Entries Tagged 'Family' ↓

An interview in the New York Times reminds me of a great blessing from God our family received a little over six years ago.

I have written about this before, but I just want to again give praise to the Lord for the gifts he gives to men.

Six and a half years ago, my wife began to lose weight rapidly and was bruising easily. She was becoming more and more exhausted each day. (She was enjoying the weight loss part!) We called our doctor who immediately got the ball rolling in our health care system, no small feat. The diagnosis was Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). Our hematologist was very upbeat, however. The new therapy for this disease was a drug called Gleevec, just approved for CML treatment two years previously. We haven’t looked back. Gleevec has very minimal side-effects (we haven’t really noticed any). My wife is living a normal life.

The interview with Bryan Druker, the doctor in charge of developing Gleevec reminded me of how close my dear wife was to death’s door:

The problem [with a CML diagnosis] was that the death rate in the first year was 25 to 50 percent.

The life expectancy after diagnosis before Gleevec was about 5 years. And the previous treatments would make those years pretty miserable.

This interview gives you a bit of insight into the persistence and dedication of Dr. Druker in bringing Gleevec into production. It is now approved for ten different forms of cancer, but is most successful with CML, I believe.

My wife takes a couple of little orange pills every morning and God has given her six and a half years of normal life. If there is a drawback, as I was commenting to a friend, is that she would have been in heaven these last five years or so … instead, she gets to live with me.

Maybe there is a purgatory?

By that I mean, marriage is a good idea. I am always mindful of this on those occasions when my wife and I are apart for a significant length of time, like more than a few hours.

Yesterday and today she was off driving our sons to Sea-Tac for their trek back to school. They’ll probably make it back before she gets home, but that is a fact of Island life.

In her absence… well, things haven’t fallen apart, but let’s just say her presence is sorely missed…

Continue reading →

[This update is by Duncan Johnson, written at his father's behest.]

^KJV Psalm 34:1-8 <A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.> I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make her boast in the LORD: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad. O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together. I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

I found out yesterday about the medical procedure that my Dad underwent today. Dad called me at my home in South Carolina to tell me about it because it did involve some risk. The risk involved a very, very small percentage, but our family tries to avoid even the smallest risks, maybe because my grandfather sold insurance during his working days.

I wasn’t quite sure what to say, and my brothers (who were at my house at the time) weren’t either. We assured him of our prayers, and then we all tried to think of more pleasant things to discuss.

My sister kept us updated throughout the day today, first sending us an email at 2 PM Eastern time to tell us that Dad’s treatment had been delayed. Nothing serious, just part of life with Canadian socialized medicine. There was a possibility that Dad’s procedure would be delayed until tomorrow because of limited treatment space.

Fortunately, Dad was able to be treated today anyway, and the results of his test came back far better than we expected. Dad is doing fine, and no surgery is required — but no more Tim Horton’s donuts.

I’m so glad that even if the test results had returned with more serious news, our prayers would be addressed to the same God who helped David when he fled from Saul. Our weakness and distress today may not seem as dramatic as David’s trouble, but our God is always the same. We can still trust Him.

I’ll have to take that by faith over the next few days.

Yesterday morning I put my lads on a plane at SeaTac.

Last night we came home to a house that has had at least one boy in it for the last 24 years.

Today my boys are busy getting ready for their year at BJU, classes commencing next Wednesday. This is the will of God, and I accept it. (I didn’t say I liked it.)

Continue reading →

My wife is in Alberta visiting my parents while two of our kids are at camp.

The other day, my wife shared with my parents the video of our oldest son’s wedding (just over a year ago). My parents didn’t feel up to travelling all the way to Greenville, so this was their first look at the DVD.

My mom’s comment after the video (I conducted the ceremony, so catch this admiring mom comment!):

“He could have told them a lot of that in private counselling and made it shorter.”

Moi? Long? Perish the thought!

Thanks, mom!

Five years ago, my wife was diagnosed with Chronic Mylogenous Leukemia. As we began to understand what was happening, we had many tears, but put our trust in the Lord. This summer marks a milestone. Left untreated, CML life expectancy is about five years. But we thank God for the work of many scientists (surely some of them – most? – unregenerated). Two years prior to our diagnosis, they had successfully brought to approval the new wonder drug, Gleevec.

Gleevec turned a death sentence into a chronic condition, with next to no side effects for my dear wife. (Except she complains about gaining back the weight she lost with active leukemia!)

Newsweek has an article called “A Step Past Chemotherapy” that describes some of the new approaches being taken in treating cancers of all kinds, following the path blazed largely by Gleevec.

In the article, these are the lines that got me thinking about our milestone:

Such glitches take place within a complex network of genes and proteins, all of them performing specific duties to keep cancer alive. Targeted drugs interrupt various pathways in this network. One significant advance in this new approach is Gleevec, approved in 2001 to treat chronic myeloid leukemia. Gleevec clamps down on the cell’s accelerator, a protein called tyrosine kinase, which drives cancer to reproduce.

Essentially, Gleevec zeros in on the mutated white blood cells that show up in my wife’s blood stream and kills them, allowing the normal cells to function properly and proliferate. Which apparently makes her life expectancy about the same as anyone else. I have given her these comforting words: “You’ll live long enough to die of something else.”

We don’t dwell on it. Our tears and fears are long past. My wife takes a couple of pills every morning and life goes on. We are very thankful to be able to serve the Lord together still. But as I realized this summer is a milestone of sorts, I am full of thankfulness to our Lord who does all things well.

New Years Eve at our Christmas fellowship, my wife noticed near the end of the evening that her diamond from her engagement/wedding ring was missing. Our 25th anniversary will be this year, so you can imagine her sense of loss. We searched everywhere, that night and then the next day. Nothing.

Today, after church, one of our older men noticed something in the carpet runner in our church hallway. He poked at it with his cane … and thought he saw a glint of light. There it was. Five weeks later, my wife’s diamond was found!

The fellow who found it told my wife, “I’ll sell it to you now!” What a bit of rejoicing! One of our ladies said, “it was a perfect end to a perfect day at church.”

Well, it was a blessing to us. It is just a thing, and we had given it up for lost. But we are rejoicing! Thank you, Lord!

I just thought I would share that with you. I’ll give you the update later.

KJV Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.

NAU Psalm 116:15 Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones.

My dear mother-in-law, Susan Kiser, is home with the Lord. She passed peacefully in her sleep early Monday morning. We had been expecting her passing since she was diagnosed with mesothelioma in September. The Lord was pleased to allow her to live on into the New Year, but took her home on the day my wife was to fly down for her last visit. We have been praying for this day, since Mom’s condition was incurable and her life was uncomfortable the last weeks. Today the Lord answered our prayer. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Many jokes are made at the expense of mother’s in-law. I can happily testify that my mother-in-law was the best of women, one to whom the jokes did not apply. She was a trophy of grace and I thank God for her, and for the King James Only preacher whose ministry brought her to the Lord.

Continue reading →

I am not sure what normal is, but I hope that we will soon be back to it. The holidays are draining on an old guy…

We always try to make Christmas last the whole month of December and with kids away at school it seems easy to keep that holiday spirit while they are home. Monday they leave, but sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

My parents headed home to Alberta on Friday while the kids and I headed north to the Island’s only ski hill. We had a great day with my brother and his family, even though the snow was falling in blizzard like conditions up on the mountain. (Down below, where my brother lives, it was pouring rain – welcome to the Island!)

Our ski hill never has to make any snow, they just get tons of it because of their altitude and the fact that we are in a rain forest down here where the people live. On the mountain, it is just snow and more snow.

While we were there, I am sure we got at least six inches of snow, maybe more. It was really coming down. Just checking their website, I see that they have had another 50 cm since [that's 19 inches in RealSpeak - they've had more than 3 feet in the last three days]. The weather made it a bit unpleasant for the skiing, especially the wind, but still… skiing is great anytime. And for me, anytime is now just twice in the last 27 years. Alas, time and money are always constraints. And now I am feeling that an aging body is becoming another constraint. I did ski. I didn’t fall down once! (I fell down four times…)

The trip was the first time skiing for my younger four. And the result? They want to go back. I guess they are hooked.

It is too bad we don’t live in snow country. My brother and I grew up skiing every weekend through the winter. We were skiing all day every Saturday, every Sunday afternoon after church [until time for evening church] and often on Fridays after school as well. Those were the days. Now when I ski, something funny happens in my legs and my upper thighs catch fire. I don’t ever remember that happening before?? If anyone can enlighten me…

Well it was a great way to finish off our holidays. Now it is back to reality. Work, life, death, taxes… all of those things are happening for us soon.

Brethren, let us pray for one another in the coming year!

Regards,
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3

Our own household is back to ‘normal’ now, as normal as can be in our current circumstances. Life is about change, so normal is always in a state of flux in any home.

My wife returned to us this week after six weeks assisting in the care of her dying mother. My blogging has been light because I have been pulling double duty (well… maybe only one-and-a-half duty) at home while she has been gone. Precious little time is left for reading, thinking, writing and especially blogging when I am left on my own for an extended period of time! But that is another post.

The whole episode of the last six weeks heightened my regard for my dear wife. She selflessly committed herself to the needs of her mother during this time. Our two youngest and I went to visit with her and grandma for one week at the end of October. I was able to observe my wife’s efforts first hand. Her mother is extremely uncomfortable as she grows steadily weaker. She often wakes disoriented and confused. My wife would get up with her mother, assist her to get to the bathroom, sit with her and comfort her fears, pointing her always to her faith in Christ. On many occasions my wife would be up repeatedly through the night as her mom’s discomfort would not allow her to get long or restful sleep.

Some days are better than other days in situations like this. Dying seems to come on in waves. Some days those waves are an ebb tide, and the ‘old mom’ emerges. But, alas, her strength is diminished and those episodes shorten as time goes on.

Caring for the dying exacts a toll on any family. It is the bone-weariness produced by the needs of an increasingly helpless loved one. It is the wearing emotional distress of loss as one sees the life ebbing away. It is the inevitable tension between self and one’s own needs (needs?) and the needs of another, one who cannot any longer fully function as they once did.

For now, others in the family are shouldering the responsibility of care. The bone-weariness rests now almost completely on them. Our hearts and minds are still occupied with mom, preoccupied with concern for her comfort and care, but we are many miles away and must commit her to the Lord and the rest of the family for now.

We are not the only ones who have ever experienced this, of course. The loss of one much loved is the normal course of life. It befalls us all. I hope that our experience makes us more like Christ, who is all compassion. I hope that these days increase the ‘pure religion quotient’ in our lives. May God grant grace to our mom, and may God make us more like His Son.

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Regards
Don Johnson
Jer 33.3