The Heavilin Herald

Marilyn talked with her Neurologist at her regular appointment and the doctor told her that from her professional guesstimation she would gather that Marilyn has about two years to live. That is fine with Marilyn. She figures she will have passed 80 and she will make it to her 60^th anniversary. The doctors said that she feels her guesstimation will stand unless Marilyn has a heart attack or a stroke during that time. So that is our goal now. . .to take any chance that we have to side step a heart attack or a stroke. We are blessed to have doctors who take a personal interest in our health.

We’ve had a very busy month. Our friends from Memphis came to visit us on October 6. They still haven’t decided where they will live on when they move here. Of course we are hoping that they choose our apartment complex. It would be wonderful to have them close by.

Lowell and Shirley Linden, from Redlands, visited on October 21 through the 24^th. The Clarks, also from Redlands, came the following weekend. We found a new place to visit when the Clarks were here, the Museum of Toys and Miniatures. Ken really enjoyed it and I think Harriett did too. Of course Marilyn had to buy a small train while she was in the gift shop. The train set will be displayed at Christmas.

We have claimed residency in Kansas now, so we were able to vote early, since Kansas has a provision for early voters. This is not an absentee ballot, but we actually went to a voting place and were able to cast our ballots a couple of weeks early. I trust all of you will vote as well. Please do not be discouraged by the current situation. God will know if you voted or not, even if it seems that your vote may be canceled out by others who are opposing your vote. I feel that we must take every opportunity to voice our opinion as Christians even if it does seem that our vote may be canceled out.

Our church is hosting Kirk Cameron in November and also the Collingsworth family will be here on November 6th. We are looking forward to hearing them. Our pastor is preaching a series on Neighboring which causes us to ask the question, “just who are our neighbors?” I have decided that all who come in contact with us are our neighbors. I am currently reading and listening to David Jeremiah and James MacDonald. I am certain they would say that everyone we come in contact with is our neighbor. That places quite a responsibility on me. Do they know I am a Christian? Do they know that I believe in a Heaven and Hell? Do they think I am willing that they go to Hell? No I am not! But do they know that? I must ask all of you, my readers, does it make a difference when people meet you? This is really something to think about.

When we celebrated our 58th wedding anniversary on October 25, the assistant manager surprised us by telling us that she had planned and wanted to pay for the dessert for the entire table. There were eight of us at the table! Obviously she is my neighbor and we had made an impression on her.

We also received a congratulatory anniversary card from our primary care doctor who wanted to tell us what an honor it was to serve such a nice couple and to know a couple who had been married this long and who enjoyed it. Apparently she is my neighbor as well and we had made an impression on her. Praise God!

Thank you for praying for us.

LY, Glen and Marilyn Heavilin

Dear ones,

Well we made it to Indianapolis and back in fairly good shape. We saw lots of people while we were there. Glen said I did very well.

We spent Friday, September 30^th with the Brownsburg High School class of 1956. Of the original 56 members there were 16 who made it to the 60^th reunion. They came from as far as Boston and Denver. We had a meal together at noon followed by the class roll call. Then in the evening we had a pizza party at a classmate’s home.

Our first day in Brownsburg was Wednesday September 28. That day we saw Glen’s brother George and his wife Cathy, and Glen’s sister Jane and her husband Bill.

On Thursday we saw Marilyn’s brother Walt. We shared a meal at the local Longhorn Steakhouse. On Saturday, we saw our good friends Jack and Carol. We got together at McAlister’s Deli. Sunday we visited Bethesda Baptist Church where we formerly attended. Since there was a Cracker Barrel nearby, we went there for dinner. You can tell we always enjoy eating.

We got home the evening of Tuesday, October 5 and had a visit with friends from Memphis on Thursday. We had met Wally and Vicki at Morro Bay when we parked next to them for several years back when we wintered at Morro Bay, California. We often went out to dinner with them while we stayed in Morro Bay for a couple of months each year. We also met them in Memphis to celebrate our anniversary since it is also Vicki’s birthday. Wally and Vicki may join us here in the apartments. It is great to think of them living in the same town as we do. Please pray about this for them. I am certain they would appreciate your prayers.

We were able to get handicapped accessible rooms for the whole trip. Marilyn only managed to fall once in the motel room in Brownsburg. She bruised her hand pretty bad, but she didn’t have to go to the hospital for which we were very grateful.

October and November are the months that we visit the doctors so perhaps Marilyn will have more answers for us next month. She has formed the habit of writing down her questions for the doctors so that she remembers to ask them what she needs to know.

Thanks for your prayers,

Glen and Marilyn

Dear ones,

On August 17, we received the word that we had sold the RV. After we thanked the Lord that we had sold it, we started looking for a new car on August 20. The utmost test was that Marilyn could get into it by herself. The only one that passed the test was the Scion IM. We received delivery on the Scion on August 26 with just 13 miles on it. WE LOVE IT! I know you will be surprised that it is a red car!! And did I mention that WE LOVE IT! We were told that since it was built by Toyota, it will be incorporated into the Corolla line by next year. So essentially, we bought another Toyota. Our RAV4 has served us well for the past 16 years with 200,000 miles plus registered on it. We trust the Scion will do as well by us as the RAV4 did. We are very happy with it so far.

We plan to drive our new car to Indianapolis on September 26 to attend Glen’s 60^th high school reunion in Brownsburg Indiana, and we plan to drive on September 27, arriving in Brownsburg on the 27^th. We will be staying in Brownsburg until October 2, at which time we will drive back home on October 3, arriving in Kansas City area by October 4.

We plan to entertain the Swanson’s, Wally and Vicki on the fifth or sixth of October. They are friends from Memphis Tennessee and they may be moving to our apartment complex around the first of the year. Please be praying about this. We would love to have them as neighbors.

I have only fallen twice since June 27. We think that is a major accomplishment. I did embarrass myself since I fell at Matt’s house. At least I had two handsome grandsons to help me get up. That was one benefit of the fall. Another benefit was that I am off Warfarin so I did not bruise nearly as badly as I might have were I taking the medicine. Another benefit was that I did not need to go to the hospital. I did heal up nicely with just a minimal amount of bruising. Much of it has faded away now, just a week later. That is a very good thing.

On August 28, we were able to hear the Liberty quartet. They were missing one member so there were only three. They were really good. On September 18, our Sunday school class is having a taco bar after church. And some time in between when we get back from Indianapolis and before the taco bar event, is Boomers and Builders, when we will all be singing the songs from the Sound of Music. That should be a lot of fun! Boomers and Builders is a new group and is aimed to include an enlarged age group.

It is encouraging to us to know that many are praying for us. Thank you for all of your concern. We do appreciate the prayers, phone calls, and letters that we have received over the past few months. Don’t be afraid of us. Marilyn will not be content until she hears from all of you.

We love you,

Glen and Marilyn

This has been a very busy month. We enjoyed the fourth of July by having a meal with Matt and family. We then had reserved seats on our balcony for the largest display of fireworks in this county. It was very impressive.

On June 29, we had a patriotic concert at our church where all of the men who served in the military were honored. The World War II veterans were brought to the front to share their names and tell which branch of the service they were in. That was very impressive.

Toward the end of June, Lauren Briggs visited Glen and me and also my brother Walt visited. It had been about five weeks since he came last. I am so glad he is close enough that he will come fairly often. He is hoping that he can visit at least once more before the end of the year. Lauren promised that she would be back as well.

On July 17 we took our dear friend Sunok Pai to our church for a concert in which the choir and orchestra performed. We could tell by the smile on her face that she really enjoyed the concert.

Next Tuesday will mark six weeks without a fall. What a day of rejoicing that will be. I have felt fairly well too. I do have lots of questions for Dr. Ford in September, but I have felt very well.

All of the physical therapy has ended, and I am doing my required exercises faithfully. I am using my Rollator every day, and I feel that it is helping me avoid falls. The heart doctor and my primary care doctor have taken me off of the Warfarin. That is a relief! So far, I have adjusted very well to the change. I am taking a small dose of aspirin each day.

Kate and Caleb both have new cars. Kate has a Honda HRV and Caleb has a new Mini Cooper. It is almost a turquoise color with racing stripes painted on the hood. It looks very classy. Kate’s Honda HRV is a very pretty dark blue color.

On July 16  Matt, Deb, Kate, and Caleb came after church that evening to have dessert with us for Matt’s birthday. I ordered a Dairy Queen ice cream cake. And we will all enjoyed that.

Glen & Marilyn

Marilyn’s brother, Walt, was able to visit from Tuesday morning to Friday night this past week. Marilyn was delighted to see him since she had not seen him since before Karen died in February 2016. They had a good visit and were able to say some things face-to-face. That really helped. We were able to visit quite a few restaurants and the Mahaffie Stage Coach Stop. Walt really enjoys Western memorabilia, so he especially enjoyed the old part of the Stage Coach Stop, which included a lot of Kansas history.

Marilyn included a visit to the ER the first evening Walt was here because she took a fall in the parking lot of the steakhouse they had visited. The visit to the ER was fairly short but included an x-ray of her left knee and a Cat-scan of her head. Fortunately they found a brain! But the rest of the visit to the ER just involved several bruises and a sore right hand. The fall had not resulted in any broken bones which was a definite answer to prayer. Her physical therapy was cut short by one day because of the fall, but that was all. Marilyn survived a couple of weeks of physical therapy, going every day for walking and hand therapy. That ended a record of three weeks. Glen is trying so hard to take good care of Marilyn, and it is very frustrating that she fell in spite of his great care to avoid such falls.

Glen had a routine endoscopy yesterday morning which resulted in the doctor saying that he expected him to pass with flying colors. The final results should come within five days but the doctor did not expect any problems. Matt and Deb were able to drive us to the hospital and stay with us during the procedure. It is so nice to be close to Matt and Deb.

Marilyn feels she has made much progress since she wrote you last in May. It is now June and she is still kicking!

Thank you for all of your prayers and for your notes personally and on Facebook. She does appreciate your personal greetings and special thoughts. She is feeling pretty good and it has been nearly 2 weeks without a fall! She is going for a month this time, maybe more!

Thank you for your encouragement and your prayer. Marilyn’s prayer is “Lord, please keep me vertical.”

Because of Him,

Glen and Marilyn Heavilin

This is the most unusual Heavilin Herald we have ever written. You all know that Marilyn has not been well for some time. She has suffered from loss of balance which has resulted in numerous falls. When we took our apartment in Kansas we found a new primary care doctor who is committed to helping us find  the cause. She connected us with a neurologist whom we have been seeing for a couple of years. We have had lots of tests and visits every six months. Always searching for the elusive cause.

Marilyn saw her Neurologist last Wednesday and she gave her a new, more complete diagnosis. After considering all of the observed symptoms, she said Marilyn has Multiple System Atrophy-P. It is often referred to as MSA-P. The P stands for Parkinsonian symptoms. MSA-P is a fatal degenerative neurological condition of the brain. It is a rare condition affecting 15,000 to 50,000 adults in the United States. Life expectancy is 5 to 10 years.  Since we have seen symptoms for some time already, we’re not sure when the count should begin. Our best guess is that Marilyn may have one to six years to live.

Apparently the Neurologist thinks Marilyn will soon be facing some major lifestyle decisions. She encouraged Glen and Marilyn to talk about those decisions now. We have been revising our Advance Healthcare Directives to make sure they reflect our current positions. This afternoon we met with the Notary Public and so we have our new versions ready to distribute to the doctors and hospitals.

MSA affects the autonomic functions controlled by the brain. That’s things such as balance, heart rate, body temperature, body movement, bladder control, speech, and swallowing. One of the major problems Marilyn will face is eating. Basically, MSA means that parts of the brain will stop working and the brain won’t tell the throat muscles how to swallow.

Marilyn thinks she is ready to go. But she states “I like it here because it is all I know. I do hope I can make it until I am 80. Just one and a half years to go! My birthday is November 4, 1937”.

In a nutshell that appears to be the future we are looking at.

Meanwhile in our day by day activities, Marilyn has had the cast removed from her left wrist and started physical therapy for the hand on Tuesday, May 3. She is basically having physical therapy every day for the next five weeks since she is having walking therapy on Monday Wednesday and Friday and hand therapy on Tuesday and Thursday. She is very busy and quite tired.

Marilyn reports, “I really thought my left hand would be able to do more than it can. I am kind of disappointed. It didn’t seem that it was that stiff. But so be it!”

Two weeks ago we took the motor home to Carthage, Missouri. It was placed on a consignment lot. Please pray that it will sell quickly.

Marilyn has had some special joys along the way. We got to have lunch with a young wife who, with her husband, is leading our Live Together workshop group. We’re meeting together for five weeks and we are working to find out what God wants us to do for the next several months or years. Amber is a very capable young woman and we had a wonderful time together. It is a very challenging class and we’re meeting very interesting people in the class. We meet on Wednesday evenings.

Marilyn was pleasantly surprised this morning when she received a phone call telling her that she had a basket of flowers delivered to the office. Once Glen brought the flowers up to the apartment, Marilyn was especially pleased to find that the flowers came from Mellyn for Mother’s Day. The main color is purple which is one of Marilyn’s favorite colors. It is a mixture of roses, green plants and a variety of different kinds of flowers. They are lovely!

Mostly, this month is filled with physical therapy appointments.

Thank you so much for continuing to pray for us and thinking of us often.

LY,

Glen and Marilyn

 This Easter we had dinner with our family and reminisced about former Easter breakfasts we used to have and that we could remember. This year I bought some Easter candy for the younger adults, no baskets just candy.

Things have changed over the years. We used to buy special Easter baskets for each of our children and fill each one with the favored candy for that child, and then we switched to buying a special item for each child. I remember that one year we bought a huge jar of dill pickles for one of the children because they really liked dill pickles.

One thing that has not changed is that we still attend church every Sunday, but particularly on Easter Sunday. I was in my 50s (Marilyn speaking) when I discovered Maundy Thursday. I remember I was so impressed with that beautiful day that I sent out postcards inviting my friends to attend a very lovely service at our church in Redlands for Maundy Thursday. One of my friends started attending our church with her family because she was so impressed with the service.

Last Sunday night, April 10, we had the privilege to attend a concert at our church in Olathe with harpist Greg Buchanan. We first heard Greg at America’s Keswick about 10 years ago. If you ever have a chance to hear him, you will hear a very strong testimony and a great concert. We encourage you to attend if you have the opportunity.

Please continue to pray for Marilyn’s brother Walt as he learns to live without Karen. He calls Marilyn about two or three times a week and she thinks he is adjusting well but grief takes as long as it takes and there will always be some dark days along the way.

Marilyn got her cast removed last Tuesday. Now she must wear a splint for two more weeks. Please pray with her that the swelling and severe pain will diminish soon.

Thank you so much for continuing your prayers for us that we will have safety and our prayer every day is that Marilyn will stay vertical. Thank you for praying we will continue to have good health as well.

Because of Him,

Glen and Marilyn

February 26, was a lovely day. We decided to go to Legends. It is a nice shopping area and had a wonderful Dress Barn and the great Famous Dave’s Restaurant! Well, first of all we discovered that the Dress Barn had been closed down, but that did not deter us, we were determined to still have a nice day. We went to Famous Dave’s restaurant and we had a delicious lunch. It was then that I announced I had to go to the bathroom and, using my cane, I could do it myself. WRONG! I had barely entered the door way when I fell. It seemed like an hour but I think it was only a few minutes when help finally came. The manager was very kind to me and Glen announced that he was taking me to the hospital to have an x-ray done on my wrist. It took about 25 minutes to arrive at the hospital closest to our home and just a few minutes more for the staff to take an x-ray of my wrist. One nurse was certain the bone was displaced but fortunately she was wrong. At the hospital they put a splint on my arm. We got an appointment and went to the same orthopedist that we went to in May 2015. He said my wrist was definitely broken and quickly placed it in a cast. The orthopedist said that I will probably have to wear it for six weeks. The break last May was in the right wrist. This time I tried to balance it out by breaking the left wrist! This break is much more painful than last time and I am limited as to what kind of pain medicine I can take since I am also on Warfarin. I have found nothing that seems to be much better than extra strength Tylenol.

Because we have an excellent cook in the family, Glen seems quite willing to cook many of our meals. Nate and Martha were willing to bring food in. We enjoyed a wonderfully prepared BBQ meal from KC Joe’s with them. Grammie provided the dessert, and we were all set for a company meal. There is definitely a bonus to being sick when the family is so near. Matt and Kate brought pizza as well and Grammie provided the dessert. We had a fabulous meal with them as well.

Our precious Karen went home to be with Jesus on February 7 and we were able to talk with her just days before on Skype. The last words she said to me, “I love you Marilyn”, are always ringing in my mind. I have found much to be thankful for since she left her earthly home. I have begun to realize just how blessed we were that God allowed her to stay so many years beyond the normal stay when one has been diagnosed with Ovarian cancer. Karen was able to lead a fairly normal life for more than six years. We were truly blessed!

I realize I am blessed as well, since I have Glen as a wonderful caregiver. Glen is very good to me and I do appreciate him. I am very thankful for the computer and for the telephone through which I am able to keep in touch with my dear friends and relatives. I am very thankful also for the television through which I can keep in touch with the outside world. However, I have not found a good Christian broadcast on television yet, any suggestions? Many of the broadcasts come very early in the morning on Sundays. I would appreciate any suggestions that you may give. So far we have just missed one Sunday of church. We are also thankful for our Sunday School class, and all who have been supporting us in prayer.

LY,

Marilyn and Glen Heavilin

Kansas City Union Station

We got them married! It was a simple but beautiful ceremony. We truly enjoyed it. Nate and Martha are now living just a short distance from us in Matt and Deb’s former house. They are adjusting to married life very well and quickly. We all enjoyed the ceremony. Mike and Mellyn were able to come and we loved seeing them. Deb’s parents were also in attendance at the wedding and Deb is presently in Florida with them. She will return to Kansas City on 9 February and they will return to Montana where they have an apartment. I am sure the day was hard for Caleb since he’s just experienced a divorce.

The weather has been very mild, little snow and the temperature has been in the high 50’s for the last few days. Back in the middle of January we had some really cold temperatures, cold enough to freeze up one of the fountains at our apartment complex. Marilyn just received a text from Kathi Rippe of Cambria, California stating that the hills are green again and they had some rain. That was good news for both the farmers and the homeowners.

The church in Cambria seems to be doing well now. The new interim pastor will arrive by Sunday and the congregation has left the PC USA and they are now official members of the ECO. Our home church congregation in Redlands now has a new pastor and is growing normally. We also have a new pastor at the Nazarene church in Olathe, and we are happy with him. We especially enjoy the Sunday school class. We have an excellent teacher and we also enjoy getting to know the people in the class.

Marilyn’s sister-in-law, Karen, who has been fighting ovarian cancer for over six years, was in the hospital for several days last week because of a bowel blockage. At this point she is not strong enough for more chemo therapy or surgery. The doctors finally surgically inserted a drainage tube to allow the liquid to drain from her stomach. The doctor admitted that the life span estimate he made last fall of six months to one year was quite optimistic. She is now on Hospice. She was brought home via an ambulance on Sunday. Karen’s brother and his wife were able to come from South Dakota to Indiana to visit with her. JD and Beth are helping Karen keep up with the granddaughters, Aubrey and Erin via facetime on their iphones.

Marilyn received a special picture sent to her from Jack Peterman. It was a picture of their dog Katrinka. Jack and Marilyn owned the dog way back in 1955. Marilyn says that the real owner/caretaker was Jack’s father Mr. Peterman! When Jack and Marilyn broke up, custody of the dog had to be decided. Mr. Peterman won!

Marilyn’s health is somewhat stable. She did fall on Tuesday of this week but the results were only minor bumps and bruises… No brain bleeds or strokes. The main result was that her primary care doctor recommended strongly that Marilyn advance from her cane to a walker. So we now have a rollator that includes handbrakes, parking brakes and a seat. She is trying to get used to it and is practicing walking around the apartment with it. She actually takes a walk with it down the hallway outside of the apartment. She is not sure if she likes it or not, but the doctor is right that something with four stabilizers is better than the single point of a cane.

Please continue to pray for Karen and for stability for Marilyn.

Love you,

Glen and Marilyn Heavilin

OH, THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL!

“LET IT SNOW, let it snow, let it snow!

The weather finally caught up with us on December 27. We actually didn’t go out for a day! We had a wonderful Christmas before it snowed!

Glen bought Marilyn a jewelry organizer which hangs on the bathroom door. It makes a rattling sound when you move the door. So we have to get used to that.

We were pleasantly surprised on the Wednesday before Christmas to receive a lovely bouquet of flowers from Mike and Mellyn which contained many roses and carnations, in red. It lasted many days after Christmas.

We also received a gift card for Cracker Barrel from Mike and Mellyn and one from Matt and Deb. We usually eat there twice a week: Friday fish fry and Sunday home style chicken. Yum, yum.

We were pleasantly surprised that we received a gift card from Lowell and Shirley Linden for a honey baked ham. Glen immediately found the nearest location for a Honey Baked Ham Store and took me there on New Year’s Eve to buy a ham. We will eat lots of ham for the next few days!

We started out December by attending a Tuba Christmas Concert. We heard 320 tubas, euphoniums and baritones play Christmas music. The audience which was at capacity was invited to sing along the 2^nd time the instruments played the carols. It was lots of fun and definitely got us into the Christmas spirit.

We also attended the annual candle lighting ceremony for the Compassionate Friends. That ceremony always helps Marilyn get into the Christmas spirit considering that Nathan and Ethan were born on Christmas morning.

We trust you had a wonderful Christmas, and we did too.

Please continue to pray for Karen, Marilyn’s sister-in-law, as she is enduring a lot of pain at the moment.

May your New Year be gentle.

Much Love,

Glen and Marilyn