Still doing good.

This week, Dad had the men's fellowship out at the Ranch on Thursday night. They had a great time, and he didn't lose any weight, which is usually what happens the week he is getting ready for the Band of Brothers. He also had another procedure on Friday to stretch his esophagus out, which went well. They Dr. said that he may not need to come back for another one of these for a few months. They will be heading back to MDA the end of March for another check up, and scan to check for any returning cancer. Mom said he is back up over 150lbs. Yeah!! He came to our house on Tuesday night for our family Valentine's dinner (yes, we were very late). We had a great time of fellowship with Mom, Dad, Joy, and Tully. Dad ate so much, and had to rest afterward, but we were so glad that is tasted good to him, and that we were able to spend some time together.
On a side note, Mom is having a procedure done on Tuesday. She will go in and try to have some polyps (sp?) removed with a scope. They found some last spring, right after they found Dad's cancer, and she has put it off until now, simply because she didn't feel like she had the time with Dad's treatments down at MDA. We are praying that they can do this with the scope, and not have to go in and surgically remove them. Please pray with us over this.
Keep praying for weight gain, and pray for Mom too.
Thank you,
JJ and all the Janszen Kids

Gained some weight!!!

Yeah, finally some good news to report. Mom told me yesterday that Dad had come back from a fishing trip with Tully and had gained 4 pounds. We were all worried about him going on this trip, since they were going to be camping out in tents and eating food cooked over an open fire, but praise God, it was just what he needed.
He had a follow up with the GI guy here in Ft. Worth, and will go back in a week to have another dilation done, as a proactive measure, instead of waiting for Dad to start choking again.
I just wanted to let all you prayer worriers know that God has answered yes to a little weight gain!!!
Keep praying.
In Him, JJ

Little has changed.

I have been needing to post for awhile. I have been busy, but did want to give you all an update. Last Thursday at 6:30am Dad called Ray and said that he had been throwing up and choking since 6pm the night before. He hadn't been able to even hold down a drink of water. This was of great concern to all of us, especially Mom. He went in to a GI guy here at Hugley Hospital and he immediately dilated his esophagus out, which gave Dad immediate relief. He then felt good enough to go to the Ft. Worth Stock Show and Rodeo on Friday with all my crew, and then again to Finals on Sunday night. This week he has been doing pretty good, but Mom said that today he had an upset stomach for most of the day, which made him not eat a thing from Breakfast until dinner tonight. He is supposed to go back to the GI Dr. on Thursday for a follow up. We are praying that this digestive thing will improve. He really needs to gain weight, and to do that he needs improvement on the digestion.
Thank you all for being patient with me and my updates.
In Him, JJ Ford

Lost some more weight.

Please pray, Dad has lost about 3 more pounds, and is now under 150. We are discouraged for him, and don't really know what the answer is. He is needing to get dialated again, and also we think we may need to have a GI doctor check out his digestive system to make sure that there is not anything else going on to cause him to not gain weight, and to also have these digestive issues. He knows he needs to gain weight to gain back his strength, to build up his stamina, to help fight infection, etc., but it is just trying to figure out how to do that. Thanks for praying, thanks for loving our family, we love all of you.
In Him, JJ

Home from Colorado.

Mom and Dad are on there way home from Colorado. They really enjoyed themselves and enjoyed having each of the kids up there with them, the first week Me, Ray, and all five of our children were there, along with Joy, then this week, Jamie, Clint, their 2 children, and Tully were there. Sounds crazy, but Mom and Dad said they really enjoyed everyone.
Mom skied herself to death with all the kids wanting her to ski with them, and Dad actually skied the last two days they were there. We were so excited that he felt like doing that. I don't think he had any more choking episodes like he did when we were there, but he will still probably need another visit to MDA for some stretching out of the esophagus. Pray for their safe travel back today, they drove half way yesterday, and will be driving the rest of the way today.
Thank you for reading and praying, JJ

Up in Colorado

We are here in Beaver Creek, Colorado on vacation with Mom and Dad. We are enjoying our time with them and we are so thankful.

Dad has started choking again, and we are asking for prayer concerning this. He may be making another trip to Houston after they get back home for the Dr's to stretch out his esophagus. They told us this might be necessary several more times due to the scar tissue. He has felt ok while we have been up here. Some days he has felt like getting out, and some days he feels pretty drained. Pray for Mom and Dad as they have been a little discouraged with the choking returning so soon and also with how lousy Dad has felt. Dad will have a very difficult time gaining any weight back if he continues to choke and not be able to keep his food down.

This doesn't happen every meal, but it is continuing to happen more often.

Thank you for praying.

We appreciate all of you, JJ and all the Janszen Kids

A New Year

Dad, Mom, and Me. I am never in the picture because I am always taking it!
Dad working on Ruth's (my 10 year old) puzzle she got for Christmas. He couldn't put it down!


Believe it or not, but that is Dad in the Santa suit!!

God bless you all this new year. We look forward to all that God has in store for our family. We are thankful to have Dad this year, and are hopeful that this year will bring improvement to Dad's physical and emotional health. We are praying for weight gain, and for energy. We thank you all for your continued support, your prayers, all your cards and letters you have sent to Mom and Dad, and for your faithfulness to all of us. God bless you all this year.

In Him, JJ