Hello Friends,

  I (Tim) have been back at the Hangar full time for two weeks now. Originally we had planned that I would go in during the morning, then come home to fix lunch for Michele and take care of any necessary tasks before returning in the afternoon. We did that for one day, then Michele said I really didn't need to come home, as long as she had things arranged in advance before I left the house. So I get clothes out of the dresser and make sure her pills are sorted for the day, then I'm off.

  Michele's seeing a therapist once a week who keeps her challenged with hand and arm exercises. The nerves in her arm and hand sometimes cause her to twitch, sometimes cause pain, but over all her strength is increasing. We are hopeful that one day the tingling and 'shocks' will give way to normal sensation and dexterity. Her hair is about a half inch long now, and her eyebrows are back. She is looking very healthy, and just as pretty as ever!

  We had a nice evening out for Valentine's day at a local restaurant, even though the temperature was in the single digits and a wicked North wind blew. We had intended to make an appearance at Sunday School the next day, but decided not to venture into the cold. This Sunday the walks and roads were snow covered, so we stayed in again. Sooner or later the weather is bound to cooperate, and we're looking forward to our integration back into society.

  We are planning a trip to California in April, and have made our plane reservations. In the mean time, there is a lot of work to be done in the hangar. In two weeks a group of interns from LeTourneau University will be arriving for a week of work with us. Their work needs to be planned in advance, with the object of our mutual benefit. I'm leading an Annual Inspection of a Piper Aztec recently acquired by Arctic Barnabas. When we are finished, they will fly it to Alaska and have one of the engines overhauled before starting their summer ministry season. It's a little difficult getting my head back into organizing maintenance and schedules after such a long time away, but I'm  happy to be back. What I don't want to do is shift the focus in my head to the neglect of Michele. I think I'm doing okay, but I need to be on my guard.

  Thanks again for partnering with us in prayer. Please do keep us before the Throne.

With love,

Tim and Michele

Monday, February 2, 2015

Good Evening,

  I am very happy to report that Michele's PET scan showed that she has no tumors and she is officially CURED! We are very grateful to the Lord for His grace toward us, and for all of you who prayed so faithfully on our behalf!

  It will be a few months for hair to grow out (it is already sprouting :-), and for strength and stamina to come back, but the worst is behind. Please continue to pray for Michele's nerves to heal in her left arm and hand. The therapist lowered some of the resistance in a few of her exercises, which helped reduce the discomfort she was experiencing. She also began taking a second Gabapentin which is helping with the nerve pain.

  I have been going to MMS nearly every day for a few hours, slowly transitioning back into an active role. I really appreciate Terry, Phil, and Dwight for shouldering my workload during my absence. I'm very grateful for the warm reception I've received from all the folks in the hangar on a daily basis. It is indeed a privilege to serve the Lord in this ministry.

May you be as blest as we are!

Tim and Michele

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Hello,

  It has been a while since my last update, and I don't want too much time to drift between posts, so I thought I'd better fill in the gaps. Michele's new occupational therapist came for the first time last Wednesday (the 21st). He gave her a pretty agressive workout, being here over an hour. Michele did the routine twice a day for a few days without any ill effects, but yesterday a resurgence of nerve pain hit with a vengence. This morning her arm and hand hurt when touched, and her elbow hurts. We talked about options and decided to take a day off, just to see if the discomfort lets up.

  We are in a quandry because it feels like we are in no-mans-land medically. This is not an issue for the Oncologist, but we haven't been to the Neurosugeon since October. Cancer questions could be answered pretty quickly, but I'm afraid we might have to get in line to see the Neurosurgeon again. In any event, we appreciate your prayers for her arm and hand. It is possible that she may wake up one morning with things greatly improved. She was actually experiencing that before the heavy chemotherapy un-did the healing process, so it could happen again. The therapist returns this Thursday (29th), so we'll see what he says. 

  Monday we need to be in Zanesville at 7:25AM for Michele's PET scan. We will be heading to the Oncologist shortly after the scan to hear the results. We are expecting a 'clean' scan, in other words, no more cancer. Appreciate your prayers in that regard too. I'm sure we will be talking about the nerve pain in that meeting, so perhaps the Oncologist can put us on an inside track to the Neurosurgeon, if needed. We will let you know.

  Your companions in the journey,

Tim and Michele

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Hello,

  We met with Michele's Oncologist this afternoon. Praise God, the pathology from her spinal fluid is clean! The doctor feels that she is done with treatment. She is scheduled for a PET scan on February 2nd (Groundhog Day). If the scan confirms no tumors, then she will be officially cancer-free.

  The next step is to restart her therapy for her arm and hand. Now that she is not being infused with poison, we are looking forward to some serious progress with her left arm and hand. Regaining the use of her arm and hand will be the icing on the cake, so please pray to that end.

  Thank you all for praying. The Lord has heard and answered. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

With much love,

Tim and Michele

Thursday, January 8th, 2015

Greetings,

  Yesterday Michele had her last scheduled Intrathecal procedure. Before injecting the Methotrexate into her spine, they withdrew a generous amount of spinal fluid for pathological tests. After the procedure, we made our way to the Oncology suite where Michele received a bag of saline solution to give her a boost. The next scheduled appointment is for January 15th to meet with the Oncologist. He will have the results from pathology by then and will tell us what our next course of action will be.

  The intrathecal procedure does leave Michele with a few days of discomfort, although nothing as severe as the massive Methotrexate treatments did. Her left arm and hand are always the most affected, but the nerves going to her legs get agitated as well. If this turns out to be the last of the treatments, she should be able to start taking vitamins again in 2 or 3 weeks and see some hair begin to grow back. Michele is anxious to restart her occupational therapy for her left hand and arm, which we will do soon, Lord willing.

  We are now in the 7th month since we began incurring medical expenses, and Samaritan Ministries has been great about publishing our needs. Other Samaritan members have faithfully sent their checks, which has enabled us to keep up with the steady flow of bills. But there is a catch, which has me (Tim) concerned. The plan we are enrolled in has a cap of $250,000.00 per event, and we are rapidly approaching that amount of published need. Now I want to go on record that I am quite certain God will meet all our needs, but at the same time, I need to confess that this situation increases my pucker-factor. I share this for two reasons: (1) So that you may pray with us for God to glorify Himself in this situation; and, (2) That you can follow along as God answers prayer and meets our needs. I'll keep you posted. It should be exciting.

  Pray too for Michele's mom, who was recently hospitalized with a congestive heart issue, but is now home again. We have not been to see Michele's family in California for more than 3 years and are really looking forward to Michele being able to travel again, so we can visit. My mom turned 92 in November and it's been a year since we've seen her too, so that will be another much anticipated trip.

  Thanks for following us on this journey.

With love,

Tim and Michele

Tuesday, December 30

Greetings,

  Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas. The day before Christmas we went to the Oncologist for intravenous fluids for Michele. They checked her blood white cell count, which was still very low, but she was feeling okay. We had a nice Christmas day. I managed to surprise Michele with two gifts that she was not expecting, even though I am hardly ever out of her sight. For lunch we had a turkey breast, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie for dessert.

  Michele was feeling pretty good by Sunday, so we decided to make our Oncology visit for Monday into an outing. So yesterday we had lunch at Pizza Cottage in Zanesville, then spent some time in Hobby Lobby. Michele's energy reserve isn't very deep, so I pushed her around in a wheel chair, but it was still great to get out. We also spent some time in the mall before heading over to the Oncology suite. They drew some blood, then gave her saline. When the blood results came back, her white cell count was up to 3,600! This is a great encouragement, as it proves her body is doing what it is supposed to do to rebuild. With this good report, they cleared her for the Intrathecal procedure scheduled for tomorrow morning.(Intrathecal is where they inject Methotrexate into her spinal fluid.)

  At this point she is scheduled for one more Intrathecal procedure on January 7th. Beyond that, we must wait to see what the Oncologist's plan is for determining if all the cancer is gone. We are anticipating a happy, cancer-free new year, and appreciate your prayers to that end. I am looking forward to getting back to work, although I don't really know when that will be. 

Have a very Happy New Year!

With Love,

Tim and Michele

Monday, December 22, 6PM

Hello,

  We just returned from the doctors office in Zanesville. Michele's appointment was at 1:30 this afternoon. She was so weak and dizzy that I was afraid we weren't going to get her in the van, but we did make it. When they took her vitals, her blood pressure was 100/68 and her heart was beating pretty fast to keep it at that. The doctor drew blood and started saline to bring her blood pressure up. When her blood results came back, her white blood cells were again very low, so they cancelled the Intrathecal procedure scheduled for Wednesday and scheduled her to come in for intravenous fluids instead. They also started her on an oral antibiotic to hedge her against infection.

  If she can build back up out of this slump, it should be the turning point for recovering her strength, since there are no more major chemotherapy cycles scheduled. The most important thing at the moment is to keep her from contracting any infection. For those of you who have wanted to visit, this is the reason for the moratorium on visitors. Thanks for understanding. Please continue to pray for the white cell and platelet counts to rebound. For perspective, normal white cell count is 4,300 to 10,800 cells per cu/ML. Michele's were 400 today. When she was hospitalized three weeks ago, they had fallen to 200. If she can rest, and avoid infection, she should be fine.

  We can't begin to thank you all for the many ways in which you have ministered to us with gifts and sentiments of encouragement! Bless you all, and have a very Merry Christmas!

With Love,

Tim and Michele