More Bocas del Toro

This is the path approaching Graciela's house. We walked in for about 10 minutes from the road. After we got everything together in Changuinola - finding her brother at Restaurante Lissett where two brothers work, resting, then buying food for Graciela and her family while she was there as her diet is restricted (kidney failure), we got on a bus headed for Almirante which would pass the school and a store at Loma Muleto. First we had to cross the bridge over the Changuinola river. This is a one lane bridge which has railroad tracks on it as it serves both vehicles and trains. The bridge is old and the boards that serve as the road bed are moveable. The government is building a new bridge beside it. We then reached the school and got off. Her two youngest brothers ages 11 and 13 were waiting at the bus stop. I think they had not seen eachother for 5 years.
The walk was medium difficulty with a few places where I needed help - around a muddy spot, jumping over a stream and walking across a log over the stream which you can see in this picture! If you click on the picture it will enlarge and you can see the house, Graciela and Beni (secretary at the home). Her mother was back helping me - but I made it with little trouble.
Here is a chicken - it belongs to the youngest of her brothers Oiden - he is very proud of it. In the blue/green chair are chocolate seed - Cocoa.
Here I am looking up to the house which is on stilts. The baby is one of her nephews and the others are brothers. Later I sat in the hammock. One brother demonstrated for me how to sit into it and as you can see in the previous posting I did! The little boy is sick with diarrea and I told the family how to make rehydration drink -- in a glass of clean water put a palm full of sugar and a three finger pinch of salt.
Here is the baby again. Also one of his uncles!

More this weekend.

Tia Sue

A bit about Tia Sue

Hi, here I am sitting in a hammock at Graciela´s house in Loma Muleto, Bocas del Toro province in Panamà. I have not written in my blog since early January - but I have been busy. Towards the end of November I had a slightly late but routine mammogram. In the right breast image was a suspicious spot so that the next week I had an ultra sound. The results a few days later suggested a biopsy. That day I went to a specialist in breast cancer ( Dr. Godoy and his son Dr. Godoy) and had a needle biopsy. The doctors explained in detail what the options would be depending on various results. We did know that the mass was small. Those results didn't come out with a clear answer - so, after Christmas, on December 28 I had an outpatient needle directed surgical biopsy. The next day the diagnosis was a cancer. The followup of that was removal of lymph nodes from the right armpit. All 13 of them were negative for cancer. Since then all of the other tests and results have come out in the very best way; a small cancer (size of a pea), no spresd to the lymph nodes, progesteron and estrogen positive (this is good), some other parameter negative (also good), bone scan good, lungs clear, liver showed no cancer (but is fatty!)



I have received womderful support from people in my church, other missionaries, the Bishop and the staff and girls at the girls home. Clearly I am recovered from the surgery - as I made this trip. I am doing excercises. My prayer life has deepened. I now have an oncologist, a wonderful Panamian / brasilian woman, Dr. Picardí and a radiation therapist, Dr. Araruz. The next step is 6 weeks of radiation which will start next week or after. That will be followed by Tamoxaphen or one of the newer drugs.



I am moving back to live at the home this coming weekend.



I feel very blessed by the positive diagnosis (98% chance on no recurance) and by the many people who have taken me to the hospital, provided a bed directly after surgery, given me a place to live where I couold take it easy, talked to me.



I have also been doing a lot - some think too much - as you will see as you continue to read this blog.



Please keep me in your prayers and thoughts.



Tia Sue

Bocas del Toro

On Tuesday, the 26th of February three of us at ther home got up early - at 4 AM! These included Graciela (the teen who has kidney failure and does paretineal dialysis every night), Beni our secretary and myself. We had been looking forward to this day for a long time as we traveling to Changuinola in the province of Bocas del Toro so that Graciela could visit her family, visit her home in Loma Muleto, and stay there two nights. (Occasionally she can skip dialysis for two nights - which made this trip possible.) We arrived at the airport at 5:30 AM and left in a small plane (anout 25 passengers) at 6:35. The flight is a little over an hour to Bocas island where most passengers left. Then there was a 10 minute flight to Changuinola where we were met by two wonerdful members of the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguartion, Eunice and Isabel. Graciela's mother showed up a bit late and then we went off to the Church. On the way we passed the restautant where one of Graciela´s brothers works, stopped, met him and left her mother and her for a while.
The foto above is Changuinola airport.

Here you can see Graciela (red shirt) at her house her two younger brothers (one is holding her nephew) and behind is an older brother and his wife.

There is more to come!