My dear friend

Happy Easter! May you enjoy the celebration!

Last time I wrote I asked you to pray especially for patience and peace. What a wise request! God is giving me the opportunity to experience both. I feel that I am making good adjustments and progress each day. And, on occasion, I have laughed at myself and that is priceless, to laugh rather than cry, or throw things. I know, "throw things" sounds a bit extreme, but when you are trapped inside a tee shirt and can't work out how to get it off and over your shoulders, it is frustrating. It would be fun to toss it out of the window once you emerged, red and breathless from the effort of extrication, wouldn't it! The chuckles came over my wrestling with a rack of barbecue-sauced ribs one night at supper time. You see, they were on sale, but was it worth it? Not really. I had to change clothes three times in all. Why? Oh, just separating the ribs, eating a few of them, and carrying the plastic bag of bones to the trash bin smothered me in the delicious sauce that many times. I am finding life with a weak right hand to be both challenging and fun. Sometimes.

Now don't get the wrong idea. I am doing amazingly well, and thankful to God that I have my right arm and a lot more stamina these days. I am grateful to be alive and kicking, and independent. Thank you for praying, encouraging me and cheering me on. I enjoy emails and cards that come and telephone calls, and just to know you are there is an enormous comfort. Thank you, friend.

This week I have seen both my surgeon and my radiation oncologist. Both are impressed by the healing, lack of swelling and flexibility they see in my arm and hand. Marcia, who is helping me with physical therapy, is doing a great job. I can almost hold my coffee cup, and do much more of even greater significance besides. I can drive easily now. I am typing this email with my left hand and one finger and thumb of my right hand. Yes!  I am sure in time Dragon will come into its own, when I can take my computer into the office and have someone work out why it crashes frequently as I use the voice recognition system.

The lost CT and MRI scans came to light. Thank You, Lord!  My surgeon marked where there are possible Sammy Sarcoma cells and then it was the turn of the radiation oncologist to work out the treatment plan. Great teamwork by these women doctors, in my opinion. My arm has healed well enough for this next stage of treatment so we are going ahead. Today the technicians adjusted their machine settings and marked my forearm so that it looks like an ordnance survey map, as a guide for the new series of radiation treatments. It is a help to know the staff very well and like them all. Tomorrow we begin daily treatments. I was astonished to hear that I will have eleven treatments, so I expect there will be a bit more overall tiredness and maybe soreness and swelling in the arm. Please pray that the treatments will be effective and kill any and all lurking live cancer cells. Pray too, please, that I will not lose hard-won mobility or have problems with the lymphatic system of the right arm.

I have loved the daffodils in my flower bed, the orchid on my windowsill, the blooming vine on the patio and the greening of trees on the hillside at the back of the house, signs of spring and new life. What a season! What a Creator! What a Savior! And, doesn't it all fill your heart with hope, as it does mine?

Much love and heartfelt thanks to you,

June