Category: Uncategorized

My brother’s family (Don) came from Memphis, and Daddy and my family (Tina) came from Orlando, and we met in the middle at Callaway Gardens in Georgia.  It is a beautiful place with lots to do.  Dad had a great time, and ate lots of great food that we cooked for him.  It was  definitely a memory to treasure!  Here are a few highlights:

On Saturday we had Dad’s birthday celebration.  David and Donnie orchestrated putting 90 candles on Dad’s birthday cake.

After dinner, the whole family went to the sand beach area around the lake to listen to a great band and watch fireworks.  Two great granddaughters sang Happy Birthday on stage with the band for Dad.  It was so special!!

The next day we rode the large golf cart around the gardens with Dad in tow.  We saw the butterfly gardens, the golf course, martins nesting in clay homes under a bridge . . . just a wonderful 3 hour tour.  Donnie was making up songs with the great grand kids on this journey to the tune of:  “Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale” . . . so we were all full of laughs!!

 

 

The last day, Don and Elaine cooked up a catfish fry (one of Dad’s favorites!), complete with hush puppies, slaw, french fries, cheese grits, and corn.  We cooked on the back porch of one of our villas.  It was great spending time outdoors!  Donnie even played corn hole with the fam 🙂

Just a great time was had by all!  So grateful for our awesome family!!!!!!!!!

We all drove home Monday.  Today (Tuesday), Donnie had chemo.  His tumor markers were up to 282 (last week’s labs).  Also, his absolute neutrophil count was extremely low today.  He got his chemo, but he will be going to the clinic for the next 3 days in a row to get a neupogen shot.  This helps his bone marrow make white cells, important for Donnie to fight infection.  He has also been taking 30 mg of morphine twice a day for about a week, due to increased pain in his abdomen.  He continues to have bouts of nausea as well.  Donnie has had plenty of ups and downs, so we are praying his new chemo regimen will “kick in” and help him get better again.  Please continue to pray for him.

God has given us so many blessings of being with family over the past month.  It has been very wonderful for both of us!  Donnie is especially crazy for Don & Elaine’s grand babies, so he was really on cloud nine getting to see them!!  Thank you Abba Father, for such wonderful memories with Donnie (my husband) and Don (my brother), and especially Daddy!

We appreciate your prayers so much!!

Love, Donnie & Tina

Donnie’s tumor marker CA 19-9 increased to 227 (this is a lab test from May 31st).  It has been trending upward for 6 weeks.  Due to this, Donnie’s treatment will increase to getting chemo every week for 3 weeks, then off one week.  We are both bummed, as he is pretty exhausted most of the time now, he still gets nauseated and vomits some, he has headaches every morning, and his stamina to do much is diminishing.  More treatments will add to those side effects.  As Dr. Z said today, Donnie has already outlived his life expectancy for his diagnosis by a year.  As Rochelle says (oncology nurse practitioner), Donnie is a “SUPERSTAR!”

Please continue to pray for healing if it is God’s will, efficacy of the medications for his treatment, and minimal side effects.

This week, we had a couple of people we consider dear friends, write us to say their faith in God has become deeper by watching Donnie’s journey.  One friend even accepted Jesus as their savior.  When you have the love of God in your heart all your life, it is certainly a witness to others.  Donnie and I are so thankful we have faith in God, and that the Holy Spirit abides within us.  We both feel it has made ALL the difference in Donnie’s journey.  We also praise God for all the love from our family and friends, and the great care we get from our wonderful physicians and nurse practitioners.

The “Sparks” family is going to Callaway Gardens to celebrate Dad’s 90th birthday this weekend.  My brother’s family from Memphis and our family from Oviedo will be going.  Getting all of us together is very challenging (grown kids with children), so we are all really looking forward to it!!  I am praying that Donnie will be able to enjoy this time with family . . . a very, very special time!!!

Thank you for your prayers, as they are cherished!

Love,  Donnie & Tina

 

On Donnie’s bucket list was a trip to the northeast, specifically to see Maine.  Neither of us had ever been there.  We visited Bar Harbor for 5 days, and it was magnificent!  If you ever get a chance to see God’s creation in Maine, you should grab the opportunity 🙂  Bar Harbor is on Mount Desert Island, and home to the Acadia National Park.  The pictures cannot possibly do justice to the views!

We took a 2 hour horse-drawn carriage ride through the “carriage roads” in the Acadia National Park.  These roads were built by the Rockefeller’s, to preserve the natural beauty of the area.  Motorized vehicles are not allowed on these roads still, and there are many beautiful granite and cobblestone bridges built by the Rockefeller’s for the purpose of horse transportation on the island, which they prefer to this day.

 

 

We are flying home today.  So grateful we were able to see God’s beauty by driving around the park, and getting out to see views.  This was great for Donnie, as he only has stamina to walk short distances.  He was able to really enjoy himself, including eating a delicious lobster roll!  We were all so happy to see more of the beautiful world that God created just for us!!  Thank you Lord, for all the blessings you give to us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chemo is this coming Tuesday.  Please pray for his treatment to continue to work for him if it is God’s will, and that side effects will be minimal.  We are still awaiting the results of his tumor markers drawn 10 days ago.   Thank you for your continued prayers!!

Love,  Donnie & Tina

The last two weeks have been very good for Donnie.  His only “not so good day” was Memorial Day.  Lots of wonderful graduations were attended, along with Sophia’s (grandchild) 4th birthday party at the splash pad.  Even though these events exhaust Donnie, he wants to push himself to attend, as these events are important to him and to me.

Of course, there is always the visiting . . .

Donnie even felt like ironing some clothes in preparation for Memorial Day.  He was able to sing “Freedom’s Never Free” at church.  It was an amazing day to appreciate our military who gave their ALL for our freedoms.  We will forever be grateful!!!!!!

Another exciting moment was being able to take Brianna (7 year old grandchild) to the Little Econ River behind our home for her 1st SWIM in the river.

She was excited . . . then scared . . . then diving in the water off of a log in the river and swimming to me.  It was a great day for Donnie and for me, as our kids grew up swinging on a rope swing tied high in a tree (after climbing up wooden steps Donnie nailed into the tree), and then swinging out and dropping into that river.  It is about a city block worth of walking to get down to the river, so Donnie was not able to walk with us (too tiring and too hot for him).  Hopefully he will be able to go with us the next time she swims there 🙂

Two weeks ago, Donnie’s tumor marker “CA19-9” increased from 171 to 192.  Dr. Z felt it was not a significant change, and wants to continue on the same treatment plan, which is Abraxane and Gemzar every 2 weeks.  He did check the markers again today (there are 2 different markers they watch for pancreatic cancer), to be sure we are not trending upward.  Donnie is not in any pain, however he does need to take his anti-nausea medication here and there.  He continues to be on his extended release morphine, and feels his neuropathy has increased slightly in his hands and fingers 🙁   We are grateful for the good days we have, and are praying for good days through some big family outings that are coming up soon.

Please continue to pray for minimal side effects, effective treatment, stamina through this ordeal, and healing if it is God’s will.  We appreciate your prayers beyond measure!!!!

Love,  Donnie & Tina

 

It’s Tuesday . . . chemo day.  It’s a love/hate relationship.  We are thankful it works for him (it doesn’t work for everyone with pancreatic cancer) and that he continues to be with us with some quality of life.  After all, he’s been getting chemo for 17 months now.  We hate that it makes him feel so crummy!  The past 2 weeks, he has had only 3 or 4 days when he was not completely tired and nauseated.  However, those 3 or 4 days, he was able to enjoy life.  Praise God!

A few great things happened over the past 2 weeks:

Yesterday, Donnie got invited to fly in Jeff Wilde’s plane that he BUILT (he has built several planes).  It was a very exciting day for several reasons.  They flew from Geneva (Jeff has a landing strip in his back yard) to the east coast.  They got to fly over the shuttle landing strip at NASA (it is now open to the public), watch the military parachute through the air (sometimes above them!), fly down the ocean’s edge, and enjoy each other’s company.  The best part was that Donnie didn’t feel sick until the last 5 minutes before they landed due to the heat (the greenhouse effect in the plane).  Once he got inside in the air conditioning, he felt fine. What a special day to remember!!  Thanks Jeff and Debbie for loving on us!!!!

 

Donnie said there were probably 20-30 jumpers (military and civilian), and sometimes they were jumping above Jeff’s plane.  Very cool!  What a treat for Donnie.  He is very patriotic (MP in the Army), and really appreciated this opportunity to see training in action!

 

Please continue to pray for Donnie’s side effects from chemo to be tolerable:  Nausea, exhaustion and neuropathy specifically.  We have some very special family outings planned for the summer, and are praying he will be able to attend.  Spending time with family and friends is precious!

Thank you for continuing to pray for us.  God continues to amaze us, and we are so grateful for our blessings.

Love,  Donnie & Tina

When Donnie gets his chemo, he has about 3 days that he needs to recover, and then he seems to improve quite a bit.  In my humble opinion, the past three days have been the best days he has experienced since his diagnosis a year and a half ago.  What a blessing!!

We stay pretty busy with our wonderful family and friends.  Lots of things to look forward to, and joy each and every day.  Here are a few things he was able to do:

Lots of love and fun these past few days . . . always a great shot in the arm for Donnie and for me.

Lots of good news is happening in our family, and lots of summer activities to look forward to.  We are so grateful for all these good days, and of course, are praying for more, if it is God’s will.

Please continue for Donnie’s treatments to be effective, and for his side effects to be minimal.   We continue to be grateful for all the prayer warriors that pray for him and for me.

Love,  Donnie & Tina

 

 

Donnie continues to have mostly good days.  He has a few rough spots here and there.  We got the results from his tumor marker that is the indicator of his cancer being under control.  After several treatments with Gemzar and Abraxane, his marker is down to 171 which is a good direction.  Of course, I would like it to be much lower (0-35 is normal), but we will take it one day at a time.

In the meantime, Donnie has been enjoying life . . .

He also continues to be a part of the praise team at church when he is up to it, which is very special for him and for me.  We are grateful for all the wonderful days we have had over the past year and a half.

Please continue to pray for his healing, if it be God’s will.  He has discomfort in his abdomen on and off, which is always concerning.  He has neuropathy which seems to worsen a bit after each treatment.  He continues to squeeze joy into his life whenever he can, and have a good attitude about it all.  He is such a blessing in that way to all of us that love him so.

Thank you for your words of encouragement and your prayers.  They are priceless to us.

Love,  Donnie & Tina

So many wonderful moments have happened over the past few weeks, I have not blogged . . . just living in the joy of the moments!!

Before Easter, we went to Rodger (Donnie’s brother) and Terri’s home to practice “His Grace Still Amazes Me” together.  It is always so joyful for all “the brothers” to be together, especially when it involves music.  It was a really fun day, as you can see 🙂  They all share the love of music, ESPECIALLY when praising the Lord!

Lots of planting of flowers for me the last 2 weeks . . . 7 flower beds of beauty.  It is wonderful to get out and plant flowers when Donnie is feeling good.  Then off to see Denise, who has trimmed his hair for over 20 years, to get the curly locks under control!  You can see his color is good, and he has some energy.

Then Easter came.  Forty family and friends came to church with us, along with our church family.  It was such a special day, as Donnie, Ronnie and Rodger have never sang a song together in church.  They have all been singing for over 30 years in their respective churches, so there has never been an opportunity for them to sing TOGETHER.  It was extra special for our family, and what a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ it was!!  So moving in person.  I’m still welled up inside thinking about the entire day.

Then off to our home after church service.  Jeff (son) surprised Flora with a renewing of their wedding vows.  Rodger officiating (as he did 10 years ago in their wedding), and Donnie being Jeff’s “best man.”  Jeff had a pink orchid bouquet for Flora to hold and pink orchids for her hair.  It was a special time with family.  Amazing that Jeff kept this a secret!!!!!

Then great lunch with our 35 family members, and an egg hunt for our 5 grand babies, followed by a tea party for all.  So cute!

Donnie has felt good enough to be eating breakfast out.  We even went to Hobby Lobby to look around at a few projects we want to work on.  Donnie was laughing when he found a “Bubba” sign in camo . . . the endearing name of a favorite cousin!!  We both had a good laugh 🙂

Donnie’s tumor markers were up to 192 on March 22nd (last level was 153 four weeks before).  He had only gotten one dose of Abraxane when those markers were drawn.  He will continue on his same chemo regimen (every other week), until we draw tumor markers again on April 19th.  No CT scan scheduled at this time, as he is clinically improving.

Donnie weighs 175 pounds.  He has energy, and feels like seeing people and getting out to do things.  It is such a blessing that he was able to sing on Easter, as that takes a whole lot of energy.  We continue to marvel at God’s grace!  His grace truly amazes me.  He is a God we cannot fathom.  I am so grateful for our time on earth with Donnie.  We were even able to call Di today (very close cousin) and sing happy birthday to her . . . in harmony.  The little things are so awesome!

Thank you for your prayers.  We are honored and privileged that you pray for us.

Love,  Donnie & Tina

 

 

 

 

 

Donnie is having very good days lately.  He feels good, is eating well, is doing some directing and critical thinking (so you KNOW he is feeling better!!), is singing and laughing a lot, and acting like his fun self.  It has been sooooooo enjoyable!!

Joyce (Donnie’s Mom) came to stay a few days with us this week.  She cooked for Donnie and kept him company while I had some “projects” to get accomplished.  I got to plant flowers in our yard with help from David and Beau (sons), we had pavers placed in our driveway and sidewalk (which took up a lot of my time), and I had a colonoscopy (routine).  It was a busy week.  We are grateful when Mom comes to help us.  It’s always a special time for all three of us!!  Donnie especially enjoyed her chicken and dumplings and cornbread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then today, we met David at Gino’s for lunch with 3 of our grand babies.  It is always a treat to see them!

I wanted to be sure to invite our family and friends to our worship service on Easter.  As Christian’s, Easter is such a joyous occasion!  Jesus Christ died as an atonement for our sins, and three days later, He rose from the dead.  How amazing that He loves us like that!  He is ALIVE!

Our praise and worship time will be led by Rodger McFarland (Donnie’s younger brother).  Donnie, Ronnie (Donnie’s twin), and Rodger will be singing a special song together to praise God.  They have never been able to sing together, as all 3 of them are always involved in their own churches, so this is special for all of them.  I am praying Donnie will have the strength to sing with his brothers on Easter.  He will get chemo on Tuesday before Easter.  With Donnie, things can change in a hurry, so I am praying that God gives him the strength that day to sing praises to His name.  I know you will pray for that, too.

The Easter service for WaterStone Fellowship starts at 10 am.  We meet in the Partin Elementary School cafeteria located at 1500 Twin Rivers Blvd, Oviedo, FL, 32766.  We would love to see you there!

We continue to be grateful and amazed at the progress Donnie has made.  Each day is a cherished gift from God.  We are humbled by your love and prayers for us.  May God bless you all for your encouragement to both of us.

Love,  Donnie & Tina

 

If you have to get chemo . . . it was a good day for Donnie. He is tired, due to the IV Benedryl he gets before his chemo, but he is NOT nauseated.  What a HUGE praise!!  We are beyond grateful for your prayers to keep nausea at bay.  He felt good enough to go to Outback for dinner this evening.  I don’t think we have EVER done that before!  Let’s hope he is simply in a different place this time . . . healthier and stronger.

Please continue to pray for no nausea, no neuropathy, and that the Abraxane would work well.  Donnie will get chemo in 2 weeks, then we will get tumor markers and a CT scan for follow up.  We continue to pray for healing.  God’s perfect will be done.

If Donnie continues to progress well, I will not blog much. Prayer is so powerful, and we are grateful to every prayer warrior that has been fighting this battle with us.  You are precious to us, and to God’s kingdom.

Love,  Donnie & Tina