Dear Friends,

I got deferred again on October 5, due to low immune system numbers, pushing the schedule back yet another week; but this past Thursday, October 12, the blood test numbers were all in the acceptable range, so we started round 6 of chemotherapy. Woo hoo, half way through! Round 12 should be complete by mid-January, if there are no further delays. But there probably will be. In the meantime, all the standard side effects kicked in: extra tired, hiccups on day 2, painful cold sensitivity in fingers, lips, tongue, throat. Still feeling tired, but the cold sensitivity is fading now, and should be gone in another day or two.

Micaela seems to have recovered well from covid. She stayed in Alaska with our daughter for an extra five days, taking paxlovid and wearing a mask, and succeeded in not passing the virus along to Rachel. The extra time was a precaution to make sure she wouldn’t bring it home to infect me. With my weakened immune system and other health factors, covid could turn out to affect me quite seriously. She’s now back, doing well, having had two clear tests before she got home, pretty well recovered from jet lag.

Our house is on a small cul-de-sac with about eight houses, and yesterday afternoon we all had a neighborhood picnic. It wasn’t terribly cold, but it was cool and breezy and I had to leave a little earlier than some because even wearing several layers plus my down jacket it was just too cold for me. I used to not notice cold temperatures, but I’m afraid those days are gone. It was good to have this time, meeting and chatting with neighbors. We’ve now lived in Michigan for a year, and with all these health issues I had not yet met most of them. Everyone is friendly and welcoming. They all have interesting stories to tell.

I am so very grateful for the steadfast support so many of you have shared with me, offering your greetings and best wishes and prayers on my behalf. It’s a long journey, and sometimes I get discouraged: but I feel the sustaining presence of our Lord, holding on to me. “He’s got the whole world in his hands” – and that includes you and me. So we will press on, confident that just as Jesus has begun his good work in us, so he will carry it on to completion.

Many many blessings to you all –