We were on tour with Denis when we were in Ukraine with "No Longer Music" in 2017. My regret? That he didn't share his bleach with me the night he colored his hair! Here is his update from Ukraine on what is happen through Steiger Ministries:
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=996772501224376
One little boy left the line, ran up to me, gave me a GREAT BIG hug, which I returned with a "it's so good to see you!" and a pat on his back. Then he rejoined his line.
I have NO IDEA who that child was, but it totally made my day!
My noon supervision hours were covered by my fellow tutors even before my "Family Sick Leave" for today was approved! I had condolences from our principal and secretary before Sam's principal even knew the details of this week. It's been great!
Oak Hills Elementary, I am THANKFUL for you!
Wednesday afternoon, just before one o'clock, Sam's father breathed his last breath. Sam's oldest brother, Mark, and his wife, Ruth, picked up Sam early this evening. His father will be buried tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. on the opposite side of Iowa from my dad.
On March 19, we'll all go down together for his father's Memorial Service.
This story can only be told with two pertinent bits of information:
Bit One: My niece, Kayla, who is eight months pregnant with her second child, is a chiropractor in my home town.
Bit Two: At Christmas, her father, my brother, Craig, was given four to six months to live due to cancer ravaging through his body. After spending 2021 in treatment and gaining remission for a bit, he has chosen to not go through treatment again.
Tuesday morning, Dad woke up not feeling well. He didn't want to bother Craig, who hasn't been feeling good, so he waited until Kayla was at work with patients lined up for the day, and he called her. Her response was, "Grandpa, you need an ambulance." Instead, my brother chose to drive outside of my home town for the first time in months, taking Dad to the hospital twenty minutes away. Meanwhile, Kayla called the hospital and had two wheelchairs waiting for them when they arrived.
At the hospital on Tuesday, Dad received three units of blood and by dinner was actually feeling somewhat "back to normal".
Except NO ONE knew where his blood had gone . . .
Not in his urine, not in his stools, not coming out anywhere in is body . . .
So he got two more units of blood on Wednesday.
They decided a colonoscopy was his next step. Seven years ago, Dad beat colon cancer and they wanted that doctor to do his colonoscopy - but he was unavailable until this coming Tuesday.
Bless my almost ninety-year-old dad, who looked at this very young doctor, and said, "I can't do this on my own." He explained his age, that he lived alone, my brother's condition, my niece's condition . . . and they made an executive decision.
Dad came home yesterday and will go back to the hospital early Monday afternoon where the staff there will keep him overnight and walk him through his colonoscopy. We are thankful, and he is, too, that they are willing to do this for him. He appreciates all they have done for him thus far, and while he's not looking forward to the procedure, he knows he is in good hands.
Micah and I drove down early today to help Dad get ready for his colonoscopy. We got him the medications and food he needs, along with some groceries. My sister and her husband, Ray, joined us from Yankton, SD, for lunch, some quality time with Dad, and some cleaning and yard work.
As the day progressed, he seemed to get stronger in the midst of his tiredness. At this point, we have no diagnosis or reason for his blood to have disappeared. The only thing the doctors can think of is that his body stopped making blood.
So stay tuned. If you pray, do pray for him. Thanks!
A few missteps, a few missed communications, quite a few angry teachers, and my fellow tutor, Angela, and I just wanted to cry . . . Fortunately, no one shot the messengers and we'll be back in the battle on Monday. The good news is fences have (hopefully) been mended and peace will resume and we'll be having fun on the job once again.
This week started out great with us being greeted by Sam's former co-teacher, Cyndee Sutherland Smith, and her husband Larry, at church on Sunday. They were in town visiting their son, Jesse, and his family. It was so wonderful to see them all again. And from there, the week just went down hill . . .
