Day 61...Surgery in the morning!

Well, tomorrow morning is the surgery to remove about 1/3 of my colon with the cancer. They are also going to do a biopsy on my liver while they have the hood open.

My whole walk and journey so far has been such a great blessing to me and I would not trade one minute of it.

I believe God started this journey to get me to where I am today. I pray that I may continue to glorify God and continue my walk when I recover from this surgery and the chemo that will follow for my liver.

I am not in the least worried or nervous about the surgery whatsoever.  I know I was lead here and that God is in control of everything...so no need to fret!

I hope you all will continue to check my blog as I will post again when I am able. God bless you all...my thoughts and prayers go out to all of you...may God comfort and bring peace to your soul. I am passing off a smile to you all and ask that you share it with someone else! :-)

I JUST FEEL THE URGE TO WALK!

Day 60...5th night in hospital, Rustan, Louisiana!

Well, this is my 5th night in the hospital. I have had some wonderful people from various  churches come by to visit and pray with me. Judy from The Health Hut and her husband stopped by to see me. One of the members of the Chamber Of Commerce brought her husband to meet me and also prayed for me. My brother and his wife from Texas came to see me. That is where I was headed next on my walk. It would have been about a three week walk to get to his house from here. It took him 4 hours by car to drive to see me, that's just funny. He was only able to stay a few hours, but it meant alot to have him drive out to see me and I had a very nice visit with them. I can't tell you how many phone calls I got so far today. I have been blessed by all the visits and calls I have received today that is for sure! I can't tell you enough how God has blessed me so far. I am surely glad he is in control.

I will find out more tomorrow, but I am pretty sure my colon surgery will be Tuesday some time. Check back, I'll keep you posted on things.

Tomorrow will be a hectic day. I will have all the surgeon's come by and talk with me...social services...financial dept...and I don't remember who else, but I better take notes..lol!

My wife will be here sometime tomorrow and my two oldest daughters will also arrive tomorrow.  My daughters will stay till Wednesday and my wife will stay till I get released from the hospital.

I also can't say enough about how much of a blessing the Rustan Community has been towards me and all the support and help I have gotten from everyone here.

Well,  that's about it for tonight. God bless you all and thank you for reading my blog!

Here are a few pics of my visit with my brother and his wife.

I JUST FEEL THE URGE TO WALK!

Day 59 of my unwalk...in Northern Louisiana Medical Center!

Okay, all you have probably read about my blood and hemoglobin story and why I am in the hospital.

Well yesterday after my Gi And colonoscopy I found out I have colon cancer. I will find out more today sometime as to wether or not it spread to anywhere else.

I have met some wonderful people here in the hospital and in the town of Ruston. Judy Copeland and Mike Jones from The Chamber of Commerce have been absolute Godsends as well as Judi Null from the Health Hut. I feel like I have two Moms here taking care of me. God has truly sent me here without a doubt. The blessings from these people have been so great and awesome...God truly watches over those who walk his path. Trials...tribulations...hardships...injuries...illnesses...nothing but blessings.

Okay, one doctor, Dr. Mariano just came in and talked to me. He said they found some spots on the liver also. By the way he is an awesome Doctor, and even prays for his patients besides treating them. Now I have to wait to talk to the next doctor before I know more.

God truly sent me here and on this walk to reach this place....what a blessing.

I'll post later as I find things out. Bless you all for your support.

I JUST FEEL THE URGE TO WALK!

Day 54...3rd day in Ruston! Hospital time out!

This blog is for Wednesday. I woke up and got ready, had breakfast at the motel, then headed to downtown Ruston to take some pictures, then headed to The Health Hut.

After arriving at The Health Hut I helped them load some things up for the expo. After arriving at the events center at the Library, which is a beautiful place, we arranged the tables and chairs in the different sections for the expo.

During this time I got my results of a courtesy checkup that showed my hemoglobin level was half of what it should be...so off to the ER. I went to have it checked again and was admitted and received two units of blood. Well, this morning the Dr came in and told me I still needed more blood because it only brought the level up to 7. It was 6.1 when they first checked it.  The normal is 12-14. So today I will get two more.

Then in the morning I have to have a GI and a colonoscopy to see if I have any blood loss from those area's. I have a chronic blood loss and am Iron deffeciant that has been an ongoing thing and my body has been conditioned to it. That's why I have been able to do the walk thus far. I feel fine and there is no need to worry. God brought me here for a reason and purpose and will take care of me no doubt.

I look forward to receiving the help I need so I may continue my walk and journey. It is and has been a true blessing from God and I am  thankful for being able to do this walk. God bless everyone, thoughts and prayers are with you all. See you on the road soon!

I JUST FEEL THE URGE TO WALK!

Day 52...day 2 in Ruston, Louisiana

Woke up around 5:30ish. Packed the buggy and walked down to Wal-Mart where I got my Ibuprofen prescription refilled for my leg, bought some groceries for a couple of days,  then headed back to the motel to put them away.

I met a gentleman in the hallway who asked about my walk and made a donation to help me on my journey! He shared several stories with me of people he has known who had battled with suicide and depression. God bless you sir for sharing and God bless you for the donation. It is because of people like you I can continue my walk. It is such a blessing to be able to talk with other people and share stories and be open about it.

Some time after noon Judi came by from The Health Hut and picked me up. I volunteered to help her with anything she needed done since they were so kind to me. Tomorrow I also volunteered to help out in setting up for the Health Expo on Thursday.

http://www.thehealthhut.org Click on the link so you can read about there mission. They also provide counseling for Mental Health two days a week. They survive off of grants and donations helping the uninsured with their medical needs. It is a blessings to, and a much needed part of the Ruston community. If anyone feels it in their heart to make a donation, which I hope you will, click on the link and do so. They have been very kind and helpful to me and have invited me to their Health Expo on Thursday. I will have a table and be able to meet and greet those who attend the event. I am so looking forward to it. Remember now, they offer counseling for Mental Health twice a week and that is what my walk is about. So if you can, please donate. Thank you and God bless! Mike

Calhoun to Ruston, Louisiana...18miles!

Hello again everyone! I got up around 5:19 this morning. I packed up my baby buggy and headed across the street to a restaurant for breakfast at 6:30. I took my time eating because it stays dark till right about 7:00 am.

So at 7:00 am I started my walk to Ruston. The traffic was heavy and there were no shoulders on that part of the highway or all the way to Ruston for that matter. After about an hour the traffic thinned out pretty well. Most of the early morning traffic was due to school.

I should have dressed in layers but I didn't. I didn't realize it was only 46 degrees when I left. So I froze for about 2 hours then it warmed up nicely!

My shin splints if course started acting up again. No pain no gain...lol!

I just have to say God has blessed me again big time. I will do a seperate post on it later.
For now I want to thank Judy Copeland from the Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce. A local church that put me up for the night. And Judi Null of The Health Hut for all they have done to help me out. What a great town to end up in..and what a great blessing to have crossed paths with them and the town of Rustin, Louisiana! Feeling Overwhelmed....in a good way!

I JUST FEEL THE URGE TO WALK!

Morning sun rising over I 20!

Challenge number four. Four states down, almost forgot!

Challenge number four is to say this prayer I wrote. Now how easy is that? And feel free to repeat any of the other three challanges also! God bless! Mike

Heavenly Father Lord and creator.  I humbly come before you to ask for the healing power that only you can provide for all those suffering from a mental health illness or thoughts of suicide or any illness for that matter. I ask that you open our hearts to recieve your healing powers so that we may serve you better Lord. Whatever you choose lord well be what we need for only you know what is best for us. Jesus died for our sins to make us whole, so Lord in Jesus's name I humbly ask for your loving grace to flow through each and every cell and make us whole again. I beleive what we ask in Jesus' s name will be done so Lord on high I thank you in Jesus's name, Amen

West Monroe to Calhoun, Louisiana. 11 miles!

Today was a nice short walk of only 11 miles. I took it slow and easy. Don't remember what time I left this morning, I'm thinking it was between 7:30 and 8:00 am. Most of the walk today had a nice shoulder to walk on. It is getting hilly again, but I was lucky to have half the state a flat level walk.

About 7 miles into my walk I noticed a car at a traffic light was going to turn left ...but turned right and pulled into a parking lot in front of me. He got out and said he wanted to give me a donation for my journey. I thanked him and said God bless you sir..and I could not of said it better..he replied...that's what it is all about...helping each other out. Yes sir you are toally right and I wish everyone could think that way. We seem to be so busy with our own wants that are not really needs...that we overlook others around us. God bless you sir. It was refreshing  and a blessing to cross paths with you today. And I appreciate the way you think.

A little while later I came to a convenience store and stopped to use the rest room and got a coffee to drink. A gentleman and his wife were getting some gas and asked about the walk. We talked for a few minutes...his wife handed him some change to give me...thank you...any contribution to the walk is great..no matter if it is big or small. Thank you both very much...and God bless you.

I arrived at the Avant West Motel around noonish. The girl at the desk was real nice and said she appreciated what I was doing. She has had family members that have dealt with mental health issues and suicide. God bless her...my thoughts and prayers are with you!

Well, that is about it for today. Just resting my leg the rest of the day. Here are a few pics from today.

Rayville to West Monroe, Louisiana! 28 miles.

I left Rayville just before 7:00 am. I got stopped by the Rayville Police Department because she just didn't know what I was doing. She asked me a few questions and then set me free.

I got out to route 80 and headed west. There was quite a bit traffic. I think it was school and workers going to work. After getting out away from town, the traffick slowed down some, but was still more than it has been this past week.

After a couple of hours I started noticing the shin splints in my left leg started getting very sore with some swelling, only 8 1/2 more hours to go...uhg! Pray .pray..pray! I was going to take some ibuprofen so I went for my first aide kit.....gone. It had fallen from the cart unnoticed by me. I still had a few off my prescription ones left but they where packed away and I would have had to tear down the whole cart to get them. Instead I chose to suffer in pain for the next 8 1/2 hours. By the time I got to West Monroe I could barely walk on it.

During the walk I came to a town called Start. I noticed a big billboard..home of country music great Tim McGraw. Of course I got a pic for you. A woman had passed me and  turned around and waited for me at a little store in town. As I approached she told me God touched her heart and she wanted to give me a donation to help wirh my trip. She told me of someone who had commited suicide at a young age a few years back. She also said the Hebert Community was in need of prayer, so I would like to ask everyone to pray for the community and ask God to touch the hearts of those in need and bring the community together. God bless you for the donation. Everyone, please say a prayer!

As I entered Monroe I also had an elderly person turn around  and pull over because he wanted to give me a donation. Thank you sir, God bless you!

Well I finally arrived at Motel 6  at 5:30. I pretty much just hit the bed and slept because of my leg. It made the walk very tiring that's for sure. But it also came with those blessings, and I thank God!

God bless everyone.
I JUST FEEL THE URGE TO WALK!