Thanks, Coach Shahan
I received a nice card and letter from our Nowata High School basketball coach, Bill Shahan. He was also my Sunday school teacher at the First Church of God, Nowata, OK.
He reminded me that there was a situation in our drafting class which he taught, in which I helped some student get the perspective on drawing an item. He thought I should become an engineer; I guess he never knew that I did.
I guess I have always had the personality to give input to any situation, whether help was requested or not. I guess I have always thought the bottom line was important, but most people think the process is important. I am going to be on a trip during the most exciting time in Beaver County; the harvest of wheat in mid-June. I love harvest.
I view my current situation as a harvest at the end of my life. I am having a great time in these final months.

Divine Appointments...
...have been the focus of my personal life since learning that I might not live through the remainder of 2008. Of course, no one knows the mind of the Almighty and how long He might delay my passing into eternity.
...have been something I have prayed for on certain days. Each time, either they actually happen or I am looking for them, but they have occurred each time I have asked for one during the day.
...like one recently, when a former acquaintance of mine was shopping for a lawn mower and I made an offhand comment about my impending passing into eternity, but without fear. After I said, "I know where I am spending eternity," my friend said, "I wish I knew that." So I explained how our trust in Jesus as Lord and Savior was all that was needed. He said he was trusting Him, but he obviously has had no teaching about the requirements for entering paradise.
...like another one, where a coworker replied that God might come back before I die. I am sure he meant Jesus might come back, but regardless, I made the observation, that His coming would mean I would be going to paradise with millions of other believers and I was looking forward to going by myself and seeing a welcome home banner just for me. Then I realized how selfish that seemed. Of course, I welcome Jesus' coming even if it occurs before I personally go to heaven.
...seem to occur after I make some statement about having a short time left on earth. People seem to get serious very quickly after that statement. Is it so unusual for people to talk about dying? I realize we are not born with an expiration date stamped on our bodies, but we do have an appointment with the end of our earthly lives. It is only prudent to prepare for that time, not just speak in hushed tones about its coming.

I'm Still Here...
...though it seems a long time since I wrote anything significant, so let me get you caught up with a timeline. After Christmas, I noticed that my blood pressure was getting higher and higher and by January 22, I went to the general doctor to get a prescription to control it. The next day, I had what I thought were side effects to the prescription: itching, jaundice, clay-colored stool, dark urine. After 10 days, I finally insisted that the doctor change the prescription, but nothing changed with the side effects and I exhibited extreme jaundice including yellow eyes. By Monday, Feb. 4th, I convinced my doctor to order blood tests and they confirmed out-of bounds liver enzymes. She ordered a CT Scan for Feb. 6th, which showed a mass in my pancreas. Then over time, we finally had an endoscopic analysis with fine needle aspiration. The results showed an adenocarcenoma (pancreatic cancer) and a stent was put in my bile duct to relieve the jaundice condition. It took 3 weeks for the yellowing and itching to go away. Meantime, I consulted with two surgeons, who essentially said it was inoperable. The second CT Scan even showed that the tumor had doubled and not only was blocking the pancreatic duct, but wrapping around the portal vein and hepatic artery which go through the pancreas. Not one doctor recommended chemotherapy as a treatment for the cancer, so my consultations with the medical profession ended on that last communication with the second surgeon's opinion.

...not one medical doctor offered any help for my non-functioning pancreas, so I have begun to purchase for myself pancreatic enzymes to replace what should be going into my duodenum for digestion (I have lots of indigestion regardless what I eat). I am eating lots of purple grapes and drinking two glassed per day of grape juice, which is adding resveratrol to my diet. I am taking calcium by liquid gels to raise the pH of my body, which is a deterrent to continued cancer growth. I am exercising by walking along my road, and playing golf on occasion. My dermatologist has recommended getting sunshine for the jaundice, which I had suggested to my doctor, but she ignored the idea (I thought that jaundiced babies were placed under UV lights to get rid of the jaundice!) I am taking a mixture of maple syrup laced with bicarbonate of soda to get high pH environment closer to the tumor, since tumors feed upon sugar. I am lowering my intake of sugars, partly to starve the tumor and partly because a non-functioning pancreas means I am not producing the natural insulin needed for blood sugar control.

...Funny how the medical doctors were more interested in their own specialties of how to treat a tumor to remove it or poison it, etc. than of treating the cause of my tumor. My simple mind thinks that having taken Advair for my asthma for the past 10 years may have reduced my immune system, allowing the tumor to grow without anything to attack it. I have reduced my dependence on the corticosteroid and have tried to increase my immune system.

...All of this coupled with the prayers of an extreme number of friends, family, and internet acquaintances seem to be producing a great result. I am still pain-free and have an outward appearance of health (deduced from all the comments about how I look so good, probably compared to what they expected to see!)

...So for my twin sister, Kay, who is the only one who reads this blog, here is your latest rundown and with our weather improving this spring, I will get out to my office in the barn to update this blog more often.