Dear Team Members,

This year sure has flown by!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We trust it has been an encouraging one for you. We know, for many it has been a difficult year. We trust this coming year will be an encouraging one!

We hear folk complaining about the VA – Veteran’s Administration – BUT we have always been thankful for their help for Charlie. Recently, Charlie went down to Lake Nona Florida, where the new VA Hospital is located. He just walked in with his VA card to the hearing center and within fifteen minutes they were checking out his hearing and within an hour, they ordered hearing aides which cost $6000, BUT NO COST TO CHARLIE!!!!! He has them now and is really happy with them, hearing sounds he has not heard for years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The total knee replacement I had on my left knee on October 18th, is doing fairly well. My surgeon, Dr Steven Nguyen ( they call him Dr Win) is located in Orlando. The surgery was done at Dr Phillips Hospital in Orlando. Dr Win was the trauma surgeon who operated on Charlie’s crushed foot years ago. He has a new way of doing knee replacements operating from the side and not down the middle of the knee. He does not cut the muscles and tendons – he stretches them. He is able to operate on even 90-year-olds with GREAT success and folk come from all over the States have him do their surgery!!!!!!!!!!! The main difficulty I am having is with the Physical Therapy 🙁 The Therapists are GREAT, but three of the exercises pulled a muscle below my left knee, so those exercises have been stopped. By the end of this month I should be finished with the Physical therapy, though healing will continue for quite a while. If my knee can bend 115 degrees before then, I will finish PT sooner 🙂 Thank you all so much for your Prayers, and ever so many encouragements!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I realize this letter is becoming a medical letter, BUT I believe I should warn you what happened to me: Six weeks before and six weeks after having a knee replacement, one can not have any dental work done unless it is an emergency, due to the possibility of getting an infection in the knee. So before that time frame started, I had my routine exam, only to be told I needed a root canal. It was a back tooth and I did not want that done as it is sooo expensive. I asked for the tooth to be pulled. BECAUSE I HAD HAD ONE INJECTION OF PROLIA FOR OSTEOPOROSIS last February my dentist would not pull it. He referred me to a dental surgeon who would also not pull it. The problem is – when one is on treatment for osteoporosis it hardens the bones and the jaw bone is the problem. In pulling a tooth, the jaw bone can fracture!!!!!! We only saw that being told on a TV advertisement!!! I had been eating some almonds and I think that aggravated the tooth. Actually the tooth settled down so we did not follow through with it, BUT recently it has started acting up again. The dental surgeon had given me a referral to another surgeon, so on December 19th I see a Dr Chin for a consultation. I appreciate your prayers for that appointment. So, I wanted to warn any of you about such drugs and the side effects!!!! I am not taking the medicine any more!!!!!!!!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with friends and trust you all had Special times with family or friends also!!!

WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR EACH OF YOU!!!!! YOU ALL HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN OUR HEARTS and WE TRUST OUR FATHER TO ENCOURAGE YOU STEP by STEP as YOU WALK WITH HIM!!

Lovingly,

Charlie & Cherrie