From John's (hndrdprcnt) Journal

[Here we go again...]

Hey guys, I got the following information from John's journal on Christmas. I was wonderin if anyone has heard anything else.
I just checked his journal and there have been no updates added.

Merry Christmas to all of my dear friends, prayer warriors and family!! I know this greeting comes mighty late in the day, but this is the first chance that I have had all day to sit down!!

Christmas was a wonderful day for the Burke family. We started our day with the girls opening their Santa gifts and we were joined by my father, sister and her boyfriend, as well as my mother & father-in-law. It was a wonderful start to a day to reflect upon the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with our family!

Christmas dinner was shared with just a few of our family and extended family....just about 45 of them or so. Thank goodness for our church offering for us to use the events center as their was no way I was going to be able to fit 45 people in our little 1100 sq ft home!! It was a wonderful evening and while, as organizer, it was a bit stressful during the prep time, it all came together quite nicely.

Family remains in town and we will have the pleasure of spending a few more days with them before they all have to head back home. I just want to thank everyone who made it out for Christmas dinner!! While it was a lot of work, it was WONDERFUL having so many family members together sharing in the true spirit of the Christmas holiday.

Well, the time has come and I am back in the hospital this Sunday for my next high-resolution CT Scan. We are hoping that either "A" - my blood numbers have come down and there is nothing to be seen in the scan....or "B" that we can now see the tumors in my liver and lymph nodes so that we can proceed to do a biopsy to guarantee that we are dealing with cancerous tumors. While I really don't want to hear that it continues to grow, in other ways, I hope that shomething shows up so that we can then decide how we are going to move forward. Please pray that God's will continues to be done with this journey that we are on. If there is one thing that I have learned through this whole process is this......if you have a Savior to put your hope and trust in, then you can rest in peace knowing that you will be taken care of. He has yet to fail me!! God is good all the time, and all the time, God is good!!

May God continue to bless you and yours as you wrap up your Christmas time festivities and may you be sure to let your loved ones know how much you love and care for them!!

God Bless!

[WDWFanatic]

Angel, Thank you for posting this. I have been thinking and praying for their family. Hopefully some good news will follow.

[Marilyn Michetti]

John, your testimony will sustain you, and comfort the rest of us. You obviously KNOW that physical life is not the goal - it's the path. You're absolutely right in placing your confidence in a LIVE, risen Savior, who will hold you close just like He always has.

I PRAY that your tests will give you ammunition to fight the battle. Your family, and the rest of us want you around for a long time. You will be on my mind and in my prayers tomorrow.

Let us know.

[RedSoxFan]

John -- You continue to be in my prayers. I wish you all the best. God Bless.

[pogo]

John.......

This troubles me to hear of your health issues at this time, my friend.

I am continuing to pray for you and your family as you struggle to beat this cancer that has taken control of your body..... but not your heart and soul.

Our Lord will prevail and as I have always said.... look to the heavens and say, thy will be done.

God bless you John.

Angel...... thank you for keeping us informed about John and his family. If I hear anything, I'll let you know.

[MickeyMousse]

John, you are in our daily thoughts and prayers.
God Bless.

[princessgirls]

May God continue to bless you John!

As the plans for us are already laid...

Your Love of our Lord and Savior is truly a witness to all of us.

I will continue to keep you and your family in prayer.

Julie

[HndrdPrcnt]

Hey All -

Hopefully you have been to my website to see the latest update. I am sorry that I have not been on here for a while. I have been super stressed out on so many fronts and have been busier than ever trying to figure out what to do.

The latest news is that while the blood work is indicating a continued growth of the cancer, the CT Scans are not showing any measurable tumors at this time. The bad part of this is that nothing can be done at this time and so I am to just sit and wait. All the meanwhile the cancer could be growing in many different areas while we can do nothing. When the tumors do present themselves, they could be spread throughout and at that time, there may not be anything they can do.

On top of that, we are really down on our luck financially. The medical bills are taking this ship down and as such, we will probably be letting our house go. This is a HUGE downer. We have had our credit card closed so everything we buy, we have to have money in the bank to cover. Needless to say, we don't have money in the bank so we are having to watch every dollar and every purchase we make.

I wish I had better news for all of you, but things are not starting off good in 2009 for us. Please continue to pray for our family and please ask that God helps us through this and keeps me in good spirits.

Thanks and God bless!!

John

[Beach Club Babe]

I am so sorry you have been having such a rough time! Continued prayers and pixie dust!

[Diznee4Me]

You and your family will be in our thoughts and prayers.

[RedSoxFan]

So sorry you're having a rough. I will keep you and your family in my prayers. God Bless.

[pianobabe]

You and your family continue in my thoughts and prayers.

[disneydeb]

John God bless you and your situation.

[Melanie]

John, I'm so sorry to hear of your continued struggles.

[TooGoofy]

I'm so sorry to hear of your continued troubles. I wish there was something I could to to help besides pray and send pixie dust your way.

[mouseketeer mom]

John,
I've been silently following along and feel encouraged when I feel your terrific attitude and energy coming thru from your posts. I wish you and your family all good things, hope, health, peace of mind and heart. Lisa

[Mousefever]

John,

You and your family continue to be in my daily prayers.

Amy

[BelleCiavo]

Bumping this up to see if anyone has news on John. I think his CaringBridge page is gone.

[Jeri]

I was just able to get on his site. He last posted in April on there but at that point he was doing very well.

[BelleCiavo]

could you PM me the link? when I click through his name to his homepage it's not getting me there.

Thank you,
Karen