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Hello family and friends!

It has been a while since I, Sir Joshua has written on here. I am very thankful to Anna for writing the last few blogs to keep you all posted about what has been going on.

Since Anna’s last post, there have been some fun (sarcastically said) developments.

Let me start by saying, thank you! Thank you to everyone who has been praying for my family and me. Your prayers are being answered! To those who have checked in on Anna during this time, thank you so very much. She has appreciated those calls and text messages. Thank you so very much to those who have provided meals, gift cards, and money for my family; these wonderful gifts were very much appreciated.

The Lord has provided me with some amazing people during this medical journey. The doctors and nurses that I have had the privilege of working with have all been absolutely incredible. I am so blessed to have these men and women on this journey with me.

After I left Good Samaritan Hospital, where the surgery took place, I was home for about 3 days, and then I decided I liked the hospital so much that I wanted to go back.

Starting on Wednesday of that week, I began to experience some weird pain in my stomach area. I thought it was gas. My output was okay, I thought. I wasn’t told when I left the hospital to continue tracking it, so I guessed it was okay. My input on liquids was good, and Anna has been doing a good job of ensuring that.

We tried a heating pad that seemed to comfort me, and I thought it was working. I was also walking around the neighborhood every day I could, so I figured things were going okay.

On Saturday, I woke up feeling good, but as the day went on, something was going on. Anna left with Addy to do some much-needed girl time. When Anna came home, she could tell I was in misery. She called my surgeron and they wanted me to go to the hospital to get checked out. Anna called my dad to help transport, and we got the kids settled here at the house with our amazing neighbors.

Just before my dad came, I threw up (first time in decades) and felt somewhat better. Got into the car and was miserable all the way to the hospital. The surgeon wanted me to go to Providence Portland, as it was closer to his office.

I got checked into the ER. They ran a scan and found I had two bowel obstructions. As is the common procedure for obstructions, they tried to get an NG tube in me twice but failed. After the second failed attempt, they booked me into a room in the hospital.

When I got to the room, a doctor came up to my room to discuss what was going on. What they saw was, in fact, two obstructions, but the most pressing one was the obstruction at the stoma. To help with this, they would insert a ‘red catheter’ into the stoma to help with drainage.

Anna had been in contact with the doctor, and before I was released, she wanted to know how to place the ‘red catheter’ in case we needed to do it at home. So on Sunday afternoon, when Anna came up, the sweet doctor came in and gave Anna a hands-on lesson. It was weird to have this in me, but the good thing was that I didn’t feel a thing when it was being placed or when it was in me.

The funny thing about the ‘red catheter’ is that they have to secure it, or the body would just push it out. So the doctor gave me a very high-tech medical device to secure it: a binder clip. Yes, the same office binder clip you would use to secure a bunch of papers! The clip worked perfectly!

There were a few funny moments at the hospital this time around. The doctor explained that this obstruction is common in the first three weeks after surgery and is especially common in men, and younger men in particular. The reason my obstruction was at the stoma is that during surgery, my abdominal cavity is inflated with gas to inflate the area to perform the surgery better. Then the small intestine is pushed through the abdominal wall. When the muscle wall is tight, as it is with younger men, the muscle fascia is tight and will pinch the stoma, kind of kinking a hose. As the abdominal cavity shrinks back to normal, the pressure on the wall will go down.

However, what I heard the doctor say was that I have a six-pack and that I am ripped. It is just that my stomach is camouflaging the six-pack. When I told the doctor what I understood, she said, “umm…okay…yeah, you have a six-pack that is causing the issue.” This became my takeaway from this hospital trip, and I made sure everyone knew about my hidden six-pack!

The other humorous thing about my hospital visit is that I was placed in the maternity ward. I kid you not. What I learned is that the birth center was down the hall, and then after delivery, the moms would be moved to these rooms to recover. They only did this if there weren’t many births. The nurses told me the birth rate was low, so the moms were just staying in the birthing rooms and then moving them if another mom needed the room. When the ER and Med. Surge was crowded, they would send their patients to other floors with available rooms.

What made this funny is that I had this checklist to complete before discharge:

My family and the nurses had fun with this checklist for me. Anna even offered to break my water to move the process along. Pray for my wife, she keeps saying she will earn an honorary nursing degree after all of this.

You need a good sense of humor when things are tough.

I came home on Tuesday, the 20th. Since coming home from this visit, things are going really well, and thankfully, there are no more obstructions as of this writing. I have been diligent this time in tracking my output and even found an app to help me track. It is interesting to see the changes in output using the app.

Day-to-day living has been good. I am thankful to an amazing church family that has allowed me two months off to heal and get used to this new normal for a few months before the reversal. I know I’m mentally ready to get back to work, but I need to heal more physically.

I have weekly appointments with a Wound Care/Stoma nurse. This service is amazing. We have been trying to find the right fit for an ileostomy bag. We have been through multiple different types of bags and rings. The last time I went, I had a nurse who had been doing this for 23 years, and I think she helped us find the proper fit and the equipment we needed.

Anna has been to all the appointments, and she is an amazing help as well. To change the bag, I am so thankful to have Anna help me. I am sure I could do it myself, but it would be a little difficult as the site is still sore, so having another pair of hands is helpful. Anna has learned a lot during this time and is a strong advocate for me as well. When we need to change the bag, which is a bit more frequent as we are trying to get a rash under control, we tell the kids, ‘It’s time to change Dad’s diaper.’ We need to have some humor at this time.

Speaking of the kids and humor, they’ve decided to name the stoma, just as we named the tumor. The kids decided on naming the stoma Bob-Lee. I would like to show you a picture of Bob-Lee, but many of you, I think, would be grossed out by his presence. Let me just tell you he is a cute little red-faced knob! Anna affectionately calls him Bobby Lee. And since last week’s wound care appointment, I get to eat 5 large marshmallows a half hour before we change the bag, so Bobby Lee isn’t active during the change. So far, this has worked really well, and Anna is much less stressed out!

In all this, I want to say that I have had some sweet times with the Lord. In both of my hospital visits, I made sure my room was filled with the Holy Spirit. Every morning, I would read Scripture and then play worship music. At night time I would play instrumental worship music all night. I know this mattered as it helped me to have conversations with my nurses about the Lord, and it set a tone for the room.

This book was on my tray, and I read it every day with a cup of coffee or tea.

This process has not been easy, but it has been more manageable having my family nearby, an amazing church family and staff, caring neighbors, and the Lord’s presence.

There is more to share about future things, but for now, we can celebrate that I am healing well. Please continue to pray for complete healing as I am still recovering from the surgery. Please pray for the doctors’ wisdom as we discuss the next steps in this journey.

I love you and am so blessed by all of you.

Before I go…here is a picture of two bags of port pillows I took to the oncology office. They were once again blessed by these donations. If you want to keep making them, please do so (here are the instructions again: making a port pillow). I still have a few years with the clinic and can take them in at appointments. The doctor and nurses were overwhelmed by this donation. Thank you for helping care for other cancer patients.

May the Lord bless you all. Thank you for the love and support you are showing the family and me.

-Josh

Hello Friends and Family,

I’m so pleased to report that Josh came home last night (Monday).

On Sunday, I was able to go to church, and my MIL met us there with the kiddos. We sure have missed our kids and being all together. Church was edifying and refreshing; so good to be with the family of God. After church, our dear friends drove me to the hospital and dropped me off. They later came back for a visit, as did Josh’s sweet grandparents (I meant to grab a picture of these special folks). Sunday night, our friend led us and Josh’s dad in communion, since Josh missed out on that in the morning at church. What a sweet time together and with the Lord. Nothing like taking the Lord’s supper in a hospital gown in the waiting room of his unit!

Before he could leave on Monday, we had one more lesson with Wound Care. Our nurse took ample time with us, and I recorded the process, should we have any questions about the steps in changing the colostomy bag. Anyone who has experienced this before knows that changing and emptying a colostomy bag can be a bit intimidating at first. At the end, I asked Josh to recap the steps in front of the nurse, and he did better than I could!

Josh, his dad, and I also started playing Phase 10 together on Sunday. I’m happy to report that I won the first game! We began a second game, but didn’t complete it. Craig and I were at the same phase, with Josh trailing behind just a tad. I won’t be able to rest well until I have secured a second win. So, rematch anyone?!

We also got to see Josh’s amazing surgeon one more time before discharge. Josh and I have often commented that while some surgeons and doctors can at times exude a certain arrogance and pride in his craft, this man has shown himself to be humble, compassionate, and at the same time full of knowledge; he’s good at his craft, and is able to blend the medical expertise with sincere concern for his patient. We’re so grateful.

We are waiting on a call from the surgeon to give us the pathology report results. While we know the tumor (Bruno) itself has been removed, we are anticipating hearing the final report explaining to us the overall state of cancer in Josh’s body. Until then, we cannot firmly say if the cancer has been eradicated from his body. We don’t want to speak too soon or get our hopes up in this way, but by all accounts, things are looking good at this point.

As you know from reading this blog, our kids named the tumor Bruno. Well they created some wonderful artwork for Josh to have up in his hospital room of Bruno being put to death. These visuals are amazing! Great job, kids! Josh’s sister, Abbie, also created a lovely picture for him!

For kicks and giggles, I visited the fifth floor to grab this picture for Josh’s mom, who delivered Josh and his brother Jon in the same hospital where Josh had this surgery!

Thanks, everyone, for your continued prayers. We know that the Lord and these prayers are sustaining us so beautifully!

Thank you to all who have so faithfully kept our family in their prayers, who have selflessly given of their time, resources, and love toward us.

My father-in-love, Craig, has been the amazing Uber driver for us these past two days. He picked us up at 530 am yesterday morning to bring us to the hospital for Josh’s surgery. A few blocks from our home, on the way to the freeway, a car passed us on the left through a double yellow line, hit an embankment, swerved in front of us, and then sped off to our right past us. By the grace of God, the two cars behind us and our vehicle were not hit.

Once we checked in at the hospital, Josh entered pre-op. We met his entire surgical team at various points, the nurses took his vitals, put in his IV’s, and he got changed and sanitized.

The goal going into the surgery was to remove Bruno and to perform it all robotically. The anesthesiologist asked Josh if he would be interested in a spinal tap, which would help his pain level for about 24 hours. Josh talked to a friend who is an anesthesiologist the previous night, and he recommended the spinal tap. He agreed to the spinal tap. I found out post-surgery that they attempted the spinal tap unsuccessfully.

He was asked several times to see if he was anxious. He said, “I’m not anxious for the surgery; I just want to make sure that they get all of this cancer out me.”

So, after needle pokes, prayer, and final kisses, they wheeled Josh back into surgery.

We waited in the waiting room. I occasionally received a text message with an update. Some dear family members and an amazing friend came and waited with Papa and me at different times. Sweet ladies from church had packed a cooler full of food to enjoy the next few days and a backpack of all things cozy. The surgery was at least five hours, closer to 6. As the surgery ended, I received a call from the surgeon, and he expressed incredible news.

“The surgery was successful, and we were able to accomplish what we set out to do. I was able to remove the tumor, and there was no sign that the cancer had spread. We were also able to perform the surgery robotically, which was our original goal. Josh is doing well and will be in recovery for about two hours. “

Happy tears! Of course, I expressed my heartfelt thanks to Dr. Ahmad and said, “God bless you.”

We are overjoyed with this news and incredibly thankful to the Lord for his mercy and faithfulness. Josh and I have often reflected on the fact that the army that has surrounded us for this journey has appeared to be hand-picked. Incredible doctors, nurses, dear family, supportive and endearing friends…everyone has been intentional and compassionate. We continue to place Josh’s complete healing into the Lord’s hands. The road ahead will be unique and a tad long, but this is the biggest weight off our shoulders with an encouraging outcome.

As Josh was waking up last night, he was very concerned to talk to our kiddos and share the good news, too. Addy and Josiah have been troopers in this journey. Two nights before surgery, Josh sat down with them and carefully walked them through what would take place with his surgery. He described the loop ileostomy and the procedure that would rework the sphincter and where the bag would be placed. We giggled over his half-shaven tummy and placement dots by his wound care nurse earlier that day. I’m so proud of my husband for always taking the time to carefully explain these hard-to-understand concepts to our kids and others who have had questions.

I’m writing this almost 24 hours post-surgery, sitting in Josh’s hospital room with his Dad. When I walked in this morning, he was working with two nurses to get up from bed, stand, and walk across the room, and then sit up in his chair. The wound is tender, and that is absolutely to be expected. His vitals have been good, and his pain has been between a four and a five. The ileostomy bag isn’t filling up just yet, and wound care should be here sometime today. A nutritionalist was in and explained important tips with regard to food moving forward, especially for the next seven weeks. Low fiber, no seeds, nuts, raw fruits or veggies, or skins.

Isn’t that smile amazing?!

Special thank you to Mema, Uncle Joey and the aunties for caring for our kiddos so well. And to Papa for being the best Uber driver, keeping me safe in downtown Portland!

Josh had a time of worship in his hospital bed last night, and I did too when I returned home last night. We’re incredibly grateful for the outcome of this surgery and feel hopeful for the next steps. And, as I wrote to a few friends last night, the brevity of life is not lost on us. Within about a week, we lost a friend to cancer, and another who had battled cancer passed suddenly from a stroke.

We truly never know how the Lord will use our time here on this earth. For now, we are grateful that He continues to write this story of ours and simply want it to be all for his glory.

Bless you, dear friends and family, for upholding us so well during this time. Your prayers and intentionality have sustained us. We literally have faithful prayer warriors praying all over the nation, and some even oversee’s. Talk about the body of Christ in action!

Bruno is dead!!!

Sorry it has been a few weeks since our last post. A lot has happened since the last post, let me explain.

Since the last chemo cycle my body has been healing. What a joy it is to not have to be on the chemo roller coaster any more. I am still so thankful to the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute for their amazing care during the chemo sessions.

As I mentioned, my body is healing from the chemo. Chemo takes a huge toll on your body. Every part of your body is affected by the chemo. One thing I have enjoyed for years is physical activity, which can be running or walking. Before chemotherapy, I was walking a lot, averaging about 4 miles a day. My heart rate would be in a decent range, and I felt good.

During chemo, I would barely get up from the couch on some days. Low energy made me not want to move much. However, I knew that I needed to move, so I would force myself to move. While on the pump, I did not walk outside much, but would if Anna would go with me, which we did a few times.

While the pump was disconnected, I would make it a priority to get out and walk. On my walks, during off-chemo weeks, I would average maybe 2.5 miles. My heart rate would be high during the walks, and my lungs would hurt. I did not like the feeling, but knew I needed to keep going as it would only benefit me and bring healing to my beat up body.

Since being off chemo my average daily walking has increased to about 5 miles a day. My best one was a few days ago when I walked 6.75 miles and my heart rate went down to the range it was before chemo, if not better. MY BODY IS HEALING!!

Ok, so back to what you came here for-the MRI results from August 20th.

As you might remember, my appointment was for MT Hood Medical in Gresham at 9:30am. Anna and I left early and arrived early, in fact, we were about 45 mins early! I got checked in, and to our surprise, they took me back about 30 minutes early. In fact, the technician said, “Every patient this morning has been early.” He was very pleased with that.

The tech was not in a hurry and took his time, which actually calmed me down as well. I was anxious and wanted to know what Bruno looked like after 6 rounds of chemo. The tech inserted an IV as the MRI would have at one point some dye or something like that injected.

I have to say the MT Hood Medical MRI room was nicer than my last MRI room. The machine looked newer, and it actually had some natural light, which was a nice touch.

They got me on the table and slid me into the machine. I even got to listen to music this time…not very good sounding, as the music had to be sent through a plastic tube, so the music sounded dull.

Like last time, I used the 45-minute MRI to pray. I prayed for many of you reading this blog, people of Park Place Church, people of the Pacific Conference of Evangelical Church, members of my family, and for the results that would be coming from this MRI.

When the test was complete the technician said, “I can’t offically give you results but from what I can see, things look amazing.” I took that as some great news but didn’t want to get my hopes up with that news.

After the MRI, Anna and I went on a little date. Anna did say that we need to stop making our dates around my medical appointments, I do agree with her. But these appointments have been the most time we have spent just the two of us in a while! We found a nice little coffee shop in Gresham and enjoyed a Japanese Cold Brew and some breakfast. It was a lovely time, and we talked about this whole crazy adventure and also Addy’s upcoming 13th birthday on Saturday.

All day Thursday, I received messages asking if I had results yet, and I had to regretably say, “No, nothing yet.”

Friday morning, I had messages asking the same thing, and I said no.

Then Friday early afternoon came, and I got the MyChart message…

I opened it and started to read. It was sounding promising but I am not a doctor. I wish MyChart messages would not hit the patient portal until your doctor calls you. Anyway, I have a doctor in the church and sent the results to her. She interpreted it for me, but obviously said, “Wait for your oncologist to give you the final results to make sure I am reading it correctly.”

I then sent MyChart messages to my medical team asking for answers. About 2 hours later, I got the call from the clinic.

On the call, the nurse told me, “The tumor has responded very well to the treatment and is no longer detected on the MRI scans. Where the tumor was, there is now a dark area, which is a scar leftover from the tumor. So, from what we can tell, you had a complete response to the chemo. The surgeon, on September 19, will be the final say if the tumor is gone. Congratulations, Mr. Shelton!”

So there you have it, by all current indications, Bruno is no longer alive! Praise the Lord!

As they mentioned I am not completely out of the woods yet. The image below is how I feel, I can see the clearing but I am still walking in the woods. I wont be completely out of the woods until the surgeon appointment on September 19. The surgeon will use a scope and be able to get up close to where Bruno was.

So in summary, the tumor is GONE and waiting for September 19 to get a final answer.

My family is SO thankful for your prayers and support the past few months. Your texts, messages, and financial support have been amazing!

The Lord healed me and yes, used the chemo to help treat my cancer. We will call this a miracle and a grace from the Lord. According to the doctors, when we started this process and along the journey, they only gave me a 20-30% chance of the tumor responding with chemotherapy alone. Surgery was the next phase, but from what we can tell with the MRI, the Lord healed me and used the chemo to destroy the cancer cells! Thank you, Jesus!

Here is me telling Park Place Church the news on August 24, 2025.

I am still collecting Port Pillows. That is a ministry I want to continue. So if you have any made please bring them by the church!

Love you all very much! Thank you for your prayers! Keep praying for September 19!

-Josh

Anna here! We are grateful for this amazing news and will be the first to say, we continue to want the Lord to write this story for his glory. There are so many questions throughout this process, and almost all of them begin with “why.” While some of those questions may see answers this side of eternity, others will not until we see Jesus. And this is the tension that all of us live between.

One truth we are continually learning and teaching our hearts and minds is, “God is still good, even when our circumstances are not.” Here is where we are choosing to rest. There’s a temptation to believe that my circumstances are this way because God must be angry with me and then on the other pendulum, we are tempted to believe, if God is God, why can’t he take this away. Some of these temptations remind of of when Satan was tempting Jesus.

But what if these trials are meant to point us even closer to the heart of God? What if cancer, yes, even cancer, could be used for his glory and our good? Again, not all of these ponderings will be given firm answers right now. But we know enough of the heart of God that he is using all of this and nothing is wasted on him.

Before I start this blog, I want to take a moment to thank Anna for all she has done in the past 2 months. She has been an incredible help and making sure I was getting all the meds on time, and preparing meals that helped my body. She also carried more loads around the house since I was down, and she would not let me help! Could not have done this without her love, support and care for me and our family. The Lord provided me an amazing helpmate and I am incredibly blessed by her. Thank you babe for all the extra work you did and are still doing.

Wednesday

Going into my last chemo treatment, I was excited and anxious. I was also feeling really healthy, praise the Lord. I was seriously looking and feeling amazing.

Checked in. Did the weigh-in. Moved to an exam room. Took vitals. Accessed port. Took blood. Met with the doctor. Got in the infusion chair. That is basically the rundown when we come in for treatment.

Found a chair in the corner; corner chairs are bit nicer as you only have one neighbor instead of two and they feel a bit larger; but not really.

Premeds were started, and everything was going great. After about 30 ish minutes, pre meds ended and then I waited 30 minutes for the meds to get into the body. Once that 30 minutes is up, I started the big boy meds, the chemo.

Chemo was loaded, and we were going. Anna and I were playing our favorite card game, Phase 10. Anna was winning by one phase. About 5ish minutes into my chemo treatment, I was having weird tummy problems and not feeling great; I thought I needed to go to the restroom. I got up, took my IV cart with me to the bathroom.

When I got in there, I could not go but started to sweat a lot. I left the bathroom and went right to the nurse’s station and told them I was not feeling well. They took me back to my seat and immediately called my nurse over, and my doctor was there in like moments as well. They took my vitals, and everything was looking great. They could not get a temp on me as I was sweating too much. My eyes were closed, but I could hear them talking. They ended up giving me some Pepcid, and within a couple minutes, my tummy was not on fire anymore.

The team waited a few moments before they started me half the speed of the chemo. About 30 minutes later, they came back and said they needed to up the speed because if we didn’t, I would be locked in the clinic overnight. So they increased it to .75 speed, and, when they saw I was handling that okay, they increased to full speed after about 20 mins.

During this time, I heard a few nurses come over and check on Anna as well, to make sure she was okay. This team of oncology nurses are amazing and truly care for the patient and their families. Meant a lot to hear these nurses check on me, but also with Anna. Compassion means a lot when you are going through hardship and unknowns.

Made it through that ordeal without any more issues and then got connected to the pump for the last time.

This little machine pumps other chemo meds into me for the next 45 hours. Every so often, it makes a noise that sounds like our cat. Have to carry it with me everywhere I go. The last few cycles, it has gone off early, meaning the pump says there is an error in the system. I have learned that if it is less than 10mL, the patient received all their chemo. Not just my pump, but other pumps in the clinic have been having issues.

FRIDAY

My pump went off early and said I had 5mL left. I called the clinic and they graciously allowed me to come in early for a disconnect!! It is like Christmas when you can get in early.

The nurse I had on Friday for my last disconnect was the nurse who was the first to access my port and saw me in a raw moment on that first treatment. It was fun for both of us to have that full circle, which she said is not common.

On Friday my vitals were great and the disconnect went great with no issues.

After talking to the nurse about next steps, I learned I will probably have the port for about a year and need to come into the clinic about every three months to get the port flushed; if you don’t, blood can clog the lines, I learned.

WHAT NOW

So chemo is done. Lord willing, I will not have to have that again. So what are the next steps?

On August 20 I have a MRI scan so the doctors can see what the chemo did to the tumor. Please join us in praying that the tumor is COMPLETELY gone. I am trying to not get my hopes too high but really praying that the tumor is gone and nothing else is needed.

IF the tumor is not gone then most likely surgery will take place.

No matter what I know and trust that the Lord is guiding us through this process. Clinging to His promises from his amazing Word.

THANK YOU

My family is so thankful for all our friends and family that have been so supportive during this time. We are not done yet. We are so grateful for your prayers, your texts, call, meals, donations,etc. All of your love has made this journey a little easier.

Much Love,

Josh, Anna, Addy, Josiah

This picture was taken after disconnect on Friday!!

A note from Anna:

I am extremely grateful for the Lord knowing exactly what we would need for this journey. He has and continues to provide the help and support, courage, and perspective in the midst of everything that has come. Josh has been a rockstar through this time. He has been steady in doing what he needs to do for his body to get well. I know this hasn’t been easy for him to not be as active, to learn the art of saying “no” and “not right now,” and even the further art of saying, “I need help.” For that matter, I’ve had to learn the same lessons!

Dear friends even brought Christmas in July to us this year (a tradition I am known for carrying on each summer). Normally I’m the one whose silly crazy for Christmas in July where we stay in AC, watch Christmas movies, make Christmas sugar cookies, do Christmas crafts and light Christmas candles. I’m weird, I know, but hey…you gotta have some fun in life! Well of course, my Christmas in July spirit was a bit Scrooge-like this year and I plumb forgot about our tradition. Until our friends surprised us with Christmas presents and Christmas cheer! I mean really…

And then there was the incident of our van being in the shop for about a week, our dryer being out of commission for about two weeks (and is still out), and my mom being hospitalized (she just came home about a grueling 10 days). People have stepped up in so many ways to help in all of these ways! Sweet neighbors who dried and folded our towels, precious friends from back home caring for my folks when I couldn’t get down there to help and countless prayers.

The cool thing has been also watching dear ones from church step up and help in multiple roles while Josh and I have been out. We have been edified by them using their gifts and williness to serve the body of Christ.

One last word of thanks is to our amazing kiddos. They have been troopers through all of these changes in our family rhythm and time. They have learned how to pray in new ways and have also been extreme COMIC RELIEF!! I have affectionately taken to calling them our “Dodo Birds,” and before you think I’m being mean, let me explain! Their comic relief truly reminds me of Dodo birds! They bawk and walk like Dodo birds, and their mannerisms reflect those of the Dodo. While I was helping my folks yesterday, they even wrote me a detailed report about their kind…the Dodo birds! And, they have taken to calling their kind, the Dodo Bird Nation. I know none of this probably makes sense to the average reader of our blog, but trust me when I say, the Dodo’s are the most humorous part of life these days and are keeping things quite fresh and real.

Lastly, we are anticipating the Lord’s good and perfect will being on full display as we continue this journey. We know that nothing is a surprise to him, and our lives are a reflection of his goodness and faithfulness. We are praying for Josh’s complete and full healing and that the upcoming scans will reflect that. And we are praying for whatever is next, that the Lord will continue to use this story for him to write more of his faithfulness all over it. We are in the best of hands.

Another one bites the dust! Chemo round 5 is in the books (with disconnect day tomorrow). We are grateful to be this far and are hoping and praying that the tumor is not only shrinking but is going to be absolutely gone when scans are done after the last round in a few weeks.

Josh’s neuropathy pain began once again while he was still in the chair yesterday (pretty normal), hence the stellar-looking black gloves he’s sportin’. And he’s back playing the mental game after having about 3 or 4 pretty good days of reprieve prior to this round beginning. This is the new (hopefully temporary) norm.

I’m so grateful that Josh was up for preaching on Sunday. His last sermon was on Father’s Day. We’re so grateful the Lord has been healing him from the cold/cough he had for a few weeks.

His white blood cell count was once again pretty low yesterday, as was expected since he didn’t have the shot for that last round. So, when he gets disconnected tomorrow, he will once again need the long-term shot to help raise his levels.

Six rounds of chemo is what was determined at the beginning, so after this next round, he will receive two scans to determine next steps. Please pray with us for the miracle of this tumor being completely gone and next steps won’t even be needed! Josh has been sharing the Lord and how he is working throughout this process and we believe that whatever the outcome, God is still working in the midst of this story.

I don’t think we have shared on the blog yet, but our kids decided several weeks ago to name the tumor. This is a way they are processing all of this and (if you know our family) even providing a little comic relief. I had purchased some shoes for Josh on Amazon for him to try on. The brand name of the shoes was “Bruno Marc” (not to be confused with the singer, Bruno Mars). I ended up needing to return the shoes because they didn’t fit. So, because the shoes weren’t wanted and didn’t work, the kids decided to name the tumor Bruno Marc because the they don’t want the tumor and have given it an eviction notice.

Josiah decided to make Josh a Lego scene for Father’s Day. The idea was that the tumor (Bruno Marc) was being attacked by these fierce-some looking Lego men with fire and weapons. His card included sentiments like “Kick Cancer’s Butt” and “Kill Bruno Marc.” For weeks, we’ve been telling the nurses at Josh’s clinic all about Bruno and the Lego’s. Josh was able to take a picture of the scene, and we got it printed out to bring to the nurses and doctors. I’ve included the pictures below. The nurses and doctors were blown away by what Josiah created. Yesterday, it hit me like it was something out of play therapy, and the nurses agreed. They were amazed at how both of our kids have been processing their Dad’s cancer. The pictures are now hung in the nurses’ station as a little image of hope and even a little humor.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. We have heard from a few friends who are also going through very difficult health trials or have family members who are. God has been working beautifully through all of these stories. Some are experiencing healing, reprieve, and good results, and this has been so awesome to hear. We’re encouraged by this news.

A dear friend sent us some song lyrics the other day, reminiscent of our time at Multnomah Bible College. I want to leave you with some of those lyrics to encourage your hearts.

“My faith has found a resting place, not in device or creed;

I trust the ever living One,

His wounds for me shall plead.

I need no other argument,

I need no other plea,

It is enough that Jesus saves and that he died for me.

Enough for me that Jesus saves,

This ends my fear and doubt;

A sinful soul I come to Him,

He’ll never cast me out.

My heart is leaning on the Word,

The living Word of God,

Salvation by my Savior’s Name,

Salvation through His blood.

My great Physician heals the sick,

The lost He came to save;

For me His precious blood He shed,

For me His life He gave.”

Leading up to Josh’s fourth cycle of chemo was eventful! We had some sickness in the family this week. It began with the kiddos and passed on to me. We did our best to keep things wiped down and clean at home so as not to expose Josh. At the end of the week, Josh seemed to start not feeling great, and we were worried it might affect his ability to have his next treatment, especially since his white blood cell count was low. He had horrible sinus pain for 4 days; worried of a sinus infection. He woke up on Tuesday with zero pain, like nothing had been the problem the days before; this was an absolute miracle to have no pain as he did the days before! We are so thankful to report that Josh’s numbers were beautiful yesterday, and he could have his treatment! Thanks be to God!

Josh acknowledged to his doctor and nurses yesterday his gratitude to the Lord through all of this. Yes, the Lord provided this shot to improve his white blood cells, and yes, the Lord continued to work within his body. Josh also said we have an incredible support system. Our church body and leadership have told Josh that if he just can’t make a Sunday he is supposed to preach, they have coverage for him. They want him to focus on getting better. He continues to work mostly from home, making occasional trips to the office. Our wonderful church admin, Rachael has been phenomenal holding things down there and we are so thankful for her.

This is not something we take lightly; we know that many receive their treatments and need to head back to work. This whole process has made us so grateful and also aware of what a journey like cancer can be, the toll it can take on personal mental health, family life, jobs, and commitments. We don’t ever want to become shallow in our understanding of this. It has taken so many people coming around us to make this burden and season a little less heavy. I’m sure we all know someone or multiple people going through a trying health crisis in their lives. How we choose to show up during these times can truly make all the difference. And what about those who don’t have a deadline for their trial, but they still endure? How can we support those dear ones in our lives?

Josh’s neuropathy after treatment continues to be his biggest symptom. I found him some special gloves that are made for neuropathy, and he has been wearing those. He still has a large window after treatment where he can’t go into a fridge without the gloves on, and also drinks lukewarm water. Coldness does weird things to him. He’s described it as if your leg is asleep, that tingling feeling, but fairly constant.

These charts will help you see how drastically low his numbers got and, as of yesterday, how high they had spiked! We were told the long-acting shot slowly releases over time.

Because his numbers are good, his doctor will not be giving him the shot for boosting his white blood cell count tomorrow when we go in to disconnect. Most likely, he will need it the following round in two weeks.

Thank you for the amazing support and prayers. What an awesome team the Lord has surrounded us with.

The words of Josh:

Thank you so much to everyone from all over the world (seriously he have people all over praying). Your prayers are working. Being halfway through this we are anticipating, Lord willing, some great news that the tumor is gone. We are praying that the chemo melts the tumor and it will be gone from my body and nothing else is needed.

Also, want to acknowledge as Anna pointed out that this journey has been difficult for someone like me who is very active and loves helping others. During this time I have needed others to help me do things I normally do and feel weird in asking for help. But what I seen is that people are wanting to help and that brings joy knowing people can use their gifts to bless the family. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU TO YOU ALL FOR YOUR CARE, SHOWING UP, HELPING AND YOUR REACHING OUT!!

By the way, thank you to those who are committed to making those port pillows! I am loving mine and looking forward to delivering the pillows to the clinic soon! If you have some made please bring to the church! I would be blessed to take whatever we can but honestly I would love to see 500 port pillows delivered to the clinic! Can we do that?? I think we can! If you want to do a port pillows sewing project at the church we can arrange that-reach out to Rachael in the office to schedule that and to publicize that!

Love you all so much!

Pastor Josh

June is National Cancer Survivors Month. Our clinic was amazing, and at Josh’s last chemo, they had us enter a raffle for a few different themed baskets. We didn’t have to pay anything for our raffle ticket, but got to put a ticket in for which basket we liked. I wouldn’t say we’re typically people who win these sorts of things, so we were quite tickled when we found out we won a coffee and tea-themed basket! And what a basket it is! Hand-picked selections of local coffees, unique tea, honey stirrers, mugs, iced tea pitcher, boba tea, kitchen towels, etc. We were floored to receive this, and it honestly felt like a smile from God.

This morning, Josh began his third chemo cycle. He has described the past few rounds as a mental game where he starts to feel stronger a few days before his next round begins, and then has to start the next cycle. We are praying that this cycle goes smoothly. This morning on our drive to the clinic, we listened to the Worship Initiative Devo that we referenced previously. Today’s song was “Be Thou My Vision,” and the timing couldn’t have been better.

Josh’s Neutrophil levels were once again low this morning; however, they were still able to give him his chemo treatment today. He will also receive the long-term growth hormone shot on Friday, when his pump gets disconnected. This will help his white blood cell count rise again.

Thank you so much, dear friends, for your continued support, meals, prayers, and care. Josh has his man-purse back with the good stuff for a few days and was able to use a seat belt pillow that our friend Hailey made for him to protect his port. We are learning a new language through this process, and Josh is getting stylish in the process!

Josh and I brought what has become our favorite game to play together to chemo today, Phase 10. Before Josh got sleepy, we played through most rounds!

From the pen of Josh: I have a goal for my sewing friends. I would love to give 100-200 port pillows to the clinic for other patients. If you are a sewing person and want to help out here are the instructions: https://frommycarolinahome.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/portsofties-for-chemo-patients.pdf

The pillows can be dropped off at Park Place Church (13933 Gain St)
Thank you so much for loving on my fellow cancer patients!