Along with the rest of the world, we say goodbye to 2017. Our year brought us many good times and some surprises. Along with some updates in 2021,
In March we took a quick trip to Kansas City with our Pastor and his wife. The highlight was visiting the Spurgeon Library. On Facebook, I shared Spurgeon’s Morning devotionals each day for 365 days!
In July we traveled over 3,000 miles to Kentucky for Ronnie’s Smedley family reunion. On the way, we stopped in St. Louis to see a former fellow teacher from ECA in Madrid, Spain. Afterwards, we visited the Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky. From there we traveled west to Colorado for my 50th high school reunion and my family reunion.
We arrived home after that exhausting 13-day trip with the plan on breaking up our family trips and to try and keep them shorter.
Also, we rescheduled a trip to Branson (a get-away) from November to January. We are enjoying this COLD get-away right now – staying warm.
In May I had taken Ronnie to the ER with shortness of breath. He began a treatment for chronic asthma. So when he had problems that could have been a reaction to that treatment on August 24, we called the pulmonologist who said to continue the treatment and if it got worse to seek emergency care. At 11:30 p.m. Ronnie had had enough and for the first time ever asked me to call 911. It is a good thing because he was experiencing a heart attack. Early on August 25th, he had an angioplasty where they removed a blood clot and inserted two stents in the same artery. On the third day, he was released from the hospital.
We are researching his new reality and supplementing standard medical care with healthy choices.
During the summer our church transitioned from our Pastor of 17 years to another one of our elders becoming Pastor. In his first week as Pastor, he preached the funeral of an infant son born to a young family in our church. On the way to the ER at the end of that first month, our Pastor was wondering if he was about to preach at Ronnie’s funeral. Of course, that could have happened, but God was pleased to continue Ronnie’s life for which I am truly grateful.
At the end of September, our new Pastor learned that he had prostate cancer that had metastasized to all of his bones. Hormonal treatment and surgery done immediately did much to relieve initial cancer. He will begin chemotherapy on January 15. Young men in our church are taking on more responsibilities and preparing to preach on those Sundays when our Pastor is unable to preach. Prayers for Pastor Trace Foote would be greatly appreciated.
Our life has changed to include a series of medical appointments – follow-ups with various specialists and some more routine appointments for me. We have been participating in cardiac-rehab 2-3 times a week as he is allowed to bring a friend for free! This, of course, is good for both of us. I also have joined the “CPAP” club which Ronnie has been a part of for many years. This trip was our first to have two CPAPs and Blood Pressure & Blood sugar monitoring.
I am thankful to work from home so that I can continue to serve homeschooling families and, at the same time, be available to help Ronnie as needed.
Both of us have experienced surgeries in the years since. Maggie has become well known at Jane Philips Physical Medicine for physical therapy for different parts of the body. Her goal is to avoid more serious treatments.
Ronnie continues to have heart difficulties.
Below you will see a more up to date photo of us...of course, the year was 2020.
Psalm 113:1-3 “Praise the Lord!
Praise, O servants of the Lord, Praise the name of the Lord! 2 Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forevermore!
