Greetings all, both Mary and I hope all is well over in your part of the world.
For those of you just joining us , Mary has been diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcoma. The growth was too entangled for surgical removal, so she is undergoing chemotherapy. The plan is to shrink the growth to a more manageable size , thus allowing surgery to be possible.
She came through the first round like a trouper. I must admire her attitude and bravery through all this. Much of her strength comes from your prayers, emails, messages, and other forms of encouragement. They have been a blessing and have certainly buoyed her spirits. Please don’t stop.
Mary starts Round Two today. Her doctor said each round gets easier to handle. I hope he is right. Would you please continue to keep her in your prayers? Yes, I want her back for my own selfish reasons, but she is also the heart and soul of Propel, and about 200 kids are counting on her, too.
The third round is planned for later this month. After that the growth will be examined and options considered for removal, most likely surgery and/or radiation. We are hoping this is all well behind us by April.
Fortunately, winter is a quiet time of year for us work-wise, mostly planning for the coming school year, but we already have teams on the calendar for Education Camps, The H.I.K.E., and families depending on Propel’s continued assistance. Thank God we have Maja on staff now, as she is handling all of the day-to-day interaction with the families while Mary is in the hospital. Prayers for Maja are also appreciated.
Looking past this, and towards Mary’s full recovery, we are also discussing our future personal plans. No, we do not want to pull the plug on Propel. But we do need to start outsourcing parts of the business-end responsibilities (bookkeeping, data management, fundraising, etc.) and find someone to eventually take the reins. Let’s face it, we are not getting any younger.
Not the happy “look at how great things are going” kind of update we prefer to share, but life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.
Thanks, again, for all the prayers, encouragement, and support….and for caring.
Paul and Mary
We are running on faith, but we are not running alone.