The Lullaby of the Rain

Job 5:10

Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields:

Psalm 147:8

Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

The Lullaby of the Rain

The lullaby of the rain

Gently falling all around.

Making music on my roof top,

Oh what a peaceful sound.

With each drip and spatter,

I hear a symphony.

A beautiful mix of notes

All in harmony.

My mind begins to wander

And relaxes with the tune.

And I remember childhood days

And summer days of June.

Days filled with laughter

And dreams I hoped to obtain.

As I sit there quietly listening

To the lullaby of the rain.

-Patricia Rice

Yesterday was probably one of our hardest days.  The doctor has told us for over a week now,  just 2 or 3 more days and Jerry should start feeling better. This had been a long 2 or 3 days. They had to put a feeding line through his port yesterday so that he could get some nutrition. Hopefully that will help. Also he was having trouble breathing because his throat was so swollen from the mucositis. He couldn't swallow or talk. Also, they put him back on steroids to help with the swelling. Please continue praying.

Thankful for the rain as well as the sunshine.

We love you and thank you so much for the prayers.

Running The Race

Hebrews 12:1

Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

I have always been encouraged by the story of Glenn Cunningham. Cunningham's legs were very badly burned in a schoolhouse fire when he was eight. When the doctor recommended that they amputate his legs, his parents would not allow it. The doctors said he might never walk again. However, he was so determined, he gained the ability to walk and went on to be a runner. He won medals in the Olympics and also broke many world records.  He never quit. He had a positive attitude and a strong faith in God.

His favorite Bible verse was Isaiah 40:31: "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

We knew the race that we are running would be long and hard sometimes. Jerry is still suffering with the mucositis. It must be very painful. Keep praying that it will heal soon. His blood counts are really low also from the chemo yesterday and they have had to give him transfusions of platelets and blood. He is very weak. But, we have a good God who loves us and we're surrounded by a cloud of witnesses - people of faith who have ran the race before us, that are there cheering us on. Pray that we'll have the faith and endurance to keep running the race.

We were surprised by a couple of masked visitors today – Kermit and Cheryl Watson. They were a great encouragement to us.

Another Head Shaving Party

Jerry's hair started coming out a couple of days ago. So today, he told me he wanted to go ahead and have it shaved off.

He even managed a smile for the camera. It's very uncomfortable when it starts falling out. It gets in his mouth and his eyes. The problem is his head gets cold.

He had another bad day today with the mucositis. The doctor said his mouth and throat were really raw. The doctor said that it should start healing in about 2 to 3 days. They really take good care of him at the hospital.

It's always hard leaving him at night; but, the doctor said that if Jerry's counts start to level off and start to come up, he might be able to come home to the apartment with me by the end of the week. That would be so exciting and also a little scary. 

We know we have so many people praying for us and we know that we have a good God who loves us. 

 And we're not afraid of tomorrow, because we know God is already in it and preparing the way.

We Love You!!

Morning Glory Christian

When I was a little girl outside of our back door there was a trellis. It was covered in these flowers called Morning Glorys. Every morning they would be opened up all bright and beautiful in the early morning sun. But I always noticed that around 10:00 or when the sun would get really hot and the heat of the day would start setting in, that these beautiful flowers would close up. They couldn't stand the heat of the day. Instead of staying open up and beautiful and showing God's beauty, they closed up.

Pray that I won't be a Morning Glory. Pray that God will help me to be strong and not close up even when the days are hard. Pray that I'll always be a good testimony and show God's beauty in my life. And when things are harder than usual that I'll get back to the SON. Not the S-U-N sun, but the S-O-N son, God's son and seek the strength and help I need.

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.

Today was one of those hard days. Jerry had a rough time today. He has mucositis. It's caused from the chemo. His mouth and throat are covered in ulcers. He can hardly talk. Also it is very difficult for him to eat or drink. They are talking about putting a feeding line so he can keep his nutrition up. It's a normal thing for chemo patients and transplant patients to get mucositis, but it is very painful. He's been a great patient. He does everything he's suppose to, because he wants to get well.  He has another injection of chemo Monday which will cause the mucositis to get even worse before it gets better.

 Pray that Jerry's mouth will be quick  to heal and pray that the transplant is working.

We love you and thank you for your  cards, prayers, and love.

Hope Makes Dreams Come True

At this point in Jerry's treatment for the transplant working and the AML to go into remission, there are no clear cut signs in Jerry's blood count. Yet there are some encouraging signs - The transplant has not been rejected as yet. They had to give Jerry a transfusion of platelets yesterday, and they seemed to maintain a high level which they said was a good sign. The doctors are still encouraged with Jerry's progress with no problems to date.

We feel full of hope at this time.

Proverbs 13:12

Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.

Tears came into Jerry's eyes yesterday and he said, "Dare I hope?"

I asked him what he was going to do when he got well. He said the first things he was going to do is to go to church and sit in our pew and wave his hanky and sit there praising God. Then he's going to drive his little red truck, hunt whatever is in season, and spend lots of time with family, friends, and GRANDKIDS!!!

We love you and please continue praying!

Tears of the Broken Hearted

I forgot how sad the 9th floor of Duke University Hospital can be. The other day when I was in the restroom there was a woman in one of the stalls and I could hear her crying. My heart broke for her. I had no way of knowing what she was going through. And then yesterday there was an older man standing in the lobby of the 9th floor wiping tears from his eyes. Even though you  know that their loved ones are getting the treatment they need, it's hard sometimes to watch what they have to go through.

It reminds me of the song "Tears Are a Language God Understands." I'm so glad He sees my tears and gives me comfort and strength when I have times of sorrow.

 Psalm 56:8

"Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?"

Jerry had a good day. He sleeps a lot from all the medicine they have to give him for the nausea ad the headaches. But the doctors say that he is doing well. Please continue to pray that the transplant will work.

Several people have requested the hospital address. It is:

Duke University Hospital

Norris Rice

2301 Erwin Rd.

Room 9202

Durham, NC 27710

The mail that goes to the hospital has to be marked "patient mail."

Our apartment address is:

4225 Larchmont Rd.  #302

Durham, NC 27707

We love you and looking forward to seeing our family and church family again.

Jerry and Patricia Rice

Going Smoothly

Jerry's transplant oncologist, Dr. Chao, came in to see him this morning. He said Jerry was doing great. The nurse practitioner says things are going smooth and that we don't want any excitement now - we just want things to progress smoothly.  We know that it's God answering the prayers of so many faithful people that pray daily for Jerry's healing.

We are probably realistically looking at two more weeks in the hospital in the isolation ward  and after that 2 more months of being an outpatient at the transplant clinic every day.

Jerry is starting to feel a glimmer of hope that this could be the healing that we have been praying toward.

Also I wanted to let you know I am finding my way around Durham. I actually ventured out to Walmart Saturday morning. I put Walmart into my GPS and did what it said and there it was - WALMART. Life is good.

We love you and you'll never know how much we appreciate all the prayers and love.