JOURNAL
Thoughts & Reflections of
Jerry & Joyce
The doctor is optimistic that they got it all. They also took out 3 lymph nodes.
This, along with the breast tissue, has been sent to pathology to see
the results. The surgery took about 2 hours and was done
Wednesday. They wanted to send Joyce home Thursday but she talked them into letting her stay another day.
She was released at 7:30 a.m. and we did not get out until 3:00 p.m.. She has had NO PAIN -
WHATSOEVER. We are thinking maybe they put a pain pack in the incision that slowly releases
pain medication and that will wear off in three or four days. Continue to pray for her.
More information to follow. Thanks to all who are praying.
Jerry and Joyce (Nancy) Belton
OUR LIVES TURNED UPSIDE DOW (OR SO WE THOUGHT)
Little did I know that bedtime on the night of February 12 would, from the human point of view, turn our world upside down.
As we normally do, I was in the bedroom working on my computer and Joyce was watching the news on the
TV in the living room. When she was ready for bed I put the computer away, turned on the TV and lay down with her. She asked me to
turn off the TV and talk with her. This usually meant that she had something to say so I did as she asked. As we was lying in bed she
said she had found a lump in her breast and showed me where it was. At the time I felt it, it seemed to be very large.
We discussed it and of coarse thought of all the worst scenarios.
After getting over the initial shock it was then determined that the first thing the next morning she should call the
medical clinic and set up an appointment to get to the bottom of the problem.
We then had prayer concerning what we would have to face together.
Lying in bed after the light was turned out I then began some reminiscing about the things we had faced together in our 31 years of
marriage. I remembered how she was there to help me through many medical problems I had and was
faithful to me. Now the role was going to be reversed and I am determined to be there for her.
In my mind I was trying to put together things that might have to be done. I fell asleep thinking how I could help her.
Joyce and I are both very nervous, praying first and foremost that the results will be negative.
We have also been praying that God will give us the grace to accept whatever the results are.
I have to go to school this morning and will leave about noon for her appointment.
We got to the clinic about an hour before her appointment, registered, and sat in the waiting room.
About 3 hours later we were called into the treatment room. An intern came into the room and started asking all kinds of
cancer related questions: “Is there a history of cancer in your family?
What kind of cancer did your father die of? How long ago was it? Anyone else in your family have a problem with it cancer?”
These are the types of questions you do not want to be asked.
Then she left the room and about five minutes later she came back with a more experienced doctor who was not smiling.
After introductions he said something like, “Well, we found some cancer!
It appears to be in the beginning stage. We also found something suspicion in the lymph nodes but are not sure to what extent.
We would like to do a biopsy on them today and see what else may need to be done.
What I want to do now is to let you talk to the surgeon and she will fill you in on what the next step.
Do you have any questions for me? ”
I think Joyce and I were stunned with what we were just told that we did not really know what to ask.
When he said we would talk to the surgeon about what the next step would be I know I keyed in on that and my questions were for the surgeon.
The doctor and intern then left and Joyce and I had prayer and to tell the truth at this time we did not thank God for the information we had just received.
I do remember praying that the Lord would help us keep a good testimony during this time.
The surgeon then came in and introduced herself as Dr. Wright.
Keeping my sense of humor I commented, At least we have the right doctor.
She laughed and said that’s right. She then examined Joyce and started to explain what she wanted to do.
I will relate it as much as my memory will allow me.
First we have the options for surgery. One way of taking care of the cancer is to remove only the parts affected by it the cancer.
This would be the less evasive action in that less would be removed.
With this type of surgery there is always a chance of missing some and of a reoccurrence of the cancer.
Also with this type of surgery there would be a better chance to have to use chemotherapy and radiation.
The only benefit we could see is that there would be less reconstruction surgery.
The second option would be a total mastectomy. This would mean to take the whole breast and then have to have reconstruction surgery.
The main benefit to this is that with all the tissue removed there would be less of a chance to leave any cancer behind.
The doctor advised that to her that would be best type of surgery.
She said that because of the position of the cancer in the breast it almost necessitated the taking of the entire breast.
We then asked her about the lymph nodes and to what me might expect concerning them.
She said they would do one of two types of surgery.
The “cherry picking” method which means that after they get into the body and take out only the lymph nodes that need to be taken.
The other alternative would be to take them all.
She did not recommend this surgery because she said that if all the nodes were removed the arm had a tendency to swell and stay swollen.
When asked how long Joyce would be in the hospital she replied that it would be one to four days.
She said that they would not rush her out but give her a little time until she was more confident to go home.
She also said Joyce would be given pain medication to help.
**********
Sunday March 16, 2008
Joyce sang in the early service at church today, perhaps for the last time for a while.
The song she chose was, “Whatever It Takes”. It is a song about being fully surrendered to God and willing to
accept whatever HE has in your future as a way to accomplish things in your life.
Since most of the church knew what was going on in our lives there were very few dry eyes of the women and
several of the men were wiping tears. Also in line with the message that the song gives our daughter, Amy, finally
released the feeling she had and went to the altar with Joyce and had prayer.
After the services she received comfort from the pastors wife and others.
Hopefully this will help her better accept the circumstances. We will continue to pray for all things to be done for HIS glory
(Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Joyce and I talked about what she wanted to do in the time she has left before her surgery.
If we have time she wants to go to Lake Charles and take a walk on the boardwalk.
I told her she should take Amy and the grandkids and go. She should spend as much time as possible
with them because after surgery she will be unable to play with the grandkids.
She will have enough time with me while she recuperates. I have no problem with her spending time with them.
I informed many on my e-mail list about the health problem of my wife.
Many of those on the list had received DAILY SONSHINE, an email I used to send out with
encouragement, scripture verses, poems, and other things to help them. We received the
following encouragement from many on the email list:
William and Nancy A
Gordon M.
JOhn & Amy F.
Geoff M.
Sue
Roger, Louise, & Steve
Karl H.
Larry W.
Ron & Miriam
Wabon & Louise
Dean B.
Mary E.
Clarence
Jim & Barbara White
Frank & Pat W.
*******************
Wednesday - March 19, 2008
Joyce was not feeling good, from last night, and I called her boss and told him she was not going to work anymore,
until after the recuperation from the surgery. I let her sleep and take it easy.
I called her a couple times during the day to see how she was doing and to let her know I was thinking about her.
Joyce went to church with me tonight and it was good for her. I shared what the Lord had done to
get her mom here for the surgery. There was no way we could come up with the money required for the tickets.
The previous Sunday Night Joyce’s mom, Jean, and dad, Gene, were called up in front of their church,
Lindenwald Baptist church in Fairfield, Ohio, to have prayer for Joyce. After they
prayed the pastor called upon the congregation to help with an offering to send Jean to be with
Joyce during surgery. On the spot the church gave her at least enough to get to
Louisiana and help cover the money she will loose by taking off work.
Jennifer shared with the church about how much the song Joyce sang, Whatever It Takes, meant to her and
also how a friend of hers at work, came to her with news that her mom had breast cancer. Jennifer was able to have prayer
with the lady, cry with her and let her know how Jesus gives comfort. We can already see how
God is using our testimony (especially Joyce’s) in this illness.
***********************
March 20, 2008
Joyce stayed home from work today. She is not feeling very well. We get out of school at 12:00 for
spring break so there will be no problem with me going to the doctor’s appointment with her.
The Lord has blessed me with the ministry I have teaching in our church’s Christian school.
Her appointment is at 2:00 and we get to the clinic at 1:00, hoping to get in early but it is
still about 4:00 before we got to see the doctor. When we got called back Joyce was instructed to take off her blouse
and put a hospital gown on, by the nurse, and they would check the point of a biopsy on the lymph
nodes last week. When the doctor came in a few minutes later she told us that all she wanted to
do was talk to us about the surgery.
The biopsy on the lymph nodes came up negative, which is great news. She informed us that
during the surgery they will put some nuclear substance to go into the lymph nodes and then they will be checked to see if any need
to be removed. This is called the “cherry picking”, pick and choose which ones to take and leave.
We thought her carotid artery was going to be a problem because the last we knew it was 30% blocked. The doctor said it was
not 30% but had a 50% narrowing. She showed no concern about it and said everything should be fine.
The doctor also said that she believes that the surgery will get everything and that Joyce will not need any chemotherapy or
radiation. She said it was a gut feeling she has and usually these are pretty dependable. I then told her that there were
churches and people all over the United States and some on the mission field praying for her.
This was since she was going to operate on my wife. I then asked her if I could pray for her and she said yes. I prayed for God to be
with her, especially during the surgery, and with the other caregivers. I also asked that whatever the Lord wanted that he
give us the grace to accept it. She seemed to appreciate it and gave me a hug and said thank you. I believe the Lord is going to work
in her life. I gave her a tract last week and she still has it. I also invited her to church and she said she is going to try to come.
******************
Tuesday March 25th
This is the day before her surgery. There is great anticipation because “grandma” is coming today.
She will be arriving at Lafayette airport at 10:15 a.m.
She doesn’t know it yet but the grandkids are going to meet her.
We get to the airport about 10 minutes before 10 and go inside. I give my daughter, Amy, a call to find out where she is.
She is just pulling into the airport parking lot so I go out and help her with the kids.
I am a little worried about how the youngest will handle the escalator.
I go out and take her hand and as we get ready top get on she steps on with no problem.
As we look for her one of the passengers tell us that the “lady in the wheel chair” is on her way in.
A few minutes later here comes grandma being pushed by another passenger.
The grandkids rush to her and give her a big hug each, with the exception of Leila (the youngest).
We have already planned to introduce grandma to Louisiana by means of the
Welcome center Butte La Rose that shows a film and has animated animals that talk about Louisiana.
She enjoys the visit and learns a little about the state. We also get a chance to sit at an outdoor picnic table and just talk while the kids play.
We spend about 1½ hours there.
At this time we go home and take a nap. At about 5:00 p.m. we go to Richard and Amy’s house for a cookout.
Richard's family is coming so they can meet grandma. Richard is our outdoor grill cooker and does a good job of it.
My son, Tim, comes as well as Richards mom and dad, sister and her husband and children.
It is a good time for all and everyone gets to know one another.
We go home early because we have to be at the hospital at 5:00 a.m.
*****************
Wednesday, March 26
The morning of the surgery we get up at 4:00 p.m. Joyce and I have prayer and turn it over to the Lord.
She has to wash in a special soap the doctor gave her and is not able to wear makeup.
Also her hair cannot have any hairspray on it. She decides to wear her new slippers to the
hospital so she doesn’t have anything more than necessary to have at the hospital.
This early in the morning we have to enter the hospital through the emergency room so I drop Joyce
and her mom there and drive around the hospital to park in the main parking lot.
As I was approaching the main entrance Joyce was there
and was able to open the front door so I did not have to walk around the building.
Also as I was walking to the door, Amy and Richard and Tim were coming to the door also.
We sat in the waiting room, where we were told to wait by the doctor. After a few minutes Joyce went to the window
and asked when she would be called. We were then instructed to go to the filth floor and follow the instruction.
After getting up there Joyce was assigned a room and went in and to put on a gown.
Preacher came in about 6:00 a.m. and waited with us. We waited – and waited – and waited and finally the doctor came in.
She marked Joyce where the cut was to be made and left. Preacher came back in and had prayer with us.
He had to leave and told us to call him when she was taken to surgery.
So we settled in to wait – and wait – and wait and finally about 1:30 p.m. she was taken to surgery.
We then went to the waiting room to wait more. About 2:15 a nurse from the surgery team called the waiting room,
told me Joyce was under and the operation was to start. She said she would call me every hour to give me an update.
We sat in the waiting room, talking, reading, and fellowshipping.
While we were there grandma began talking to another gentleman who was there with someone in surgery.
As the conversation went she shard Christ with him and he bowed his head
and asked Christ to come into his heart and be his Savior. What a blessing it was.
I got another call at 2:15 and was told that all was going well and that they were about through.
About 20 minutes later the doctor came down grinning. She said all went well and that Joyce was in recovery.
They would call me when she was awake. I asked if they got everything and she said she was very confident that they had.
She said that they had to take 3 lymph nodes as well. When asked if Joyce would need
chemotherapy or radiation the doctor said the tissue was sent to the pathologist and results would not be back for a week or so.
I was so glad it was over I did not think to ask any more questions.
We sat down again to wait for Joyce to be awake enough to be taken to her room.
About 15 minutes later we got a call that she was being taken to her room.
We hurried to the 3rd floor and waited for them to come up in the employee elevator.
About 10 minutes later she came out still very groggy and pale looking. I bent down to kiss her and tell her all went well.
(MY PERSONAL THOUGHTS: After looking at her face my gaze went to the area
of the surgery and the absence of her breast was very evident.
The question I had asked myself since finding out about the treatment for cancer was,
“Will it really make a difference in out relationship.”
At this point I realized that this was never really a question in my mind but Satan trying to work on me.
On December 20, 1976 I had vowed to take Joyce for better or worse, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.
The absence of a body part does not make her any less who she is. Joyce stuck with me through a
number of my own physical problems, hip replacement, toe amputation, weight of over 400
pounds, and several other problems. We were together forever.)
Joyce was taken to her room and we were told to wait again while they got her settled in.
After 20 minutes I went to the nurses station and asked how long before we could see her.
She had been settled in and they never came and told us. (A word of advice – when you are told to wait for someone to come get you,
don’t wait too long, there is often a tendency for the hospital staff
to not follow through, due to their workload. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.)
Those who went into the room was myself, Amy, Richard, grandma, Preacher and of course Joyce was in there.
The room was only about 12X12 not including the bathroom.
Joyce was still very much sleepy and when I asked her a question she just mumbled.
I did ask her if I could spend all the money and her reply was, “What money?” so she was thinking a little.
We sat around talking and every once in a while would ask Joyce a question and hoping she could answer the question coherently.
She could not for quite a while. She did wake up and heat her supper about 6:00 and got out of bed and made a trip to the bathroom.
Of course there was a lot of hands there to help her and she leaned on us a little but was very stable.
Joyce was hooked up to a machine which contained pain medication if and when she needed it.
Whenever we asked her if she was in pain she replied no. This has been the answer to the pain question for the whole day.
Preacher had to leave but Amy, Richard, grandma and Tim stayed until visiting hour were over and left about 8:00 p.m.
There was a chair in the room that would open to a bed and this was where I spent the night.
Although it was not very comfortable I did get some much-needed sleep.
As usual I awoke 3 or 4 times. Joyce seemed to rest very good.
*******************
Thursday March 27
My day started at 4:00 a.m. when the person came in to take a blood sample from Joyce.
Without warning the overhead light came on. I heard the girl telling Joyce that she needed some blood.
The girl had to turn off the IV pump so she could do her thing so someone else had to come in and turn it back on.
She left the room and left the overhead light on. I had to get off the chair/bed and go around Joyce’s bed and turn the light off.
While she was awake I asked Joyce if she was in pain and her reply was not a bit. We both went back to sleep for a while longer.
Amy brought the grandkids up for a visit. We all prepared
for this and had Joyce situated in such a way that the kids could not reach her unless we let them.
They usually have a tendency to run and jump on grandma and give her a hug. That would not work in the shape she was in.
Joyce was sitting in a chair over in the corner behind the bed. They brought some balloons and flowers, which were nice.
Amy said she was going to buy a Sponge Bob balloon but the kids would have fought over it and not given it to grandma.
Granny (Joyce’s mom) also came up. I was going to go home and
take a shower and freshen up but believe it or not I did not want to loose my parking space.
I have driven around for 30 minutes trying to get a parking space
and then have to park a long ways off. There is construction going on and a lot of the extra spaces taken up.
People park on the end of rows and in the islands between
the paved spaces. Besides the doctor has not come in yet.
The kids started getting antsy and do not want to set still and be quiet.
They gave grandma, granny and myself hugs and kisses and left, so we got some rest.
The doctor came in about 11:30 a.m. and checked Joyce’s incision.
She took off the ACE bandage and removed the gauze and for the first time I saw the ‘cut’.
I also counted the staples and there are 22 of them. After much contemplation
I believe this is the prettiest cut I have seen because it
means that the cancer has been removed from my wife’s body
and we are trusting God to take care of anything the doctor missed.
There is a drain line coming from the incision and the doctor
showed us how to drain it. We also have to keep up with a record with the amount of fluid drained.
The doctor said that Joyce could go home that afternoon (the day after surgery).
Joyce and I had already talked about it and she felt that was too soon for her to go so we asked the doctor for one more day.
The doctor told us that people usually go home the next day
and besides Medicaid, the hospital CEO, and everyone concerned (except the patient) wanted
only a 1 day stay BUT if we felt she needed the extra day it could be worked out.
We said we would feel better if she could stay another day
and was given permission for another day’s stay.
The rest of the day was one of rest. Several people from church came by to visit and
were amazed at the condition Joyce was in and that she was already getting around without pain.
She still did not have any discomfort, pain or any other problems.
Finally about 6:00 p.m. I decided to go home, clean up and raid the refrigerator.
I had been living out of the snack machines for two days.
The shower feels really good and I just stand under it for ten minutes and then realize that I need to leave.
I get back to the hospital about 7:50 just before going home time.
I meet Amy and family outside as they were stopping by to tell Joyce good night.
Richard and Tim had just been volunteered to coach R.J.’s baseball team.
The rest of the night is spent resting and watching TV Joyce is still sleeping a lot and is eating well.
*********************
Friday March 28
Today is the day Joyce is supposed to go home. They did not come in and four and take blood.
I had taken something to help me sleep and did not get up until about 7:30 a.m. when the doctor came in.
He looked at the incision, the drainage and asked about her health in general.
He also asked if she was ready to go home and she replied that yes so he
told her he would take care of the paperwork and she should be out in a short time (YEAH! RIGHT!!)
The doctor also had me change the bandage, only the ACE bandage and then he
had me empty the drain and make sure I did it ok, which I did.
Granny decided not to come because we were expecting to be home by 10 or 11.
I asked Joyce if she wanted to change into “street clothes” and she said, “No!
I know how discharges from a hospital go. We will be fortunate to get out by noon.” She then went back to sleep.
She was right and to make a long story short
we did not get out until after 2:00 p.m. The rest of the day was spent at home resting.
A real blessing was that the ladies of Central Baptist Church
have a ministry of taking food to families when there has been a problem,
which requires hospital stay, or other physical problems. This is especially nice because
I don’t know how well Joyce would recuperate with my cooking.
Of coarse, in this instance granny was brought in to take care of me.
To the ladies I again want to express my appreciation for the fried chicken,
meat loaf, roast that was brought in over the next few days with all the trimmings.
***********************
MONDAY April 21
Our day started at 4:15 a.m. today. This is the day that Joyce gets the med.
port put in to help with chemotherapy. The theory is that because she has to have over an hour of IV chemo every three weeks,
putting in a temporary port will enable her to receive it. Also the chemo that will be used is
not good to touch the skin and can cause burns.
Our plan is to be at the hospital by 5:15 a.m., go through registration and have the surgery done by 10:00 a.m.
I wanted to allow a little extra time. Well we got there by 5:15, went to the 5th
floor, Joyce changed into the gown they provided and settled down in bed for the wait.
The first thing they did was come into the room and take a sample of blood.
This was entirely unexpected for Joyce and she was not ready for it. The nurse who took her blood the last time was there,
with a new girl. I reminded them that Joyce hated needles and the original nurse said,
“Oh, Yea! I remember her and that is why I came in to help.” With that the new girl started with the blood
and got it the first time. That did impress Joyce but did not help any.
We then settled in for the wait to 10:00. YEAH! RIGHT! 10:00 came and went followed by 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00.
Finally about 3:15 the nurse came in and told us they were sending people home,
not going to do their surgery BUT they were going to get her done.
The surgery department came in to get her about 3:30 and sent us to the waiting room. About 4:20
the surgery nurse called the waiting room and informed me that Joyce was asleep
and they were going to start to work on her. She said, “If it takes longer than one hour
she would give me another call. I then called my son, Tim and daughter, Amy and informed them of her
finally going under the knife. They had been waiting for this call their response was, “It’s about time.”
I sat in the waiting room for about an hour when the phone rang again. I was paged and informed
that I needed to come to her room on the 5th floor and get her stuff and that she
was going to be taken to the 7th floor after she gets out of recovery. I called and informed the kids
and preacher that she was through surgery and going to another room. Amy and her husband, Richard,
had baseball practice with their son, R.J. Richard is coaching and my son, Tim, is helping so they
will be busy doing at ball field. (By the way R.J. hit a home run, which went all the way to the fence. I sure hated to miss that.)
I got to the 7th floor and checked the room they said she would be in but it was not even cleaned from
the last patient. I went to the waiting area on that floor and sat down.
Talking with an older lady who was there with her daughter, waiting on her husband.
She said last time they were on that floor it was to keep her husband overnight.
When I saw a nurse I asked her if the floor was to keep someone overnight and she said,
“Yes they usually are.” This made me wonder if there was a problem because Joyce was kept in recovery longer
than she was supposed to. After nearly an hour of waiting Joyce finally came out of the elevator.
I did not rush after her because I knew that the nurses would not let me in the room until they got her settled.
About 15 minutes later I went to the unit and they were just finishing with her.
I went in and sat the things I was carrying down and went around the bed. I noticed there was a lot of blood on the left side on her head, on the pillow and mattress.
I didn’t say anything about it because I assumed it was from the surgery. The nurses left after taking her vitals and making her as comfortable as possible.
I kept an eye on the bloody bandage since it concerned me but I figured the doctor and nurses knew what was going on.
WRONG! (WORDS OF WARNING! DON’T ASSUME ANYTHING. IF SOMETHING DOESN’T LOOK RIGHT AS QUESTIONS!!)
I called the nurse in when I noticed that the bandage seemed to get more saturated and the spot on the bed got bigger.
When the nurse came in she called for another nurse to help her and they immediately got to work on the bandage.
As soon as they took the bandage off blood started to run down her neck.
I could not see the incision so I did not have a good view of it. They changed the bandage and left the room.
It was only 10 minutes or so before this new bandage was soaked. I called to the nurse and she came into the room and looked at it.
I then informed her that my wife was still on Plavik and taking an aspirin a day to help with thinning of her blood.
She seemed concerned that the surgery was done while she was still taking the aspirin, which helps thin the blood and is a way to fight blood clots.
This medication Joyce started after having her strokes nearly two years before.
When she saw the bandage before doing anything she said she was going to call the doctor and get some instructions to take care of her problem.
She finally came back with the doctor’s instructions to apply a compress bandage on the incision.
(This is accomplished by applying direct pressure on the incision to get the blood to clot.)
She held the bandage on for 15 to 20 minutes and then applied more dressing, taped it and left.
I checked the bandage in another 15 to 20 minutes and the bandage was once again soaked. I was, to put it bluntly, UPSET.
I then went to the nurse again and a little more strongly suggested they do something more permanent to stop the bleeding.
She said she would call the doctor again and suggest she come to look at the patient.
About 20 minutes later the doctor came to the room, looked at the incision and requested that they get a certain size needle and she would suture the incision.
I then asked her why my wife was not taken off her blood thinning medicine a week before the surgery.
Her response was, “I guess I should have at least taken her off the aspirin.”
When my wife figured out that she was going to get stitches she got nervous, her phobia with needles surfaced.
I then left the room to get out of the way. Keep in mind this was about 9:15 p.m., about 4 ½ hours after surgery.
Although I did not get a close look it did not look like there was any stitches in it.
My first question when I see her again will be, “why wasn’t the incision sutured, glued or stapled before she left the operating room?”
I’ll let you know what I find out. I was then informed that they were still going to discharge her that night.
We left the hospital about 11:00 p.m.. We were at the hospital for about 18 hours (5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.) for a 45 minute surgery.
We were home and Joyce ready for bed by about 12:30. She took two Loratabs, for pain, and did not know anything until about 11:00 a.m.
************************
Tuesday May 14, 2008
Joyce had her first Chemo treatment on April 28 and did pretty well with it.
It has caused her to be tired a lot but there was not much nausea or appetite loss.
The doctor said that on or about the 3rd and 10th day after Chemo would be her worst time and it was.
On Sunday she lost quite a bit of hair each time she brushed it and was not real happy about that.
She had decided to cut her hair short so it would not be so bad to loose it.
I called her Monday morning about 10:00 and she informed me that most of her hair had fallen out.
She called our son, Tim, and asked him to come home and be with her.
He spent most of the day with her and even took her out to lunch.
Our daughter, Amy, went to the house with her hair clippers and trimmed the rest of it off.
The Lord had worked it out so that the very afternoon Joyce was to attend a support group called “Look Good – Feel Better”.
It was for cancer patients to get a makeover to show them how to work with putting on make up to look better therefore they should feel better.
Joyce was asked to be the model and because of this she was pampered and all the work was done for her.
She also tried several wigs on her and decided the red tinted one looked the best and gave it to her.
She was very excited when she came home.
The pictures are of me and her, me and her and the grandkids, Joyce and Amy, Joyce and Tim, and Joyce and Mrs. Kelly – whom we greatly appreciate.
She has been such a blessing and a great help.
We also got a report concerning the bone scan and the CT scans that showed the cancer has not spread anywhere else in her body.
This was great news and one that we had been praying for. There is going to be no change in the dosage of the Chemo.
Her next treatment will be May 19th. We would ask you to pray for her to have the same results with each treatment, not becoming nauseated or sick.
Also pray that she would not be so drained physically. She has had the opportunity to counsel several women in our apartment complex who have recently been diagnosed with some form of cancer.
We would also ask you to pray for a friend of our, Mike Anthony, who is in the Army and was wounded and is doing well.
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JUNE 19th
Nancy Joyce just completed her third chemo treatment and this one has hit her pretty hard.
She has also been tired from not sleeping well. She just had a sleep study done and her apnea is worse.
They are increasing her settings, giving her a bi-pap (pressures in and out) and are giving her a humidifier.
We are prayerful that this will help her get better rest. Other than being tired she is very nauseaus and having trouble keeping things down.
She takes her medicene but at time has trouble keeping it down. Please keep praying for her.
