I am doing pretty good after my 3rd chemo trip. I am still able to eat and drink but can't seem to gain needed weight. I go in for a scan in a week or so to see if the tumor is ready to remove.

Thank you for your prayers! I am blessed :-)

Gary, glad to hear from you and things are going pretty good. Keep you in my prayers every day!

Gary - Thanks for the update. Keeping you in my prayers.

Prayers continue for everyone else too.

GARY ~ glad that you are feeling good and can still eat & drink. It is sometimes hard to gain weight when taking chemo, I know; but we'll pray for that anyways -- All things are possible with GOD!


EVERYONE ~ ^PRAYERS^ are continuing for you and yours ...

A quick update... I had a long talk with my step mother today. She is telling people my dad has Alzhiemer's but I couldn't get her to say the Dr had actually diagnosed that. She just said he continues to prescribe the small dose of Alzhiemer meds, so of course he thinks that. The neurologist actually said he had "mild cognitive impairment" about 1 1/2 years ago. He ruled out every other treatable disease causing the memory issues, and released him back to his general practice Dr.

Any how, he forgets short term things, like where he is driving to (SM only lets him drive when she is with him) and his address at the voter place, but easily remembered the number when promoted with the name of the street.

Kind of frustrated with SM telling people he has something that no one has said except her and the general practice Dr who is not specialized in it. I won't tell my family that is what he has until I see him doing really crazy memory related things that are a bit more serious than maybe just aging issues.

NELLY ~ sending up ^prayers^ for your father and stepmother for guidance and peace ...


PRAYER REQUEST ~ for a friend of ours -- her name is BARBARA R. (we call her Barb). She was walking down her basement steps and just blacked out, so she fell the rest of the way down and broke a couple of ribs. She was at the city hospital with us yesterday to have tests on her heart and brain to try and find out why she is blacking out like this. We're praying her ribs will heal quickly and that the doctors can find the source of the problem. Thanks ...

Nelly--sending prayers for your Dad, stepmother and for you.

Rosebud, sorry to hear about Barb, sending prayers that she heals comletely and quickly and the Dr.s find out why this is happening.

THANKS, KAREN ~ btw, I love that new avatar pic -- very nice indeedy!

Nelly - Praying for you, your Dad and Step-mom for true diagnosis and peace of mind for you.

Rosebud - I pray Barb's ribs heal quickly and that God gives the doctor's wisdom finding what her problems are and she will be back to normal soon.

Prayer Request please for me. I haven't been to the doctor in a while because of our situation here. I have an appt Wednesday afternoon for a check up and for the doc to give me medicine to get my bs back down. It is high for me right now. I know a lot of it can be the stress I've been under for the past 14+ months and I pray that the A1c shows it isn't as bad as I think it is. That has happened many times before. However, I can't take the Metformin I was taking. I know there are good and bad meds out there for diabetes. Please pray with me that God gives the doctor wisdom to give me the right medicine that will work for me. Also praying for good results from the check up. Thanks.

Continued prayers going up for each of you.

TRISH ~ thanks for your prayers for BARB. Sending up ^prayers^ for you that the doctor finds the best medicine for your BSL's; that the stress levels ease off in your life; and that you have a positive outcome from your check-up as well ...

BTW ~ don't forget the benefits of "PRAISE" when you are stressed. In the Emotional Healing Thread, there is a good list of Praise Scriptures that you can repeat; add in Psalm 23 and maybe some positive songs too. I find this helps me when I feel stressed out -- at times, I can almost feel my blood pressure going up, so I start singing a PRAISE SONG right away, and it ALWAYS helps!

Rosebud, you are so dedicated.....gotta run where you do. Some things right now are making me a bit crazy. With the holidays coming up, I want to enjoy them this year instead of dreading all the work....and expense and stress.....working on how to make that all function.

BTW I won't be able to do anything else with my Dad, which is another reason for frustration. This is not my Mom he is married to, although we have a good relationship, she is NOT my Mom. I tried to see if she might take him back to the Dr and she said the neurologist released him to his general practitioner since he could do nothing more for him.

So many needs, God can handle them all, isn't it wonderful he is never too busy, never out to lunch never too tired. rosebud, continuing to pray for you and DH. Gary, you are always in my prayers.auntNelly your concerns have been added to my prayer list Praying for Barb that she will find what causes her to blackout and that her ribs will heal quickly. rosebud, so glad you mentioned Psalm 23, it is such a familiar and well loved passage that I think we fail to see how important it is. When I was first diagnosed with cancer I asked my Pastor for a scripture and he referred me to Psalm 23, "Oddly" enough earlier that same day someone had emailed me that scripture. I did not mention this to my pastor before he suggested it. Coincidence ? I don't think so.

NELLY ~ that's interesting. DH's specialist was going to sign off to DH's family doctor too, and I asked her not to just yet. However, now the GP is getting advice from her on what meds to try as I had asked both of them (her first) for some more practical meds to help him from day to day -- i.e. for his anxiety/depression and for sleep, etc.

Right now, we are trying the anxiety/depression drug and so far, so good. He seems much calmer lately and I am grateful for that. We now have a list of about 6 other drugs that she says we can try for the varied symptoms; and we will try them only as needed.

Plus, GOD has been giving me some great ideas (wisdom) on how to stop some of the more "odd" thoughts and behaviors, like I had a repairman come and close over the window of the shed so no-one can get in there; plus some other odd jobs DH was obsessing about.

Last week, I started to keep our furry baby in the bedroom with me all night long (it's a new house rule), so DH can't let him go loose in the middle of the night anymore. Just today, I came up another strategy -- I told him if any more strange people show up in the basement, I'll call the cops and have them hauled away -- well, that stopped that talk in a hurry ...

Day by day, we tackle one thing at a time; it is getting more peaceful but if he comes up with more, I'll just pray for more ideas. I hope and pray that things will be OK for both your DAD and Stepmother -- he sounds like he is at the beginning stages of something for sure -- whether they call it "cognitive impairment", "age-related Dementia", or "Alzheimers" ~ they have a lot of similarities.

The only thing that could change the diagnosis at this point, is time; or a different specialist. Your SM has a tough road ahead of her as your Dad goes through this unsettling change in his life; and I'm sure she would appreciate your help and support.

BTW, some of your Dads' symptoms are similar to my DH's, I'm afraid. My DH is not allowed to drive any more at all. He was also confused at the voting (he couldn't remember the process or the name of who he wanted to vote for; I was sad for him becuz he feels voting is so important). Plus, he forgets his address as well (sometimes the number, sometimes the street). Sometimes prompts help, but sometimes they don't.

It would take a book to list all the things he forgets here: people, places, and things; phone numbers, addresses; who's alive and who's passed (brings great sadness and tears); where he's going and why; what he's done, and where he's been ... the other day, he told his sister "I haven't been here since the last time I was here!" He may have been joking, who knows -- but it was funny!


BARGOO ~ thanks, I so agree about your thoughts on Psalm 23; can't tell you how many times I have gone to bed reading or reciting that Psalm. It gives me peace and helps me sleep ...

Thanks for the prayers and the reminder. I read somewhere that "Praise" is our greatest power against the enemy. I am finding that I spend more time singing praises to the Lord lately. Even wake up with praise songs going on in my head... a wonderful feeling I'm so grateful to God for. I will go to the Emotional Healing thread and make a copy of those scriptures.

I agree with ^that^ statement for sure; I find it really helps with many things!


GARY ~ did your sister, DENISE (Annie,) have her surgery today? ^Prayers going up^ that it all went well and she heals quickly ...