Dear family and friends - thank you for your prayers and faith in my behalf. Miracles have occurred and tender mercies experienced. We have been blessed in many ways and stand in awe at all our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ bless us with.
Since my last post, we had some additional scans. They did a couple of MRI scans of the lower spine. There are some lesions (holes) in the spine, but nothing serious. They did the MRI scans to see if the lesions were improving or worsening. We were blessed that the lesion activity is stable and not a concern at this time. The latest PET CT scan that I had showed stability. No dramatic or significant changes in either direction. That is what the doctors are hoping for at this point, as there is no known cure and the prognosis for new patients is still not good. So, after the scan we decided to stay the course with the current treatment.
We did take a family vacation at the end of May. We went to Washington state (an hour east of Seattle) to visit Angela's brother and his family, and several friends that live in that area. We drove.....WOW...... that is a long drive. We did stay on Boise on the way there and on the way back. It broke up the traveling and helped with the overall experience. We were able to see Angela's other brother that lives near Boise. It was a wonderful time, full of fun memories and new experiences for the kids. We really love that part of the country. Trees and water all around you. It was a great time for the family.
Once we got back, I had some long hours at work. We had a significant deadline we were trying to meet. The boss was bringing in lunch and dinner. It was a little bit crazy for the programmers in my department. Needless to say, between the vacation and the craziness at work, I was eating differently than I normally do. I normally have overnight oats for breakfast with some vegetable/fruit juice. For lunch I usually have a green smoothie. For dinner I try to have a healthy protein and whole grain with fruits and vegetables. It was a good system. I was feeling healthy and felt like I was making progress with my overall health. However, during the vacation and at work, I was eating more fatty foods and not as much good fiber.
So, with that backdrop, it was a Thursday night and I am at work, putting in the late hours for this project. I had had some stomach cramps throughout that day, but didn't think much of it. By dinner I was uncomfortable enough that I didn't want to eat. It just got worse and that night Angela took me to the ER. We suspected a bowel obstruction in the small intestine. I have had them before and I know what it feels like. They did a scan and confirmed our suspicion. I was admitted to the hospital. By the next morning I was making remarkable progress. Once the tube was in and my stomach was empty, the cramping stopped and I was feeling much better. I had progressed enough to eat liquids on Saturday and they discharged me before dinner on Saturday. It was miracle to us.
None of my previous bowel obstructions have cleared up that fast and I feel Heavenly Father blessed my body in way that allowed it to do the things it needed to do for my quick recovery. The night Angela took me in, were wondering what to do with the two younger kids, as the older kids were on an overnight youth activity. Well, the weather turned bad and the youth were sent home for the night. We had the childcare we needed, right when we needed it. A tender mercy of the Lord.
In church, we found out that a brother had felt inspired to ask us to borrow a tent we have because Heavenly Father wanted to bless us. I had previously ignored the initial tent request for this activity, thinking that surely they would have enough and I didn't want anything to happen to my tent. I was not willing to give all for the great work we are a part of. When this brother called, I had softened my heart and my attitude had changed. I was now willing to give whatever was needed to aid in the work of salvation. Something as simple and caring more about others and their experience than about temporal items, makes a huge difference on the blessings we receive from heaven.
Heavenly Father wants to bless us with so much. We have to make the choices that put us in the position to receive those blessings. We are taught that every blessing is predicated upon an law in heaven. I still have a lot to learn. I am painfully imperfect. I want so much to be the man Heavenly Father and Jesus see that I can become. I pray for their vision of me and for their vision of others. We are all in this together and need to help one another the best we can.
Thank you all for the love and support you give me and my family. We have so much to be thankful for. I love you all!
I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real. They watch over us and bless us. They have a plan for us to be with them eternally. I pray they will watch over and bless us all.
With love and gratitude,
Doug
