My Parent's 60th Wedding Anniversary

I got up early this morning so that I could be at my parent's condo by 8:00 A.M. They needed a ride to the Edmonds Train Station for a 9:00 A.M. departure. They were so excited. They are going to take the train to Portland to celebrate their 60th Wedding Anniversary. Dad is 81 and Mom is 77 and by taking the train Dad would not have to drive any where. The train is not running between Edmonds and Seattle right now because of some track problems so they boarded a shuttle to take them to Seattle. There they will get on the train and go to Portland for the night and I will pick them up tomorrow night when they get back. Here is a picture of them standing by the shuttle that will take them to Seattle.

All the grandkids make comments about wanting to be like Grandpa and Grandma Short when they get older. What an example they have been to the whole family, sixty years of marriage. At the last “Pie Party” we tried to add up all the years everyone has been married starting with Grandpa and Grandma Short. This is what we came up with:

Grandpa and Grandma Short 60-years

Marla & Rich Husby 37-years
Eric & Katie 6-years
Craig & Cullen 4-years
Kari

Karen & Ken Thiessen 34-years
Todd & Krystal 3-years
Kaydee & Jonathan 5-years

Diane & Art Jackson 26-years

Annalisa

Amilyn

We still have some future marriages that will be add to this list some day. There are no weddings in the works right now though.

So we have a grand total of 175-years. Isn’t that amazing? Look what they started:

3-Daughters, 7-Grandchildren (3-Boys, 4-Girls), 7-Great-Grandchildren (5-Boys, 2-Girls).

Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary Mom & Dad (Grandpa & Grandma/Great Grandpa & Grandma)!!!!

We Are Home

Hi All,

We are home. Before we left I was able to get my schedule with my next appointments. We will be leaving here on September 18th. My first appointment is on September 19th for a PET-scan. Then on September 20th I will have an appointment with Dr. Ross, an Oncology Surgeon. We will not know when the surgery will be scheduled until that time. It could mean another trip back home and then back to Houston. It will all depend on how far out surgery is scheduled.

Ken went back to work today having to only take yesterday as a vacation day.

We thank you for your prayers and support. We are at peace knowing that we are where God wants us to be at this time.

Love you all,
Karen

We Are On Our Way Home

Hi All,

We saw the PA-C (Maura Glover) and doctor (Dr. Kim) this morning. Everyone was so nice and helpful (except that Maura is a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and thought the referees were right in that awful call in the Super Bowl). Maura said that my immune system must really been working because the spots that I do have are not growing very fast. She said that I am very healthy, which is a good thing for the possibility of other treatments. When Dr. Kim came in he did offer me two different treatment plans:

1) Isolated Limb Perfusion (The same treatment Dr. Thompson from Seattle Care Alliance wanted me to have, which is not offered in the Seattle area.) This treatment does not affect the rest of the body, just the right leg.

2) Interleukin 2 Immuneotherapy: This boosts the immune system. It is a lot like Interferon, which I did do for 20-weeks and was stopped because of Bell's Palsy. The doctor said that there is a possibility that this would also cause Bell's Palsy since I have had it once already. It would require hospitalization with intense treatment. It would be given every 8-hours for 5 days and I would have to stay in the hospital the whole time with another week in the hospital after the treatment. This all would have to be repeated six times. This also could probably be given in the Seattle area and not mean a trip to Houston. This treatment affects the whole body.

I have chosen #1, Isolated Limb Perfusion. This means that I will have to come back in 2-3 weeks to see the surgeon and then he will schedule the surgery. This is a one time treatment.

Now about the weather: Yesterday it was 95-degrees and very muggy. Today is was cloudy when we got up and by noon we had a lightning and thunder storm. It didn't last long. The sun is shining now and it is back to being hot and muggy.

So we have a flight out of here tomorrow at 12:48 PM and arrive in Seattle at 3:20 PM.

Thank you for your prayers during this time. I know they are working. This morning when they took my blood pressure it was 117/64. She was very surprise since it was my first appointment here and she said that new patients usually have elevated blood pressure. I just told her I was very calm this morning.

See you when we get home.

Love you all,
Karen

Trip to Houston

Our ride picked us up at 4:45 AM this morning. Yes, 4:45 does come twice a day for those that only think there is a 4:45 PM. Bob & Cheryl Wright's son Matthew picked us up in his Hummer. What a nice ride. We took I-405 and we were at the airport in no time. The lines were not long at security but Ken & I each had 3 baskets to put our stuff in. I had to have my laptop in a separate basket and Ken had to have his C-Pap machine in a separate basket. Then there were the shoes, jackets, purse, medications, quart zip-lock bag with liquid items, etc. We had some breakfast and then I took a nap.

Our flight was on time and we were flying high. We flew Continental and they served breakfast: Cheerios, milk, banana and a muffin. I didn't think airlines did that anymore. It was a 4-hour flight. We were really surprised at how green Houston looked from the sky. I guess they get more rain than we do. Our Town Car driver was waiting for us at Baggage Claim and our luggage was one of the first to arrive.

It was a 30-minute ride from the airport to the Hospital. Houston is very flat. We could see the tall buildings when we got on the freeway at the airport. It would be like us seeing Seattle from Everett. We checked into our room.

We have already gone through a new patient orientation and I have gotten my schedule for tomorrow. I thought I would be starting at 8:00 AM but Registration is at 7:00 AM and my Doctor's appointment is at 8:00 AM. We walked over the skybridge to the Medical Building and found the bank of elevators that we need to take.

Everyone here is so nice and helpful. There was live music in the lobby this afternoon.

Here is the view from our room. The skybridge in the picture is the one that we walked over.

It is 5:00 PM and we will need to find someplace to eat dinner. They have free Shuttle Service within a 1-1/2 mile radius so we don't have to eat at the Restaurant here in the Hotel.

We will write more tomorrow when hopefully we know more.

Love you all.

Ken & Karen

My New Normal

I just finished another book this morning, “A NEW KIND OF NORMAL” by Carol Kent. I got to hear her speak at Women of Faith. Her son is in prison for life without the possibility of parole for murdering his wife’s ex-husband. It is a very sad situation but a very good book.

We all are having or have had difficult things happen in our lives, things like a loss of a child or spouse, divorce, health issues, infertility, wayward child, loss of a job, et cetera. These things affect how we live. They shatter our dreams of what we have thought should be normal. The way of life that we had hoped for has changed dramatically. How do we go on from here? Will my life ever be normal again? What is normal?

Carol Kent uses the life of Mary, Jesus’ mother as an example of learning to live the life you are given. Carol weaves her story with Mary’s and shows that it is possible to persevere against despair, to hold on to hope, and to trust God’s faithfulness in an upside-down world.

I like the title of her book. This is her life now. Every free weekend and every holiday she is at the prison visiting her son. This is her “Normal” now. This is not what she had planned for but this is where she is right now.

God is still in control. It may not be what we would have chosen but God can still work in our lives bringing us closer to Him through the difficult times. We have a choice. Where are we going to put our focus? Are we going to wallow in a pity party or are we going to look up to God? Are we going to allow God to work in us through this “New Normal”?

I want God to work in me in my “New Normal”. I can’t change my circumstances so I will allow God to use these circumstances to draw me closer to Him. His ultimate goal for me is to conform me to His image. This is a refining process. This reminds me of a chorus we sing a church:

REFINER’S FIRE

Purify my heart
Let me be as gold and precious silver
Purify my heart
Let me be as gold, pure gold

Refiners fire, my hearts one desire
Is to be holy, set apart for You
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You my Master
Ready to do Your will

Purify my heart
Cleanse me from within and make me holy
Purify my heart
Cleanse me from my sin, deep within

Refiners fire, my hearts one desire
Is to be holy, set apart for You
I choose to be holy
Set apart for You my Master
Ready to do Your will


I highly recommend this book. It is filled with hope-filled choices that can be made when life turns upside down. There are thought provoking questions at the end of each chapter. Check it out.

Karen

On Christ, The Solid Rock I Stand

I was up most of the night because of some pre-medication I had to take for my MRI and CT-scan I have today. I am allergic to the MRI dye so the medication is to help with that. I read most of the night. I wanted to finish a book that had been given to me by a girlfriend from church. It is Lisa Beamers book LET’S ROLL!-Ordinary People, Extraordinary Courage. Lisa is the wife of 9-11 hero Todd Beamer who was on United Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania. Towards the end of the book she talks about two men that built houses. One built his house on the sand and the other built his house on a rock.

Matthew 7:24-27
The Two Foundations

24"Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25"And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.
26"Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27"The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell--and great was its fall."

When the storm came the house built on the rock stood firm and the house built on the sand fell down. The storm washed away the house built on the sand. It did not have a firm foundation like the house built on the rock. The outcomes were different because the foundations were different. We are going to have storms in our lives. Will our house stand firm or will it come crashing down?

I know my foundation is built on the “ROCK”, Jesus Christ. This reminds me of an old Hymn we used to sing at church:

THE SOLID ROCK,
Edward Mote; William Bradbury 1838
1 Corinthians 3:11

My hope is built on nothing less than
Jesus’ blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

His oath, His covenant, His blood
Support me in the whelming flood
When all around my soul gives way
He then is all my hope and stay

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

When He shall come with trumpet sound
O may I then in Him be found
Dressed in His righteousness alone
Faultless to stand before the throne

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

I am standing on Christ, The Solid Rock. As the storm comes I know that my foundation will withstand because it is solid. It won’t be undermined by the storm.

Make sure you are standing on Christ, The Solid Rock.

Karen

We are getting close to leaving for Houston.

Hi All,

The time is getting near. I get little waves of panic now and then but they don't last long. Overall I am pretty calm.

A couple of weeks ago Pastor Wes' message was titled "THANKFUL FOR THIS? YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING!" He was speaking to me. In scripture it says "Give thanks in all things, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." It doesn't always make sense to give thanks during difficult times but that is what scripture tells us to do.

Pastor asked us a question: "Do you believe that right now God has you in the exact spot He wants you to be in?" Wow! Even if I have messed up God has me in the exact spot He wants me to be. Pastor gave a description of this place He has me (us). He said it is a place that was "Divinely Ordered" and a place of "Divine Promise".

In Genesis 28:15 God is telling Jacob "Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." There are also promises for me while I am in this place.

What God promised Jacob, He promises me which is why I can give continual thanks and praise to God. In this verse there is the DIVINE PRESENCE of God: "I am with you." There is His DIVINE POWER: "I will keep you wherever you go." There is DIVINE PRESERVATION: "I will bring you back to this land." And there is DIVINE PROTECTION: "I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you."

Pastor's message was a great encouragement to me. I would love to be healed of this Melanoma but if I am not I can be sure that God has me where He wants me to be and my faith is being strengthened daily through His Word and through this trial.

Keep the faith. God loves you and me and has a wonderful plan for our lives.

Love you all,
Karen

A Little History

In 1995 I was diagnosed with Melanoma. I had a mole on the top of my right foot that started to change color, was tender to touch and was red around the outside. It was checked and was found to be Melanoma. I had it removed and had to have a skin graft to cover the area. No treatment was done at that time. I was faithful with my checkups.

In June of 2004 I found a lump in my right groin. It was found to be Stage III Melanoma. I had lymph nodes removed from my groin. In July of 2004 I had to go back into surgery for an infection in my groin and again in August for the same thing. In September of 2004 I had gallbladder surgery. That was quite a summer.

In October of 2004 I started Interferon treatment. It was to be 48-weeks of treatment but at week 20 I came down with Bell's Palsy. We stopped the treatment and the Palsy went away within a couple of weeks with no side affects.

The summer of 2006 I found a lump on the top of my right foot. I had a biopsy and it was found to be Melanoma. The surgeon had to go back and take a bigger chunk out to make sure the margins were wide enough.

Now for the past couple of months I have been finding more lumps on my right leg. Three of the four biopsies have come back as Melanoma. Since those biopsies I have found ten more spots.

I have been seeing a Melanoma Specialist at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. I had scans taken last month and there is no sign of cancer above my right groin. My records have been sent to M.D. Anderson in Houston. I have an appointment on August 27th for a consultation. My doctor here would like to see me have a treatment called Isolated Limb Perfusion. We will not know for sure if I will be able to have that treatment until we get down there.

The Lord has been good through all of this. I know that God is in control and this is not a surprise to Him. He knows what is going on. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'"

I will be sharing with you verses that are speaking to me through this trial. There are so many.

I will start with James 1:2-5
Consider it all joy, my breathren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

It says "when you encounter various trials" not "if" you encounter various trials. We are going to encounter various trials. The joy doesn't come because of the trial but because of what the trial produces. The trial is a testing of your faith and it produces endurance.

I know where my strength comes from. It doesn't come from me but from my LORD.

I will share more in later postings.

Thank you for your prayers.
Karen