Update

Okay, before most of you even had a chance to read the last post about Samara, we just got the call that she is doing well and heading home. God is good! She was surrounded by friends, received quick care, and all seems well.

Our day, other than this recent excitement, was fairly uneventful. The flights were smooth, we got here and checked in with no problems. We found a new restaurant her in Rochester, a tapas place called Sontes. Very good, and would be a great success back home!

So, thanks for your prayers and love, and I'll write again tomorrow.

Tony

PRAY!!!!!!!!!

PLEASE PRAY! After an uneventful day, we just got a call from our pastor, Warren Harvey. The Harveys and all the Clark kids went to the NC State Baseball game tonight, and Samara has had a pretty bad asthma attack. The EMTs at the field treated her, and feel that she is unstable enough that she is now on an ambulance to the hospital (Rex or Western Wake, we have conflictng reports). Warren is with her in the ambulance. We don't know any more right now, and that is NOT GREAT!

So, pray for Samara and her health and her emotions; these episodes are quite scary for her. And, pray for her Mom and Dad here in Minnesota, worried and wishing that we were there and not here for about 1000 reasons. It is already an emotional time for us here, so pray for Dee Dee's heart as the cancer prevents her from being "Mother" during a true Mother moment.

Thanks,

Tony

'Twas the night before....

Okay, I know, it is actually very early the morning of, but let's not be so picky!

Just a quick note as we pack up for our next Mayo Clinic voyage. Maybe it's just another excuse to put pics of our N. Africa trip on the blog! One of these is the pic of our whole GAiN (Global Aide Network) team, and the other is of Dee Dee, Samara and me with one of our favorite translators, Achraf.

Due to the quirks of air travel in the US, we were not able to get a flight on Sunday; so even though her testing does not really begin until Monday, we fly up north tomorrow (er, today). We'll do some version of John Piper church Sunday morning (still trying, vainly, to find a ride to Minneapolis), and then everything starts on Monday.

Please pray:
1) That our children would be well, and that the worry does not affect them too badly. Nerves have been a bit frayed here in the Clark house this week, and sleep not so good for some.
2) That Dee Dee tolerates all the tests very well. She has endoscopy (anesthesia on empty stomach); multiple blood draws; full-body CT with and without contrast (nasty nuclear medicine stuff on an empty stomach); and maybe MRI. The octreatide scan, which is her least favorite, is only going to be done if other tests indicate the necessity.
3) That she is healed (which I still have trouble praying for myself).
4) That in absence of true healing, she will be perfectly stable. She was at 22 tumors last year, with the largest being just under 2 centimeters. We need no significant increase in number, and no progression in size to over 2 centimeters; otherwise we will have to do the stomach-removal surgery.
5) That there would be NO SPREAD! Any spread is, we have been told, terminal. Worst would be liver/lungs/pancreas. Let's have none of that!

Thanks everyone!

By the way, our new niece (Lainey - adopted from China by my baby brother and his eternally patient and understanding wife) had surgery yesterday (Thursday) for her cleft palate, and things are going well. While you're praying, why not pray for her as well? God won't get confused, so go ahead - try it!

Tony

Here we go again

Hello all! The time has come for us to head off to Mayo again, and so I thought I'd kick-start the ol' blog again. This one will be short, and more will follow.

We leave NC on Saturday 5/31 for Minnesota, and return on Wednesday 6/04. Basically the same run of testing that Dee Dee has had before, with one deletion (yay!). Ongoing prayer is for little-to-no change in tumor number or size, and no spread. Dee Dee had two friends die in the past two weeks from cancer, so it is made more fresh and a bit more scary for us because of the reminder of how things can change, and how painful this walk can sometimes be.

One of the reasons that the psychological/emotional impact has been lessened this year, or at least deferred until now, is that Dee Dee, Samara and I went to North Africa on a humanitarian aid trip recently. We saw over 1000 poor children, dispensed nearly 600 pairs of glasses, and diagnosed several serious diseases (one was life-threatening). We also joined with 28 other brothers and sisters, and were privileged to serve with them for these folks who need it so badly. It was a life-experience trip, and we'd love to talk more with you about it sometime. Here are some pictures to whet your appetite!

Because of grace,

Tony