*  My decision to share with you *

I have decided to share a little with you as many of you have indicated that you are praying for my family at this time and care about my mother and her fight against cancer.  Though this won’t be a blog exactly, I intend to use this page to post little updates for those of you who want to follow along and to pray for us.  Everyone has been so supportive and we want to say thank you for the bottom of our hearts.  Thank you!

The next 5 paragraphs will tell of what the situation is with my Mom, in particular for those who are just joining us and don’t know what’s been going on in our family.  Then below that, I will give some information about my childhood, my family and then little updates as we go along on how Mama is doing.  Let’s get started!

                            ~ News about my sweet Mama ~

My mother who turned 60 in August was not feeling well over Christmas, 2009 and the last two weeks before that.  She experienced no pain though, only moderate discomfort.  On Dec. 29th, my Dad took her into the emergency room. By 48 hrs. later, she was in surgery.  We were simply crushed as to the news of the surgeon after her surgery.  Simply put, she was already so full of cancer when they opened her up that they had to give up and just sew her back up. 

                            ~ About how it will affect my puppy business and about contacting me ~

The next few weeks and months are likely to be all that we'll have here on earth with Mom and so I'll probably be gone a lot as Mom is 650 miles from me, in Peoria, IL.  Because of this, I am going to have quite a challenge knowing how to keep the paperwork end of my puppy business going, in between the 1300 mile round trip trips that I'll be making just as frequently as possible.  I am sure that God will help me.  I'm so thankful that I have Jon and Debbie Russell and their 5 sweet children to take good care of my doggies, 24/7.  They love my doggies like I do, and along with the help of my husband and children and the Russells, everything will be covered.  I'm so blessed.  We appreciate your prayers at this time.  I'm resting in God.  He is our only Hope and He's the help and strength that we need now and will continue to need.



During this time, I plan to be replying to emails once daily Monday through Saturday as there are puppies that need to be adopted out.  Please email me and I can easily take care of airline reservations, etc., while I'm away.  No problem.  In fact with the added expenses in the foreseeable future, it will be important that I am able to have puppies adopted out on a regular basis.  Just understand that during this period of time it will be very difficult for me to do any extras on picture taking, so you may have to be content with just the basics.  I'm sure you understand and I appreciate it.  But as for whether you may contact me, YES, please do!  Email is my first preference ( evelynlyonsmith@yahoo.com ) but you may also call me on my cellphone (308-962-0025) if you don't get me at my home. (308-268-4048)  If it's such I cannot talk, I'll just let my voice mail do it's job, and I will return your calls, I promise.  I will say though that email is the preferred method of communicating, if it's all the same to you.  Thank you again for your prayers and support at this time.  It is sincerely appreciated.  God bless you.

Mom and Dad have lived their lives serving God.  At this time they are thanking God that they know that they have endeavored to always do what they knew to do.  They know that God is taking care of them.  They are so glad that they don’t regret having lived their lives for selfish means.

                                                      ~ Sharing from My Heart ~

I look at my own life.  What am I doing with my life?  I am now 38 years old, and my life is likely ½ over.  Am I getting accomplished what I should?  Will my life amount to anything when it comes to making a difference in anyone’s life when I’m gone?  I say this with all humility, I have endeavored to serve Jesus.  He is truly my dearest Friend.  As I have looked at this example in my own family of how quickly life can come to an end, I have been reminded that I cannot be too dedicated to God.  It is impossible that I love people too much.  There is no way that I could end up living a life that is too careful before God.  I cannot possibly live a life that is too earnest after right or have goals that are too heavenly.  I’m reminded that I am placed here on earth to prepare for eternity, and I am the only one who can see that I get ready for the next life.  Lord, help me to turn the heat up even more.  You are so worthy of my all.  I desire that first of all my life be right in the sight of God.  If it is, I will be the best friend I can be, I will be the best wife and mother that I can be, I will be the most loving to all of God’s creatures.  If I am right within, that which I do will be done in honesty and from the heart, no matter what it is.  My goal is to please God and give a helping hand to those around.  That is His will for each of us.

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ As of Saturday, July 17th, 2010 ~

I am with Mom and the rest of the family, at the Bernard Mitchell Hospital in Chicago, IL.  Due to what is going on now, I will continue to be away from my Nebraskan home for 2-3 weeks.  During this time, my husband, my children, and our good friends, the Jon Russell Family are caring for each of our doggies and the little puppies.  Everything is covered and Debbie Russell loves the doggies as I do.  All is well and it's "business as usual" as the saying goes when it comes to our doggies.  Puppies can be picked up and will be flown out as they are old enough to go.  I am doing the computer end of it with my laptop and I'm setting up all of the flights, etc, with my cellphone.  Please don't hesitate to contact us about puppies.  Email is by far the most convenient method as I can check my emails when it's best in light of what is going on here with Mom.    evelynlyonsmith@yahoo.com    If you need to call me on my cell, that's fine, too.  If I can't talk just then, I'll call you back as soon as I can, if you'll leave me a message.  (308)962-0025    It's best if the puppies can go out when they're 9-10 weeks of age.  If it's later than that, the shipping prices go up, due to the size of the puppy, etc, so don't hesitate to contact me.   I can take care of what needs to be done as for the paperwork end of it while I'm away. 

Update on Becky Lyon following the Wednesday, July 14^th surgery, by daughter, Evelyn Smith           July 16, 2010

     Thank you to everyone that has prayed for us.  We so appreciate it.  I don’t know of a time we have needed it more in the past.  Thank you again, so very much.

     I had hoped to update sooner, but it’s been very difficult to do anything extra than the bare necessities as there has been much going on here.  Besides that, the emotional strain of the seriousness of all of it so weights down the brain, it seems that one can hardly put thoughts together at times.  Due to both of these reasons, I simply could not get it done before now.  I thank you for your patience.  I will do my best to give some details here, so you know how it’s going.

     All of us six children were in to see Mom at the Chicago hospital before they took her back to prepare her for surgery.  It was a bittersweet time as it was precious but yet painful not knowing if she would slip away from us while in surgery.  We arrived around 5:45am, and they took her back somewhere around 6:15am.  There was a rather large waiting room, and in the back a TV room.  It held something like 20 chairs, and since there was no one in there, we went in there and turned off the TV.  It worked out that no one else came in the room other than our family and we spent the entire day there as a family, separated from all of the others that were in the waiting room area.

     Pre-op took a long time as they were preparing for most serious surgery.  I don’t understand the terminology, but they said “green filter” was something they did.  Esther explained that it is the clamping off of major sources of blood flow in different directions, so as to minimize bleeding and also to stop blood clots from going to the heart during surgery.  The message came to us at 11:17am that they had actually begun the main surgery at that time.

     My what a long day that was, waiting and waiting, knowing that there was nothing more we could do but pray and trust the doctors and nurses and those working on Mom. At a couple of points, Dad got up and hurried out.  Both times he was gone a couple of hours.  We called to check on him but he said he was fine but needed to be alone.  We would go from visiting some to total quietness.  Knowing that it was most serious. 

     Five hours after they said they had started surgery, they sent a message in by the receptionist of the waiting area that they were concluding the surgery.  The surgery left the finishing of closing her up, etc, to other members of the team and at five something he was talking with us.  This was what he shared.

     He said that this surgery was not a gratifying one for him as he found Mom’s cancer to be even more extensive that he had thought it was after he had reviewed Mom’s test results a couple of weeks ago.  He wasn’t happy with how things were, but he felt he had done the best he could with the situation.

     He knew from Mom before the surgery that she wanted him only to do that which would really be beneficial to her and not take away the quality of the time she would have left.  He said due to that, he chose the course he took.  He said that he saw that the cancer literally covers every organ in the abdomen. Due to this reason, he knew there was no sense in even doing the hypo-chemo liquid treatment.  He said it’s only successful in cases where there is a small amount of cancer here and there.  There is simply too much cancer.  The second reason he did not do so is because Mom’s kind of cancer does not respond to chemotherapy, whether this hot chemo liquid kind or the treatments she took earlier this spring.

     He found that she has cancer over all of the exterior of her internal organs. The cancer in the lower part of the abdomen is the most dense.  He said it’s literally hard as a brick.  Though he would have liked to have removed it, he said he couldn’t as it’s so hard.  He said it’s around the organs and that’s why the organs are still functioning.  I asked him if the cancer would invade the organs and he said no, that is not the way this kind of cancer works.  He said that it literally jumps and wherever it lands it goes to growing there, too, but it stays outside the organs.

     Due to something else he said though, I don’t quite understand it, but I’m sure that is due to my not being knowledgeable of medical things.  He said that he saw that the colon was completely encased in the tumor.  He saw that in order to remove the cancer there, he would have to remove the entire bowel.  He said that if he were to have tried to remove the cancer from the colon, it was so much a part of the colon by now that he would leave holes in the colon.  He found the stomach quite the same way.  At first he thought the stomach wasn’t too bad as he saw walnut sized tumors on her stomach.  He said that he then slid his hand in behind the stomach and found the entire back of the stomach was covered with a sheet of cancer about 1 ½” thick. He said the cancer goes clear up to the bottom of the esophagus.  He said the entire stomach would have had to come out, too, if he was going to get rid of the cancer.  He said he knew though that there was no reason to take the stomach and colon out now as they are still working as the cancer is even denser lower, and he can not clear it out.  Since he can’t get it, there is no cure and he knew Mom didn’t want him to take any quality of life she still has. 

     He said that he was amazed at her condition when he opened her up.  There was massive amounts of tumor and the fluids.  He said he has no way of measuring all of the fluids he took out but he said it was an awful lot.  Also, he removed a basket ball size portion from a tumor that was between her backbone and her intestines.  He did not get it all, but the amount he got from that one tumor alone was a basket ball in size.  That tumor alone with other tumors Mom has, are posterior and as they grow, they are forcing the organs out.  He said it’s very understandable all of the back pain she has had.  The same is true of the tumor that is up around her stomach area.  It’s back in the body and pushing the stomach, etc, out as it grows.  He said that the tumors are growing back into the body as well, for instance the backbone area.

     He explained that the reason he could not take off all of that large tumor was because of this.  Certain large arteries/veins run along the backbone, including part of the aorta. If he would have cut along the back bone and removed more of the tumor, he would have severed those and he would have lost her within moments.

     He said that if he would have gone any further with the surgery, it would have started out as adding another 12 hrs. to the surgery right away, and then something else that was 2 hrs., and then could continue to add up after that.  He said that in order to have done the hot chemo liquid deal for her, he would have had to remove every single organ from her abdomen because the cancer is already so advanced.  Even then he couldn’t get all of the cancer, so he knew to stop.  Since that time, we’ve heard Mom say to Dr. Choi that she thanks him for stopping where he did as that was what she wanted.

     I asked the surgeon if he could give us an idea as to the length of time she would have.  He wouldn’t even give an idea at all.  He did say that he was open to doing another surgery later to remove some of the symptoms like bloating if Mom should decide to do so. At this point,  Mom says never again as she has really suffered with this surgery.

     Other than the possibility of surgery to again remove fluids, etc, he said that they would only be able to help her in managing the pain of her cancer.  He talked of contacting a pain clinic to have them work with Mom as the pain will continue to be a problem.

     Due to the fact that he didn’t do the hot chemo liquid part, he said that Mom wouldn’t be kept under like they had planned to do for a couple of days in ICU, and instead she would go to a regular room probably in a couple of hours.  He said it was likely that he would let her go home from the hospital in 5-7 days if there were no complications.

     We were told about an hr. later that they were having difficulty getting her pain under control and so she would likely be in recovery until 7:30pm.  We waited and waited for Mom to be released from the recovery.  At 8:15pm, we heard over the intercom the request for the anesthesia team 10+ times within 3 minutes.  Since I knew that 4 hrs. before they had said that they were concluding the surgery, I knew that she should have been out long before that.  I told the family that I thought they may be calling for help for Mom as this was not normal.  It ended up that that was the fact.  Mom was in so much pain and they simply couldn’t get it under control.  Mom really went through it, bless her heart.  After I made my comments of thinking that something was wrong and that that call was for her, we all fell silent and Dad went to ask if he could please go be with her in recovery.  As expected, permission was denied.

     We were sitting there about 45 min. later when we heard a man calling to us.  We turned and there was a gentleman that was pushing a hospital bed towards a hospital room.  The corridor he was going to go down was probably 35’ away and we would have never noticed him and we thanked and thanked him for alerting us.  He said, “Could you please come?  I think you are her family and she has been calling and calling for you all from way on the other side of the hospital.  She’s been calling a long time.” Everyone just jumped up and Dad bolted to her side.  She looked so pitiful, I could hardly take it.  She said, “Please, you all can’t leave me!  I have hurt so bad.  You have to stay with me!”  Dad was bending over her and saying, “Yes, Sweetie, I’m here.  I won’t leave you.  You’re going to be alright.  I’ll be here, don’t worry about that.”  The man then told us that he needed 10 min. to get her in her room and then different ones could come in to see her.  It was clear that she was in no shape for many of us at all, though she needed a couple, so most of us left the hospital then and Dad and Esther stayed to be with Mom.

      She put through a terrible night and at present her mind is still much filled with the thoughts of that agonizing night anytime she is awake.  She feels panicked when the thoughts come but the Lord is helping her.  Due to what she suffered in the Recovery Room and then through that first night, she is quite clingy and cannot rest unless someone is close at all times.  At present, I am sitting in her hospital room and typing this as she is resting.  I’ve had to stop probably 4 times while typing this, but as she dozes, I type a few more lines.

     No one has come to the hospital to visit and that truly has been the best thing because of how much she has been through.  She said she feels anxiety at the thought of even trying to take a call or having to talk with someone if they came.  The pain she has endured has really worked on her emotionally and her nerves are greatly affected.  Please pray that God will strengthen her.  It seems from what we children can see that Mom is having at least as difficult of a time dealing with the trauma emotionally as she is trying to deal with the aftermath of her surgery when it comes to incision pain, etc., etc.

     Thank you again for your prayers.  I hope this has not been too detailed.  We just received so many calls on our cell phones from those that are praying and different ones want to know.  We don’t mind sharing and trust we haven’t been too lengthy.  Thank you again for everything!

     PS. Due to the fact I need to run now to go help Mom with something, I’ll not proofread this.  Please forgive me any mistakes.  I appreciate it!

~ Friday, June 11th, 2010 ~

Update on Becky Lyon(by daughter, Evelyn Smith)…..June 11, 2010

     This has been quite the week for Mom and Dad.  They were to have left for PA on Tuesday morning and gone ½ way, arriving in PA on Wednesday.  That would give them a few days for any pre-op details that needed done, including a visit to meet the surgeon.  About an hr. before they were to leave, the phone rang.  They were calling from Pittsburgh saying that the surgery had been canceled.  They said that since Mom and Dad don’t have insurance and apparently don’t have the means to pay for the surgery themselves, it was against hospital policy to proceed with the surgery.  Wow, what a shock that was!  After asking a couple more questions, Mom could see that they had truly come to a dead end there, Pittsburgh.  The lady speaking to Mom told her that they would see if there was anyone in IL that would consider doing that kind of an operation for Mom.

     Thursday morning, the lady from Pittsburgh called back and gave Mom the names and phone numbers of three different surgeons in the Chicago area.  They all did that kind of surgery, but she didn’t know if they would accept specific kinds of financial assistance.  So, Mom called the three surgeon’s doctors’ offices.  Only one said that he would be willing to see Mom and review her case.  (Incidentally, my sister Esther has done research and found that the only two areas in the nation that offer this kind of surgery is in Pittsburgh and Chicago.)  

     Let me insert here that when I learned of the cancellation of the surgery and realized that it had been a real blow to Mom, I asked Danny, my husband if I could hurry away and see her for a few days.  So I took the rest of that day to prepare for my trip and the next morning, Wednesday morning, the 9^th, I pulled out to go see Mom in South Pekin, IL.  Eleven hours later and 665 miles later, I pulled in.  I had told Mom to plan whatever she wanted to do with me until Saturday morning and we would do it.  Incidentally, we’ve been having a marvelous time.  I brought Tri-Ominos and Scrabble to play with Dad.  It’s been good being with Mom and Dad, Bobby, Rachel and Ashlyn.  Mom just keeps saying that it’s meant so much to her and I think she’s telling the truth!  (Ha!)  Thank the Lord.  He is so good.  Once a day, I run into town where I have internet service and I catch up my emails.  So I’m sitting here in Culver’s right now typing up this update.

     Due to the fact that Mom has been feeling weaker and the bloating is getting worse, she had set up an appointment to see Dr. Byler-Dann this morning, Friday morning, the 11^th.  (You may remember that Dr. Byler-Dann is the doctor that Mom started out with, and she was the surgeon who did Mom’s surgery on Dec. 31^st.)  This morning’s doctor’s visit was quite a challenge for Mom and the rest of us.  In short, this is what we learned.

     First of all, Dr. Byler-Dann told Mom that she would advise Mom and Dad to pursue the lead of the surgeon up in Chicago.  She said, “Why don’t you go check him out, and then decide by how you feel?  I don’t know him personally, but I would say that it wouldn’t hurt to go see him, and maybe something can work out.”    So Mom and Dad are planning to do just that.  In talking with them at that surgeon’s office, they told Mom that they would call back with an appt. date to see the doctor, but it was looking like June 22^nd, at this time.  At that time the surgeon would review Mom’s condition and he would make a decision as to whether he felt he could help her.  If so, a surgery date would be set then after that.  Mom and Dad have decided to just follow this lead and see if anything opens up. 

     So that was the encouraging part of Mom’s visit to Dr. Byler-Dann, the go-ahead on the other surgeon who is at the University of Chicago, from what we have been told.  Dr. Byler-Dann told Mom that she had studied her newest test results and she could see that the cancer is growing.  She said, “The CAT Scan doesn’t show us the smallest details, but where there is substantial change, we can see that.  I saw that the tumor that is on your stomach(meaning the stomach as an organ) has grown upwards and out and is advancing in addition to the other cancerous activity that is going on.”  We had not been told at all that Mom had a tumor on her stomach.  Mom fell silent then said, “Oh, do I have a tumor on my stomach?  I know that I have two large tumors in the pelvis. As to my having a tumor on my stomach, I had not realized that.”  Dr. Byler-Dann confirmed that that was so.  Mom then placed her hand on the top of her abdomen and said, “So that is what a lot of this bloating and filling out is, right?”  Again, Dr. Byler-Dann confirmed.

     The hardest part for Mom today was when she asked Dr. Byler-Dann this question.
“If after the other surgeon sees my case, he deciphers that he cannot help me, would you then do a smaller surgery and relieve me of a bunch of this fluid and gain me some time?  Dr. Byler-Dann lowered her head a little, closed her eyes and shook her head no.  She said, “I’m sorry, it wouldn’t really help you.  The cancer is such that I wouldn’t be able to make a difference for you by doing surgery.”  Mom said, “Then, if the other doctor can’t help me, and you can’t either…….I’ll just trust God and probably go on to Heaven then.”  It was a serious moment indeed.  Dr. Byler-Dann said very gently, “Yes.”  Esther my sister has explained that for Dr. Byler-Dann to do the surgery would be the equivalent of the following.  Surveying an entire field of dandelions and reaching in and taking a fistful.  It simply would do nothing to help.

     So, as I’ve been hearing Mom say today, humanly speaking, it would appear that the doctor in Chicago is the last option.  Mom said, “If that runs into a dead end as well, then that’s it.”  We’ve done talking as a family this afternoon, and we know that the same God that had Mom’s situation in His capable Hands when it looked like there were several options, and windows of hope, is the same God Who is still holding Mom’s situation.  We will trust Him.  We will lean on Him.  We will accept that He is God and is in charge. 

     Lord Willing, Mom and Dad hope to go to Hepzibah Camp in Dixon, MO next week.  Mom and Dad have wanted to go for 10 years now and if they can, they will be there.  Pray that this will be a special time for them.  Then Tuesday after the camp ends, it’s likely that they will go to Chicago for that appt. to see the surgeon there.  Pray that the Lord will continue to lead and direct.

     I see that from 5 weeks ago when Mom and Dad left my place in Nebraska that Mom has failed physically.  She’s weaker.  Today she shocked Dad and I.  We were exiting the doctor’s office and she said, “I don’t know why my purse is so heavy, but I just can’t carry it anymore.  Doug, will you please carry it?”  Dad took it and then raised his eyebrows in surprise to me.  He held it out to me and said quietly, “How heavy is this?”  I said, “Between three and four pounds, and closer to three, right?”  He said, “Yeah, that’s what I would have thought.”  It was quite an eye-opener to us how weak Mom must be feeling.  Mom has expressed desire to visit me again in Nebraska, if her surgery isn’t too soon.  I’d love to have her and hope it will work out, but I see she doesn’t have the strength she used to have.  Only God knows if she’ll actually be able to make it out to visit again.  If not, I’ll hurry back here as soon as I can.  If there is surgery in Chicago, I’ll plan to be there.

     Mom had a WONDERFUL time with her siblings last week.  (Incidentally, when I mentioned that she was the youngest of 7 daughters in the last update, I fear that was misleading.  I’m sorry.  She has 3 brothers also, who are equally dear to her.  Mom is from a family of 10 children, and she is the 9^th child, the youngest of the girls of the family.)  She has told me about the wonderful week she had with her siblings. She made it clear that each part of it was so precious and special to her.  God truly gave her and Daddy a wonderful time with Mom’s side of the family.  All were doing all they could to make it just the most special time it could be.  I thank God for this wonderful blessing.  God is good.  What a wonderful blessing He gave when He gave us families.  I’m glad He planned it that way!

     Thank you again for your prayers and concern.  We appreciate it.  We’re trusting an Almighty God and He’s not about to fail His children.  He is always good!

~ Friday, June 4th, 2010 ~

Becky Lyon’s Surgery Date - June 15th, 2010 in Pittsburgh, PA
At the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Shadyside


     Mom is having to cut her visit a little short this week with her siblings in MI as she is going to have to have a lot of tests run in preparation for surgery in Pittsburgh.  These particular tests are to be run in Peoria, IL.


     Mom is to meet with her surgeon in his office on Friday, June 11th in Pittsburgh.  They will then spend the weekend with some dear friends that we were on the mission field with in Taiwan….Rev. & Mrs. Robert Pelton.  They have graciously opened their home for any of us(family as well) to stay at as they are only 45 min. from the hospital.  They are also happy for Mom and Dad to stay there before and after the surgery as long as Mom needs a place to recuperate.  We are thanking the Lord for this.  God is so good and so are His people!


     At this point, with as serious as the surgery will be, all of us 6 siblings plan to be in Pittsburgh.  I’m glad that this is working out as I know that Dad needs support.


     I will either travel from NE on Saturday, the 12th or Monday, the 14th.  There are some factors that will affect which date I will travel.  I will then likely be staying for 3 weeks or so.


     Because of our puppy business, I am preparing for airport runs with the puppies and such through the end of June, so there’s a lot to see to.  My husband, Danny, will be here to make those, unless Mom has complications and he has to come to PA with our children.  In that case, our close friends, Jon & Debbie Russell, will see that everything is covered in regards to our puppy business so that it will be business as usual on this end.


     I will try to send updates from time to time following Mom’s surgery so you all will know how to pray.  Thank you once again!

~ Friday, May 28th, 2010 ~

Well!  Surprise, surprise!  I actually was the one that had to have surgery last weekend!   I've had very minimal trouble with a hernia for over 15 years anyhow, so little that I didn't know if it would ever require surgery.  I carried our oldest child(over 19 years ago) for a full 10 month pregnancy.  She was born weighing 10 lbs. 15 1/4 oz!  I really think that my trouble began back then. 

Last Friday, May 21st, I awakened in pain and spent the day in bed.  When by the next morning I realized that I was still hurting and that it wasn't a problem that was going to go away, I awakened my husband and told him that I thought that today was going to be an ER day for me.   He agreed that it was the smart thing to do. It took a long time to get things around since I was in pain and moving slow, but after doing so we drove the 80 miles to the Kearney, NE Emergency Room.

The Lord helped everything to just fall into place so nicely.  I arrived at the ER at 2:15pm.  Within 25 min., I had already been examined by 3 doctors, all of whom tried to push it back in, to no avail.  The last doctor who worked on me was the surgeon on call, and he called for emergency surgery.  He was fearful that the bowel was strangled and he said waiting until the next day could really complicate matters.  He warned that as it was already, it was already life-threatening and they wouldn't know how extensive it was until they opened me up.

By 4:45pm I was under anesthetic and they were operating.  Wow!  That's fast!  You know how long it usually takes when one goes to the ER!   I didn't know anything until 6:30pm when they were telling me I was through with surgery.  It ended up that the membrane that is the cushioning between the intestines and the muscle wall was what was sticking through two different hernia holes.  The surgeon explained that one hernia was the size of a quarter and the other the size of a dime.  He snipped between the two and made it one larger hernia.   That gave him the needed room to get all of that membrane material poked back through and positioned right.  They then put in a 3.2" diameter mesh and then sewed the muscles over that and then glued the skin over that.

I was in the hospital until Sunday evening and this week I have spent substantial time in bed.  At least with a 5" incision, it seems that people expect me to go easy on myself and so I feel less guilty resting while there's work still all around me!  My family, friends and church family have been wonderful.  They've helped in every way possible and the Lord has given me several good days recovering.  Everything seems to be healing nicely for which I thank the Lord.

I had thought that if I had to have surgery, I wanted to wait until Mom was through this crucial surgery.  Well, when things turned like they did, I didn't have the option of waiting.  Now it's so nice to know that the surgery is behind me and by the time Mom has her surgery, I should be pretty much back to my old self, minus some of my regular endurance and speed I am sure!

As for Mom.....her medical records have now all be transferred to Pittsburgh and she's still waiting to hear what the surgery date will be.  She is presently with my baby sister, Rachel, in the Peoria area.  She has plans next week to return to Michigan where most of her siblings live and have a nice visit with her family.  She asked Dr. Byler-Dann if she should cancel that in case the surgery would be next week.  Dr. Byler-Dann said that she was sure that the surgery date would not be before next week was already past. So if Mom feels up to it, she can feel free to go be with her family.  So that is what she and Dad plan to do next week.  This has been a very difficult time for Mom's siblings as you can imagine.  She's the youngest of 7 daughters and it's been such a shock to them that their baby sister has such serious terminal cancer.  Pray that this next week will be a very special time for everyone involved.  I know that all of them will treasure it, and Mom is so looking forward to it.  My, there are some blessings in life that one could not buy for any amount of money.  Here's one of them.  Lord, give them a precious, sweet, peace-filled week!

Mom just paces herself.  She pretty much rests for a few hours and then is able to visit with different ones or even slip out for a lunch for a couple or three hours.  Then she has to rest another few hours.  So she has to sleep a lot, but is still getting to do that which is enjoyable and fun to her.  She is enjoying the blessings that God has given her, and she is just trusting God with the coming days.  Isn't that what we all must do?  I'm so glad that her discomfort is kept under control by medication and she is able to have these weeks before her surgery will alter her comfort level, etc.

They have led her to believe that she is likely to go in on a Thursday, into Pittsburgh, PA, and they'll admit her and then do a full day of testing.  Then Friday will be an all day surgery, the serious surgery she's been looking towards for months now.  Mom is thinking that it's likely to be the Thursday and Friday of June 11th & 12th.  But we're still waiting for confirmation that it will be that week for sure.  I will post the date when we know it.

Thank you again for your prayers.  We hear from those of you everyday that tell us that you're praying.  We can tell!  God's grace has been administered to us through this time and we thank Him.  We also thank you, our precious family, loved ones and friends!  Have a Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Everyone!

~ Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 ~

     Unfortunately, we did not hear any word today on when Mom's surgery will be.  Thank you.

~ Thursday, May 13th, 2010 ~

     Here’s a little more news on Mom. (Becky Lyon)  Mom called me this afternoon and let me know that they had heard from her surgeon there in South Pekin.  They were informed that the specialists in Pittsburgh had contacted her surgeon, Dr. Byler-Dann.  The surgeons in Pittsburgh have decided that they will do the surgery.  Mom and Dad are to receive another call on Tuesday, May 18th, and at that time they say they will give us the date of when the surgery will take place.


     I am trying to get things in place where I can be gone from here in Nebraska for as long as I will be needed in Pittsburgh.  I understand that my sister, Esther, hopes to be there as well.  I feel it’s important that I be there for the surgery and until Mom is released from the hospital and things are predictable and stable.


     Mom and Dad are now up in Mitchell, SD, visiting Sam & Clarissa and their family, Kenneth & Jennifer and their family, and Becca and Travis.  Unless the surgery cuts their visit short, they plan to be there until Saturday, May 22nd, when they plan to travel back towards IL.


     I will send another update as soon as I know when the surgery is to be.  We appreciate everyone’s prayers and concern for us at this time.  Thank you and God bless you!

~ Monday, April 26th, 2010 ~

Mom & Dad arrived around 4:15pm!  What a time of rejoicing that they are here with us.  What a blessing!

We had a nice supper together of taco plates and just enjoyed being together.  God is so good!

Second Entry to Blog - Saturday, April 24, 2010

~ Update on Sis. Becky Lyon ~

(This was sent out to many of Mom and Dad's friends, relatives, and loved ones.  I thought I'd just paste it here as an update as it's the latest info.)

     Greetings in Jesus’ Name from Beaver City, Nebraska!  I am Evelyn Smith, Doug & Becky Lyon’s oldest daughter.  Continually, we are being asked for an update on how Mom is doing.  We appreciate the love and concern that God’s people continue to show and we thank you with all of our hearts for your prayers.  God still answers prayer!  Praise the Lord!

     Mom went through 4 chemo treatments and then two weeks following her last treatment, she underwent extensive testings of different kinds.  That date was April 6th.  Then on April 13th, she returned to her chemo doctor for the results.  That morning she had blood drawn again and various tests were done.    Therefore all of the tests that her doctor had to go by were as current as possible.

     Her chemo doctor was honest and up front with her, Dad and Bobby and Rachel, for which we are very grateful.  Some prefer not to know what’s going on, but Mom desires to face every part in reality.  He told her that the “marks” from the blood work testing that they had been doing each time before Mom would go through the next chemo treatment had not been encouraging.  There are two different  parts of that and the first time the numbers dropped from in the 130’s down to right about 100, and on the other part the numbers had dropped from 28 to 24.  Of course we didn’t know if this would good or bad, but the doctor had like it…that first visit that is.  (For a little explanation, we were told that with this “marks” testing the normal range for the first was somewhere in the 20’s.  Mom’s test results had read over 130 on that first test.,   On the other one, we were told that the single digits were norm, while Mom’s was 28.)  He said that the blood work test results of after that first treatment had been encouraging, but in order for them to see that the chemo is making a difference, the numbers are to continue to drop just as quickly as the first test.  With Mom’s tests, he told us that the numbers had remained pretty steady or even gone up for the tests after that.

     He also told her that one tumor alone had grown from 10 centimeters to 13 centimeters in the 6 weeks that she had the four chemo treatments, two weeks apart each.   He didn’t feel that there would be any advantage in Mom having any more chemo treatments as he said nothing was being accomplished.  He didn’t feel that he could be of any help to us anymore.  In his estimation, he thought that if nothing else were done for Mom, she was likely to have 6 to 12 months, and with complications it could be shorter.  He then turned Mom over to the care of the physician that had done Mom’s first surgery on Dec. 31st.

     Dr. Rebecca Byler-Dann is the wonderful surgeon that we’ve mentioned before.  She truly seems to be a blessing from Heaven to us at this time.  Mom went to see her on Friday, April 23rd.  She had gone over all of the test results, scans, etc., from the chemo doctor.  She told Mom that she had taken the scans and sent them on to the doctors in Pittsburgh that do the surgery that we’ve mentioned before.  (I’ll explain more about that surgery a little further down.)  These doctors are the specialists that trained Dr. Byler-Dann, and are very experienced.  She said that if Mom was alright with it, those doctors would give them an honest evaluation after looking over the scans.  She said that they are realistic and honest as well, and if there is not sense in even doing the surgery, they will say so.

     Now for a little on the surgery itself.  Mom’s cancer is a mucinous  cancer, meaning that the cancer produces mucous.  According to what the doctors have explained to us, this is what we know.  This mucous is a very thick, jelly-like consistency and therefore it can not be drawn out, like with a syringe, for instance.  It’s very thick.  Mom’s entire abdomen is filled with this substance and here and there throughout the whole, there are cancerous cells and satellites.  This means that it’s already metastasized, meaning that the cancer has already spread and taken over multiple areas with the satellites like it does.  If Mom has this surgery, they would open her up and in simple language, they would clean out as much of that substance as they can.  They do not give us any hope of recovery, but the thought is that if they can clean it out that would gain Mom some time.

     Mom asked Dr. Byler-Dann how much time she would give her if she had surgery or not.  Of course, anything could change this, but here is what her doctor said.  Without surgery, the likelihood is that she would feel relatively good for a few more weeks and would likely have 6 months from this point.  With surgery, though there are risks involved with having this major, specialized surgery, there is also the possibility of the gaining of substantial amount of time.  Dr. Byler-Dann felt that if they cleaned it all out, Mom may even have a couple of years.

     Mom had previously thought that she’d turn down the possibility of the surgery, but hearing that it could gain her as much time as that, she felt not to do so.  She told Dr. Byler-Dann that she would await the answer from the doctors up in Pittsburgh and if they feel they can help her, she’ll allow them to do the surgery.  So that is how it stands now.  She expects to hear from her doctor as to what the other specialists decide probably in a week or so.  If there is surgery, it’s likely to be before May is over, but we don’t know that yet for certain.

     Mom asked Dr. Byler-Dann is there was any reason that she couldn’t go see her children again.  Dr. Byler-Dann felt that there would be no need for Mom to stay in Peoria as she’s not seeing the doctor as often now.  Many of her visits were due to the chemotherapy.

     So…..even as I type this, Mom is headed west!  Yay!  They are going around 250 miles today, and then will rest over Sunday as Dad preaches in Chariton, IA.  Then, Lord Willing, they will come to our place here in Beaver City, Nebraska on Monday, the 26th.  We are so excited and can’t wait to have our few days with them.  We plan to make it as special as possible.  You know….nothing’s too good for Mama….that’s the idea!    Then the plan is to go up to Mitchell, SD, to visit Becca, Kenneth and Sam and their families the following week, before returning to South Pekin, IL where Rachel, our baby sister, lives.  It’s likely that Mom and Dad will swing by Esther’s on the way home, which would be in Rochester, MN. 

     We’re praying that Mom will be able to do the visiting that she desires to do.  Every moment is precious and we’re doing our utmost to seize each moment. 

     Many ask as to how well Mom feels.  Well, at this point she is not really doing too bad.  What she has to deal with is constant lower back pain.  The chemo doctor had a couple of months ago said that it was arthritis, but last week did admit that it’s due to the growth of  the cancer.  Evidently, the cancer is causing pressure on that area.  Mom is taking Tylenol regularly, and then as she needs it, she takes prescription pain medicine.  Before she would only take it maybe once every 3 days or so, but now it’s become a daily thing.  She calls it her “real medicine”.    When I talked with her on the phone today, she said that in two hours of riding in the van, and that despite two stops, too, she had already had to given in and taken her “real medicine”.  Other than the back pain, Mom feels good.  She makes it out to church and does things like eating out with us.

     We would ask your prayer in this matter of the Pittsburgh operation and whether it’s God’s will that it happen.  Mom does not desire to do it, if it’s only going to gain her a few weeks and those agonizing ones.  If that’s the way it’s going to be, Mom would rather enjoy the quality of life that she has now until it changes.  This would be rather than go through surgery and it gain her just a small time and that not a good quality of time.  But if it means her gaining substantial time, she is willing though it will be a tough, tough surgery.  She told me yesterday, “Evelyn, if they lose me on the operation table, the Lord would just take me on to Heaven anyhow.”  That’s true.  Pray that if the surgery is supposed to be, the surgeons will send back the report that they feel they can help her.  If it’s not to be, pray that God will help the surgeons to be up front and let us know that there is no help that they can offer her.  We thank you for your prayers.

     Mom is completely at peace and knows that she is ready to go in her heart.  Thank God!  She was testifying to me on the phone about a week ago and was telling me about how God had given her that scripture and she knew that He was going to present her faultless before the Father!  Glory to God!  May we each one live in such a way that we know that we’re ready to go.  That is my earnest desire.

With Christian Love,
Evelyn Smith

                                           Starting of an ongoing "Blog"

~ Entry on April 1, 2010 ~

Mom has just come through a cycle of 4 chemotherapy treatments.  She is to go back in for extensive testing the week of April 5^th.  This will enable her team of doctors to decide what would be the best course of action to take.  They will see what process they have or have not made in the 4 chemo treatments that she has had.  Though they have given no hope of her being cured, their thought is that if the cancer can be shrunk to a certain point, they may be able to perform surgery again.  At that time they are thinking that they would try to clean out some of the masses of cancer and gain her some time. 

One thing that they’ve told us to plan on is a specialized surgery in Pittsburgh by a highly professional team of cancer doctors. Though I do not know the medical terms, this team is  experienced in a seldom used technique, where hot chemo liquid is poured right in the cancerous area, and used to loosen up that substance and then that substance removed.  With it as it is now, they said it’s what they call a “frozen pelvis” which means that it’s one solid mass where they can’t tell where one organ begins or stops, and where another one begins.  It’s just one solid mass.  The cancer has taken over the entire abdomen.  It makes the regular surgery option of cutting away the cancer impossible.  To cut into it is to cut into vital organs.  So the best they can do is to try to shrink it back some and work with the chemo procedure described above.

When Mom’s tests are completed next week, the doctors will be able to tell her more of what things look like at this time.  She will find that out the week of April 12^th.  At that time, we as a family will know if the Pittsburgh situation will be scheduled right away or if the doctor will order another cycle of 4 more chemo treatments before the surgery.

I do not know when Mom’s surgery in Pittsburgh will be, but at that time I will plan to be with her and Dad for the entire time.  This will be a most serious situation and we could lose Mom.  My place will be to be with her, even if I am unable to quite keep up with answering my puppy business emails, etc.  My husband tells me that yes, I am exactly right.  I appreciate his wanting me to be with my parents.  Thank you, Honey!

I will plan to update when we know when that will be.  I thank you again each one for caring and praying.  God answers prayer!

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                                 ~ About My Childhood & Family ~

Mine was a very unusual childhood.  I thought it was so common and so ordinary until I reached my upper teens and realized most Americans do not live out their childhood in the same way I did.  My experiences were completely different than even my cousins and closest American friends.  You see, I was a missionary’s child.

I would not trade my memories for anything in the world.  I have thought many times of writing a series of children’s books, sharing of my childhood days and my experiences growing up in the Orient.  Mama knows that I like to write and share and has told me for years that she wanted me to be sure and write the books while she was still here with me.  That was my plan, but I thought that I would have many more years to have my mother.  Only God knows how much longer she will be lent to us, but it would appear that her time is very limited.  In the busyness of life, I have not had the time to devote to writing, and thought that would be something I would do when my children were raised, and things settled down a little.  Maybe I will write yet.  I don’t know.  I do know that writing has been something I’ve done from a child, starting as a way to keep in contact with my grandparents, loved ones and friends that were here in the US.  So writing is something I do enjoy.

Taiwan was my home for most of my years before I married.  Let me go back a little further first though.  Mom was from Ashley, MI and was the 9^th of 10 children.  Dad lived in Everett, WA until he was 15 years of age, when his parents moved their family of 7 children to the Kansas City Area, where Dad and his siblings were able to attend Kansas City Bible School and College.  Dad was the 2^nd oldest, with one older sister, 13 months of age his senior. 

In process of time, Dad graduated from the high school department and while he was in college, Mom came from MI to visit her older sister who was there in College at KCCBS.  Dad was doing janitorial work and remembers his first glimpse of Mom.  He still insists that it was love-at-first-sight!  Mom knew nothing of his thoughts, but a few months later came to attend Bible College there.

You can figure out the rest.  They dated for some time and then married.  Mom had always had a call to the mission field and Dad a call to preach.  As you can imagine, preaching is to be done on the mission field as well, so it worked out nicely.

First of all, Mom and Dad went to their first pastorate in Olrichs, SD.  I was only about 1 yr. of age at the time.  I am the oldest in our family of 6 children, consisting of 4 girls and 2 boys.  While in Olrichs, Dad knew that God was leading them to mission work in Taiwan.  He applied to a mission board and they accepted Mom and Dad.  They needed someone to fill in though in Guatemala for 6 months before they sent Mom and Dad to Taiwan.  Mom and Dad did that, and before I was 3 years of age, our small family of 4 was settled in Taiwan.  Kenneth, my brother next to me is 13 months younger than I am.

I spent 3 terms in Taiwan with my family and they returned for a 4^th term after I was married.  I was in Taiwan through my childhood until I was 15.  I could share much about our Chinese friends and experiences.  I could speak with you in Mandarin Chinese if you were here and even tell you my story in Chinese.  I could share of times of humor, times we were in great danger, circumstances that are unlike any that I experience in my life now, if I but had the time.  There are many precious memories with our Chinese friends, and a whole childhood jam-packed full of goodies.  We had so much family time and there was so much love and contentment.  Yes, it’s likely I’ll be writing, though I don’t claim to be a good writer.  My children love for me to share these experiences with them, and find it fascinating and sometimes extremely humorous.  I have thought that if and when I do write, it will be as a gift to my family, as one of these days I will be gone.  But if the memories are written down, there will be a record.

We settled in Thomasville, NC when I was 16 years of age and Mom and Dad were there with the family until I was 20 years of age.  I graduated from Carolina Christian Academy and married Danny Smith.  We have two children, Dorcas, who is 19 and James who is 15 ½.  God has been so good to us.

Mom and Dad have pastored for the past 11 years or so.  Their last pastorate was up in Mitchell, SD, home of the Corn Palace.  They were to have gone to their next pastorate on Jan. 18^th, 2010.  They were going to Arcadia, CA where they were going to be pasturing a small church for Wesleyan Holiness Association of Churches.  On the side, they were going to work with Chinese who live in their area.  Dad was so excited when he went to check out the church there.  He called me, “Hey, Evelyn!  You won’t believe it!  The public high school here is 90% Asian.  Everywhere I go I see Chinese and I talk with them and I feel like I’m in Heaven!  I can’t wait to come here.  This is going to be wonderful!”  Mom and Dad had planned to go after the Christmas Holidays, but God had other plans.

During their time between the pastorate in Mitchell and their expected pastorate to come in Arcadia, their home base was here in Beaver City, NE with our little family of 4.  They arrived on Sept. 15, 2009.  My, what a blessing it was to us.  We have memories of playing games at the kitchen table, going out for Chinese food, going to church together and simply enjoying being a family.  We knew that our time would be short as Jan. was coming soon.  Also, they were making trips out to see my siblings as well, and Dad’s parents who live in Kansas City, so they weren’t here the whole time.  But we enjoyed the time they were here to the fullest.  There truly was not a moment of friction or tension between my parents, myself, my hubby and the kids over their living in with us.  It’s amazing as we look back on that time now, realizing that we didn’t have a clue what was coming just around the next corner.  God truly gave us a precious, priceless blessing in allowing Mom and Dad to live with us for that short period of time, knowing that Mom’s time was going to be shorter than we could have dreamed.

In December, Mom and Dad went to the Peoria, IL area, where my baby sister and her husband are pastoring.  Because that was kind of a central location for all of the siblings, we decided that since my sister had lots of room, that was where we would gather for Christmas as a family.  That is 675 miles from me, so a good day’s ride. Mom and Dad were to return here just 4-5 days after Christmas and be with us until they left for Arcadia.  We know that it’s not likely that Mom will ever be strong enough to come back.  That hurts down deep, but I’m trusting the Lord that He does know best.

As you know from the above beginning paragraphs, the surgeon found her to be full of cancer on Dec. 29^th, 2009.  My, what a startling surprise!  How could this be?  No, there’s simply no way!  That’s MY mama!  This can’t happen to us….it’s always someone else, right?  No, that’s simply not the truth.  It rains on the just and the unjust the Bible says, and it’s true.  My younger sister by 4 years is a nurse anesthetist.  I asked her if it’s so uncommon what we see that has happened to Mama.  She said, “No, it’s just that until now it had not touched us.  People get news like this all of the time.  It’s very common.”  Yes, that’s true.

Mom’s 9 siblings are doing all they can to have time with her as well, as the doctor told us on Dec. 29^th that Mom was already in the 3^rd of the 4 stages of cancer.  Eight have visited her from out of state, some more than once.  Also, my siblings and I continue to visit Mom and see her as much as possible.  These are highlights for Mom.

We see God’s goodness in allowing the cancer condition to come to light when Mom was in Peoria.  She is being cared for by some of the best cancer doctors there are.  Isn’t it amazing how God knows how to orchestrate our lives?!!  I’m glad He is in control.

I will try to post updates now and then, and this will be my first entry so you know what’s going on right now.  I will posted the updates higher up on the page so that they will resemble a blog in the way that the most recent additions will be towards the top and the older ones will go further and further down.