Ace Update from Mike Gordon…

So the Ace man has been released from the hospital to his joy. He thought he was going to be in there the rest of his life. He was released Wednesday afternoon about 4:30. A local organization (The Village Outreach) got him a room at the Brooks Motel initially for a week to give him time to gain his strength and review his options that appear to be few right now, but we will see what the Lord has in mind.

If you should find Ace to be on your heart and want to visit him he would enjoy the company even for a short time. Understand that he still has some word salad going on knowing what he wants to see but the wrong words come out. He does understand everything it’s just his communication he struggles with. Pray fully he will continue to improve each day he has up to this point. The Lord has brought Ace along way from the first day he was in the Hospital from not knowing if he would survive the head injury to being up and walking, talking and out of the hospital.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PRAYERS!

Fyi…. Ace is 60 years old and an army veteran from the early 70’s

Please continue to lift him up in Prayer as the Holy Spirit brings him to your mind.

Another Update on Ace (from my friend Mike Gordon)

The Ace man update……..

Visit with Ace was the best ever yesterday.  He was all smiles and so pleasant to be around.  He communicated well, but still had the word salad when trying to communicate his thoughts yet better than any other time I had been with him.  Don’t know when, but I noticed yesterday that they had removed the staples from his head.  Once again he responded well to hearing music. I played a song (by his wounds) that I had on my phone and he really enjoyed it.  The biggest joy was when I prayed with him before I left this time he joined in…..

I believe the Lord is restoring Ace. Thanks for your prayers please continue lifting The Acer up as the Holy Spirit brings him to your mind.

Cancer Update

It seems so wrong to discuss something as personal as cancer in a place as impersonal as the Internet but you should see what some people put on their blogs!  Anyway, yesterday was good news, more in a string of good news. 16 months after diagnosis, tests still show no evidence of melanoma outside of the eye.  Yesterday I had an Echocardiogram to check for heart damage caused by my chemotherapy, an MRI to check for evidence of melanoma tumors in the liver and a CT of the chest, to check for tumors in the lungs or chest cavity.  They were all clear, showing no problems.

So, I am at work every day, very much engaged in running Solid Earth and making sure that the new Spring MLS system is everything it needs to be.  I also have been keeping my local board commitments (I am on five local boards) so life is pretty normal. It’s just punctuated by these regular tests which will continue for another 20 months at least.

So, that’s the update, love you all and thanks for the well wishes and prayers.  If you are really really interested in making a difference in the disease, click here to donate.

Update on Ace….

 

It appears that the hospital removed the catheter today for Ace was wearing his jogging pants. The nurse stated that he had been in a better mood today but that his appetite was not as good as hoped. The doctor has ordered that they give Ace another IV for his skin was drying out due to the lack of water. The nurse stated that his virus appears to be letting up a bit for he was down to two bathroom episodes today. He was averaging around 7 or 8 a day. However he just ate two containers of chocolate ice cream before I arrived.

The nurse also told me that a speech pathologist worked with hm today but Ace denied that one did so. The nurse stated that Ace could vunderstand everything they told him but was still having trouble communicating his thoughts. The nurse also stated that she was unaware of any progress in locating a nursing home to place Ace but stated that it was not unusual to have an homeless person stay in the hospital for months at a time if an alternate place could not be located.  -update though my friend Mike Gordon

Cancer resources for a new friend

A friend of a friend was diagnosed with a small OM tumor recently.  They reached out to me since they knew I had the same thing and I tried to provide them with some information.  After I wrote the email I realized that others could benefit from this information so I included the email here on my blog.

If you ever have a question and want an authoritative answer, Renee Zalinsky at Jefferson is amazing.

Renee M. Zalinsky, RN, OCN 
Senior Cancer Care Coordinator
Jefferson Kimmel Cancer Center Network
1015 Chestnut Street, Suite 622
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Direct 215-955-3158
Fax 215-955-1020
E-Mail: Renee.M.Zalinsky@jeffersonhospital.org

The OM Blog is at this address: OCU-MEL@listserv.icors.org. Subscription information can be found here: http://www.lsoft.com/scripts/wl.exe?SL1=OCU-MEL&H=LISTSERV.ICORS.ORG. I have to warn you about the blog. It’s frequented by amazing wonderful angels and thank God they are in my life. They are however, as a rule, sicker than most and not a good sample of how people live with OM. If you are well, you are not really hanging around the cancer chat room! But, they are amazing and informative and helpful and can answer ANY question you might have, although the answer is often “call Renee!”.

Next is the link to the Will’s Eye Center in Philadelphia. They have lots of good information on their site. Also, this is the link to the OMF Meeting in a few weeks. My wife Julie and I plan on going so we can tell you anything we learn in a few weeks.

Finally, a few books for you:

Same Kind of Different as Me

Heaven is For Real

Crazy Love

I heard you were Christians so this is heavy with Jesus but He’s the Man so….!

Love you guys and thanks for reaching out.

Parting thought. How long would you have to live to have lived a good life? Longer than this I know!!! But still, how long? My father lived to be 74 so that’s what I expected I suppose, if I even recall thinking about it at all. I know people who lived very rich lives, and sadly died in their thirties. And people who are in their 80’s but who are bitter and lost and alone. So, I think we can say that a life is measured by it’s depth, not it’s length. How do you add depth to life? I think it’s through relationships with His children: friends and family, of course, but also others that don’t know me, and maybe don’t know Jesus either. I don’t start with Jesus, neither did He usually, I start with love. Love in the form of genuine interest in life of some stranger. This has led me into homeless camps in Huntsville and into the lives of a 1/2 dozen lost and broken addicts. Me (and a small group of crazy people) do genealogy for them, to connect them to their lost lives, We take them breakfast on Saturdays and give them rides to doctors appointments during the week etc. While there, we connect with them and learn their stories and where they’re from, we sometimes come in contact with their relatives and become a conduit for reunion and communication. Through them, I no longer live my life for myself. I live it (or try to live it) so I am used by Him to do his work. I think that’s what heaven is too, when we get to do that, or something like that, in praise of Him forever. How long will He allow me to do that? I don’t know. It does not really matter to be truthful, but I hope it’s a long time! If not, I KNOW that I have used my time well, showing love for my family and friends but also love for people who ignore my love or even disdain the attention.

Peace and Grace Jeff and Suzanne. I pray healing and comfort and peace for you and your family and friends.

Village Marketplace Inc is Open for Donations!!

We’ve been talking about this for a month but now we’re ready to get going on the new store.  The space is open and available to accept donations, just call me or post here and we’ll arrange to meet you at the store.  We have limited staff so the pickup and delivery schedule will be limited as well.  What do we need?  Let’s see…

  • Cleaning Supplies:  Mop bucket, brooms, paper towels, windex, swiffers, dusters, clorox, dishwashing liquid, laundry soap, dryer sheets, vacuum cleaner, 5-gallon buckets, wet vac, etc.
  • Small Appliances/Electronics:  Computer screens, iPads, iPods, iPhones, computers, kitchen equipment, stereo equipment, speakers, turntables, DVDs and DVD players, Victrolas, Walkmen, hairdryers, straighteners, boom boxes, vending machines, washers, dryers, refrigerators, etc.
  • Clothes:  Good condition pants, jeans, shirts, sweats, jackets, outerwear, sportswear, suits, pants, dresses, belts, ties (no underwear or swimwear).
  • Sporting Goods:  Balls, tarps, tents, stoves, lanterns, batteries, bats, hats, wickets, helmets, kurling stones, badminton rackets, darts, pogo sticks, swim boards, surfboards, bicycles, unicycles, bowling pins, shuttlecocks, tennis balls, etc.
  • Historic Huntsville:  Old photos, posters, vintage clothes, t-shirts, post cards, logo items, confederate material, evidence of yankee occupation, watercress, Von Braun’s neighbor’s memorabilia, shards of pre-NASA agrarian culture.
  • Housewares/ Furniture: Pots, pans, beds, dressers, tables, knick knacks, throw pillows, household items, lamps.
  • Jewelry: Costume, vintage, things you don’t think you’ll wear ever again, stuff you don’t want to the kids to get, anything gold or gold looking, or silver looking.

As you can see we need most everything, you can also see that we are going to have a good time with this new venture.  So far the Village Marketplace consists of Dusty and Tristan Graham, me and Julie, Luddy and Kevin from the street (they would not mind me saying that about them) and of course the first of our wonderful partners: Nancy Martin from Village Outreach, she’s been painting all day!  The other partners are also ready, Bobby Bradley from Village of Promise, Mark Stearns from Lincoln Village and Ann Marie Lang and Sakaneeh Bowden from First Stop are each walking through their Board’s approval process and will be officially joining before we open.  Oh yeah!  When do we open?

Opening day is scheduled for around July 1 but we will fill you in as we get closer.  So, if you have kids out of school and they need some work to do, or if you have a garage or basement full of stuff you don’t need, or if you have some time yourself to give back to your community, come on down!  We’re really having too much fun but it’s because we know we’re about to really help some pretty great people!  Post a comment here if you have something to add, we’ll contact you and get you connected.  – Matt

 

The start of something big in Lincoln Village!

A new shopping experience is coming to Lincoln Village this fall. Julie and I have rented a building at 1000 Meridian Street just north of Brooks and Collier and on the other side of the street, at the corner of Meridian and King. The new shop will feature clothes and other goods for the neighborhood plus a wide array of gifts and other stuff you’ll want. And coffee.

The objective is to provide a sustatainable revenue stream for local antipoverty campaigns working in the area and it’s going to work.  It’s all going to work because of the HUGE army of people being this effort, Julie and I are just trying to be the catalyst to get it rolling… It’s also going to work because of the management team of Dusty and Tristan Graham who dropped into our lives (how’d that happen?) and turned out to have tons of experience just when we needed it. It’s going to work because of the GREAT partners we already have onboard, including:

  • The Village, a 501c3 focused on finding street people and connecting them with services.
  • Lincoln Village Ministries, a 501c3 focused on breaking the cycle of generational poverty in the Lincoln Mill neighborhood.
  • The Village of Promise, a 501c3 focused on breaking the cycle of generational poverty in the University Place neighborhood.
  • First Stop, a 501c3 focused on engaging with the homeless community in the area.

At the end of each quarter, we’ll be distributing income to these groups to help advance their critical work.  They are changing Huntsville one relationship at a time and we are committed to help them.  Watch for more information coming up!  We’ll start accepting items for donation in the next few weeks.  Thanks everyone!  This will be fun!!!

 

Saturday and some quick updates

Saturday Breakfast continues tomorrow at 8AM at First Pres. We serve at 9AM behind First Stop on Stokes Avenue in West Huntsville. Right now, we need tarps a ton of other stuff, see the Supply list at www.villageoutreach.org. The Village has three new board members, all friends of mine recruited to join our little band. I can’t thank you enough Tracy, George and Andrew. The Village is also in need of funds, as is First Stop and almost all other agencies. Money is tight these days and it’s hard to find, still, we know that people have a heart for those with even less than them. Come out tomorrow and join the group, it’s really alot of fun.

Saturday Morning Breakfast – Update

We served breakfast as usual this morning and a couple of things happened that were blog worthy.

We’ve been serving breakfast in the homeless camps for almost three years.  Also, I have had ocular melanoma for almost one year.  Both experiences have been amazing and have informed my life in ways I never could have imagined.  I would not have picked either, given a choice but they both just kind of happened to me, like weather.  But they did happen to me and my life is so very much richer because of the experience.  Seriously. Way richer.

What informed me the most is how other people in my situation have chosen to deal with the challenge. For example:

I have met homeless people who love God more than *almost all* housed people I know.

I have met outreach volunteers who are more Christ-like than *almost all* people I have ever met in church.

I would never have experienced these things were I not lead into the homeless camps, and into cancer.

So my two things I wanted to blog about were these…

First, this morning at homeless breakfast, Larry Sisterman opened the gate for us again at First Stop, for the forth or fifth week in a row.  He’s a really nice guy and he felt we would be too cold outside this morning so, in addition to opening the gate, he invited us to serve breakfast inside!  What a great host!  Larry is a gracious man to the homeless in Huntsville, and to us.  I respect his servants heart and I am so happy that his path had crossed mine.  He shared military war stories with my friend Andrew Dean, an Air Force colonel, and seemed to have a good time.  I love how the walls between us come down easily with the application of love and trust.  I know that some in our little gang (Melissa!) have had problems with one or two people at First Stop over the years but, from my perspective, we agree much more than we disagree; and we can help each other.

Second, my new friend Dusty and his daughter Windsor came to breakfast for the first time.  He’s been to First Pres before, to drop off material he was donating to Village Outreach but I have not gotten to meet him yet.  Dusty’s a picker so he buys and sells stuff all the time.  Recently, he bought a storage locker somewhere and found that it contained stoves, lanterns and hundreds of MRE (meals ready-to-eat), and other disaster supplies.  He donated tons of it to us and we’ve really been able to use it.  So I was really eager to meet him when he told me he was planning on coming to serve breakfast with us.  It was great to meet them, they are both really nice and have worked with the poor before, in Birmingham at a mission and thrift store in Oak Mountain and through their church.  They fit right in to our little gang and said they wanted to become really involved.  That’s really great, can’t wait to get to know them better!

 

Wayne Parker for Chairman

We’re really ramping up the Wayne Parker Campaign this week,  If you are interested at all in the future of Madison County you really need to pitch in and help get Wayne elected!  It’s important that the guy who’s going to follow Mike Gillespie’s 31 years as Chairman is really well connected to Washington and to Montgomery.  That guy is Wayne.  Call me and let’s get this done!

New Board Post: The Village, Inc

Hi all, I have again demonstrating my inability to say no buy joining another local non-profit’s Board of Directors.  The Village is a homeless outreach agency I’ve been working with for about three years both in the field with their outreach staff and volunteers and on their website.  I built them a WordPress site at www.villageoutreach.org.

The existing board members have all been there for years and have really done a great job keeping the organization going.  They were gracious enough to ask, and I think I can add to their group, so I agreed.  It is indeed an honor to serve.  I hope that in 2012 we can create a close partnership with the other agencies in our space.  Our goal is to fit ourselves into the existing continuum of care, filling in gaps where they exist.

If you are interested in the homeless, or in any aspect of working with the poor, please contact me or reply to this post!