It has been 9 very long months.  
Mike was diagnosed with "Clinical Stage T2 N2 MO Stage II P16 Positive Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Left Oropharynx" in November 2022, right before Thanksgiving. Happy Holidays to Us! 

After 2 surgeries and an additional biopsy of his Right Oropharynx, he began daily radiation & weekly chemo treatments at the end of January 2023.
He completed treatment end of March 2023. Everything accumulated and got worse for two weeks after that, then slowly he was able to start healing.

He was out of work for several months, couldn't eat anything due to the 2nd degrees burns inside his mouth and throat, was on heavy narcotics, and was on the feeding tube for several weeks, severe fatigue and pain...

Now, he has crawled out of the dark valley, and into the light.  Thank you Jesus for being with us through it all, good and bad, every single day.  One of Mike's favorite bible verses:  
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." ~Matthew 11:28  
This, and many other verses carried us through, and will continue to carry us, every single day, no matter what comes next. 

Mike had his feeding tube removed a couple weeks ago, and he is eating again. He can't tell you that it's entirely enjoyable, but he is eating. He is back to work. He is doing mouth and throat stretching exercises 3X daily, otherwise scar tissue will tighten quickly and he would be unable to swallow. He has to do these for several years. He has a few pounds to gain, but is healthy. His lack of saliva is frustrating and turns what he eats into a thick, dry mush. But, he is finding ways to cope. Staying hydrated helps, and drinking some water with his meals also helps. There are saliva replacements and other things to help, but he found water is best. 

His most recent PET Scan results: Mike is CANCER FREE! The cancer did not metastasize between the time of his last PET Scan and his treatment. There is no new cancer anywhere in his body, and the treatment eradicated the cancer in the left oropharynx. He beat the crap out of this cancer...Happy Dance! Praise Jesus! Hallelujah! This is WAY BETTER than the Vikings winning the Super Bowl 10X in a row!!! If that were to ever happen! LOL! The doctors told us the recurrence of this kind of cancer is very low, and for that we are grateful. He will still need scans and tests every few months for the next few years - if this cancer were to return, it would be within the first two years post-treatment. We know it is a possibility and will just take one day at a time, ever grateful for each breath.

Cancer truly does SUCK! We know there are many, many who still struggle, and those whose cancer returns, and those who have been battling for years. We know there are many who have lost loved ones to cancer. We have lost loved ones and we know the pain, the hurt, the anger. We are very grateful for our outcome, but we will never forget others who still suffer and who miss loved ones who had different outcomes. We pray God heals your pain, brings you comfort and peace.

This is what gets me through tough times, I hope it helps someone else, too:

"And now, Lord, what wait I for? My hope is in thee."  Psalm 39:7
The sea was beating against the rocks in huge, dashing waves. The lightning was flashing, the thunder was roaring, the wind was blowing; but the little bird was asleep in the crevice of the rock, its head serenely under its wing, sound asleep. That is peace - to be able to sleep in the storm! In Christ, we are relaxed and at peace in the midst of the confusion, bewilderments, and perplexities of life. The storm rages, but our hearts are at rest. We have found peace, at last!
This was taken from "Day by Day with Billy Graham", a Daily Meditation Journal by Joan Winmill Brown, January 13th entry. I have it bookmarked and read it often, and it is very comforting to me. I wanted to share in hopes it will also comfort you when you are going through your own dark valleys in life. 

Thank you one hundred times over for all your prayers, calls, texts, cards, letters, messages on social, and visits. It means so much to us and we are so grateful to you all. 

We are thinking of having a huge party/bon fire this fall!  Mike needs more time for his taste buds to recover.  He just told me that if they don't recover, we'll have the party anyway and we all will just have to tell him how good the food is that he will be grilling!  A sense of humor really does help, and is good for the soul. So, STAY TUNED! More to come on the party! God Bless & many thankful hugs to you all! 😘 

P.S. We added a few photos.  We went out fishing together on a beautiful, sunny day!  We caught lots of fish, and I caught my first bass!  Mike caught a bass, too and his only looks larger than mine because he was holding it closer to the camera!  LOL!  Ok, maybe his was a little bigger than mine! 😂