SEPTEMBER 11, 2011

Three years ago today, as Gary was resting in the hotel room after having a biopsy performed on the nerve in his brachial plexus, we received the phone call that Gary had a rare cancer of the nerves called Neurolymphomatosis.

Upon arriving at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, Gary was in severe pain, had lost the use of his left arm and hand, could not open his left eyelid, was seeing double due to his left eye wandering to the left, and was beginning to have pain in his right leg as well.

At that time, we had no idea what the future would hold for Gary. It is hard to believe that three years has past since that phone call. Now, 2 years post stem cell transplant, he is free of active cancer.

AUGUST 3, 2011

Gary had his follow-up visit with the eye specialist this week concerning his Neurotrophic keratitis (NV). Gary thought he was able to see better with the eye chart and the doctor confirmed there was a slight improvement. His cornea is still rough ... no improvement there.

The doctor tested both eyes to measure tear production using Schirmer's test. He first placed a topical anesthetic into the eyes to prevent tearing due to the irritation of the paper strips. (Although, Gary can not feel anything touching his right eye.) The use of the anesthetic ensures that only basal tear secretion is being measured. The strips were placed in both eyes and Gary was instructed keep them closed for 5 minutes, like this...

Well, not exactly like this, but you get the idea. The paper strips were then removed and the amount of moisture was measured. A normal measurement for Gary's age would at 10mm. Gary's right eye was just over a 2, which confirms the severity of the NV. The doctor was surprised to see Gary's left eye was slightly under the normal level as well. He said this could be due to the medications Gary is on, so will wait till next month to see if it improves.

For the next month, Gary will continue what he has been doing, using the Cellufresh preservative free drops, this time in both eyes, every 2 hours and Lipolin gel in his right eye at bedtime. In addition, Gary will start using Restasis, a topical cyclosporine, in both eyes every 12 hours.

The Restasis stings for a few minutes but that should go away in a week, however, it is also making him nauseous and whether it is because of the drops, or the NV itself, his eyes are painful today. Appreciate your prayers for him.

JULY 14, 2011

Yesterday, we visited the eye specialist we were referred to. He basically confirmed the diagnosis of Neurotrophic Keratitis. Gary's cornea is rough, but the outer layer is still intact. He is producing a small amount of tears so we have a few options on how to approach the treatment. We opted to go a middle-of-the-road so to speak treatment for two weeks and see how he responds. If at any time, his eyes give him severe pain, as they did two weeks ago, we are to go into to the doctor right away.

Gary will continue with the hourly eye drops, but was switched to a preservative free kind. He will use a steroid drop 3 times a day for 7 days. The doctor also recommended Gary taking Omega-3 capsules 3 times a day, as they have seen it work for inflammation.

Because the trigeminal nerve was damaged, we are limited on some options to stop the progression of this, but the doctor assured there were many other things that they can do, if his eye gets worse. The danger right now, is Gary is at high risk for infection of the cornea. We will have to watch out for signs of that.

The blessing is that it is only his right eye and his left eye is 20/20, but he feels frustrated to still be battling health issues caused by the cancer. We appreciate your prayers for him.

We also ask you to pray especially for our son-in-law, Andy Wileman. The last-ditch treatment option is not working. At this time, they are not sure what or if there is anything more they can do. They will contact their doctor at MD Anderson this week and go from there. You can read more about it on Andy's blog. Appreciate your prayers for our daughter, Becky and the kids as well.

JULY 1, 2011

September 2010, I posted about Gary having a problem with his right eye. We were concerned he was losing his sight. The conclusion of the test were, due to the damage the lymphoma did to the trigeminal nerve, he probably was not tearing as often as he needed to be and therefore, the doctor prescribed eye drops.

Off and on since then, there have been days that Gary's eyes were so painful he could not stand to keep them open. This week, was a bad week. He spent a good portion of it in bed with an eye mask on, being in so much pain, he lost his appetite.

Wednesday evening, I contacted our eye doctor, Manolito Reyes, to see if I should take Gary to ER or wait to see him in the morning. He was out of the country and referred us to another doctor, so we made the decision to wait until morning.

On a side note ... I had asked you to pray for Dr. Reyes, as he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer last September. I am happy to say, after going through treatment, he is cancer free at this time. I know he appreciates your prayers for him!

Yesterday, we saw Dr. Ronquilla. He confirmed that Gary is seeing 30% less in his right eye since September 2010. He also gave a name to what is going on with him. Neurotrophic keratitis. You can go HERE for a more detailed explanation.

Basically, the damage the cancer did to Gary's trigeminal nerves on the the right side of his face are affecting that eye. The trigeminal nerve is what supplies the lubricant necessary for the cornea. Because this is not happening, all the pollutants, irritants and bacteria are not being "washed" away from Gary's cornea, therefore causing damage.

We are being referred to a specialist for this and will know more of what we can do to slow down the progression at that time, but for now, I would like to ask you to pray for Gary. He not only preaches every week, but has several classes in Baptist College of Leadership, and this coming week he will be teaching every day at the Missionary Training School for Asian Baptist Clearinghouse. His left eye is fine, but will also hurt some days ... probably due to compensating for the right eye not seeing properly.

And while you are praying for Gary, please remember our son-in-law, Andy Wileman and our son, Brian in your prayers.

Andy (see his blog HERE) is still battling stage 4 Melanoma, and Brian is serving in Afghanistan. Appreciate your prayers not only for healing for Andy and a safe return for Brian, but also for our daughter Rebecca as she cares for Andy while working a full time job, our daughter-in-law, Kristina, as she waits for her husband to return, and for me as I care for Gary and take as much work load from him as I can.

MARCH 13, 2011

This week, Gary celebrated another birthday! This makes 2 post stem cell transplant birthdays! We are so thankful that God has given him another year to serve here in the Philippines. On his birthday, we had a few missionary friends over for a wonderful evening of fellowship and laughter. Gary spent that morning playing golf and was excited that he has broke 100 for the 2nd time since his cancer.

This Sunday, at Bethel Baptist Church, Quezon City, the members surprised Gary with a birthday celebration.

They presented him with a cake .....

Cards and gifts from the church members .....A hand drawn portrait by Pablo Barros .....Special number from the ladies .....Recited Scripture from Dolly Daquioag .....Special song composed and written just for Gary by Jamie Barros .....A "Shout Out" from the men ..... Special rendition of "Happy Birthday" by the Barros' brothers .....And along with a video of our Bible Club Children and members singing and greeting Gary, they put together a video, complete with greetings from our children and grandchildren in the States. I cannot get it to upload on this post, so go HERE to see it. They featured two of our precious babies at Bethel.

I would like to thank our children, grandchildren, family and friends and especially our Bethel Family for making this a week one for Gary to remember and cherish for years to come.