Midway again..

Just a quick update in the midst of the Christmas rush! I am almost 1/2 way through the fourth cycle of Sutent. Midway of the last round my feet were starting to get sore and then suddenly improved. This time they are getting worse yesterday and today. I am having a hard time walking and it is painful even when I am not walking. Please pray that this side effect would not last too long this cycle! I still have a LOT of finishing up to do before Christmas and it's a bit discouraging to be doing everything with such sore feet! I have been burning the candle at both ends and not getting enough sleep which is catching up to me and I was completely exhausted by bedtime last night. So, please pray I will be able to prioritize all the things that need to be done and get enough rest. I have had some waves of fear "what if this is my last Christmas with my family?" which I need to overcome. Thank you so much for praying for me in my weakness. I want to face each day with JOY. If God gives me 30 more years on earth, I don't want to regret having sulked around now for no reason!!! :-)

We spoke to our attorney this week and our insurance company has replied to his letter. They said NOTHING. Just sent back a copy of the exact same low offer that they had given at least 2 months ago. Basically they are stonewalling us, and not only that, with ATTITUDE! ARGH! And as for our appeal on the trucking case, the judge has acknowledged our filing the appeal, but now has some number of weeks (months?) to reply with her reasons for denying our request to overturn the unfair settlement. So, we are in limbo on both aspects of the truck accident. We are so TIRED of this. And I am anxious about how we will make it through the lean winter months of our business year... All we have is the LORD. I suppose that is what He wants us to learn.

Charles' back injury is improving via physical therapy and for that we are both very grateful. He is still uncomfortable and his leg has a lot of numbness and weakness. But the pain is much decreased, so that is a relief. He is able to do more to help around the house and concentrate better at work, thankfully. Please pray that the ibuprofen does not give him a lot of GI trouble as has happened in the past when he took it for his various arm injuries over the years.

Ethan is a trooper! He has been to the hand specialist twice, had a CT scan and now an MRI to evaluate his wrist fracture. We will be taking him for a second opinion at the Phila Hand Center on Jan 3rd. (wow are we thankful for our medical insurance!) Then, more than likely he will have a very extensive 2-3 hour surgery to repair his wrist in mid January. There is some concern about ligament damage, and the small, soft bone graft may not be enough so they might have to take a small portion of bone from his hip instead :-( We will know more after the MRI results come back. He will be in a splint then a cast for a total of at least 6-8 weeks post-op. He has a great attitude even though he has to drop out of archery, can't be on the volleyball team this winter, etc. I bet he thinks he won't have to do his schoolwork but he is wrong on that one! :-)

We have been blessed by so much tender loving CARE these last few weeks from so many people. THANK YOU all for carrying us through each step of this journey. I cannot IMAGINE doing this ALONE! God is our ever present helpin time of trouble, but HE has sent so many people to be His hands and feet - and that tangible care is what gets us through each day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! May you all know the JOY and PEACE that comes only from God, through His precious son, born in that manger to die for our sins.

Love,
Karen