2024 Janet's health journey

 At the end of 2023, I was still pretty much non-weight bearing, waiting for the femur bone to heal around the rod that was placed in October after the spiral break.  January 22, I was told that the bone was 90% healed, and I could start bearing weight on the left leg and walking.  This began with putting part of the weight on the leg as I walked with the walker.  I increased the weight bearing as I tolerated, and did really well with it.  

February 12, we signed up to get a chair lift for our stairs to the basement.  I was also signed up for the other cataract surgery I needed.  

Within the next week, I started having headaches and pain in my sinuses, and was coughing a lot.  I tested negative for covid and the flu at my PCPs.  By February 23, I was running a fever of 101 axillary. On February 26, my oxygen levels were dipping to the 80s. I was told to go to the ER.  They ran all sorts of tests on me and called it pneumonia.  My oncologist was thinking pneumonitis, and told me to quit taking Afinitor, the very strong target drug I had started in December to help the anti-estrogen drug be more effective to stop the bone cancer progress.  Pneumonitis is a side effect of Afinitor.  The CT scan said it looked like ground glass in my lungs.  At the ER, my blood glucose was also elevated, and my BP was also really high during this whole episode. (So I was on BP meds for the next 9 months. My BG came down within a week of going off the drug.) Because of the lung inflammation, I was coughing a lot.  I canceled the cataract surgery, knowing I couldn't lay flat without coughing.  I was sleeping semi-upright in the recliner.  I was put on several antibiotics. 

March 6, I started using the cane part of the time.  Within a few days, my pelvis on the left side was hurting so much, I went back to very little weight bearing.  I could hardly get up from the toilet, the pain was so intense.  I got an appointment with the surgeon and x-rays were done to see if everything was okay with the rod and hip area.  It was all good, but an MRI was ordered for March 19 of the left hip.  It came back looking like there were multiple lesions from the midline and including most of the left pelvis.  Pathological fracture was also in the report.  The surgeon told me to go back to non-weight bearing to see if it would heal.  

During this time, I was still having low 90s for Oxygen saturation, and some coughing.  I was referred to see a pulmonologist.  He gave me samples of a 3-medicine inhaler that was very expensive, but it did help with the coughing.  Eventually, it was agreed that the Afinitor was what had caused all my lung symptoms and it took a while to get out of my system.  

With the increased bone lesions showing, the pain, having to go back to non-weight bearing, and having gone off of Afinitor, made us feel that the end was nearing.  The anti-estrogen was supposed to only be about 4% effective without the target drug, and that was the last combination of drugs the oncologist could prescribe!

Emily was coming for her Spring Break on the 20th, and all the rest of the away kids decided they would come too.  It seemed like times we could all be together were limited. They actually beat Emily in getting here!  We had a really good week together.   The kids decided we needed to buy a hospital bed for the future.  While our boys were all available, they borrowed the pastor's truck and bought a really nice one that was available online.  They put it in the sunroom.

During this time, many people were praying for me.  Our family, church people, Facebook friends, and neighbors were all asking God for healing. I saw my oncologist on March 21, and he said there was a lot of cancer showing in the pubic bone.  I feel like I faced my mortality again, as I did in 2011, and again in 2021 when I found out about the metastasis.

Emily was here for a week after the others left, and she was willing to help me start piecing quilts.  I asked God to allow me to make at least 4 quilts: one for Charissa, one for Randy and Joy, and one each for James and Micah.  These kids are our oldest grandchildren, and their quilts were made for them when they were toddlers.  Randy and Joy's quilt had been through a lot, and they needed a new one.  So that was the request of God, and the plan.  Little did I know that God would allow me to make 15 quilts in the rest of the year!!

After a month of non-weight bearing, I went back to my surgeon, and he said I should start bearing weight again.  I was kind of dubious, but did start the process again.  The pain had gone away, and it has not returned!!  

The first quilt, I quilted from the wheelchair, then after that, I started standing to quilt, and sitting in the wheelchair to rest every few minutes.  It was really good therapy for me, because eventually, it was no problem for me to quilt standing up.  But Rowen wouldn't let me be downstairs unless he or Elizabeth were with me.

The day after Father's Day, I started using the cane exclusively.  On June 26, I asked Rowen if I could drive to prayer meeting.  He said yes, so I did!  I had not driven since October 12, the day I last drove to work and my femur broke!  As I drove, I had an idea: "Since I can drive, let's take a little trip to Missouri to see Daddy!"  So two days later, we were on our way to Missouri.  I was feeling better and stronger all the time.  I was living a miracle!

The Travels blog post tells about the other trips the Lord has allowed us to take since then.

In October, I had my 6 month CT scans and bone scan.  Miraculously, they did not show any of the problems in the pelvis that the MRI had shown in March.  They showed the spots of known/old/healed cancer, all in smaller intensity than they had shown previously.  I saw the oncologist on October 30 and asked what he thought of my going forward with knee replacement surgery.  (I had been having steroid shots in both knees every 3.5 months to be able to handle the bone-on-bone pain in my knees, and they were hurting again.) He said if I could get scheduled right away, he saw no problem with it.  My surgeon had the available date of November 22, giving us the time needed to get the preop appointments all done.    

So now I am 3 weeks past that left knee replacement, and am doing well.  The surgeon and the physical therapists are very pleased with my progress.  I feel like God has done a miraculous thing in my body, and given me a new lease on life!  I do not know if He has healed me completely, or given me a totally unexpected (from a medical point of view) remission, or something in between.  But I know he has touched me, taken away the terrifying bone pain I had in March, and allowed me to be productive and healthy this year.  I give Him all the praise.  (At my July 17 oncology appointment, Dr. Cody was so surprised to see me walking, because I had been in the wheelchair for so many visits.  I told him that God was the one who was healing me.)  I trust that my life and health bring glory to God.

2024 Travels

 February 10, we traveled to Bedford, Indiana to visit Elizabeth and take her a skirt Janet had made for her.  Janet was using a walker at that point, and we never got the wheelchair out of the van while we were there.



During the spring we were home bound, except for occasional trips around the block or at a park, like this, with the wheelchair

However, the end of June, when Janet started walking with a cane, we made a trip to Missouri!  We stopped first in Salem, Missouri to see the Morley family.

Then on to Columbia, Missouri to Rex Scoles's house.
It was such a privilege to pray again with Daddy.

We went over to Marlene DeOrnellis's house too.

We went to Harmony Hill to a camp that was going on that Darrell Stetler was preaching at. 

Brenda and her family came over too, so we got to see them.
I grew up going to this camp ground, but it's gotten hotter than when I was young!
We saw Lori Owens too, as this was her camp meeting.

We got to see Leah's baby, Luca, whom we had never met.  

My oldest sister, Brenda, and me.

Andrew, Rebecca, Leah., Luca

The Scoles relatives who were there.

We said goodbye to Daddy and traveled to Joplin next.

At Joplin, we first visited Aunt Leona, in her assisted living apartment. She went to heaven late this year, so this was our last chance to see her alive.  She was in pain from a broken hip, but she was so sweet and glad to see us, and she told me she prayed for me every day.

We ate supper with Tim and Brenda's family,
and Emily surprised us and showed up at Tim's house!
We had not known we were going to see her, so we were very surprised!




We stayed the night there and drove home the next day.

Our next trip was in August when we went to Columbia again, to visit Daddy again, but to also get the furniture that was being given to Emily after her apartment fire. 
(I was walking without a cane by this time!)

On a walk close to Daddy's house.

Brenda came over to see us.

Marlene was over too.  She worked hard getting Emily's furniture loaded up.

We drove to Tim's for supper.  Randy, James, and Micah were in Joplin to get their work vans "wrapped" so we got to see them too.  We gave them all the quilts for their family that were ready.
A sweet picture of James having devotions and Piper joined him.
This shows Charissa's quilt on her bed.

Supper with Tim's family and Randy, James, and Micah
Elizabeth played Uno with Felix

Piper wanted to play a game on Grandma's phone.
We went on to Tulsa, and we stayed with Mary Ann, with whom Emily was staying until her new apartment was available.  She was such a blessing to Emily and also to us the whole weekend.
That Saturday, we moved Emily into her new apartment.  All the totes were things that were saved out of her apartment.  Everything in them was smokey, so there was a gang of people wiping every single thing with wipes to get rid of the smoke damage.
Some of the people who helped.  In the front is Pastor Seth Herring, and his daughters are beside and behind him.  The rest of the helpers were from Happy Hands.  The shortest little boy was in Emily's class last year.  Those brothers were hard workers!
It was a busy scene as everything got scrubbed and put somewhere.
These totes were all set on tarps to keep smoke off the carpet.
These was the pizza lunch scene.  There was a lot of signing going on, because some of Emily's co-workers are deaf, besides the little boy.
This is mostly her Happy Hands friends, except for the pastor's daughters and Elizabeth.
Tim and Brenda and family showed up later. 
He had to pick up his trailer that all the totes from the old apartment were in.

This was when they were getting ready to leave.
A picture of Emily with the key to her apartment!
We went to church with Emily in Ochelata, OK the next morning.  We were invited to her Pastor Herring's home for dinner.  

We played a game with the girls.

We played a game with the whole group.
It was a new game to us, but I don't remember the name of it.
That evening, we went to a church in Claremore, OK that was starting a deaf ministry, with interpreted services for Sunday evening.  Emily is wearing a t-shirt that shows she is part of the ministry.

Walking in to the front of the church.

We got to watch the Deaf Jesus Film in that service.  It was very impactful as all the actors are deaf, and there were closed-captions, but no words were spoken in the movie!
On Monday, Emily took us to the Chick-fil-A that she works at.  We got to meet several of her frequent guests, co-workers and managers.  Everyone really loves Emily there!
Saying good-bye so we could travel back.  We actually had to go back to Columbia to get a luggage item that got left behind.  Our van was so packed with the things for Emily's apartment, that there hadn't been room for it, even if we hadn't forgotten it!

Our next trip was early September.  We went to western Pennsylvania for a wedding of two friends:  Agape Blowers and Delbert Howard III.  We stayed in a comfortable airbnb.

Agape coming down the aisle with her adopted grandpa.
Delby waiting for his bride.

Agape sang to Delby.

The beautiful cake table at the reception.

The Bride's table

Elizabeth enjoys her friendship with Agape.

The bride and groom are now missionaries in Brazil.

We had a little trip away for our 41st anniversary, October 17-19 to Red River Gorge area in Kentucky.  We stayed at a very nice airbnb.
We ate at a park in a nice little town on the way.

Our airbnb was very close to the entrance to this Nada Tunnel at the edge of Red River Gorge.  A wedding party emerged from the opening after we had waited a while.  We didn't know if the wedding took place in there, or just pictures of the party.

Inside the tunnel

We rode a skylift to go to the top of Natural Bridge.  It was about a 20 minute ride.  It would have been a 2 hour hike, but Janet wasn't up to it.  :)


Way over there in the middle of the range that is showing, is the Natural Bridge.  We walked across it, and then took an easy hike to this place where we could see it in the distance.
Closer view of the Natural Bridge

Our shadows on the way back down.

We ate outside on our little deck.  Not pictured is the hot tub, behind Rowen,
which we enjoyed both evenings.

We did some audio recordings for our kids while we were away.

We went to a nice Mexican restaurant for our anniversary meal out.
The little table we ate at in the airbnb.

An interesting old barn we passed many times on our trips to and from the airbnb.
Rowen on the couch in our room with the Natural Bridge picture.
When we left, we went on down to Jackson, Kentucky
to see our friend Seth Stevenson for a little while.
That's it for our travels in 2024!  We did not know that we would travel at all this year, and God blessed us with these fun and safe trips.  We are so grateful!