Happy Halloween from Val and Julie

It's me!
Julie and I got access to a computor in the USC library. I do not have to get my next dose of Anti-biotics till 4:00pm. We are out looking for a a college fraternity halloween party to get invited to. (ha ha). I needed a break from the room. We got coffee at startbucks. It is great to see my sister and catch up. We are planning Thanksgiving and Christmas plans! I am glad I get to go home tomarrow. I thought I was going have to be here a week.. Yeah!

Thank you to all my family and friends who are helping me out at home with the kids! I luv you guys and to my sister who drove all the way down and is missing halloween with her kids to hang out with me.

Chris, remember lots of video of the kids in their costumes. I miss you.

Val

NewsFlash

Just talked to Val. Julie arrived. Chris is on his way home. Here's a huge newsflash. The scale they weighed Valerie on was wrong. Instead of weighing 111, she is at 122.

Hello world! Weight up. Cancer down.

The blood infection is, as we suspected the most serious. Kliepsella pneumonia. she is on an IV antiobiotic. She and Julie are hoping to come home tomorrow.

In the meantime, they are scouring USC to get invited to a Halloween party tonight.

We will film the kids Trick or Treating tonight so she can catch up later this week.

Richard

My friend Val

These are some of my favorite pictures of Val from when I was out to visit.

Val just radiates an internal beauty that is evident in these photos.

I miss her very much and wish her a quick exit from the hospital. I know that she is ready to go home.

She is my hero.......................................

Happy Halloween!

Love

Marianne

Talked with Val this morning

This is Marianne Rose I spoke with Val this morning and she is in terrifc spirits. She is getting good food, took a great shower (however missing a blow dryer) has some fuffy smelling lotion to smell good. She is bored and watching The Guiding Light. She is ready to come home and bail out of USC Norris.

As Richard said, the CT Scan showed that there is measureable shrinkage in all of the tumors but there seems to be some dialation in the right stent only with a billirubin count of 3. This morning Val had another blood draw and the billirubin came back at 1. So Dr. Lentz said that it might have been the fever that caused the blockage in the right stent. But we will just have to wait and see how the home antibiotics work over the next week or two.

Val misses her boys and Chris and wishes she could go trick or treating with them. Chris is going to videotape them for Val tonight.

Thank you for all of your prayers they are working!

Current prayer requests:

1. The stents will become completely clear without a stent replacement
2. Val's fever stays down and the blood infection goes away
3. Val can be released tomorrow
4. Strength for Nancy Val's mom as she has been taking care of all 3 kids while Dawn is on vacation
5. Stength and sanity for Chris because his job is very difficult right now amongst all of these issues.
6. Val has a cure for this disease

Happy Halloween to all of you........................I wish I were there too!

BOO

Marianne

A Perilous Journey

Val finally got her CT Scan late this afternoon. A hard road since she had no solid food yesterday or today. Dr. Lenz came in a bit later with the preliminary results. It appears that the bile duct stents (she has 2) both have partial blockage. This may be the cause of the blood infection and pain.

He indicated that this is a very serious blood infection. Unchecked, it can quickly shut down your organs and lead to death.

Val will be on strong antibiotics for the next two weeks. This may require a Chemo sabbatical.

I called Char in St. John. She got on the horn and talked to Mishiko in Dr. Lo's office at Cedars Sinai. He is her stent doctor. I don't think there is an immediate need for a laproscopic procedure on the stents. We have to get past this infection first.

Julie is driving from San Luis Obispo and arriving USC tomorrow at noon. Chris is coming back to Stone Canyon to Trick or treat with the kids.

Julie has a very big heart. She is missing trick or treat time with her family.

Enough of the dark stuff already. I suggest you sit down for the next piece of information revealed by the CT Scan today.

THE TUMORS ARE SHRINKING! DR. LENZ INDICATED THAT EVEN BEFORE THE RADIOLOGIST ISSUES HIS REPORT, IT IS VERY OBVIOUS TO THE NAKED EYE.

I am filled with joy beloved. "I fall down and lay my crown at the feet of Jesus. The greatness of His mercy and love at the feet of Jesus. And I cry Holy Holy Holy is the Lamb."

Great peril lies ahead as the antibiotics fight the infection. Pray that God will come alongside these human devices and fill them with His power. Pray that Val can recover her lost weight. She is at the bottom limit. Pray for Chris and his health. Pray that we can get back to our chemo regimen soon. Pray for safety in Julie's trip.

To the untold army of prayer warriors whose names are in The Book of Life, know this; although I may never meet you all personally in this life, I will rejoice with you in the Holy City, The New Jerusalem.

Godspeed

Latest News From USC

Val's temperature was back to normal this morning. She does have a blood infection. I don't know the details of the treatment or speculation as to the source. We always suspect the stent but don't really know for sure. I think she has completed her CT scan by now. This was critical because she hasn't had anything to eat for 24 hours. She is at 111 pounds, only one pound above her lowest weight. Our target is to get her back to 125 pounds.

I had planned to relieve Chris tomorrow at noon so he could take care of job related business. Then Julie called from San Luis Obispo saying she was heading toward LA. The latest news from Nancy is that Val is hoping to get sprung tomorrow morning so she can Trick or Treat in San Marcos tomorrow night.

I am sure Dr. Lenz will touch bases with her today. We were scheduled for Chemo on Thursday and a PET next week.

I am in awe of what a warrior Val is. I recently finished a book called "River of Doubt" that chronicled a journey by Teddy Roosevelt down an unexplored river in the Amazon. Although faced with peril every day, I could not help but think that Val's journey is tenfold more difficult.

The sad thing about Teddy's journey is that he never cried out to God Most High, the Ancient of Days .

We do.

GodSpeed Beloved

USC Update

I just talked to Chris. Val is in a hospital room at USC Norris. She is on strong antibiotics and Fenagrin for nausea. Blood samples were taken. She is going down for a CT Scan soon. Chris is spending the night with her in her room.

Pray for Val

As I write, Val and Chris are en route stat to USC Norris. Val is shaking, high fever and very ill. Please pray that she survives the 1.5 hour trip to Norris. Pray that they can get to the bottom of this quickly. Pray for strength for Chris also. Will update you in a few hours.

USC Trip Aborted

Val and the boys at a local hangout on Kauii.

Val and I left for USC Norris this morning for Chemo 22.

She woke up with serious stomach pain radiating into her back. No fever. It never improved and we finally had to do a u-turn in Orange County and come home.

We are re-scheduling a PET/CT for next Monday or Tuesday and Chemo on Thursday.

Please pray for wisdom on pain management. Also, Val really wants to be in San Marcos for Trick ot treat on Tuesday early evening. Pray that I can schedule the PET/CT for Monday or early Tuesday.

It has to be done then in order to have the results for Chemo on Thursday.

Godspeed

The Dawn of Victory

As I write, Val, Chris, Ryan, and Gavin are somewhere over the Pacific heading for California. Yesterday was Val's 38th birthday.

We were living in Lakewood, Ohio when Val was a baby. I recall how impossible it was to keep her contained. She would climb out of her crib at night. I took the door off her bedroom and laid it on top of the crib but she pushed it aside. Finally, I put her toybox on top of the door. At last! we could hold her down.

The next morning, the doorbell rang at 5 am. It was our milkman with Valerie in tow. She had made her great escape. There was no holding her back!

Persistence. A quality that Val possesses in abundance. But it is not enough for her to move this toybox. It is too heavy. You can't do it. I can't do it. The medical experts do their best to treat this rare disease. I have the greatest of respect for them. Dr. Lenz, Dr. Tasher, Dr. Nissen, Dr. Drazin. Dr. Goldklang. Dr. Lo, Dr. Frakes. I know we can live long with the cancer, but it's the stents that scare me. I am very grateful that Val is under the best available stent management with Dr. Lo.

Pray for Val as she goes to Chemo 22 this Thursday. Pray for my son Paul, who is at this moment in emergency at Palomar Hospital with an undiagnosed illness.

Pray that all of us will run the race before us with a second wind. Our enemy enjoys it when we get discouraged. And it is very easy to do unless we constantly turn to The Holy Spirit for support.

Godspeed

October 21st

It was 6 pm on a Friday, one year ago. I was giving Tyler a bath and waiting for the sound of footsteps running up the stairs to tell me that the tumors were benign. It never came.

The next morning, Val and I went to a soccer game. A light rain was falling As she sat in a lawnchair. I could tell that her mind was a million miles away.

I don't know how many dear souls have traveled this journey with us. The counter on our blog, added in February, stands at 33,115. But God knows beloved, and He has heard all your prayers.

Time is an odd thing. According to the Bible, a man's life is three score and ten, 70 years, and then things start going downhill. But a more important Bible truth is this; with the Lord, 1,000 years is as a day, and a day is as 1,000 years.

The Interpretation of this seeming contradiction is this;

• 1,000 years of this difficult journey is like one day in God's economy. The words of John Milton in Amazing Grace were true when he wrote, "when we've been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun, we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first begun."
• The value of one man's life lived for God's glory for one day is greater than 1,000 years of another man who lives for himself.

Those of us closest to Val wish that we could share her pain and struggles. Couldn't we in some way just carry the burden for her? But I know that He who is closest to her does feel all her pain.

Some people have said that this Blog has been meaningful to them. That is nice but the real purpose of this Blog is to testify as witnesses to the beautiful life of Valerie Sloan McCrea. A warrior's life being lived for God's glory in an epic struggle of life and death. Valerie Sloan McCrea, a true American hero.

As we begin this next year, there is one thing we will not do. We will not hesitate to move quickly to research the latest medical and holistic treatments for cholangiocarcinoma, stent, and pain management.

The American author George W. Cecil wrote,"On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions, who, at the dawn of victory sat down to rest. And resting, died."

Beloved, we are at the dawn of victory. Our God will honor all that we do on the human level by his mighty power. This is His promise and this He will do.

Val called from Kauii last night on her way to a Luau. She is feeling well. Continue to pray for her well being in Hawaii. She is facing Chemo 22 at USC next Thursday. We will schedule a PET/CT for the following week. Pray that God will reach down and strangle the life out of this enemy. My vision is to look at a PET that shows a landscape of dead tumors.

Godspeed

Prayers from California

Hi mom and dad. You are always in our prayers. Rest, be safe and stay well. Come home when you can.

Love, Tyler

Hello from California

Hi Mom. I hope that you Dad, Gavin, and Ryan are having a great time on Kauii. Wish I could be there but Grandpa and I are too busy flying to miss you too much.

Grandpa talked to Taleen today. She is very happy that you could spend some time away. We will re-schedule your PET/CT when you go up to USC on the 26th. Make sure you are back in California on time!.

Have a great vacation but be careful not to fall off that 150 foot cliff. It could be hazardous to your health.

P.S. I did a great job last night keeping grandpa up a lot. He looked pretty bad when he left for work this morning.

Love, Tyler

The Holy City

This is a picture of an ancient olive tree in the Garden of Gesthemane on the Mount of Olives outside the Holy City. It is estimated to be more than 1,000 years old but probably wasn't there when Jesus visited the Garden on the last night of His life on Earth. The Romans destroyed all the trees when they lay siege to Jerusalem in A.D. 70.

When King Nebuchadnezzar threatened Daniel and his friends with immediate execution for refusing to worship a golden image, their swift response required no discussion or weighing of the alternatives. "We don't have to defend ourselves in this matter. If we are thrown into this blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us and He will rescue us from your hand. But even if He does not, know this, Oh King, we will not worship your image."

These men came face-to-face with an enemy that was poised to destroy them immediately in a most painful way. What kind of a scale did they use to weigh the value of their physical life against their worship of what the Apostle Paul called "The Unseen God?" The answer is simple, beloved. Although they had never met the Messiah, their lives were hidden with God in Christ. So are ours.

Through the eyes of faith, they saw what John was shown in Revelation 22 when an Angel took him into the future to see the Holy City, the new Jerusalem. This is Daniel's home. This is our home. This is our future.

Daniel, like us, knew only of life as it is lived in this body. His argument to the king, however, presented three truths that he held to be self-evident; God is able, God will rescue us, but if He does not,---. Daniel did not know what would happen to him that day.

We are just the same. And we are different. Daniel's battle was swift. Ours is long. After spending several nights on a small cot in Val's hospital room at Cedars, I woke up one morning and thought, hey, if the rest of my life is spent with Val in room 506, that's ok with me.

As we approach one year from Val's diagnosis, I can confidently say that, by God's grace, I do not grow tired or weary of this battle. As He rescued Daniel, I know He will rescue us. And all praise and honor must go to the throne of His Son.

Continue to pray for us beloved. Pray for my wife Nancy who is having an MRI on her brain today after experiencing some weakness in her side. Pray for Chris who had an ominious message from his doctor regarding some blood tests last week. Pray for Val who continues her daily battle with pain. Pray that the slow healing wounds in her abdomen heal quickly. Pray for a trip to Kauai tomorrow. Val, Chris, Ryan, and Gavin are scheduled to be gone for a week. Pray that Val stays healthy in Hawaii. Pray for the upcoming PET/CT for Val the following week and Chemo treatment 22 the week after.

Godspeed

P.S. You may notice that Chad changed the picture on our Blog title recently. This is only part of the "Sloan" Clan. Missing is Jeff's wife Janet, Josh, Jessie, Jared, Justus, Julie's husband Chad, Kyle, Julie Ann, and Nathan. Whew!

Hello!!!

Just a quick update. I have been feeling better. I think I under estimate how long it takes to recover from illness. I have never been a sick person before. In fact I was always the one that never got sick so I have little experience w/ surgery etc... It takes a while to come up to speed. I continue to gain weight and the feeling of just being over tired has been going away unless I over do it like yesterday-went to moms in touch, then breakfast, then returned shoes to Nordstrom, then the park with Tyler, then home for 30 minutes, left to pick up my boys from school, came home made pasta sauce, took Ryan to soccer practice, came home had dinner, had a visitor for dinner, put kids to bed and was exhausted. Now I am tired today but Dawn (my baby sitter is here till 6:30pm today) and I was able to take an hour nap around lunch time. I worked out w/weights today and rode the bike for 10 minutes. I know working out makes you stonger. Working out is one thing I do know about. I miss it a lot. There have been a lot of incedible things going on in my life. God is definitely at work.
Valerie

By His Stripes We Are Healed

Today is Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement. In the Jewish calendar, today is the 10th Day of Tishri, in the year 5767. In Leviticus 23:26, God commanded Moses to set this day aside as the day when atonement is made for you before The Lord Your God.

In Isaiah 1:18, God Most High speaks to us through the Prophet Isaiah, "Come now, let us reason together, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow;" In Isaiah 53:5, the Prophet sees into the future and predicts an event as though it had already happened; "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Peter identifies this person as Jesus in 1 Peter 2:21-25.

The christian's roots go deep into Judaism. We are called children of Abraham, heirs of the promise. Our names are written in The Book of Life. They are sealed with the blood of Jesus. They cannot be removed by death or life, angels or principalities, things present or things to come.

One of my favorite Hymns is a Hebrew song of praise;

El Shaddai, El Shaddai, El-Elyon na Adonia, Age to age You're still the same, By the power of the name.

El Shaddai, El Shaddai, Erkamka na Adonai, We will praise and lift You high, El Shaddai.

It is good to remember Yom Kippur because God established it as a sign of things to come. As were our forefathers, we are time travelers on a journey. And all roads lead to The Holy City, The New Jerusalem.

Rejoice beloved. The journey is long and the perils are great. But every day God Most High sees your faith and hears your prayers. He rejoices as you honor Him in your manner of living. And he will wipe away every tear.

This is an off week for Val on chemo treatment.



Godspeed