much to tell

Oh boy, it's been a while since I've updated this. So sorry! Let's start with Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving was a day of mixed emotion for me. I have a very sick Shepherd whom I was afraid I was going to lose around Thanksgiving as he just wasn't responding to treatment and declining rapidly. Mike and I made the decision that I would stay home with Justice and Mike would go to Cleveland to be with his family and celebrate Christmas with them. This was our first holiday apart and we were sad to be apart but felt we made the right decision. To some, Justice is just a dog. To me, a vet's daughter, the dogs are a part of our family. Not to mention the fact that life has been hard for so long, that to lose Justice now, I would be heartbroken. I'm happy to report, he has made a nice turnaround and is doing better! That does my heart well! Another thing that did my heart well was the opportunity to talk with another wife whose spouse is ill with cancer. Despite different illnesses, I identified with this girl in her feelings so much. She is the first one I have been able to talk with since all of Mike's health issues that I really felt knew how I felt - there was so much comfort in that. I think the comfort came from knowing I wasn't alone. I have felt so very lonely in so much of this, that to have someone identify with my feelings was a blessing I wasn't expecting on turkey day, and certainly something to be very thankful for. While I am talking about this sweet couple, here is the link to their blog:

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/zachschellhause

Would you please pray for them? And while I'm on the subject, a friend of mine from school, his wife, has also been diagnosed with very aggressive cancer. Here is her blog:

http://erin-fightingbreastcancer.blogspot.com/

Would you please pray for Erin and her family? Life is so hard on so many levels, sometimes!
Before Thanksgiving, Mike was in the hospital, admitted by the new headache specialist he is seeing, to try a new treatment and manage the headache pain. Mike did have some relief and was sent home on a decreasing dose of new steroids. We were encouraged by some relief after trying so many medications, but discouragement came when Mike was home and with each decrease of dosage came increased pain. He's back to vomiting nightly and living in 24/7 pain. His vision in his left eye is also quite poor. Not to worry, friends, there is a silver lining of hope here. In the hospital, a dr (we're not sure which) mentioned a case like Mike's years ago and the resulting diagnosis. Mike fits the profile to a "T". The condition is very rare (like 500 cases in the US and 1 out of 10 are men). We always knew this would most likely be rare as so many of the tests Mike has had were normal. We have a next step. There is a dr at Johns Hopkins, in Maryland, that is the guru of this autoimmune endocrine disease. We have been connected with him, he's very interested in Mike's case, and next weekend, Mike will travel to Maryland for a week to see this dr. To be clear, it looks like this might be a diagnosis, but nothing is for sure yet. Once we have that information, hopefully after the Johns Hopkins visit, we will share more information with you. My mom, God bless her, will travel to the hospital with Mike as he will be there for a week. Until Mike's appt, would you please pray for a break in the headaches this week? It would be nice to do a few Christmasy things before he leaves. Onward and upward, friends! I pray, despite the hurt in life, you are comforted in knowing that Christ identifies with our hurt and walked through his own pain in life, starting with a humble birth in a manger. Let's not lose sight of this in the busyness of the season, but also, the pain of life.
Becka