Dean P. Demos

These were the words I heard in my mind and spirit this morning as I woke up.

I remember thinking, “That has to be the Lord speaking to me.” I have feasted on those words all day long.

In amplifying that concept to every aspect of my life, I find myself asking the question, “If God owns this parameter in my life, is He pleased with the way I’m using his property?”

Because I belong to Him, I find new motivation to honor Him in everything. Not a bad way to live.

Tomorrow is the last day of school for TCS for 2012.  We then begin our Christmas break.  Likewise, I get a break from my Monday-Thursday afternoon visits to Dr. G’s office for a Velcade injection.  I rejoice … on both accounts!

The Demos family will attend the annual Christmas Eve Candlelight service at Trinity Fellowship together (minus the Mark Demos family who is up in Minneapolis).  Then, some good, relaxed family time as we “destroy the living room” unwrapping gifts, eat holiday meals, and watch a movie or two.

God gives us seasons of refreshing.  I can never plan them … they just come when I really need them.  Paul said the Lord would not “Suffer us to be tempted above that we are able, but … with the temptation make a way to escape that we may be able to bear it.”  He made a way!

Medication side effects, energy swings, school concerns, and sleepless nights have all been swirling around in my life for the past two weeks.  This break looks very appealing to me right about now.  Thank you, Jesus.

So was the definition of energy according to my Dublin High School physics textbook back in 1966.  Through the years, I have come to appreciate simple energy.  Mom (84) and Dad (88) often lament its absence.  When looking at my messy office, I too long for more.  With the help of vitamin B12 energy packs, All Day Energy Greens, and now, God’s Herbal Blessing Tea introduced to me by good friends who tell me two brothers are cancer survivors with its help, I am transitioning myself to do what I can to reap some benefits.  As I come down, I find I need a bed near. LOL.

I often think of the Apostle Paul’s words at the end of Colossians one, ” I labor according to that which He works in me.”  THIS is my true source of ability to do the REAL WORK.  Jesus said to believe was the great work.  Jesus also said, “Apart from ME, you can do NOTHING.”  “In Him we live and move and have our being.”  Jesus, YOU are my energy.  YOU are my life.  YOU are my source.  Selah!

I have recently been diagnosed with Smoldering Myeloma.  May I take a moment to share with you the events leading up to this diagnosis?

In August of 2005, I received a TKR (total knee replacement) because my left knee was “bone-on-bone.”  It was an ordeal.  I’m glad I did it because I don’t have pain and I don’t think about it at all.  I have been able to do virtually all the activities I want to do … after all, I’m not a young man anymore.

My primary care physician, Dr. John Schuler, discovered an elevated presence of protein in my blood and urine during that process.  He referred me to a local hematologist named Dr. Gerald Goldklang.  Dr. G ran tests to further evaluate this condition, including a full body bone scan and a bone marrow biopsy.  I remember the day he called … we were in Findlay Ohio in my mother-in-law’s living room.  Frances Beck, Patty, Gary and Marge Anthony, and myself were about to have a word of prayer.  Dr. G said, in his fluid verbal style, “You have a condition known as ‘MGUS,’ monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance.”  This benign condition should be watched and evaluated every 6-12 months.  I received the news as “interesting.”  I had just been through the TKR.  This was merely another bump on the journey of becoming older.

I followed through on my visits to Dr. G’s office for my tests, even missing a year or two.  I remember getting scolded by the nurse for being neglectful after I eventually renewed my visits.  Nevertheless, the numbers of the levels Dr. G watched were still slightly elevated but not progressing.

PAIN – several months ago, I began noticing pain in my humerus bone on both shoulders.  “Is this just more arthritis, or could it be something related to my condition?”  Upon informing Dr. G, I was given instructions to go back to the hospital to have another bone scan done.  The results showed a very small lesion on my right side.  “I’d like to do another bone marrow biopsy right away, tomorrow if possible,” was his response.  This process involves the extraction of marrow in an outpatient setting in his office.  It was no problem … when you’ve had a TKR, all else is a piece of cake.

The following Thursday my support team (Patty, my wife, and Julie, my oldest daughter) and I sat in his office and were told that 10 percent of my plasma cells were cancerous, thus yielding the Smoldering Myeloma diagnosis.  He was very encouraging as he shared that although Myeloma is presently incurable, it is treatable.  He told me about a medicine combination called RVD (Revlimid, Velcade, and Dexamethasone) that he wanted to start immediately.  To date, I have received two treatments.  Although I am presently beginning to experience annoying side effects, I am purposed to take advantage of the medical treatments available to me.

Even as the Apostle Paul said, “The life which we now live in the flesh, we live by the faith of the Son  of God Who loved us and gave Himself for us,” I am positioned in faith.  I intend to walk in and receive all that the Lord has provided for me.  I am encouraged, challenged, and actually stimulated to “Give to Jesus all my days, for it’s the only life that pays.”  I am grateful for His healing, keeping presence in my life, and want to be faithful to the ministry opportunities He allows me to have.

More later …