Spent the afternoon with Mom and Dad.

We went down today after church and took supper to Mom and Dad. We really enjoyed being with them, and while we were down, we celebrated my daughter, Anna's ,4th birthday. We picked GaGa up(Dad's mom who is 90 years old and lives out on the Ranch in one of the homes on the property) on the way down. It was nice to be together, to fellowship, and to try to enjoy some normalcy of life in the midst of this difficult time for Mom and Dad. All I can say is that it was good to be with them.

Mom is hanging in there, she is trying to keep her chin up, her mind on Christ, and her faith in all that the Lord is doing, that it is good even though she doesn't understand His, what seems like, silence, in the midst of this storm. She loves the grandkids, and they made her laugh, which was good.

Dad has not changed much. He has seemed to have a lower temp the last 2 days, but his heart rate is still elevated, breathing is labored and shallow, and the difficulty in speech is still there. He really didn't talk much today, but He enjoyed watching the Olympics with Jesse, and watching Anna open her presents. He smiled and tried to be pleasant, but was very quiet. He is so discouraged about this situation. We are all discouraged. Knowing God is working behind the scenes, yet feeling like nothing is happening. Not seeing any change, and wondering if and when things will get better. He is hurting, as well as Mom.

We know it is not a matter of if the Lord is able, it is if He is willing, if this is part of His perfect plan. We are praying that it will be pleasing to the Lord, and accomplish His purposes, in healing Dad, and helping him to recover soon.

Thank you again for all your comments. I have just printed out this entire blog from the beginning until present, and have put it in a scrap book for Mom and Dad to have with all your comments along with each blog entry. Mom has read all of them, but Dad has missed a few here and there, so now they will be able to go read back over all the wonderful encouraging words you have put on here. If you have wanted to send them a note, I will be printing out all the comments from this point on and placing it in their book, so go ahead and leave a comment if you wish.

Thanks again for traveling along this bumpy road with our family. We cherish all of you, and consider ourselves blessed to have you lifting Mom and Dad and all of us up during this time.

In Him, JJ and the Janszen Kids

Friday, Saturday report.

I ran out of time yesterday to update, sorry for those that have been checking.
On Friday, Dad had a rough day. There is some good news. His fever was down, not going over 101 all day, but his breathing and speech were worse.
His best friend, Jim Reeves, and his wife Micah, came up from Brenham to visit for the evening. It is always good to see the Reeves, but Dad was struggling so bad with his speech and spasms in his breathing. There was a time where Dad was talking to Jim and he got hung up on a word, and could not get it out, it was like his diaphragm was spasming, and it took him 10 minutes before he was able to talk again. This is happening quite often, and talking really wears Dad out. His energy level is very low.
They thought that they would hear back from Dr. Roth's office on Friday afternoon to find out what the Dr. thought of all this and when he might want to see him again, but they never called back. We must continue to pray that Dad will be able to breath normal again, his heart rate would slow down, his fever would stay down, and that God would give Dr. Roth wisdom on figuring out what is going on with Dad.
I wish I had good news and could give a better report on Dad, but this is it. We are trusting our
good God in this no matter what, but we are crying out to him for some answers and some relief for Dad and Mom. (She sounded a little tired today on the phone.)
Thank you for carrying this burden with us. We love and appreciate you all, even though we don't know who all of you are, you are bonded to us through this and through Christ, JJ

About the same.

I spoke with Dad today. He said he is about the same, no improvement. He spoke with Dr. Roth's (the surgeon at MDA) assistant today, and she seemed very concerned that Dad was having this much trouble with his breathing, speech, heart rate (still high, above 100 when resting), and fever (yesterday it spiked at 101.8) She said she is baffled. She was going to talk with the Dr. and get back with him. Continue to pray for wisdom and direction about all this.
Thank you, JJ

Hanging in There

Things are the same with Dad. Nothing has really changed. He is still running fever, still having some difficulty breathing, still stuttering, and still no energy. He is still alive, still eating, and as far as we can see, still cancer free. We are praising God through our pain.
Dad is still discouraged, but your words of encouragement are huge. Thank you for the truth spoken in your comments. Mom said that when people call and ask how they are doing, they are answering truthfully. No fake, "we are fine,", just the truth, "they are hangin' in there." One day at a time.
Mom is so wonderful in the way she is stepping up to the plate. Dad has always been the strong one, always taken care of Mom, and now Mom is being such a blessing to him, by being the strong one, the encourager, the one who continues to pray and believe, and trust, and just be there for Dad, like no one else can. Praise God for giving her what she needs when she needs it.

Besides Dad's discouragement, please pray again for this fever. We want the Lord to show us if there is an infection hiding somewhere deep inside that is being overlooked by the Drs. Pray for wisdom and insight for them, and also for Mom, if and when she needs to contact the Drs. about the fever. (Remeber, they said don't call unless it is above 101*) it has bearly made it over that once, but it has gone between 99-101 many times.
Praise God for all of you, JJ

Tough day.

I spoke with Mom this morning, and they had had a pretty good night of rest. Still the low grade temp comes and goes, but the pain medicine seems to help with that as well as his ability to rest. But Mom called this afternoon and left a message asking us all to pray for Dad's discouraged heart. He is really having a tough time with his lack of energy returning, as well as his struggle with talking. I am sure Dad is going to have to be patient with the energy returning, and possibly with his speech as well, but he is really down about it. Please pray for the Lord to whisper in his ear how loved he is, what a wonderful plan God has for him through all of this, that God has not forgotten him, nor has he ceased from working, healing, providing.
I can't help but think of the following passage out of Exodus:
" Then Moses said to the LORD, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the LORD said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say." Ex. 4:10-12
God is mighty in His work. We all hurt with Dad when he hurts, and with Mom too. I am praying that Dad will not be discouraged. That even if he never returns to full energy level, even if he never speaks fluently (not really sure if he did that anyway), but if he never speaks the way he used to without stuttering, that he will feel a sense of purpose, joy, completeness in Christ and His calling on Dad's life. Pray for patience to take this one day at a time, and to find joy in the journey.
Thank you, JJ

Visit with Dad.

We just got in from having dinner with Mom and Dad. They have had a good day. Dad and Mom went walking together. Dad walked about 27 minutes, but then it took about 2 hours to recover. His energy will return, but it will come gradually. He has still been running a low grade temp, but MDA says not to worry about that. We are all a little concerned, but we are going to sit on it right now, and try to trust the Drs. down there. Dad is eating and drinking well. They are starting to slowly wean him off the formula in the feeding tube as he increases his intake through his mouth. He is the same with the breathing, and the stuttering. We love him, and it hurts to see him struggle with this. We believe he will work through this. We hope that some of the breathing issues and spasms are related to the pneumonia and the fluid that is still on the lungs instead of just nerve damage. Pray that if there is an infection or something that the Drs. are missing down there in Houston, that God will make it obvious to them. And of course, encouragement for Mom and Dad. Thanks for your attentiveness to our family in prayer.

In His Grace, JJ

Coming Home

Mom and Dad came home today. Things are not any different. Dad still has a low grade temp. that comes and goes. He still has the same breathing spasms when he talks (at times, not all the time), and he is still going to take lasiks as needed. The pain medicine seems to help with the short breathing when he is talking, maybe it is relaxing those muscles in that area. He still has the knot on his leg, which they will watch closely, and he still has the shakes at times. He has a pretty good cough going right now, possibly from the pneumonia.
Please pray for encouragement for him. Pray he will see God's hand in all this, and be reminded that the Lord is with him, walking through this, and will be glorified in Dad's weakness. God is good and His purposes are good and right. We serve an awesome God. Pray for healing for Dad's symptoms to diminish, and to help his body repair from the surgery and work the way it was created to. Pray for strength for Mom too.
Thank you, JJ and all the Janszen Kids