I drove with some anxiety to the appointment. But it turned out to be a fairly easy. I ran through a series of tests and spoke with a wonderful ophthalmologist, she encouraged me that my eyesight was really not that bad and it had nothing to do the recent 36th calendar year. I was amazed when she fine–tuned my prescription and I could see distances clearly. I will probably need them for driving and activities that require distance eyesight. I am excited about going to the rifle range this year. Admittedly, I have been struggling to qualify for the last several years. I can control the weapon and frankly I love to shoot. It just made me very anxious when I could not get a good sight picture because I could not focus. We had fun picking out frames, the ladies made the task almost enjoyable. For that, I am thankful. They should be ready in 5-7 days.

I have two important updates and continued prayer requests…

Blake
Here is a quick excerpt from an email I received from the family…

And even more good news! Blake is home! He gets four days at home before his next round of chemo begins – what a blessing! Please pray that he will get renewed mentally and physically in these few days for what is ahead. This next round will consist of four days in the hospital and three days at home for a couple of weeks until his blood count will drop drastically again and he will need to be in the hospital again for three or four weeks.

Pray for his struggle now with nausea! The chemo is wearing down the systems in his body and while he has a healthy appetite so far, he often doesn’t get to keep his lunch. He handles it very well but it can wear on you as any of you who are moms and have had morning sickness can attest to.

We also got another bit of good news today – the lady from SSI called to say that Blake was now on disability – we don’t know for sure yet but hope that this is the next step to get him on to Medicaid so that he can have the bone marrow transplant at the University Hospital. Our insurance will cover the first $100,000 and the Medicaid would cover everything over that. And yes – the doctor seemed pretty certain that Blake is looking at the bone marrow transplant, which we are just beginning to learn is quite a rigorous undertaking, very dangerous but with the best hope for a cure. Pray that one of Blake’s brothers will be a donor match for him. Having your kinfolk donate stem cells gives the best possible opportunity for the graft to take.



A Storm in Afghanistan
excerpt from their blog…
Day to day life? Well, she has good days and bad days. She no longer carries anything breakable or sharp as we never know when something will give out. Driving is a long-ago memory now. And, of course, I don't leave her alone with our toddler. For her to get in/out of bed, we like to have me there... just in case.

...Stop by, leave a note, send a card, make a donation, call a friend… They are part of our extended military family and they need our help.

Damn Cancer - I hate YOU.