And on we go ...

The day after Jim's visit (Sept. 12) to St. Luke's ER he still had blood in the stool, but on the following day, Sept. 14, it was clear. Hallelujah! On that same day he also had an appointment with his primary, Dr. Butler, who determined more labs were unnecessary. Blood pressure still remained on the low side - for the nurse it read 70/40 and for the doctor it was 88/40. Dr. Butler requested a followup visit with Dr. Gerke in Gastroenterology at UIHC.

On Sept. 15, we received an email from Dr. Parekh's nurse, Joan Ricks-Mcgillen, who noted the CT scan done July 6 at St. Luke's - Cedar Rapids shows no recurrence of esophageal cancer. Great News! Another CT scan of chest will be done in late December.

Although we are no longer the pastor at Wilton Baptist Church, we continue to minister to its members, many of whom have become lifelong  friends. We attended the last WBC Senior Day of the year on Sept. 27 and were blessed with visiting with so many we hadn't seen for nearly a month. Sometimes 4 weeks seems like forever!  Pastor Appreciation Day is Oct. 16 and we plan to also attend those activities.

On Wednesday, Oct. 5, Jim had an appointment with Dr. Gerke in Iowa City re: the rectal bleeding Sept. 12. His weight is 137 pounds, blood pressure is 102/56 (good!) and temperature is 97.3. The doctor said he could have an internal hemorrhoid, but not necessarily - a rectal exam would not give an accurate picture - so recommends nothing be done unless another bleeding episode occurs.

Today - Oct. 6, Jim had an 8 a.m. appointment with Dr. Hoxie at PCI Urology - Cedar Rapids.
The ER visit Sept. 12 revealed:

• portion of right urinary bladder distended, recommends cystoscopy
• mild increased dilation of distal common bile duct in the pancreas, measuring 8 mm in diameter compared to 5 mm a year ago. IF there is concern of biliary pathology, a right upper quadrant ultrasound would be recommended.

Jim returned from the appointment at 9. The doctor did a scope and said everything was fine. Dr. Hoxie said sometimes CT scans indicate things are abnormal, when they really aren't.

Thank you Lord for every miracle.  

If it's not one thing, it's another ...

I updated the blog just Saturday, and two days later, I'm doing it again.

If this gets too graphic for you, I suggest you stop reading now. Otherwise, dive in.

Since the last time Jim had blood in the stool (that brought on the internal bleeding in October 2015), he has determined that if he ever had blood in the stool again, he would tell me.

So, this morning, guess what?! Blood in the stool. Lots of blood. He said there was a little Sunday morning, mostly on the tissue, but thought it could be because of straining. But this morning was a different story.

I called nurse friend, Lorraine (AKA Lori), who suggested we call our gastroenterologist (Dr. Gerke) in Iowa City, so I did. When the GI nurse returned the call, she suggested we go to the ER.
It was already late morning and I had appointments at 1:30 and 3, so we decided we'd go to St. Luke's after my last apointment.  Hence we became part of the sit and wait, go and do, and sit and wait some more crowd from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Jim's blood pressure was actually high. Of course, medical staff was concerned over how low his readings were. The first reading was 80 over ? with an adult cuff, second reading was 88 over ? with pediatric cuff, and when he got his own room, a recheck showed it was 96/46.  It has never been this high in the 9 months he has been taking midodrine to raise his blood pressure. At least not that I can remember. He has gained another pound to boot, coming in at 137 pounds fully clothed.

Jim had the pleasure (NOT!) of having a rectal exam, then he had blood work, then a CT scan of his rectum.

At 7:50 p.m., Tina, physician's assistant, came in with the findings ...

• CT scan showed no obstruction 
• He does have constipation 
• The bleeding could be a tear as a result of straining
• There appears to be area of pancreatic duct that is dilated
• Prostate is enlarged
• Bladder is distended
• Hemoglobin count is 9.6 

Other details going forward ...

• The blood pressure was 102/54 when last checked at 8:07 p.m., and it was thought it was because he was getting fluids. So he still needs to drink more water than he does. 
• The hemoglobin count is near the point where a blood transfusion might be necessary. 8.0 is the magic number he doesn't want to reach.
• He took a capful of Miralax (a more gentle stool softener/laxative) at 9:55 p.m.
• Make appointment with Dr. Hoxie, his urologist, to follow up on abnormal bladder findings
• Make appointment with Dr. Butler, his primary, to see if bleeding has subsided and do a repeat of CBCs
• Call Dr. Gerke's office and advice him of details
• Return to St. Luke's ER if he has worsening symptoms, which includes dizziness and shortness of breath
  
  That's all folks. 

Thank you Lord for getting the answers we needed quickly, even though it seemed so slow and we are not very patient.

Thank you Lord for enabling us to go home, not having to spend the night at St. Luke's or have to drive to University Hospitals in Iowa City.

Thank you Lord for all you do for us. We are so undeserving, but without you, we would be thankful for nothing. 

• 
  

Busy summer months; continued low blood pressure

The summer months were busy. Jim was often tired and short of breath, especially when taking care of yardwork, such as mowing, that others could have done.  Sometimes he would do the back yard one day and the front yard the next day, but usually he  mowed both yards all in the same day, with a breather inbetween.  It didn't do much good to lecture him about his health, when his mindset was if it needed to be done, he should take care of it.

He was short of breath at other times as well, making us think his blood pressure must be low.

On June 6, a visit to his primary doctor, Todd Butler, definitely indicated his BP was low - 66/40 when taken by the nurse and 70/42 when the doctor took it. Jim wanted to get off the midodrine (which is supposed to help raise his BP), but that was just not going to happen. Dr. Butler scheduled a CT scan with angiogram - contrast for July 6 to determine reason for continued low blood pressure. There were no answers.

From June 13-15, we attended the Southern Baptist Convention and annual meeting in St. Louis as messengers of Wilton Baptist Church. The congregation graciously paid for our lodging, mileage and food. It is the second time Jim has attended the convention - the first time was in the 1970s in Kansas City when Billy Graham was the keynote speaker. This was the first time I had attended the convention, and Billy Graham's daughter, Ann Graham Lotz, spoke at the Ladies conference.

On June 19, we began our two-week vacation through northwest United States to Prince Edward Island, Canada - the smallest of the Canadian provinces. The most troubling part of our trip, which we had so looked forward to, was the endless driving, which resulted in more friction than necessary between the two of us. The four days spent in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada, were relaxing and most enjoyable. All in all, we saw lots of interesting things, visited old friends and made new ones, and took over 600 photos.

When he wasn't short of breath and legs very tired, it was the ringing in his ears, which seemed to have gotten worse, especially at bedtime. He started taking a medicine, Inner Ear Plus, to improve it, but he's not sure it is working. Probably have to give it 3 months or so.

On Aug. 8, one month after the CT with angiogram, Jim went back to see Dr. Butler. His weight fully clothed was 136 pounds. Up 2 pounds! Blood pressure remains same - 70/42 on first reading and 76/44 on second reading.  He is to remain on current dose of midodrine - that is 3 pills, 3 times a day. He is to come back in December for physical and labs.

Also during August, Jim was to have a repeat CT scan of his chest per instructions from his surgeon, Dr. Parekh, during his May visit. So far it has not been scheduled.

Jim continued serving as interim pastor at Wilton Baptist through August 2016 - a full year. Tuesday, Aug. 30, was his last day, a bittersweet one for both of us, with gifts, a love offering, well-wishes, hugs and tears.

Aug. 30 reading from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers:

"Jesus Christ says, in effect, Don't rejoice in successful service, but rejoice because you are rightly related to Me. The snare in Christian work is to rejoice in successful service, to rejoice in the fact that God has used you. You never can measure what God will do through you if you are rightly related to Jesus Christ. Keep your relationship right with Him, then whatever circumstances you are in, and whoever you meet day by day, He is pouring rivers of living water through you, and it is of His mercy that He does not let you know it. When once you are rightly related to God by salvation and sanctification, remember that wherever you are, you are put there by God; and by the reaction of your life on the circumstances around you, you will fulfill God's purpose, as long as you keep in the light as God is in the light.
   The tendency today is to put the emphasis on service. Beware of the people who make usefulness their ground of appeal. If you make usefulness the test, then Jesus Christ was the greatest failure that ever lived. The lodestar of the saint is God Himself, not estimated usefulness. It is the work that God does through us that counts, not what we do for Him. All that Our Lord heeds in a man's life is the relationship of worth to His Father. Jesus is bringing many sons to glory." 

Mostly good news at 1-year followup visit

Today was Jim's one-year follow-up visit with cancer surgeon, Dr. Parekh, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Although the news was not completely 100 percent great, for the most part it was.

His weight has gone up and down in the past six months. Currently it is 133 pounds fully dressed. On his last visit to Dr. Parekh in November of last year, he weighed a couple of pounds less.

Blood pressure is up some at 92 /51.

Results of CT scan of his chest shows some patchiness on his left lung. The doctor thinks it could be aspiration where food or drink goes down the wrong tube. He wants another CT scan done in three months. Jim will have that done in August at St. Luke's Hospital here in Cedar Rapids.

If the second CT scan shows improvement then Jim will come back in a year for continual followup. If the CT scan shows infection or inflammation a PET scan will be scheduled.

We are reminded to run the race with endurance with our focus on Jesus. If we keep our thoughts on Him and thank Him for what comes, then we cannot feel sorry for ourselves.  We covet your prayers to achive that.

One-year anniversary May 12 / followup visit with surgeon May 25

The last time I updated The Race was 3 months ago, on Feb. 15. At that time, Jim had gained a little weight at 138 pounds, blood pressure was on the low side at 80/54 and he was slightly anemic. He was to come back in April to see his primary care doctor, but because of other things, the appointment was rescheduled for June 6.

The only doctors he has seen in the past 3 months are the dentist and the podiatrist. A year has passed since his esophageal cancer surgery May 12, 2015. He will have a one-year follow-up on May 25 - a chest CT scan and then a visit with Dr. Parekh at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

The days since have been busy and for the most part Jim has been feeling good. Tiredness sets in after doing too much, but then that's a common complaint for all of us. He continues to take Midodrine to increase his blood pressure. Sometimes he gets a little light-headed and I attribute it to not taking the medicine regularly. He is doing better at remembering to take it three times a day.

He continues to serve as interim pastor at Wilton Baptist Church, fulfilling pastoral duties there three times a week. He and I enjoy serving there, being among the members, visiting and working to meet their needs and finding ways to enable church growth. At the beginning of March we started recording his sermons and putting them on the church website (www.wbc2002.com). You can access them there under sermons or go to http://www.podcasts.com/wilton-iowa-baptist-church-8cb59301a which should give you multiple sermon links too.

We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary April 27 with a reception open house on the 30th at Immanuel Baptist. Outdoors it was cold and rainy, but fortunately, we were inside. It was nice to see family and friends old and new, but was sorry for those unable to come.  God answered our prayer for the lilacs to be in bloom, so that was a nice touch. Artificial flowers just aren’t near as pretty and definitely not fraqrant.

On May 7, when I was reviewing "The Race" events of the past year, I wrote the following article.

"Be a glimmer"

 The Scripture for "The Race" was taken from Hebrews 12:1-2a, which says, "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."

I was thinking about The Race To Run With Endurance.

It's not just about health, but also our whole life is a race. Keep going. Persevere. Push past every pain, every struggle.

God set us apart to be different, to show the world His Way, His Truth, His Life.

If we're not showing His Way and delivering His Truth, then we most certainly are not living as He.

We have succumbed to a lower power to whom we have bestowed more greatness than the God of the universe and The Son who died to set us all free. We have given Satan free reign over our lives and he will never bring us to gloryland. He will control us. We will hear and believe every negative. We will live and die in bondage. We will forget to whom we truly belong. We will think the lust of the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of our thoughts and wants and desires are what is important; are all that matters.

Satan is the destroyer - one person at a time. He has destroyed many.

Will he, is he destroying you too?

God allows events to unfold. God gives us each free will. The choices we make now will determine the outcome of future events.

Remember His love
Turn Back - Turn Around
Before the hour gets later
Before there is no time

Don't be a statistic ...

Be a glimmer
a glimmer of light amidst the darkness

"To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet unto the way of peace." ~ Luke 1:79 NKJV  

Updates - Day 273

Today is Feb. 15, 2016. I was in the midst of Bible study and reviewing past notes when I realized today is near the one-year mark that Jim was diagnosed with cancer. Results of an endoscopy on Feb. 16, 2015, were revealed Feb. 19 with the diagnosis of esophageal cancer.

In the past week or so I have been I guess what you call in a funk. Down then up and down again. So many things have been on my mind. Thoughts swirl and I go places I am sure the Lord would not want me.

On Feb. 13, I wrote "The Lord's presence gives us peace, yet when our focus on Him is absent, our peace diminishes. The peace of God is so fine a treasure, yet what good is it when we don't give our all to the one who is the giver?"

On Valentine's Day, I remembered last year's theme verse - Hebrews 12:2-3, which says, "...let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."  

"The Lord says 'Come' " is a poem I wrote today. You can read it on this blog:
http://still-small-voice-of-god.blogspot.com/

                                      ~~~~~~~~~~
The last time I had any updates to share about Jim was just before Christmas on Dec. 21. I will start from that point and give highlights.

DECEMBER ...
On Dec. 23, Jim visited Dr. Brooks, his rheumatologist, at PCI. Jim has osteoporosis and every year for the past five years, he has been given reclast, an IV medicine. This year marked the last time he'd receive it. Something different for next year, and he would need a bone density scan as well.

On Christmas Day, he developed a cold, followed by a cough.

JANUARY ...
Jim celebrated his 67th birthday Jan. 3. He started a new series at Wilton Baptist Church on What Baptists Believe from the Baptist Faith and Message. The congregation provided a delicious birthday celebration dinner and he also received several birthday cards and gifts. That afternoon Jim and I went to the movies and saw "Star Wars."

Sunday night after work on Jan. 10, Jim took me to St. Luke's ER because of intense right side pain. I had UTI and was given antibiotics.

On Jan. 15, Jim visited Dr. Bailin, his cardiologist, at UIHC. He was given a good bill of heart health. No Afib. Blood pressure was 100/54, weight 128.3 pounds. He is to return in a year.

On Jan. 24, Jim presided over his first deacon ordination, with Ron Dunnahoo and Ken Paper being ordained during worship services at Wilton Baptist Church. It was a special day for everyone.

FEBRUARY ...
Jim and I met 28 years ago on Sunday, Feb. 7. Jim's sermon that morning at Wilton Baptist was "The Bread of Heaven" and he had made unleavened bread for the Lord's Supper following the service.

On Feb. 12, Jim attended the first of two luncheons for church pastors of the Great Rivers Southern Baptist Association. The luncheon was held at the Golden Corral restaurant in Davenport and organized by Mike Roberts, director of missions. Jim enjoyed visiting with the four others in attendance and mentioned one of them remembered him from days past when he served as interim pastor at Fairview Baptist in rural Anamosa.

Valentine's Day was Feb. 14. Breakfast was planned for 8:30 a.m. at Wilton Baptist and we were among several who brought tasty breakfast casseroles. The weather was less than cooperative, with snow and wind in abundance. One of the members, Charlotte, a member of the Red Hat Society, brought several red hats for all of us ladies to wear.  (See photos below) So pretty. Red was definitely the color and love the theme. Worship was cut short because of the weather, so Jim did a devotional on "Love" from I Corinthians 13.

This morning, Feb. 15, Jim had an appointment with Dr. Butler, his primary care physician, at UnityPoint-Hiawatha. He has gained weight - 138 pounds fully clothed (must be the candy and sugar cookies I made him for Valentine's Day). Blood pressure has gone down again to 80/54, but there is no dizziness. He continues to take 7.5 mg of midodrine two to three times daily. The doctor said his white count shows him to be slightly anemic. He is to come back in April for a follow-up and have labs done for CVC, metabolic and thyroid. Thyroid levels were up a little in July and normal in November.