Grandpa's feeling better!!

(update on Grandpa Avery, written by Gammy and Grandpa)

Dear Loved Ones and Friends!

We have now finished another week of our journey and, today, Allen finished 3 1/2 weeks of chemo and radiation. There is only one thing we can say, and we want to say it again and again. -- God is good!!

We last wrote that Allen had turned a corner and was getting better, but I don't think we really appreciated how much that was due to God's hand directly doing the turning!! Allen continues to get better every day. He is stronger, out walking daily, doing exercises, going shopping with me, he is more spacially oriented, his short term memory is back, he is alert and connected with life. He sits on the computer and I sometimes have to remind him what time of night it is!! :) And we know with certainty that it is God who has made this happen.

We were talking to the doctor this week and were discussing how much better he is. She said that she could see that he was a totally different person than the one she met when treatments started. She said that, yes, the treatments were having their effect, but that really, the improvements were coming "from above" (as she puts it). Also she said that they found that short term memory could return only after the 6 week treatments were complete and then after some time. She was absolutely amazed at the tremendous improvements he has made, and she expressed that to us.

We know it is God who has turned the tide for Allen. It is God who has decided that Allen should live and not die! We want to say that all the glory is His and we are humbled and so abundantly blessed by His kindness and goodness to us.

We are still on this journey, we haven't seen the end yet. But we do know that God is with us every step of the way, because we have seen His sign. We again thank each of you for your many many prayers! We ask you to continue. The journey continues, day after day. But, praise God, we are living in the sunshine of His light, and not in the shadow of death!! He has been so very good to us, and we thank you again for your prayers. You have blessed us and sustained us as we have moved forward. May you be blessed!!!

Specific Prayers:

*That Allen continue to heal until he is cancer free and totally back to normal.
*That his brain not swell and he will continue to be well (he has not been sick at all, has only lost his hair through the radiation, but as he says, "this is small potatoes!").
*Also we ask you to pray for the Ethiopian parking attendants at the radiation center. Allen is talking to them daily about the Lord.

The Avery Five with Grandpa and Gammy in Houston, back in September