Sept 1-30, 2009

Sept 1/09
well today was an interesting day, while i was at doc's i decided to ask him to check janae and he's so good, he did, well, he found out her tonsils are absolutely huge, so we have to keep close tabs on her and next step is tonsilectamy however you spell that.
as for me, well warfaren is cut till friday as my blood now is way, way too thin, and well practically running out so need to make sure no cuts or hi ho hi ho off to emerg i go for a Vit K shot and well blood count is down again to 80 from 87, so taking two iron pills a day just isn't cutting it, another one of questions for docs tomorro. anyway, just wanted to let you know what's up around our house today so you can pray us. You have no idea how much this means to our family to have you all pray with us as we travel this unknown road ahead. Thanks, love you guys all, diane for the crew
p.s. a friend i just chatted with gave me my song for the night, I Need Thee Every Hour, not just in difficult times, but also when we are receiving Blessings, and Good Times, to remember we Need Him always no matter what, and He is here for us every step of the way. I'm thankful i memorized a lot of those songs when i was a kid, they come in handy, i do sometimes forget some parts of the words but hum them then.
p.s. praise God - Darlene had the last tube taken out today and is able to come home tomorro afternoon, pray for continued healing as it will be a lengthy journey for her as well
2. Ed Wiebe - waiting for date on kidney surgery
3. Sharon Isbister - waiting for Liver Surgery
4. Tina Doerksen - waiting for Heart valve surgery
this email was supposed to send last night but am having a lot of troubles sending lately, but will fill in some of today's happenings while i'm at it and hope this one will send.


Sept 2/09
well we decided not to stay in the city, but we were there already at 9 am and went for blood work and x rays, then went to see the doc, we got in just after 10 and well it took forever, (1:00 before we got out) first the nurse goes over everything, then an intern comes and asks everything all over again and checks me over then we wait, a dark young energetic, extremely fast talking doc (Radiation doc) comes racing in and chatters a mile a min, then asks pretty much same questions, checks a few things then leaves, next comes another nurse to inform us of what's going to happen next, then comes another intern who asks the same questions as everyone else and then checks out some things and leaves, next the chemo doc comes in and asks pretty much same questions checks a few things (same pretty much as everyone else) then leaves, meanwhile during all this the first doc comes back and forth for little bits to hand us a paper, tell us of change of plans, (i think they changed their mind 3 times) anyway finally a decision was made and we met with another nurse then the pharmasist and then doc came to say we could go home. all in a day. I must say i really liked the Radiation doc, he was a fast talking doc with a bit of an accent, but he was young and full of energy, and has a lot of faith in my ability to fight, he was so incredibly sweet, Will & I we had to chuckle because he just was one to lift a person up, with his business and ability to chatter so quickly, we caught a lot even in all that, just needs to be processed and he will fight to help do whatever they can for my situation, i will email more details later. Our door was open and i could hear parts of the discussion as they were trying to figure out best options for me at this time, they had quite a crew who gave their opinion so that's good to know every detail that they could think of was. On our way home we got a phone call to come back friday for more scans which they do and put into their computer and the computer will figure absolutely everything out of where the radiation needs to go, they will do it for now in two parts, then re access after the first set of treatments or wether i want to continue. My first visit will consits of chemo and radiation treatments which will take just over 5 hrs. then every day after that for 5 weeks i will go for a 5 or so min. radiation treatment and once a week i will go in for a radiation and chemo treatment for 5 weeks, so see how that goes, i'm not looking forward to it, as my breathing will be really tested then. Anyway, think i've given you a lot for today, thanks for letting me share, diane
tomorro: bone scans
friday : more CT scans


hi! we had an interesting experience when we were done eating at KFC close to HSC, a young lad maybe Brenten's age came up to us and asked us for money so he could buy a meal and enough for a bed at the Salvation Army, to which i asked him if he was hungry i'd buy him a meal to which he kept repeating he just needed money, we finally just had to make it plain as day, we would buy him a meal but i could not give him any $$. so he obviously wasn't hungry he didn't accept my offer.
Smells: this is one of those things that since spring my sense of smell has i think gotten i'm probably over estimating but 100% more sensitive, little things like perfumes, smoke,(wether its a burger on the grill or a person smoking or have smoked) neighbors burning garbage, straw off fields, dusts, things that never bothered me before, now its one of those things that really play into how i breathe on a day to day basis or moment, how i've taken such little nose right in the middle of my face and didn't give it too much of a thought other than when one smells skunk lol. how big a part it plays in how each one of us breaths anyway, with "little" things that aren't little it gives one another look into what our nose does for us and how it filters out the air we breathe, and puts that clean air into our lungs. God puts little things like noses on our bodies for special reasons, each little or big body part play a huge roll in our day to day life. Thank God for little things, not just the big things.
Results: Our results on wed. were what we'd been warned about but hoped not for. The cancer i have is at a stage 3B as of now, unless the scans, blood, bones, etc. etc. come back with new results, they will treat it as a 3B, reason being doc says, your young, very able, and could tell i had the fight to continue, hoping i can stay strong as its going to be one incredibly tough ride. the Cancer is not cureable, but they will treat it to their best of their knowledge, that and the rest is in the Lord's hands, wether he needs me shortly in Heaven or wether he will Bless me with years, i don't know, all i know is we will live our lives One Day At a Time, and not take any moments for granted, we each can do the same, doesn't matter wether we're going through our regular days, we don't know when it will end, even if we don't come down with an illness, we could be taken away today, ARE YOU READY?? I know i am, it still doesn't make it easy as i think of my family, but he will guide us through the difficult times as well as the glad times in our lives. Cherish those around you, don't be afraid to hug, kiss, love someone like you've never loved them before. This hugging kissing thing is more difficult for teen /adultish boys but is so worth it, they need them too, even if they think they're too big or old. We all do. Even a touch, encouraging word, goes a long, long way.
Right as of now my first chemo/radiation treatment is scheduled for the 23rd. of Sept. but can change as so many things have around here for tests. Doc said if he had it his way he'd start mon. but he needs to be patient too as the computer does its job.
Today when i went in for the CT scan they needed to run a solution through first so they could get rid of any radio active solution that may have stayed in from yesterdays' scan, then run another solution through then the dye for the scan. Will be going in on tues to see what my INR is on tues. as well as CBC, if my INR is back to normal i will then start on injections that will be given to my stomache, he said he would teach me to do it, but i probably would pass out and well Jodiene refuses, so maybe Will will have time, if not i'll go in to town for a shot every day, as for CBC if my blood count goes below 80, they will need to first do a blood transfusion before they can even start Chemo or Radiation. It was 85 on wed. let's pray it starts going up.
So as of today, the only thing on my agenda for next week is blood work tues. I'm hoping for a more relaxed week, to be "normal" as normal as one can be anyway.
Well think i'll call this good for the week, will catch back up next week, unless my mind comes up with something else, lol. Take Care everyone, hug or give a hand to the person next to you, diane together with my special crew Will, Brenten, Jodiene & Janae
Darlene : home from the hospital looking great, still has a long way to go in recouperation
Ed: waiting for kidney surgery date
Sharon : waiting for liver surgery date
my cousin: just finding out she has Breast cancer
Tina: waiting for heart valve surgery


I love cooking and so i tend to check out the cooking blogs and love Mennonite Girls can Cook, as one of the fav's, every sunday instead of a recipe they have a portion of scripture or thoughts for the day. Today (sunday Sept 6) is The Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you. Deuteronomy 31:8 and I will never leave you nor forsake you. Hebrews 13:5. Whether or not you feel God's presence, by faith we know He is there. You can count on His promise.
Today i was asked if i was afraid, it was a question that i don't think had even really crossed my mind, i can say NO, i am not afraid, and haven't been afraid of what was to come, even when i went in for all the testing that were done, or even see the doc's. I believe your prayers and thoughts took away any pains/fears i could have had, any complications with dye's, bioptsy etc. etc. Thank you, continue to pray
Some people after hearing its a 3B cancer, have already put me in my grave, talking to people on the phone or personal conversations have at times not been always pleasant. God is a God of hope, and i trust that whatever he has in store for my life wether it is short term or long term, he is in control and we should not give up praying, believing that he can and does work miracles. When talking to me, i'd appreciate a normal conversation, let me know what your up to, day to day things etc. I want to focus my life whatever is left on positive things, and yes, Heaven is going to be one incredible place when my time is up. I do not want to dwell on death as that means leaving my family, (myself as a wife, mom, sister, daughter etc. less. to my family) i hope you can understand.
Another part of having cancer is to make sure i don't in any way get any colds, flu's, any type of sickness what so ever which could really jeopardize my health as well as how the treatments will affect me. A person with Cancer when going through radiation and chemo have their cells including good cells in their body killed, having to make new cells only in a couple of days (weekends) which isn't enough time really to properly build one's self up. When coming to visit, or if you are one of my drivers i ask that if you have any sore throat, cold, runny noses, chicken pox, measles etc. etc. any flu like symptoms you wait until those have all passed from everyone in your family, before coming to see or drive me. We will have a bottle of hand sanitizer at the door as well as masks for everyone who comes in to wear if needed, and would appreciate everyone at least using hand sanitizer, as most germs are spread through the hands. Having Janae in school is going to be a challenge as most illnesses tend to come from schools and with her having problems with her tonsils we could see more, pray for us as we try and stay as healthy as possible as a family. diane for my wonderful crew.
Praise God for the leg and arm that was giving me some trouble, i can do my normal things again with them, Praise God for no pain in my bioptsy, or any of my other tests i've undergone, Praise God for no fear, Praise God for such good caring friends i have that support my family, my list could go on and on, thanks to your prayers
-pray for continued healing for darlene, doing well at home
- pray for Ed as he continues to wait for a surgery date for his kidney removal
- pray for Sharon Isbister as she awaits the 26th. to go to Toronto with her son who is hoping to donate his liver for his mom, pray for the tests to be positive that he can donate for her to have the surgery
- pray for Tina Doerksen as she waits for surgery date for her heart - valve
- pray for my cousin April Ronald Toews (Dwayne) cancer in one breast, waiting for results this week on the bioptsy they did and then on to a surgery date.


hm... what to write about today, well i'm waiting, and waiting. I called in yesterday afternoon for my blood work reports and so called it in to wpg. to get an answering machine, so today i though ok, first thing this morn my doc there would be calling and i've have to come in, well i waited and waited and nothing, so this afternoon i made another call only to get the answering machine, so i guess i'll have to wait till tomorro, as my blood INR is now at the level ready to start the treatments in the stomache which is to normalize my blood and eat away the clots, and my blood count (CBC) is 78 which will need a blood transfusion before i can get any chemo or radiation treatments, so that's where we stand.
As i've been telling everyone about my smelling abilities- well i bought some hand sanitizers and they are so potent, we can't use them, so on tues when i went to P la P i asked at the store there and lo and behold they have a perfectly scentless product called X3 it just comes in a tiny little bottle, but so wonderful to find, so i emailed the company and told them how much i appreciated them coming up with an unscented product and well they emailed back and asked for my address and will send me a bigger bottle, as the store didn't carry them, ( this idea was thanks to reading Darlene's blog and saying how important it is for companies to know what is thought of their product) thanks Darlene K.
Then while i was on a role i emailed Walmart, asked them if i could give them a suggestion, when i go to the store and want to buy unscented products i have to go throught the very powerful scents to get to where i need to go, so i asked if they would consider coming up with a totally seperate isle for only unscented products, to which i also got a reply that they are considering the suggestion, i know i'm not the only one who has difficulties in that, there are so many people with allergies, asthma, emphazema, cancers and who knows what other diseases affect their smells. I realize how much we can make a difference in being able to communicate with companies to help them improve for families no matter what the situation insead of grumbling about it to ourselves or to others. Stores really are there to serve us better we just need to let them know of suggestions we may have to help improve.
Hair: as i've mentioned the chances of loosing my hair is pretty high with the chemo treatments that i will be on, and up until night before i kept saying not a big deal, just hair it'll grow back, then it hit me, as i sing and put myself to sleep i tend to run my fingers through my hair or i ask Will to do it for me, which is incredibly calming, i know there are many people who can't stand anyone to touch their head, but for me, i could go to the hair dresser or wherever everyday and have someone go through my hair, to me its comforting, so reality struck, so i told Will, well i think we'll have to find something else to replace that habbit till my hair grows back, or maybe my scalp won't be too sore to stil be able to do that?? time will only tell. Losing one's hair isn't the worst thing to happen, just will take an adjustment. I sometimes wonder what i will look like, i think i have a dyck head lol.
Talking about families i've been doing a lot of what each part of my mom and dad's sides have blessed me with, i know on my Reimer side, there definately is the stubborness , determination and will power to go on, as i especially think of my great aunt who is going to be 97 this year, an incredible woman whom i have admired for many years and told my family i'm going to be just like Aunt Sadie, you kids may not like me climbing up on my roof at the age of 90 or driving my car at 97, still having a garden, living on her own on the farm still etc. etc. but i want to be like my aunt Sadie. my Friesen side is the calmer side of me yes, i can be a calm person, my grandfather was my idol he was calm as a cucumber, never once to raise his voice and had a sense of humor, and chuckled and i always wished i could be just like him. On the dyck side well, as i mentioned before determination, not so much perfectionism but precision. Then onto my Penner side, well i didn't get to know my grandmother so much as she passed away from lung cancer in 1979, but i remember her have a love for everyone, a compasionate, giving person.
Well Janae is home from school now so i shall go and will fill you in tomorro to happenings as doc just called they will need to set up stuff and make arrangement for blood transfusion as well as getting someone to teach me or Will i should say the ropes to giving the needle in the stomache to stabilize and eat the clots. Thanks for your prayers, and support, i was also reminded to ask for prayer for my extended family( my sisters, & families, Will's bro and sis' and families, Will's folks, My folks, My Aunts & Uncles too who are right there with us, they too are trying to deal with what is going on in our lives and not always sure what to say, to do, and how to help as well as feeling the emotions themselves. diane for my big crew
continue to Pray for Darlene who is recouperating well, but will take time
Ed Wiebe who had surgery yesterday- for recovery for him as well
Sharon Isbister as she awaits the next stage to a liver transplant
Tina Doerksen as she waits for work on some teeth before she can have surgery on her heart valves
April Toews - (Dwayne) waiting for results from bioptsy on her breast.


hi! well new changes have been made last as of 5 pm this afternoon. think they'll stick with the plan now. On sunday morning i will go to emerg. in Portage ( hoping it'll be empty so they can get at it right away) and get a blood transfusion (10:45) as of now they're going to give me two bags unless they feel the need to give more, this process i'm told will take 5 hrs. any extra bags will take 2 hrs extra each. Thanks to the many who donate blood, you are incredible to be able to help out in this way, hey i just may receive yours!! I'm rh positive and my dad says O, as that's what he is, my mom and all my sis' are negative, i always like to bug them about my attitude being more positive than theirs due to the positive blood lol ha ha ha ha. they do let me get away with it cause they do believe it lol. (i'm gonna hear back from them no doubt on that lol) i so look forward to the transfusion and am told i will notice an incredible difference.
Then my wpg doc called and said he wanted me in on monday 1:10 for my first radiation treatment, they have decided because i'm so week to skip chemo for now, so i will go in for 16 radiation treatments. which i still will need to go in every day for 16 days ( i'm glad to have sat and sundays off) so i like that idea much better, hopefully not quite as harsh, although he didn't say if they'd up the dosage or leave it the same, i'm hoping for nothing stronger.
I was already feeling like i was a doc, would call to make apt.s for blood work tell them what i needed, then when that was done, called to see what results were then called wpg. doc to let them know etc. etc. so many calls, today i finally told the nurse can you do that? The only problem i had was today, after all these weeks of going for blood work and getting my results myself, today they refused, so i had to call wpg. doc and say, your going to have to get that yourself. That is their job, so anyway, i was starting to get a bit frustrated with pretty much having to be my own doc telling them what to do what to look for. ah, hey i do tend to have that take over personality anyway it seems, keeps one strong i find, more like bossy lol. Although i am still waiting for the INR to start my needles in my stomache my blood was ready on tues already, so not sure what they're waiting for, i told them i'd be in on mon and he could show Will how to do it, see how that goes over. lol. Not that i'd make a good doc or anything as blood just does not go over too well, but once you've been picked and prodded so many times, its nasty to say one can get use to it.
My fav verse has always been "I can do all things through Christ who gives me Strength" Phil 4:13 hope i got that right, Satan wants to sometimes make me question what i have memorized as a child. He can not take that away, ever. I look to his strenth ever day and now as we are going through this "new" journey it is wonderful to know He gives us the strength that we'll need to carry on.
Thanks for your continued prayers for our families and including the ones on my prayer list.
Darlene recouperating very well
Ed: recouperating from his kidney surgery very well
Sharon still waiting for the 26th to fly to Toronto
Tina: waiting for her heart valve surgery date again
April (Dwayne) confirmed breast cancer in one breast, now waiting for next steps


hi! well on sunday i went for my blood transfusion and i had two wonderful nurses in emerg. one was the IV nurse who found a good vein after a good while but made it on the first try so i'm so thankful for that, then i had a 25 yr. old philipine girl who was here to get her Canadian RN and would write her test in Oct. although she took her schooling in the Philipines, i really liked her, her name was April, she was so sweet, she looked after me mostly. I didn't really notice too much of a difference after the two bags of blood but took till next day to see i had more energy and found out i was A+, i'm not sure how that works, as my dad is O+, my mom then A -, interesting, i'm going to have to do some research into that sometime. While in emerg. a nurse came on duty saturated in perfume( that's according to my nose), so i told my IV nurse Tanis i couldn't stand the perfume that nurse was wearing, so she went up to her asked her what are you wearing? I'm not sure what happend but either she had to go home or she went somewhere for a long time to get de perfumed, the nurses tell me that it is suposed to be a perfume free place.
Yesterday: well Radiation treatment itself went well of course as one doesn't feel a thing, its like you are getting an exray or scan, the only thing i had a problem with was all the people waiting in the waiting room, saturated in perfumes, one nurse at the desk i mentioned it to about all the perfumes and she was a bit nasty about it, she's like what do you want me to do about it, run after everyone telling them not to wear it, i told her no, but it would be nice if a sign could be put up warning people not to wear perfumes, to which she told me well we did that in St. B and people were offended about it. I said to her, yes but what about me and the rest that sufer? she didn't even care, so i told the Radiation nurses and they would bring it up at their mtg. today, they were kind and considerate and said there are so many people who are sensative to perfumes.
once i got home i was so incredibly tired, i guess over tired and couldn't sleep, but just rested then i got up right before supper and just felt awefull, so tired my eyes didn't want to open, but i couldn't sleep, then the coughing started, which i was told would happen, as the radiation loosens things up, i went to my room, and if i'm going to be honest, i cried, and cried, then i asked my self who is in control of your life? and to which i started saying out loud "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strenth" and i continued saying it a couple more times with more strength and my body just calmed right down, absolutely incredible, he was in charge of my life and i had to remind myself of that, and that he'll carry me through those coughing spells, the gross feelings, the warmth that i felt ( which feels a bit like a sunburn - on my back is where i felt it) the coughing also wasn't so bad any more either after that. I went to have supper, and i had to laugh as on my plate jodiene put maybe 3 tbsp. of food on it, and janae says, mom are you going to eat all that? then you won't waste. There are foods i can't eat anymore, and toast or anything dry is out, spicy foods, tomato foods (acidic) i'm not sure if my tomatoes will be ok, no pizza, no orange, grapefruits or juices, which makes it hard in the restraunt to drink as i don't care for bought apple juice and only like one brand of water (dansini), which restraunts don't usually carry, so anyway, i bring my own water bottles along as well as i tend to get very dehydrated and especially with many perfumes walking around i tend to take a sip or two of water to help with that, its also great to flush out the toxins from radiation. Today i also go in to start the dalteparon (sp?) which is the needle in my stomache for the blood clots, which i will need to take 4 weeks, Will is going to be my nurse for that, i'm sure he'll be gentle, if not hm.....
This week i only get 4 radiation treatments as they do maintenance on friday this week on the machine, and my doc now changed my radiation treatments from 16 to 18, who knows how many times he'll be changing things.
By the way, after getting the transfusion on sun. i could now walk the whole way from the car in parkade to the cancer care- radiation without being in a wheel chair, i will do it again today and as long as i'm able, such a difference, that two little bags of blood make, absolutely incredible. Thanks to anyone who has ever donated blood. thanks for your prayers, they are so appreciated, and needed as the journey will get tougher, diane for my crew
Darlene recouperating very well at home from her pancreatic surgery, still has a long way to go, and waiting for results from doc
Ed Wiebe- came home sunday, recouperating well, pray for continued recouperation
April - waiting for the next step for her breast cancer
Tina- waiting for heart valve
Sharon - anxiously waiting for the 26th. to go to Toronto with her son to make sure he's a match. for he liver transplant.


hi! well treatment # 2 went better, (there also was no one wearing perfume which was awesome) i didn't have to cough as much, well except for coming home between Elie and Portage the air was thick with smoke from farmers burning off their fields, i hardly knew where to leave myself, today i decided i'm going to bring a damp facecloth and put that over see if that will help, as putting something over, is really hard to re breathe into those little masks, and smells still filter through, so see how that goes. I really wish there were some alternative to the farmers out there smoking up everything, guess they don't have anyone with breathing problems or hey!! many just don't care.
As we were trying to find someone who had a prescription for my dalteparen (needle for my stomache, which keeps any more blood clots from forming and letting my body disolve the ones there are slowly) anyway we finally found shoppers had 2 needles, well that's enough for 2 days, so i went to pay for them and she said $80.00 i said no way, i only have two needles, are you kidding me, she said no, that's what they are, so i paid for them, then went to the car to do the math, well i told Will i'm going to ask the Dr. to put me back on warfaren as $1200.00 per month for needles we just can't afford, long story short, we went to drop in clinic for Janae to see Dr. Parker to which i said to him, did you know how expensive those needles are, and i told him no one in their right mind could afford those needles at that price, and being the wonderful doc he is he called walmart and started up paperwork for all my prescriptions to be paid for through some program, i could have hugged him right there on the spot. Praise God for Wonderful, Caring Docs, who understand and want to help, don't be afraid to ask or tell them if your prescriptions are out of your budget range. Thing is we were never warned about the cost at all, so this all came as a shock, but God knew what we needed and let us to the right doc to take care of our needs. In the Bible it says, God will take care of you, and indeed he does, do doubt about that.
As we were in wpg. and we were asked to sit in a room, while the nurse would show Will how to give me the needle in the stomache, another young lady,well about my age, came in with her IV stand, plugged her machine in, sat down in her chair and set everything on, i said to her wow, looks like your a pro at this already, she told me she'd had lymphoma, breast cancer and now was taking treatments for bone cancer, she looked good i must say, had a sparkle in her eye and bubbly personality, She said with having bone cancer she drank a 4 .ltr. jug of milk every other day to keep her bones strong on top of cheeses and yogurts etc. etc. and she was loving it, to which i turned to Will and said boy am i glad i don't have bone cancer, i don't think i could do that, we enjoyed her company the few min we were there, she'd started treatments 2 months ago, and had undergone radiation already. Unfortunately i didn't ask her her name, but i will remember her. its just facinating the people one meets and how they can encourage a person even though one doesn't go into any deep conversations.
I will be getting my schedule for next week on thurs which i guess is tomorro already, so i will post times so the girls interested in driving can pick a day they'd like to help out, i also have the option of cancer care if any days don't suit, my neighbor margaret drives and a lady in town Betty. i'd prefer woman drivers i think, just in case i need a shoulder. I'd ask that no perfumes are worn or any air freshners in the cars. Well gotta run take a quick shower, then on our way early today, glad we get in early as we can get home in time to rest, yesterday we left already at 1 and didn't get home till after 9 oh what a long day. although my treatments don't take long, in there 15min 1/2 hr. max unless they are behind which they were mon a whole hr. good thing i brought a pillow & blanket but sleep i don't do in the car, so resting will just have to do. thanks for your continued support and prayers, every day i feel how your prayers help me stay strong, and knowing there are so many prayers makes the path easier. diane for my whole family
continue to pray for:
Darlene recuperating very well at home from her pancreatic surgery, still has a long way to go, and waiting for results from doc
Ed Wiebe- came home sunday, recuperating well, pray for continued recouperation
April - waiting for the next step for her breast cancer
Tina- waiting for heart valve
Sharon - anxiously waiting for the 26th. to go to Toronto with her son to make sure he's a match. for he liver transplant.


hi! how is everyone doing? any new school news, farm reports, how's the weather from coast to coast? yep, i do watch the weather channel but doesn't help when they only show those big cities. Fall's coming up, any leaves falling up north already? we've got one tree here which starts earlier so its letting go.
I don't think i'd mentioned it before, if i did forgive me, but last night seeing the sun set, i was reminded of the day Will & I went into wpg. for my biopsy, i don't think i'd ever seen such a beautiful sunrise in all my life, the sun was absolutely huge as it came up, with rings around it, colored in a purplish, then deep orange then into yellow, the most spectacular thing i'd ever seen. As i was thinking of it, hm... rings being encircled by God, by his love, his care, and just wrapping his arms around our family, it was so peaceful and well as i've told you that day went flawless. Another day Jodiene & I were driving for an apt. and a little woodchuck sat at the side of the road, but he just curled himself up a bit and stayed right there, not afraid, another sign that we don't need to be afraid God is always with us.
As for the we did it, well, last night Will was going to be working late, helping the farm while they were combining, he was driving truck, and they're trying to get as much done before they start potato harvest on monday, so my nurse (Will) wouldn't be available to give me my needle, so i decided i'd give it a go, told Jodiene to kinda watch over me, just in case, to which my little nurse joined in as well to watch. Anyway, we did it, no fainting, and not to blow my own horn i think i'll do my own from now on, think i may be gentler on myself. lol, so i can do it, (can't forget to add with the Lord's help, a lot of prayer went into this before i started) i was proud to be able to handle such a "big" ordeal.
Monday weather permitting here my folks intend on digging out all my spuds, so that leaves only a couple of tomatoes and lots and lots of peppers, i'm hoping the frost will hold off on those yet, as i'm hoping they'll turn red yet. I have a new pepper relish recipe i want to try, well it'll end up my mom will be making it for me, with me adding my bits in here and there. Yesterday my mom & myrna came over and made a bunch of apple pies to put into the freezer, so we ought to have pies for a while. I bossed them around more than helped lol, it just wouldn't be the same if i hadn't, then they were glad to get rid of my as i went to help my dad, well more like look on a project i gave him to put in a new toilet flushing system, (which we'd bought in the spring already but no one got to putting it in,) then i'd have to go check to make sure the kitchen crew was still in order, back and forth i went lol, how they loved to see me go help my dad so i was out of their hair lol lol.
Last night i was so tired, i decided instead of falling asleep and ruining my night, i'd get out of the house(with my chauffeur- Jodiene) and visit my "sick" neighbors, well they sure are doing spectacular, healing process is going very well for Ed Wiebe as well as Darlene Sawatzky and it brightened my day to get out and get to see how they were making out, they both have a ways to go, but healing has been amazingly well for both.
Guess you'll also want to know about my treatments, so far Radiation (radiation itself only takes 5 - 10 min) has been going ok, they are painless, its like having an xray taken. they and it usually takes about 3 or 4 hrs. for the coughing to kick in, which makes my whole body just zumped out, radiation makes foods not taste great, and i try to eat to keep up my strength but things just aren't right it seems, i say i need real food, but when asked what, i just don't know, i'm hoping i'll get my taste buds back later when this is all over. My voice at times gets affected as well, sometimes i whisper, next time its a bit raspy like i've got a cold, so it tends to vary, This next week i've got 5 treatments, and have a "new" driving crew next week, almost every day a new driver to take me, i'm so thankful they have the time to do that while Will & Jodiene are busy working with spuds. Unfortunately my times weren't what i'd asked for so three of the days are late, late afternoon, but Janae is happier than a kid in mud to go to grandma' s & grandpa's and maybe even for one sleep over.
Well i think that's all i can come up with at the moment, hope you'll have a super weekend, thanks for all the support you have shown us as a family and have prayed so diligently, we just can't thank you enough, diane
remember to keep Darlene in your prayers as she continues to heal
Ed continuing to heal, will need staples out next week i belive if my mem serves me correctly
Sharon & josh (son who wants to donate for his mom), date coming up closer for a hopeful match to Sharon's liver
Tina Doerksen- waiting for a heart valve surgery
there are two more people whom i haven't asked if i can add them, both are related to me, so i think i'll keep them anonyms for now, but one dealing with cancer in the stomach, the other possibly cancer as well a growth has been found all new and unknown news at the moment, will check with both if i can add their names so we can get correct details.


"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on thine own understanding in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths. KGV prov 3:5 - 6, this is a verse that was one of my fav's when i became a Christian in 1979, and shared it when i was baptized in 1985. It is a verse that speaks volumes, and very simple to understand, Trust in God with all your heart and HE (God) will direct our path, how simple, but yet, sometimes putting our trust totally on Him, when things aren't going the way we plan, when we get struck by cancer or a death in the family or whatever it is, school not going well, we still can know that we can trust Him to do the best, and he gives us nothing but His Best and He will guide us . everyday i put my trust and hope in him as i go for treatments, trusting him in taking care of my family while i'm on the road, taking care of us (who ever ) my driver is that day, trusting him to guide the Radiation scanner and as i like to call it the "time capsule" that comes down to bring my radiation. There are so many things that we need to put our trust into His hands and continue as we go through our "journey of Hope".
Tomorro (Friday) is my half way mark, so i'm half way finished my radiation treatments yahoo!! 9 more left to go after tomorro, they are starting to get a bit tougher as far as the heart burn is concerned, and some days i have coughing days which are pretty hard on the body but that is manageable, i've started sleeping with two pillows high, as one tends just to be too low. It has not affected my breathing or so much my eating yet, which i'm very thankful for, we'll see what next week brings as the final 9 could get tougher, but i know i have all your prayers to help me along if things get tough, and i'm so thankful for such a wonderful support group.
Here's my schedule for next week
mon Sept 28 - 11:30 am
tues Sept 29 - 4:05
wed Sept 30 - 10:50 am
thurs Oct 1 - 3:35
friday Oct 2 - 3:40
a little mixed up schedule, but thankfully there's family and friends to watch janae those few min till jodiene is off work, and who knows depending on weather, maybe the farm can finish spuds by weeks end.
Every day this week i've been blessed to have friends and family take me in to wpg. while my home crew is working . Today i had a super friend Colleen who brought me in, and came along with me to my surgeon Dr. Tan apt. so that was nice, wonderful to have her along to ask questions i hadn't thought of, also good news, no bone cancer, no brain cancer, tests he asked to be run all came back good and it was also neat to see her (Colleen) get a chance to have explained and see what they do to me during radiation, although no one's in the room with me while the process is going on, but for me its hard to explain so one of the guys (Scott) wasn't too busy and explained the process, neat, today my radiation nurses were Nisha, and Diane, i get quite a few different people each week, i try and remember them all, i'm trying, got most down pat already, just good for the mem, and i think they appreciate it if you remember their name as well when you come in.
Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather these days, we've had 25+ weather i think pretty much this week, take care, diane, will, brenten, jodiene & janae
continue to pray for Darlene Sawatzky (Bruce) as tests came back inconclusive on her pancreas, so more testing is needed , but is recuperating very well
Ed Wiebe (Helen) got his staples out yesterday, he's doing amazingly well, waiting for test results on his kidney
April Toews (Dwayne) waiting for next step for surgery (tentative date Oct 20)for her breast cancer
Tina doerksen waiting for heart valve surgery
Sharon (Brad) Isbister this weekend going to Toronto with her son Josh for hopefully a matching liver result.