Happy New Year from Alice

Christmas was really lovely at our house this year. Everyone was here, including our newest grandson, Tyler-Andrea's husband. We sang Christmas carols, Nicole (Nick) honored us with her/his rendition of "O Holy Night". Her/his age is beginning to show, because the song had to be pitched lower. Tom read the ever new Scripture about the birth of our Saviour, the reason that we celebrate in the first place. Everyone was happy with the gifts, especially the Gift Cards! And the meal was superb. I didn't have to do a thing! Everyone else did all the work.

Now, we look forward to the New Year. Once again, we say, "Where did 2007 go?!" Time keeps marching on, and we come closer and closer to the time when we will be at home with our Lord. Meantime, let us live our lives in such a way that He is glorified and His work is furthered.

The book I wrote about Ed's last eight years finally came out two weeks ago. It is available on Amazon.com or by contacting Judson University- wanderson@judsonu.edu The title is Do Not Go, My Love: An Odyssey of Eight Years with Stroke and Dementia. I am praying that it will be of help to some people who are experiencing what we went through.

May I wish you all a very wonderful New Year, full of God's blessings.
Alice

I'm Home!

Yes! It's true! I'm at home now and have been here for three days. I'm beginning to get out of the "invalid mode" and be more independent. It is good to be home after not even seeing it for over two months. I'm sleeping better, too.

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and best wishes for my recovery. In many ways my recovery is somewhat of a miracle. God has been so good to me and my family. The time at Sherman West Court nursing facility was just the right thing for me. It literally "got me on my feet" so that I can walk and have much better control of my leg muscles. I had Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy as well. One thing I'm working on very hard is to loosen my right jaw muscle. I have a device called a TheraBite which helps with this. I must be faithful in this, or I won't be able to open my mouth very wide.

We received our first copy of my book, Do Not Go, My Love: An Odyssey of Eight Years with Stroke and Dementia. The book will be in some of the Christian Bookstores. Amazon.com can handle it, but they may be slow in getting the book out.Borders Books will be able to get it also. A better way might be to contact Warren Anderson at wanderson@judsonu.edu

I am hoping that this book will be of help to people who are going through similar circumstances.

I pray God's blessing on you.

In His Great Service, Alice

Thanksgiving in a Nursing Home

Thanksgiving in a Nursing Home is a new experience for me. I am not allowed to go out, so here I stayed. People came to visit me!

First, the newlyweds, Andrea and Tyler came. They are so happy and eager about the future, in which Tyler will be getting his MBA. Later, Ruth and Naomi came, while the guys were watching the game and before dinner. Sandy cooked her first turkey and everyone said it was delicious. At 5:00 p.m., nine family members and two friends came here to Sherman West Court. The wonderful people here had set up the Conference Room with a TV and prepared the table for desert. Wonderful pies were eaten—looked yummy—but that’s all I can do—look! Maybe someday I’ll be able to eat again and taste food again. It would be nice, but not essential.

We did our traditional thing—everyone saying what he/she was thankful for. How precious to hear them as they all thanked the Lord for His blessings, especially in regard to my health. We then watched Ratatouille, a funny cartoon. I was a party pooper and had to go to bed before it was done. They had to finish watching it at Mark’s house. Anyway, it was so good to be with them. I can only imagine how much planning and sacrifice went into getting this to happen.

I’m getting stronger every day. Sleeping better at night, walking better, working very hard on Speech Therapy, especially my almost locked in jaw. God has been good—He’s here, right in this very room, and I am thankful.

Alice

Still Here at Sherman West...

Dear Ones:

Yes, I am still here at Sherman West Court. My walking has improved, but I strained a muscle in my right knee on Friday afternoon. Hope it gets better soon. The therapists are thorough professionals and very kind. Many are from the Philippines—so we talk about Ed’s and my four-month missionary time there. God is still in control, and I’m trying my best to be a good patient and a PATIENT patient. Thank you all for your prayers, cards, visits. They are much appreciated.

Love, Mom, Grandma, Alice

Through November...

Hello Everyone,

Mom (Alice, Grandma, Aunt) is continuing to improve at Sherman West Nursing/Rehab.

Her face and skin are much more "normal" looking right now. The swelling has subsided considerably. Other positives: the pick line is now out, the stomach feeding pump is gone (feeding done now through the peg and gravity), and Mom's physical, occupational and speech therapy is going very well.

She was hoping to be home by Thanksgiving, but the doctors and staff agreed that she should stay at the rehab facility until December 4th. Our family will make sure that she has plenty of attention on Thanksgiving Day including a special family gathering at Sherman West in the evening.

Weekly visits to the UC will continue each Tuesday. During the next visit, the ENT staff will work on her trache, which has become a problem again. On November 27th, Mom will have a CT scan done to begin the process of assessing the results of the past two months of therapy. The knowledge that we are in God's hands is a comfort to all of us. We will "wait upon the Lord."

As always, please continue your prayers and emails. They are greatly appreciated.

Sincerely, JT:)

A time to become stronger...

It's been about a week since my last update on our Mom (Alice, Aunt, Grandma). I've been holding off posting the update until I had some news from yesterday's checkup at the UC. Thankfully, Dr. Seiwert of the UC Oncology department said that Mom is beginning to heal after months of treatment like they hoped for. In a week or so, she will really start to feel better and, hopefully, gain back some of her normal physical activity. But this is going to require a lot of hard work on her part and rigorous physical therapy. Of particular concern is Mom's ability to open and close her mouth. Evidently, because of the radiation of the past two months, her mouth will permanently freeze up unless an immediate exercise program is followed. We are hoping that she will be upbeat enough to push herself with these upcoming programs.

So please continue to pray for our Mom's recovery at this time. She knows that people are praying for her and that the Lord has responded by allowing her to survive the re-irradiation treatment. She is so grateful for friends and family that she has. She is always grateful for the Lord and the comfort of knowing that she is "in His hands." Please continue your emails and cards as well. She may not be able to respond to you right away, but as she gets stronger she will. Hopefully, the next update will come directly from her.

JT:)

A Tale of Goodbyes and Setbacks....

Our Mom (Alice, Aunt, Grandma) finally completed her UC cancer treatments last Wednesday. So when I picked her up on Thursday to take her back to Sherman West in Elgin , it was such a glorious time. The discharge from the UC was quite emotional. The nursing staff prepared a special UC T-shirt with all of their names signed on it. They also warmly hugged Mom and gave a special farewell song. Mom was affectionately known as "The Queen" of the 6th floor cancer recovery wing of the Mitchell center. So Mom said her corresponding goodbyes and then departed after three months of difficult treatment. Thanks to the doctors and staff at the UC; they have given Mom and her friends and family hope that the cancer will go into some kind of remission again.

After taking Mom to Sherman West Rehab, my brother Mark on Friday noticed that her vitals were not only low, but on the verge of becoming lethally low. He alerted the nursing staff which made the call to send Mom to the ER at Sherman Hospital. It was a close call because while waiting in the ER, her white cells became virtually none existent. She was admitted to the hospital and immediately given the appropriate antibiotics and testing. As I write this blog on Monday, our Mom continues to receive careful watch and treatment at Sherman. Her G-tube was also fixed today so that it doesn't leak and cause discomfort. She will be at Sherman Hospital for another few days until she can slowly gain a minimal threshold of health. Many thanks to the nursing staff at Sherman West for making a quick decision to send our Mom via ambulance to the ER. It might have saved her life.

Please continue to keep our Mom in your prayer. The Lord has allowed her to survive this far along in the experimental re-irradiation program of UC. Pray that she can gain more strength everyday from this point on-- feeling more like a human being again. Pray also for some positive results based upon the re-irradiation and chemotherapy. She thanks all of you for your prayers and encouragement based upon the emails and cards.

Sincerely, Jack :)

FIRST NIGHT I HAD A GOOD SLEEP...

LAST NIGHT WAS THE FIRST NIGHT I HAD A GOOD SLEEP IN SO LONG. ALL MY
FEEDING WAS DONE IN TIME TO GET ME A GOOD SEGMENT OF SLEEP."AND SO HE
GIVES HIS BELOVED SLEEP." I PRAISE HIM! I FEEL ALMOST LIKE MYSELF.
I'LL WORK ON E-MAILS TODAY. BE SURE TO GET THAT DISNEY THING IN.
IMPORTANT, I THINKS. INFLUENCES MILLIONS OF YOUNG, IMPRESSIONABLE
PEOPLE.

THE FEEDING, THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT, WAS ZAPPING MY SLEEP. NOW, I WILL
GET IT ALL DURING THE DAY- PART OF 24 HOURS. SO, SLEEP!!!!!!! THEY
HAD TO WAKE ME FOR RADIATION THIS A.M. I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER ALREADY.

THEY HAVE THE BLOODWORK AT THE LAB. THEY'RE CHECKING MY THYROID.
THEY'RE SOON GOING TO GIVE ME BENDADRYL AND I WILL BE SLEEPY.

I LOVE YOU ALL DESPERATELY.

YOUR MOM AND SISTER, ALICE :)

HEBREWS 11:1

Last Round of Treatments at the UC Hospital

Mom (Alice, Grandma, Aunt) was taken back to the UC Hospital by Mark this afternoon, for one last round of cancer treatments before coming back to Sherman West. The treatments this time will only take a few days. The UC doctors and staff are making up for the lost days of treatment our Mom had last month.

I saw her yesterday and she looked better. I think she has recovered some of her strength while being at the Sherman West Rehab facility. As always, please continue your prayers. If you can, it's always great to have your response posts linked to this website/blogsite. She will also be able to access email in the next few days.
JT:)

Back in Elgin...

I brought Mom (Alice, Aunt, Grandma) from the UC back to Elgin today. She will be at Sherman West Rehab facility for one week (until Sunday) where she will again recover from a week of treatments and receive physical therapy.

Our Mom survived Andrea's wedding with all of the long travel and the excessive heat last Sunday. I was talking to Mark and we agree that there was clearly answered prayer last week. My Aunt Ethel, who drove Mom back to UC Sunday, put it this way in an email she sent me:

"... the whole "admission" was a miracle... your Mom wrote on the back of a Kleenex box the way to the hospital from the north; the valet service was closed but a couple gave me their parking space and had a wheel chair they used to the curb so I took that one; I had trouble managing all the suitcases, etc, so several people helped us into the elevator, out, etc; no one was at the admission desk so I asked the security guard (waving the white envelope) if I couldn't just go up to the sixth floor because my sister was to be admitted there and he said "Oh, yes!"; as I was trying to proceed Keesha, one of Alice's nurses, just checked out and HAPPENED BY and recognized her and took the wheelchair while I took the other stuff, up to the 6th and over to a room being cleaned.. I'm sure by God's plan JUST FOR HER; as she got in I helped her into a gown and onto the 'facility' and then into the bed; prayed w/ her and got off to Warsaw... home by ~11:30 our time!!

MIRACLE after MIRACLE and I'm so very grateful to the Lord. Alice looked lovely and elegant! I wondered several times earlier during the day if this was really a smart thing... even if not "smart", I believe it was the RIGHT THING!"

Without a doubt, the Lord worked overtime to allow our Mom to make it through the wedding on such a hot day without AC.

Again, thank you all for your prayers and support!

JT:)

The Wedding

Dear Ones,
I prayed that if God wanted me to be at Andrea's wedding, I'd be there. I prayed that I would not start coughing or do something else that would be disturbing. I was in His hands, and He, indeed, helped me. The wedding was beautiful and meaningful. The chapel was exquisite. Being a VERY old church, there was no air conditioning--the heat and humidity made it necessary for the bride to sit down. I did OK, but was glad to get into fresh air. My darling sister, Ethel, drove me back to the hospital and then made the long trip back to Indiana. She was determined to be wherever I was! The result, though, was that I was badly dehydrated. Dr. Aham spent much time and energy getting me back into shape so that I could continue Chemo and Radiation the next day. I am very grateful to him. I am looking forward to more energy and strength as I get back my nutrition, etc.

May God bless you and make your life a blessing to those around you. Share Jesus. He's the most important One your friends and acquaintances will ever encounter--the results are eternal, In His Great Service, Alice, Mom, Grandma, Mrs. Ed

Beautiful Grandmother

Our friend Mark Ehlers, who is a fine photographer (although not the official wedding photographer) caught this glimpse of my mother as she was wheeled out during the recessional. Isn't she beautiful??

Ruth

Looking Forward to the Wedding...

At this time Mom (Alice, Aunt, Grandma) continues to recover at the Sherman West Rehab center in Elgin, IL. The health difficulties of the last few weeks have left our Mom very week and lacking muscle in her legs and arms. Hopefully, by the time she is released on Sunday, the physical therapy will help recover some of her strength.

Without a doubt, Mom is looking forward to going to her granddaughter Andrea's wedding this Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee. After the wedding, she will travel directly to the UC Hospital for her final round of chemotherapy/radiation (over a week). The UC doctors and staff will most likely add a few extra days of therapy to make up for the days she lost a few weeks ago. After this, there will be about one month of healing and then testing for any results.

As usual, our Mom is comfortable in her current situation. Her love for family, friends, and the Lord remain central to her life right now. Please pray that she has the strength to make the extended trip to see her granddaughter's wedding this Sunday. It will not be easy to do. Also, pray that she can get through this last round of cancer treatment. JT:)

LOTS BETTER!

I praise the Lord that I am so much better each day. I am also very happy to be released to Sherman West facility. I will get Rehab and try to regain my strength, while getting the nursing care I need. All happy news. God has been so good and so close to me this whole time. Praise His Name!

UP AND DOWN

Early this morning before the change or shift, I walked with a nurses aide. I was feeling stronger. I had sat up in the evening holding my PEG in place so I wouldn't lose any liquid which was being fed from above. I think it worked. I had a good day writing, sitting up. I was holding on to the PEG to be sure the Chemo made--about half an hour. Fell asleep and discovered the PEG was leaking like a sieve. Transport was here and we had to frantically get me ready to go to radiation. This one was short. The first one was long with many light, and lightning bolts. I had to pack towels around me, so I wouldn't leak. Also, I hadn't been suctioned, so I prayed that I could stay still and not cough or something. God answered my prayer. What the answer to my dilemma is unknown as of today. Tomorrow, I'm sure the doctors will try something else. I feel confident that I should be able to walk and regain my strength and still be able to get my nutrition. Meantime, I'm trying to help keep this down by staying still. God is still on the throne. His ways are inscrutable. I am at peace. I'm where God wants me to be. That is enough. I pray God's blessings on all of you who read this. If you have a prayer concern, please let me know. I have plenty of time to pray.

Love to you all. Alice
Psalm 50.

Margaret Brady came. What a delight to be with her. She has been such a good friend and always will be. She is doing wonderful work at North Park University.

September 22 Update

As I sit here waiting for another IV to be put in my meandering veins, I think of how much I've been through these past weeks. I can say that I truly feel that "peace that passeth understanding-I know I'm in God's hands and that many people are praying for me. Things change from day to day here, but I believe that they will start chemo and radiation on Sunday and Monday. Whatever happens to me, it's OK. May God be very near to you today. Alice

Update- Doing a Bit Better...

First of all, many thanks to all of you for your prayers regarding our Mom's health situation. It is difficult to give updates lately because it seems like we are on "roller coaster"-- or like my sister has said, "It's feast or famine" with news about Mom. Lately it seems like our Mom is either having these critical care episodes or having good periods of recovery.

With this in mind, I can report that Mom (Alice, Grandma, Aunt) is doing somewhat better than the last update. Her blood pressure is stable and her white cells are coming up a bit (the last I heard they were at 4-- still dangerously low). After an afternoon visit today, Tom said that Mom remained very weak and sedentary in her bed, but was alert and conversational (although difficult through her trache). It was also nice that the Towners, from First Baptist of Elgin, were able to visit Mom today at the UC. As a caution, we still need to be careful that she has time to sleep and is free from exposure to germs and viruses.

This evening they moved Mom out of the ICU and back into her normal floor area. The UC Oncology department has indicated that they will give Mom an extra week to heal, and then, hopefully, continue her cancer treatments-- even working in the two lost days from last week. Certainly all of this is contingent upon her recovery. Please continue your steadfast prayers for our Mom. Even in her frail condition, I know that she can feel your love, concern, and prayer through Christ, our Lord.

Please feel free to post your thoughts on this blog site (the "comments" section). I know she will eventually read them. As a friend, former student, or relative, your posts really do encourage her. Thanks! JT:)

Update- Need for Even More Prayer

Mom (Alice, Grandma, Aunt) is in a serous situation at this time. Since the last update from Ruth on Thursday, our courageous mother has tried to overcome a series of infections. On Friday, when I saw her, she looked better and "out of the woods." Mark thought the same thing when he saw her on Saturday.

However, yesterday, Mom was extremely lethargic and experiencing the chills. Not able to get to her computer, I read to her some of your emails. I think that encouraged her a bit. Let's see, I read emails from Tom's family (Abby, Zach, Sam, Jen, and Tom), the Blatts, Aunt Ethel, and showed her Naomi's birthday picture. When I left her last night, her temperature was brought down from 102 to 100. She remained very, very weak.

I talked with the UC staff this morning and they said that early morning Mom needed to be moved into ICU because of low blood pressure. White cell blood count is still dangerously low. Doctors today will remove one of her mediports because they think it might be a contributing source to her infection. They will also monitor her very closely.

So, like Ru was saying in the last post, please continue your prayers for Mom during this critical time.

JT:)

Prayer Request

I just returned home to Milwaukee after spending time last evening and this morning with Mom in the hospital. Last night was fun; we watched a Hitchcock movie called "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", which, for those of you who aren't Hitchcock fanatics like Nick, Jack and I are, is funny instead of scary. I left Mom last night after praying with her and assuring her I'd be back in the morning.

I spent the night at my cousin Liz's house in Western Springs and had a delightful time with her and her family.

This morning when I got back to Mom's room, there were eight to ten people around her bedside. I wondered what in the world was going on! Here's what happened. Her white blood cell count has been low all week, but early this morning it dropped dangerously low. She also developed a fever. Right before I arrived, she tried to get up and fainted back onto the bed. The nurses were alarmed and called the team of people into the room.

Clearly, she has an infection, and because of this Dr. Cohen has put a hold on all her chemo and radiation treatments. Please pray that she recovers today. My sweet, courageous, persistent mother was so disappointed that she couldn't go to radiation today and keep on the schedule! I am just thankful that this scary episode happened while at the hospital rather than at home. She was able to get help (I.V. antibiotics and fluids) immediately.

Because she needs to minimize her chances of any more infections, they're moving her to a private room today.

Ruth

Reflect-It's always too soon to quit.

I have to be truthful, having to be suctioned every two hours didn't seem like a very great future. Today I am reading in my devotional books everything that seems to connect. Jeremiah 29:11- God has a plan--It's true. I felt absolute peace coming into this program. I knew about the dry mouth, enflamed mouth and throat, possibility of a carotid burst, and other risks--but I didn't know anything about having to have a trache and all the complications with that. Nor did I know about the blood transfusion. Would that have made any real difference? I doubt it, but it always takes me a while to assimilate new things, problems. Another devotional book urges not to fear witnessing for our Lord. He has given wonderful opportunities to far.

I must not weaken, because I think it is for this reason that I am here. The last devotional book shows me that the Lord has pushed me through my illness to THIS place. Here is where I want to be--the University of Chicago Hospitals. Here is where I am and will humbly, as did the Apostle Paul, seek to do His will.

There have been a few weak moments when I thought, "Is it worth it?" Those thoughts are gone. I await His will and leading. "For those who want to save their life will lose it (Chemo only with about a year to live), and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." (Possibility of a carotid burst) Matthew 16:25. I pray for His strength, which He has promised, and which I claim. Alice

I'm feeling lots better

I really feel stronger. I'm sure the blood transfusion helped. People say I have better color. I'm wearing a jaunty little hat that Dawn gave me and I put on make-up. My sister, Ethel, is coming today with her wonderful new husband, Lowell. That should be fun.

Back to UCH Treatment # 3

Mark and Sandy got me settled into my room and talked to the attending doctor. I did a lot of walking after they left--I'm determined to get these knees going. I think I will have some physical therapy instructions. My blood-work came back and showed that my hemoglobin was lower than needed for radiation. So, I had a blood transfusion. All was OK until I started to have multiple bouts with diarrhea, and I was so tired. Finally, I asked to be diapered and come what may--I HAD to sleep. I must have slept six or seven hours, and was dry as a bone when I awoke. I notice they gave me neurotin first thing this a.m., so maybe some of this is anxiety. A Christian isn't supposed to be anxious about anything, but maybe unknowingly, I am. There is so much I have to learn about myself. Anyway, my new nurse is Samuel. He looks like he's from somewhere in Africa and has been a nurse for seventeen years. He knew exactly how to suction me, as did Jack and Mark. He made me very comfortable. I am to go to radiation at 9 this a.m. Before I slept last night, I reminded the Lord that I was his little lamb and asked Him to hold me tight. I've been told this will be the hardest segment of the treatment, and I''m asking for His strength. I'm enjoying wearing the hats that have been given me, they give me a lift. I appreciate your prayers. Please pray that I complete peace, and that I will TRULY cast all my care upon Him. Alice

Update- Round Three...

Alice (Mom, Grandma), was admitted into the UC Hospital for her third round of cancer treatment from today (Sunday) to Saturday. As many of you know, these treatments are very intense-- they include both chemotherapy and re-irradiation of her neck and throat areas. The doctors have warned us that this round will be perhaps the most difficult for Alice. Their predictions were spot on during the last round when they said she would lose most of her hair. This time, they predict that Alice will have to endure and work through painful mouth sores and bleeding.

As a family, we seem to have every day covered for visitation this week. If you want to contact Alice, still the best way is via email or even posting comments on this website.

Despite some of the breathing and trache problems from last week, Alice's spirit seems to be very positive and upbeat. She always reminds us that we are in God's hand, just as she is right now. Please continue to keep her in your thoughts and prayer. Thanks JT:)

Update- The Trek of the Trache: A continuing Saga, I guess...

After all the lovely things that happened to me last night, as I was leaning over to uncover my bed, out slipped my trache tube. Horrors! Back to the Emergency Room! We had to park a block away. This place was BUSY! Several anxious looking parents to-to-be--just waiting for that first welcome cry of a new little life, beside the many sitting there with worried looks. We were prepared for a LONG wait, but that nice ER Doctor Peeters, just went ahead and put the trache back in. While he was doing it, Jack--who is the the best conversationalist--he asks questions and gets the OTHER person to talk--mentioned something about Dr. Peeters's twelve passenger boat out there on the lakefront of Chicago. It would be great sailng weather, but Dr. Peeters said when that Lake whips up, it's scary. What a nice man--a gentle giant. We had watched the Republican Candidates' debate--at least there are not hundreds of candidates as in some other countries! What I came away with after Family Values, is that the world is NOT FLAT--we cannot be isolationists, and that Teddy Roosevelt's statement is still viable: " Speak soft, but carry a big stick." I pray that our next president will also keep these things in mind and lean hard upon God for direction.

Reflect- The drab turns to COLOR

After the night/morning in the Emergency Room and realizing that I may have to have my throat suctioned about every two hours--Suddenly! The LIGHTS came on! Mark, Sandy and Drew came over. Sandy had researched wigs and one was ordered on the Internet. Then, dear friend Judy DeRolf came with a friend, whom I had never met, and a bag FULL of hats, scarfs--Oh, so much more color! And now, I just found that my first book, Do Not Go, My Love, is going to be on Amazon.com. So, I smile and thank God for being so good to me. It gives me more determination to finish this difficult Program of irradiation with strength. Jeremiah 32:17 NIV rings in my heart. Alice

Update- A Difficult Night

Wow…Alice (Mom, Grandma) had a tough night last night. Yesterday, at the Tuesday check-up, Alice had her vitals measured and looked at. The good news was that her white cell count remains good and she has very good blood-sugar levels. Hemoglobin was down a bit as well as her weight (about three pounds). This was expected, however, since Alice had fought off an infection two weeks prior. Her G-tube was also healing well, after having been reset (although it is still a bit irritating for her). So there were many good things happening with Alice’s health at this time as she continues the cancer treatments. But the one nagging problem Alice has had in the past few weeks are those episodes when she can’t breath. It has happened about four times now. I’ll give you a few details here.

Evidently, Alice has a very small airway to start with, and when you add the extra mucus secretions generated because of the cancer treatments, there can be these “mucus plugs” that block off her breathing. Those of you who received my email on Aug. 21, know that we almost lost her because of one of these episodes. Thank the Lord it happened while she was at the UC Hospital. They were able to perform an emergency intubation and put her on a respirator all day. She eventually came through that ordeal ok. It was decided after this to do a tracheotomy at the base of her neck to assure proper breathing. This would also allow for the ability to suction up excess secretions in her lower trachea area. Everything was working fine until the trache tube got unseated and was very uncomfortable for her. With this in mind, yesterday she brought this to the attention of Dr. Cohen, one of the UC Oncologist doctors, who saw the problem. He immediately sent her to the ENT floor to have it looked at. This ENT staff, that originally performed the tracheotomy, decided that Alice’s airway passages had healed to the point that she no longer needed the trache (we are still trying to figure this one out).

So she went home without the trache tube. Unfortunately, in the late evening before going to bed, Alice had another one of those breathing attacks. Without the trache, we could not use the suction catheter to unclog her airway. I had to call in the paramedics who subsequently stabilized her breathing and brought her to the Sherman Hospital ER. At the ER they put in a new trache and cleaned out the “plugs” that were inhibiting her breath. Freely breathing, Alice was brought back home where she finally got some good sleep. We want to thank Dr. Peeters and the ER staff for calmly taking care of the situation. This morning Alice is doing much better as she works on her “Teacup Tales" book. She is still on schedule for a third round of cancer treatments coming up this Sunday, Sept. 9^th. Visiting nurses are planning to work through a rotation at the house as they administer to Alice’s needs. Continue to pray for Alice. Pray for a stable time period now, with no more “breathing episodes.” In all, the UC Oncology staff is encouraged with her response to the treatments at this time. JT:)

Reflect- Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees...

Hebrews 12:12- "Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees." Knees. I never knew the importance of knees before. I am very weak after my second week of therapy. Just to get into a standing position, I had to strain to "pull" myself up. When it came time to go down stairs to get to the car on the parking deck, my knees suddenly buckled. If it weren't for Jack who reached out quickly, I would have fallen down four or five stairs. The same thing happened again as I was saying "Goodbye" to the family last night; I suddenly stepped down. This time, I don't know what saved the fall. Thus, today I will try to exercise my physical knees as we sit in the car and in the hospital waiting room--but more than that, I'll try to do some work on my spiritual knees. Have a Great Day.

Update- University of Chicago Tuesday Check-ups

Family and Friends,

Every other Tuesday Alice (Mom, Grandma) goes to the University of Chicago for a check-up. The hospital staff takes her vitals and looks closely at her white cell blood count. It is important that the UC doctors know how well Alice is responding to the intense chemotherapy and radiation of the the previous week. We pray that today will bring some good "ongoing" news.

As "Alice Thompson Update" gets started, we hope that this will be a better way for all of you to get quick up-to-date information about Alice's health. She and all of us as family members will do our best to keep this site current. Many thanks to Nick Carver for helping to get this site up and going. As always, we thank you all for your prayers and support. JT:)

Welcome!

Many of my friends and family have asked me to keep them up to date on what is happening in my life. Well, in short, so many exciting and challenging things!

My book, "Do Not Go, My Love" is scheduled for publication at the end of this month and tells the story (true!) of the last eight years of my husband, Ed's, life and his, and my, struggle with his declining health. I'm hoping to be able to sign copies at Judson College's Homecoming weekend.

Right now the big struggle is with the recurrence of my throat cancer. I'm undergoing a special course of treatment at the University of Chicago Hospital, designed for people who have already undergone radiation for cancer but have a relapse. It involves intensive radiation and chemotherapy. After 2 of 5 full weeks of treatment I've lost my hair but not my spirit!

I welcome your comments (post them below) and love your emails sent to me at edalthom@gmail.com. Bookmark this page so you can check back on my Journal regularly or, if you know what it means, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking on the RSS feed indicator. It's probably the best way to keep up to date!

Talk to you soon!