----- Original Message -----
From: Fink Holloway
Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2008
You’ve probably heard the saying: “No news is good news.” That has been true for me. I haven’t written lately because I have been very busy. It has been hard to find time to write because I have been on the go nearly all the time.
I have returned to work full time. From September to February, I only worked half time. There were many days I did not make it in at all due to chemo or the secondary infections it caused. I was out for six weeks following the mastectomy. When I finally began to recover from that surgery I had six weeks of radiation. I worked a maximum of 30 hours a week while on radiation. So I had not worked full-time since September 2007.
In the middle of June when I started working full-time, there was a ton of work waiting for me at the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education. We are expanding our outreach, so that makes more work. And I am not the only person who has been out. It is vacation time, and several others have been out of the office due to illness or personal crisis too. So my days at the office are very full. I don’t mind the longer days—it feels good to be back, and it feels good to attempt to cover for others. For nine months my co-workers helped carry my load. I am grateful to be strong enough to work full-time and grateful for opportunity to help others.
Our kids who live in South Carolina, Joseph & Janelle & Josiah Holloway, spent several days with us in June. We got to celebrate Josiah’s first birthday. And we also went with Janelle to “What’s Kickin’”--a business that does sonograms. We got to watch the new baby on a big screen, listen to its heart beat, and we learned that their next child will be a girl! She is due October 2nd.
David and Brittney purchased a new home in Farmington and sometimes we have been involved with helping them paint. Sometimes I just play with Brooklynn while they work, and that is fun for both of us.
I got a good report when I went for my follow up appointment one month after my last radiation treatment. Dr. Ross (the radiation oncologist) said I did not need to come back for a year. I have met with my plastic surgeon, and the next part of reconstruction will not be until late summer or perhaps in the fall. Radiation causes the muscle tissue to shrink and he wants to give my body time to heal before the next step.
I want to thank all of you who have been so faithful to pray for me. My hip still has some issues and the nerves in my arm that were cut to remove the lymph nodes can be a pain, but I really do feel blessed. I am beginning to feel strong again. I cannot do the same exercise routine that I used to do, but I can tell I am gaining strength each week. The physical therapist recommended that I not use walking for my exercise until the bursitis in my hip clears up so we purchased a recumbent bicycle, and I enjoy riding it.
While it is a huge blessing to feel physically strong, but the most important strength comes from the Lord--not from exercise. Physical strength comes and goes. Right after surgery I was not supposed to lift anything that weighed more than two pounds with either hand. But the strength that comes from the Lord is constant.
"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength in whom I trust." Psalm 18:3
“Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For Yah, the Lord is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.
Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”
Isaiah 12:2-3
From: Fink Holloway
Sent: Tuesday, July 01, 2008
You’ve probably heard the saying: “No news is good news.” That has been true for me. I haven’t written lately because I have been very busy. It has been hard to find time to write because I have been on the go nearly all the time.
I have returned to work full time. From September to February, I only worked half time. There were many days I did not make it in at all due to chemo or the secondary infections it caused. I was out for six weeks following the mastectomy. When I finally began to recover from that surgery I had six weeks of radiation. I worked a maximum of 30 hours a week while on radiation. So I had not worked full-time since September 2007.
In the middle of June when I started working full-time, there was a ton of work waiting for me at the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education. We are expanding our outreach, so that makes more work. And I am not the only person who has been out. It is vacation time, and several others have been out of the office due to illness or personal crisis too. So my days at the office are very full. I don’t mind the longer days—it feels good to be back, and it feels good to attempt to cover for others. For nine months my co-workers helped carry my load. I am grateful to be strong enough to work full-time and grateful for opportunity to help others.
Our kids who live in South Carolina, Joseph & Janelle & Josiah Holloway, spent several days with us in June. We got to celebrate Josiah’s first birthday. And we also went with Janelle to “What’s Kickin’”--a business that does sonograms. We got to watch the new baby on a big screen, listen to its heart beat, and we learned that their next child will be a girl! She is due October 2nd.
David and Brittney purchased a new home in Farmington and sometimes we have been involved with helping them paint. Sometimes I just play with Brooklynn while they work, and that is fun for both of us.
I got a good report when I went for my follow up appointment one month after my last radiation treatment. Dr. Ross (the radiation oncologist) said I did not need to come back for a year. I have met with my plastic surgeon, and the next part of reconstruction will not be until late summer or perhaps in the fall. Radiation causes the muscle tissue to shrink and he wants to give my body time to heal before the next step.
I want to thank all of you who have been so faithful to pray for me. My hip still has some issues and the nerves in my arm that were cut to remove the lymph nodes can be a pain, but I really do feel blessed. I am beginning to feel strong again. I cannot do the same exercise routine that I used to do, but I can tell I am gaining strength each week. The physical therapist recommended that I not use walking for my exercise until the bursitis in my hip clears up so we purchased a recumbent bicycle, and I enjoy riding it.
While it is a huge blessing to feel physically strong, but the most important strength comes from the Lord--not from exercise. Physical strength comes and goes. Right after surgery I was not supposed to lift anything that weighed more than two pounds with either hand. But the strength that comes from the Lord is constant.
"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength in whom I trust." Psalm 18:3
“Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For Yah, the Lord is my strength and song;
He also has become my salvation.
Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”
Isaiah 12:2-3
