NOVEMBER 29, 2010

Thanksgiving is past, but in our house, we are still giving thanks to God for His blessings on our life.

A little over a week ago, I had to accompany our one and only granddaughter to the dermatologist to have a mole removed and sent away for testing. Having Gary go through his journey with cancer and at present, dealing with our son-in-law, Andy with 4th stage Melanoma, this was a very disconcerting event in our lives.

I held onto the promise that God would not give me anything I could not handle, and made sure I told Him that I would NOT be able to handle Brianna having cancer too. Today, we received word that her test was negative and I do not have to say how relieved we all were!

This evening, I was thinking about all that has gone on in our life in the past 3 years.

Thanksgiving 2008, Gary had spent several months receiving treatment for his cancer and was supposed to start the process for his stem cell transplant after the holiday. His father had prayed a very special prayer that day, thanking God for bringing Gary through his journey with cancer. We did not know at the time, we would have some rough times ahead. That weekend the tumor in his brain manifested itself, causing him excruciating pain. I remembered praying to God, that if he was not going to survive the cancer, to go ahead and take him now and spare him the suffering. He would suffer for another 6 weeks until he had the GAMMA procedure.

Thanksgiving 2009, we were busy with preparations to return to the Philippines the first week of December. After spending an unplanned 2 years in the States, we were excited and anxious to return to the land and people we love. It was a very special time for us as a family. There were many times that year, we did not expect Gary to live, and to have him alive and free of cancer was a wonderful blessing for our family.

Thanksgiving 2010 ... Gary, Sandra and I are once again in the States, helping care for our grandchildren while our daughter and son-in-law travel to Houston for his treatments. Andy was present for Thanksgiving, just having arrived the night before from Houston. He is far from being finished with his journey and continues to need your prayers. You can go HERE for updates. So ... can I still "Give Thanks" when we are still dealing with CANCER? Yes, I can.

Giving thanks to God is not an optional thing for a believer. Thankfulness should flow naturally from the Christian who realizes the great gift of salvation offered through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus Christ suffered the penalty for what He did not deserve (all my sin), then freely offered to me the reward (eternal life) that I did not deserve. What an awesome God!

"Shout joyfully to the LORD, all the earth. Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him; bless His name. For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting, And His faithfulness to all generations." --Psalm 100

SEPTEMBER 16, 2010

I am sure that as time goes by, and Gary continues to have good reports, I will relax about whether or not his cancer is back. For now, everything is still so fresh and I tend to look at every ache and pain he has, as something more than just the usual ache and pain. This week, we had a little scare.

Gary's right eye bothers him all the time. It tears up and at times, is painful. Wednesday, Gary went to see our eye doctor because he felt like he was not seeing well. We were shocked to find out that Gary has not been seeing from his right eye at all. His left must have been compensating for it. Everything on the eye chart was blurry for him, even after lenses were applied. That was disconcerting to say the least. Upon some further testing, Dr. Reyes told Gary that he saw something with his optic nerve and would like him to do some more test.

So, today we traveled to a different hospital for Dr. Reyes to conduct those test. I never did get all the names of the test he was doing. After he reviewed the results, Dr. Reyes brought us into the room and with a very relieved smile explained that there was indeed a slight swelling of the optic nerve in the right eye, but it was still in the normal range. As a swelling could have indicated Gary's brain tumor had returned, this was a big relief! The doctor said Gary will see him in 2 weeks after using a different kind of eye drops to see if the blurriness was caused by the drops Gary was using.

Dr. Reyes was relieved and rejoicing with us. As we were leaving the room, Gary commented, "You were concerned yesterday...", at which Dr. Reyes asked us to go to a private room and proceeded to tell us that part of his demeanor yesterday, was not all to do with Gary, but that he had just found out that he had stage 2, possibly 3 stomach cancer.

My heart just sank. After talking more about what his options are, we then spent time in prayer for him and his family. And now, I am asking you to pray for him as well. We have known Manolito Reyes for 10 years now and he is a fine man and faithful member of Sumulong Baptist Church, lead by our friend and fellow missionary, Lance Gotcher. Pray for him to know what and where he should receive treatment and for his doctors to have wisdom how best to treat him.

Before Gary went for the test today, he taught his class in our Novaliches campus. I went with him as we would be going from there to the hospital. As I sat listening to him teach, I was struck by the thought, "Why God, would you bring the cancer back now." In my opinion, Gary is such a wonderful teacher and loves being involved in training Filipinos to do ministry. After we received the good report today, my thought was, "Why God, would you give us a scare like this?" and then after hearing the news of Dr. Reyes, my immediate thought was, "Hmmmm, maybe all this was not about us."

Maybe it was about Gary choosing THIS week to see the doctor. The very DAY that Dr. Reyes had received devastating news. When I look back on Gary's journey with cancer, I KNOW God orchestrated events and people to come into our life when we needed it, so maybe, that's what all this was about.

I know you are continuing to pray for Gary and words can't describe my gratitude. I know you will pray for Manolito as well. I am sure he would say, "Maraming, Maraming Salamat po sa lahat!"

SEPTEMBER 11, 2010

SEPTEMBER 11 ... to most Americans, this will forever be remember as the day over 3000 people perished in a terrorist attack in 2001. To Gary and I, we have another memory connected with this date. September 11, 2008, we were in a hotel room in Rochester, MN., awaiting a phone call. The news came that Gary had a rare cancer of the nerves. Neurolymphomatosis.

After 3 years of being unwell and a year of his body rapidly deteriorating, we finally had a diagnosis. We were stunned! Through all the test and doctors leading up to us going to Mayo Clinic, he had been repeatedly told, he had no cancer cells in his body. I guess that was true to a certain extent, since it was in his nerves and not in a place most doctors would see.

When I think back to how Gary was on this day 2 years ago, I am amazed that not only is he alive and back in the Philippines doing what he loves to do, but how much his body has recovered from the damage the cancer had on his nerves.

Two years ago:

* Gary had lost the use of his left arm and hand. The muscles had atrophied and his arm was just skin and bones. His hand was in constant pain. He could not dress himself or do the simplest of task.

* His left eye would wander and cause him to see double. His eyelid would not stay open, so he had reached a point where it was hard to read and had to wear a patch so his eye would not be constantly straining to do a task it could not do.

* And, his right leg was giving him pain. Enough to wake him up 3-4 times a night. He started to limp when he walked.

Today:

*Gary has the use of his arm back and his hand has made significant improvements. Although still weak, he rarely needs help to dress or do things things.

* His left eye is normal.

* His right leg is normal.

* He still battles severe pain in his left hand and will probably do so for the rest of his life. He relies on heavy narcotics to bring the pain down from a level 10 (unbearable) to a level 3. It never goes away completely.

* The right side of his face is still numb from the damage the cancer did to it and his right eye still gives him pain, but all in all, he is so much better than he was even 6 months ago!

He is able to do most of what he wants to do, he just has to pace himself and rest when he needs to. He preaches every Sunday and teaches in our Bible college two days a week. Yesterday, he went golfing with us Dad. He had to ride in a cart instead of walk, but was able to finish the 18 holes and felt good afterward.

I mention all of this as a testament to the healing power of God and the answer to the faithful prayers that were lifted up for Gary daily. We never took it for granted and were and still are, so very grateful!

ANDY WILEMAN

September 24, 2009, our son-in-law, Andy Wileman was diagnosed with Clark level 4 melanoma. He had surgery to cut out the cancer in his right forearm and lymph nodes removed. Doctors declared him to be free from any active cancer and we rejoiced.

For the past year, Andy has been checked every 3 months, and continued to be free of active cancer. Until now. This past week, Andy had a PET scan done to confirm what the doctor suspected. The cancer has returned in his lymph nodes. The good news is, as far as they can tell, it has not spread to other areas of his body.

Andy needs your prayers! He will see a surgeon this week to remove all lymph nodes and then possibly consult further with doctors at MD Anderson for further treatment options. Andy is a policeman for city of Collinsville. He will have to take off work for the surgery and possible treatment, which will be a burden on them financially as well.

As a wife of a surviving cancer patient, I also want you to include our daughter Rebecca in your prayers. Many times, we focus on the person who is ill, and rightly so, but the caregivers need the prayer too! Rebecca is a communications officer for Owasso Police, which is stressful in itself. Now, she is dealing with a husband whose cancer has returned. This week, she developed singles as a result of all the stress. She told me, she thought she was handling it okay, but her body must not have been. *smile*.

Our grandchildren need your prayer as well. Andy may be their step-father, but they are very close to him. They feel the uncertainty that the word CANCER brings into their life and they know what it can do.

Gary and I know what the prayers of many did for us during his journey with cancer and we are so grateful to know you all will lift Andy, Rebecca and the kids up in your prayers as well. We thank you in advance!

NEW DIRECTION

In many ways, Gary is starting a new chapter in his life. He continues to recover from his cancer treatments and we praise God that he has no active cancer in him at this time. Instead of doing away with this blog, we decided to take it in another direction.We will now use it as a way for Gary to share insights and devotions with our church family and Bible College students here in the Philippines. We will still post about Gary's health, but thankfully, those post will be few and far between. You are welcome to still check in and we hope you do. We can't say enough how much we appreciate all the prayers and encouragement through the last two years! We have made life-long friends with many of you and hope you continue to stay connected!

MAY 17, 2010

Gary with our Executive Pastor, Jun Mostrales, discussing new ministry opportunity

This time of year is very hot in the Philippines and it seems to bother Gary more. Since arriving back in the Philippines, after a month in the States, Gary has had a hard time. He "hit the road running" and that may have something to do with it. He still tires very easy and his right eye gives him trouble. We have come to realize that recovery just doesn't happen overnight. It may take a long time ... and .... he may never fully recover. He battles pain constantly and recently, has had days of severe nausea. Please pray for him that he can accomplish what he wants to do and his strength levels will return.

APRIL 22, 2010

We finished Gary's test and he saw his doctor today. I did a post, but accidently published it to our ministry blog. Instead of redoing everything, I will just direct you to go to PHILLIPS to the PHILIPPINES to read the results of Gary's one year checkup. We will head back to Oklahoma tomorrow to spend a week with family, then return to the Philippines on May 7. Thank you for your prayers!

APRIL 5, 2010

On April 1st, we returned to the States. Gary will have an appointment on the 21st of this month at Mayo Clinic for his 1 yr. checkup. He continues to improve daily. At times, he starts to do something and it dawns on us that he is using his hand in a way that he has not done before. The Sunday before we left, we celebrated Family Day at Bethel Baptist Church. Gary preached, had a baby dedication and baptized! After the baptism, it hit me that he was using his left hand! He would not have been able to do that 6 months ago. Little things like that give us hope that he will get the use of this hand back completely.

Gary is still on heavy narcotics for the nerve pain in his hand and has no feeling on the right side of his face, except for occasional nerve pain. All in all, he has come a long way and we are so thankful!

MARCH 26, 2010

ChinChin Palis with Pastor Gary

We are 6 days away from flying back to the States. The purpose will be for Gary to see his doctor at Mayo Clinic for his 1 year post Stem Cell Transplant. Hard for us to believe it has been a year! Today, Gary visited a pain management clinic. He is still in need of heavy pain meds and they are not available at just any pharmacy. This clinic is open 24 hours, so that is comforting to know they will be accessible any time he would need help. They were very thorough in their assessment of him, so we are confident they will be able to handle his needs. Gary continues to improve with the use of his left hand and arm. This past week, he was able to swim across a pool and tie his own tie. Little things, but major accomplishments for him. We will appreciate your prayers as we travel on April 1st. As anyone who has made this trip knows, it is a very hard one and will be especially hard on Gary.

MARCH 14

Gary celebrated his 51st birthday this week! It was quite a celebration for our family, as last year at this time, we were not sure he would live another month, let alone a whole year! To be back in the Philippines doing ministry again has been a wonderful blessing for us. This Sunday, Bethel Baptist Church, Quezon City honored Gary for his birthday. The day was filled with birthday greetings and gifts.

The young people put together a sweet video presentation of Birthday greetings for Gary. Many of the children greeting him are from our street kids ministry. What a way to show their love for him! I have tried my best to load it here, but it is just too large a file for my slow Internet! Maybe when we go to the States in a few weeks, I can add it. I surprised Gary with my own presentation. You can see it HERE. Notice the children laughing behind Gary. I think it was the picture below that caused it. *smile* This was a great week for Gary, just being thankful to have lived another year. We have so much to be thankful for! Appreciate all your prayers through the past two years! We will be travelling to the States April 1st. Gary will see his oncologist at Mayo Clinic later in the month for his one year check up.

FEBRUARY 14, 2010

Gary is absolutely having the time of his life being back in ministry. (Pictured here with Pastor Jun Mostrales) This time last year, Gary was getting ready to go back into the hospital for another cycle of Methotrexate. He was still experiencing headaches from the brain tumor which was a concern for us. At this time, there were still some doubts as to Gary living much longer, let alone, ever being able to return to the Philippines. Last week, Gary had a PET/CT scan done and from the initial report, it looks like he is still cancer free. His blood work up was all normal as well. He will still need to see his oncologist here this week and his doctor at Mayo Clinic will look further at the scans, but initially, it all looks good! Today, he is feeling poorly. We do not know if it is just a matter of him being worn out from a long weekend, or if he is coming down with something. Appreciate your prayers! I am so thankful, we have friends and loved ones praying for Gary and our family. We would love to be able to continue doing ministry here in the Philippines.

JANUARY 29

For those of you who do not know, we have a Shih Tzu, named Charlie. Charlie was given to me from Gary for my birthday 5 years ago. He follows me around the house and is sad when I am gone. He has been such a joy to our family, that we have talked about getting another one. Gary said that he wanted the next one to be HIS dog, but he said he didn't want to get one until we were confident that the cancer would not return. Today, I found a precious little girl and brought her home to Gary. Gary named her HOPE because to him, she represents just that. This week, we found an oncologist here in Manila, who will do the necessary scans. She told Gary that he is a miracle! She said that as she was reading the update I sent when making the appointment, she was saying to herself, "How am I equipped to handle this case.... he is a dead man" Then when she read that he was cancer free at this time, she rejoiced and was amazed. The blood test she did this week have all come back normal! Please join us in praying that the PET/CT scans will do the same.