait for the MTX to leave his body. We appreciate you praying for him and while you are at it, please pray for Esther too.

FEBRUARY 18

Gary started on the Methotrexate tonight. He is not feeling too good this evening. The steroid they give before the MTX makes him have hot and cold flashes and the extra fluids that they have pushed through him tend to make him nauseous. All in all, no "excitement" and that's the way we like it. We appreciate your prayers!

FEBRUARY 17

Gary saw his doctor today before being put back in the hospital for another treatment. Dr. Patrick said his plan is to have Gary go through this treatment and possible one more before moving on to the stem cell transplant. This all depends on how well Gary is responding to these last treatments. They plan to do a MRI and PET scan after this treatment to see how much of the cancer is gone.

Tonight they have started hydrating Gary with fluids and tomorrow night, they will administer the high dose of Methotrexate. Just because Gary has done well with the last two treatments, does not mean there is no cause for concern. Even the doctor commented today how Gary has responded different every time he has done this treatment. Several specific areas you can join me in prayer during this time are:

*That the MTX will not affect his kidneys

*That the MTX will rapidly leave his body once the rescue drug is administered

*That while in his body, the MTX will be effective against the cancer

*That we will see a significant improvement in the next MRI and PET scan

FEBRUARY 15

Becky and grandkids left today. We sure enjoyed having them here. Even though Gary felt bad, he was very happy that they were with us for a few days.

FEBRUARY 14

Gary has not felt very well today. He has spent a good part of the day sleeping. If it wasn't for the grandkids being here, he probably would have stayed in bed all day. He came out to spend some time and play some games with the kids, then retired early. His head has been hurting him today, which is a concern for us. Thank you for your prayers!

FEBRUARY 12

I am writing with no real news about Gary's health, but he will have some real excitement in an hour or so. Without him knowing ..... my daughter, Becky and I planned for her to come up with the grandkids for the weekend! The kids are so excited knowing that they are going to surprise Papaw. He has really been talking about how much he misses them, so I know he will be thrilled! It will be just the distraction we need this weekend before Gary goes back for another treatment on Tuesday.

FEBRUARY 11

Today had been uneventful, like previous days, with Gary spending most of it sleeping. But this evening, something "eventful" happened....

Several months ago, I told my daughter Becky, that if I had to look for blessings in Gary's illness, it would be that because of his illness and the news being spread.... we have come into contact with so many long lost friends.

One such person emailed us tonight. This person will never know what her email meant to us! Not because she could understand what Gary was going through because of her own health issues, or the words she wrote about Gary and the testimony he left in her memory... but HOW she came to know about Gary.

She found out about Gary because another dear friend and fellow missionary wrote to her supporting churches asking them to pray for Gary. Tonight, I was reminded again how God is working and using others to show us how much He cares for us. Not a day goes by that we do not hear from someone who asked their church ... or their family ... or their new converts in Bangladesh ... or other parts of the world, to pray for Gary! It is so humbling and overwhelming and we are so grateful!

FEBRUARY 9

We did not make a trip to Oklahoma. Gary was not feeling very good and I was concerned with taking him so far away from his doctors here. He continues to sleep alot and not have much energy, but we have become used that.

I often talk of the many, both old and young, that are praying for us and how much we appreciate it. There is one little prayer warrior that I thought I would share with you. Her name is Sophia Gotcher, age 4. Her parents are good friends and co-missionaries in the Philippines.

Several weeks ago, when we found out that the cancer had relapsed and was now in Gary's brain, we sent an email to our friends telling them the news. Lance and Melanie sat their kids down to explain that "Uncle" Gary was not doing well and they needed to pray for him.

Little Sophia's prayer went like this.... "Please Lord, don't allow Uncle Gary to die". Such a simple, but effective prayer.

Recently, Melanie called to say that they were driving by our house the other day and she mentioned to her children that "Uncle" Gary was having another treatment. Brynn, who also asks her class each day to pray for Gary, asked how he was doing. Before Melanie could answer, Sophia piped up and said, "I have a feeling, he is not doing so well." *smile*

Melanie told her that actually he was doing ok with this last treatment. Mel then said, "You really love your "Uncle" Gary don't you?" Sophia said, "Oh yes! He is one of the best men in the world!" *big smile*

So there you have it.... in case you were not sure..... Gary is one of the best men in the world.... at least according to Sophia.... and me!

FEBRUARY 7

Gary has done well since coming home from the hospital. He still sleeps alot, but that is probably due to all the medicines and part of the central nervous system lymphoma. Gary's next treatment will be on the 17th, so he is talking about making a trip this week to Oklahoma to see family. We are waiting to see how he feels today and tomorrow before we decide. The 11 hour drive is a major factor in our decision.

After this next treatment, they will do a MRI and PET scan to see how much cancer is left and then make a decision on the next course of treatment. We will be anxious to see the results. Thank you so much for your prayers! It is such a comfort to know we are not alone.

FEBRUARY 4

GARY CAN LEAVE THE HOSPITAL TODAY!!!!

Gary's Methotrexate level this morning was .07 so he will be able to leave the hospital today! We were really hoping that would be the case. We just never know how his body is going to react and each time it is different. I bet he is giving the doctors plenty to write about in their medical journals! Unless there is some other major news, I will not post later on today. Thank you for your prayers!

FEBRUARY 3

Gary's levels of Methotrexate are starting out good. The first reading last night was .73 and this morning, they were .51. We are hoping there will be a significant drop in the morning to hasten his dismissal from the hospital. His Creatinine is .7 so doing good there as well. We are encouraged that he has handled the full dose of the Methotrexate well. He will have one more treatment before they do a PET scan and MRI to determine if it is making any headway against the cancer.

I know I say this every post.... but I really mean it from the bottom of my heart..... THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS! I feel at peace with what is going on in our life right now. Don't get me wrong.... I still have moments and sometimes hours and days, but all in all, I feel God's presence and a calmness about it all. I know this is not coming from anything I am doing, but by God's people praying not only for Gary but for me as well. Maraming, maraming salamat sa inyong lahat, and Thank you very much!!!

FEBRUARY 2

Gary has continued to do well with this treatment. His creatinine levels this morning were .9 so his kidneys are holding up well. Tonight, they will start checking the levels of the methotrexate so we will get an idea of when he will go home. The doctors are very pleased with how this is going with the full dose of the methotrexate. Thank you for your prayers!

FEBRUARY 1

All is going well so far. Tonight, they administered the rescue drug, so it is just a waiting game to see how long the Methotrexate will take to get out of Gary's system. We appreciate everyone's prayers. Thank you to those who call, write on the blog, facebook, emails and cards,etc... It means alot and encourages Gary.

JANUARY 31

Our day today has been pretty uneventful. Gary has just been pushed through with the fluids in preparation for the Methotrexate he will receive tonight. They will start the full dose at 9pm which will take 4-5 hours.

24 hours later, they will administer the Loucovorin (rescue drug). We then wait 48 hours to see how much of the MTX is still in his system. Until the MTX is out of his body, he will be in danger of his kidneys going into crisis.

This is the time that we need everyone lifting him up in prayer. Pray that while the MTX is in his system, it will be attacking the cancer, that his kidneys will hold up, and that the MTX will leave his body rapidly in order for him to leave the hospital as soon as possible.

I know so many are praying for not only Gary, but for me as well and we appreciate it so much!