Well, the weekend is over, Sunday night now, and Marilou is down for the night.

Saturday we had a pretty quiet day. We did venture out to take a little drive… and It pretty much wore her out, although she enjoyed getting outside and getting some fresh air.

Today we did not get out… her energy level is noticeably less, today she was more wobbly on her feet. I help her get around, and her appetite was very small today.
There are a couple of chairs in the room where her hospital bed is. When she is in the bed sleeping, I will just sit and pray for her. This afternoon, I brought a hymn book and my Bible. I tried singing some of her favorite hymns, and she sang along as best she could. I had more trouble than she did, because it was so hard to see the words through that dang water in my eyes. So I read to her I Corinthians 15, the great passage on resurrection.

I anointed her with oil and prayed for her, asking the Lord to reap the fruit of his shed blood that by his stripes she is healed.

Tonight she only had four spoonfuls of soup and a couple spoons of ice cream. She has been noticeably more tired today. So now she is resting again.

Thanks to everyone who fasted and prayed today.  We know that our Lord did not miss one of those prayers. He hears every one. There are times when I contend and speak and claim, and there are the times when I have to say, “Lord, nevertheless, your will be done, not mine.” I learned that from someone very close to me. He taught me to pray that because he had to pray that.

Again, thank you to all, around the world who were fasting and praying today. Thank you on behalf of Marilou and our entire family. We  pray that the Lord will bless you because you gave in that way.

Sleep tight

Today the social worker came, and enrolled Marilou in hospice care. She is now “officially” in hospice care. The nurse comes sometime tomorrow and we will have a thorough evaluation of her status and needs.
The last couple days have been so full and busy with getting her home, the delivery of the bed, the social worker, paperwork and other “things” to do, that it has been a bit surreal, what is really going on.

We are very encouraged by all the prayers and support we have received. We had thought that we might drive her down to the IHOP Northwest in Federal Way, but at this point, I just am not sure she could make such a trip. The session with the social worker wore  her out today.

But we are joining together to ask the Lord for His healing touch. In fact, we would like to ask if you would consider making Sunday, August 28th as  day of fasting and prayer for Marilou’s healing. Wherever you are, perhaps your church would pray for her during your service. Perhaps all over the world there will be people and churches fasting and praying for God’s miracle healing touch.

Marilou has been very “vocal” about her faith, and her trust in His grace and love. We have seen with our own eyes, God’s healing power, and we are trusting in His grace that whatever He does will bring glory to His name.

Thanks for praying with us

We are so happy to say that Marilou is back home tonight! It’s wonderful to know she will have a quiet, restful place to sleep now… You know hospitals are the last place to try to get rest!! But they were wonderful to Marilou.

Tonight we had the hospital bed delivered. Tomorrow the social worker will come over and sign her up for the hospice care. Friday the hospice nurse will visit and get us oriented.
Of course we are praying that she won’t need any of that, but it is so good, and reassuring to her, that this care is readily available to her.

We are thankful for so many who are praying with us for a touch of the Lord. So for right now, thank you so much… we are home together and so very grateful to you and to the Lord for His strength

I got home from the hospital a short time ago. I finally had a chance to talk with Marilou’s doctor today, and she was very helpful. Marilou’s pancreatic cancer is stage 4, and has taken over a great deal of her liver. They gave her transfusions and antibiotics and a battery of tests!!!  The oncologist has told Marilou’s doctor that in his opinion, she has two months at the outside.
We are praying she will be able to come home tomorrow (Wednesday). They are doing everything they can to rule out any infection before she is released. When she gets home we will immediately have hospice come and set things up for us.

Marilou and I have great peace in the Lord. We pray for healing, and have people all over the world, like you, praying for her. We also know that the Lord’s ways are higher than ours. Marilou radiates the peace of the Lord. It is a great blessing to me to see that in her countenance and hear it in her words.

We appreciate you, and your kind messages, and will continue to believe God for His very best for Marilou.

Pray that she can come home soon and be able to rest here and have the peace of her home around her. Most of you know how noisy it is in the hospital and impossible to rest.

Again, thank you for your support, love and prayers. they are all a very great blessing and encouragement to Marilou. ( and me!! 🙂 

Hi all our friends. I have returned from the hospital this afternoon. The Lord certainly orchestrated his hand in my timing getting to her room. The oncologist had just met with Marilou and so we had a chance to meet with him together.

His word to us was that there is no cure for the cancers that she has. There is not a surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy that will be effective. There is a chemo that she can choose that might prolong her time, and give some relief  from symptoms. We are praying through our responses and next steps.

We know that the Lord, Jehovah Rapha, is able to heal her. We are praying for that, however we want you, our family and friends to know that she, and we are very much at peace in the Lord. We are not panicked, we are not afraid, we know that the Lord our Shepherd has her in the palm of His hands. We welcome your prayers and intercession, we will seek out healing prayer, but she is resting in His grace. She does not want you to be anxious or fearful for her.

In reality, our lives are always a testimony of what we believe about our God. He is either good and gracious and kind and all wise or we are just playing with words. We want to testify of the greatness of our wonderful Lord, in whichever form of healing He might choose that would best glorify His name.

We are praying that she will be able to be released from the hospital by Wednesday. However, the great thing is that while she is in there, she is getting the kind of care that she needs. She is feeling very good about that.

We prayed for you together today, that the Lord would help you to look to Him and trust in Him for whatever will be, what Jesus told us to pray…”your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

Thank you for your prayers and support, and we will continue to keep you updated through this wonderful CaringBridge website. We love you all

It’s Monday morning, and Marilou is in the hospital. Yesterday she had two episodes of the really high fevers, and so last night we decided it was best for us to go to the Emergency Room.

After some tests and giving her some saline, they transported her from the hospital here in Monroe to a hospital covered by her insurance. I got home about 2am.

Her white count was very high and red count very low, so they were going to give her a transfusion, do another CT scan to make sure they weren’t missing something.

And the result of this is that we have a good chance of seeing the oncologist today. The doctor last night said that she would be there probably until Wednesday.

As much as Marilou resisted, it was a God-thing that she finally agreed. She was feeling better, and looking better when I left.

Thanks for your prayers and support. It is a great encouragement to her and to me

Thank you for your prayers. Today has been a good day! We went shopping together…this time she was pushing the shopping cart! We were moving slowly, but it was a good bit of exercise for her. And the great thing is, pretty much whatever she says she is hungry for… she gets it!!

She has been more alert today, which is a great relief and blessing. She did some reading, and singing from one of the hymnals that I have finally unpacked.

We know that the timing all of this is in our Lord’s capable hands so we are praying already for Dr. Reddy whom we will see on Tuesday morning.

Thanks to your prayers. it’s been a good, good day! Praise you, Lord!

A beautiful day here in Monroe, Washington. Yesterday was a pretty tough day. Marilou has been concerned about not working enough hours and losing her medical benefits. The company she works for drops you like  a hot potato if you go below your hours. So Marilou thought she would try to work yesterday, but she was too weak to drive, so I took her. (she does in home care with two ladies, one in Monroe here and on in nearby Snohomish)

The whole time she was at her morning ladies place, all she did was sit and sleep, so when I picked her up, that was it. she was done. She spent the rest of the day sleeping. She had a 103 something fever in late afternoon, but that left fairly soon.

She called her supervisor to get some sick days, and find out about getting put on medical leave, but when I got home she could not remember all that her supervisor said, so I will call on Monday.

Today she got up and had an OK breakfast for the past couple weeks, then it was back down to sleep.
We will try to get a very short walk in today just to get a little exercise for her.

The next phase is how to make the cut-backs needed since we will not have her income as before. And of course waiting until Tuesday to hear what the oncologist has to say. Then…. we can take the next step.

Marilou’s attitude is very good. She is trusting in the Lord for each step and knows we are in His hands. I’m the one who needs to not let my mind go into all those other places but keep focused on Him, and His ability, His heart and His promises.

Thanks to all for your notes of encouragement and prayers. Marilou and I are greatly encouraged by these precious gems from you.

Thanks,
Obrigado,
Dank,
terima kasih,

Steve & Marilou

Hi all, Well we have finally gotten an appointment to see the oncologist. The appointment is for next Tuesday, August 23rd at 10:50 AM PDT.

We have been feeling the effects of your prayers. Last night was the first night in almost a week that we were not  fighting a fever. It only went up just before she went to sleep… then it was about 103.2, but tolerable enough for  her to still sleep. Today she rested and there were no fever spikes.
So please continue to pray that the fevers will be gone, or minimal. She still does not have much appetite, and sleeps most of the time. Pray for energy and strength for each day (isn’t that what we all need anyway?) I remember the song “Great is Thy Faithfulness” – “Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine with ten thousand beside.”

Marilou has been greatly encouraged by your messages and prayers. Last night she read through all the journal entries and many Facebook messages and emails. It really made her feel very loved and cared for. Thank you all so very much for that.

Do for right now, we will get the report and recommendations from the oncologist, and then prayerfully decide our next steps.

Again, we cannot say “Thank you” enough. You are all a great blessing to us. To know that friends around the world are praying… the Father takes notice.