Christmas Tidings!

Christmas Eve!! Inconceivable!! Time flies when you're getting older!

Such a significant event! The humblest of beginnings, the Saviour came to earth as a helpless baby, leaving untold wealth and incomprehensible glory behind, to live and die among fallen mankind, to offer hope and an eternal future to all, including those who would not be satisfied until he was put to death. All He would go through was no surprise to Him; it was planned in eternity past by an inconceivably loving God. Yet Jesus still made the choice; He did it on purpose. All that we might have the gift of eternal life. How amazing! Joy to the world! The Lord is come!

Monday in San Antonio was relatively easy. My checkup went mostly good, although Dr. Mita pointed out that I had lost three pounds in the past two weeks and six pounds since October. It's likely that the weight loss is a result of my not eating as much as I used to, even though Helen is working hard at it to push the calories in. It is difficult to finish a meal when it doesn't taste good.

It wasn't until the ride home that I started feeling badly. By the time we made it, my throat was very sore and I could barely talk. It didn't take long to decide that going to work the next day was out. My research nurse was afraid that it might be the dreaded H1N1 flu. I was able to get in to see Dr. Long at home on Tuesday. He said that because the testing for H1N1 is so unreliable, he wanted to treat it as if it were H1N1. So I have been taking Tamiflu and staying either in bed or in the recliner. It's hard to feel sorry for myself when I know how much God has blessed me, allowing me to see another Christmas and be "healthy." I feel worse for Helen (and the girls), for everything they are going through because of me. Yet as we celebrate another Christmas, we recognize how blessed we are. All we have to do is open our eyes to see God's incredible mercy and care in our lives.

Helen and I want to wish each of you a wonderful Christmas. So many of you have blessed our lives in the past year in countless ways. Your support means so much to us.

Love and Merry Christmas,

Kenny and Helen

The latest ramblings...

About six and a half months ago, we were facing another major decision about whether to try a new treatment, having determined that the chemo I had taken was apparently not effective. There was a brand new experimental drug called LDE225 that was in Phase I clinical trial, with only a handful of patients who had taken it. Some of you may be interested to learn that this drug is supposed to interrupt the "hedgehog pathway" (a critical signaling pathway that plays a role in the development of some cancers) in an attempt to stop cancer from growing. I know... you thought "hedgehog" was either a furry, little critter or the product of a video game creator's imagination. Me, too! As I have researched this drug, I find that there are several types of microscopic hedgehog molecules in the human body, including Sonic Hedgehog, Desert Hedgehog, and Indian Hedgehog. For those of you unfamiliar with video games, "Sonic the Hedgehog" is perhaps one of the most famous and popular games of all time. What's the significance? Nothing! I just thought it was quite interesting and humorous. Anyway, I digress...

Getting back to the intended topic of this post...today marks six months that I have been on this drug, LDE225. Another day to celebrate! (cf. my previous post.) In spite of a few aggravating side effects, Dr. Mita does believe that it is helping, at least some. Most of the tumors do not seem to be growing at this point. Hopefully the others will follow suit as I continue to use it. We do know that ALL healing, whether using modern medicine or not, is the result of the hand of God. We continue to rest in Him and trust Him with our lives. We are blessed and thankful to enjoy each new day of life.

We did make another trip to San Antonio. I had a DEXA scan (bone scan) yesterday morning to see if there is any evidence of damage to the spine, hips, or forearms that might be attributed to the drug. We probably will not hear anything about this scan unless a problem is detected. The day was quite drawn out, as, for some reason, everything took much longer than usual. We didn't get back home until 8:30 last night. Helen had to slow way down for the last 30 miles of the drive because the highway had become largely iced over. We were very glad to make it home safely.

We are continually thankful for your love and support!

Kenny and Helen

Celebrate!!!!

As I take a few moments to contemplate the day...there are so many reasons for celebration. In June of 2007, we learned that my sarcoma had metastasized to my lungs. The medical prognosis was delivered -- "incurable." As many of you know, something happens to a person when they are told something like that. Actually, a number of things happen. One thing is that you begin to recognize milestones. In a sense, every single day is a milestone. Most especially, though, you look at certain dates and occasions from that perspective. Every holiday, every anniversary, every special day are all cause to celebrate, just knowing that you have made another one, that you have survived long enough to see it.

Today, we celebrated my third birthday since that day. I have seen three Thanksgiving holidays, two Christmases, two Easters, two wedding anniversaries, 2 1/2 years' worth of family and friends' birthdays. Two Super Bowls, three July 4ths, well over 100 Sundays. And every one of them came with the realization that it could be my last. I have been so blessed.

Whether we realize it or not, healthy or not, we are all in the same predicament -- each day we live could be our last. Every day of life is precious. We need to recognize each new day as a gift from God and a new reason to celebrate. "O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever!"

Thanks to everyone for your calls, texts, visits, and wishes today. They were so uplifting! Thank you, Helen, Shan, and Stef for a great birthday! I love you so much!

We love you all!