I finally came back to TX from SD where the funeral was. Many have said that they have never been at a funeral where there was so much laughter! That may sound strange to many but when you know the destination on the one who has passed & you knew anything of his personality, then you would understand the laughter part. He loved humor & certainly enjoyed seeing others laugh. There of course were times of tears & seriousness as well, as he took his calling to reach souls for Jesus seriously & used both laughter & tears when telling the Gospel story.

We were all amazed at the number of people who came & from so many hours away. Especially when the weather wasn't good. After the funeral, we were totally snowed in for 48 hours. Greg missed his flight, Grayson & family made theirs (I29 closed after they got to airport town) & Grady & family missed their first one but made a later one.

I am now at Greg's house, perhaps going to other sons etc. the next few weeks & trusting Jesus to lead me where He wants me. Being without my mate is certainly not easy. Maybe it's harder because we were together 24/7 for 44 1/2 hrs.

Thanks much for all your prayers. Our (my) e-mail is: curtandlinda@gmail.com.

Several have asked about the funeral services for Curt so I will write on here. The prayer service will be Friday evening @ 6:30 & funeral @ 10:30 Saturday A.M. both at the Assembly of God church in Sisseton, SD located on Highway 10. Others have asked for and adress & that
will be: 308 W Oak #5 Sisseton, SD 57262. I hope to get there on Thursday if all goes as planned.

I know God has everything under control and I will trust him but this is not at all easy--to think I can never even touch him as long as I live. Hard to get my mind around that.

My lifetime sweetheart went to be with Jesus at 2:40 this a.m. & left me here. Will write more later. Thanks for your continued prayers.

Went to MDAnderson by 7:30 a.m. for an anesthesia assessment & are to be down there by 7:00 a.m. tomorrow (Tue) for a BX Retroperitoneal CT which in my language is a biopsy. That is to take place @ 8:00 a.m. He has been extremely tired & weak today & tonight so I trust we can make it down there. I asked him if I should call the ambulance but he said no so is sleeping now.

I asked Dr Schlembach today if his not eating had anything to do with the radiation treatments & she said definitely not but that that was a sign of the end. I was taken aback & haven't had a great evening/night. I will trust & believe that that is a sign of the end of his cancer--not his life. Please believe that with me--I know many of you are. I know that Jesus has come to give us LIFE & that more abundantly.

Thank you again for your love & prayers.

This hasn't been the best week for us but who said life would be easy all the time huh? On Monday our (Curt's) Primary Care Dr made us aware of how bad the lung area is & said they can do more radiation, try to get a biopsy of another spot etc.

Tue he had his first radiation treatment & thankfully we are able to get that near where we are staying instead of the main hospital. The Dr there said it is the worst case she has ever seen, we need to get everything straightened out in our family if there are any issues there with children or anything. Greg was with us & was able to tell her that that is one thing that is not a problem, that the boys are best of friends & he gave credit to his parents for that part...not sure that is accurate but we'll take it!

We were able to see the pet scan & it does look ugly. When she said the only thing they can do is give radiation treatments to try to stop the bleeding etc. it seemed & seems unreal. The thought came to both Greg & me sitting there that that is sometimes when God does His best work--when man says they can't do anything.

He has his 3rd of 10 treatments tomorrow. We are so thankful for the many who are praying, many thinking of & praying for us the first thing in the mornings & throughout the day..we feel that & know you will continue. The Scriptures are so encouraging too--there is NOTHING more powerful than the Word of God--Jesus even puts it above His Name & Jesus is the most powerful name mentioned among men or angels. Wow! How privileged can we be to have both!

Took Curt to ER @ 4:30 a.m. as he was coughing up blood that was bright in color. The Dr there said that that was normal for his disease. They had put him on prednisone (?) when we left the hospital & this Dr said to stop that & sent him home. We have a scheduled appointment with a primary care Dr tomorrow p.m. & hope to get more definites from her. Thanks again for your concern & prayers.

We are leaving the hospital here @ MD Anderson today. He has had more pain in his chest on the right side--where the masses are located I guess. They did a pet scan & it is hard to repeat the results of that--not sure what they are anyway. We knew two months ago today that there are 2 masses in the right lung & a mass in the pulmonary artery with a possible blood clot attached. It seems that I don't know much more than that now--maybe I'm just dense.! I think they are going to try to get a better biopsy tissue that will hopefully give them direction as of how to treat him.

We are trusting for a complete treatment by the Great Physician so there won't be ANY confusion.

It was such a blessing to have my 2 sisters come from SD & Lucy brought Curt's sister Dona too. The stay was short but sure was great to have them here. Irene & family are still here so that's great.

How wonderful to know Jesus & to know HE holds our future. Thanks for your love & prayers.

Just posted a video message from Curt on our twitter account: www.twitter.com/curtlinda

We came to the appointment yesterday (Mon) not knowing that they would keep Curt in the hospital. The Drs spent much time with us & the primary Dr, Bonnie Glisson, said she couldn't send him out with his lungs sounding as they did. He did cough while she was there so she got to see what came up etc. She said they need to get that taken care of, fluid on the lung etc. before they could plan any type of treatment for the cancer. Her diagnosis of the cancer wasn't very encouraging but we still know that God has the final say.

Someone from the Woodlands Church brought a book by Dodie Osteen that she signed to give to Curt & we have started reading that. It is entitled: Healed of Cancer. Certainly builds our faith. Also the encouraging words from our friends & family do the same. Of course the most powerful force on the planet is the Word of God & we are trying to fill our minds with that as well.

I have stayed in the hospital room with him, Greg brought some things back today that Barbara (where we are staying) prepared for me so I'll be able to shower etc....all around me will be thankful for that!

They had planned to drain the fluid build up on his lung today but didn't so plan to do it tomorrow. Please pray that all will go well for the procedure which should be done b/4 noon.

This is a different Sunday because we didn't go to church. Curt has continued with bad cough & has some blood in it. Also he has been nauseated today, using oxygen more often etc. With the cold temperatures, we figured it best not to go out--plus our friend, Dr Lee, wouldn't like it if we did!

On Tue we started the process of registering him @ MD Anderson Cancer center here in Houston. Thur p.m. we got a call for an appointment for him on the 11th which is tomorrow at noon. We meet with a Dr at 1:00p.m. We anticipate that the Dr will have some plan for treatment, procedure or whatever at that time. Appreciate your prayers as those decisions will be made then we are assuming. Greg said he would be going with us so that is a great blessing. I think I am strong but admit I'm having some difficulty & would not want to go alone so thank God for kids! Grayson, Kate, Jack & Mary drove in for the weekend so was great to see them. Drove over 8 hrs to get here, stayed about 30 hrs then are headed back again now. Thanks for your prayers for safety for family too.

No doubt God is good & His mercies endure through all generation.

Curt has had a cough for a few days & has had blood in his sputum. Our friend, Dr Lee, said to take him to have an x-ray done so we did that yesterday a.m. (Mon). Said we would get results yesterday but got them this a.m. & he does have fluid on his lung. We're not sure if there is more than was shown in the Dec x-ray. The Dr we saw said if he gets out of breath, to take him to VA in Houston & have it drained.

That is what happened a couple days before the first incident of coughing up pure blood so we sure don't want a repeat of that. That was on Nov 19 in Orlando, FL. The cough is continuing but the blood has nearly if not totally ceased so we're very thankful for that.

Has been cold here in TX so he isn't going out so much. Trust you are keeping warm.

Thanks for praying & caring.