Health Update

The first few weeks of December were full of doctor's appointments for me.  For those of you interested in the saga, you may read on.  For the rest of you, Gentle Readers, suffice it to say I am grateful for God's preserving of us through another year in this broken world!  He is faithful to be with us in our struggles, and He has given us a year of stability and health, for which we are grateful. Thank you for your prayers and friendship to us!

Here are the details for those desiring them:

• Last July I had reached the two-year mark of stability in my eyes on a high dose of a daily immune-suppresant and infusions every 8 weeks.  We decided at that point to cut my daily dose in half and recheck in December.  I have enjoyed the lowered side effects and increased energy tremendously!
• My eye tests were all redone at the beginning of December (ERG, EOG, vision field test, PIP color vision, FA) The basic finding is that my left eye remains totally stable and unchanged, but the right eye (always my worst eye) is questionable.  So we have decided to stay the current course for another 6 months, and repeat all the tests in July.  This is the longest we have gone between tests, and I get to stay on the reduced amount of medicine.  All prayers for a stable right eye come June would be appreciated! 
• I also have been eating gluten-free, and have noticed an improvement in my inflammation markers (sed rate and c-reactive protein). So my intention is to go hard-core in January and February and try following an auto-immune protocol diet.  Dieting is NOT an area of strength for me, so I would appreciate your prayers for this endeavor.  It is basically an "I hate my life" diet for 1-2 months, and then a way of reintroducing foods to try to catch things that trigger problems.
• I also have almost reached my fifth year after my last breast cancer removal.  I am all clear on that front, and reducing my oncology visits to once a year.  Hurray!  Thank you, Lord!

• Dave is almost to 25 years after his stage 4 melanoma diagnosis.  How good is God to give him such length of days and keep him around for the rest of us!  Dave struggles with some long-term side-effects (head-aches and balance issues), but does so without complaining.  And we keep praying and looking for solutions.  He is literally alone as a 25-year stage 4 melanoma survivor, so there is much to be grateful for!

• We so appreciate your on-going prayers for us both, Gentle Readers.  May the New Year find us all continuing to praise God for His grace in our lives.