I'll start this newsletter with some news I wish I didn't have to report. Aunt Mar is currently a patient at NorthCrest Medical Center in Springfield. She has been losing blood since Wednesday but had not told anyone about it until yesterday. Mom and I took her to the ER and they admitted her to the hospital from there. She was given 2 units of blood last night. The doctor decided to give her an Upper and Lower GI tomorrow to check out her digestive tract and determine why she is losing blood. In preparing her for this test she is getting medication to flush her whole system. She is already weak and is in for a strenuous night tonight. We will really appreciate your prayers and I will keep you informed about her as things progress.
While Aunt Mar's health is our primary concern right now I will briefly catch you up on things with us.
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION. We continued celebrating our anniversary Monday through Wednesday with a two day get away to Nashville--without kids! While in Nashville we caught Harry Potter (on an IMAX screen) and The Terminal (very, very good), went bowling, visited the Parthenon, visited the Upper Room, and went shopping. We also ate at several restaurants including the Aquarium Restaurant in Opry Mills and the 101st Airborne near the Nashville Airport. The highlight for me was the Norman Rockwell exhibit at Opryland Hotel.
AT THE PARK. After returning from our trip we took the kids back to Nashville for a day at the park. They had a blast playing in the fountains at the Tennessee Bicentennial Mall.
TRASH AND TREASURES. Cross Plains had its annual yard sale this weekend. The town was packed with people. The Cross Plains Heritage Commission takes advantage of the event as a fundraiser so I worked that some.
(Just to show you Aunt Mar's level of determination, after three days of losing blood she still made two pies and delivered them to Cross Plains for the Heritage Commission bake sale. Someone somewhere is enjoying a fudge pie oblivious to the condition of the cook.)
A NICE VISIT. We enjoyed a visit from Brian and Melissa Whaley this weekend. They spent the night here while on their way home from a convention in Birmingham. Brian was one of my roommates in Korea. We had not seen them in 5 years and it was really nice to catch up. Keep them in your prayers as they are beginning the process of adopting a child from India.
Joe
An Update on Aunt Mar
Monday, June 28, 2004
Aunt Mar has had her upper and lower GI this afternoon and is back in her room resting comfortably. They have narrowed her bleeding problem down to her small intestine. They just don't know where or how many places along that 22 foot stretch of tissue the bleeding is coming from. She is getting more blood tonight and will have a red cell scan tomorrow to nail down those details.
Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob have driven in and we are all glad they are here.
Joe
Another Update on Aunt Mar
Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Aunt Mar had a much better night last night and has stopped passing blood since my last report to you and she is in good spirits. She was gone this morning for about 2 hours for the red cell scan and then they came back and got her later in the day to take more pictures of an area of interest. The last we heard from the doctor he still wanted to study those pictures more but he did say that he had seen no signs of cancer. We were left with the impression that there would be more tests tomorrow.
One of the nicest things is that Judy Bradley (my cousin) is coming and taking the night shift with Aunt Mar. Judy, your ministry to Aunt Mar makes you an angel in my eyes.
Thank you for all your prayers.
Joe
A Last Update on Aunt Mar
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Aunt Mar is doing very well considering how she was on Saturday. She had her first solid food today at lunch. The doctor told us that the test they ran was inconclusive, that they were going to keep her a couple of days more, and to report back to the hospital in a couple of weeks for another test. Unless things change I'll let this be the last update. We appreciate you prayers and I thank you for putting up with my unsolicited emails.
Joe
