Home at Last

Hello all. We've finally made it home. Our plane landed at RDU about 8:45 a.m. and after picking up our luggage, my cousin Philip (Jessica's brother) picked us up at the airport. We were quite surprised at the cool (dare I say cold?) temperatures as it was in the mid-70's when we left LB yesterday evening. We've had a very long day of travel and dad is currently getting a good, warm shower (hasn't had one of those in several days). He is quite tired and needs a lot of rest, so hopefully he will be able to get that today.

I can't tell you how good it is to be home. In life, I guess there's an inevitability that you will take some things for granted-- the closeness of loved ones, the comfortable feel of being in your own bed, sweet tea (no such thing in California!)-- but this experience has definitely brought a lot of things into focus for each of us. As dad and I sat talking on the plane while flying out of ATL, I asked him "I'll bet you never knew you had all of these wonderful people who care for you, did you?" His response was simple-- "no, I didn't, but it has truly been a blessing." And that's what we think of each of you-- a blessing. Your support during the past week has meant more than you will ever possibly know. We've met and/or heard from long-time friends, new friends and everyone in-between.

We don't know exactly what is next in this battle, but you can rest assured that we are much stronger and prepared to walk ahead now than we were a few days ago. I guess there are defining times in life-- marriage, the birth of a child, illness, the death of a loved one, etc.-- where the landscape shifts and doesn't seem like it will ever be the same, no matter how much we might want it to. Clearly, this is one of those defining and life-shifting periods of time for each of us. But I feel much better knowing that God worked through each of you to let us know that He was standing right there with us so that we would not-- nor will we ever-- be alone.

I'm going to keep this blog going because we have more ahead of us. Please continue to send your comments and prayers to dad through it-- he really likes being able to read over them and so do the rest of us.

Now, I'm going to head home to my darling wife who has bravely held down our fort with both of our kids all week. I'm really fortunate to have a strong and loving wife that took care of everything else so I could pick up and rush across the country to be with my dad this week. If there is a "wife of the year" award, I would nominate her for it in a heartbeat.

Thank you for your prayers. Please know that we appreciate each and every one of them.

Much love,
The Parks Family

Finally Able to Connect with Doctor at UNC

We received a call this morning from the office of the doctor that was treating the previous bout with melanoma. That doctor is based at UNC Hospitals and since everything took place over the weekend, it was difficult to get in touch with anyone over there. We've been able to give them a capsulated summary of the situation and provided a phone number to get them in contact with the medical team here at St. Mary's in LB. As we've said previously, we're trying to see what has to be done to move dad back home so this situation can be handled there.

Thank you once again for your e-mails, prayers and support. I would like to ask everyone to pray for two specific items today:
1. That dad will do well when the breathing tube is removed this morning to the point that he can sustain breathing on his own. This will allow us to move closer to getting the MRI done.
2. For strength for me, my mom, my sister, my wife and my brother-in-law. Each of us, with the exception of Melinda, are here in LB, which is an unfamiliar place and this is difficult to handle without the familiarity of home. Melinda is back at home with our children, Anna and Ryan. She is holding down the fort with both kids on her own and that's a challenge under any set of circumstances. So, prayers for strength would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all for your love and support.