Settling in

I had good intentions all week of blogging. But, as usual, I am tired. I actually came down with a little virus bug yesterday. My throat was swollen and raw. However, I was able to beat it back with high doses of Vitamin C and Nutrizymes. That is a big change for me. I usually start popping antibiotics from Mexico in cases like that. So as you can tell, I have learned somethings along the way. I have also lost 30 pounds so far on this journey as well. But that is what happens when you stop going to Starbucks and start eating veggies. God is taking me on a journey that he has wanted me to be on for a long time. I just couldn't find the time or energy until I had to find the time and energy.

We have had some doctor's appointments this week. We first started out with the Oncologist here, Dr. Khan. We told him after much prayer, that we will not be stepping forward at this time with Chemotherapy. Again, this is specific to Mike, but we know that if we step in that treatment path at this point, Mike will not make it. We also went to see a GI doctor this week as well. We are considering putting a stint in Mike's esophagus so he can eat and drink more. This doctor mentioned that Chemotherapy is not the solution. Here is the thing.... by the world's standards Mike can not win this battle. However, we are not using the world's standards, we are using God's. So there is hope. We are fighting but only because God is there with us. When Jesus died on the cross, he took extra punishment for us to be healed (By His stripes we are healed). So we are healed.

We did do some exciting things this week too. We went to Dr. Rae's office yesterday and started our ALF shots. The ALF shot is basically Mike's own immune system. They took blood from him a few weeks back and they basically cloned/grew Mike's B Cells and T Cells. We are now taking injections every 4 days of his own immune system to build the one in his body. That is cool! We also did Meridan testing on Mike's body today. Again, Dr. Warren was impressed at how well Mike's body is considering what he has. His systems are still strong but we have a few areas to tweak. We added a few things to his protocol, but they can all be taken sub lingual (under the tongue) which is a bonus. I also added Poly-MVA to Mike's list as well after reading some different reports about it.

Elizabeth update - she is at 5th Grade Camp until tomorrow. At Walker Elementary, the 5th grade goes to camp every year. This year they are at Sky Ranch near Tyler, TX. She was nervous about going after her camp experience this summer. However, Aunt Kathy is the cabin counselor :) and she is in a cabin with her cousins, Alex and Madissen, and good friends. She is having a great time from what I understand. They can only receive text messages there. She will be home tomorrow and I will report more once I get the whole story. I am more excited to see how Aunt Kathy dealt with everything!

As for me, I was able to get some things accomplished this week. The first major news is that the VA sent this nice woman to our house on Monday to fill out the VA paperwork. The claim is being worked through Fort Hood by Sylvester. He is so nice and put us on his prayer list at his church after we talked on the phone last week. The VA has a few different levels of compensation. There is 100% disability and then an R1 level and a R2 level. I will let you know more as we find out what we qualify for in the coming weeks. I filled out more paperwork for our life insurance. We bought whole life insurance back when we were young and our policy will waive the premiums on Mike's if he is 100% disable. So we are starting that process, plus we get to add one last option of $50,000 at retirement. That may not seem like a lot, but I managed to accomplish this while taking Mike to all the different doctor's appointments and treatments. My next big thing that I HAVE to do is fine a Tricare Prime provider that will work with us. That may seem like a simple task, but it is not when you don't live by a military base. It seems that Tricare doesn't pay well and most doctors don't want to take it. The worst thing is when they do take it, but I have to file the paperwork. I would love to do that, but I don't have the time right now. Guess what else I did? I made appointment for the car on Saturday morning and for haircuts for Elizabeth and I. That may sound like a simple thing, but it is exciting to me!

Finally, Mike's Retirement is on Monday at 2:00 pm at Four Corners Church. The church is on the corner of Highway 121 and Custer Road. All are invited and kids are welcome. Anyone who wants to celebrate with us is welcomed! We are excited that Doug and Dena are coming from Omaha. Pierre has agreed to pray and sing at the ceremony! That is all I know so far. Mike is asking all the official questions, and I just don't know. This may be the oddest retirement that there ever was, but if God is there, who cares?? In the end, it about celebrating Mike and the miracle that he is!

Prayer requests:
Mike to eat and drink more
To walk each day in God's path for us
To find a doctor for our family
For sickness to stay away from our family
Time to be a family
Safe travel for Elizabeth and crew coming back from Tyler
Sleep and rest
Quiet time
No more hospital stays!
Mike to have strength for the retirement ceremony