Life goes on...

My wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer April 19. We were told the cancer was 2.4 cm, and she was given the choice of Lumpectomy or Mastectomy. Had the tumor been 4cm she would have had no choice. She chose Lumpectomy. Everything we looked at said the recovery rates for conditions as her were the same so we went with the least invasive. Thankfully the doctors moved quickly and the tumor was successfully removed on April 27. She is off work and recovering at home now, and regaining strength from the surgery. Her first Chemo treatment is this Friday. After three months of Chemo, a treatment every two weeks, she will begin Radiation treatments for six weeks, 5 days a week. We are thankful for God's mercy in allowing the cancer to be found when it was, and for seeing her through the surgery and treatments. Our 15th wedding anniversary was April 29th, but knowing the surgery was coming we went to dinner the night before the surgery and had a very nice time.

If someone wants to find a Bible verse about compassion and forgiveness, then I am the guy. To actually see someone live these things one can look at my wife as an example. She has no guile. She is, quite simply, the best part of us.

The last weekend in March the youngest of my three brothers, the one who had been recovering from the gunshot wound, was in a very bad motorcycle accident. He is the second of my brothers to be involved in a motorcycle accident. He was not wearing a helmet. The skin on the right side of his face , and his forehead, was shredded on concrete and and a nerve is right eye damaged, and he now sees very little out of that eye. His wrist was also broken. He was in ICU one day and home the next - we were told that had nothing to do with his lack of health insurance. Our mother spend the next few weeks dressing his wounds. On the same day as my wife's surgery he was at a doctors office in another city being told there was nothing to be done for his eye as the nerve had not been severed, but shattered. He has made his living driving a truck, but does not believe his vision at this point will allow him to continue doing so. He is looking into job retraining programs.

Though much has happened in a short time God has sustained us and as hard as things have been they could have been much worse. Lives have been in danger but not lost. Thank God.

My beautiful, wonderful daughter turns 12 this Saturday. The fastest 12 years of my life. Money being tight as it is we had to bypass a party, but she understands and has not acted disappointed. We are giving her a shiny new bicycle, and taking her to dinner at her favorite restaurant.

I am hoping for a bright and good day.