Itching update

After being harshly threatened by his bossy (but caring) wife, Gunter has made an appointment with the dermatologist our oncologist recommended. The appointment is for August 7, so maybe then our "itching" questions will be cleared up.

Still no word from the Cancer Center on Gunter's scan results. The scans themselves went fine. They've pretty much become routine for Gunter. He worked and ran errands Monday morning, didn't eat all day, had his scan and then drove straight back to Elba to lead music at a revival service...got home about 9 or 9:30 still in pretty good shape. He's quite the trooper.

Our appointment with the oncologist is August 18, but they're supposed to call us in earlier if they see anything suspicious on the scans. So for now, no news is good news.

Thanks for praying!

A short introduction

I'd like to direct your attention to the newest blog on the top of my links list. It's sure to be thought-provoking, God-anointed and righteousness-spurring. I've benefited from the spiritual counsel and insight of this man all my life, and I'm happy to now invite you to do the same.

To you, he's Dr. Tony Dye (though he never introduces himself with the "Dr." attached). To me, he's Daddy.

More itching!

Look how curly Gunter's hair is now! He looks more like his daddy since it's gotten so curly.

I'll be away from the computer for the next few days, so I wanted to go ahead and drop a prayer request out here...

As I wrote in my June 17 post, Gunter has been itching since the week after we found out he was in remission. The reason this is a concern (besides the fact that he scratches all the dern time) is that persistent itching can be a symptom of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The hospital took a unit of blood, and that seemed to help for about a week. He's been itching ever since, mostly on one arm and around his waist. Now, he also has a rash on that arm and a sore spot on his chest.

Even though this sounds like it has nothing to do with cancer, they've moved his three-month scans up to Monday, July 28, only a little over a month since his first scans. This time, he'll have a PET scan instead of just a CT. Dr. Davidson also wants to refer him to a dermatologist.

I'm not overly concerned, but of course, it's my nature to be just a little concerned. Please pray that we'll get to the bottom of why he's itching and sore, and that he's still in full remission. We hope it's minor and easily treatable, but God's plan is always perfect.

Thanks for your prayers, and have a great weekend! (Aren't ALL weekends great?!)

Yeah, we're down with it.

Gunter and I, squares that we are, like to keep up with youth slang words...street language, if you will. I'm always proud when I learn a new phrase. "You better come correct" is one of my favorites from the past few years. Gunter even gets a periodic e-newsletter that educates our old selves on the latest terms.

This is an actual (paraphrased) conversation Gunter recently had with one of our youth:

Gunter: Hey, do you know what "roll up" means, like, "You better roll up"?

Youth: Um...no.

Gunter: You haven't heard anybody say that at school? I read it in a youth newsletter...It said it's a term kids are using...

Youth: We don't read newsletters.

Gotta love 'em.

*At first, we learned that "roll up" means to get ready to fight, like to roll up one's sleeves. Since this incident, we have found out that "roll up" has several other meanings, so we use it sparingly.