Thanks for Your Prayers . . . .

First of all, for those who read my previous post and have been praying, THANK YOU!!! They certainly are making a difference. On Sunday morning, I met with people in my small group which is part of the larger group, and I was met with hope and enthusiasm. (They thought that Saturday's meeting was GREAT! I told them I came home in tears!) That enveloping attitude from my friends, plus a day away from the object of many of my stresses has really helped to heal a lot of the unsettledness. As in any group, I know that feelings and sentiments can change, so I know that all is not "fixed," but my soul is more at rest with everything. One friend later told me that she sensed a whole new attitude (a good and hopeful one) in the larger group on Sunday. We'll see what the annual meeting brings in April. It might help if Scott is able to step away from his current position in leadership, which he is hoping to do with the re-organization of the council. With him being in his position, and with my job being what it is, we tend to shoulder a lot, and we get many phone calls at home which means we are wearing our "hats" constantly, even in our home. Sometimes the only "rest" I feel that we get is when we head to Maryland. We actually decided that we need to schedule another Saturday Maryland trip. We all need that! As you think of us, we would appreciate your continued prayers.

Hope for Ocular Malignant Melanoma Diagnosis

Several years ago, my mom went for a regular eye checkup. She needed new glasses. Upon examination, her eye doctor said he saw what appeared to be a "freckle" on her retina, and advised that she make an appointment with a retina specialist in town. The retina specialist gave a thorough exam, and immediately referred her to the best eye specialists in the country (at the Philadelphia Eye Institute), because he said she had malignant ocular melanoma. Well, any diagnosis using the words "malignant" and "melanoma" is scary to say the least! Never having heard of such a diagnosis, I immediately set out to research this on the Internet. Every website I found (personal and professional) offered very dire information. The majority of personal websites (this was before blogging became popular) were basically websites in memory of a loved one who had died after a short journey with ocular melanoma. I told Mom, "Don't research this on the Internet until you talk to the specialists!"

Very long story made short: Mom received treatment for the melanoma. The specialists placed a tiny piece of radioactive plaque right onto the tumor itself for a short period of time. Although a recuperation period was inevitable, Mom did very well. Her tumor shrunk (and has continued to shrink . . . the specialists say this is excellent---they didn't want the tumor to shrink too quickly or too slowly). She has continued to travel to Philadelphia for a regular check up. Her latest checkup was Wednesday, and everything continues to look fine! (several years later).

The retina specialist and the specialists in Philadelphia told Mom that every detail was so "lucky." (We're people of faith, and we prefer to see it as God's plan for this situation--I don't believe in "luck.") Many people do not get a diagnosis until the melanoma has advanced far worse than Mom's little "freckle" on the retina. We were "lucky" that Mom went in for a regular eye exam when she did. We were "lucky" that the retina specialist was well acquainted with the experts at the Philadelphia Eye Institute, who had written books and are still on the cutting edge of treating ocular melanoma. We were "lucky" that my parents live within three hours of Philadelphia and not across the country.

As an extended family, we were sitting around the dinner table weeks ago, and talking about Mom's ocular melanoma, and I was telling everyone about the Internet research that offered no hope at all. I was saying "Someone needs to put information out there that offers hope---telling stories of people who have survived and thrived after such a diagnosis. The general consensus at the table was that maybe I should do that! While I don't really have enough time or information to do a blog or website entirely about hope after a diagnosis of malignant ocular melanoma, I can at least tell the short version of the story in this blog, and hope that interested people will be able to find it. There is HOPE! Ocular melanoma is not necessarily a death sentence.