10.20.06
Posted in From Al & Libbie, Updates at 3:28 pm by Libbie
It’s been more than a week since I put anything here on the site, so here is an update.
Al’s physical condition seems to have reached a better plateau recently, for which we are very thankful. His legs still swell if he’s on them for any length of time, but even when they are swollen they’re not overly painful, so that’s a definite plus. He is coughing up less blood at this point, which is great. He does have some headaches, but so far they are not terrible. Often there is swelling in the brain 2-3 weeks after finishing radiation, so that may be the reason for the current headaches. And best of all, his stomach is finally feeling less traumatized. For weeks he’s felt wretched every time he eats, so he’s frequently just foregone eating for most of each day, especially if he has anything important to do that requires concentration. But recently he’s been able to eat and not feel so bad. He’s even had breakfast several days this week and not suffered overly from it. Hallelujah! Getting the stomach under control has been the key factor in Al’s feeling better. Also, the odd visual episodes he was having, caused by one of the smaller tumors in his brain, have not gotten any worse, so it may be that the radiation was effective this time in stopping the tumor growth. That would be good news too. We won’t know for sure what’s going on in his brain until an MRI in late November. So, all that adds up to feeling some physical reprieve. Al is very tired, but then he’s been tired for years, so that seems sort of normal. He is shaky and unstable, a response to the radiation we think. It happened in June when he had the gamma knife procedure and continued for about month. So there is hope that this second bout with shakiness and weakness will pass soon. Read the rest of this entry »
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10.12.06
Posted in Photos at 3:23 pm by Karyn
Here’s a look at life in the Groves’ family Eagles’ Eyrie this past weekend.
“Hair” today, gone tomorrow. Al and Alden (before hair loss)
Al and Alden sporting a new style.
Al and Alasdair – like father, like son. Bald is beautiful.
Getting ready for the big game. The white part of Alasdair’s head is actually wings.
Team Eagles… the four who went to the game.
The send-off team. Go Eagles!
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10.09.06
Posted in From Al & Libbie, Reflections, Updates at 9:36 pm by Libbie
It’s been a full week, and this post would get way too long if I wrote about everything, so I will mention one or two things and then mostly just tell you about Sunday. Read the rest of this entry »
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10.03.06
Posted in From Al & Libbie, Updates at 9:25 pm by Libbie
Forgive me for not writing anything here since last week.
Al’s energy held up for the two teaching sessions and speaking in chapel. He was pretty beat afterward, but not completely, so we’re very thankful. And surprisingly, he was not overcome with emotion during the chapel talk. As he had prepared for it, emotion overwhelmed again and again. Perhaps by the time he came to the talk he was drained of emotion. The bottom-line is that it was an answer to prayer, however God chose to do it. God’s help was especially clear: During the days leading up to the talk, when he had planned to finalize how to express his thoughts, all his available time disappeared due to unexpected things, and so it was Wednesday morning before we had a chance to finish the work on how to present the things that had been on his mind. In any case, it went fine. And it was a great blessing to Al to be back on campus and to see his colleagues—faculty and staff—and many students. Even some dear friends of ours from California and Harrisburg happened to be in the area and came. It was a joy-filled time. Read the rest of this entry »
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