October 31, 2008

Dear Everyone,

For those of you who have just been put on this list, a couple of words of introduction. I am Chuck Eggerth, and I found out this past August that I had a grade two brain tumor, a regrowth of one I had removed in 1987. To make a long story short, I would not have known about it till January 2010 if I had not had a seizure in August of 2007, which caused my January 2008 MRI to be rescheduled for August 2008. At that point, they found a very small tumor, one that they probably would not have detected in January. It was surgically removed on the 17th of September, and I have just started precautionary radiation and chemotherapy (by tablet) to reduce the chances of the tumor coming back. Without radiation/chemo, the chances of it coming back are about 75% in 5-7 years, and with radiation/chemo, the chances are 25% in ten years. I'm not sure exactly what to say next, since I can't seem to stay on the same track for more than an hour or so. I was telling a couple of guys at lunch today that I was doing well, but by the time I got home I was depressed and wound up napping for an hour and a half. My earlier e-mails have been quite upbeat. I really felt like God was helping me to repent and to recast my life for the better. I'm still sure he is, but I have gotten over the mountain and down into a valley, and part of me of me does not agree with the majority opinion. Please pray for that part to not overwhelm me. Life seems very complicated at this point. I am glad I have Priscilla, who keeps track of things financially and helps me with the day-to-day situations that arise. One example is this: an intern in one of my doctor's offices forgot to order the chemotherapy and assorted anti-nausea and anti-infection medicines I need. It has taken me some doing to figure out what happened and to get the nurse in the office (why do nurses always cover for doctors?) to reorder, and then to be sure the mailorder prescription place was sending the right meds. And further, when it became pretty obvious some of the meds were not going to arrive on time, to order a short supply from a local pharmacy till the big supply showed up. Priscilla has helped me with this, and has arranged, as well, for a payment plan with the hospital. Three more payment plans will need to be set up, since there are four different places at the same hospital asking for money. At the beginning of this whole process, time seemed pretty unlimited. I have already begun to sense a change in that area, and to start worrying about what I might not accomplish. Please pray about that also. I have been keeping close tabs on two other medical situations much more severe than mine: Rhonda Dering, from Redeemer, who has leukemia, and my brother-in-law, Paul Rudy, who has b-cell lymphoma. These folks keep me from feeling too sorry for myself! I pray for them daily, and believe me, what I'm going through is small potatoes compared to what they're going through. Pray for me that I will believe the gospel, which tells me I am loved deeply by a huge God who has a detailed, complicated plan which encompasses all of my life and all of the history of the world. Sometimes the external evidence simply does not show that to be true, but it is. I need to believe it, and once I have believed it, I need to believe it again and again and again. This is a journey--a process--and I know I am not in it alone. Unless you're not human, you can probably relate to what I'm saying. We're all in this thing together, so let's hang in there. Yours truthfully, Chuck Eggerth