Please scroll down to see update for my friend, Barbara
Hi Everyone,
So many have inquired how I was doing this past week...thought I would update.
My car is fixed. Thank you so much for your prays and concern. Thankfully, our mechanic knows the excitement that goes with our family too. So we had it done by noon the next day. As always, the $ end of it stinks...and not due to him. Actually, we are very blessed with his friendship and always 'throwing stuff in for free'. But there is only so much he can do when it comes to the actual cost of the parts that are needed. Aaahhhh...what to do what to do....
Well, I have a mission for you in this area, no maybe more a request. It may be a little out there...but, again, this is me and anything goes, right?! This Sunday is Roy's annual work picnic.
Only those invited are able to go and participate in the different drawings. The prizes are huge...and I mean HUGE!!! DVD players, TV's of every size, barbecues, food, jet skis, boats, motorcycles, quads, trips AND TRUCKS. 2 to be exact. Last year Roy came home with a very large flat screen, a DVD player and a portable DVD player. Oh and some hot dogs and hamburgers:) .
So your part in all this?......well, we need a new vehicle. The weather is getting cold, which is adding tremendously to my pain….blah, blah, blah. I could go on and on but really, it’s the actual chance to win a new truck that is the main part of me bringing all this up.
Could you pray? Again, I know it may be far fetched…but wild things have happened in the Pinkards’ lives…so I figured, hey, why not? And if I end up with another big T.V. Tala already ‘volunteered’ to have it in her room :) . Could you imagine a 7 year old with a 50inch flat screen?…
Anyways, so we are still plugging along. Everything is still the same in the areas of health, pain, money, etc. But I never take it for granted that I am here. Whether life is hard-w/pain-struggling-frustrated-discouraged-happy-or sad….I know full well that each day would be extremely different if I wasn’t. So instead of getting into a rut (and believe me, I do :)), I remind myself frequently to choice JOY. (Just ask my kids…I tend to ‘tell’ myself out loud quite often. ;)
I do have another prayer request. More serious in nature and for a friend.
I’m not good anymore in the memory area (I blame the drugs:)) …not sure if I ever mentioned my friend, Barbara. Her and I started our cancer journeys almost at the same time. We both were pregnant, have young kids, ARE young (her more than I :)) and have been through the ringer with this disease. Oh, and we have actually never met…we met through a friend of a friend and the world wide web. Well, she has been going through some awful junk. Numbness, vision issues, struggling with walking, pain….and this is me candy coating. She has been going through treatment, AGAIN, for tumor issues in her head (again, my memory fails me here to the exact spot)…but I do know there has actually been some growth along with more tumors appearing recently on scans. VERY SERIOUS STUFF, FOLKS!
Tomorrow, Thursday, she will be going in to have a Gamma Knife procedure done. If you remember, I had this done in July of ‘07. I truly believe it to be an amazing thing and THE great tool in having my lesion be gone from my brain. I am excited that she has been given this opportunity. But I won’t lie here either….It probably rates in the top 5 of the ‘most painful’ things I have ever had to go through. And I have had quite a few…some of which you don’t know about….that’s for another post :). AND, don’t worry, I’ve actually talked with Barbara and reading this shouldn’t ‘freak’ her out. If anything, I hope I have put her at ease. I did not have anyone that had had it done. She actual has her grandmother also. Again, life saving.
Please pray for her. That she will have minimal side effects. That her nerves will be minimal tonight and tomorrow morning. And most importantly , that this will completely get rid of these tumors.
Thank you so much for being people who care. Not just about me, but about the enormity of this disease and what it does to so many others. I appreciate, in advance, your love & concern for a complete stranger. I know Barbara will covet all the prayers lifted up for her.
Sorry this is so long….but it seems to be how I roll when I get in front of this screen. :D
Have a great day, everyone!
Love, Shannon
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UPDATE ON BARBARA:
The following email was sent out last night from Barbara:
"Dear friends and family,
Since the last time I wrote, plans have changed. I had an MRI done yesterday morning and it showed 12 tumors that had grown. So, I am not a candidate for the gamma knife surgery which was scheduled for tomorrow morning. Instead, I am going to have 5 weeks of lower-dose radiation, hopefully starting Monday. Some of the tumors had become too large to use the gamma knife, so the Dr though it would be better to reduce the amount of radiation per dose and spread it out over the 5 weeks. I have to go 5 days/week, but it is supposed to be safer for my normal brain cells. This procedure will be in Escondido at the hospital.
In the mean time, I have a very hard time with my vision. My eyes don't focus, even when I'm sitting still. I've used a walker, but even with that I'm slow and still wobbly.
Our church and "Mom's in Touch" have been incredible. Someone has been here with me from 9-6 every day this week to watch the kids and take care of the things that I can't do, ie, making lunch, cleaning up toys, basic kid needs, ….
God has provided for us in so many ways. Mike is an awesome husband as he picks up the slack around here. He's going to need a big vacation when I'm all better!!!
Keep praying for healing…it will come. God is faithful to do abundantly above all that we think or ask. To Him be the glory.
Barbara"
And this was sent today from Shirley, her mother-in-law today:
"I arrived in San Diego last evening and here's the latest news around here. No procedure was done today. Barbara is starting to have major headaches. Please pray for God's plan for her life. This is no way to live. The word 'hospice" was used here this morning for the first time. With appreciation for your loving support,
Shirley for all of us"
It is urgency that I ask for your commitment to pray for this family. There is such complexity to the needs they have right now. Without going into detail, I feel the emails above give you a little taste of what is happening. Please pray with me for healing to be placed on Barbara's body. God is able. I know this without a shadow of a doubt. Gratefully, Shannon
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