2006: Looking Back

As the year draws to a close, it's only fitting to relook and ponder all that we've gone through. Sharing briefly what Pastor Alvin said during our YM (Youth Ministry) service last Sunday morning on Luke 2:19 -

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart"

In summary, the shepherds had appeared to Joseph and Mary sharing with them what the angel had told them about the baby Jesus. Mary was also going through the toughest time in her life, being a virgin yet being told that she was with child. What would everyone have thought about her and Joseph, a couple unwed? How was she to live her life out, face her family and friends? Tough times truly. But one thing Mary did do as we read above, is that she pondered meditated and remembered the goodness and blessings God had done in her life.

As Pastor Alvin said,

"only when she remembered all these things did she see the hand of God in her life".

2006 has been another "eventful" year in many sense of the word for us. We ponder all that has happened this year:

a. Jo was admitted 3 times into hospital for the following:

- 21- 24 March: Post chemo emesis. She was vomiting hourly on the 2nd day after a new chemo treatment.

- 3-5 July: Constipation colic. She hadn't removed bowels for nearly 9-10 days and had acute pain in her tummy. Doc had to remove her bowels "manually"

- September: nose bleed (ward observation)

b. She's changed treatment regimes 3 times: Xeloda, CPT, Doxorubucin.

c. Had 3 procedures / minor op @ NUH from Oct to Nov.

d. Lost nearly 8-10kg

It probably seemed like a terrible year but it wasn't cos' He's been at work within and around us throughout. Our God has done the following thus far -

a. Provided for understanding bosses that allowed me time off with Jo

b. Blessed me at work and provided for us

c. Opened new treatment options @ NUH for us when all else seemed hopeless at NCC.

d. Introduced another wonderfully patient centred always smiling Dr Goh (NUH). The other being Dr Leong @ NCC. Thank you both!

e. Made the IRT procedure a success in terms of Jo recovering from it rather quickly and with the fever now spread longer.

f. Allowed us to go to 2 trips to Bintan and attend a Cancer retreat in September.

g. Brought us both closer as always

h. Blessed us with such wonderful wonderful family, friends, relatives and colleagues whose ever so concerned and prayerful for us.

So friends won't you join me in thinking about the following:

1. One (or many) thing(s) you're thankful to God for.

2. One thing / thing(s) you'd like to remember, for 2007.

Let us count our Blessings each day... for there are plenty

Back Aches...

Please pray for Jo's aches.

We have no idea why she should be hurting so much...it seems that the aches / pain is getting worse by the day.

When we were out for lunch today, she was walking so slowly and had to sit so upright to ensure that the pain would not be present.

Just an hour ago, she was in pain and in tears as she struggled to get up to go to the toilet. And even when she sat back on bed, it was hurting uncontrollably. She can't sneeze, cough, laugh or blow her nose hard. She later took panadol as ponstan wasn't as effective a pain control.

We read through a few passages from a prayer book and recited through Psalms 23. It was so painful to watch her go thru' this...and was feeling so helpless once again.

We'll be seeing the doc on Wed morning for our next check-up and will highlight this to him again.

"Dear Lord, please remove these aches from Jo. Please remove the suffering she's going thru. You are our divine healer and you are able to do the impossible. Please hear our cries, Father."

Cupcakes!

Jo got this box of 4 wonderful cupcakes from one of her friends last week.

We're Back!

We left Monday morning at 11:00am for the island of Bintan and returned back Wed evening at 6pm. The waters going there were more choppy than that returning and several folks and kids ended up vomiting... Thank God we were all prepared with motion sickness pills (Novomin) and that kinda knocked us out (the kids were first to go) We had 7 adults, 2 children and a toddler.

The first pix was when we arrived. The other pics of Jo and our "gang" were on the last day where the weather was marginally better allowing for us to venture onto the beach the first time. Notice the red flag (no swimming, no nothing), ahhh reminiscence of Hawaii...winds super strong and waves were kinda "big"

Company was great, however the weather wasn't and one word of advice is never to travel during the monsoon season to somewhere else that's affected too. Just like the week before, it poured non-stop in the afternoon of Christmas day. We thought it would all end by the evening, but we thought wrong. It continued right up to Wednesday where it abated a little.

It was a much awaited trip for us since Jo couldn't travel to anywhere too far. I've been trying to get her up to visit our cousins in KL but she dreads the drive up there. So Bintan has often been our next best choice - 45 mins away and it has her greatest love - a nice beach with proper sand and sea :) Food is often left much to be desired there, but it was ok.

Regarding Jo, she's still having severe back aches at this point and was partially aggravated by a pot hole / hump the shuttle bus went over while in Bintan. So appreciate your prayers in this area.

Merry Christmas!

As I write this greeting on behalf of Jo and myself, our mobile phones have been beeping incessantly ... thank you for the wishes. I'd like to post our wishes here instead:

This Christmas may you come to know the Christ in Christmas,
May you celebrate His Gift for us,
May His Blessings be upon you and your family.

God Bless to you all.

PS - We'll be off to Bintan tomorrow morning and back Wednesday. Praying that the waters won't be too choppy...arghh

Elim SG Christmas Party 2006

What a wonderful time we had last evening eating, fellowshipping and importantly celebrating Christmas with our fellow Elim small group & friends.

Log cakes from Prima Deli (Black Forest and Mango flavour)
Caterer from Neo Garden - we had Fried Bee Hoon, Sze Chuan Fish, Lemon Chicken, Stir Fried Veggies, Prawn Tempura, Soon Kueh and Sea Coconut Cocktail dessert and Christmas Ham.

Updates

Always smiling with food in front of her :)

1. The last few days have been hectic getting our Christmas list checked off...and I think we finally have it completed!

2. Jo has amazed me by being able to do some moderate to light-intensive shopping "workouts". I can only say a BIG thank you to our Father for allowing her to do all these during this year end. We honestly thought that she'd be out of action for a bit after the recent IRT procedure (early November). Oh we of little faith!

3. Although Jo doesn't cook, she's a fantastic rapper, err I meant wrapper. She's wrapped ALL the presents we've gotten for friends this Christmas, numbering some 50 of 'em!

4. Fever is still averaging at every 12 hour cycle at this point. Still a BIG progression from pre-IRT days where she would be taking 4 x 2 panadols daily! We pray that this would continue and in His time that Jo would be free from the Panadols altogether. Amen.

5. Aches (lower back, front left ribs) are still present but being managed but the Panadol at this time.

6. Weight has gradually climbed up to the 39kg level. We pray she gains more before the new year arrives...

7. Hair. Jo recently discovered that her hair hasn't quite grown back to it's original state. Must be due to the constant hair-loss / re-growth cycle from the years of chemo...so that's why she's still wearing her bandana / head scarf.

It's always so cute when she gets a question from kids asking "Aunty Jo, why do you have to wear a 'scarf' on your head?" or other versions "why do you have to wear that on your head?"

8. We'll be off to Bintan from 25-27 December for a much needed break with our small group folks from Shalom.

We Are The Reason

This is a classic song (since the 80's) we've sung so often in Sunday School and Church. The lyrics simply hit home to what Christmas is truly all about - the CHRIST in Christmas. Here's the midi version in case you don't know the tune, click here. http://www.arcadiachristianchurch.org/MIDI/davidmeece_WeAreReason.mid

We are the Reason
Words & Music by David Meece Copyright 1980 Meece Music (admin by) WORD Music

As little children we would dream of Christmas morn
And all the gifts and toys we knew we'd find
But we never realized a baby born one blessed night
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives

And we were the reason that He gave His life
We were the reason that He suffered and died
To a world that was lost He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

As the years went by we learned more about gifts
And giving of ourselves and what that means
On a dark and cloudy day a man hung crying
in the rain
Because of love, because of love

And we are the reason that He gave His life
We are the reason that He suffered and died
To a world that was lost He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

I finally found the reason for living
It's in giving every part of my heart to Him
In all that I do every word that I say
I'll be giving my all just for Him
For Him

And we are the reason that He gave His life
We are the reason that He suffered and died
To a world that was lost He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

He is my reason to live

Shopping, Rain and My Neighbours Dog

Well as all of Singapore was drenched for the last 36 hours in non-stop monsoon seasonal rain beginning from yesterday, Jo and her sister were doing some Christmas shopping at Taka, Wisma and then Borders.

While they were shopping, I was at one of my youth's birthday party from 7 - 10pm and had a way of time just hanging out with them (7 of em). Had typical teenage food I'd missed for awhile -hot dogs, beef, garlic bread and corn!

This Morning

Jo was awoken by our neighbours dog yapping away once again at 7am and couldn't get back to sleep after that. She usually would be hungry when this happened, and I'd have to attempt to dish up some edible breakfast. But this morning, she had a craving for Cha Bee Hoon with egg and luncheon meat + other stuff and tea...and so I went off to get the following...

Christmas: The Only Gift Everyone Really Needs

Dear friends, do take some time to reflect on the following this Christmas, a little lengthy but what's a little reading gonna cost you? (from Discover The Book Ministries)

Luke 1:78-79
Christmas is all about gifts; gift giving, give buying, and gift receiving make up so much of these weeks of the year. Many are looking for the most "wanted” gifts; so much so that often these gifts are sold out and become even more sought after. As we open to the last dozen verses of Luke 1 this morning, think about…

THE MOST WANTED GIFTS
The world's largest retailers sent out a beautiful, full color glossy flyer a few weeks ago with the “gifts everyone wants this Christmas”. I was driving as Bonnie read through the items offered: diamonds, home theaters, complete “dream vacation” packages to be with music stars backstage, and on went the list. Then the “ultimate” gift was presented—a million and a half dollar personal jet that seats four! Just what we all really want—diamonds, dream vacations, and private jets, right?

Christmas in America is mostly about gifts I give and receive. Billions and billions of dollars of sales attest to the fact that for these 4-6 weeks we flood the retail outlets and search out and but the gifts that are most wanted, most sought after, most unique, most memorable and so on.

But the real Christmas was the very first one, when God confronted the world with the only gift everyone really needs.

Christmas is about the gift no one seeks but everyone needs.

In fact God came to provide the only gift that everyone absolutely, critically needs—the substitutionary death of His Son, who came to meet our critical, eternal-life-threatening need prompted by our sins.

To help us understand Christmas from God"s perspective: look over the holiday crowds that always seems to get in front of us everywhere we want to go these days; look beyond our house, our street, our city, our state, and even our planet—and look above and remember to see our God on His Throne.

GOD IS ON HIS THRONE
This very moment—as the billions of souls on this world go through their routines of eating, sleeping, working and living--our God is enthroned in the Heavens; He is sitting in power and majesty, He is surrounded by countless angelic hosts bowing before Him and reverently crying out Holy, Holy, Holy.

• Before Him, the Ancient of Days—burn seven fires, reflected in the mirror-like surface of the crystal sea.
• Around Him, the King of Glory—peal endless claps of thunder and flashes of lightning as angelic hosts and saved sinners rise and fall in adoration.
• In front of Him, the Almighty God—rises the constant incense of prayers and worship songs from His redeemed creatures.

Our God sits enthroned in Heaven, as Ruler over the entire Universe.

As the Lord looks down from His Throne upon this planet overspread with people—it looks pretty dark down here. Listen to one picture that God left us; this is His analysis of our human plight. Luke 1:78-79 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”

WE ARE LOST IN DARKNESS
From God’s perspective, all of humanity is hopelessly lost, sitting in the dark and awaiting destruction. Christmas is the story of the Lord God Almighty, motivated by His great love, sending Jesus to provide the way of salvation to lost humanity sitting in that complete darkness.

Jesus came to Earth as the sunrise from God, to shine the light of God upon all of the lost and sin darkened people of this world. It is always darkest just before dawn, and that is just how it was. The Roman world of the 1st Century had reached the highest levels of science, literature, culture, engineering, transportation, and medicine known since Adam and Eve stepped from the Garden.

Yet with all that advancement most people were still hopelessly lost, and endlessly troubled by an inability to even control their own fears and desires—let alone know how to come to know the Awesome God of the Universe.

So in that darkest hour God sends the only gift everyone really needs. Please stand with me and listen to the entire song of Zacharias in Luke 1:67-79; especially hear these closing two verses, and experience the reality of why Christ came, as we see how hopelessly lost, critically in need each of us are before God upon His Throne this very moment.

GOD VISITS US
Christmas is all about God sending the Dayspring, a heavenly sunrise to sin darkened humans on Earth. Christmas was God responding to meet our eternal-life-threatening needs; it is all about the critical care needed because we were born in such a desperate condition. Without forgiveness, justification, redemption, and adoption we would be unable to survive and live forever. Rather, we would fail to survive and die forever.

God surveyed His creation and found that the crown of creation, the only creatures made in His image had a soul threatening, terminal illness called sin. In every instance of Christ's coming (Christmas) there are clues describing what we needed as exactly what Jesus came to offer us.

If you sift through all God said in the Christmas story, we find that God on His Throne determined that He had to change seven critical areas in our lives to save us. As the Christmas story unfolds, we see more and more of God’s plan to come and rescue lost humanity.

We have already seen in Matthew 1:21 Jesus came to “save His people from their sin” and this is God meeting our first and greatest need which is forgiveness.

Then we saw that all the rest of the critical needs we have in our lost and fallen condition are compressed into the next truth in Matthew 1:23. When Jesus came as God with us, “Immanuel” was a declaration that we would be justified—or God could never live with us. Our redemption, adoption, and so on, were all also reflected by the very statement that God would ever be able to be with us.

Now Luke notes the timing and purpose of Christ's coming.

This Christmas, we need to see ourselves as God saw us.

We are born spiritually blind, and grow up sitting lost, helpless, and hopeless in the darkness of sin; as sinners who have sinned even once in God’s sight—we are guilty of breaking all of God’s commandments (James 2:10).

Christmas from the Divine vantage point as explained in the Bible should make us see ourselves as worst than we think, rather than better; because Christ's death is only for the guilty, only for the hopelessly stained, and only for the helplessly lost. It is in that condition—that we find God’s grace.

DO YOU SEE YOUR CRITICAL NEEDS?
All sinners (so that means all humans that have ever lived on planet earth except Jesus Christ) have seven basic Biblically described critical and soul threatening needs.

If you listen to the messages that God gave about His purposes in sending Jesus to the Earth you find the critical needs we have:

Matthew 1:21 is forgiveness of our sins.
Matthew 1:23 is justification so God can be with us.
Galatians 4:4-5 is redemption and adoption for us slaves to sin and strangers to God.
Luke 1:79 is peace with God and life to us at war with Him and dead in sin.

Briefly summed up, all humans are hopelessly lost, sitting in the dark and awaiting destruction unless seven critical needs are met by God through Jesus. These are forgiveness, justification, regeneration, reconciliation, adoption, redemption, and sanctification.

THE ONLY GIFT EVERYONE REALLY NEEDS
As you think about Christmas, gifts, presents, giving and receiving—why not check and be sure that you have received the most important of all gifts.

Only if we have received Him, Jesus who came to save us from sin, do we really have anything in our possession that matters. Every other possession and gift can be stripped away from us by death, disease, or disaster. Only Jesus will never leave us or be lost; only He can save and keep us forever.

Have you received the one and only gift that you (and everyone else) really needs?

Aches

On Friday evening just as we were preparing to leave for our Elim SG, Jo complained of severe lower back aches which kind of rendered her "motionless" for awhile. She had to move very slowly for fear of causing more pain. After leading worship, I rushed down to the Guardian Pharmacy at Centrepoint to buy 2 packs of the Ketotop muscle ache reliver (like koyok). This is available through the pharmacy only and does not require prescription. I bought her laksa from Prima Restaurant for dinner and rushed back home.

By then she'd taken panadol and Soden (pain killer) and within the next hour, the pain had subsided and she was walking thereabouts again. Phew!

So appreciate your continued prayers in this area. Thank you all.

Updates...

A short & concise update for this week:

1. Well Jo's weight still hovering between 37-39kg currently.
2. She's developed some aches and pains in her right rib cage and lower back area.
3. Legs are weak.
4. Fever has been reduced significantly to every 12 hrs now. Amen!
5. Appetite is still fine.
6. Foodplaces we've tried these past few days:

a. Xiang Xiang Nasi Lemak (below left)
Tanjong Pagar Market Foodcourt (2nd Level), Unit #02-08?
Verdict: Value for $$$ @ only $2 per nasi lemak. Rice, otah, chicken, fishcake and chilli! Fantastic. See the queue below! Waited some 25 mins.

















b. Jubilee Restaurant (above right)
745 North Bridge Road #01-01. Opening hours: 11:30am - 8pm daily.
Verdict: Followed this lead to try our taste buds on a "solid" dish of dum bryani but
it turned out too be just ok only. Rice was good - flavourful and fragrant, but chicken was too dry. Overall the boss was very nice and hospitable. Clap clap! Location is very near the Sultan mosque.

c. Ipoh's Sambal Crayfish Noodles
Crosspoint Coffeeshop 240 Tanjong Katong Road (S) 437028. Opens: 10.30am to 3pm, 5.30 to 9pm; closed on Sundays
Verdict: Didn't turn out as good as the reviews (Straits Times life...) claimed. $4-5 per bowl. The dark sauce was not "saucy" and not flavoursome enough. Crayfish was fine... I guess kudos to the 29 year old for innovativeness...
http://feast.asiaone.com.sg/reviews/hawkers/20060305_001.html

d. Dona Manis Cake Shop.
Katong Shopping Center B1-93 Tel: 6440 7668
Verdict: It's like walking into another era...read this link... http://wineanddine.asiaone.com.sg/reviews/cafes/20061029_001.html

e. Superdog @ Vivocity basement (below)
Verdict: Overall nice seating area. Chillies quite salty, hot dog was ok. Frankly a little over priced for a hot dog (starts from $3.20 to 7.50!). Besides you have to add $3 bucks for a "meal" (add on fries + drink) I had the Superdog (bratwurst sausage) and Jo had the Bacon Chili Cheese. I remember the fabulous US$1 foot long hot dogs available at the mega warehouse super marts such as Cosco and Sam's Club in the US. Those were simply fabulous!!

Star Over Bethlehem

The star Over Bethlehem, guess that's what it might've looked like if we'd been there ...

I had a fantastic 2 nights of worship at the YWCA and Wesley Hall on Wed & Thurs evening. We had our Youth Ministry 2007 Camp held right in our church premises. Will share more later. The latest I got when I returned home this afternoon was that Jo weighed an incredible 37.9kg!!


What's going on man???

Also she had a nosebleed last night again. Exactly similiar to the last incident when we checked into the A&E @ SGH. This time we were ready to treat it:

1. Tilt head forward
2. Pinch the soft portion of the nose for about 10-15mins
3. Spit out all swallowed blood (as it tends to drip down the throat)
4. Lightly dab the inner nostrils
5. Get an icepack and place it over the nose.


After all these steps, the bleeding should stop and it did. It was still a little intermittent till about 2:30am which she finally managed to sleep.

39 Kg?

Since 27 Nov, Jo has gone out 3 times now.

First time out in 1 month was at Elim's SG BBQ at West Coast. Again, she overate but was fine overall. Then on Tuesday she was out with Kim to Regent Hotel's Tea Lounge for lunch. How do 2 women sit for 4 hours yakking and eating? That we poor men may never fathom...

A few hours later that evening, we had curry chicken at Ken & Jo's place. Nice curry Jo Teo! Keep it up!

Her movement is back to normal although not much strength in her legs just yet. Needs help sometimes getting in and out of vehicles, standing up...etc.

So how many of you weigh 39kg??

Yes, thats Jo's latest weight for the past week. Kinda worried but she's been eating ok so far...appetite not the best. We're happy...no complains about this, just the weight. If I recall 39kg for an adult is near anorexic eh? I can literally feel her bones as I brush my figures across her ribs...aiyo...

By the way, 39.8kg (the pic above) was the weight after she had dinner.

Time

First entry for December...already 6 days have whizzed by...how time flies... Which brings me to my point today: How are we managing our time?

Are we putting it to good use? Ensuring each minute is used carefully for God? Have we even prioritised the activities to be done in the day or week?

Or ... are we like the multitudes that simply do not have any time on their hands?

Remember that we are Stewards for all that He has entrusted to us, whether big or small tangible or intangible. We are accountable for what goes on or not and why it has or hasn't happened.

As Spurgeon so rightly puts it:

"A steward is a trustee of his master's goods. Whatever he has, belongs to his master; and choice things are put into his custody, not that he may do as he likes with them, but that he may take care of them. The Lord has entrusted to each one of us certain talents, and these are not our own. Gifts of knowledge, and thought, and speech, and influence, are not ours to glory in, but ours in trust for the Lord alone."

Something to ponder for us all ...

Getting Ready for Christmas (RBC)

From RBC's 12 December 2002 issue
READ: Isaiah 40:1-11

I glanced through some magazines and saw article after article warning about holiday stress and telling people how to prepare for Christmas. They gave the usual advice: Do your baking early; wrap your gifts as you purchase them; don't fill every minute with activity. These are good ideas, and I'm sure you've thought of some yourself. Personally, I like to shop through catalogs when I can.

The people who listened to John the Baptist had some preparing to do too. No, not for celebrating Christmas but for the start of Jesus' public ministry (Isaiah 40:3-5; Malachi 3:1). John's mission was to prepare the way for the Messiah by preaching a message of repentance (Luke 3:3). In preparation for the Messiah's coming, the people were to cleanse their hearts by seeking God's forgiveness for their sins.

As we get ready to celebrate the coming of Jesus to earth, we too should heed John's message of repentance (Matthew 3:2). What's most important is to enter this season of the year with a pure heart. To do that, we need to confess our sin, turn from it, and renew our fellowship with the Lord. Then we'll be able to celebrate the Christmas season with great joy and peace.
That's how to get ready for Christmas. —David C. Egner—

Take time this Christmastide to go

A little way apart,

And with the help of God prepare

The house that is your heart. —Anon.

To give meaning to Christmas, give Christ first place in your heart

What A Beautiful Morning!

Woke up this morning and wow! What a glorious view amidst the Monsoon season.


This pic on the left is what Jo had for lunch yesterday at home. Her good friend Kim came by to whip up a fabulous meal (courtesy of BBC's Good Food guide or was it from ABC's delicious mag) It's been awhile since our kitchen was put to good use, especially the oven. Mind you Jo eats about 30% of what ever is dished out...so don't even think that she's pigging out :)

The menu consisted of: Pan fried fillet steak with rocket leaves and cherry tomatoes, little sausage and mashed pie, spicy falalel, cheese & garlic filled mushroom.


Latest Update

Jo has improved quite a fair bit since Monday. She's walking well now and having a slightly better appetite. Amen!

Follow Up Doc's Appointment Today...Good News!

Jo had blood test done this morning for her liver function. Following this was doc's appointment at 11am @ NUH. I was really thanking God that Jo could walk a little better and that she didn't require use of the wheelchair.


In the Doctor's Chambers...
Dr Goh was all smiles as we entered his room and Jo started ranting away on all that
had happened during the procedure along with the many grouses she's had with the side-effects of liver pain, fever, aches and so forth. Dr Goh was still all smiles and countered saying that he was very happy importantly that Jo "survived" the ordeal very well. We were also quite comforted to hear that it was very very normal for post op patients to not walk properly simply because of the radiation and pain caused by the destroyed and dying tumour.

Dr Goh said that these were all positive side effects very normal to IRT patients.


The Blood Test Verdict
As Dr Goh pointed us to some numbers on his LCD monitor, he was interpreting the results with a big smile...that must be good I thought to myself... He was comparing the figures from those of pre-op and today's test and said that the rate of dying cells was significantly lower - meaning that the cells are starting to regenerate again. Also, Jo's liver function is quite normal with nothing abnormal noticed. Hooray!


Her Appetite
Doc did point to one particular result and said that her protein level had gone down or something and therefore needed to eat as much of this as possible. In short she needs to eat more meat...well she's been eating mainly noodles the last 2 weeks because she's not had the appetite for "solids". She didn't like Ensure or Prosure caused it tasted too milky. Not forgetting that Jo's liver function at this point is about 30%, mainly relying on the left lobe...whatever she eats takes a loooooooong time to digest.


The Pain Explained
The diagram on the left illustrates where our liver is located in respect to the rest of the human body. You'll notice that it's positioned within the right rib cage and right below the lungs/diaphragm area. Because of Jo's large tumour measuring some 11x10cm, it weighs down her entire liver which indirectly pulls upon the diaphragm muscle. This causes pain for her whenever she laughs too hard, coughs, sneezes or when she blows her nose. She cannot lie on her right side as it's tender and has to be careful not to jerk or move suddenly whenever she walks.

So we left Dr Goh feeling very happy, knowing that God had spoken to us at the end of the day. He'd wanted us to be reassured that all that has happened post op is normal and not extraordinary... phew...

Next appointment will be on Wed, 3 January 2007. A CT scan will be conducted subsequently to evaluate progress of the treatment.

Japanese Cuisine ...

Jo's not been out of the house since 2 and a half weeks ago...but she still gets to try the food that she likes, as long as the restaurant / outlet allows for take outs, we'll order it!

Today she was delivered again from Meidi-ya Supermart (B1 of Liang Court) and from Tampopo Japanese restaurant the following (pics following):


1. Katsu Curry Set

2. Japanese Cheese Cake

Chefs Preparing the Sushi and Bento Sets


3. King Crab Sushi from Hokkaido

21 November Updates

Come tomorrow and it'll be 2 weeks since Jo had the op.

The whole of last week was not too bad. Gradually getting better till Saturday came along. She just lost her appetite in the evening and on Sunday had the severe pains again when getting up from bed. So again, she was moving like an old lady...literally one step at a time. The aches are also present usually on her right shoulder area and sometimes on the left side of her body.

Next thing is the fever. Seems like it's getting shorter and shorter. Instead of the 6 hr interval, it's lessen to every 5 hrs and then the fever strikes again. So we've tried alternating between the Semplex anti-imflammatory pill and panadol. Semplex does wonders for at least 12 hrs. This helps her to sleep peacefully at least through the night.

Her appetite. We got her all the foods she likes but her appetite was still visibly poor - braised duck noodles, laksa yong tau foo, soy sauce chicken with rice etc etc. She's probably under 40kg now...and really bony... sigh....

Tastebuds are going bonkers. She's mentioned that it's numb at her tongue's end? Sometimes not being able to completely taste food. Also, certain foods taste strange when they normally do not.

Last but not least. Constipation.
She's been constipating for a bit and thank God that the medication we got last week worked. Only thing is that she gets diarrhoea once in awhile still.

So our prayer items for now would be:
1. Reduction and removal of the sharp pain (liver area)
2. Restoration of her appetite and tastebuds
3. Removal of the fever and aches
4. That she will no longer constipate and be able to move her bowels normally

Thank you all and God Bless

Isaiah 40:31

I've always loved Isaiah 40:31...

Those who hope in the Lord
Will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
They will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint.

We've begun this scripture memory exercise in our Elim SG whereby we
will memorise a promise weekly from the Bible. This has been great for us both, cos in times like these, we can count and claim upon His promises...providing for comfort and assurance.

Perhaps you'd like to take up this challenge too?
It's an excellent spiritual discipline that will help to strengthen your walk with God. All you need to do is to flip thru the Bible and locate God's promises. You can find some here http://ww2.intouch.org/site/c.7nKFISNvEqG/b.1034467/k.9C8E/Gods_Promises.htm or locate them on your own. Not difficult at all.

This verse is very apt for us cos' Jo has been really tired all day (more so at night) long. We pray for her strength to be renewed and that she will not grow weary.

God Bless!

Day 8 - Going Home

Jo was feeling ok to go home today and so we checked out of NUH @ 3:00pm.

All in all, pain to the abdomen area is mild, manageable but occasionally painful depending on the angle she sits / lie. Walking is still slow but at least she's mobile. Appetite is still little and she gets easily fatigued from what we've experienced today.

As a precaution, doc did mention that it would be best to visit Jo after the 14 days have passed. That would mean from Tues, Nov 28 you can catch up with her.

In the mean time, do drop me a note or call my mobile for anything.

We serve a God who is truly Faithful and true, as mentioned we're so thankful that

1. The Op went well
2. She's recovered relatively well in a couple of days

We again thank you for your prayer support.

Day 7 - NUH

This morning looked well for Jo.

She's been able to move to and from the toilet all day and we look forward to being discharged tomorrow.

This would've been the longest we've stayed in any hospital so far.
Her appetite's almost back. Pain is still there but importantly - manageable.

God Bless.

Day 6 - NUH (Happy 6th Wedding Anniversary!)

Jo woke up with pain this morning and was in a bit of a depressed mood...she's been lying here for 5 days now, not being able to leave the room or move about much for that matter. Besides the pain gets to her too, imagine having a major thorn by your side 24 / 7. Now we know what Paul felt like.

I swung by Tampopo at Liang Court again to get a bowl of Shoyu Ramen @ 12noon, however they have a strict policy of not allowing take outs for their noodles due to quality and hygiene controls. I was flustered and frustrated, but that's life. Since Meidi-ya Japanese supermart was just outside, I thot to myself that I'll just get her several different types of instant cup noodles. Unhealthy? Well at this point that's all she has cravings for and I'm only delighted that she's eating more. I also found Jo's fav juice - Ceres 100% Pure fruit juice blend. She likes the "Medley of Fruits" flavour consisting of Guava, Pineapple andother fruit.

By the way Jo finished the entire mini-bowl of instant noodles. :)

We're 6 years Today!
Yes we do have quite an interesting Wedding Anniversary date - it's 11-11-00 or 11 Nov, 2000. In fact thereshould be another 11 infront as we got married at 11:00am too! How coincidental, totally unplanned for. Instead of celebrating at some restaurant like we did last year, we'll be making the best of our mini "break" tonite. Our menu will consist of:
1. Main Course: Kopi Tiam's Chicken Chop for 2
2. Dessert: Almond Jelly
3. Drinks: Ceres Fruit Juice
4. Entertainment: HBO Channel (courtesy of NUH)

What We've Learnt Over the Years
For those who are married, even though bad things may happen, together as a praying couple with God's help even situations such as these can be turned into something good. A marriage is a covenant between two persons who love and cherish each other, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health...

The road ahead is never easy but when you love someone, it's never a burden to take care of them. Let's never take each other for granted, say words of love daily, say "sorry", spend time together, be gentle and kind to one another and above all - always put your spouse first.

Ok, am heading down to buy our anniversary dinner... :)

Appetite is Back!

Jo's eating again! In the afternoon she told me that she had cravings for mum's spaghetti...that was a fantastic sign! I called her mum and made the order.

Some pix for you: Above - my bed! Below - that's Jo lying in bed watching TV. The isolated room is really nice. We have our own TV (with HBO, no ESPN or Starsports though sob! sob!)and bathroom. She's definitely better this afternoon. Even the docs commented that she'd looked more vibrant.

She was given a stronger dosage of Kytril and which helped her throwing up. Furthermore, Morphine dose in the afternoon helped ease the pain and allowed her a peaceful rest.

The Pain
The pain emanates from her liver area and is a result of the tumour destruction according to the doctors. Even prior to this Jo was experiencing occasional spasms of pain at the liver area which would just cause her to go into like a "frozen" state until the pain eases off. This time round it occurs when she twists or turns a certain way. The nurses and staff always ask her "what's the pain factor from 1 to 10" and Jo would replying when it was really excruciating with a 7 0r 8. 10 being totally unbearable.

So there you go. In most likelihood, we're looking at a Sunday discharge - God willing. As mentioned I'd rather stay as long as needed till she can be fully mobile with as little pain as possible. Right now movement is still difficult for her.

Day 5 - NUH

Jo vomited only once last night, which was not too bad.

She had a higher dosage of Morphine given as the pain was still quite strong. It took 30 mins just to get her out of bed and to the toilet. She slept well throughout the morning. Had fever about 8am but gradually subsided after taking panadol. Doc will provide stronger dosage of Kytril (anti-nausea) via IV as this will allow her to take food in. So far she's had some cheng thng and 2 pieces of Meiji plain cracker biscuit. She had vomited just once this morning due to the ribena I guess. Still didn't take the breakfast that was served.

I'll be seeing if I can get her fav foods later. Appetite is mildly back. Looking better than yesterday. She still can't have visitors for now as she's radioactive as mentioned. In fact they will have a radiometer / gigometer (?) to measure the amount of radioactivity in and around her before releasing her.

So we'll see how lunch goes. Doc said that she'll most likely be staying through the weekend. We pray to be discharged by Sunday.

Day 4 - NUH

It's pretty comforting to know that our God sends his messengers when we need them most.

I didn't mention this before but when we first checked into Ward 58 on Monday, there was a lady next to us with 3 kids and she was suffering from a relapse I believe from cancer of the kidneys. Apparently her last treatment dosage was too high and it caused "burning" on her skin
and within her throat area. Poor lady. Then on Tuesday, 2 ladies from her cell group (I believe) came by to support and pray for her. They spoke with Jo in Chinese and we shared with them that we are Believers too and they so freely prayed for the both of us (in Chineses...I learnt stuff :).

It's comforting to know that that's what Peter meant in Acts 2, that though we were seemingly strangers...we were not in the body of Christ.

When we moved to the isolation room, they somehow managed to track us down this morning. They were genuinely concerned and therein they prayed for Jo and myself once again. Truly, I believe these were His messengers he'd sent to comfort us during this time. And that was really really relieving for me. Seeing Jo vomit and feeling her pain once again...was really tough.

So as you see on the left, we can't quite have visitors because of the radioactive content still within her. What about me? Do I care seriously? All the stuff that she eats are in plastic and her hospital gown will need to be disposed off and burned. They've got separate bins for each item. Nurses seldom come in unless necessary and they stand on her left side instead of the right. Pregnant staff not allowed nearby at all. I feel like I'm in some sci-fi movie...

So this morning the pain was still excruciating and so doc provided for Morphine in liquid form to relieve this. It worked well however she was very drowsy after taking it. She was able to eat tiny bits of lunch. As for dinner she ate a little more, fish porridge with soup. But I think she at the jelly dessert most. :) That's Jo for you.

Also on another note, as I was touring the floor below us - it was the NKF Children's ward below and it was also quite sad to see many kids in hospital. Please keep them in your prayers for all the young ones whom are suffering and in pain also. Pray that our good Lord will touch and heal them too.

We pray she's ok to be discharged tomorrow...it may or may not happen, but that's fine.

Day 3 - IRT @ NUH

She was wheeled in sharp from her bed again @ 0745 hrs. I slept rather uncomfortably the whole night as I was half sharing the tiny bed with her...didn't want to make too much noise as this was a C class ward with 6 other patients. Thank God later she will be moved to the isolation ward just a few doors down the corridor.

0830 hrs - After being sponged she was dressed and sent to the operating theatre once again.

12 noon - Wheeled out after 3.5 excruciating hours.

Thank goodness I bumped into Audrey (SG friend) who was the radiographer involved with Prof Wang in Jo's procedure this morning, how coincidental can you get?

She informed me that there was no major complications just that instead of using the same puncture opening on Tuesday, doc had decided to use the neck/chest artery instead as it was a more convenient route to reach the liver area as from Jo's left thigh. A cathether balloon was made to ensure the artery to the lung was blocked for that duration to ensure no Y90 material flowed that way. Prof Wang wanted to ensure a very slow delivery of the Y90 to minimise any possible side effects and risk.

So up till this point now. Jo has vomited about 3 times, still feeling nauseas and lack of appetite.
Thank you for your prayer support in this area. Doc said that she may remain nauseas for the next 48 hrs as the Y90 destroys the tumour and the only way to get rid of this is via vomiting. She's only had some juice, a little soup and a fraction of an apple.

I can only thank God for a smooth operation, that was really all that mattered. Amen again to our Almighty Father!

Okay, have to run back to the hospital now. God Bless to all!

Day 2 - Internal Radiotherapy Treatment @ NUH

Again my sincere gratitude goes out to the many "prayer warriors" - the Elim and Shalom Small Group (SG) and countless others from Wesley Sunday School, friends and colleagues of Jo. Thank you all.

Day 2 - Tuesday

I rushed back to the ward at 7:10am and they were already preparing Jo for the 830am procedure. She went to the toilet one last time before being wheeled down to the 2nd level operating theatre area.

8:30am - They whisked her in and that was it.

11:00am - She was wheeled out and Jo was awake to say that doc did not have to perform any blockage of the arteries because all seemed well. Amen to that! So all she had was 1 right thigh puncture instead of a possible 4!

She had a big craving for lunch and so she sent me of to Tampopo Katsu-don restaurant at the basement of Liang Court. Got her the Katsu-don Set A with miso soup and honey dew. Not forgetting her Strawberry Shortcake dessert...yeah tell me about it.

Evening came, Sunday school friends came by and her mom brought along popiah which she had ordered them to get before coming by! Glad she's got good appetite!

Tomorrow the op will be at 8:30 am, same time. May the Lord watch over her tomorrow.

This Is It

Well friends and all, it's finally here.

We checked into NUH @ 4pm today. Jo will undergo the procedure at approx. 0830 hrs tomorrow morning. Prof. Wang will be performing the op on both days.

The Y-90 radioactive beads are delivered through a catheter placed in the femoral artery of the upper thigh and threaded through the hepatic artery (the major blood vessel of the liver) to the tumor site. The spheres are trapped in the tumor’s small blood vessels, where they destroy the tumor from inside.

I'll cut to the chase and explain in detail what's happening over the next 2 days with Joanne:

Tuesday: Prof Wang will be mapping out Jo's liver arteries and blood vessels to ensure that those which lead to other organs or outside of the liver will be blocked. This process is complicated and time consuming because each artery or blood vessel that needs to be blocked takes nearly 20-30mins to do so. Also, there are possible complications that come with this -
rupture of a blood vessel etc.

Wednesday: Radioactive Y-90 will be administered via cathether to the tumour in the liver area. This will take only 30 minutes.

All in all, the attending doc had to spell out in no uncertain terms ALL that could possibly happen in this op - from liver failure, vessel rupture, cathether puncture, the list goes on.

So may your prayers for Jo and us be over the next 48 hours simply this: that our good Lord
will allow His Will to be carried out.

Jo's at a C-class ward today so not quite possible for me to bunk over even if I'd wanted. Tomorrow she should be moved over to an isolation ward once the op is over. After the whole procedure she will continue to remain very mildly radioactive and doc has advised against going out or coming into contact with friends for the next 14 days. Even I am not allowed to hug her :(

Ok will update more in the next 12 hours.

Almost Well

Thank you for your prayers.

It's been a harrowing last 5 days. Caught the fever last Saturday from dunno what..
Saw the doc on Sunday. Medication wasn't effective and fever was recurrent round the clock just like Jo's. Suspected Dengue fever, but inconclusive at this time.

As of Tuesday evening the fever had totally disappeared, Amen to that!
I was left with intense body aches. Legs and arms felt like lead, especially after seating for too long or waking up from bed. Took blood test and met up with doctor friend at the Polyclinic for consultation. Results were good but were hard to determine if dengue or not.

So please pray the aches go away by Monday. Am walking around like a 70 yr old :)

May the Lord Bless and Keep you all.

Sometimes He Comes In The Clouds

By Steven Curtis Chapman, "My Utmost for His Highest" CD Vol. 1

"In the Bible clouds are always associated with God. Clouds are the sorrows, sufferings, or providential circumstances, within or without our personal lives, which actually seem to contradict the sovereignty of God. Yet it is through these very clouds that the Spirit of God is teaching us how to walk by Faith. They are a sign that God is there."

These are the places I was so sure I'd find Him
I've looked in the pages And I've looked down on my knees
I've lifted my eyes in expectation to see the sun still refusing to shine, but...

Chorus:
Sometimes He comes in the clouds.
Sometimes His face cannot be found
Sometimes the sky is dark and gray
But some things can only be known
And sometimes our faith can only grow
When we can't see
So, sometimes He comes in the clouds

Sometimes I see me, a sailor out on the ocean
So brave and so sure,
As long as the skies are clear
But when the clouds start to gather,
I watch my faith turn to fear, but...

Sometimes He comes in the rain
And we question the pain
And wonder how God can seem so far away
But time will show us
He was right there with us.

(C) 1995 Sparrow Song

Going Radio(active)-Gaga Next Week

Had a good meeting with Prof Wang at NUH this morning. He explained in meticulous details the current condition of my blood vessels and what he will have to do to ensure (as much as humanly possible) that the radioactive beads destroy only the cancer cells, and not leak to other organs like the lungs and pancreas. He was also very patient in answering our 101 questions on what to expect and possible post-surgery side effects.

Anyway, here's the deal:
- Will check into the hospital next Mon afternoon (6 Nov)
- Will do first angiogram on Tue to check blood vessels and do embolisation (blocking) of any vessels which may leak the radiation to any healthy major organs
- Will do second angiogram on Wed to inject Y-90 radioactive beads into vessels which feed the tumours
- Will stay till Thu or Fri for observation

After checking out of the hospital, will have to isolate myself at home for about 2 weeks cos will be slightly radioactive. Doc even told my hubby he won't be able to hug me for the first few days, sob sob... And I'll definitely stay away from babies, children and pregnant ladies (including those who are planning to get pregnant) just to play safe.

In the meantime, please pray for Alex. He started having high fever on Sat nite, and even though he'd seen the doc and taken medication, the fever kept coming back, reaching 40C. Very stressed cos have never seen him quite so sick. Didn't know what else to know except to check his temperature every other hour and sponge him down. Really worried that it may be dengue. Sending him for a blood test tomorrow. Pray that it's not dengue or anything serious, that his fever will be gone, and he will recover quickly.

Doc says to standby

Dr Goh was very cheerful and friendly as usual today. But he told us that Prof Wang still had not reviewed my reports nor confirm if I can proceed with the actual internal radiation treatment. Apparently, Prof Wang zips around the world constantly and has a super-packed schedule.

Anyway, Dr Goh promised he'd track down Prof Wang in his office today (G had been paging and calling W non-stop since knowing W was back in town) and get a final verdict from the horse's mouth.

Thank God for Dr Goh, who's such a caring doc that we can see he's even more agitated than us with this long wait, and especially for the fact that, being of the same ranking, he can help us to really chase after Prof Wang and communicate on our behalf more effectively. Imagine if my doc was a registrar trying to pin down a department head like Prof Wang... think my tumour would have fossilised by then, ha!

So now we're just on standby, waiting for that call from NUH. If we get the green light, will check into the hospital and go through a similar procedure like the last time. Overnight fasting, blood tests, daytime surgery (LA, catheter inserted through hepatic vein at groin area and injection of the actual high-level radioactive Y-90 microspheres into the tumours) and stay-in for observation for 2-3 days. Then, we pray very very hard for the cancer cells to ALL DIE OFF QUICKLY.

If this option doesn't come through, we'll meet again with Dr Goh to look at the clinical trial option which involves taking a new oral drug which is supposed to inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

Makan by the river...

Being a holiday today (Hari Raya Puasa), we took the opportunity to check out another new food joint with our good pals - Sam & Serene, and their adorable and super-energetic 3-year-old son Matthew.

Name: rivercafé www.rivercafe.com.sg
Location: 41 Robertson Quay, Singapore Tyler Print Institute Building

Thumbs-up for the ambience and decor. Very mod-Oz casual bistro look, with al-fresco seating facing our now-relatively-clean Singapore river, and the interior featuring a whole floor-to-ceiling shelving holdings bottles of wine and books, mostly related to food and drinks.

The menu was rather limited though, or rather, didn't contain items that really shout out to us. Middle eastern spatchcock, anybody? Serene ordered a seafood pasta, Sam had a soup and the pan fried escolar (fish) fillet with maple soy glaze, Alex decided on the tenderloin with carbernet glaze, and we all shared some bread and an entrée of garlic butter squid rings.

I'd always wanted to try ricotta hotcakes with bananas and honeycomb butter since reading about this recipe by renowned chef Bill Granger in a food magazine, and was quite excited to see this item in the brunch menu. Sadly, I didn't enjoy it at all. The dish was served cold and it was just plain boring. Looks like I may have to schedule a trip to Bill's restaurant in Sydney to check out the real thing!

(Incidentally, I was surfing Bill's website and found that rivercafé's brunch menu was the exact copy of Bill's sample breakfast menu. Wonder if they have any official tie-ups...)

Little Matthew was kept entertained throughout by his Uncle Alex. According to his parents, this kid lives on sunshine, air and water. But somehow, he started eating bits of stuff from Alex's plate! Even mommy Serene commented, "Seems like everything from Uncle Alex tastes good." Although he did spit out the veg after chewing a bit...

After lunch, we had a nice leisurely stroll around the quayside area. Sam and Serene also checked out the showflats of 2 condos in the area. Absurdly expensive for such tiny little places. My kitchen alone is the size of this condo's living/dining area, just imagine!

Upper East Coast Road

Well, Jo's feeling better from the Saturday ordeal although still far from being 100% well. The pain is still at her liver area and she needs to walk slowly and not make any sudden moves. The pain killers been helping and we pray she'll gradually wean off it in the next few days.

I've had to effectively cancel my activities since Saturday morning till today and perhaps beyond... Really no issue with me, been there done that. Anything that concerns Jo, I'll drop and ensure that she's attended to before anything else.

This afternoon, she felt better enough to leave the house in search of a new joint called Zuko! www.zuko.com.sg Don't ask me where she gets these cravings or ideas from, all I know is that when she says "I want to try out this new place..." I just get READY! So armed with her foodie guide books (IS Food Guide 2006 and one other I can't recall or find it now) we set off for 17 Upper East Coast Road.

In all honesty Jo should be writing this section, as I don't do justice as an online food / restaurant critique...but she's asleep. Oh well, I promise to do my best. Anyway, if you don't like my write up, check out the one by STOMP http://www.stomp.com.sg/stfoodiesclub/diningout/18/index.htm

Zuko is situated along Upper East Coast road. If you know where Siglap Shopping Centre is -you're doing fine. Along that road, you'll drive by a whole bunch of eateries. They're located just beside a little road named Jalan Tua Kong and directly opposite the public car park.

So it was 1:35pm when we stepped in. All quiet except for us. Greeted by the waiter and presumed restaurant owner? (Jo said so...) We took sometime to decide our menu and so it went like this:
1. Bruschetta
2. Zuko! Pork Ribs
3. Crabmeat Linguine with White Wine sauce (pictured above)

The Bruschetta was pretty good with finely chopped tomatoes on a crispy yet soft bread (yeah, I don't even know the name of the bread...what a great food critique) layered with olive oil. The Pork Ribs were ok. Jo felt that the texture was somewhat tough and initial serving of sauce was insufficient. But the staff were very obliging and brought more for us.

Now my fav! The Crabmeat Linguine (your choice of pasta, but Linguine does it best for seafood, trust me) was beyond words man. I was initially apprehensive of the white wine as base for sauce, but man was I wrong. It had such an aroma and gave it that zest. The linguine was done excellently, just the right texture - bouncy yet not tough. Crabmeat was abundant and nicely integrated with the dish with lotsa tomatoes...ahhh mama mia!

Ok enough I'm salivating. 2 thumbs up!

Staring Pain in the Face (literally)

How often have you seen your loved one in pain...I mean such severe pain that tears well up in their eyes. Well this is like too many for me.

I awoke at 5:30am just to see a faint shadow bent slightly over. It was Jo and she seemed in pain. I rushed over to her side of the bed and asked what was wrong. She pointed to her tummy / liver area and I immediately knew what it was...flashbacks of our recent encounters of early morning scares filled my memory again. I uttered "God, please not again..."

But it did happen and she was in such utter pain I was so distraught myself.

She was sitting on the bedside clutching her tummy. Her face was wincing, contorting, frowning, closed. I just stared helpless sitting on the floor. I could feel her pain. It was awful. Time froze and felt like an eternity.

I quickly prayed and pleaded with God to remove the source of pain. I remembered what we learnt in Elim Small Group last night about claiming the Promises of God:

Know, believe, claim and speak it.

She took a pain killer and subsequently went back to sleep. It was 7am by then...a 90-min ordeal, gosh!

Foodie or piggy??

Having a bit of sore throat and cough. Gonna blame it on the haze cos it's definitely not the chilli crab, fried chicken wings and orange juice I had the other day.



Went to check out VivoCity with hubby yesterday nite. Boom town charlie, man! It's a weekday nite and yet there were tons of people in the spanking new mall. The place is really huge and quite a lot of shops are already opened, including the highly-anticipated GAP boutique. Not quite sure what to make of the fashion nowadays though, the designs somehow don't seem very wearable. Or maybe it's just me falling behind the times...





Decided to dine at Food Republic, the retro-themed food court. Cool deco, complete with dark wooden tables/chairs, uneven stone flooring and piped-in 60s/70s Chinese songs. Food and drinks are priced a bit higher (fishball noodles for $4.50 and watermelon juice without ice for $2.70), but the place was packed! Took us a while to find an empty table and some more time to queue and get the food which was quite good actually. So will probably brave the crowd and go back another time to try the other stalls. That's the Singapore spirit, right? : )

Most of my frens will know that I'm a die-hard foodie. If you give me $500, I'll choose to blow it all on a really good meal instead of buying a branded bag or pair of shoes. Naturally, one of my worst nightmares is that, if the cancer spreads to my mouth or throat, then I won't be able to eat all my favourite food! So I'm always on the look-out for eating places with good reviews, either through TV programmes, newspapers/magazines or frens. Then depending on my craving for the day, I'll bully my hubby and make him bring me there or ta-bao.

My current fav restaurant is Wild Rocket @ Mt Emily A cosy little place with fantastic food and friendly staff. So far, have tried their crabmeat linguini with pink cream sauce, roasted Chilean seabass with sweet chilli marmalade, lamb rack marinaded with garam masala, rib-eye steak burger, pandan panna cotta and the fabulous strawberry cheesecake served in a martini glass. It's one of those rare places where you feel like going back everyday until you've tried everything on the menu, and then you continue going back again and again.

Hmmm, must start planning for my next climb up Mt Emily soon...

Supernatural Healing

Not much happening these days apart from the erratic haze. Jo has been experiencing more pains to the liver area though. Digestion is still slow along with her small appetite these days. Each Panadol now seems to last only between 5.5 to 6 hrs at most before her fever sets in again (not to take more than 4 per day) She's been eating a fair bit over the last few days.

On Sunday after Church we went by Liang Court to have some Japanese ramen (basement level). On Monday evening she had a set dinner (Degustation menu, whatever that means?? Includes 4 appetisers, 3 soups, 1 main course and dessert, coffee and pralines) with sis, dad and myself at Gordon's Grill. Off course we could not leave till we had sampled the renown Crepe Suzette ala Gordon Grill styed. And yes, Jo had her Banana Flambe to top it off...

Yesterday she had an impromptu gathering of her girlfriends for dinner at our place after having spent half an afternoon @ Wild Rocket Restaurant at Mt Emily. Apart from the sumptuous "zhi-char" (which was home delivered from nearby zhi-cha restaurant! Min. order of $20 bucks only) which included chilli crab, venison, fried rice, prawn paste chicken and mom-in-laws famous char bee hoon!

Ok enough about food. I thought I'd share on a passage that we read together quite often from "Prayers to Move your Mountains". It's a prayer format that helps us whenever we've run out of words to say...whenever we're at a loss of what to even say... Won't you spend sometime to read and meditate likewise.

Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5 NKJV)

Almighty God, I come before You in the name of Jesus, knowing that You hear my prayer and care about my needs (Rom 8:32). Your love is stronger than my sin (Rom. 8:38-39). Your faithfulness is greater than my suffering (Lam. 3:23) Your power is mightier than my sickness (Ps 103:3). You are Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals me (Ex. 15:26)

I present myself to You asking that You would touch me. Breathe into me Your breath of life (Gen 2:7). May the creative power of Your life-giving Holy Spirit course throughout my body and make me whole again.

Lord Jesus, You bore my griefs. You carried my sorrows. You were esteemed stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But You were wounded for my transgressions. You were bruised for my iniquities. You took the chastisement for my peace upon Yourself, and by Your stripes I am healed (Isa. 53:4-5)

Your blood is more than sufficient to cleanse me, heal me, and secure my salvation (Heb. 9:13-14). Cover me with Your precious blood. Your Word says,"Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed" (James 5:16 NKJV). Examine my heart. Convict me and purge me of any sin that hinders the flow of Your healing power. I resolve to come clean with all my sin so that You would wash me and restore my body.

Throughout Your earthly ministry, You demonstrated Your love and compassion by healing the physical and emotional infirmities of men and women just like me (Matt 14:14). And everyone who touched You was made well. Lord Jesus, I reach out to touch even the hem of Your garment that You would heal me just as You healed them (Mark 5:27-28).

I place my confidence in Your love, Your faithfulness, and Your power to overcome any ailment, disorder, or malady. And I rejoice in advance as I anticipate Your intervention on my behalf.

I cast all my cares upon You because I know You care for me (1 Peter 5:7)

Back Again...

Well I guess we've taken some sort of break from blogging over the past week...

Since Jo's discharge from NUH last Friday evening, things have been going quite fine so far. Our next appointment with the docs would be on 25 October - a little long we felt. We'll see what we can do to bring this forward sometime next week, God willing. Please continue to pray for good results.

Also, interestingly the angiogram tube insertion was really quite small as I observe the tiny 3-4mm incision on Jo's upper right thigh. Pretty amazing. Jo was walking slowly all of last week for fear of aggravating the wound.

Last Tuesday we went by TTSH for her follow up visit with the ENT and doc commented after the nose scope that all was clear there. Thank God for that!

She had craving for Katsu-don and so we ended up at Tonkichi at the Suntec "Food Alley" - the circus area below the Fountain of Wealth. Again we over ate and arrrghhh.

We've stopped the TCM appointments last week and probably for the coming week for now. Think it'll be good not to take too much additional stuff just for now and let the liver do what it can.

Jo's appetite is still the same...low. She complained of further pains to the rib area since Wednesday and that's why I really want to push for an earlier appointment with the docs. If the results aren't good then we wouldn't have to delay in considering other treatment options. Time is of the essence now.

Glad that the haze situation is getting better. That allowed me for another night ride from West Coast to Tuas with the usual bunch. Started off 8:30pm last evening and ended back at midnight. Total trip distance of 51.14km. Had a great stop-over at a friend's office with food provided for...decadent :)

Discharged at 6pm today?

Ok we're still here at NUH. Doc had advised us to stay on till this evening to ensure full healing takes place to her thigh.

Jo was wheeled out looking very well since she only on LA. There was a bandage round the right upper thigh near the groin area. Apart from the dye that was infused, some microscopic radioactive beads or spheres were injected. At the end of the day, the scans would map out exactly where her tumours and related blood vessels were, aiding the doctors to direct the radioactive beads to it's target.

No she isn't glowing with Radiation because the amount used is very minute with an approximate effective radii of 2-3 cm only.

A quick summary of what transpired from yesterday till today:

Thursday, 5 October
2:10pm - Jo wheeled into the Op Theatre.

4:00pm - Procedure completed and Jo wheeled out of Op Theatre.

4:10pm - Jo wheeled to the MRI Scan room for further scans. She was placed in between what looked like a huge sandwich maker :) Uncannily we bumped into Audrey (from our Elim SG) who was working in the Radiological department. It was such a Blessing to have met her! She made Jo at ease with the scanning machine and gave us an overview of what kind of scans was being done...that was unfortunately not even mentioned by the doctors... humph! Anyway this was a Gamma Scan to scan her lungs and liver for the flow of the radioactive particles.

There's alot to be mentioned about bedside manners in our local hospitals I must say: On each of the 2 occasions the hoarde of doctors that have swamped into Jo's room, NONE of them had even identified themselves! I guess we were expected to peer at their tiny size 8 font details on their hospital identification cards bobbing on their moving bodies.

6:00pm - Back to our lovely Ward 62A. By then her bum and back was quite sore as she'd being lying in the same position for nearly 6 hours without changing at all.

6:30pm - A doctor came by trying to chart her family tree for research purposes.

7:00 - 10pm - We were having dinner "part 1" when she said that she wanted Crayfish Pasta from The Coffee Connection. Thanks Sam and Serene for going out of your way to get this for us! Pasta has been Jo's all time fav foods for "all seasons." Boy, did her appetite come back! She later had Delifrance peach tart for supper and finished it too!

Friday, 6th October
Doctors came by at 1045am and told us that it was better for her to stay till 6pm to ensure full healing.