JOLLYBLOGGER

12-30-08 - Health Update

Sorry to disappoint, but this is not the Jollette - yep, it's me, David, aka Jolly.  I know that many of you were enjoying her updates and were hoping that she would just take over the blog, but hey, you're still stuck with me.

Here's a pic of me and the Jollette in case you are wondering what she looks like - beautiful ain't she!

I hope to describe more of what the last week has been like and some of what I have experienced and maybe I'll do that over the next few days and weeks, but for now I just want to say that I am overwhelmed with gratitude to all of you who have prayed for me and my family this week and who have left encouraging notes.  Each day when I was in the hospital the Jollette would come and read me comments left here and on Facebook and the comments were tremendously encouraging during what was without doubt, the hardest week of my and my family's life.

Adversity tends to bring out the best in the body of Christ and this week I have been witness to and recipient of love and support I couldn't have imagined.

The pic above is great and shows me smiling - I'm a pretty good actor because shortly before that was taken I had been crying.  The night before my surgery (12/23) the elders came over to pray for me and while they were praying for me I heard singing out on the front lawn - it was about half the church coming to sing carols to us.  They all came in and sang some more and prayed some more and I lost it while they were there - I'm not sure when I have been as moved by a display of love like this.  And that continued through the week - I had a constant stream of visitors and phone calls at the hospital, and that along with reading comments and e-mails has lifted my spirits all throughout the week.

So please, if you are reading this and have prayed for me and my family, give yourself a pat on the back since I can't be there to give you a hug, as an expression of my thanks.  If your family or church or some other group has prayed for us please let them know that their prayers have been felt and I deeply appreciate them.

As to my health I am feeling exponentially better now that I am out of the hospital.  I'm eating more every day.  Yesterday I walked about a hundred yards up the street and came back.  Today I made it around the block once in the morning and made it a couple of hundred yards up the block and back on a separate walk this evening.  Pain is still an issue so I am still regulary taking pain medication.  I'm hoping to back down on this soon.

I still don't know when chemo will start.  I have an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow morning and I assume we will discuss that  then.

I'll offer some more thoughts on God's faithfulness to me during this time in later posts but for now please be assured that all of you have been agents of God's faithfulness and again please accept my deepest gratitude. 

My theme passage for now is Psalm 46 and my theme verse for now is Matthew 6:34:

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I know I face an uncertain future so this verse has taken on new meaning for me - please pray that I'll live it and find joy in Christ and His blessings on a daily basis.

#4 and boy is it good news!

How marvelous our Heavenly Father is in such hard times!

This might be my last post on my dad's blog because...drum roll please- HE'S HOME!

Yes, I know, it's amazing. He's home and here to stay...at least till another surgery.
    Yesterday he was drinking a lot of liquids and ice cream. He had some creamy soup and grape juice. All in all, he's doing real well. He probably won't be able to eat real solid food for about a month though. He's in pain though, and he's getting the chills really bad so pray that he doesn't suffer too much more. There's not much else to say, just keep praying for his recovery. Thanks so much for your love and support. Every day at the hospital, I would read my dad the comments you've written on his blog and on Facebook, so he definitely feels loved. I promise.

~Jollette

#3

My dad requested today that I wait a day or so to update y'all again, because he said he didn't want people to get sick of hearing about him. I told him that no one cause ever get sick of hearing about him. Am I right?

There aren't many updates about his health, or lack thereof. He saw the liver doctor today and apparently my dad's liver cancer is at stage 4, and I can only guess that's bad. But the doctor also said the chemo would take care of it,  just not for a couple more weeks....although, who knows what can happen in a few more weeks. He walked around a lot more today, which was very tiring for him, but it's a sign of good progress. He's still in pain, and right now they're trying to wean him off the morphine. And that's about it on my dad. Have a good night everyone!

~Jollette

Update #2 at the Hospital

Once again, this is the Jollette, on my father's blog, with his permission- of course.

    This has been the saddest, most depressing, life altering Christmas in the history of Christmas-at least for me and my family. Even more than my first white Christmas in Maryland where I threw up 12 times, and that was pretty miserable. The fact that it was Christmas and we were in a hospital because my dad has cancer is what made it depressing, nothing else. Anyway, today at the hospital was not depressing, but rather, at times, very amusing and interesting. Yes there were some times when I looked at my dad and he looked completely helpless...But I'm getting ahead of myself.
    When we finally arrived at the hospital at 1-ish, my mom came to say that my dad was sleeping for about 20 minutes, so we decided to eat our scrumptious Christmas dinner that an Elder and his wife in our church lovingly provided for us. When we could finally go see our dad, just my brothers and I went to go see him, and I brought the computer with me, so I could read all the comments that everyone has posted on his blog and on Facebook (which brought many smiles to his weary face). After reading a bunch of comments, we were kicked out of his room, so he could "rest." Alas! Twas only his bowels taunting him! The nurse said that is completely normal though. We didn't go back in that time though, because we had to make room for visitors that had to leave soon. There weren't as many people today, as yesterday,which is understandable because it is Christmas after all. Nothing really eventful happened today. After we snuck our whole family into his room (6 people- 3 kids, wife, mom, and mom in-law), we just sat around talking to him, watching TV and just doing stuff. Every now and then there were visitors. There were some high points of today. My dad walked around the hall twice, which is really good, and he wasn't nearly as groggy as yesterday. He had no hints of loopyness...well maybe once. He was completely coherent and was very conversational. We found out today that he also only had one and a half feet taken out of his colon, which isn't much apparently. Keep praying though, because, as I mentioned yesterday, he has 2 tumors in his liver, and one of them is the size of a grapefruit....and that is a pretty big fruit. No update on the nodules on his lungs. He is recovering well, despite all that. This post probably hasn't made much sense and I'm sorry. I just have many thoughts floating around in my head, and for some reason, I can't seem to remember much about today.

Please pray for me as well, for I have a terrible cough that will not cease, no matter how much medicine I consume (which isn't that much), so if anyone knows where I can find some rooibos tea, besides in South Africa, that'd be great if you would let me know.

Thank you all for your continuous prayers for my dad. They have been a huge blessing this holiday season.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

~Jollette

Update at the Hospital

Greetings! This is the Jollette, otherwise known as David's daughter. My dad asked me to update his blog for him, so here I am.

    This morning he went into the hospital at 9, for who knows what, because his surgery was at 11. I arrived at the hospital around 10:30 to some very wet eyes and tear streaked faces. That's where he asked me to update his blog. I don't remember all that happened that morning, but I can say it was a mixture of emotions and humor. I took some very embarrassing pictures of my dad ;). But, fret, you shan't! I still love him. So before I get off on too much of a tangent, lemme get back on track.
    He went into surgery at 11:15. My family and I waited in the Family waiting room for hours as elders, and loving families from our church trickled in and out. Every now and then I would look up and see my Mawmaw (my dad's mom) reading her book with teary eyes. It was all very depressing. At about 2:30 the doctor came out to tell us that the surgery went well. They removed the tumor and stitched him right up. He doesn't even need a colostomy. Here's the bad news: somehow (don't ask me how), the doctor discovered that my dad has 2 fairly large tumors in his liver, as opposed to 1 normal sized tumor. His lymph nodes are also infected. This isn't exactly something we expected, but, it is what it is, and we can't change it, so for now, we'll deal with the tumors he has, and rejoice for the one's he doesn't have. Chemo doesn't start till he's made a full recovery, which won't be for about 4-6 weeks. Doc says he'll be in the hospital 4-7 days. We got to visit him when he first got out of the OR, and he was so loopy. He kept asking questions over and over again. Once again, it was rather amusing. Other good news is that he doesn't need to go to ICU and he has his own private room!
    Now for an even more recent update! I just got off the phone with my mom and dad. My mom is staying the night at the hospital with my dad. I asked him how he was feeling, and his exact words were, "For just having a major surgery, I'm doin' pretty good." He's doing really well, and with his spirit of determination, he'll be back on his feet in no time. Please continue praying for him, and I want to thank everyone so much for the prayers you've sent up already, they seem to be working.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures hear below
Praise Him about ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father Son and Holy Ghost
Amen

Check back for updates in the coming days!
Peace

Health Update

Many thanks to all of you who have commented on my last post and are praying for me.  I am overwhelmed with gratitude for all of the support I have received here and on Facebook.  It's pretty neat to know that I literally have people praying for me all over the world.

Please continue to do so.  I saw the surgeon yesterday and the news wasn't good.  My CT scan revealed not only a large tumor on the colon but a tumor on my liver and 2 nodules on my lungs.  Needless to say this was a pretty big blow.

The treatment plan as of now is this.  I have surgery scheduled for tomorrow - December 24th at 11:00am at Harbor Hospital in Baltimore.  After that I am to immediately begin receiving chemotherapy.

Don't know how much or how often I'll be able to update after this but I will do so as I am able. Please know that I deeply appreciate all of the kind words and prayers

I have cancer

Hi everyone - I know that's a bit of a shocking headline, but as the doctor said to me and Lynette - there's no good way to tell you this.

For about the past month I have been feeling sick - mainly fatigued (extremely) and I finally went to the Dr. to check it out about a week and a half ago. The Dr. thought that because of the fatigue it could be mono, but when the test results came back the main thing she noticed was that I was anemic. So she immediately sent me to a gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy.

I had the colonoscopy on Friday and he found a tumor in my colon. Usually, he says, they biopsy it, and they are doing a biopsy on mine, but he said that he could tell by looking at it that it was cancerous, my colon is nearly blocked by it.

So, tomorrow I will see a surgeon and will probably have surgery within a week or so. I do very much appreciate your prayers - please don't forget to pray for my wife Lynette and my kids - D. J., Michael and Rebekah, and my mom in Jacksonville. Also pray for our church. We are closing on a new building, getting ready for our final service in our current facility and moving and it may be that I will be out for all of that.

I'm doing pretty well most of the time with this - Friday I was pretty depressed, but our session at the church has been terrific and this morning we told the church and they gave lots of support. Lots of people have told me stories of people who survived this with no problem, i.e. the odds are in my favor. But I do know that I am in the hand of God, not the hand of odds.

So as I said, please do pray for all of us and I'll do my best to keep you updated

An Amillennial Eschatology Chart

Alright, now maybe amillennialism will be taken seriously in modern evangelical circles - we now have a chart!

This is awesome. 

HT - Reformation Theology

Us Guys Just Can't Win

I post the following half way tongue in cheek but wondering if there is something more to be said about what will be said. 

It seems to me to be quite unmanly if I whine and complain about how we men are treated, so I'll just point to a couple of wise women who are noticing that men are getting a bum deal.

The first is Dr. Helen Smith, whose husband is Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit.  He may be more well known but she is well worth reading - I've got her in my rss reader and enjoy her posts regularly.  She could be called a "men's advocate" she often writes on the ways the media and society gives short shrift.  She has some intersting comments on this video:

I find the video hilarious and true to life in the way that all caricatures are true to life in an exaggerated fashion.  She comments "I agree with one of the Youtube commenters who states: "If this is meant to scare young men like me out of ever getting married, it's working!""  She also notes: "Another reader sends the same link to the video and adds: "I'm thinking if the genders were reversed in this ad, they'd be burning J.C. Penney's to the ground in every mall in America." No, there never would have been an ad like this one up to begin with."

And here's Kim Moreland from The Point:

Here, University of Dallas student Ashley Crouch speaks out about the results of her chivalry poll. One paragraph stands out:

How do guys define chivalry? Three out of four responded that it had to do with respect, honor, and courtesy towards women. One man spoke openly: “Chivalry is the notion that a man has the duty to respect and serve women.”

But sadly, "too often . . . these same men lamented that their efforts to be chivalrous were met with scorn."

Us poor guys, we just can't catch a break now can we?  It's best for us guys just to keep a sense of humor about stuff like this.  As far as I am concerned, just because our wives and girlfriends want to put us in the doghouse doesn't mean we have to go there.  Yep, we're all a bunch of clods and idiots and often do stupid stuff like the guys in the video.  But it seems to me that an honest recognition that we blew it and a sincere apology ought to be be sufficient.  If the wife or girlfriend wants to send you to the doghouse after that, then she's the one with the problem.  Similarly, if a woman doesn't like your chivalry, let her go and let her be, there's plenty out there who recognize it for what it is - courtesy and respect - nothing more nothing less.

Some Good Advice for Young Theologians Too

Here's some advice for young historians from a young historian that I think applies equally to young theologians, bible scholars and ministers. 

When you start out studying history — when you begin as a graduate historian, you are nothing; you are not even the history books you’ve already read, because you’ve probably misunderstood or not appreciated some fundamental aspect of them. You are an infant: the first eighteen or twenty years of your life were spent stumbling, coming to terms with living, with the world and with yourself. By the time you get to my age (23) you’ve had maybe four or five years of actual consciousness, self-awareness and self-understanding. You are now about five years old. Then, and only then, the real work begins.

Sadly, when I graduated from seminary and had reached the ripe old theological age of 5 or 6 I considered myself to be a seasoned veteran and was a regular source of angst for those around me (which is not to say that I am not capable of producing angst for those around me today).  I wish I had heard this advice then, but then again, I wouldn't have listened to them anyway, smart as I was and all. 

But having said that, this historian does give some further advice for how young theologians can use their time during their theological youth.

And the work is: Only Collect; that is to say, collect everything, indiscriminately. You’re five years old. Don’t presume too much to know what’s important and what isn’t. Photocopy journal articles, photograph archives; create bibliographies, buy books; make notes on every article or book you read, even if it’s just one line saying “Never read this again”; collect newspaper clippings and email them to yourself; collect quotes; save your ideas for future papers, future projects, future conferences, even if they seem wildly implausible now. Hoarding must become instinctual, it must be an uncontrollable, primal urge. And the higher, civilizing impulse that kicks in after the fact is organization, or librarianship. You must keep tabs on everything you collect, somehow; a system must be had, and the system must be idiot-proof. That is to say, you should be able to look back on it six months for now and not be completely stymied as to why you’ve organized things that way. (The present versions of ourselves are invariably the biggest idiots, and six months will make that clear).

What this all takes is patience — more patience, sometimes, than I am good at. I am impatient to know things, and impatient for things to make sense more quickly; and the discipline (ah, that apt term) just doesn’t work that way. A colleague of mine told me that he’s been Only Collecting for over ten years, and can now knock out a 3000 word paper in under two days, simply because all his material is already at hand; it exists in the stuff he’s picked up in his intellectual infancy and adolescence, which at the time he didn’t know how to use, and perhaps didn’t even know was important.

As theologians and ministers we are collecting more than what we read, we are collecting experiences and conversations and counsel and other things.  The bottom line is that during the time when we are probably the most full of ourselves - those years during and immediately after our studies, the time when we most tend to think we know it all - those are the years we must be ever more devoted to learning.