Bev Daly Barnett
	September, 2004

30 September 04 ~ Thursday ~ Sharon
Thank you for your prayers today. As I walked into the service, a sense of
peace and the presence of the Holy Spirit flooded me. Tim expressed the
same thing, so I know that God was with us answering your prayers.
Jonathan, Robert and Becky read their scriptures with no problem – more
prayers. Elaine, Chuck and Tim had perfect things to say and Pastor Keith
presented the gospel clearly in a way that was excellent. He said Bev
wanted... Over and over again. Bev wanted you to know what she believed and
why she lived her life the way she did. One of Tim's co-workers video taped
the service and some of the things people said are on the computer.
Honestly, I'm exhausted, tonight, and will ask Becky to give you more
details, tomorrow.
Love, Sharon

30 September 04 ~ Thursday ~ Sharon
The viewing went as well as could be expected. It was difficult seeing
Bev's body. It was obvious she wasn't there. As Becky said, her tent is
empty and she's in her mansion. Tim had said if it was too hard he would
come home. As it turned out, the Lord gave him the strength to greet
everyone who came as well as support the boys. Cheryl took Robert home
while we all went the whole time. She brought him over for a while and then
took him to her house for dinner. Jonathan went back and forth a few times,
but also had the strength to greet many of the people who came. Many people
came from UAF, the church and cell group. Friends and co-workers in
Aberdeen and WBT sent flowers. They were beautiful and it made the Barnetts
and them feel a bit more connected.

It will be a long day, tomorrow. Thanks for your continued prayers. I'll
attach the program so you can feel a bit more included on what's going on.

Sharon

28 September 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Becky
With everything that's been going on here, I've slacked off on writing the
updates. I figured you didn't need or want them anymore, but Sharon was
saying it would be nice to send one so that you guys have an idea what's
going on here and feel included. So, to make up for not having written the
past couple days, I am probably going to write more than you really wanted
to know . . .

We've mostly been busy with preparations. On Saturday morning Sharon and I
didn't know what else to do, so we started cleaning the house. A few other
people came over and they helped us clean also. We mainly focused on
clearing out the medicine and supplies from Tim and Bev's room. In the
evening Sharon and I looked for music to play at the memorial services.
There was a CD one of Bev's friends had made that she really liked, but we
couldn't find it. Finally, after looking through all of the CDs, Robert
managed to find it. I can't really remember what we did the rest of the
day. My mom came late Saturday night.

Sunday morning we went to church, then went over to the Johnson's for a very
nice lunch. In the evening we went to a concert at church. Afterwards we
all sat around and watched a movie.

All of Monday was spent planning and preparing. Pastor Keith, Dave Johnson,
and Sharon went with Tim to the funeral home to make the arrangements for
the viewing to be on Wednesday night and the funeral on Thursday morning.
Then they came over for lunch and discussed the program. Meanwhile . . .

My mom worked on re-writing the biography of Bev to go into the funeral
program. Sharon and Robert worked on fitting the music in with a slide show
presentation with pictures of Bev (I think with some help from Jonathan).
We also tried getting a nice picture of Bev to have on display (still a work
in progress). Carrie is taking care of the flowers (with some help from
Sharon). We sent out Bev's obituary to the newspaper here and the newspaper
in Aberdeen to come out in tomorrow (Wednesday's) paper (I don't know if it
got sent anywhere else). I'm sure all kinds of other stuff was going on
that I wasn't aware of yesterday. Later in the evening we watched another
movie.

Today was spent trying to finalize the plans and projects from yesterday.
This afternoon my mom, Sharon, my grandma, and I went together on all kinds
of errands. Things are starting to slow down a little, but there are still
some decisions to be made and some projects to finish up. Both Sharon and
Tim have mentioned that they are thankful that there has been so much to do
because it is a welcome distraction from any grief they might otherwise be
feeling.

Chuck (Bev's brother), Kelly (Bev's sister), Tom (Tim's brother), and Tim's
mom and dad are coming in tonight. We are all very excited to see them.
Chuck and Kelly will be staying here, Tom and Tim's dad will be staying at
the Johnson's and it sounds like Tim's mom will be staying at a hotel.

Tomorrow we still need to go get the programs printed up and get the picture
of Bev that will be put on display, in addition to other plans that I don't
know about.

Guess that's it for now.

Love, Becky

27 September 04 ~ Monday
There will be a viewing from 5:00 to 7:00 on Wednesday night at
Northern Lights Memorial Park (2318 Yankovich Road, Fairbanks, AK 99709)
and a funeral for Bev on Thursday morning at 10:00 at
Bethel Church (Mi 5.6 Farmers Loop Road, Fairbanks, AK 99709).

Instead of flowers, Bev would prefer memorial donations sent to
Wycliffe Bible Translators
P.O. Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862

For those of you who would feel more comfortable sending flowers,
those can be sent to Northern Lights Memorial Park.

25 September 04 ~ Saturday ~ Becky
I've been asked to write an email to fill you all in on the details of how
the past few days have gone. They are sort of blurred together, so
hopefully I will get all my facts straight.

Thursday night, after moving Bev back into her room, we all gathered
together to say good-night. She hadn't talked very much all day, just a few
words here and there. When Jonathan and Robert were saying good night,
Jonathan said "I love you" and Bev responded "I love you too" and then she
said "good night" to both of them. That night I slept on the floor in Bev
and Tim's room to be available if Tim needed me. Around 7:00 AM when we
were giving her her morphine shot, she was making noise, but we couldn't
tell what she was saying. It sounded to me like she had said "my father"
and then later on "my mother" – I might have been wrong, but that was my
best guess. We decided to get Sharon to try to help figure out what she was
saying. Sharon decided to go get her parents, who came in and sat on the
bed with Bev for a while.

On Thursday we had moved Bev to the couch, so that company could come spend
time with her in the living room. We had planned to do the same on Friday
morning (at least I think so), but moving her was causing her too much pain,
so we let her lay on her bed. We all spent time with her throughout the
day, in addition to many friends who came to visit. If I took the time to
tell you all the details of who came to visit and how supportive they've
been it would take way too long and I would probably forget to mention
someone. Just know that we have had and continue to have a lot of support
here.

She wasn't as responsive on Friday as the day before. Whenever we asked her
a question we were lucky if we got a slight nod or shake of her head. It
was difficult to tell how much pain she was in. For the most part, she
looked very peaceful.

In the evening the adults had a good but difficult conversation trying to
straighten out why and how the decisions were made about taking Bev off the
hyperal. Meanwhile, I sat with her. Although I wanted to be included in
the conversation going on in the other room to help understand Bev's
situation, I am so incredibly grateful that I got to spend some time alone
with Bev instead.

By that time it was getting to be late and time for bed, so we all gathered
in Bev's room to pray and say good night, not realizing that we were also
saying good bye. I slept on the floor in their room again, and everyone
headed off their separate ways. April, one of Bev's friends, had wanted to
come sit with Bev around 11:30 after she got off of work around so Tim
called and let her know she could. I was asleep when she came in. Both Tim
and April sat up with Bev and were ready to administer morphine. Then, from
what I understand, around 12:00 her breathing changed and slowed for about
five minutes, and then she took her last breath here and her first breath in
heaven. I am so thankful that Tim was there when she went, I know that that
was very important to him. It was also very important to April. She had
told Bev that she wanted to be there and God and Bev honored that desire.

After she passed, Tim woke me up, went and got the boys, Sharon, and Grandpa
and Grandma. We all sat together around Bev's earthly tent and cried and
prayed and thanked God that she was with Him. Then we all went and sat in
the living room while Tim called to make the arrangements. The home health
nurse came and took care of Bev's body and then April helped her to dispose
of the dangerous drugs. Jeff Welch, the youth pastor, came and took the
boys for a drive so that they wouldn't have to be there when the people from
the funeral home came to take Bev's body away. Sharon and I couldn't watch,
so we sat in the boys' room with the door closed. After they left, we sat
in the living room again until the boys came back. Then we all went to bed
and tried to get some sleep. Everything seemed so lonely and empty.

This morning when I got up, Dave and Connie Johnson were here and we sat in
the living room for a while. Then Sharon and I started cleaning up. April
and Carrie (Don, Tim's co-worker's wife) came over and helped us clean out
Tim and Bev's room. We got rid of her medicines and supplies and set aside
things to donate to hospice.

We have all cried and grieved, but we've also had times to laugh and smile
together. I am so thankful that Sharon and my grandparents are here. I am
also grateful for Bev's many friends who have come to help.

Tim would like to have a vigil on Wednesday night and then the funeral on
Thursday morning, but we have to wait until Monday to see if the scheduling
for that will work with the funeral home.

Many family members will be coming up this week. All of Bev's brothers and
sisters will be here, and so will most of Tim's family.

It has been such an honor to be here with Bev and the family this summer.
And, although I don't know most of you, I want to thank each of you for the
part you have played in Bev's life.

Love, Becky

25 September 04 ~ Saturday ~ Sharon
12:02 a.m. Saturday

Her breathing changed for about 5 minutes and then stopped. It was very
peaceful. Her friend April from church who visited very often felt like she
should stop by after work at 11:30 pm. Mom, Dad and Becky (on the floor in
Bev's room) were sleeping. I was trying to fall asleep and Jonathan and
Robert were still up. We sat on the bed for a while and cried and prayed.
Home health is here and the youth pastor came to get Jon and Robert so they
won't be here when the funeral home comes.

The boys have been amazing. They spent some time alone with Bev at lunch.
Robert swabbing her mouth with water and Jon holding her hand. They have
been crying a lot tonight – in a healthy sort of way.

Thank you for your prayers.
Bev's sister, Sharon

24 September 04 ~ Friday ~ Sharon
Becky slept on Bev and Tim's floor in order to be available to help. She
said they got some sleep.... About 7am she said they couldn't understand
for sure, but it sounded like Bev said, "Mom, Daddy." I went in and
couldn't distinguish it any better than them, but said better to get them
since they were probably already awake. She has her head tipped back like
they teach you to do for CPR. We can't make her tip forward and figure that
it must open her airway to make breathing more comfortable. One of their
friends is a Nurse Practitioner in the Army. He used to be an intensive
care nurse. He said we should rub her muscles. He also said to put some
saline drops in her eyes because they won't close all the way. She seemed
to respond when he did that. We couldn't even get a nod out of her most of
the day. When we changed her depends, there was more blood. It seemed to
hurt her when we had to change her nightgown. The good thing is afterwards
she was responding to us a little bit. She looked me in the eye when I was
rubbing her neck and then she opened her mouth to receive the sponge with
water on it and seemed to want a lot more. I got tired and turned it over
to Becky! Just before that Jon and Robert were on each side of her alone
while we ate lunch. I took a picture of Robert giving her water an Jonathan
holding her hand. (sorry it wasn't digital)

Love, Sharon

23 September 04 ~ Thursday ~ Becky
I'm sorry I didn't write last night, yesterday was a rough day. A lot of
you already know how Bev is doing, but for those of you who don't, I will
try to fill you in. I apologize in advance if this email is really long – I
know you don't need to know all the details, but I think it's been
therapeutic for me to write these emails, so I hope you don't mind.

The night before last, Bev's blood sugar was staying pretty close to 350
before we went to bed. In the middle of the night, however, it sky
rocketed. When I went into the room she was flushed, had a fever, and was
shaking pretty badly. We took her off the hyperal, to try to bring her
blood sugar down. We checked her blood sugar every hour and put her back on
the hyperal when it was close to 100. We wanted to try to reset the hyperal
pump program to infuse at a lower rate, but the program was locked. So,
instead we pretended like we were starting out a new bag of hyperal, so that
the program would start over and slowly taper the hyperal, instead of
starting off at the really high rate. When we checked her blood sugar again
in the morning it was around 300 again, so we turned off the hyperal since
it was pretty close to empty anyways. Tim had some important meetings at
work that day, so, since Bev seemed to be doing alright, he decided to head
on to work (the plan had been that if she was doing alright, he would go, if
not, he would stay home). I checked her blood sugar about an hour after he
left and within the space of that hour, her blood sugar had dropped from 300
to 80. I wasn't sure what to do, so I called Tim and he had me call Mark,
the home health nurse, while he hurried home from work. Meanwhile, Tim
suggested hooking her back up to the little bit of hyperal that was left –
which Mark said was the right thing to do. When Tim came home, he talked to
Mark and called Dr. Carroll's office. The consensus was that she should be
taken off the hyperal and that we should stop checking her blood sugar.
Later yesterday afternoon, Tim was concerned that we might have made the
wrong decision, so he called to talk to Dr. Carroll, who said that we could
give her a saline solution with some dextrose to keep her hydrated and get
some sugar in her, to hopefully make her more comfortable and give us some
time to decide if we should put her back on the hyperal. When Bev was a
little more awake, Tim talked to her about it, and she seemed to indicate
that it would be alright to stay off the hyperal. The saline solution ended
a few hours ago, so we will not be giving her any more fluids through IV.

Several people stopped by throughout the day both yesterday and today and
have been very encouraging. I think the most encouraging thing for me is
that my Aunt Sharon flew out here last night, and so did my grandparents.
They all came in late last night.

Yesterday morning Bev looked like she was almost in a coma. We tried to
wake her up, but she wouldn't respond. I don't know if she was in a coma,
or just sleeping (my guess is that she was just sleeping, but it was a
little frightening), but later in the afternoon she woke up and was actually
talking a little bit. She doesn't say very much, but is able to respond
when we ask her a question by nodding her head a little. When she does
talk, she doesn't always complete her sentences, and it is often difficult
to understand what she is trying to say. She sleeps with her eyes half open
and so it's sometimes hard to tell if she is awake or asleep.

She is using depends now, since we had to take the catheter out and it would
be much to difficult for her to get up to the bathroom. We have been giving
her pain medication throughout the day, so hopefully she's not in too much
pain.

I'm not sure what else to say, except thank you for your prayer, support,
and encouragement.

Love, Becky

22 September 04 ~ Wednesday ~ Becky
We couldn't get Bev to wake up this morning, but this afternoon she's been
more alert. She's even been able to talk a little bit, although she still
seems like she's having a hard time thinking and communicating and she
drifts in and out of sleep.

Becky

21 September 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Becky
I don't know what God's plan is, but it feels like we might be getting near
the end. Tim stayed home from work today, which was really helpful because
I don't know if I would have been able to handle things on my own. Mark,
the home health nurse, came this morning. He and Mary Myer ended up coming
up with an alternate plan to stop her G-tube from leaking, he put a piece to
lock the flange into place so that it wont slide anywhere. That seems to
have done the trick (or at least helped enough so that that wasn't a problem
today).

He also put in a catheter. For the first 30 seconds it seemed to be doing
ok, but after a little while, all that was coming out was blood and blood
clots. At some point this afternoon nothing was coming out at all, so Mark
came back this evening to take the catheter out so that it doesn't clot
things up or cause an infection. So, it was helpful to have the catheter in
for most of the day because Bev didn't have to get up and was therefore able
to get more rest. But, it's discouraging that all that's coming out is
blood and that now that the catheter is back out she has to get up again.
She's using depends to try to help with that, but she seems to mostly want
to get up and use the restroom. I don't know what color her urine was
before, but now it seems like it's mostly bright red.

The other thing we had to grapple with today was Bev's blood sugar. Every
time we tested it this morning the meter just read "HI", which Mark said
means it's off the charts, so we kept giving her insulin to try to bring it
back down. Since the insulin didn't seem to be doing the trick, we took her
off the hyperal. Then, the next time we checked her blood sugar, it was
dangerously low, so we had her drink some juice and eat some sugar. Not too
long after that, we were able to hook her back up to her new bag of hyperal
that has double the amount of insulin in it and she is now going to start
having the hyperal during the night again (doing it during the day didn't
seem to be cutting back the number of night time bathroom runs anyway). The
next few times we checked her blood sugar it was at a good level, but
tonight it started going back up again (to around 350 – which compared to
"HI" doesn't seem so high anymore).

Bev was very groggy and out of it and it's hard to tell what the main cause
of that was. It could have been due in part to the high blood sugar, to the
pain medications, or just general deterioration of her body. It was hard to
have conversations with her because she either didn't seem to understand
what we were talking about, or would start saying something and stop
mid-sentence.

Several people stopped by today to visit, which was very encouraging.

Jonathan is planning to stay home from school tomorrow, and Robert hasn't
decided yet what he'd like to do. Tim has some meetings at work that he
needs to go to, so April is going to come over to hang out while he goes to
those. Depending on how Bev is doing in the morning, Tim may just cancel
the meetings and stay home.

Thanks again, Becky

20 September 04 ~ Monday ~ Becky
Things seem to be getting a bit harder over here. Bev was still having to
go to the bathroom every 20 minutes or so today, which causes her pain. In
addition to that, her G-tube kept leaking throughout the day. This morning
Mark from home health care came out here for Bev's weekly home health
appointment. He had talked to Tim earlier this morning about having Mary
Myer (the person who did Bev's colostomy) come out here tomorrow to try to
fix the problem with the G-tube. It wasn't very clear exactly what she's
going to do, but Mark said they will be treating the problem symptomatically
by putting a bag around the G-tube site to catch whatever is leaking, since
there aren't really any other non-surgical options. The other thing that
they might end up doing tomorrow is put a foley catheter in, so that Bev
won't have to get up to the bathroom so much.

As far as pain goes, it seemed to be fairly under control this morning, but
by this evening Bev was complaining about the pain (and she rarely, if ever,
complains). She was very groggy and at times slightly out of it, which I
think was due to having so much pain medication. She used an ice pack
throughout the day on her groin, which I think helped a little bit with the
pain.

Despite having a few shots of insulin, her blood sugar was above 500 for
most of the afternoon. By the time she was done with the hyperal though, it
had gone down to 160. Also, she had a fever around 100 right before going
to bed, so we gave her some medication that supposed to take care of that.

Speaking of medications, I forgot to mention that she got a new one today
that is supposed to numb her bladder, which will hopefully help handle the
pain. Also, after calling Dr. Carroll's office to find out if there's
anything else we can be doing for the pain, he said to increase her pain
patch to 300. So, hopefully all of these changes will work to help control
the pain she's been having.

Thank you so much for continuing to pray for us. Please also be praying
especially for the boys. It's hard to tell how this is affecting them.
Robert had a headache throughout the day (he had some tylenol first thing
this morning after he got up and also right before he went to bed) and I
noticed Jonathan took some tylenol today too. I'm not sure if the headaches
had anything to do with seeing Bev's condition, but I wouldn't be surprised.

My big prayer right now is that her pain will be under control at least
through Friday. After that, I'm hoping that the new chemo that Dr. Carroll
is going to try will kick in. Also, we should have the proofs from
Jonathan's senior pictures by the end of the week, and I think it would be
really nice for Bev to be able to look at them and help pick out which
one(s) he should get.

Becky

19 September 04 ~ Sunday ~ Becky
Bev wasn't feeling very well today. She wasn't up for going to church, and
I'm not sure how much of that was due to pain or having to lug the hyperal
around or needing to go to the bathroom every 15 to 20 minutes. She had a
fever off and on throughout the day and her blood sugar was up very high, so
we had to give her insulin a few times. She was also having problems with
her G-tube leaking throughout the day, so someone from home health care came
to try to fix it. We thought it was fixed, but later tonight it was leaking
again.

This evening, someone from Tim's work came to sit with Bev while Tim and I
went to small group at the Johnson's and the boys were at jr. high Bible
study. Then we all sat around together watching the Titanic. (It's a long
movie – so we didn't watch the whole thing).

I guess the reason that Dr. Carroll didn't give Bev chemo last Friday is
that the gemzar and xeloda aren't working, so he's going to try one more
type of chemo, starting next week. He said that the only thing keeping her
alive right now is the hyperal.

The main thing to pray for right now is that Bev's pain would be under
control. Since she is having to get up every 15 to 20 minutes to go to the
bathroom, she is in a lot more pain. Tim called the pharmacy this morning
to ask how much pain medication we can be giving her. They said that we can
alternate her different pain medicines every hour or so (although I think
Bev wants to wait every 2 hours, so that she doesn't overdo it). So, she is
now taking alternating doses of roxicet, morphine, and oxycodone.

Thank you for continuing to keep her in your prayers.

Love, Becky

18 September 04 ~ Saturday ~ Becky
Today was a busy day. This morning Bev and I went with Jonathan to get his
senior pictures taken while Robert was at his youth symphony practice and
Tim went to the symphony parents' meeting. Then this evening Jonathan had
some friends over to celebrate his birthday (they are still here as a matter
of fact, watching a movie upstairs).

Since Bev's now doing the hyperal during the day, she had to lug it around
with her everywhere. At one point this evening she had a temperature of
100.2, so Tim suggested we check her blood sugar, which was at 314 (the
normal range is between 80 and 120). So, we gave her some insulin, which I
think helped. She was able to hang out and watch one of the movies, but as
she was getting ready for bed, Tim asked how she was doing and she said "not
good" (I'm not sure if that meant that she's just tired out, or if she was
in more pain).

One thing I forgot to mention about yesterday's appointment is that her
weight is at 89 right now, according to the scale at the dr's office (I
think the scale she has here at home is a little off in the negative
direction).

Although I'm sure everything she did today was tiring, I think she was
really glad to be able to do it. As she said in the car ride home from
Jon's pictures, it's nice to be part of at least some of the important
things in his senior year.

Becky

17 September 04 ~ Friday ~ Becky
Bev had her appointment with Dr. Carroll this morning. I'm not sure what
all he said (I will need to ask Tim about that), but from what both Bev and
Tim were saying afterwards, it sounds like Dr. Carroll is going to put her
on a new hyperal that has more dextrose (which will hopefully help stabilize
her weight). She's going to do the hyperal during the day, instead of at
night, which will hopefully cut back the number of times she has to get up
during the night.

Dr. Carroll also gave her some new pain medications that are a little bit
stronger than what she's been taking. Again, I will have to check with Tim
to make sure I'm getting this right, but I think her pain patch is now going
to be 200 (instead of 125) and she got a prescription for oxycodone to take
as needed for pain (which I think is just until the pharmacy is able to get
the other pain medication that Dr. Carroll prescribed – I don't know the
name – which should get here by Wednesday).

As far as her UTI goes, I'm not sure if I understood what he had to say
about that. Tim made it sound like antibiotics aren't going to work, so Dr.
Carroll is treating it with pain medication. Tim asked about having her
kidney removed, but Dr. Carroll said it would be too complicated.

Bev didn't get chemo today, but they did give her herceptin. They also gave
her adavan, which really knocked her out. She slept on the car ride home,
then had a little bit of trouble walking up the stairs, and then slept for
most of the afternoon. She was much more awake later this evening, and
seemed to be doing ok.

I guess that's all I know. I will let you know if I find out anything new
from Tim.

Love, Becky

16 September 04 ~ Thursday ~ Becky
Although Bev didn't act like she was in very much pain today, she must have
been because she decided to have a morphine injection tonight. She said
that the pain is right before and during urination and that as long as she
is lying down, she feels ok. Since she is having to get up every hour or so
during the night to go to the bathroom, she's hoping the morphine will take
care of the pain.

This morning she decided not to take a shower and I'm not sure if that was
due to pain or fatigue. We had some visitors this morning (Pastor Keith and
then Don, Tim's co-worker, and his wife Carrie). After they left, I noticed
that Bev was shaking again (which might have been due to being cold, since
she had just had a large cup of ice chips). In the afternoon both of us
just crashed out.

Bev has an appointment with Dr. Carroll tomorrow, so please be praying about
that.

Thanks, Becky

15 September 04 ~ Wednesday ~ Becky
Both Bev and I were feeling pretty lazy this morning, but by the afternoon
we were a little more ambitious. After she took a walk to the mailbox, Bev
fixed herself up some food, put away the dishes, and then both of us worked
on cleaning out ~~~~~~'s infected ear.

I'm not sure what she did or how she was doing between 3:00 and 8:00 since I
went to get Robert and the hyperal and just stopped by the house for a
second to drop them off and then run to my class. Tim had to go to a band
meeting at Jonathan's school, so I wasn't able to ask him how things went.
Bev mentioned that at one point she was getting shaky, but then after taking
some medicine she was feeling better (I can't remember which medicine it
was, but I want to say roxicet, which she has been taking more of lately).

We spent the evening watching tv (as usual) and Bev seemed to be doing ok,
although she seemed pretty sleepy and went to bed 15 minutes earlier than
she usually does.

Guess that's it.

Love, Becky

By the way, my cold hasn't been too bad (except for my extra laziness, but
who knows how much of that is due to the cold and how much is innate . . .)
and I think I'm quickly recovering. Right now my nose doesn't feel quite
back to normal yet, but other than that I think I'm ok.

14 September 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Bev
I don't know if it's the chemo affecting me more or what but I've been
really tired today. I've had to take the Roxicet pain medication yesterday
and today which is making me sleepier and it's hard to concentrate enough to
read. We increased the pain patch to 150 again too. I think the pain is
mostly in my right kidney. I've had darker urine and two little blood clots
Mon. so let Dr. Carroll's office know. The nurse ran it by him and he said
no changes yet and to keep drinking lots of cranberry juice which I have
been.

Becky hasn't been feeling great because of her cold so both of us have
gotten a lot of rest today which I think is good for her.

Jonathan gets his hair "trimmed" Thur. And I got an appt. today for this
Sat. to get his senior pictures done at Josten's. We had to get it done
this month to make the yearbook deadline. Just doing little things like
that are major accomplishments. :)

Love, Bev

13 September 04 ~ Monday ~ Becky
I keep forgetting to mention that we have both the car and the jeep back in
working condition! Thanks for praying about that. They seem to be running
well so far, so hopefully they won't need to visit the shop again any time
soon.

Not much happened today. I was feeling lazy, so after the home health care
nurse came this morning, I slept for a few hours (I think Bev did too).

Bev wasn't feeling well this morning. The pain in her lower back was
bothering her, so she took some roxicet, which she hasn't had in a while.
There were some blood clots in her urine, so she called Dr. Carroll's
office, but I think they told her just to wait and see what happens. She
threw up after dinner, but didn't seem nauseous during the rest of the day.

Same prayer requests as before: Bev's weight, that her colostomy would start
working again, for her UTI to go away, the pain in her lower back, the
irritation due to the pain patch, her high tumor markers, and nausea.

Thanks, Becky

13 September 04 ~ Monday ~ Bev
I've been reading e-mail this afternoon, and it looks like Becky has done a
good job in letting you know how things are going and what we've been up to.
My main concerns right now are my tumor markers being up as high as they've
ever been (350 and 355), and I keep losing weight. I saw the new oncologist
on Fri. since Dr. Carroll was out of town, but it sounds like he thinks it's
too early to give up on the chemos I'm on. Until my colostomy opens up and
starts working again, it sounds like there's not more I can do about the
weight loss. I eat quite a bit during the day but it doesn't stay in my
stomach long enough to absorb much. Maintaining hope in God's power to work
however he chooses and acceptance of his sovereignty without it seeming like
I've given up is tricky but that's where I am. I'm always amazed at your
continued interest in our lives and we're thankful for your prayers.

Love, Bev

12 September 04 ~ Sunday ~ Becky
This morning we went to church and then in the afternoon Tim, Bev and I went
for a drive to go see the fall colors. However, I managed to sleep for
pretty much the entire car ride, so I didn't see much. But, I don't know
how much I would have been able to see anyway, had I been awake, since the
smoke is back. This evening Dave and Connie came over and visited for a
while.

I think Tim said that Bev's weight was down to 85 this morning. She seemed
to do really well today, although this evening when I was hooking up her
hyperal, I noticed that she was shaking pretty badly, which she hasn't done
for a long time – I'm not really sure what caused that. Also, she mentioned
that her lower back is hurting a little bit, and she thinks it might have
something to do with her kidneys.

Becky
I forgot to mention that I think I might be coming down with a cold. Tim
said that the one that's going around has been pretty bad. Please pray that
it won't affect my ability to help out Bev. Thanks.

11 September 04 ~ Saturday ~ Becky
No news today. Becky

Becky ordered samples of Melaleuca ~ which should help the wellness level in
the house, the environment, and for those who use it. Join in and help support
this effort ~ ask Becky. Steve

10 September 04 ~ Friday ~ Becky
I think I said yesterday that Bev had an appointment with Dr. Carroll, but I
was wrong, it was with Dr. Cox because Dr. Carroll was out. They went ahead
and gave Bev chemo today since her blood counts were good. They also
changed her UTI antibiotic from tequin to levaquin, so hopefully that will
work. (She is allergic to the IV form of levaquin, but is hopeful that the
pill form they gave her won't cause a reaction). Something to pray about is
that her tumor markers were higher than they have ever been (somewhere
around 300). We are hoping that having gotten the chemo today will help
make a difference. Her weight at the doctor's office was 90 lbs, so please
continue to pray that she will be able to put on some more pounds.

Thank you! Becky

9 September 04 ~ Thursday ~ Becky
Today was an eventful day. After visiting with April, one of Bev's friends,
this morning, we got to go on a tour at the El Dorado Gold Mine, thanks to
Connie Johnson who won 2 free tickets at a golf tournament. The tour was
very fun. During the first half of the tour, we got to ride on a train
while the conductor entertained us with his fiddle and pointed out different
aspects of the history of mining in Alaska. Then we met a couple who has
been mining for about 25 years and they showed us the modern way of panning
for gold (which involved astroturf in a sluice). Then we were each given a
bag of pay dirt and got to pan for our own gold. Combined, Bev and I
managed to get $18 worth of gold (she got $12 of it), which we had put into
earrings at the gift shop.

Overall, Bev seemed to be doing pretty well, and I think she enjoyed the
experience. By the time we got to the gift shop though, she was a little
tired and decided to sit down while we waited to board the train. When we
got back to the car she was feeling nauseous, but didn't throw up.

As if that wasn't enough adventure for one day, some of Bev's friends from
church came over and threw her a little surprise birthday party. They made
her a cake out of jello and brought balloons. They stayed and visited for a
little while, but not too long.

After all that, I'm not surprised that Bev seemed a little bit tired, but I
think she had a good day.

She has a doctor's appointment tomorrow, so please be praying that that goes
well. She slept better last night than she has the past few nights, but the
UTI is still an issue. Also, her weight has gone down quite a bit. I think
she said that when she weighed herself this morning she was at 88 lbs. And,
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, the pain patch has been
causing some skin irritation, so please pray that that would go away. And
please continue to pray about her nausea.

Thanks! Becky

8 September 04 ~ Wednesday ~ Becky
Bev hasn't been able to sleep well the past two nights because of her UTI.
She wakes up about every 45 minutes. Please pray that the tequin would be
effective in getting rid of the UTI. She was also feeling nauseous this
morning, although she seemed to be trying very hard not to throw up. (I
think she's worried about throwing up her medicine.)

This morning we went shopping at the Prospector for some warm clothing for
me to survive the winter. (Thanks again for the jacket and socks Grandma :)
Then we went to Michael's to get a cable knitting needle for Bev's afghan.
(I decided to go with an easier pattern, so mine doesn't require a cable
needle.) She seemed to do pretty well shopping, although I think she was a
little tired when we got back to the house so she just rested the rest of
the afternoon.

I had my first class at UAF tonight, so I wasn't here to know all the
details about how the evening went. Tim said that Bev was feeling nauseous
again and throw up this time. So, please pray about the nausea (we thought
that the G-tube was supposed to fix that . . .).

Guess that's it. Becky

7 September 04 ~ Tuesday ~ Becky
Today was a lazy day for Bev and me, so there's not much new to report.
Since we started the hyperal later than usual last night, it ended late this
morning, so we just slept in. Then we lounged around for the rest of the
day. And that's about it . . .

Becky

6 September 04 ~ Monday ~ Becky
We went golfing with Dave and Connie Johnson this evening. Bev rode along
in the golf cart and watched. She threw up twice today, but otherwise
seemed to be doing pretty well.

Becky

5 September 04 ~ Sunday ~ Becky
We went to church this morning and Bev felt strong enough to stand up during
worship (which she hasn't felt up to most of the time that I've been here).
Not only that, she helped haul firewood this afternoon with Tim, Robert and
me (Jonathan was at a meeting at church and then a birthday party). Melissa
(a friend from church) came over this evening and we watched a Chonda Pierce
comedy special. Then Bev and I knitted the rest of the evening while Robert
and Tim went out 4-wheeling with Dave Johnson.

Bev has been much stronger these past few days and we're thinking it's
probably from not having had the chemo on Friday, which tends to knock her
out. She still has a UTI, which is causing her some discomfort, so please
pray that that would go away. Dr. Carroll suggested spliting the tequin
(the antibiotic for the UTI) in half and taking half in the morning and half
at night so that her body will hopefully absorb more of it. She has been
throwing up off and on the past few weeks. Also, her pain patch was causing
some irritation on her back, so please pray about that.

Thanks! Becky

4 September 04 ~ Saturday ~ Becky
We were very ambitious today; Tim and I scrubbed down the kitchen and Bev
sorted through her basket full of cards while the boys went out
paintballing. Then this afternoon Bev and I went for a walk and afterwards
she started teaching me how to knit. After dinner, Tim, Bev, and Robert
watched "The Passion" and then Tim, Bev, and I watched "Joe Somebody" while
Robert made some sort of chocolate candy.

Nothing really new to report as far as Bev's health. She seemed to be doing
pretty well, although at one point she did ask for some zofran, as she was
feeling nauseous.

Guess that's it. :)

Love, Becky

3 September 04 ~ Friday ~ Becky
Bev had an appointment with Dr. Carroll this morning. She got herceptin,
but didn't have chemo, so it didn't take that long. We spent the rest of
the afternoon exchanging the pants we got her for her birthday for ones that
would fit better. I find shopping to be terribly exhausting, so I was
impressed that she was able to do that. This evening we went on a walk to
the musk-ox farm (the smoke is nearly gone and it stopped raining, so the
weather was beautiful today) so overall, she is doing pretty well. Her
colostomy is still not working and her ear has gotten clogged up every once
in a while, so please pray about those.

Thanks! Becky

2 September 04 ~ Thursday Bev's Birthday ~ Becky
We spent the morning watching old home movies, then in the afternoon I went
with Tim to pick up the car from the shop (a different shop than the one
it's been in previously). However, Tim decided to leave the car there for
them to look at again because it still sounded like it was running funny.

In the afternoon Bev and I went to Michael's again to get the correct
knitting needles. Bev has already started on her afghan; I still need to
decide which one of the patterns I'm going to use.

Later this afternoon I got to go watch the court proceedings against Tim's
"problem student." I can tell it's all very frustrating for everyone
involved (but very entertaining to me!). It went very well, but we will
have to wait and see if the student leaves housing like they are supposed to
on Monday.

We had a very low key birthday celebration, like Bev said. She got some
cards and presents at dinner, then we spent the rest of the evening watching
the RNC. I hope she feels like she was celebrated enough. It's kinda hard
when you can't eat cake . . .

Bev has an appointment with Dr. Carroll tomorrow, so please pray that that
goes well. Thanks!

Love, Becky

2 September 04 ~ Thursday Bev's Birthday ~ Bev
Someone let the cat out of the bag that today is the big 5 OH for me.
Thanks for all the nice birthday greetings – most of them have been kind :).
The family wants to celebrate however I'd like, but since I can't eat much
and don't feel terribly energetic, I think it will just be a quiet evening.
Fifty sure sounds old, and I certainly don't feel that old!

Tim got an e-mail yesterday saying Robert made it into the community Youth
Symphony which practices on Sat. mornings so we're excited for him. Tim
didn't think he'd made it after his audition last week. His music teacher
mentioned yesterday that he might be able to keep a bass at home which would
be a big help.

Tim went to Robert's Open House Tue. Night and after only a week, there has
been one missed assignment so we're going to have to do more careful follow
up since that's been his downfall. I just got done writing one page about
him – something his Social Studies teacher asked parents to do, so I feel
like I've had homework too.

I've been feeling ok, just more fatigued but I've still gotten out a little.
Yesterday Becky and I bought yarn and knitting needles to make afghans which
should be a big challenge. Our big news is that Becky has decided to stay
for the semester! She had been praying about It and feels it's what God
wants her to do. We're excited that she wants to say, and so is Tim's dad.
He's still willing to come later on as needed. Becky's going to take one
linguistics class (her major) at UAF that meets Wed. nights and hopefully
there will be other things she can get involved in during the cold months
ahead.

Thanks for your prayers that support all of us in so many different ways.

Love, Bev

1 September 04 ~ Wednesday ~ Becky
Bev said she was feeling weak this morning, so both of us slept in a while.
I think she still might have been somewhat fatigued the rest of the day, but
you wouldn't have been able to tell by all the stuff she did. We went to a
quilt store and then to Michael's to try to find a project to work on. Bev
decided to knit an afghan, which I thought sounded fun, so I'm going to knit
one too. We bought the instruction book, some yarn, and some knitting
needles, but got home and realized that we had bought the wrong sized
needles. So, that project will be on hold until I can get over to Michael's
again to exchange the needles (which hopefully won't take too long). She
rested some this afternoon, but I'm not sure what she did this evening (I
took one of the foreign exchange students shopping for "winter clothes" –
I don't know anything about winter clothes, so I'm not sure if what she got
is actually going to keep her warm, hopefully they will . . .). When I got
home, we watched a Dateline interview with Jane Pauly, which was very
interesting.

And that's about it for today. :)

Becky

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