Here there and everywhere

Well, in the last week we have been to and from Houston, to and from Searcy, Arkansas and to and from Houston..again!  Needless to say the car and I are becoming one. 

Searcy was a lot of fun for us.  We were going with Shana to take Callie to camp.  It is her first experience with an overnight camp.  If Sunday is any indication of how she will do, she is having a great time.  Once she found her cabin she didn't care whether we were there or not.

We had spent time on the Harding campus where both Roy and Shana had gone to school.  It was really interesting listening to each one of them as we drove around.  When we took "the tour" with Shana, she commented "They built that building when I was a senior" or " I remember classes in that building".  Roy gave his own tour, it went more like "What happen to the building that was there when I was here?"  So, a lot has changed in the 40 years since Roy graduated.

But on to the reason I'm writing this blog..Roy's journey.  I just happened to look on M.D. Anderson's web site on Friday night and saw that they had scheduled him an appointment on Monday!  We knew we had one on Tuesday and thought we would have a day to rest before going down.  We got home around 9 on Sunday night and left at 7 Monday morning.  As it turned out, we are very thankful we were able to meet with the doctor.  This was the doctor in charge of radiation.  She was very receptive to the idea of him going to Russia and immediately set up his radiation schedule to be finished in time for him to go!  Praise the Lord!
Now, there is still a question in our minds if he is feeling like going.  So, a major prayer from everybody would be not to let him have any of the side effects of radiation.  He is answering prayers for us and we see His hand in our lives. 

On Tuesday we were to see the oncologist.  We had just finished lunch (that should be a whole different blog about eating lunch in the cafeteria at the hospital) and were headed up stairs (floor 7) when Roy got a call that he had another appointment with a another doctor.  Did we know about it?  No, they just decided to send us to the surgeon who has taken over the case.  Apparently, they were in a meeting discussing his case when the thoraic surgeon said he wanted to do the surgery.  Actually, he heard about our trip to Russia and his comment was "I love the children in Russia, I want to see him"  You think we don't feel God's hand in this?  He was a very nice man who gave us a lot of hope.  The new endoscope that they had done showed that the chemo he is on now had eradicated one of the areas that had cancer in it!  Thank you Lord!  They still require the radiation/chemo and preferably surgery.  They will not remove his stomach (had I told that??) instead will operate on the esophagus.  Roy told him that there were many people praying for him and the doctor said they had seen miracles in the past!  Thank you Lord, again!  Now, they may decide he still has to have surgery but it's not near as envasive as removing his stomach.

I am taking him to Temple today.  He and Ryan will go to Houston tomorrow (Thursday) for his first radiation.  Ryan will stay with him and bring him back after radiation on Friday.  Sunday we will go down for the 5 weeks.  I will come and go as I need to work on Thursday and Friday.  It's not cheap driving back and forth and having hotel rooms for 5 weeks in a row.  But, we are thankful that there is that option for him.

Sorry this is so long.  I just haven't had the time to update as regularly as I would like.  We feel so blessed that things are going as well as they have been.  Please keep the prayers coming.  It is so important to us to know we have friends praying for a miraculous outcome for him.  And, keep me in your prayers as I drive back and forth each week.  The statue of Sam Houston outside Huntsville is getting to be "old hat"...I don't even notice it anymore!

God is in control and holding our hand.

Linda