Lynda Coats- Unit Study Emporium

My precious Lauren is home in the arms of Jesus. There is no more pain no
more suffering. We thank you for your prayers for all these months.

Rejoice with us in what his life meant to so many. The service in
commemoration of his life will be held on Saturday, November 10, at 1:00 PM at
Cornerstone Christian Church, 301 Dalraida Road in Montgomery, AL.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Covenant Academy, the
non-profit church school umbrella (cover) program he and I helped start, and
at which we have both worked. The address is Covenant Academy; 830 Coliseum
Blvd.; Montgomery, AL 36107 Donations through Paypal can be sent to my mailing
address and ear-marked: donation in memory of Lauren Coats. Funds will be
delivered to the church school.

Lauren (my dh) has gone downhill drastically. His blood pressure this too low to be detectable by traditional methods. He is only semi-conscious on occasion, but does know us and speak to us when he is.

The hospice medical personnel did not expect him to live through last night , but he is still hanging in there 24 hours later. His internal organs do appear to be shutting down, so it will not likely be long before he leaves this world. Please pray for comfort and peace for all of us.

If you have not received previous messages about this, you can catch up at my personal blog- _www.homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolruby.

From Lynda’s personal blog:

“Our roller coaster ride may not be over yet, but for now, the Lord has eased us to a safe landing at home. Lauren seems to be feeling better. He is breathing more easily more consistently, and his vitals seem to be good. He sleeps a lot but it is a peaceful sleep not like it often was in the hospital. He wears out easily but enjoys having company. His best times are about 7 -10 AM and 6-8 PM. If you would like to call or come see him, try to schedule it during those times.

… We have also received lots of cards, drawings and photos. Instead of putting them on the wall, he has decided to use a scrapbook so he can hold it in his hands and look through his memories. He would like pictures included with cards (or digitals sent separately) so he can match names to faces. We would like to thank all of you for flowers, cards, gifts, financial assistance, food, and all other kindnesses shown to us during this illness.”

If you would like to send a card, it would be very much enjoyed. The address is 24 N. Florida Street, Montgomery, AL 36107.

*****

You’ll notice that I’ve posted a sign-up box for the Far and Blessed e-mail newsletter in the right column of this page. It may be awhile before I get a full-size newsletter out, but please sign up so that I can keep you posted on special sales, new products, and more.

Be sure to come back to this space on Monday morning for an announcement of a very special sale. A group of friends has come together to help create a wonderful sale package to help with medical expenses during this difficult time. You’ll be amazed at the value!

You may also want to sign up for the RSS feed for this page, so that you don’t miss anything. Just scroll to the bottom, click on the RSS link and select where you’d like to read the feed (I like to read feeds on my Google homepage). Enjoy!

Several of you have asked for a list of specific needs so you can pray for them. Here are some things we would like to ask the Lord for:

• complete healing, in spite of the current prognosis
• comfort and pain relief
• for our insurance/Medicare to pay all of the bills
• for Lauren to be able to receive physical therapy before we go home
• a Hoyer lift to use at home?for transferring him to and from?a chair if he is not able to do it on his own?
• a laptop computer to use here at the hospital to better coordinate my online business and ministry
• for the ministry to continue to grow and help support us
• comfort for our children and others who are helping keep things going at home

This one you can all actually help fulfill:

Cards for Lauren (the print version) to post in his wall and in his ‘get well’ scrapbook.
The address is:

Lauren Coats
Room C368
Palliative Care Unit
UAB Hospital
1713 6th Ave. South
Birmingham, AL 35233

Thanks to all for praying.

Please feel free to share all of my requests and posts with anyone who will pray for us.

Blessings,
Lynda Coats

Dear Friends,

It’s been a challenging year for Lynda and Lauren Coats, and this month, it has gotten even more challenging. You can read about it below, as Lynda tells of Lauren’s cancer diagnosis and treatment. They both request your prayers during this difficult time.

Although Lynda will be at the hospital with Lauren for the next month or so, it’s important to know that the business will still be carrying on, as it’s an important part of the Coats’ livelihood. You may still order e-books and books from the website.

I’ll also be adding a very exciting new fiction trilogy by Lynda and her daughter, Becky, to the website this week. Written from a Christian worldview, this historical fiction trilogy, Life with the Pony Express, looks like a delightful addition to any unit study of American History. I’m looking forward to reading it!

Since Lynda will have very limited computer access at the hospital, her daughter Becky (blessedruby at aol dot com) will be available to assist you with book orders or questions. If you have questions about an e-book order, you may e-mail me.

Janice Campbell for Lynda Coats

 Lynda’s Post on Lauren’s diagnosis:

“You have cancer.” These words strike fear into the heart of most of those who hear them. In fact, they are so scary that doctors rarely say this in such plain language. They usually call it a carcinoma or use some more detailed medical name.  Or they simply say, “Your biopsy came back positive.” Most of us know the meaning of those words, too, so the fear is not lessened, but doctors seem to think it will be, or maybe they just feel better not having to be blunt. Doctors don’t like the word ‘cancer’ any better than any of us do.

 

We heard these terrifying words on September 11, 2007 when my husband when my husband was being treated for another problem in UAB Hospital in Birmingham, AL. I was surprised at how little they scared me at the time. The doctor had assured us that this was an ‘easy’ cancer to cure and that it was very localized. We were sure that God would care for us.

 

The way we saw it, Lauren would have a few radiation treatments, a little chemo, and maybe even some surgery, but it would be okay in the long run.  It had to be. God was in control. I didn’t worry much about it.

 

A few days later, we got harder news. They had done another biopsy and found more cancer.  It had spread into the lymph nodes and was very advanced. One of the tumors was too close to major blood vessels for surgery. I began to feel fear creeping in, but still held on to God’s promise that all things worked for our good.

 

The next day, we were told that Lauren’s general health made chemo (the best way to fight this cancer) impossible. I wish I could say that our strong faith in the Lord kept us from being frightened, and I am sure that did make it easier. I have to admit, however, that the fear was still very real and very painful.  Having nowhere else to turn, it drove us to the Lord in prayer. (Seems that’s where we usually wind up, so why do we wait so long.?)

 

Lauren will be taking radiation for the next four weeks, but doctors say that will not cure the cancer — only slow it down.  I am sure that is true.  Only God can cure cancer.

We pray that He will do that.  If not, we will walk down whatever path He leads us knowing that His way is best. Please pray with us for His healing and His peace.

Lynda