Shana Bearden

1-29-2009
We just walked in from a week at our favorite spot in Puerto Morelos Mexico and we can only report that it was a fantastic trip and we came back refreshed and ready to get things going again. We have been going to this same area at least once a year (and often more) for about a dozen years but this time the weather was absolutely wonderful (72-80 during day, 65-72 at night) and the clearest I have ever seen anyplace. A recent hurricane stole all of the sand from Cancun and deposited it on our little beach so that the beaches were 100 feet wider, much whiter and even cleaner than normal. We normally go during the summer because of kids and jobs and it is often hot and muggy down there. Not this trip. It was cool during the days and although the water was a bit cool, it was easily adjusted to and the rainy season has just stopped the week before we arrived so every thing was emerald green and clean. The busy season for this town is when all of the Canadians and winter yankees come down to spend the winter. There was a large crowd of very pleasant Canadians and quite a few northern US types and we enjoyed meeting and talking with them but none of the Canadians would divulge how they can afford to take off from November until April when they return home. Most of the visitors were not wealthy but instead were Canadian Government workers who have seniority and can take these long trips by claiming their annual leave from thier posts. One lady said she only makes about $12,000 working for the Canadian Post Office but that she had enough seniority to take off without pay for three months each year without losing her job. She said her replacement had already had two fingers injured by frostbite. She did not sound all that concerned to be honest.
We had our friends Diane and Bernie Donahue go with us and they are part of what made the trip wonderful. Bernie is a good cook and he was up early every day and fixed at least three meals a day so that we only ate out one time. That saves a lot of money and is a lot safer for Shana so she doesn’t get sick. Brad was with us for the first three days and then was stuck at the airport upon his return for 7 hours while he waited on AeroMexico to send a plane to pick up the charter group stuck in Cancun. Brad did not want to go back but he was a good sport about it and went back without too much crying.
Shana was up early every day and at the beach shortly after breakfast. She loved sitting on the beach or sitting in the Condo gardens because everything was so pretty. She spent quite a bit of time in the water and was perfectly happy to just sit and watch her surroundings. We drank a lot of margaritas and beer and we got to read books on the beach. It was great.
We only went out one day. Shana and Diane decided that they wanted to go over to Isla Mujhares, an island off of Cancun that was just a little Mexican village the last time we visited it in the 1980’s. It has changed a lot. Diane got a thrill riding the ferry over to the island and we rented a golf cart to drive around the island. Diane started off sitting next to me while I drove the golf cart but before long we had to change that due to her screaming and yelling things like “OH MY GOD, Jim, there’s a pothole two blocks up.” She just has problems generally being quite and being a backseat driver. After a short while, we found a funky little bar owned by a former Dallas Banker who has converted his backyard into a beach bar with a Jimmy Buffet flair. After several stiff drinks to calm my nerves from Diane screaming in my ears because of a little erratic driving, we put her in the backseat facing toward the rear so she could only see where we had been and not where we were going. It worked much better. We had a wonderful beach fish dinner and took the ferry back to the mainland as the Sun set over the horizan and then took a slow drive thru downtown Cancun and the hotel district. Cancun seems to be hurting from the economic downturn so prices seem to be dropping pretty quick.
We did not do any shopping or anything special but this trip was, by unanimous consensus, the best trip we have had in the 30 to 40 trips we have made to Mexico over the years. We just spent a lot of time with each other and got some rest in what can only be described as paradise. This spot may be changing however. While we were there, the government announced that they will be building 27,000 new houses just across the road from where we normally stay. We are worried that this will change the dynamics of Puerto Morelos but it will be good for local real estate values.
We just heard from April, our daughter, that she may deliver ahead of her March 9 due date because the baby is so large and has already dropped so we are waiting for that call to go to the valley to be with her.
We are going to keep going strong right up to the surgery date and we will be trying to schedule flights and hotel rooms over the next week or so. We want to go into the surgery as positively as possible and pray for the very best. Please help us pray for Shana and all of our sick friends who also need your thoughts and prayer. Please give up a prayer for Shana, Alicia Kolton, Larry Williams, Deb Tulley, Beverly Edmonson, Cathy Stephans and Charles Castleberry.

1-16-09
This has been a really long and tough week for Shana. Her new chemo really messed up her blood and her body and she has been hurting from top to bottom all week long. Her insides hurt and her extremities are really sore. We went to the treatment center yesterday and they checked her blood. Her white blood count and attendant chemicals were dangerously low and they gave her a couple of liters of fluids. Today she feels a bit better but she is still not back to her old self. I know she must be sick because we saw a sale at Dillards and she didn’t even get excited. However, as soon as she felt a little bit better today she went to visit a friend to see her new house and spent a couple of hours over there. Last night she went accross the street to Kathy Segreti’s house and joined her Bunko group which was meeting last night. While she was gone, Brad and I went to see The Curious Case of Benjimen Butler. It is a great movie but a little depressing. Go see it if you can.
We are going to Mexico next week for a week because we got free tickets there and the Donohues will be going with us. I am worried that we will be down there particularly with her white blood counts low but hopefully, the counts will come back up by next week. She is almost demanding to go and she wants to spend some real time just sitting in the ocean. She has always loved where we go in Mexico but this time she is really demanding that we go and just enjoy the water. The boss has spoken so we are leaving on Thursday night with Brad who will come back after three days.
Please keep the prayers going because we have to have a great surgery outcome this time on Shana and it could easily go either way. I really need your help on this one because if this doesn’t work, they will be very hesitant to ever give her another surgery. Please pray hard for my baby.