It's Mom ... sorry neither Kara nor I have had or made time to post. Jo had a scan done on the 10th; we met with the dr on the 15th. The good news is the tumors seem to be staying the same size or, with some, even a little smaller. The challenge news is she can't have any more of the chemo drug (doxyrubicin) that seemed to be working. (It weakens the heart so there are lifetime limitations.) She had to have a potassium infusion on Thursday, but, barring any other unforeseens, we will go into the hospital on Tuesday morning for another treatment of the chemo drug ifosphomide ... it's the one that makes her so sick, but is usually given with the doxyrubicin. She had two rounds of ifos before the doxy this time and it didn't seem to do anything to the tumors. We will do another scan after only one more treatment of the ifos to see if it is doing anything at all; in the meantime, the dr is trying to find an alternative treatment. He was thinking about Barnes again, but they've already told us the study they are doing does not have positive results for Jo's kind of sarcoma so, unless they've come up with something really recent, that won't be an option. We are taking Tuesday's news as good news and will continue to pray for God's intervention with another drug ... or just a plain miracle, since I'm sure He's still in that business, too.


Jo had a nice surprise in the mail on Tuesday; she received a BIG packet of individual cards from her friends and co-workers at H.D. Smith. She's planning to make an 'official' thank you note, but I wanted to tell everyone how delighted she was reading the cards and talking to me about the individuals who sent them. They called it a "card shower" and it truly made her happy. So, a BIG THANKS to all who participated ... it was a wonderful idea!!! And, a big thank you to each of you who send her cards; some of you are very faithful in that regard and, believe me, it is very much appreciated. She loves snail mail because she can go back through them later and re-read them; we keep them in a special packet so she can go through them any time she wants.


Jo has been having trouble with her eyes for the past few days; she's lost all of her eye lashes so there's nothing there to protect her eyes from anything that may be passing by. She's been tired and resting quite a bit, but some of that is because I haven't been feeling well and she doesn't want to ask me to do much. Those of you who know her well know that's the way she is; even when she's ill, she's thinking about others.

As always, thanks to each of you for your prayers, thoughts and general support. We are truly blessed to have all of you as our friends and support group.

Deuteronomy 7:9 "So know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God. He will keep his agreement of love for a thousand lifetimes for people who love him and obey his commands."

Psalm 116:1-2 "I love the Lord, because he listens to my prayers for help. He paid attention to me, so I will call to him for help as long as I live."