We took our time driving to Cleveland the early part of October. George and I made Dolly a bed to lie down, while we made the trip. We were very concerned about her legs clotting, so we would stop often to let her get some circulation. We made a visit to our dear friend Anna Leah Kratzer in WV. (Anna Leah is the widow of Dr. Garland Powel, she has since remarried). She has been diagnosed with cancer and is refusing treatment. It was a blessed visit and may be the last time we will get to see her this side of eternity. We then visited a couple of churches in WV. All in all it took us four days to make a 1,000 mile trip. We thank the Lord for housing that was supplied by our supporting church in Cleveland. I got Dolly settled in with family nearby and began reporting to some of our churches and preaching a few missions conferences. As you know I have not kept any out of state meetings for a long time, due to Dolly’s health. God was good and in every conference the Faith Promise was increased substantially. Praise the Lord! The middle of November I had to be back in FL for a couple of meetings. The plan was to leave Dolly in Cleveland until I could return for the anniversary celebration, but a few days before I flew out Dolly turned very ill. We could tell it was the blood clots. We ‘doctored’ her up as much as possible and got het to FL to see her doctors. She was hospitalized for 3 days with catheters in both legs infusing blood clot breaking drugs into her veins. We thank the Lord that they once again were able to get the blood flowing. The doctors have warned us that this will probably be the last time this can be done, unless Dolly remains on a regiment of blood thinners. Of course Dolly cannot be on blood thinners very long because of the hemoptysis. Dolly had her 3 month CT scan to see how the tumors were responding to what little treatment she has been on. We give God all the Glory that the 2 smaller tumors have reduced in size slightly and the large one stayed the same. FOLKS THIS IS PROGRESS? Thank you for your prayers.
Dear Friends,
We have been going to doctors appointments all morning. So far they are diagnosing Dolly with a bladder infection and treating her with antibiotics. They feel this is the major source of her pain. But they're also concerned about blood clotting in her leg. And she is undergoing an ultrasound as I write. They're also scheduling her for a test of her bones just to make sure that the cancer hasn't spread there. Thank you for your prayers. Because Jesus Deserves the Reward of His Suffering Walter Stevens Hebrews 12:2-4 Dear Prayer Partners,
I am on my way back to Tampa from Ohio. I had to shorten my trip up here as Dolly was rushed to the emergency room with excruciating pain. The ER doctors couldn't find the source of her pain and sent her home with pain medication and recommended she see her oncologist. Our fear is that the cancer may have spread. We will hear from the oncologist tomorrow. She is a little better today as I am managing her pain medication intake through the pain management doctor. Please pray for Dolly and for God to give me and the doctors wisdom. Thank you. Because Jesus Deserves the Reward of His Suffering, Walter Stevens Heb. 12:2-4 BACK ON SCHEDULE
Now that Dolly has been on treatment and her blood coagulation is under control, we have set back into a more normal routine. At the present time, much of my responsibilities are domestic duties (laundry, ironing, cooking, lawn care) and caring for Dolly. “A guy has to do what a guy has to do”. I thank the Lord for a dear sister from church who comes once per week to do major house cleaning. Dolly is doing better and seems to have more energy from time to time. She will be tested on 9/25 to determine how the tumors have responded to treatment. We will not see the oncologist until 10/3. We will keep you updated. Please be in prayer for Dolly’s health. NOTE: Dolly wants to thank everyone for their prayers, gifts, get well and birthday cards. They mean the world to her. What a Great and Gracious God we serve! Praise His Holy Name!
Wednesday we saw the oncologist for the 3rd time. He said I have " good news". As he compared once again Dolly's recent CT scan to her last one of March 22, he is so pleased with continued reduction in the tumors that he feels there is no immediate need for further treatment. He went on to say when treatment is necessary he will recommend hormone therapy again. He believes that since Dolly had radiation and chemo that the cancer has weakened to the point that the tumors could be responsive to this type of treatment. He also mentioned that a new chemo drug would be "kept in our back pockets". It was also revealed that the blood clots inDolly's lungs have dissipated. Though she is still susceptible to clotting and will have to continue the blood thinning injections. Clotting is also a side affect to hormones drugs. We will know more when we saw the anticoagulant doctor tomorrow. Dolly is still under strict travel limitations. Thank you all for your prayers. We love all of you very much. Because Jesus Deserves the Reward of His Suffering, Walter Stevens Heb. 12:2-4 Dolly has had an allergic reaction again. Not as serious as before because she was prepped with medications before the CT scan. She is much better but the doctors can't seem to lower her blood pressure, as a result they are admitting her for observation. Please pray.
Thank you Because Jesus Deserves the Reward of His Suffering, Walter Stevens Heb. 12:2-4 Dear Praying friends,
We want to thank every one for their prayers. We arrived safely to the gulf coast of Florida. Dolly saw the oncologist yesterday. Though the prognosis is still the same, he did offer more options then we were given before. He wants to start Dolly back on hormone therapy. This was the first treatment Dolly received in 2010. We did see minimal success with this form of treatment, but our previous oncologist wanted to take a more radical treatment approach with radiation. Everything will depend on a CT scan this coming Friday. If the nodules have increased in size since the last test, then she will have to undergo chemo therapy again. He did mention the possibility of a clinical trail of a different chemo drug that might be more effective. Additionally Dolly is in danger of clotting again. She will now have to receive daily blood thinning drugs by injection indefinitely. Because Jesus Deserves the Reward of His Suffering, Walter Stevens Heb. 12:2-4 Dear prayer partners,
Dolly saw the oncologist today. We left a little confused and very discouraged. She told us that there's a possibility that Dolly would have to be on chemotherapy the rest of her life. The doctor wants to wait eight weeks and take a CT scan before she starts treatment again. We are in a dilemma and don't know what to do. We don't like the idea of waiting eight weeks without any treatments and we definitely are not willing for Dolly to be on chemotherapy the rest of her life. Dear sweet Lord Jesus, please help us. You said in your word that if any man lacks wisdom that all he has to do is ask and that you will give him wisdom. Please give us wisdom of what to do about Dolly's medical condition. Thank you for your grace. Walter Stevens |