Subject: Brian is very sick

Saturday 3/14

Dear Friends and Family,

Brian has not been this sick since the beginning of chemo in Dec.  he has
fevers, bad mucousitis, thrush, constant itching and pain.  He was awake all
last night talking to Stan.  He has not been sleeping well at night all week.
He says his neck (throat) hurts and the itching gets him very agitated.

The doctor said it would take 7-10 days for these side-effects to clear up.
That would mean he may be feeling good by next weekend.  Maybe he'll get to go
home then.

Sara enjoyed her 24 hours away from the hospital.  She went to a quilt show
with her Alameda quilt friends.  Last night we relaxed, chatted and hand-
quilted all evening.  It was peaceful and quiet.  She slept well; woke up with
a migraine; took medication; went back to sleep and woke up feeling fine.

Sara started hand-piecing 40 stars for a lap quilt.  She's excited about
learning to applique so she can put hexagons in the centers of the stars.
This she can do in the hospital while Brian is resting or watching tv.  It
gives her something to do that she enjoys.

These next days are going to be hard, because Brian is so sick.  Denny and I
are going to the hospital tomorrow so that Sara, Stan and Steven can go out
for the day.

Please pray for wisdom for Brian's doctors so that he gets enough pain
medicine to make him comfortable.  Pray that he and Sara are able to sleep
this week. Pray that his itching is relieved.  

I want you all to know that every pray that you write to them is printed and
taken to the hospital for Sara and Stan to read.  Every one means so much to
them.  You may feel that you are repeating yourself or have run out of words
to say, but please know that they can't hear "We are praying for you and send
you support." too much.  God uses your words to give them comfort.  The first
thing they want when they see me is the e-mail.  They fight over who gets to
read it first!  And every page is hole punched and kept in a binder to be
reread later.  One day every page will be shared with Brian.

Love,
Susan