a good investment.

When Mike and I were talking about how he looks forward to being able to ride his bike again - not just the figurative ride he has been doing on MikesLongRide - he reminded me that he got his beloved Klein bike ten years ago this month! The photo above shows Mike at the end of a 100 mile ride he did on his 50th birthday almost 5 years ago. For those of you who read mike comments on the ride. post back on March 30th, you know that it has been on Mike's Bucket List to ride his bike across the United States. This blog got its name because he figured that his cancer journey would be a similar challenge. Note: He underestimated the severity & intensity of a cancer journey! We often laugh that his bike has held its value better than a vehicle. I honestly think he could sell his 10 year old Klein for more than I could get for my 15 year old Expedition! ha. Happy Anniversary to Mike's other ride.

mallory's graduation.

Lest you picture us with our feet propped up reading a book, we are excited to be planning Mallory's graduation party in just over two weeks. For those of you reading this outside of small town rural Nebraska, high school graduation parties in this area are the equivalent of a wedding reception! The invitations are designed and will go in the mail this week, the menu & party plans are in the works, and I am especially excited to be working on Mallory's StoryBook album. It will be exciting to have this big celebration behind us when we head to St. Louis for our surgery follow-up appointment with Dr. Haughey on May 17th. Mallory graduates on May 15th. (I write down the dates because I have been forgetful. Everyday I say "Lord, show me what to do today. I need You.")

three weeks ago yesterday.

It seems amazing to us that Mike's surgery was three weeks ago yesterday. In some ways it seems like three days ago, in others like three months ago. It has been so encouraging to have so many people come up to us and thank us for keeping them in the loop with the blog... and it has been so encouraging to know that people are still praying for us. Is it possible to be prayer-dependent? Hope that a good thing. Smile. Here is a little report on the patient: Mike started back to work part-time this week. Jackie, Cathy, Scottie and Kelly are keeping him out of the animal rooms and focused on facilities issues & desk work. Yesterday he shared that he loves being back at work because it helps him to feel more normal, even though he can't physically work like he loves to. He is counting the days until he can, even though we have no real idea when that will be. He works very hard to eat consistently and well, which takes more energy than you can imagine. When he put on his dress clothes for church over the weekend, Mike said he felt like a boy dressed in his dad's clothes - and it was true! It looked like he couldn't quite fill them out yet... everything looked a bit baggy. Other than that, he looks amazingly good! Poor guy has a lot of discomfort and aches with the nerves healing in his neck, and from the hit his body took from so many days immobile in a hospital bed. (Hip pain, shoulder stiffness - not to mention all the stuff that is still healing in his mouth & tonsils.) Mike never complains and bears through it, but I can see it on him. He refuses to take more than Alleve at bedtime. This is just the journey on this part of the trip. He is an amazing fighter.

amy.

Amy Sternberg is a beloved friend. She will always have a special place in my heart because 1.) she walked beside me even when my life was dark & messy and she helped me get my spiritual legs under me again - and 2.) she set an example for living & dying with cancer with honor & dignity.

When we were in St. Louis for Mike's surgery, I visited Amy's husband Bob and "the girls". Bob gifted us with a packet of 140 pages of things that Amy wrote during her cancer journey before the Lord called her Home in October of 2006. We want to use MikesLongRide as a place to post things we have learned about cancer that might be helpful to others, and we would like to share Amy's wisdom from time to time. Amy fought the cancer fight beautifully and encouraged many along the way.

Amy: There is a wonderful metaphor of suffering producing pearls, like the 'pearl of great price' that is spoken of in the Bible. I imagine us in Heaven, admiring each other's gorgeous strand of pearls - like Jackie Kennedy's classic pearl necklace! - and you will point to mine and say "I remember when you got those pearls! That was when you had cancer." And I will point to an especially exquisite pearl of yours and say, "I was there when you got that one! That was when you "- (fill in the blank: lost that job, got divorced, had a medical crisis, dealt with rebellious children, lost your parents, faced a difficult challenge, etc.) We will be wearing the precious jewels that were formed during our hardships on earth. And God will reveal the greatest wonder of all - the beautiful truth that we not only will be wearing jewels, we will become jewels which He Himself will wear: "You will be a crown of splendor in the Lord's hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God." (Isaiah 62:3) Written by Amy Sternberg in an email September 2006

maundy thursday.

What a great reason to ponder one of my favorite hymn lines of all time... "My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross."

Mike and I marvel at God's goodness & faithfulness to us. We marvel at the love and support of friends & family. We don't deserve any of it. It is Amazing. It is Grace.

Beneath the cross of Jesus I fain would take my stand,

The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land;

A home within the wilderness, a rest upon the way,

From the burning of the noontide heat, and the burden of the day.

Upon that cross of Jesus mine eye at times can see

The very dying form of One Who suffered there for me;

And from my stricken heart with tears two wonders I confess;

The wonders of redeeming love and my unworthiness.

I take, O cross, thy shadow for my abiding place;

I ask no other sunshine than the sunshine of His face;

Content to let the world go by to know no gain or loss,

My sinful self my only shame, my glory all the cross.

(Fun to know: The photo is from Tom Vespa's garden in 2006.)

advertisement.

Because of Mike's restricted diet (pureed and now soft) we have had to depend on protein drinks to supplement Mike's protein & amino acid needs. We thought you would like to know that ORGAIN is Mike's hands-down favorite and we have tried every protein & muscle drink out there!

We were pleased to notice this message today on the back of the bottle: "I developed Orgain with one simple goal in mind - to create the healthiest drink in the world. As a cancer survivor and practicing physician, I have experienced first hand the benefits of organic, wholesome nutrition. I spent years formulating the perfect blend of organic protein, organic complex carbohydrates, fiber, and a synergistic immune and vitamin blend to create Orgain. Whether you don't have time for breakfast, need a replenishing post-workout shake, fighting an illness, or just need a healthy snack between meals - Orgain is your healthiest choice." Andrew Abraham, M.D. I am happy to report that Mike turned a corner on Sunday with his ability to eat a greater variety of soft foods. He surprised me by eating the noodles and spinach pieces in his soba soup, and now manages chicken and salmon with mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, chicken soup, some breakfast cereals - and my cookies (softened with hot tea). Last time he weighed he was up seven pounds! I am so proud of how hard he has worked to maintain a strong nutritional intake.

re-entry.

Re-entry back into "normal life" has not been as smooth a ride as we thought. I think this is mostly because both Mike and I are more exhausted than we even begin to understand. Completing simple tasks around the house is a huge challenge. Simple things like showering, dressing and eating tire Mike. It doesn't help that the weather back here is Nebraska has been dreary, rainy and very cold. (With Mike's 19 pound weigh loss he has been a bit chilly anyway. ) It is hard to grab a winter parka in April even though the temperatures are in the 30's! Part of the discomfort is that Mike is still not sleeping well at night even though he is exhausted. We do believe that the anesthesia and drugs continue to linger in his system in amounts that are still annoying. We are thankful to have Tara Currier, our massage therapist from our Little House Day Spa to call on for him. She feels we should do only 30 minutes of massage every couple days so we don't overwhelm his system as we try to move the crud out of Mike's system. We are going to try a sauna at the YMCA today as well. I have "sympathy symptoms" for everything that happens to Mike, so I am riding slowly right next to him. I am thinking that it is also a challenge to come out of a life & death situation where you are living almost in another dimension... very much on a spiritual plane where all of your strength and energy comes from outside yourself. It is time for us to move slowly back into our daily lives, but it is slow and laborious. I am fairly confident that there is a very good chance that this post makes no sense at all, but therein you might appreciate the place we are in. I needed to try to write this down for myself, to mark this unique part of the journey. Your continued prayers would be appreciated if you are able to lift them before the Throne.

celebration.

It was wonderful to come home to family and friends. Everyone wants to see Mike and cheer him on. And they want to look at the scar (which is getting hard to see!)

we landed back in nebraska... to snow!

It was a safe trip home yesterday... but it was stinking cold. When we saw a snow plow between Fremont and Oakland we knew we were in trouble.

Yes, the Vespas awarded me with a St. Louis "Half-Marathon" Brooks running shirt for my efforts as the caretaker for marathon-man. So yes, we proudly wore our new shirts on the flight home.

the spit bottle.

This post is here in honor of my sweet daddy, Jerry Wallerstedt. Though he went HOME this past July, he continues to live large in our lives. The above photo is not to tell you that we stopped at Cardwells on Wednesday for nourishment after we found out our soba soup spot was closed, but for you to notice the "spit bottle" sitting at Mike's left foot. Sweet Mike has learned to swallow most of his saliva, most of the time, but when he needs to save some swallowing energy for food intake he uses a spit bottle. You get the picture (and I'm sorry for that.)

But for those of you who knew my daddy, he used a spit bottle during the last year of his life and this brings back some good memories. Dad wasn't quite as discreet as Mike is, and that "rough around the edges" was part of his charm.

Anyway, I thought it was time for some Jerry memories. Thankfully for Mike, it was my dad who gave me lots of experience with hospital stays and pee jugs.

One of our greatest treasures is a video we had made of my daddy just weeks before the Lord ushered him to his heavenly Home. Enjoy the 10 minute video tribute and learn some words of wisdom from a great man... http://www.bandbvideo.com/Jerry

Thanks for the memories, Daddy.

heading home.

While the journey is not over, we weathered the dark depths of the Grand Canyon and are gaining speed by the day. We are just about to heard for the airport.

P.S. Happy Birthday Abby!

great "coincidence".

I first heard Igor & Lena Yaremchuk's amazing life stories at a Missions Conference at Central Presbyterian Church in St. Louis about 20 years ago. The cool thing is that our church in Dallas supported their work in the Ukraine too, so I got to see them almost once a year even after we moved. "Coincidentally" I was in St. Louis for business during last year's Missions Conference at Central and got to spend time with Igor & Lena in 2010. I was delighted to be able to make a digital StoryBook wedding album for their daughter Victoria because they only had these beautiful photos on CD. Believe it or not, "coincidentally" the week that Igor & Lena were in St. Louis this year was the same week that Mike & I are here. On Wednesday night last week when my dear husband was sedated and on a ventilator (will that ever get easier to write?), I ventured to West County to have dinner with Igor & Lena at the Mayfields. It was rejuvenating and therapeutic to share stories and laugh. I didn't like straying far from the hospital but for the Yaremchuks I did.

Yesterday, Sharon Mayfield dropped off copies of a new book about their lives called "Beyond the Rapids" by Evelyn Puerto which is available on Amazon.com.

By the way, we don't believe in "coincidence". Our greatest comfort is that we believe that God's sovereignty extends to every molecule.