Prayers appreciated

Last Wednesday my mother nearly died, but thankfully by God's grace the ambulance got her to the ER in time and the Lord pulled her through a very close call. Wendy flew from Chicago to Baltimore that evening, I drove down the next morning, and Yvonne arrived on Thursday evening from Turkey with three of her seven children. We spent Thursday night at our parents' house, and then on Friday morning we checked into a house owned by the hospital (similar to a Ronald McDonald House) in light of the approximately two feet of snow that was headed our way. Maurice and Yvonne's two oldest children stayed at my parents' house. My dad had reserved one room that had a queen size bed, cot, and a pack 'n play for Micah (who is 16 months old). This was sufficient for the five of us since one of us spent the night in mom's room each night. Wendy slept in the hospital room on Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday night. I slept in the hospital room on Friday and Saturday night. During this hospitalization she was diagnosed with diabetes, thrush, and c-diff. Getting treatment for these conditions and having her fourth thoracentesis meant she had more emotional and physical energy when I left than when she arrived at the hospital.

You usually need to be rated at a 0-2 to receive chemo (sometimes they will give it to someone deemed a "3"). When she arrived at the hospital she was a 4 (which means hospice not chemo), but when I left she was a 3 and was very motivated to try and get back to a 2 so that she could have her next chemo treatment. The thoracic surgeon discussed two surgeries she could have on her lungs. Her left lung just needs a catheter so the fluid can be drained at home (no more thoracentesis procedures). That's a 20 minute procedure. Tomorrow morning at 11:00 she is scheduled to have a more complex surgery (2-3 hours long) on her right lung. She has been in the hospital since January 20 and will probably be discharged on the 29th or 30th. I would appreciate prayers that the surgery will go smoothly and will be a success in helping my mother's breathing and in turn give her more energy so that she can have her next chemo treatment on February 4. She does not want to go on hospice yet. This will only be my mom's second surgery in her life (she's 70 years old). Her first surgery was to remove her gallbladder several years ago. We are hoping that in several weeks she can have her third surgery to remove her ovaries, spleen, portions of her intestine, portions of her colon, the pleural cavities of her lungs, omentum, fallopian tubes, and anywhere else the cancer has spread. However the first step is to get her strong enough to have her second round of chemo next week, and we are hoping this surgery will help make that possible.


I came back home on Sunday night once the roads were cleared. We only got 3 inches of snow, but the places I was driving through on the way back home had received 20-30 inches of snow. Wendy flew back to Chicago yesterday evening, and Yvonne and her kids will probably leave on Friday evening. I have not planned my next trip down, but I am assuming it will be sometime within the next ten days or so. I have lived in Pennsylvania since June 1996, and in the past almost 20 years I have never made four trips to Maryland within a month (which is what happened between December 25- January 24). This last trip was very unique in that most of the time was spent with my two sisters and my parents. That hasn't happened in more than ten years as usually we have our husbands and children with us. I am grateful that we all have remained close to each other even though we live rather spread apart geographically. We love each other deeply and although we hope for more years together here on earth, we have the assurance of being reunited in Heaven and spending eternity together.

While I'm asking for prayer for my mom's surgery tomorrow, I would also appreciate prayers for a phone interview I am to have tomorrow with West Chester University at 10:15. I received a rejection from Millersville earlier this month and haven't heard anything yet from East Stroudsburg. The application deadline for Lock Haven isn't until March so I know I will not hear from them for awhile. There are basically three hurdles to pass to receive a job offer. First, one must be selected for a phone interview. I have made it past that hurdle with West Chester. Next, I am hoping to be selected for an in-person interview, and then the third hurdle is to be selected for the position. When I was hired at Bloomsburg University in 2004 I thought my days of interviewing were over (especially after I earned tenure and was promoted in 2008), but here I go again. On the one hand I feel a little bit rusty, but on the other hand I have the experience of having chaired many searches during my eight years at Bloomsburg.