Dad started his treatment back up for the week. He is still doing well with his treatments. On Mondays he sees the Radiation Oncologist, so while he waited an hour to see him- he got to eat in the hospital cafeteria. That made him happy!! Mom and Dad will be here for the week and then they are planning to head to the lake for Labor day weekend. I am so glad they are going to a place that they love so much to rest and relax!!

Dad is sitting here with me and wanted me to send you a message: "Keep the prayers and comments coming. I really enjoy them. It helps me make it through the day."

I got the first letter in the mail today for Dad's book. I was so excited!! I have found a Harley scrapbook that I want to put all the letters in. I think Dad will get a kick out of that and I think the encouraging letters will be great for him to look through any time he wants! He really does enjoy the encouragment that you all send. Thank you so much for keeping him in your prayers and for taking the time to send him comments. We are truly blessed with great friends and family.

Smooth Sailing

Howdy, Just wanted to let you know that everything has been running smooth this week. Dad's treatments last about 20 minutes each day. The zip in and zip out! He says he doesn't feel any different since starting treatment, but he does sleep a lot. It does not take much to wipe him out. Mom took him today to buy him a Harley ball cap-That always puts a little pep in his step!

I started back to school this week and every day I come home to all kinds of treats :) Dinner, Laundry done, chores completed-I am getting very spoiled!! I am really enjoying them being here. This a wonderful opportunity to spend time with the best folks I could ask for!!

Please continue to lift Dad up and pray for his strength to remain through these next few weeks.

Don't forget about the letters :) Here a few pics to enjoy...

First Treatment

Dad finally got his first treatment today! But only after more complications! They told Dad they could not do the treatments because they did not have an insurance authorization code. Someone dropped the ball, but thankfully it got worked out. We are so glad, dad feels much better now that treatments have been started. Today just shows again that the Lord is working out the kinks for us!

Please conntinue to keep us in your prayers :)

Name that Tune

Well folks, the long awaited treatment did not happen today thanks to the flooding in Houston!! Mom and Dad headed this way around noon.....They could not get to MDA and they ARE STILL NOT HERE AT 5:30!! They were stuck on 1-10 for several hours only to be turned around by the DPS to head east again. Thankfully Dolores decided to make the trip with them and spend a few days with us so she is keeping them entertained! The last update I got they had resorted to Dolores whistling songs and they had to guess the title.....

Mom - 50 points
Dad - 0 points
Anyone surprised????

Dad said if he ever makes it to my house he is not leaving again! Treatment has been rescheduled for Monday. They will not start on a Friday.

Please pray that they make it soon and don't kill each other :)

Praise Him At All Times.....

I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are discouraged take heart.
Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness;
let us exalt his name together.
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me,
freeing me from all my fears.

Psalm 34:1-4

This is a scripture that I came across this week that really stuck with me. I will praise the Lord at ALL TIMES. I think that is easier said than done sometimes! But it is what God calls us to do. As we walk through this storm, I am so thankful for that hope we have through having a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior.

My purpose for today's post is to ask for a specific prayer for each of us. We need prayer for understanding. This does not seem real; Dad seems totally normal. It is just so hard to believe that he has a brain tumor. Please pray that we will be able to embrace this and trust that the Lord can and will heal Dad.

We want to pray expectantly for Dad's healing while being mindful of His perfect will.

Thank you for standing in the gap for us.

Just thought I would post a few pictures of our family. :)

We all had a good weekend, and Dad is still feeling good. He has a peace that can only be from the Lord. He is just anxious for Thursday so we can get started with his treatments.

Please continue to pray for our family-for Dad's healing and for our strength to walk through this trial. God's mercies are new every morning-I am so thankful for that promise. I can not imagine facing this without Him walking beside me and holding me up when I cant go on.

Harley Man

IT IS OFFICIAL!!! This is not the best picture but it will do for now!! Mom and Dad picked out helmets and shirts today.... Mom got one with sequins! Dad is on cloud nine! Mom said he was grinning from ear to ear all day!

His appointment went well yesterday, he is all set to begin treatments on Thursday at 4:45. (Not sure why it is so late)

In the meantime he will be "shining" his new ride....

Boys and their toys!!!

We survived our day! It was an adventure to say the least! We had several appointments: we met with the Radiation Oncologist, they took blood and Dad had an MRI. We will go tomorrow at 2:45 to do the simulation and a CAT scan. The simulation is where they will make a mold/mask of Dad's head to pin point exactly where the radiation will go each time. Then they map out the treatment plan from there. They will start Radiation a week from tomorrow. So Dad and his little flower will head back to "L" town Friday morning and then return for the Thursday radiation treatment.

And now for Dad's latest trick I mentioned in the previous post....... When he comes into Beaumont Friday morning he will be meeting Jason at Cowboy Harly to pick up his new Heritage Softail Classic. THAT'S RIGHT, HE BOUGHT HIS HARLEY!!!!!!!!! Please pray for my mother's sanity as we now have to deal with the men of our family and their toys!!!!! Dad and Jason have really had fun with this....they are just like two kids in a candy store! It has been fun to see Dad so excited and see him looking forward to riding for years to come!

Waiting...again :)

Looks like we will be doing a lot of waiting today. We are waiting to talk to the Radiation Oncologists. We have already had to tell the whole story and how all this started three times this morning. I am beginning to think we are on candid camera!! We had the nurse come in and ask about his symptoms and ask tons of questions....Then we had a PA come in and do the same exact thing....Then we had another PA sit down and do it all over again!!!

Crazy stuff.....I will let you know as soon as we know anything :)

Full Day Ahead

Looks like we will have a pretty full day ahead! We got a schedule and Dad has several appointments, starting at 8:30. It looks like they will be doing all of the prep stuff and they are going to do a post-op MRI. The actually treatment may not start until Monday. Dad is still doing great, he is definitely back to himself and up to his old tricks!!! Stay tuned for his latest "trick".....................

I will let you know tomorrow how everything goes. We love you!!

We have an appointment!

We officially have an appointment to begin radiation on Wednesday morning at 8:30. Please pray that this will be a smooth process and that the tumor will respond appropriately and shrink! After six weeks of treatment, we will know how it is responding and know where to go from there. Please continue to pray, we believe that prayer is powerful and effective. I will keep you posted this week on how everything is going. Thank you again for walking through this valley with us.

Also, those of you who know Dolores (Dubois) Polnick-Please keep their family in your prayers- Dolores's mom, Lil, went to be with Jesus on Saturday. We will be attending the visitation tonight and the funeral tomorrow.

Our families are definitely trusting in the God of all comfort to see us through!
He is faithful.

No News!

Not much to report in the last few days.... We are just waiting on the call from MDA to let us know when Dad will start radiation. Mom and Dad have gone back home and will head back over here next week for the first appointment. Dad is still doing great, keep the prayers coming! I will let you know as soon as we get an appointment scheduled.

Second report

I wanted to try and give you a more detailed update. Doctor Loghin at MDA explained to us that surgery is not an option. The tumor is located mostly in the temporal lobe, but it fingers down into the frontal lobe. They could remove the portion that is in the temporal lobe, but there would be no benefit since they cant get it all. There are no clinal trials available at this time which is one thing I was hoping for. That leaves us with one option-Radiation.Dad will do that for six weeks, Monday through Friday and he will have the weekends off. At the end of the six weeks they will see how the tumor is reacting and we are hoping and praying that it gets smaller. At that time they will decide what to do from there. There is no way to "cure" this. These types of tumors always grow back. BUT we serve a big God who is our healer. He performs miracles everyday so we are in no way giving up or feeling down. Dad's spirits are just as high and he is ready to fight it! Mom and Dad will be staying with me during the time that he receives radation treatmeat. I told mom she could cook, clean and do my laundry!!! Just kidding, I dont want her to worry about anything but taking care of Dad. I am truly blessed with wonderful parents and I am thankful for the time that they will be staying with me! Please continue to lift them up in prayer and pray that God will wrap His arms around them and hold them when they feel like they can't go on. I found this poem today and wanted to share it with you, I am so thankful for the hope that we have through Christ....

Cancer is so limited..
Cancer cannot cripple love,
Cancer cannot shatter hope,
It cannot corrode Faith,
In cannot destroy peace,
It cannot kill friendship,
It cannot suppress memories,
it cannot silence courage,
It cannot invade the soul,
It cannot steal eternal life,
IT CANNOT CONQUER THE SPIRIT.

Report

2nd update
Gina will update with a more detailed report soon but here are the basics. They cannot operate on the tumor so the only option right now is radiation. They will start radiation next week in Houston. It will be Monday-Friday for 6 weeks. Gene's spirits are good and he is prepared to fight this thing! More later...
~Liz

Waiting

1st update
Gina just called and said they are in a room and waiting for the doctor to come in. They should have a report soon. If you are able, please say a prayer for them to have peace right now and for the doctor to have wisdom. The wireless network is down at the hospital so I will update for Gina as soon as she calls. Keep the prayers coming!
Blessings,
~Liz

WE BELIEVE!!!

1st Update
As you can see we headed to Houston today, Dad had his biggest cheerleader right behind him!! We were treated to a great lunch at Pappas Bar-b-que and then headed out. Dad enjoyed some good ribs!!!! After a detour, a treat basket that got dumped all over dad and catching every red light we make it to Houston safely! We were again treated to another great meal for dinner and now we are getting ready for bed. You all are just amazing-We are amazed and overwhelemed with the support you are showing us. Thank you for being the hands and feet of God.

We will head out for MDA around 6:15 to make sure we get there in time. Again, we are excited and ready to hear a good report!

I will let you know tomorrow as soon as we get a report. We are really counting on your prayers tomorrow. This will be a big day, perhaps the biggest day yet!

When I was in high school I loved sports. When I played volleyball our motto was "WE BELIEVE." We believed that we were big enough and strong enough to win each battle we entered. We are taking the same motto against this Cancer...... Dad is big enough and strong enough to WIN THIS BATTLE!!!!!!!!!!! WE BELIEVE!!!

Good Times

1st Update
Dad enjoyed a night with the grandkids! They wanted to make him their "ice cream secret".....aka.....a coke float! I thought that was pretty cute! They were more successful with the floats than I was with the cupcakes!!!

We are heading to Houston tomorrow around noon. We will stay at my house tomorrow night, and head out for our appointment Friday morning. As long as I can connect to the Internet, I will be updating from MDA as soon as we know something. I know that you will be anxious to hear a report. We don't know what to expect, the only thing we know is that the Lord is going before us to prepare a plan and pick the perfect doctor for Dad!

Please continue to lift us up. We are trusting God, we believe that he can and WILL do great things. To hear you all claim that Dad will be healed is really keeping us going! Doubt has its way of creeping in at times....But with you all reminding us daily it keeps that doubt out of our minds.

We are claiming Mark 11:22-24

"HAVE FAITH IN GOD, FOR ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU, WHOEVER SAYS TO THIS MOUNTAIN, BE REMOVED AND BE CAST INTO THE SEA, AND DOES NOT DOUBT IN HIS HEART, BUT BELIEVES THAT THOSE THINGS HE SAYS WILL BE DONE, HE WILL HAVE WHATEVER HE SAYS. THEREFORE I SAY TO YOU, WHATEVER THINGS YOU ASK WHEN YOU PRAY, BELIEVE THAT YOU RECEIVE THEN AND YOU WILL HAVE THEM.

We are asking the Lord to MOVE THIS MOUNTAIN and we are BELIEVING that He will do so!!