Great article in the Island Packet on Jon

Here is a great article the Island Packet did on Jon and his battle with cancer!

http://www.islandpacket.com/2013/09/29/2712456/longtime-beaufort-county-coach.html

Also, I didn't want to leave you hanging on my balloons.  I was going to post a picture of the balloons but that never happened.  Jon always calls me his beautiful disaster.  And sure enough everything I do has a story behind it and ends up in disaster.  I stopped by Kroger to get the balloons and they told me they had JUST run out of helium.  I did not have time to go back until the next day.  I got 2 light blue balloons, 1 Duke blue, and 1 pink.  I did not have time to release them until later that evening.  By the time I went outside to pray over them and release, 2 went to the heavens, and 2 went straight to the ground.  I am not even going to try and analyze it.  God knows my heart and I tried.  But I was laughing inside!

Here are lots of pictures!

There has to be a 1st for everything!!

The Strebe's are GODSTRONG!

GODSTRONG babies at the zoo after riding the train!

My baby boy Luke who is struggling with wheezing and his asthma while up here.  After doing this breathing treatment I am happy to report he has not wheezed in almost 72 hours!! Also, through Jon's Nurse Practitioner we are able to get in with an allergist at Riley Children's Hospital quickly!

Thank you Coach K for giving Jon something to work toward and look forward to!  Here Jon is with the different things Coach K has given him.

Jon and Emma Kate enjoying a beautiful day at the park on Saturday in Plainfield, Indiana!

God has given us gorgeous weather while up here!

During Jon's break between rounds Emma Kate and I play nurse each morning.  We flush his ("doodles") catheter out.

I hope you can see this.  I did a panoramic view of the apartment and all the cards that are strung along the wall.  The family room is full so this round let's fill up his bedroom!

Here is Jon on a Saturday afternoon in the BMT clinic watching football.  Don't you love the big flat screen they provide for him?!

There is a program for cancer patients called Magic Hour Foundation.  There are photographers all over the country that volunteer their time to take pictures of cancer patients going through treatments.  I found out about it through another cancer patient blog I was reading.  I googled it and sure enough there was a photographer in Hilton Head.  

Thank you Amber!  Amber is the owner of Little Elise Photography in Hilton Head Island, SC.  Amber did an amazing job with our family.  My kids are not exactly easy to take pictures of and she was amazing at working with them.  Here is a sneak peek of some of the pictures she took!  Amazing Job, Amber!

More Blessings and FUN!

**T-shirts.  One more day.  Closes at midnight tomorrow (Friday) so if you still haven't ordered, this is just a reminder!

Blessings:


1.  Our kids have stayed free of any contagious sickness!!  For those who know us well, that is a miracle.

2.  We live right on a canal that takes us many different places safely!

3.  Jon's 5 day stay in the hospital cost $46,398.85.  Patient liability:  $0!  Huge blessing.  Simmer down people.  Don't get too excited.  We haven't gotten the stem cell transplant part of it.  LOL.
Oh Yea, I was supposed to stick with blessings.  :o)

I grew up in Atlanta and Jon in Baltimore.  But both of us lived in the suburbs.  It was a treat to go downtown!  So city life, even for Jon and I, is new and different.  And it is especially different when you have 3 small children.  It has been quite an adjustment but extremely fun for the kids.  God has blessed us in SO many ways.  We live right across the street from the IU Law School.  Also, right beyond that is the IU Cancer Center and IU Hospital.  We also live right on a canal.  We literally can walk through our apartment building, out the door, catch an elevator 2 steps away and go down to the canal.  We can walk along the canal and feed ducks, walk to the zoo, and walk to a "field" the kids can play in.  It is super safe, and no traffic.

Today, we went on an adventure at the hospital.  They have a "people mover" that the kids call the monorail (like Disney) that moves people between 3 different hospitals.  We thought we would let them ride it.  So Jon dropped us off and we headed up to get on.  We were waiting for the "monorail" and Luke leans over to me and hugs me and says, "Momma, I love you so much!"  I knew something didn't "smell" right with him out of the blue trying to kiss up to me.  My little momma brain went to town and said, "Luke, do you need to poo?"  He said, "UMMM, I think I already pooped in my pants."  Told you something didn't "smell" right.  Anyways, got that all cleaned up, finally got on the "monorail" and the kids had the time of their lives.  We pretended to be going to the castle at Disney and seeing Cinderella.    We then met a doctor on the monorail and he told us to take the bridge to Riley Children's Hospital so we did.  (By the way, when the doctor got on the monorail, Emma Kate said, "Is that the 'docta' where daddy lives?")   Riley's Children's Hospital has a McDonalds, tons of stuffed animals, a really cool glass elevator that the kids could have ridden on all day, and a water fountain.  Jon waited for us in the car and 1.5 hours later we finally came back out.  He was wondering what the heck we did for that long!  Guess he will never know!

Here's another funny pooping story.  We were at the field the other day and Emma Kate announces she has to go potty.  Ok, now please understand we are DOWNTOWN!  I mean you have to be a little careful where you take these children.  And on top of that there was not a good place to take her nearby so we literally took a long hike over to this building.  Luckily, we did get in to use the potty.  But it was not exactly close by.  Here is a picture of my sweet girl trying to hold it while walking to the bathroom.

Prayer:

1.  Our kids will stay well until we leave here.

2.  Luke--I am having to use his inhaler for wheezing and his eczema is out of control.  There are too many factors that have changed here to try and figure it out.  Pray we can keep his wheezing at bay.  Also pray that we will get in with an allergist here quickly.  Our local allergy doctor told me today this is too serious and we need to be seen quickly.  I called and a new patient is SO hard to get in and I have no connections.  The first available appointment is October 11th.  My local allergy doc said if we can't get in sooner we will have to go to Urgent Care.  Pray that God will pave the way to be seen by Dr. Leickly quickly!

3.  Jon -- He is still feeling nauseated and fatigue.  Pray that he will feel somewhat "normal" before his next round and please pray that he will not get sick while on his "break."  We are being very careful about where he goes and when he does go out he puts a mask on.


I will close with this.  In Bible Study today, our leader challenged us.  She reminded us that we trust Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior when we give our lives over to Him and it seems easy to trust.  But do we trust Jesus with the day to day things?  Finances, our children, sickness, our marriage, our jobs, etc.  Do we truly give over our fears and release them to Jesus?  WOW!  That hit me like a load of bricks.  Am I laying my fears of Jon's future at Jesus' feet?  Am I laying my fears of my children at Jesus' feet?  I have had near panic attacks over these things since we got to Indianapolis.  Boy, was God talking to ME!  It is a continual process for me and I must do it daily, hourly, by the minute!  My desire is to trust Jesus with these things that bring me lots of fear and to lay them at Jesus' feet.  I hope you can do the same today for whatever in your life you need to release.  Tomorrow, I am buying 4 helium balloons.  One will say JONATHAN-Cancer.  The 2nd will say LUKE.  The 3rd will say EMMA KATE.  And the 4th will say RYAN.  I am releasing them up to the heavens.  I pray that I will truly release these 4 precious people to Jesus and let HIM take control!   He loves them WAY more than I do!

Shirts and blessings

First of all, I wanted to let you know that the T-shirts have been opened up again.  They are only open for 5 more days for those of you who never got around to ordering a t-shirt.  You can click the link to the top right of this page.  Thanks!


I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the pictures you all have sent out of your GODSTRONG shirts.  Jon is so uplifted by the support you all have shown to him.  This picture today touched me in a profound way!  This is Andrea Hartley.  She is the daughter of my pastor when I was growing up.  I used to babysit her, then I coached her, then I taught WITH her and coached WITH her.  And I also wore her wedding dress on my wedding day!  She is SO special and I ask that you join us in praying for complete healing in her body.  She has a husband and 4 young children and lives in Texas.  I love the verse she included on here.  The outlook that her and her husband have had through this process have been such a blessing to me!  Their total dependence on God has really struck a chord in me.  But most of all that she would be going through this great trial herself and put this GODSTRONG shirt on in support of Jon is selfless and AWESOME!  Doesn't she look beautiful?  She is INSIDE and OUT!

I feel like I've really let Satan get a hold of me in the area of dwelling on the negative.  So I am going to re-focus my thoughts on some of the blessings God has provided for us during this time.

1.  People in Indy through friends of friends have reached out to us in magnificent ways.  A family today had us over to their house.  HUGE blessing for my kids.  We have not been in a "home" since we got here.  My kids had the BEST time!  Kathy and Jen were the nicest people and we completely connected with them.  Another person hosted us at the Children's Museum one night which was absolutely amazing!  These people are perfect "strangers" but all part of the body of Christ and allowing God to use them!

2.  Jon got a surprise this morning when he showed up at the clinic and they dismissed him without even giving him fluids!  His blood work looked great.  He will go back Thursday for more blood work.

3.  FAMILY:  Our family has rallied around us and left jobs, homes, and friends to come join us in taking care of our kids and us!

4.  Jon has stayed mentally strong during this time--like stronger than me!  He has really focused on staying GODSTRONG!

5.  Our kids have adjusted so well!  They have stayed positive and haven't really asked to go home which is amazing.  They "get" it.

6.  Emily has been a huge blessing and such a "constant" for the kids which is what I wanted.  She knows all their activities and routines.

7.  Jon had minimal side effects during this 1st round.  HUGE answer to prayer!

8.  We have gotten plugged into a church from the second we got here.  They have been amazing and such a blessing.  The kids LOVE it.  And we have a "pastor" that comes and prays with Jon weekly.  He is a former high school classmate of mine and lives in Indy and works on the IU campus.  His church is the one we attend.

9.  Apartments have been a blessing and the location is AMAZING!

10.  Jon gets lots of "fan mail" everyday because of YOU!



Another precious Luke story:

We were at our friends house today having a play date.  We were all sitting eating our lunch, Luke was beside me.  Kathy asked me what the hardest thing about this journey has been.  So as I was struggling to answer the question Luke taps me on the shoulder and says, "We need to pray for daddy."  It totally caught me off guard.  So I said, "OK, right now?"  "YES"  he said,  "RIGHT NOW."  I said, "OK, are you wanting me to pray, or are you going to pray?"  He said, "I"M GOING TO PRAY!"  So, we all bowed our heads and his prayer went something like this:

"Dear God, bless us and thank you for this day.
Please help daddy get better and help his doodles go away.
Help him to eat his oatmeal again.
AMEN."

Of course, most of us were crying.  And that was that.  He was done and we went along continuing to eat and talk.  He is one amazing 4 year old!  His heart for the Lord and his care and concern for others blows me away.  This is the heart that God has given him.  It is nothing that he has been "taught", it is nothing that we have done as parents. Just to clarify, the doodle the kids refer to are Jon's catheter where they administer the fluids, meds, chemo and stem cells.  The kids see his "doodles" as a sign that he is sick and they want them gone because for them this will signify Jon being WELL.  Also, Jon started this round in Indy by coming up to the kids apartment every morning eating oatmeal.  As the days went on, eating oatmeal became more difficult until one day he ate eggs instead of oatmeal.  Then after a few days of eggs Jon stopped showing up at all.  We have never talked about this with the kids.  They observed this on their own, and they drew the conclusion that if Jon is not eating his oatmeal he is SICK.  When he starts eating his oatmeal again, he will be WELL!  Precious, precious children of faith who pray for their daddy every night and we do our family cheer, "STREBE'S ARE GODSTRONG."

One last blessing and I will stop here:

Jon and I received a personal note handwritten by Coach K (Duke University) inviting our WHOLE family to Cameron to a game!  WAHOOOO!!!  We got it the day before Jon got out of the hospital.  He was SOO excited!  Pretty cool and Jon is SO looking forward to this at the end of his journey.  Coach K also sent Jon a signed hat and a signed poster that said he was on his side, and a Duke shirt.  God blesses us even with little blessings.

Strebe's continue to be...

GODSTRONG

The Little Engine That Could

     Good morning everyone, this is Jon writing today.  The title of this post certainly is where I am at this point in the process.  At the very beginning of this process, back in January they told Donna and I that this would be very up and down, kind of like a roller coaster ride.  Well, they certainly didn't lie, because that is exactly what it was and continues to be, up and down and all around.  But God is good, no some of the time, or in certain situations.  He is good all the time!
     There are certainly moments where I feel like certain periods of time will never end.  Sitting in that hospital bed over those four days seemed like months.  You are very restricted, and literally at someone else's mercy.  However no matter what fear we have, I am reminded that God is always with us.  He loves us and wants to be with us because first and foremost He loves us.  We are His children and He will NEVER leave or FORSAKE us.  So I remind myself that as it says in Deuteronomy 31:6 "Be strong and Courageous, do not be afraid or terrified........".
     We all have fears, anxieties, and shear times of panic.  But God reassures us that He is with us holding our hands as we work through our fears.  Fears of not being a good enough parent.  Fears of not loving your spouse the way you should.  Fears of not doing enough at work.  Anxiety of a life threatening disease, or whatever it may be, we all have our own challenges.   God tells us to replace those fears and anxieties with trust.  Ultimate trust in Him.  I certainly have times where I let Satan plant  that seed of fear or anxiety into my not so strong mind.  I encourage you to join me in this battle of fear.  Trust that no matter the situation, no matter how bad you think you your situation is, or that no one can help you.  Keep in mind that the creater of this universe, the Great I Am is waiting for you with His outstretched hand, just waiting for you to reach out with your hand so that He can help you through.  He loves you more than anything in this world because we are all created in the image of Him.  We are all children of God, and we need to know and trust that he will never ever leave out side!  Have a great Sunday, and thank you all for your continued love and support.  We feel it every minute of every day!  
   

Jon is home and an outpatient again!

Jon was released from the hospital today!  YEA!!  He will go back to being an outpatient until they can get some of the side effects under control.  He will report to the BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) Clinic Saturday, Sunday and Monday in the very least.  But they have taken him off all his antibiotics.  He is still low on potassium and magnesium which he is taking through pills.  The clinic will basically just be giving him fluids.  The doctor is very concerned with his kidneys since he is loosing so much fluid.  For those of you who are medical or have been through a stem cell transplant you will enjoy seeing this.  For those of you who are not, basically this week on the calendar shows his counts coming up...a huge cause for celebration when you work with BMT patients.  PTL!

We were able to go to the apple orchard with the kids today.  Jon's dad brought Jon home from the hospital while we were gone.  It was about 30 minutes away and SO fun.  I have wanted to do this since the twins have been born and we have no apple orchard near us that I know of.  I had a blast and the kids did also!  It was a beautiful day!  Here are some precious pictures of our time at the orchard picking apples!  

The Strebe's are...

GODSTRONG!

A sweet video that will touch your heart and good news!

I have told you about Luke on numerous occasions.  He loves God with all his heart and wants everyone to Praise God.  He also loves to learn about God.  Here is a sweet video of a "Bible" he got at CBS (Community Bible Study).  It was so cute because when he brought it home I could tell he was repeating exactly what his teacher said (He listens to EVERYTHING).  He said, "Momma, this is a Bible, but some people call it God's Word."  He carried this with him for 2 days straight and read it a thousand times!

Good News!

Jon's counts are on the way up.  His neutrophil counts were higher today and the Nurse Practitioner and BMT Doctor both said they will continue to rise everyday and Jon should be out of the hospital by Friday or Saturday.  BUT he has to be able to take pills by mouth without getting nauseated so please pray that his nausea will get better.  So far today there hasn't been improvement in that area.  The counts are going up a little earlier than "usual" so the docs were happy about that.  They said his symptoms that he is having will subside as his counts continue to rise.  We were very encouraged with the news!

Thanks for praying and we continue to be...

GODSTRONG!

Jon is now inpatient

This is a very difficult blog post to write because I am not in a good place and Jon is not in a good place.  But part of the reason I am writing these blogs is for our family, especially our children to be able to read later and see how faithful God was in our family.  So, here goes...

Jon threw up all night Saturday night into early Sunday morning.  Also, when he started vomitting at 10PM Saturday night his fever was 100.9.  I called the on call doctor and he said it was 50/50 whether to come in and be admitted.  But after Jon threw up 4 times, he could hardly walk so at 4AM Sunday morning we headed in to the hospital.  Jon was able to come right up to the BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) Unit and be admitted here, thus avoiding the ER.  That was a blessing with his counts being so low.  Basically he was dehydrated.  They began giving him fluids and he never threw up again.  They took blood cultures and found everything was normal.  So the praise is there isn't anything major going on.  It is VERY different over here in the inpatient part as opposed to the outpatient clinic. When you are outpatient they want you very involved in your own healthcare because after all they are sending you home for your caregiver to take care of you.  So they tell you exactly what meds they are giving and you mark it off on a sheet and then you write down at night all the pills you take.  When you are inpatient they just start hanging bags, and starting them.  They do not tell you what they are giving you unless you ask.  And before when he felt nauseated I would give him an Ativan.  Now when he is nauseated we have to ask for it and it could be an hour before he gets it.  Don't get me wrong, the nurses are great both places, it is just a different mindset to be inpatient.  It has added some more stress for me for sure.  Let's just say they are getting to know his control-freak wife very well!  At shift change, the new nurse came in and told me exactly what they were giving Jon and the dosage and said, "I heard you like to know what we are giving."  LOL

Since Jon can't write and tell you all his troubles I'll tell you mine!  I'm just breaking down in every way:  emotionally, physically and spiritually.  I'm just really questioning why Jon, of all people, have to suffer like this.  My heart aches to watch him.  My heart aches to be with my children.  I'm not even sleeping with them in the apartment!  I went from living with them and checking on them before I go to bed at midnight, then again in the middle of the night, to not having a clue if they are OK.  They had only been away from me at night like 2 times!   I don't want to live here.  I don't want to be separated as a family.  I want to be home, be together and healthy!  I want Jon back.  He is my best friend and the one I count on for everything.   I'm definitely not finding joy in the this trial at the moment!  I'm certainly not rejoicing in these circumstances.

I think sometimes in the Christian life we like to fluff things up and make everything sound positive because that is what we are supposed to do.  But reality of the situation sets in, and you are going to have moments that you have negative thoughts, you are overwhelmed with fear and that you just can't handle life.  I'm there!  I am human and in no way perfect--not even close.  And boy have we seen that in the last few days!  A good friend reminded of this story:

 Matthew 26:36-46 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” 40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.” 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
  
Jesus was the only perfect one to walk the face of this earth.  And even he asked to have this painful, sorrowful situation taken from him.   He had great anguish over the physical pain, separation from the Father, and death for the sins of the world that he would endure.  In His human nature, Jesus struggled.  And fortunately He can relate to me right now!  I hope that in my relationship with Christ I have the strength like Jesus had to obey!  Jesus knew his future and He still struggled with the suffering He would go through.  I like in vs. 39 Jesus saying not as I will, but as you will and again in vs 42 when he said YOUR WILL BE DONE.  I hope that I can have a renewed sense of trust in God's plan for our family through Jon's suffering.  

Ironically, as I'm sitting here typing this, another very good friend (who has not a clue of where my head is these past few days) just texted me this verse:

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."  II Corinthians 12:9

Thank you dear friends for your encouragement.  And even if I don't mention in the blog, every letter, email, text, FB message, card, package, etc means the world to me and my family!  You all are such an encouragement and I hope to grow up to be like all of you!  I will forever be changed because of this situation.

We just found out that Jon will be in the hospital until the end of this round, probably anywhere from 6-9 more days.  Please pray for him.  He is barely eating.   He is loosing strength.  His counts are still extremely low (he got more platelets today).

**Note:  I started this blog days ago, and have written a little everyday for 3 days.  Today (Tuesday), I can report that Jon went on a "walk" with me last night around the halls and started being silly and jogging.  He sure is a funny guy!  For the most part he has slept today but he is having spurts of energy and has kept his spirits up!  He has been amazing!  Thanks for praying and our family will continue to be...

GODSTRONG!