December Update

Hi everyone! It has been a long time, and I have been remiss in updating you. Some of you I keep in touch with on Facebook. So here is the news.

Phil is looking better, though the doctor says it will take a year from the surgery till everything is totally healed. He had three more small surgeries on his face last week. They told us that he must be very strong to have gone through this.

I have been quite ill, with a trip to the E.R. recently. I am on new drugs now and doing better. I will have an endoscopy next month

The adoption of our two new grandchildren has been finalized, so I can finally show you pictures! They are two and four. And Anne Marie has grown so much. She is like a second mom to them. I still plan on returning to blogging perhaps next month when things are more settled down. Thank you all so much for your continued friendship and patience. And now, here are the grandchildren and us from Halloween and Christmas!

Sunday Update

We got back from Chapel Hill late on Thursday. The weather for the trip was beautiful, as it has been for all our trips there. The doctor cut Phil's eye open, and here is the outcome. The eye had been sewn shot for five weeks. He had about 13 injections in the area, so there is still a lot of swelling. But it will get better with each day. I think that it will look nearly normal in no time. Soon, he will be going back to work and things will return to normal. See you soon!

"Give thanks to God—he is good and his love never quits." 

1 Chronicles

The Latest News From Here

   Hi everyone! Can you tell which one in this picture is Phil? Ha ha ha! With Halloween coming up, you just never know! A blogger just e-mailed me and reminded me that I had not posted an update in  awhile, so here goes!

   Phil has been doing well, and I am medicating his eye four times a day. Here is the big news. Thursday, we go back to North Carolina to have his eye cut open!! Then we will see how his face and eye will look, and I will post a picture. Also, our two granddaughter's adoption has finally gone through, so I will be posting pictures of them. I hope to return to posting and visiting very soon, as soon as things are back to normal!! See you soon!

The Surgeries Are Done!

Phil's surgeries are finally done! The cancer had almost reached his eyeball by the time of the surgery. They cut his whole lower lid off, plus a big part of his face. They made a new eyelid, and sewed his eye shut. Then they cut his face almost in half, and pulled it up and over. There must be over 200 stitches. But his face stitches will be taken out on Tuesday! Your face heals very fast! His eye will remain sewed shut for over a month while the new lid forms.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and cards!!  It means a lot! Now, I am treating and cleaning his face several times a day. I will know when the time is right to return, probably after my nursing duties are over. See you soon!

The Storm

We live in an area called the Tree Streets. There are lots of trees, and each street has a tree name. On Wednesday, a storm centered on our area, with fast winds and hail. Also huge lightening. This is the resulting damage. I snapped these as we drove to church right after the storm. One huge tree fell on a roof! Thankfully, no one was badly injured. Power was lost for thousands. All we lost was a freezer full of food.

We are still in a waiting mode for the surgeries. We will be in north Carolina maybe four days if all goes well. Love to all of you!!

August 22 Update

We drove to North Carolina to meet with the plastic surgeons yesterday. We love the doctor! The dates for the to surgeries are September 14 and 15. There are three different procedures they can do, depending on how much was taken off the day before. One would be almost cutting his face in half vertically and pulling it over. It is a very hard surgery, and the O.R. will be loaded with doctors. Phil will be under general anesthetic maybe five hours.

I do not ask "Why us?" Because everyone goes through trials. A better question would be "Why not us?" I have strong faith. But yes, I am shaken, scared, sad, and almost unbelieving. God does not promise to spare us from trials, but He does promise to be with us during them. And I know that HE is. Thank you all for sticking by us through this hard time!! I will continue to give you updates, and I will return at some point!! My header is a picture of Duke University as we were driving up to it.

August 19 Update

    Hello dear friends! It has been awhile, so time for an update on us. We have just returned from the doctor, and he said I have the flu. This is why all the medicines the last two weeks have not helped me. Normally, he would just let it run it's course. But we are travelling back and forth to North Carolina for Phil's pre-surgery appointments. So he gave me lots of drugs to make me feel well enough for the trips and surgeries.

   The surgeries will be at two different hospitals, Duke and U.N.C. on Chapel Hill. We are driving there this Friday for the team of plastic surgeons to map his face, and may get a date at that time. It took a long time to find a large team of doctors experienced enough to to this procedure. But they are all in place now.

   I so much hope to return to blogging after the surgeries, and I think they must be very close now. You have been so faithful with your prayers and comments. I have the best followers in the world! I will be keeping you informed, and hope to return maybe sometime next month!