Home.

This is a quick note to say that Mel came home today. Please continue to pray as more treatments will soon follow.

During this latest hospital stay, Mel was pleased with more visitors:

Meri and Bob

Tribute to a wonderful wife and mother.

As I sit down to write tonight I am overwhelmed at the blessing of
having a loving, committed wife of 19 years this month. She is a great
mother to our 5 children, only eternity will show the incredible
impact she has had and will have on their lives. Since we have been
wading through the deep waters of Melanie’s illness, she has been
tireless in her devotion to her family and to her Savior. She would
never think of buying something just for herself. I’ve heard her say
many times to the children, “are you thinking of others?” when there
is a limited amount of a certain food that everyone likes. Some more
things I appreciate about her are….. she doesn’t squander her
time (though she should take more time to relax), although she doesn’t
really enjoy it, she is a great cook, she tries to be understanding
when we don’t see things exactly alike, she supports me in judgment
calls related to our children that she may not totally agree with, she
doesn’t give up on me when I blow it, she doesn’t get wrapped up in
the slavery of immodest clothing and fashion, and she is trustworthy
and loyal to her family. She is truly a Proverbs 31 woman. Lori you
are more than I deserve, may you hear, feel, and sense the love that I
have for you.

Love, Marty

This is Rob interjecting a picture into this great tribute for Lori! The pic below was taken a few years ago while we were at a cabin.
From left to right: Melanie, Marty, Lauren, Jana, Lori, Cameron, Joelle

Friday Night

This is Friday evening–we have been enjoying a different side of
Mel–she is on Ativan–she gets premedicated with this every 12
hours–since chemo finally got started on Wednesday evening, she has
been hilarious, to say the least–a lot of people are getting a kick
out of the new revised version of Melanie!–a welcome side
effect–with some meds the side effects are not very welcome–
We did have quite a time until the chemo did get started–on the
night we thought it would get started, just before we went to bed
Melanie asked if we had prayed–I said we had but she said to me,”I
feel a need to pray–” We prayed again and I do feel that for some
reason we may never know, chemo was not started that night–things
have been going very well otherwise–we do hope that all stays on
schedule so we can be discharged on Monday–
We continue to be blessed by those around us here and at
home–yesterday Mel was introduced to Webkinz by a family here–they
said they carried them at the gift shop downstairs–since Mel could
not leave the unit and had some spending money–she asked if I could
go down and buy one for her–after looking all over downstairs, I
asked if they carried Webkinz–the cashier said they were out of them
and didn’t know when they would be getting more in–I went back to her
room and told her the story–would you believe about 15 minutes later
the mother of the family that told Mel about Webkinz–stopped by our
room with a bag from the gift shop–inside was a Webkinz! The mother
said “this is a miracle”–I asked her what she meant–she said the
cashier downstairs said after I left she found out they had Webkinz
and felt sooo bad that she didn’t know where we were in the
hospital–she said she wouldn’t be able to sleep because she had told
me they didn’t have them in the gift shop–then our friend walked in
with intentions of buying one the next day when her daughter would be
with her–needless to say she presented one to Melanie with tears in
her eyes, knowing that she had been part of this small miracle for
Mel–we now have a female brown and white beagle named “Jellybean”–
– God continues to grace our days with peace and strength and faith
to continue to believe in the “big picture”–when talking with Jana
the other night and telling her we may not be home until Monday she
said, “that’s not too long.”–Marty spent the day with us as well as
my Mom–we had a little party before they left for the night –it does
help things to go much smoother at home when one of us is there–we do
ask again for you to pray for the needs that we will continue to face
in the days ahead–we desire God to receive any glory and praise that
He deserves through this journey–We love you–Lori for the Miller’s

Monday Afternoon

We enjoyed a good day yesterday–our whole family was together which
was so refreshing to be able to just be together, even if it had to be
here at the hospital–we have been able to go down to the chapel in
the evenings and Melanie plays her heart out on the piano–I
personally enjoy that time hearing something from the “way it used to
be”–we spent some time out on the patio since the weather was so nice
and the room is small–not a private room–it was hard again to see
them go, especially knowing there is so much at home that I could do
to help get a new week going–I feel very out of touch with their
schoolwork–sometimes it feels that one can never reach around to all
the needs–
Her latest craving has been clam chowder–last evening her shellfish
allergy caught up to her–she got a tummy ache and felt her throat
starting to close up–she was fine after some Benadryl–needless to
say, the clam chowder is history, although this morning she did want
to finish it with more Benadryl–instead I went out to Acme and bought
some potato soup and also made chicken salad–
Today, Dr. Katz is to stop by and take a look at the abdominal wound
for infection–they don’t want to start chemo until he has said it’s
OK–I’m getting a bit antsy since the later we start, the later in the
week we’ll get to go home–
We continue to ask you to pray for strength for our journey,
patience for the waiting on procedures, and a hedge of protection from
the enemy for us here and our family at home, and a faith to continue
to believe truth, and to hold on firmly to the promises of God–
Thanks for loving us and holding us up to our Father–  the Miller’s

Saturday

It is a beautiful day outside–a day we were hoping to spend at
home–however we are still at the hospital–Mel had a fever this a.m.
of over 101–my personal theory is an infection from the abdominal
wound which has the VAC on it–as long as she spikes fevers we will
have to stay–there was the possibility of coming home Sunday
afternoon, but then we’d have to turn around and come back up Monday
morning for admission for 5 days–maybe this way the chemo can stay on
track and we can be home earlier in the week–my prayer is that they
can pinpoint the source of the fever so we can stay at home without a
fever–Marty and 3 of our children surprised us last evening with a
visit–it was a very welcome sight to behold to see them walk in the
door!!  We had a fun evening together playing games and eating–I
don’t think they have a clue how much we miss them–it’s always tough
to see them go–and hard to know who needs which parent more–my Mom
has been staying here with us–it is so nice to have her here to help
the time pass a little quicker–
Melanie was talking about Communion tomorrow–I guess we’ll have our
own little service–I believe she’s looking forward to hearing our
confessions!
We continue to ask for your prayers for our family as a whole–chemo
to go smoothly–strength and healing for Mel’s body–protection from
viruses, bacteria, & germs in general–against attacks from the
enemy–and much wisdom for all those giving care & advice–we do
desperately need our Heavenly Father each step of the way–thanks for
caring for us!   Lori for the Miller’s

Thurs.

Hello–thought I should put out an update since we are back in the
hospital–we came up for a blood transfusion on Tuesday–Melanie had
been running a low grade fever, but then during the transfusion spiked
a higher fever–we were to be admitted, but then the temp came down,
so we were sent home–later at home that evening, she started running
a fever of around 101–after a call to the Dr., we headed back up for
admission–which was very early Wednesday morning–so far all the
cultures have not “grown” anything, and she is feeling much better and
eating a little today–they have her on IV antibiotics–if all stays
stable, we will have the Rituximab on Friday and be home for 2 days,
then back for admission on Monday for another round of chemo–which
could be 5-7 days–one of the nurses commented that she thinks the
Dr.’s are very pleased and maybe surprised with how well she has done
with the first round of chemo–we can believe it is a direct result of
the power of prayer–it is always difficult to think of spending time
away from our home and family, but have felt such a love and care from
so many of you that continue to walk alongside of us and pray for us
regularly–you will never know how much it means to us when people
come and just simply let us know they are praying for us–words cannot
begin to express the gratitude we feel for your sacrifice on our
behalf–
You have probably caught on by now that I hardly ever turn the
computer on at home–I apologize–time at the hospital does make it
easier to update–
We have already warned the Dr. about the weekend of the annual hymn
sing–I have a feeling he knows from past experience that we want to
be out of here ASAP—we do ask you to pray that things would go
smoothly next week–and that Mel’s body would stay free of infections,
germs, bacteria and viruses–we continue to wait on the Lord for daily
strength and grace–our family at home continues to pull on my
mother-heart–God has blessed in so many ways as we continue to walk
one day at a time–may God richly bless you all that continue to bring
food, wash dirty clothes, put food in our freezer—and so much more
that I can’t mention–
Leaning on those “everlasting arms”–the Miller’s

Wednesday Night

This is Aunt Naomi updating a bit. Hopefully I can get my info straight! Melanie needed a blood transfusion on Tuesday because of low hemoglobin. She seemed to be having a fever so of course they wanted to admit her. Well, the one doctor felt like she has been in the hospital enough and to just let her go home (probably because she needed to go up Friday anyway for Rituximab). Needless to say, after a conference between medical personel they let her go home.  However, I found out today from Grandma Edna that her and Lori took Melanie back up to the hospital last night around 11:00.  So I guess they are trying to do cultures to determine what kind of infection it is since she was still having fever today.  They are hoping to be home for the weekend and then Monday she is scheduled for her chemo so it will be a 5 day stay at the hospital for that.  Keep on praying!

DETERMINATION WITH A CAPITAL “D”

Melanie arrived at church camp tonight at around 10:00PM! A hush seemed to fall over the crowd as she made her entry. The hush was soon followed by a round of applause! It was one of those moments not soon to be forgotten. How can it be after such massive doses of chemo plus having to take piles of pills per day? Mel is one tough cookie and certainly another miracle has taken place!

Here are a few pics:

Church camp at last. Look at that grin!

Uncle Rob is amazed but somehow not surprised at the power of God on display!

Mel goes to work on some BBQ chicken and other good stuff!

This is Rob reporting from our annual church camp here in Denton MD. Your continued prayers are much needed for Mel and the family. May the Lord bless all of you for your love, care, and support in so many ways.

Friday Morning

This is Friday morning–last night we were told there was some blood
in Mel’s urine–since this can be a side effect of one of the
drugs–she was not able to get her last 2 doses of cytoxin–they are
waiting for the urine to clear before giving these last 2 doses–12
hours apart, followed by the 24 hours of post-hydration–we are
feeling a little disappointed–there is still a chance we can make
church camp by Sunday–Mel says ” I doubt it–” Would you again join
us in praying that our family would be able to spend Sunday together
at camp? Maybe this is selfish–sometimes it is hard to distinguish
between needs and wants–God has promised to supply all of our
needs–so if we could ask again that you lift this need before the
Father who has promised to hear us when we call on Him–Thanks for
praying with us–    Lori

Thursday Afternoon

We had a good day yesterday–by last evening Mel was very tired–she
has done real well with the chemo–Friday morning around 9:00 will be
her last dose of chemo for this round-(although she has tried to talk
them into starting it sooner than every 12 hours so it bumps the
schedule forward!) -she needs 24 hours of post-hydration after that,
so plans are to be discharged on Saturday morning at 7:00–she had
made her plans before the Dr. came in–she announced to him that we
were leaving here Friday at lunchtime–or she was walking out of
here–needless to say the doctor tried his very best to get us home
earlier–his absolute best, but she needs the fluids to help the chemo
pass through her system–once she accepted the fact that she couldn’t
change his mind, she decided it’s best to just sleep–every Dr. that
comes in is a last chance resort to try to get orders changed–I think
they’ve finally caught on –it’s better to avoid her room unless they
are prepared! –she is still eating well, although she prefers “real”
food–the doctors actually like to see her spunk has come back–the
abdominal wound VAC is doing great for her wound–we are so grateful
for that alone–the Dr.’s were in yesterday and are very pleased with
that progress–
We had a Jordanian American student nurse helping out this am–her
parents were from Jordan–she is a Christian and understands
Arabic–she was very interesting to talk to–they visit family every
so often–we hope we’ll get to see her again–
We continue to ask you to pray for the needs of our family–that
discharge would go well–that Mel would not develop a fever or
infections or mouth sores–that she would continue to drink a lot of
water–and that her strength would return–for continued healing–our
family adjustments at home and also for the weekend–continued
strength for the journey–
Thanks for caring for us and helping to lighten our load–we ask
that God would bless each of you for walking with us through this
journey–Love–Lori for the Miller’s