Yahoo!

Ruth has been doing great for a week or so now. Two weekends ago Ruth and Bob were able to travel to Moab to enjoy the fall weather. It was a perfect weekend spent strolling around town.

Thursday Ruth’s niece Jennifer (who was in from out state) and nephew David came up from Denver to visit, help around the house and David and Bob enjoyed a fall bike ride together.
This past weekend started off with having a few friends and Ruth’s sisters Edith and Frances and Frances’ daughter Allison that were in town for the weekend over for dinner. Everyone enjoyed catching up with old and new friends and meeting our family. As I said on Friday night you know Ruth is feeling better if she is entertaining!

We had a wonderful weekend with Frances, Edith and Allison catching up, visiting and spending time with each other. We all know this weekend was a gift from the Lord as two weeks ago when they made the reservations it was unclear as to what Ruth’s condition would be.

Ruth had blood tests done yesterday and will have her 2nd chemo today. Her hair is falling out and we will shave her head tonight so back to the Jane Fonda wig. She is overall getting around better, sleeping more soundly at night and has more energy than me during the day. She hopes to return to school part time next week depending on how she is feeling.

Three weeks ago when Ruth was feeling so bad all she wanted was to feel good, normal one day and she has felt good since 2 Saturdays ago. Our prayers have been answered and we are so grateful for every day.

As a family we are making an effort to share our success with our friends and family of the RAVE diet. We are juicing every day and doing our very best to adhere to this change in our eating and lifestyle as we truly believe that it has been successful in the past with others, with us presently and will hopefully provide others with hope and a positive change in their life for the future. Bob has been very passionate about this and has brought about much awareness to our family, friends, and club community. Ruth has been adhering to this change for a few months now and we attribute her feeling good most important to prayers but eating well, support from family and friends and our wonderful community.

If you have any questions about the RAVE diet Bob would be thrilled to share more information about it (most of us can attest to his enthusiasm for this)! He would also be willing to share some of his special juice mixes with you too.

Once again thanks for all your prayers, support, love and encouragement during this time.

Just when I was wondering if I would ever feel "normal" again, I woke up Saturday morning without that overwhelming "sick all over" feeling! God is so faithful in answering my prayers! While I would have been thankful for one day like that, He has blessed me with 5 so far! I really believe that something inside by body is different. I don't understand it, nor can I put my finger on exactly what it is that is different except that I feel so much better. The swelling in my feet, calves, and knees is greatly reduced as well. My energy level is getting better and I am able to get around and do things without having to rest or take a nap every few hours. It's truly wonderful! Continue to pray for my complete healing, as I do believe in the power of prayer!

I only have good news in this update! I have had no serious adverse reactions to the first new chemo treatment. While I continue to feel "wiped out" and tired, I am able to eat and eliminate normally. My next chemo will be on Tuesday, Oct. 27th. I will have complete blood work done the day before and am not sure whether I will continue to get the weekly iron infusion I had been getting prior to this first treatment. It was such a treat visiting with my friend Boo and enjoying all her good cajun cooking. She fixed several recipes from her new cookbook and they are delicious! My sisters, Frances and Edith, are coming for a short visit on Oct. 22-25, and my niece Allison from LaGrange, GA will be overlapping a little from Oct. 21-24, so I'm looking forward to having company again before my next chemo treatment. In the meantime, I've gone to school to work a bit on planning for the next few weeks that I will be out. My long-term sub is the person who has worked with me in the library for the past 6 years, so she knows what needs to be done as well as I do. I feel very blessed that she is willing to step in and take over teaching classes as well as supervising the administrative side of running the library in my absence. Our family is so fortunate to have so many people praying for us and offering to help us whenever we need it. This kind of loving support has made this difficult journey so much easier and has actually enriched our lives in ways we never expected. Thank you all for your faithfulness!

I had my first new chemo treatment yesterday and have felt no adverse side effects so far, Praise the Lord! Since I have been having difficulty with regular bowel movements, an x-ray also done yesterday revealed that I have a partial blockage there so am now working on removing that and will continue on regular medication to keep everything moving! Interesting that when something as simple as that isn't working properly, what an impact it can have on your daily existence! Overall I am not experiencing a lot of pain, but remain very low energy. I have a lot of fluid retention in my feet, ankles, and knees which makes it hard to get around because I have so little flexibility. My next chemo is in three weeks. My good friend Boo Bourgeois Macomber from Abbeville is visiting me now, so we have all been eating her wonderful cajun cooking. One of her daughters is living temporarily in Moab, Utah, and the other resides in Crested Butte, CO, so she will be visiting them as well. It's wonderful having her here and she has been a tremendous help. Please continue to pray for healing and comfort in my illness until then.

Update 10/1- 12pm

Ruth is doing well considering how she was doing last week. On Monday she went in for an appointment to talk with Dr. Urquhart and they came to the conclusion to start chemo next Tuesday (10/6). She also recieved a blood transfusion as well as getting some blood work done. The blood results came back and they were not great but not the worst either. She is doing well but not great. Her echocardiogram came back and they are able to start chemo as her heart is in good condition. Not much other to report other than that. We appreciate your prayers as always and support.