Gophers!?

Hello Friends and Family,

Trudy had a great time on a whirl-wind motoring trip that included three all-day driving legs. First, we drove from Tioga to Hilton Head Island, which turned out to be a 16 hour leg. Then, after a couple of wonderful days of food, fun, shopping, and golf with Jack and Karen, we set out on leg number two.

That second leg was some kinda beautiful drive as we drove for hours through the most spectacular fall colors we have ever experienced. We found the Blue Ridge/Smoky mountain ranges to be incredible blends of reds, greens, yellows, and golds as God's creation seemed to meld into breath-taking feasts for our eyes. The panorama continued on in to Kentucky as we edged on toward Brian and Jessica's house. We arrived at their house around ten. For the next couple of days, we toured the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where Brian is a first year Master's student, and we saw the top-rated Baptist Hospital East, where Jessica is a surgical nurse, and we toured some other interesting parts of Louisville. Mostly, Trudy eyes were glued on to Meredith, an even more beautiful sight to our eyes than even the fall colors of nature. We had a great time doting over our granddaughter, just as we hoped and needed. Brian and Jess are so delightful and we are grateful to have been able to get this time with them.

Well, the third leg was all down hill from there. We left Monday morning and headed toward Tioga. The trip took about 14 hours and we were so unwilling to delay our arrival home that we simply decided not to stop for a night in a motel and drove until we were parked in our own carport. Relieved to be home, for sure.

Here's the new "gopher." There was a message on the answering machine for Trudy to report to the outpatient clinic Tuesday morning for an added platelet treatment. As you know from previous posts, platelets have been low for too long and her Doctor feels that it is time to be more aggressive. So, Trudy spent all of Tuesday and will spend all of today at the outpatient clinic receiving IV treatments of a medication that is targeted at helping her bone marrow in the production of platelets. As always, Trudy is ready, willing, and able to do what she needs to do without complaint or any "woe is me" thoughts. She is a trooper.

Thanks for the prayers. We do pray that these two days of treatments will get those platelets on the move. And we continue to pray that her strength will grow and continue to be sufficient for the task of teaching, that her health will be strong and that the Leukemia and any related issues will stay away.

Blessings,
Trudy and Robert