Two weeks after Cathy’s lumpectomy surgery, the 2nd of our Nomads projects started at Faith. Unfortunately, Cathy saw very little of the work, since Dave was driving her to the ER literally as the project kickoff meeting was starting. Despite this distraction, the project continued on and accomplished a lot. Cathy’s hospital stay was brief, and she continued to heal from surgery in preparation for chemo.

 The water damage over the years had rotted away the floor joists in the bathroom, leaving little that was salvageable. When the team arrived, instead of seeing some part of the floor, what they saw was simply dirt. This was one of the more daunting tasks to transform this hole into a functioning bathroom. Each room had work required – some more intense than others.   

 This was the state of the project at the Beyond 90 house. The team’s goal was to turn this project into a finished home that would house a family of recent immigrants, beyond their first 90 days of government support. Despite a considerable amount of doubt early on, the transformation took place. And the setbacks were not just in the unpleasant discoveries at the house as walls and floors were removed. Just before the project was to begin, we had a team member rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery. Another couple was unable to come because their rig had a malfunction. And then Cathy was in the hospital, taking Dave away for hours a day.   

 The beauty of a Nomads project is that, despite our inability to envision how the problems will be solved, they usually get solved. A call went out to the larger Nomads community describing the difficulties on our team, and we were almost overwhelmed with responses. By the middle of the 2nd week, the campground was full to the brim, bringing talent and enthusiasm to the work. Also, Morris was there to provide the leadership Dave was unable to provide on site as he was pulled away to be with Cathy. Donna picked up some of the slack in the administration and logistics that Cathy would normally provide. So, by the end of the 3 weeks, there was a working guest bathroom that had no hint of its disastrous start, new kitchen cabinets in place, new outlets and lights in every room, a beautiful tiled shower in the master bath and new flooring throughout. That’s not even a complete list. We ended the project with Pastor Barry dedicating the house, and all of the Nomads signed the back of the certificate so it could be a reminder of how much had gone into making this house a home.

 Despite the best efforts to get it all done, by project’s end, there were still small tasks to be done to finish up. A core group of the Nomads stayed behind to work into the next week. By the time we pulled out for the last time, the house looked brand new, and nearly ready to welcome its first tenants. Also , the relationship between Lori and Barton, the founders of Beyond 90 and this team of volunteers was one of mutual admiration, celebrated at a lovely dinner before the project ended.   

 Check out the team at work in the project video:

The Apartment – a Bonus

Even though the primary focus for the project was the Beyond 90 house, resurrecting the church’s garage apartment for Pastor Rigo’s family was still a big ongoing task. Although work had been going on slowly since the period 1 project ended in January, we needed as much talent and time as could be spared from the house to make any meaningful progress. So, by the 2nd week of the Beyond 90 project, we were able to pull 2 people over to focus on plumbing tasks that ended up with a working water heater, toilet and sink. Bit by bit, more workers switched over and the work continued. The dry wall went up. Doors were hung. Outlets and lights were checked out. Slowly it was starting to look more like a place to live.

Medical Drama
Another hospital visit hadn’t been on the radar at all when Cathy got up Sunday morning to go to Sunday school and church. But the swelling under the arm was getting harder and, unlike earlier instances when she had gone to the surgeon to have it drained, the area around the lymph node incision was getting red and warm. By mid-afternoon, her temperature was rising a little every time she checked it. The only option was to head to the ER. After some tests, she was admitted for a post-op infection, and put on an IV antibiotic. On Tuesday, the fluid was drained and a surgical drain inserted to collect any more fluid that might accumulate into a bag she would wear for the next 10 days. Uncomfortable and awkward, but better than the alternative. And once the drain came out, no more fluid was accumulating so it had done its job. Whew!

The rest of the doctor appointments were focused on getting ready for chemo. The pathology reports of the surgery confirmed the tumor had been completely removed and the margins were clear. There was no cancer in the lymph nodes so it hadn’t spread. The original attributes of the cancer from the initial biopsy were confirmed: ER+, PR+, Her2-. So, the treatment plan remained the same. There will be 12 weekly treatments of Taxol, with Herceptin given every 3 weeks, but continuing for a year. Radiation will follow chemo a few weeks later and will run 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Chemo had to be delayed a couple of weeks due to the infection, and is now slated for Monday, March 18. To reduce the chance of infection, Cathy even had her teeth cleaned.

 So, Cathy continues to receive lots of prayers, cards, emails, texts and hugs of encouragement and support. They are generously given and wonderful to receive. The only thing that gives one pause is how many people are saying, “I’ve been there” or “I’m going through this too.” There are just too many people in this club. But that also means the diagnostic testing and treatments are working as well. And that at least is a good thing.

With the risk of infection raised, Cathy stepped back from any on-site project work. Instead, Dave had her pick up some grant writing activities for the Pocahontas State Park Group Cabin Stabilization effort. We wouldn’t want her to have too much time on her hands, would we? She managed to get two submitted just before their March 1st and March 15th deadlines.

​How Cold Is It?

The medical oncologist mentioned that some people used cold gloves and socks during the Taxol treatments to reduce the chance of neuropathy. We ordered some gloves and socks and tried them out one night as a test run. Some people can’t tolerate the cold, so Cathy wanted to get some idea “how cold is it really?”   

Using pre-frozen mitts and socks, we put them into a cooler next to a block of dry ice for one to two hours. Since the gloves/socks only retain the cold for 45 minutes, they have to be swapped out for the expected 90 minute treatment. We learned a bit about the process of chilling and swapping them out, but the process seemed to work OK. There was just one little glitch. Cathy’s right arm that she had used for the test swelled dramatically the next day. An urgent care visit suggested an allergic reaction as the likely cause and some steroids were prescribed to reduce the inflammation. So, it’s a bit of a question how Monday’s first chemo treatment will proceed.  

We took advantage of the time after the January project ended to take a break and spend some time at Disney, where we celebrated Dave’s birthday. Our trip would take us from there to Bradenton, where we supported Dave’s sister Wendy as her husband underwent a heart valve repair. And then back to Faith in time for Cathy to begin her pre-op appointments and have her lumpectomy surgery.

​And so it begins.

Let’s Do Disney
We had planned it before all of the diagnoses and doctor’s appointments. It was a getaway that we timed around Dave’s birthday to just relax. Despite all the appointments, none of them managed to spoil our 2 days. We stayed 2 nights in Animal Kingdom Lodge and were royally treated to some upgraded rooms and a bountiful seafood buffet meal. We watched the animals out of our window, soaked in a jacuzzi tub and took a culinary tour with some scrumptious samples. We deliberately did not plan to do any park visits, and that made for a relaxing, refreshing birthday trip.   

 Rather than heading straight back to Faith, we headed further west to arrive in Bradenton on the day of Dave’s brother-in-law’s heart valve surgery. It was very successful, and we stayed long enough to give Wendy some support during his first day in the hospital. We were shooed off the next day, as she was focusing her time on her Dave, and we needed to head back to Jacksonville to prepare for Cathy’s surgical appointments. On the way back, we stopped at a Farmer’s market to pick up some of the season’s first strawberries – and some strawberry shortcake.

The first stop on Monday morning was to implant a radiofrequency marker, called a Savi scout, for the surgeon to use to locate the tumor for removal. Then we went to a pre-op meeting with a nurse to receive instructions and answer questions that might impact the anesthesia. After a blood test and an EKG, we were done until the next morning. 

 Arriving at 8:30 Tuesday morning, Cathy started her preparation for the first procedure, which was an injection of radioactive material to determine the location of the sentinel lymph nodes that would be removed during surgery. (They will be tested to determine if the cancer has spread.)

 After completing that procedure in late morning, it was a few hours wait until the orderly came to take Cathy to “holding” at 2:15. The surgery started about an hour later, and Dave was getting an update from the surgeon by 4:30. All went well. The tumor and some tissue around it were removed (incision 1) along with 3 lymph nodes (incision 2) and a port was implanted (incision 3) to allow for chemo and Herceptin infusions over the next year. After a longer than normal wait in recovery, we finally headed home around 8pm. Dave stopped to pick up some dinner for Cathy and then dropped her off at the RV. He had to go back out to fill a prescription and then pick up some ice from the kitchen for ice packs.

​It was a long day for both of us, and we were grateful to crawl into bed.

 It was all a good news story. The pain on the 2nd day was minimal and required only a little Ibuprofen to manage it. There will be more testing from the surgery, which will confirm what form of treatment going forward.

There had been one more test before the surgery that was actually pretty cool. Cathy had an echocardiogram to establish a baseline for her heart's function to compare to later tests during her chemo and Herceptin infusions. This is basically a sophisticated ultrasound of the heart, and, as Dave said, it proved Cathy had one. (Oooh. That was a dangerous thing to say.)   

Faith Work
Work continued on readying the apartment for the couple arriving in the Spring before, during and after our trip. There was tile laid in the bathroom. And Cathy worked with Home Depot to finalize a design for kitchen cabinets. A new closet was framed and doors prepped and painted for re-hanging. With only a little more than a week before the next project starts, the drop-ins are trying to make as much progress as we can before our attention turns to the Beyond 90 house.

 2019 started with a bit more drama than we would have liked. Although the first milestone – Adam’s neck surgery to replace a damaged disk – went very well, we were to receive news that will alter the trajectory of the rest of the year and toss many of our plans out the window. In the midst of our personal turmoil, we started our project at Faith with a dynamic crew that made short work of some complex tasks.   

Storage Containers

The progress made in December to patch, enclose and put flooring in the containers was substantial, but that was nothing compared to a couple of weeks with a strong team dedicated to putting them into operation and covering the adjacent pad with a carport roof. The floor was laid in the 2nd container. The passage between the containers was framed and the threshold bridged to allow a smooth transition between them. A 6 ft opening was cut in the side of one to make for an easier entrance, along with a ramp to bridge the distance to the concrete pad next to them.  

 Once Ron arrived, the wiring that had been started last Spring was completed, connecting to power in nearby Peeler Hall and finalizing the installation of lights and outlets. Then the careful plan that Herb had laid out was transferred to the locations in the containers where each item would be placed. Herb and several assistants built racks to hold conduit and PVC pipes, then installed them in one end of a container. A sliding door was hung outside the container to close the opening and lock it. The exterior was painted.  

 And then, the moment of truth. All that stuff needed to be moved into the containers. Cabinets were carefully emptied, the contents packaged and then all moved over to the correct spot in the containers. There were glitches. The ladders took too much space. There were more 5 gallon paint containers than we thought. We had to swap out Ron’s work bench. But bit by bit, the pieces fell into place and the stuff found a home. There’s still a bit of sorting to do, but these units appear to be living up to their purpose. And the “temporary” storage rooms are finally emptying out after 18 months.

 While much of the team prepared the containers, a dedicated crew struggled with the new roof that would span the concrete pad between Peeler Hall and the containers. It would be supported by 2 framed walls on either side and 4 x 4 supports on the ends. The roof would cover the 12 foot pad and extend over the containers enough to ensure the water drained off the pad. Before they got started, Bobbi and Sheila painted the exposed side of the old Peeler building. Then the guys framed sections of the wall and stood them up. One by one, the trusses were laid across the span to support the finished metal roof. The walls would eventually hold the door to the container. And Ron installed lights along the interior. This was a massive effort that was made to look simple by some skilled members of the team, primarily Andy, Jack and Jeff. The result is amazing and will serve its purpose for years to come.  

 With such a talented team, the work on the containers and carport were mostly finished by the end of the 2nd week as we returned from Richmond after Adam’s surgery. That meant that much of the project focus became a garage apartment that had not seen use in more than 2 decades. It is to be used as the home for Pastor Rigo’s brother and sister-in-law. Needless to say, there is a bit of work to do. Outside, Andy and Jeff worked to find and fix leaks in the roof.. Inside, the rest of the team cleaned up and started to make repairs.  Ron studied the electrical needs for the apartment. A roadmap for the work that remains is starting to emerge, but this will be a story that continues to unfold over many more weeks.
​

​Beyond 90 House

In mid-February, we will be leading a project while here at Faith that will be focused on a house in the community nearby. The house will be used by a new non-profit called Beyond 90, whose focus is to provide support to refugee families after the first 90 days, when World Relief and similar agencies drop their support. The house needs several repairs and cleaning.  Much of the prep work will occur before the project and the team will go in and begin the repairs. We were in town for the first cleanup at the house, which accomplished quite a bit.

Cathy’s Diagnosis
​
“You need a biopsy.” The call back to the Imaging center for an ultrasound confirmed a growth in Cathy’s left breast that would need to be checked for cancer. A week after the biopsy and 2 days before heading north to be with Adam, the diagnosis was confirmed. It was cancer. The tumor was very small, so the regular mammograms had done their job.

Another week passed before meeting with the surgeon. Assuming the oncologist agreed and the genetic testing was negative, he said she would need a lumpectomy, followed by chemo and radiation.  The treatment however, won't be known for sure until the surgery, scheduled for February 5th, and follow-on testing is completed. 

This diagnosis was a stunning reversal for us, who have been blessed with amazingly good health for so many years.  That being said, breast cancer, especially caught this early is very treatable, and Cathy's prospects are excellent.  She is seeking treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center here in Jacksonville that is highly respected, so she is in excellent hands.  Pastor Barry and Faith UMC have been supportive and gracious, allowing us to stay as long as necessary.   

So, this news was initially pretty hard for Cathy to accept, and the stress level was pretty high.  As she becomes more informed and talks to others who have walked this road before, it's not quite as scary.  And the support from family and friends has been a blessing.