The Breakfast of Champions
Good morning. Yes, there is coffee below the fold.......Enjoy your last Saturday of November 2024.
Before we get going just a few house keeping matters to take care of. (Rulz for those of you in Sarasota)
- This is an open thread. Feel free to lurk, opine and/or bloviate.
- Be nice. Be kind. And please, no jumping on the furniture.
- Running with sharp objects? Sure, we will laugh at you.
- Have a great weekend!
November 30 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Allan Sherman (born Allan Copelon, 1924 - 1973). He was a humorist and television show host, probably best known for his adaptation of a theme from "The Dance of the Hours" ballet from the opera "La Gioconda" by Amilcare Ponchielli, a.k.a. "Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah." Demand for his humor declined after the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and he died at age 48 from complications related to being overweight and alcohol abuse. Here is his "Crazy Downtown," a parody of Petula Clark. Enjoy! (H/T Ron)
Please submit any prayer requests to me, “Annie’s Stew” at apaslo atsign hotmail dot com. Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks unless we receive an update.
Prayer Requests:
10/7 – Piper requested prayers for her stepfather, who fell and broke his wrist. He will need surgery to put a plate in. He is in a lot of pain.
11/2 Update – Piper’s stepfather’s surgery went well and he is in PT.
10/24 – B requested prayers for a friend (age 43) who is having heart and lung problems. He had to take “the shot” for work, so B is concerned about what that might mean.
11/6 Update – The friend does have cancer. He was given less than 12 months to live. Prayers for his family (his wife and 4 daughters, ages 6 – 14) are very much appreciated.
10/25 – Mental Block requests prayers as his prostate cancer journey transitions from active surveillance to deciding between two treatment options: a prostatectomy or 6 weeks of radiation combined with hormone therapy. Treatment will begin by mid-December.
11/21 Update – Mental Block started six months of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) which stops his body from producing testosterone. He starts radiation therapy on 12/4, which will be 5 days per week for 6 weeks.
10/26 – Teresa in Fort Worth asked for prayers. She got some troubling and totally unexpected medical news on 10/25, and is being referred to an oncologist to see where she goes from here. She said she is freaking out because this wasn’t even on the radar. It was found while being tested for something completely unrelated.
11/8 Update - It turned out to be bile duct cancer, which has locally metastasized into the liver. The plan is for 3 rounds of chemo starting after Thanksgiving, and then surgery in February or March. This is a rare cancer (8000 cases/year), and aggressive (5 year survival rate of 2-3%). Teresa plans to fight as hard as she can, but this is the situation. She appreciates the thoughts and prayers.
11/19 Update – She saw the oncologist. Without treatment, she might live 6 months. With chemo and surgery, she might make it 12 months. Maybe longer if she’s lucky. She’s eating all the desserts and buying all the yarn she can in the meantime.
11/23 Update – Teresa will be getting some help at home. An attendant will be coming to the home to take care of Rebecca, and also keep an eye on Teresa. The attendant has been through chemotherapy herself, has worked for the agency for a long time, and was looking for a more permanent placement. She can come 6 days a week, starting the Monday after Thanksgiving. What a blessing for the entire family!
11/2 – FB asked for prayers for his friend, Jeff, who was just diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He started chemo this week. They’ve been friends for over 30 years; their daughters grew up together, and Jeff is the best fly fisherman FB ever met. Please pray that they can fish the spring steelhead run together.
11/2 - Farmer Bob requested prayers. His older sister is suffering, as her son with autism is hospitalized in a medically induced coma, fighting sepsis from a skin lesion. Her grandson, whom she has raised, has significant medical issues which required a liver transplant. His father has descended into the madness of radical transgenderism. Farmer Bob’ s younger sister is a substance abuser whose behavior has alienated her from the family. Please pray for them, too.
11/2 – J.J. Sefton posted that his latest MRI came back negative. It looks like he has a good shot at beating the odds and stats for glioblastoma. He sends his thanks for the prayers, and he sends prayers, too, for all those who are suffering.
11/2 – Stateless’ 88 year old mother, who had been doing well, has pain in her side after eating. If she lays down, it goes away. She has been treated for diverticulitis using antibiotics, but that has not helped. They are also trying changes to her diet: probiotics, yogurt, etc. They will bring her to ER for a CT scan if needed.
11/6 – Morgan, loyal lurker, is postponing his employment decisions until the new year. He asks that God reveal His will for him, and what direction He wants him to take. He also asks for blessings on Misanthropic Humanitarian for all his efforts on the ONT and his well-deserved retirement.
11/8 – Jim in Kalifornia could use prayers. He was scheduled for laparoscopic surgery to clean abscess(es) and add drain.
11/16 Update – Jim was released from the hospital on 11/12. He still has the drain, is on 2 antibiotics and an antifungal for another 12 days. His anti-rejection regimen was reduced to allow him to fight the infection(s), but at a potential risk to the transplanted kidney.
11/23 Update – Jim is hospitalized again, receiving IV fluids, since he still can’t drink more than a few sips of water. He is on stronger antibiotics.
11/26 – Update – Jim is home again.
11/8 – Ron asked for prayers for his mother, who lost her vision and also fell. They are hoping for a medical procedure in the near future to restore (some of) her vision, and that the fall didn’t injure her too badly.
11/9 – SD requested prayers for her husband, whose kidney function is declining. They had a scare when an ultrasound suggested a mass on his right kidney, but thanks be to God, the CT scan said it was no mass, just an irregularly rotated lobe of his kidney. He sees a nephrologist on 12/3.
11/9 – tbodie Lurker sent thanks for the prayers. Tbodie had follow-up surgery on 11/6, and it went well.
11/10 – Farmer asked for prayers for Julie, who went to ER and almost died. She had “septic shock with multi organ failure secondary to perforated gastric ulcer with kidney and liver failure”.
11/16 Update – Julie was taken off the ventilator for 3 hours. Her eyes were open and got real wide when she saw him. So she is still there and coming back, slowly but surely.
11/13 – NR Pax requests prayers for his friend’s family. They have to sell their home and move because the local drug dealers have been making escalating threats to them.
11/13 – R asked for prayers for his mother. She lost her vision and she fell. They are hopeful that a medical procedure will soon restore some of her vision, and that the fall did not injure her too badly.
11/13 – Nightwatch needs prayers. His sister Kathleen suffered a massive stroke and is in the ICU. This news was given to him 2 hours after he got home from his wife’s aunt’s burial, and a week after the untimely passing of his nephew at age 34.
11/15 – Pooky’s Girl asked for prayers for Lil Pooky’s possible abdominal hernia.
11/19 Update – His hernia is pretty minor and can be fixed laproscopically with a single stitch. Surgery will be in mid-January. Please pray that Lil Pooky will have minimal discomfort until then.
11/15 – Notorious BFD asked for prayers from those so inclined, after Notorious BFD’s brother-in-law passed away unexpectedly.
11/23 – Screaming in Digital gave a mom update, and sent thanks for the prayers. Mom had to go to ER last week due to unusual confusion and weakness. It was a UTI. Thankfully she didn’t need a transfusion for anemia and there were no injuries from her recent fall. She is also getting set up for home health services.
11/23 – Jewells sent an update. She has been taking ivermectin for 2 weeks, and the only side effect is extreme fatigue.
For submission guidelines and other relevant info, please contact Annie's Stew, who is managing the prayer list. You can contact her at apaslo at-sign hotmail dot com. If you see a prayer request posted in a thread comment, feel free to copy and paste it and e-mail it to Annie's Stew. She tries to keep up with the requests in the threads, but she's not here all of the time, so she may not see it unless you e-mail it to her. Please note: Prayer requests are generally removed after four weeks or so unless we receive an update.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.
How about a little cuteness to end this thread?