Shammah's Leukemia Blog

OK. Shammah has started a new blog entitled, "Thrilled to Death"

Need I say more?

I put an easy link (look to your right) at the top of this blog because we will probably be checking that frequently.

Enjoy!

Well, we've been assigned a doctor...

OK. I'm just going to jump right into this little update. If you haven't done so read the previous blog. It will bring you up to speed.

So, the doctor called today. They still do not know what Shammah (Paul) has. The doctor said he sent Shammah's bone marrow biopsy and blood to the best pathologists he knows of. He made a point to say these guys are really good at what they do and they just don't know what he has.

Our next step? We are waiting for a call from Vanderbilt. If we haven't heard from them by tomorrow morning, Shammah will call the doctor back.

We are still looking at a probable acute Leukemia of some kind. Still looking at treatments at Vanderbilt. But we don't know what kind and when for treatments. Still probably next week.

The doctor said that Shammah's blood work looked good. Very little difference in two days. That's a good thing.

So, he may have something rare. Of course things would be, er, unusual for Shammah. His mother has been often quoted through the years as saying, "Why be normal?!"

OK, so that's all I have for news at this time. i.e. this concludes the end of the update for now. Sorry there's not more. There were a few new medical terms thrown in that conversation with the doctor and Shammah will be googling all of that and may have more info on a blog when he gets to it.

For those that would like to hear a sweet little story, keep reading.

Since I'm ready to just get to Vanderbilt and get things started (have places lined up for the kids, the dog, and Grandma - people who will be caring for them while we're gone) I found myself VERY out of my rest this morning. We live with a LOT of people always coming and going and people were starting to all look like GERMS that could harm my husband to me. I got some input from a registered nurse (I think he's a nurse?) and that helped keep everything in perspective for me.

I was driving my car, well, Shammah's nice new car, up the road still not quite at rest. And the most extraordinary thing happened. I'm very sorry this involved a dragonfly because I don't want you to think -= well, never mind. I'm not supposed to care what you think and this really happened so I'll leave out the disclaimer -- yes, yes, I hear that applauding

Anyways, as I was driving up the hill (we have to drive slow because little ones can come running out at any time) the largest dragonfly I've ever seen hovered in front of my windshield, over the hood of the car. I smiled as it buzzed off and my stubborn heart refused to put significance in it. SO, it came right back and escorted me up to the top of the hill. It flew off to the right and left me looking at Shiphchah's front door with her neon blue sign that reads, "BELIEVE"

Needless to say, I got what I needed. (For those not familiar with my dragonfly story: Dragonflies - My Favorite!)

I'm excited. God is doing something. It's a lot easier to be happy and excited when He's gone out of His way to say, "I'm all over this thing. It's going to be ok." - Well, God probably wouldn't word it like that, but you know what I mean! Well, who knows - maybe He would?!

That's all for now. Will keep everyone posted. :-)

OK. Had to pull this blog down to add this on. (Of course we get a call moments after I push "Publish Post")

We have been assigned a doctor at Vanderbilt. Now waiting on his call...cutting-edge news reporting...

One more observation: Shammah's color and energy levels have been much better the last two days compared to the start of the week. Just thought you'd want to know!

Thank you again for all your prayers, notes, and encouragements!

He Leadeth Me! O Blessed Thought

He leadeth me! O blessed thought! O words with heav'nly comfort fraught! Whate'er I do, where'er I be, still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me.

Shammah (Paul) has a doctor appointment today. We are hoping to learn exactly what type of Leukemia he has. We know that it's acute (rather than chronic) and that's about all we know. Well, we know a little about his blood. His red blood cell count is low and his white blood cell count is elevated-not extremely so at this time. He's anemic and his platelet count is also low. When we went to the cancer center on Monday (our first visit) the doctor made the statement that if we had medical insurance we would be on our way to Vanderbilt that day.

We now have medical coverage (thank you, Hashachar, for all you do!) and I'm sort of expecting things to move very quickly now. We may be on our way to Vanderbilt or another well-equipped hospital soon. I think they are going to start chemotherapy as soon as they can. Shammah will be admitted to a hospital and probably stay there the duration of his treatment. (Not sure how long that will be.)

The day I learned that he probably had Leukemia (last Friday 6/24/11) I sat down at my piano and looked out the large window it sits by. As I looked up into the sky, immediately the clouds parted and rays of sunshine came down. They were those glorious rays - the ones you can easily track with your eyes. My favorite kind. And it only took a moment for them to cross the grass and come through my window. They washed over my face. I closed my eyes and let them, enjoying the sweetness of that moment.

Then I opened my eyes and looked up into that sky. As I watched the churning, dark clouds rapidly moving all around that small parted opening, God spoke clearly to me. He said, "Though things get a lot more stormy I will always part the storms and come through to you. I will be with you." And I got up from that piano bench, filled with abundant grace (power) and peace. It truly surpasses all understanding and continues to guard my heart and my mind.

Later that day I came home and Chayah (whose name means "abundant life") had left a dragonfly (I have a story about dragonflies: Dragonflies-My Favorite!) on my table along with a lovely little note. Truly I have known the favor of the Lord!

Shammah is as amazing in the small quiet times when no one is around as he is on "paper" through his blog, emails, and FB posts. As a wife to people who love and care for him very much I will say that he seems to physically be getting frail. All of this is so sudden and happening so fast, that we truly feel the deliberate timing of the Lord, and we feel His capable hands holding all of this so there is peace. But there is also definite signs that something is happening in Shammah.

Do read Shammah's blog if you haven't already. It's entitled, "Yippee! I have Leukemia" - he always was irreverent, wasn't he?! He's always loved that sledge hammer he wields at the foundations-however false-we love to stand on. But now I've slipped into my "Lorie on Life (LOL!)" mode and am in danger of being as irreverent as he! :-)

As I said, we feel God's hand in this. He's leading and it truly is a blessed and comforting thought. We also feel your prayers. And enjoy all your encouragements. Shammah made a comment about getting to see how loved he is. Thank you! Keep sending all your love and encouragements his way! It makes a difference as he has such a tender heart!

I know I was supposed to be praying but I couldn't resist snapping this shot. Now I'm glad I have it. Aren't you?!

Highlighting a Couple *NEW* Blogs

Just a quick note to draw your attention to a couple of new blogs.

John Dempsey has started Our Father's Generosity and Abba has invited those who'd like to view a blog he started for his grandchildren while in Africa: Zelda the Zebra.

Then for your convenience, here are quick clicks to those who are in far away places. Some temporary, some live there:

In Africa:
Abba in Africa
Amma in Africa
Chloe in Africa
* Coming soon (we hope) - Yahshana's blog for children while in Africa :-) *

In Mexico:
The Horst Family

In California:
David Dickerson
Ariel Dickerson

At I-TEC:
Austin's "Find My Wings"

In Memphis:
Joel Dickerson

In Atlanta:
Loving the Church


OK. That's all I can think of. If I've left some out please let me know right away (hopefully before those individuals notice...)

A Friend's Parting

We are sure going to miss our Beloved Asher family!

This life is kinda strange at times. And this is one of those times. Though they are leaving there is absolutely no feeling of loss. Only expansion. Someone in our Gathering today said that we are simply extending our tent pegs so as to include Mexico. And that is such a real thing.

And it must have been expressed a thousand different ways that they take us all with them and we keep them here with us. Not physically or in some theoretical way. But in reality. We are One mind. One body. Intent and laboring for One thing. One Life and One Will. That of our Father.

It's just really strange sometimes to experience eternal life in a temporal vessel. There's no death. No loss. No endings. Just continuing on in Him. A fullness. And in that we are with one another. Together. We no longer need to be in the same room to experience the Oneness He has given.

We used to talk about this and try to envision being so One that we could be separated and still experience His Oneness. We used to ooo and aaahh (well, I did) in anticipation of what that would be like. And now here we are. It is. And it comes from the Life of I Am.

I loved the memories that were made today. Playing the piano for them. Shiphchah leading us to dance together and say our goodbyes in that hallowed place as only eternal beings belonging to the Maker of all things can. Wasn't it lovely? What can compare to the things our Father gives us - even in partings?

Jeremiah suggested that we have that song (A Friend's Parting) play when people click on Asher's Blog. So y'all be watching for that. In fact, does anyone know how to do that? I have an mp3 of the song...

Beloved Ashers' To Mexico

Asher's family left the day of(?) our conference and headed back east for two weeks. They will be back by to collect their few temporal things before heading out to Mexico in a week or so. We will miss them dearly. Here's their blog: Everything is Beautiful. Asher has posted one post and the end made Dossie cry. It's very wonderful as one more man chooses to lose what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.

Lorie on Life (LOL!)

Does anyone else advertise one blog on another blog???? Where exactly is that manual of do's and don'ts for blogs?! I've concluded (with the help of a dear friend) that I probably make a better sign post than blogger. But, sigh, someone has to point the way!

So, the *NEW* blog I'm highlighting today is.......... wait for it.....wait for it......

MY OWN NEW BLOG! LOL!

I've started another blog entitled, "Lorie on Life (LOL!)" There I am more likely to post the small humorous every day stuff that happens just to me.

Here I am more likely to try and relate the happenings on a corporate level. Why the difference? Well, because I'm strange like that. :-)

So anyways, if you want something to smile about here and there, do click over to my new blog. Enjoy!

*NEW* on the Menu...

Just wanted to take a moment and highlight a couple of new blogs in case you get lost in the copious harvest of blogs listed there to the right on my home page.  As you are what you eat, I HIGHLY recommend getting your fill of these blogs each and every day.  As there are so many blogs(!), chances are there's a nice meal waiting for you at any given time on any given day.

A couple of new scrumptious dishes (never blog on an empty stomach) are Kay's (aka Shalam) Art Blog, "Pencil Tip World" and "Dossie's (Briggs) Day."

Both of these ladies (well, Kay is 13) are stepping out in a new way and trying to tell you about it as they go.  Kay, as many of you know, is an amazing artist and is opening up so everyone can see what's been in there all along.

Dossie, a seasoned and faithful Lover of God, refuses to stop growing and changing, always becoming more and more like Christ.  Out of a love for Christ and the people He loves, she's putting forth brave efforts to talk to people in ways that are completely outside her comfort zone.  And she plans to take us on this journey with her.  It promises to be a glorious thing for "This is the Lord's doing - and that is always marvelous in our eyes!"

Enjoy!

Who are the People in Your Neighborhood?

For those who don't know the daily ins and outs of our life, we are back in TN though the CA story continues...you can read all about it on Ariel's blog and more on David's blog. (David and Ari - get busy! Ha! As if you're not already busy...)

Speaking of blogs, I've added four new ones to my list there on the right but for your clicking convenience here they are: Cheres' blog chronicling the experiences of taking care of her mother with Alzheimer's; Mitch's blog, a love story between a father and his daughter with Downs Syndrome; Suzie's blog, entitled "Break a Leg!" which she has recently done and plans to use this time to "Get better at at least one thing!"; and Hosanna Dickserson's blog, promising a shared experience of all that God has for her...

I've been considering a little mini series for this blog of mine, hence the title of this post.  To tell you about the people I meet each day could potentially keep this blog buzzing for many years to come and I like the thought of that.  I can't promise that I won't interrupt this theme from time to time with other thoughts...in fact, I can promise you that I will! That's my BADD - blogging attention deficit disorder....(I liked that little joke there - did you get it? - that's my bad...no groaning now.  Be nice.)

For today, for my first in this series,  I bring you something to smile about.  It involves a four-year-old named Ellie.  Young children are the very essence of Life itself (Christ said that unless you become like one you can't enter Heaven) and having them around definitely keeps you young and lively.  If your young 'uns have gotten older, borrow one (or more) of your friend's.  They usually enjoy the break and you renew your youth from the bona fide source itself! (Win-win.)

So back to Ellie.

Ellie talked me into playing a game of cards. She emphatically reassured me that she was very good at cards and would teach me how to play.  

My first lesson: you have to straighten the cards. As we were playing with Hello Kitty cards that meant all the kitties go the same direction. Ellie confidently collected all the cards spread out on the counter and stacked them professionally in her hand, tapping and lining them up, kitties all facing the same direction.

Lesson number two: you pass them out. She proceeded to deal the cards-starting with herself-and laid them carefully down on the table, turning each of my cards so the kitty was right-side up toward me. This required a little extra finagling when dealing my cards and I found this extra effort very thoughtful on her part.  (And I confess to being very impressed with this attention to detail from a four-year-old!)

After (what seemed to me) a random number of cards were dealt - but remember, I don't really know how to play - she set the remaining stack in the middle and continued to give me direction, "Now we match up the cards."

Playing ensued with each of us setting matching sets of two cards on the table face-up. As we each had several pairs in our own hands there was apparently no need to discard nor draw from the pile in the middle. As Ellie left those cards alone, so did I.  For the moment.

Then at one point as I laid down a matching pair of Queens, the intricate nuances of this fascinating game began. When Ellie spied the queens she immediately announced for my benefit,  "Oh, those are bad guys!"

"Those are bad guys?" I enquired with great surprise.

"Mumm-hmmm. Give them to me. I'll take the bad guys. I'll take aalll the bad guys for you!"   


(See how selfless she is?! Amazing!  But then, I confess, doubt entered in...)

"Why thank you!" I replied.  "Um, will I get any cards?"

"Yeah!" was the immediate, reassuring reply.  "You can have the good guys!" This pronouncement was accompanied by a very winsome, dimpled smile.

It soon became apparent that the good guys were the numbered cards and the bad guys had letters on them.  As an English teacher I was a little nervous of this developing stereotype until I realized that to her, the ABCs were more human - even if they were bad guys - than those faceless Numbers so I figured it would "balance out" in the end...

Anyways, it was about this time we came to a turning point in the game that eventually led to a victory for Ellie. You see it turns out that  aaalll the BLACK ones were also bad guys and she needed to collect those as well. She very cheerfully gave me the red ones as she collected all the bad guys - black cards AND face cards.

Following her lead, we then began to draw randomly from the middle pile and as the starting practice of laying down sets of two was over, we just sorted the cards - red ones for me, black ones and lettered ones for Ellie.

As we neared the end of the game I figured the person with the most cards would win.  I should have known better in this sophisticatedly ever-progressive game.  At the end there was one remaining card  in the middle pile. Ellie graciously allowed me to turn it over but, alas, it was a black card.  A bad guy.  Ellie won. It turns out the color of the last card is the determining factor in the outcome of this extremely fast-paced and ever evolving game!

Sigh. I hope I can lay MY life down next time.  I hope I get to keep the bad guys. And I hope the last card is a black one. I'll definitely have to go for best 2 out of 3 with Ellie as she's such a proficient! And as this was a rather short game I'm sure there are plenty of other, er, rules my mentor didn't have a chance to enlighten me with. I look forward to learning all of those.

Remember to keep your Hello Kitty cards all facing the same way, watch out for bad guys, and enjoy yourselves should you decide to play - I should have asked Ellie what the name of this game was!  Any suggestions?


Well, I'll keep ya posted! (No pun intended...well, yes it was - did you realize that was a pun?  Never mind.)