Visiting from Texas

First of all I want to thank God for making my visit to Philadelphia happen so quickly and smoothly. I was able to fly up on the red eye Friday. I visited with Dad and Karen a couple of hours then. I was also able to come back Saturday with my sister, Katherine, and Dad's Mom in the morning. Then I visited later in the evening by myself to say bye. After that, I caught my early flight home on Sunday.


My visit was very short but productive. I was able to see Dad at his best this week. At the beginning of the week he had been very sleepy. When I got in, he was already on 4 chemos and steroids. One of the perks of the steroids was that he was awake when I visited. I was blessed to spend such quality time with Karen and Dad. They were in good spirits in spite of the seriousness of his condition. They are taking his illness day by day. We were able to visit, talk and eat together. Daisy was right that room is truly very welcoming in spite of it being in the hospital. I felt like I was in the kitchen at home.


I was also so blessed to see the overwhelming amount of support our parents have received from friends and family. They are so thankful for and are so blessed with the prayers, cards, calls, snack, work details etc... Thanks for your continuous support.


I was truly glad to see Dad on those good days. By the time I left Saturday, the first round of Chemo was done. The doctor was trying to regulate his platelet levels in order to prevent future nose bleeds. His white blood cells were down. Karen wasn't sure at that point when or if he would be going home soon. However, we all felt that he was in the right place for the time being. The days ahead are going to be very hard. Next week is going to be a very tough week for him since he will be experiencing the effects of the chemo. Please pray that the chemo will work. Pray that his body will be strong enough to handle the chemo and replenish itself. Please pray for Karen as she cares constantly for him. Pray for her to have strength and endurance.

We love you Dad and are proud of you. You may be physically weak, but we know you are spiritually strong. Hang in there. Karen we love you too. We are so thankful for your love and devotion to Dad. We know he is well taken care of.