Day 178

It's Thursday night and it's been a better day. I'm still pretty sick, but I was able to work all day. I'm so grateful for my job. I really need to hunker down and make up the time I missed. My head still hurts, and my stomach is torn up from the medicine, but I'm on the way back. Becka isn't feeling well tonight. I can see us going to bed early.

I talked to a friend of mine today who's sister was just diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She's all to pieces. I gave him Becka's number and told him to have her call if she wants to talk. Becka has gone from stage 4 lung, brain, and body cancer, to almost being in remission. God is truly good!

I just straightened Autumn's hair for the first time. She's graduating from Middle school tomorrow. I can't believe she's going to be in High School next year. Man the times flies by. Becka is going to her graduation. I wish I could, but I have to work, and I'm meeting a guy from the "Lion's Pride" organization. They are making a video, and they want me to be in it, telling how they helped us when Becka got sick. They were fabulous, as were all of you. There are many who have carried me to this point. It's time for me to get off the wagon and help pull!

I'm going to bed with the love of my life and watch her sleep! God Bless and same time tomorrow!

Day 177

It's Wednesday night and things are about the same. I didn't work again today, which means I have to put in as much as I can tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday. I feel like I got hit by a truck. I'm supposed to go back to the doctor tomorrow if I'm not any better. I think that if I just get out of the house and move around I'll be okay. We shall see. Becka is doing well. We had "Wendy's" for supper, and I made some milk shakes. I wish I could sit here and write some more, but my head is swimming, so I'm going to bed in hopes that I will feel better tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers. I'm going to try and shave my head around the infection tomorrow so that it can heal quicker. I'll let you know tomorrow. God Bless!

Day 176

Tuesday night and I'm only on here to update because I'm very sick. The infection on the back of my head, along with the high powered antibiotics are making me feel awful, so I'm going to bed. Becka is doing very well, and I appreciate the prayers very much! God Bless and I'll try to write more tomorrow.

Day 175

It's Monday night and all is better. My head feels like it's splitting though. I went to the doctor today and he said I have a bad infection in the back of my head. He didn't even want to mess with it until I am on antibiotics for a couple of weeks. He said that if it doesn't get better in the next couple of days, or if it gets worse, they may hospitalize me. He put me on Doxycycline which is very strong, but I have to stay out of the sun as much as possible. I'll be fine, but it's hard to lay on a pillow, so I may have to sleep sitting up for a couple of days.

Becka is doing very well! We have another week and a half until her PET scan. Everything depends on that scan. They will decide then whether or not to continue treatment or suspend it for now. Please God let her be in remission. I can't stay up too long tonight because my head is hurting, but something miraculous happened to me today and I'll never forget it, and neither will my neighbors. I can assure you of that.

I was late for work this morning because I had to go to the doctor. I left the house about eight oclock, after I loaded the tables on my truck that we used in our yard sale. I had to take them back this morning. As I was leaving our neighborhood, I saw something in front of me. It was a four year old boy running flat out in his pajamas towards the road at the end of our neighborhood entrance. I was stunned at first, but I immediately knew I had to stop him. I also knew that if I stopped the truck and tried to catch him, I wouldn't make it, so I gunned it and went around him, then whipped the truck sideways in the road to block him. He stopped running and was wide eyed. I pointed at him and said "STOP". Then I asked him where he was going. He said he was going to his friend's house up the road because his Mom was still asleep. I took him by the hand and told him to tell me where he lived. Two of my neighbors had come to the edge of the road because they saw him run by, but they knew they couldn't catch him. I asked one of them to hang on to him while I moved my truck because I was blocking the entire neighborhood, so she did and I backed my truck up and parked it, then walked him home. It turns out he is a neighbor of mine, two houses over. His name is Ethan and he was wearing Thomas the Tank Engine PJ's. We got to his house and his front door was open, so I started ringing the bell. His Mom came down a little dazed, and after I told her what had happened, she started crying, grabbed him up and started kissing his face, and said thank you.

I have no doubt that God put me in the right place at the right time. If I had left ten seconds before I did, he would have been behind me and I wouldn't have seen him. If I had left ten seconds after I did, he would have run straight out in a busy road, and I don't have to finish that sentence. God is good, all of the time. I was just in the right place at the right time, but if definitely affected me. I may have saved his life.

I wanted to share that with all of you. If God can use an old burned out redneck like me, he can use anyone. Thank you so much and God Bless all of you! I will keep you posted!

Day 174

It's Sunday night and I'm going to bed. I made a mistake today by not going to the doctor. I thought that the knot on the back of my head had gone down, so I didn't go, but tonight I'm in quite a bit of pain. The pain is now shooting down through my shoulder and my ear. If I got bit by something, it was quite venomous. I'm going in the morning if I'm not better.

Something very spiritual happened to me today. A couple of weeks ago, I opened our back door in the morning and a hawk was sitting there. He and I made eye contact, then he spread his wings and took off. He was beautiful. Today, I got home and the neighborhood kids were gathered around something beside of our house. It was the hawk, and he was injured. I got them away from him and called the sheriff's department. They put me in touch with animal control, who put me in touch with the wildlife department, who put me in touch with the North Carolina Raptor Association, who gave me the number to a lady who nurses them back to health. I put the hawk in a container, then went and met her across town. She was incredible with him! She picked him up and held him, and he seemed to bond with her. She said that more than likely, he had flown in to something and was stunned, but she's going to take him and give him IV anti-inflamatories, then nurse him back to health. She's been doing it for forty years. It was incredible for me to be that close to a bird like that, and be able to help him!

Becka is doing very well. She's still weak, but she's feeling good enough to go out to dinner with some friends of ours tonight. We went to Ruby Tuesday's. We love them and love spending time with them! They are remarkable people and fantastic friends!

I feel pretty rough, so I'm going to bed. God Bless and please pray for healing, for everyone it seems! See you tomorrow!

Day 173

It's Saturday night and we are pooped! It's been a fabulous day though. We had a great yard sale, then we went out to lunch, went grocery shopping, and came back here. Becka is feeling very good even though she's ready to go to bed. I'm beyond tired. I only slept a couple of hours last night. I stayed up and priced a bunch of stuff for the yard sale, then I prepared for it, but whey I finally laid down, I couldn't get comfortable. My head is throbbing because I have a sore on the back of my head that is getting bigger. It looks like a spider bite, or even a tick bite, and I was going to just let it heal itself, but now I have a huge whelp on the back of my head, and the pain is shooting down my neck in to my shoulder. I'm also very dizzy, but that may be exhaustion. I'm going to Primecare in the morning to get it checked out. I pray that they don't have to cut my hair to heal it. All I know is that it is getting worse, and I need a doctor to look at it.

Life is good though. We don't have the kids so I'm going to rest tomorrow, (after I clean up the house and mow the lawn and check one of my neighbor's air conditioning).

Please pray that they can fix this thing on the back of my head easily. I appreciate it! God Bless and I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes!

Day 172

It's Friday and it's going to be a long night! We are having a yard sale in the morning. I'm pricing everything, (according to what Becka wants). I'm not allowed to price anything or negotiate! She does all of that. I got home from work, mowed the lawn, put up a tent, rented two tables, took the kids to Burlington and dropped them off, ran by CVS, and now I'm home! Becka is feeling better but she's worn out. I have a lot to do before I go to bed, so I'm going to get at it. She will be laying down soon. They scheduled her PET scan for June 8. Everything depends on that scan. Please keep praying for remission! God has brought her this far, and he will continue to carry us to the finish line.

By the way, whoever prayed for me to get some sleep, thanks! I slept great last night!

God Bless and love you guys and gals! I have some other things to tell you, but I'll save them for tomorrow! Good night!

Day 171

It's Thursday night and I'm finally sitting down. I am absolutely running on fumes. I didn't sleep but probably three hours total last night. I'm trying desperately to achieve natural sleep, but that bottle of Ambien is looking better every day. Anyway, I got off of work today, came home, cleaned the kitchen, cooked supper, cleaned the kitchen again, and did four loads of laundry. Becka cooked some asparagus for supper as well, but she's been hurting today and she took a pain pill just a minute ago. She's been sleeping on the couch for the last hour, and now it's time for bed. I warmed it up a while ago, so hopefully she will sleep all night. I'm going to give it a try myself in a few. I'm not sure why I'm not sleeping except for the pain. I rebroke my foot again a couple of weeks ago, but for the last three nights, I've been waking up with leg cramps. I wake up, take a few tylenol, then I'm okay. Getting old is a pain!

Becka's sense of taste has come back! She had an Arby's beef and cheddar today for lunch. Every day it gets better! I can see her getting back to normal. The stuff that was coming up in her throat isn't coming up anymore. I know that is a blessing for her, but we will have to return the "spittoon" that we bought her for her birthday! (Just kidding). Life is fantastic, if I could just sleep. I'm praying for it. I'm tired of waking up in the morning feeling like I got hit by a truck. It will pass and my body will adjust, I hope and pray!

We are going to bed. Good night and God Bless!!

Day 170

It's Wednesday night and I should be at Taekwondo, but my foot is still hurting from where I re-broke it the other day, and if I don't let it heal, it will keep on hurting. I took Andrew and picked him up and he said they had a great class. Becka and I are working on our yard sale anyway. We are having a yard sale this Saturday to try and raise some money to pay some of these doctor bills, so please if you are in Winston Salem, spread the word. I will post it on Craig's List on Friday as a "Yard Sale to raise money for cancer related bills". Becka has been working hard yesterday and today trying to get ready for it, and she's feeling it. She is worn out. I'm watching her through the back door and she keeps nodding on the couch with a blanket wrapped around her. She cleaned out our closet and I can tell you that was a CHORE. There was so much stuff in our closet that we couldn't walk through it. We have quite a few things to sell this weekend. We don't have the kids so I am taking her out to eat for sure! We haven't been on a date in a while. We are meeting some dear friends Saturday for dinner. Now that her appetite is back she will be able to enjoy it! I'm hoping and praying that it keeps going this way. We've got to get her white blood cell count up soon. She can't really be around anyone while it's down.

The past few days have been somewhat emotional for me. Words can not express how grateful I am to God for healing her. She still has a ways to go, but the fear is almost gone and it's been replaced with an insatiable wanting. I want so much for her to be free and clear of cancer. When all of this started, I really didn't know how it was going to end. God hasn't made us wonder for very long. He has poured out his grace and glory on Becka, and shown us just how much he loves us and listens to our prayers. I still have my beautiful wife. The kids still have their wonderful Mother. Her parents still have their incredible daughter. Her brother and sisters who have been so devoted through all of this still have their sister, and the world is a much brighter place with her in it. I would crawl through fire and broken glass to get to her. That is how special she is to me. She is such a part of me that I have never been able to imagine my life without her. The only way I could see the future was with her in it, and now it is coming to pass. My life is truly complete and I don't want for anything, except the means to better hers and the kids lives. I personally don't need anything else, but I will take an ITUNES card! (I would probably just give it to her).  I have about seventy songs on my IPOD. She has about seven hundred, lol.

God Bless you all and thanks as always. Your strength and commitment will not go by the wayside. I will remember it, and I'm here if you need me!

Day 169

It's Tuesday night and I need to hurry because we have a horrible storm hitting us and our power and internet are coming and going. It's been a fabulous day except for Becka's lab results. Her white blood cell counts are very low, so they told her to stay away from crowds or anyone who might be sick. When her blood counts are down then her immune system is down. Hopefully she will be better by Friday because we are "kid free" this weekend. Andrew and Autumn are going to Raleigh, and we are hoping to get together with our friends. She's feeling okay but she's still very tired and she's always cold. I'm going to get her in bed in a few after I warm it up with our bed heater.

There is a lot I would love to share, but I'm afraid I'm going to get booted again. God Bless and I'll write some more tomorrow.