My Dear Friend

I have a dear friend, Juanita, who is going to be 87 in October. Her eldest daughter was murdered 20 years and and that left her one daughter and one son. The remaining daughter has been living with her for 12 years since Juanita fell and broke a hip. This has worked out fairly well. Seven years ago, Kristi, the daughter, was diagnosed with fourth stage cancer of the soft palate of the mouth. She went to Chicago, where her brother lives, and went through an experimental program at the hospital there that is affiliated with the university. She survived and recovered.

Now, she has been diagnosed with cancer of the brain, hip, and spine. The prognosis is not good. She has returned to Chicago to have more testing done and to get an official prognosis. If it is terminal, and undoubtedly it is, she will want to just be kept as comfortable as possible until her death. Of course, Juanita is devastated. She doesn't know if she can handle losing another daughter or not. Of course, she will have to. She has outlived three husbands but she was much younger at those times.

I met her for breakfast this morning after I had my hair cut and she told me all this latest news. It's bad enough that her daughter is going through all this but Juanita has a non productive cough of her own to deal with right now.

She had a chest x-ray Monday and they found nothing wrong there. This afternoon she is having a CAT scan of her sinus cavities and a lung test. I am anxious to hear the results of those tests too. Juanita is the white haired woman in this picture. Please join me in praying that she has the spiritual resources to get through all this.