Have You Ever Been Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired?

And I'm sure your answer is yes!  Well, yesterday start up pretty good and that dumb prednisone kicked in and Harriet's knees swollen up to the size of basketballs (slight exaggeration).  It was enough to cause concern so I called the doctor and got the straight scoop.  More of the same, stay off your feet, keep your legs elevated and hang in there.  By evening the swelling had gone down considerably.

More news on the home front.  We get a long-awaited letter from Daniel (he writes once a week).  It just seems like it's a long time between letters when you're waiting for news.  He gave us a long story about how things were going in Arizona and then how through a series of errors they did not transfer his account so that he could go to "canteen", to buy things to eat.  But they finally got around to putting him on the list to come to California.  To show you how slow things are as far as communication is concerned, he wrote the letter on the 24th, it's postmark three days later the 27th and we received it on the 30th.

According to his letter he should be transferring on the 27th or 28th of October and arrive in California on the same day.  But, I just checked the California inmate locator website and it still has him listed in Arizona.  Daniel told me that that website runs a few days behind.  So keep I will keep checking on it.  I did write him a couple of letters this past week and send it to the Arizona prison, which means that he will not get them.  Usually they just trash it.  So, I will print off a copy of the letters and mail them to Chuckwalla.  From what Daniel said that he has to be in isolation for about two weeks before he can have any visitors.  I will probably drive over there sometime later on in November.  Harriet is not up to making the trip.  I know that friends  Tracy and Arlene  have volunteered to go and visit him while he was in Arizona, because they lived relatively close, but you have to submit paperwork and sometimes it takes three months or even longer for approval.  The same applies for California prisons.  The paperwork must be submitted, they do a background check and then they approve it.

So that's the latest information.  Thank you again for your prayers for Harriet, Daniel and for myself.  God bless you and I hope that you have a fantastic day!

Maranatha,
Frank and Harriet

Good Morning!

Well, it is a good morning, for some of us.  Unfortunately Harriet had a really bad night last night.  This prednisone is really causing havoc.  I got up at 3:30 AM this morning to come to work and she was still awake from last night.  She's going to try and get if you are sleep.  It just causes nausea, above and beyond what is normal.  They did give her some anti-nausea pills, but they just don't work for this.

Two more days of taking these prednisone pills they are 50 mg each.  So she just going to have to endure through Friday and then hopefully Saturday will be better.  That's about all I have for today.

We do appreciate the cards and notes, it really does help Harriet.  Thank you so much!

Maranatha,
Frank and Harriet

Third Cycle, Second Day

The day started off very well.  Harriet was doing well until she took her second prednisone pill at 2 PM.  As I mentioned these pills are taken four days in a row after the chemotherapy and somehow it enhances the therapy.  But, it really takes its toll.

So far from my limited observations, it seems that during each cycle, there's a separate set of aftereffects.  From speaking with a number of people who have gone through the chemotherapy successfully, not all patients have the same aftereffects.  So what this means, it's a new and challenging experience during each cycle, because it may not be the same as the previous cycle.

Thank you so much for your continued support and prayers.  It means a lot to Harriet and myself.

Maranatha,
Frank and Harriet

Round Three This Week

Things went well for Harriet at the hospital yesterday.  The chemotherapy went as scheduled. I brought Harriet home from the hospital yesterday afternoon.  After a healthy meal, she rested.  She mentioned later on in the evening that after having a chemotherapy session, your body feels as though it's been used as a punching bag.  It's hard to imagine and I hope that you never have to go through it.

So the next four days we have a course of prednisone which according to the physicians, it actually works in tandem with the chemotherapy to enhance the drugs and help them do what they need to do for healing/killing the cancer.

Before I left to go to work, I put out Harriet 6 AM medications.  That way when she gets up she doesn't have to try and figure out what she supposed to take.  We have a list of each medication taken and when it's supposed to be administered.

The swelling seems to have come back to Harriet's feet, which is not a good sign.  I'm hoping that this round of chemotherapy will knock it out.

I've attached a photograph (I finally figured out how to do it, a couple of weeks late).  This was taken about two weeks ago, during the second cycle.  I mentioned in the blog post that I took Harriet for a drive to Mount Soladad, just so she could get out of the house.  This is the view looking North from Mount Soladad, La Jolla in the foreground and you can see Scripps pier, then Torrey Pines and so on.

I hope you have a great day.

Maranatha,
Frank and Harriet

Round Three Starts This Morning

Harriet goes in for her third chemotherapy this morning at 10:30 AM.  I appreciate your prayers for her that the cycle will go even better than the last.  It will be a tough week, but we look forward to the advances that are being made against the lymphoma.

I really don't have a whole lot of new information for you.  Hopefully I'll have a good report tomorrow morning.  But I can tell you that we can definitely see some good signs, like Harriet appetite returning this past week.  She's lost so much weight that it was a concern.

Thank you so much for your well wishes and support.  I hope that you have a great week!

Maranatha,
Frank and Harriet

Oh Swell!

Overall Harriet had another good day and again I'm very thankful. But, she has swelling in her knees and in her heels. Who knows what's going on? It is obvious that all is not well in Santee California.

Lord willing, Harriet will be going to church this morning. Walter is preaching the 2nd part of the message on "The Great Commission".

After church I need to take Harriet to Kaiser and have her blood taken (not all of it, just a little bit). It is mandatory that the day before a chemotherapy, you must have your blood drawn 24 hours in advance. If you don't do it, they will not administer the chemotherapy.

I hope everyone has a blessed day today and going to the house the Lord to worship the Creator of the Universe!

Maranatha,
Frank and Harriet

Four Days in a Row

This has been a pretty good week!  Harriet's been feeling well for four days straight.  We talked about it last night and this second cycle has gone much better than the first cycle.  Which of course I want to project out for the next cycle will go better yet.  I think we're winning this battle and that Harriet is doing much better.

Harriet reminded me that her feet and legs were so swollen that she could barely walk into the doctors office for the first consultation with the oncologist.  So, I would say that things are going very well.

On Monday she has her third chemotherapy.  Our friends Ron and Virginia are taking Harriet to Kaiser Hospital a little after 10 AM.  I have a funeral to officiate for my good friend Brian V.  His mother died a couple of weeks ago and we're having a service at 11 AM.  Please pray for that service also because from what I understand there will be people who have never trusted Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Then I will pick up Harriet after her chemotherapy.

That's it for now and I hope you have a great weekend!

Maranatha,
Frank and Harriet