Plateau Living

Again you may be wondering what is going on with us as it is so long since our last blog. No news usually means that not much is happening and indeed that is the case.

Since the last episode of pneumonia it was recommended by the hospice dooctor that Dave should have a 2 week course of steroids then go onto a half dose.
This has produced a stable health for Dave.
We also had people come in and pray for us and we feel since then Dave has felt a little better. In our continuing journey our faith remains strong.
So what does our day look like. Dave spends the morning in bed, then transfers to the hospital bed we now have in the back bedroom(good for bird watching in the garden) then at tea time moves downstairs to lie on the sofa for the evening.
We still manage to get to church on Sunday as Dave can lie out on the back row. So life is enclosed in a relatively small world and we value visitors to bring the world in to us, as long as they realise Dave usually takes a listening role.

We may seem static but the rest of the family are not. Miriam arrived safely, retrieved from Gatwick by Steve. We are expecting Besi to arrive in UK this Thursday and after Steve's birthday bash -a karting night, they will arrive with us on Saturday.

Ruth Maki and Amelia moved into their borrowed flat on Feb 1. It is a great blessing and perfect for their needs. Maki had hoped to be able to sort his settlement visa out from this end but found out this was not possible and has had to return to Albania and is not expected back 'til early March. Please pray that his visa will be processed quickly and smoothly and also for the family in this critical time of separation.

We have also had a couple of visits from Peter and Ruth which has been good .Their first baby is due mid April.

So thank you again for your concern and prayers .We feel we are on somewhat of a plateau healthwise and also that we are in a season of waiting .

PS the post office delivered an empty envelope during the first week of Feb. If you sent us a square shaped missive at that time ( ?female writing .Bristol postmark) we have not received it please contact us.

January Update

Just thought I ( Elaine ) would give you all an update on our current state.

Dave had kept a fairly even existence since Christmas until last week, when the now familiar pain in the rightside of his chest heralded the onset of another bout of pneumonia. This was treated with antibiotics and appeared to be improving, however it brought chest pain and a general lowering of Dave's well being and appetite as well as vomiting. It was a rerun of the 'bad' week that we had in December which resulted in restarting the steroids with good results. So this morning in discussion with our GP we have made the same decision i.e. to have another course of steroids.

Please pray with us that this will produce an improvement for Dave's comfort.

We heard yesterday that Besi has been granted a year's visa, for which we thank God.

Ruth, Maki and Amelia will be able to move into their flat on Feb 1.

Steve has been 'chilling out 'with us this past week which has been good but returns home to Worthing tomorrow and will act as chauffeur for Miriam's arrival on Feb 2. Besi is expecting to arrive Feb18 and mini Gorrea March 7 - British Airways may be more dependable date wise in this instance !

So as you can see we are in for a few weeks of comings and goings. Please pray for peace in it all.
Thank you for all your suppport and love .

We thank God for steroids

We are now into the post Christmas lull so time to update you faithful readers.

The week leading up to the arrival of the Albanian micos was a difficult one with Dave experiencing a marked dip physically - difficulty in eating or wanting to eat and discomfort in his 'tummy'. A visit from the hospice nurse brought the welcome suggestion that Dave should take another course of steroids. A week is standard ration so we planned to start them the day Ruth,Maki and Amelia were due to arrive which would also just take us up to Christmas. The change they brought was quite dramatic, all symptoms faded and a reasonable appetite returned. With such good results the doctor offered an additional 5 days. We enjoyed a good family time with Pete and Ruth,Ruth,Maki and Amelia,Steve and Dave's Mum who although delayed by the snow flew down from Edinburgh to join us. Thank you too for those who have visited.

We now have the distraction of having Amelia with us doing lion impressions and encouraging us to play with her by landing toys on our lap. The family are staying with us probably until the end of the month when they have a flat available to them. Ruth is currently job hunting.

Steroids ended last week but Dave still seems to be living in their benefit,to some extent.
We take a day at a time and I thank God for each new day that I still have Dave.

Miriam now has her flight booked for Feb 2 .Besi will be applying for his visa shortly please pray that will all go smoothly for him to join Mim for the birth.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support and prayers for us. We are very conscious that we are not walking this path alone. We also wish you a very happy and fulfilling 2010.

Electronic Christmas Letter

I thought it might be useful to some of you to have a family update as it seems that we are in a period of changes for us all.

We are looking forward to two more grandchildren in 2010 which is great.Miriam and Besi are expecting their first at the beginning of March and Peter and Ruth in the middle of April. Both are doing well and we have seen the scans -the blessings of technology!

I am currently off work, stepping back at the beginning of November when Dave was taken into hospital with pneumonia. I am grateful to have such a supportive and understanding set-up and am assured that my job will be waiting for my return when appropriate.

So our time here together at present proceeds at a sedate rate. The 'lull before the storm'. By that I mean that on December 19 we have a late night arrival of Ruth,Maki and Amelia as well as Steve ,who is chauffeuring from Gatwick with a friend from church ( because of their extra luggage). Then Dave's Mum is flying down from Edinburgh for a week. Peter and Ruth complete the party on 23/24th. So we will certainly have our home full.

Mim and Besi have commitments at home in Sukth so will not be able to complete the family, but we had a fortnight's visit from Miriam in November. Over the last few months they have been building their flat as an extension over Besi's parent's house - turning what was a single storey home into 2 storeys with the possibility of further accommodation in the roof space if needed in the future. They have been living out of boxes and suitcases since moving out of their Durres flat in the summer so are itching to be able to move upstairs and unpack and create their home in time for Mim to leave to come to England for the birth of the baby. Besi will follow arriving in time for the birth, we all hope. Besi works as the pastor of the small church in Sukth. Next year they are intending to build a church in the village so their own house was just a practice run for the larger project !!Besi also is employed by 'Mission without Borders', distributing aid and caring for a number of local families. Miriam has been teaching English in the village. The demand for these classes has grown and comes to a grand finale this Saturday with a carol Concert. This will mark the end to classes until she feels ready to take them on again post baby.

Ruth and Maki and Amelia are arriving next w/e for a prolonged stay for Maki to take up further studies at Bristol Baptist College (2-3yrs). They had already made the decision to come before we knew of Dave's illness so we are very grateful to God for the timing of their being here. They will stay with us initially then have use of a flat nearby for 6 months.They intend either or both getting jobs until college begins in September.

Stephen has been living and working in Worthing for the last 18 months. He has been involved in making simplified English programmes which are broadcast worldwide to suport the learning of English. He had begun to think about moving on when the new CEO of FEBA - his mission organization retuned the focus of the mission and made the decision to pull their involvement with the programme. So Steve's work with FEBA comes to an end at Christmas. As yet there is nothing on the horizon. Steve feels settled in Worthing especially in the church there and is loathe to uproot yet again. For January he will freelance for the American partners who are continuing with the progamme. This has the added advantage of being able to come to Bristol to work while 'chilling' with the family. However it would be good for a new job to be settled before long.

Peter and Ruth continue in the same house, same job, and same church (Peter now a deaacon) in North Baddesley Southampton. It's good that somebody in the family is consistent! They are very much looking forward to the birth of their baby in mid April. Peter works for an IT consultancy. At the beginning of the year they were affected by the recession but as the year wore on business seems to have improved and Peter also has some ideas of further possible developments. Ruth usually fills her days with many and varied studies and voluntary work. She has had to lay some of these aside as the pregnancy drained much of her energy - this is improving now.

So many changes. So many unknowns.

So much to thank God for.

Am I brave?

Saw our consultant oncologist on Wednesday, where she repeated her offer of extra aggressive treatment, high on side effects, but probably low on benefits. She backed our decision to decline. As I said to her, the prospect of heaven was more appealing than even one of my more agreeable days here on planet earth.Her comment, 'You're very brave'.

Am I? I don't think so.Bravery would be making such a decision without knowing one's destination. For the Christian, my status for the last 46 years, Heaven is the reality that Jesus spoke of "There is plenty of room for you in my Father's home. If that weren't so, would I have told you that I'm on my way to get a room ready for you?"

As St Paul said elsewhere 'If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. The Christian life is an exchange. I surrender control of my life to Jesus and in return receive His eternal life...that speaks of quality of life down here and continuance of life in the here after. So death is but a station on the time-space continuum.

My attitude to death is not the product of positive thinking, or the outworking of 'que sera, sera'. It is deeply rooted in the certainty and hope that comes through knowing Jesus as friend and Lord.

The important message in all of this...DO NOT ENTER THE BOX UNLESS YOUR EXIT IS CLEAR

Views into the next valley

An eventful few days, but we got back from hospital last night, armed with a bag of drugs. One of which was dexamethosol, the wonder steroid that got me back from Albania a month ago. And when I awoke at midnight I could already feel its effects - similar to a caffeine rush, hence my waking dream of running a cross-country race through marshy ground - 24 hours previously could only have dreamt of lying on marshy ground and slowly sinking.

Humanly speaking, our news is as bad as it could be. The cancer has returned quite aggressively, has spread to an adrenal gland as well as enlarging in existing sites - hence my weariness over recent months. There is further treatment possible, but with significant side effects, and potential of septicaemia, and hence earlier death. We have left the decision until a further consultation in two weeks time - agreed Tuesday with consultant that my body in no fit state to take extra punishment at present. The debilitating effects of the pneumonia would last two more weeks in a healthy person. Her prognisis is six months maximum, but clearly she has no way of gauging how fast the cancer will progress.

But we want you to hear this in the same context that we did. The only bed space in the hospital on Friday night was in the new Bristol Heart Institute, despite me being in a medical patient category. Ward 53, large with four beds only, mine against the 20' plate glass window looking out onto autumn coloured embankment and trees. Oh the grace of God.

Sunday a.m. I heard my neighbour (82 yr old heart patient) humming the baseline to the Remembrance Day hymns. I enquired of him if he had been part of a church choir, but he was not to be drawn. Later spotted a leather bound, yapp edged, gold leaf book by his bedside. Monday he was reading it, and I enquired if he was reading the "Good Book". Yes, he said, did I know it? I told him I'd read it cover to cover, something he could not claim, though he probably had, just not consecutively. Told me he was reading from the first book of Dr Luke (AV - did not get on with these modern versions). His visitor that day, clad in headscarf, pointed to 'exclusive brethren' beliefs - but one of His saints.

Monday night, some time after my sleeping pill had knocked me out a new (heart)patient took the other window bed opposite. Tuesday am we got chatting, and quickly established that he lived close to my place of work, and knew one of the ladies in my office since thay both attended the same church. Later that day, the new patient left to go home - he'd been moved up for the night from a ward two floors below. Another of the saints that surround us day by day.

(E-mail me on for more details of our conversations, or any other chat.)

So our sense of being in God's hands continues. Miriam is flying home this week-end for two weeks stay. It'll be good to be able to greet her upright loaded with steroids!!, rather than the horizontal view I presented when we visited her last month.

No Fireworks???

Dave may not have had fireworks on his birthday (Nov 5 ) but the next day made up for it.
He began the day compaining of a backache which we put down to him lying awkwardly then at about 1 o'clock this suddenly escalated to excruciating pain and a 999 call.
The emergency services were great as was the hospital care (and the morphine! was good too).
This was later diagnosed as pneumonia and with strong antibiotics Dave is recovering well and should hopefully be discharged Wednesday.
We see the oncology specialist on Tuesday so will blog again when we have more to share.
Psalm 23 v4 Even when we walk through the dark valley of death ,we will not be afraid ,for you are close beside us. Emmanuel.