May 1

The latest news is that there were no visible signs of cancer, but then again, there were no visible signs of cancer for a long time when there was a cancerous tumor growing undetected. Nichole's current pain is due to the many surgeries she's had, and surgeries to fix the surgeries. She is again in much pain due to a fever.

I spoke with Norm today for a short while, and Nichole has been through two small kidney surgeries in the past two days (Monday and Tuesday) as noted in the previous post. She had been down with a fever since Friday, and had been in the hospital once again, trying to figure out what was going on. Since they did have to cut through some muscle tissue to get to the problem, she is now in some pain once again.
Praise the Lord, she got back some results from biopsies taken a few days ago trying to determine if the cancer is back, and the results were negative! Please continue to pray that the chemo would do it's work, though she is on a much smaller dose than at least one of her doctors recommended. God is in control of all things!
Pray that Nichole would not be in severe pain from the continuing kidney problems, so that she would be able to function as a mommy to her precious kiddos and wife to Norm!
Pray also for Norm, as he is obviously bearing a heavy burden as he attempts to make ends meet financially, bears the weight of caring for his wife, is needed to take care of the kids as well, and is remodeling the bathroom which "exploded" (my terms) and needed to be fixed. I think it would be easy to forget that Norm is bearing an extremely heavy weight in this trial as well, so please include him in your prayers!
Please continue to uphold the Greenes in prayer, and continue to encourage them with your notes and phone calls- even comments to them on the blog. All of the encouragement and all of your prayers help to carry them through. Thanks!

April 7, '09

Nichole had another surgery, and will be coming home tonight. Norm is still on hiatus, so he is at home doing some construction there.

Sue Leber NOT in Africa

There is a scam going around, an e-mail saying Sue is in Africa. She's not. She is just fine. Delete that e-mail.

Surgery

Josie and Camdyn were so excited to see each other!










Levi, happy little guy that he is!













Waiting for dinner...the kids have such a good time together.











Norm was fixing one of the swings for the kids and Levi, Macy and Camdyn were so interested...











Ansel and Noah












The Greene's new pet goats... the kids had a great time playing with the goats. The goats had no idea the kids wanted to "play", so they were terrified... I'm sure they'll soon get used to the commotion of kids. They were too cute!

I didn't realize that Nichole had surgery this week, so am thankful for the previous post. I intended to post some pictures from last Friday when Kurt and I and the kids were able to spend some time at the Greene's house, but hadn't gotten around to doing that yet, so here they are. I will try to speak with Nichole today and give another update on how she is doing.
As of last Friday, Nichole had been in a lot of pain from her kidneys. She has been on heavy pain medication, but when the meds begin to wear off, she described the pain as "close to child-bearing". Most of us women can relate, but as she said, with child-bearing, there is an end to the pain and then such an incredible blessing that follows that the pain is worth it...anyway please pray that this surgery would decrease the pain that she was in every day and give her relief so she can serve her family and enjoy her days with an ability to think clearly (this is certainly clouded by pain!). Thanks!
Once again, if anyone needs any sort of carpentry (finished carpentry work is best), please know that Norm is a very talented carpenter and will be on hiatus for three months. The family would certainly appreciate any side jobs that you may need to have done as they need the continued source of income.

St. Patrick's Day

Nichole had a surgery on Wed. the 18th. She is recovering, in a lot of pain.

I spoke with Nichole on Saturday, then was able to visit with her and Norm for a while at church yesterday. They both had smiles on their faces, and were glad to be at church (though Nichole was struggling with severe kidney pain). They sat through first service in their fellowship group, then sat in the back of their van in the handicapped parking space closest to the patio, so they could listen to the service from the comfort of their van (with the back door open). It was so sweet to see the line of visitors standing next to their van after the service...
Here is the latest information on Nichole's medical condition. Her kidney is giving her much pain. She is unable to sleep much at night because of the pain. Both kidneys are enlarged and problematic, and she will need a major surgery soon to help to specifically see what is going on, and if they can correct it. They are still doing some preliminary testing to attempt to more closely pinpoint what is happening there.
Since Nichole has had a fever after each dose of IV chemo, she will no longer be going in for those treatments. She is only taking the chemo pill, which has much less side-effects.
Nichole is on very strong pain medication (two patches) for her hips (I believe) and kidney.
On the financial side, Nichole has been looking into some clinical studies that she may be able to take part in. Insurance does not cover most of these trials, yet Nichole may want to try to get in on one, which would mean financial strain (or impossibility). Please know that Nichole did not ask me to post this on the blog. She has said over and over that she knows that the Lord will provide all of their needs, and has seen His care for their family so clearly through the generosity of the body of Christ.
To further add to the burden, Norm will be on "hiatus" from work for the next three months. Norm is an incredibly talented finished carpenter, and an extremely hard worker. All that to say if you are in need of any cabinet work or carpentry, please email me and I can get you in touch with Norm. He is available around the middle of March for any side jobs you may have waiting
to be taken care of. My email address is kurtjulieandkids@gmail.com