October 27th

Hi , 

Dennis and I had a wonderful time up in Bishop and the Mammoth Lake areas. We started by going to Bakersfield and having breakfast with our son, Christopher and grandson, Nathaniel. We had a very nice visit and I got a few snuggles in with Nathaniel.

We decided to drive up by Lake Isabella since neither of us has every gone that way. It was beautiful as we followed the Kern River, which was had plenty of water in it. Such a treat for us Central Californians! 😉

We got to our motel Friday afternoon and Dennis was pretty worn out and he went to bed early. 

We got up Saturday morning and took a walk to a bakery that Dennis's brother recommended. It was only a few blocks away and it felt good to stretch our legs. We then drove up to Mono Lake, June Lake and Lake Mary. God blessed us to be up there at a perfect time when the aspens were turning gold. It was breathtaking. (See pictures below)

Sunday we went to church. We were pleasantly surprised that the church of Christ was right next door to our motel!  It was the first time we've attended worship in person in many months. We hope we can attend our local congregation soon. Afger church we drove up to Sabrina Lake, which is above Bishop. The water is beautiful, clear and bluish green. Quite spectacular. We left there and drove to  Convict Lake. Dennis had fished at Convict Lake back in the late 70's with his friends, Dick and Kathy Blell. This is where he really wanted to fish and he did, but it was cold and windy and the fish weren't biting. But, he had a great time.

Monday we drove home via Tioga Pass and entered Yosemite through the east gate. Breathtaking is all I can say!

We both were pretty tired by the time we got home that evening. 

Tuesday, Dennis was pretty weary and slept a lot. About 7 pm he called for me and I knew something was wrong. I looked at him and he couldn't move his left arm and the left side of his face was drooping. My brother and his fiance were here and we called for an ambulance. Dennis was admitted to the hospital because he had had a stroke. Luckily, we got him there right away and they were able to give him a shot of a very potent blood thinner. Once they did that he was had to be under observation for 24 hours. All of his symptoms have resolved and we are grateful for that. They have kept him a couple more days since he has cancer and needs a little extra attention. The hospitalist ordered an MRI to see where the stroke occurred in his brain. What they found was that the cancer has metastasized to his brain. This is such heartbreaking news, but, I wanted to share it with you. We have a lot of questions that we will ask the doctor today and I will share the information when I find out. 

We continue to solicit your prayers for strength and comfort for our family. We love you all and thank you for walking this journey with us. 

God Bless, 

Sharon and Dennis