Here's the deal.

This is a picture of the mini reunion we had today. This is me with Judy and Candy, who were both classmates of mine in Japan. Judy lives here in Houston and has walked me through the breast cancer journey. Candy lives in the Hill Country of Texas in a town I can't remember. She and her husband are at MD Anderson for him to have a stem cell transplant. It was wonderful that we could enjoy visiting today. I thank God for tremendous friends and family!

Now, the deal:

1: My ankles were swollen so the doctor is concerned that I may have some heart damage from the chemo so she insists we check it. Thus, I'm having an echo cardiogram tomorrow.

(Note: swollen ankles run in my family, so I think this will not be an issue.)

2: My hip and leg have been hurting me, so the doctor had a bone scan done on me today from head to toe.

(Note: I have a badly degenerated disc at the bottom of my vertebra and I believe that is causing my leg and hip pain. I could be wrong, but this scan will tell us the answers.)

3: My bloodwork showed numbers for my liver function that made the doctor order a CT scan on Friday.

(Note: I have a history of weird numbers on my liver function numbers since way back before I ever had cancer. I used to give blood every 8 weeks and at one time they wrote me a letter and asked me not to give for a year because my liver function numbers were out of line. So, this is not such a big deal to me, but they have to be sure.)

So, I'm taking this as a message from God that I must remember that HE is in charge. MY plans to go to Branson are not in line with HIS plans. I have prayed that His will be done in all things. I trust Him to make a better plan than mine. I'll do my best to cooperate with Him.

I wish I could write that we got a good report today, but what we got was frustrating numbers and signals. The tests will give us better direction. In the meantime, Steve and Mary will go back home and I will be here with Doris and Judy to look after me. I couldn't be in better hands.

The worst thing about this is that I don't want to do it without Don. I work every day to accept that reality, but it hits me cold in the face so often. God has given me great support in family and friends, though. Thank you who are reading this for being in that group who God has given to me!

I will keep you posted as best as I can. Please understand that I will be floating from house to house, though, and remember that no news is good news.