When Your Dad was Your Age....

Max and Mark,

I thought you might like to see some pictures of your dad when he was your age. I sent you some in the mail today, but thought I would post some as well.

Christmas Clips

Thanks to all who have checked back regularly for more video clips. Here are a few:

This one is from Christmas 2008. Mom had just gotten out of the hospital for her first surgery. This was both Deron and Mom's last Christmas:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaRrOzPyWew

Christmas Day 2007.
This was Deron's last Christmas, possibly last day, at Mom's house.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxsMnuB0nhM&feature=channel

Christmas Eve Tag 2007.
For all of you who didn't think Sharon could be wild and crazy....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oEOVRoHnNY

Christmas Cookies 2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4h2bsZg400

All Good Things....

I wish the blog could keep going. I wish Deron were here to write it. But it was his ideas and passion and experiences that made it interesting. No one else can duplicate that.

Thank you to all you readers out there who joined Deron from a distance. I've heard many of you say that you felt like you knew Deron through the blog even though you never met him. It was so neat to see someone so private about his disease his whole life, open up in cyberspace. He would never have had the chance to make so many friends or impact so many people as he did without it.

Deron's and Mom's funeral services and slide shows are posted, so those of you who couldn't make it in person can see or hear what they were like. They were both so good, so appropriate to each person.

I may occasionally post more old videos of Deron with the kids as I come across them. I have more.

It hurts to think that people aren't going to be reading his blog any more. One thing I do when I really miss Deron is to go back in his blog to today's date, a year ago, and see what was on his mind. Sometimes I can imagine his voice reading post, and it makes me smile.

One of the pastors at Deron's funeral reminded us that God isn't finished with Deron. And I'm so glad. But Deron has no more need of this blog. It remains for his boys, for Jan, for me, and for you to read if we wish.

The End.

Sharon's Funeral

We did not video Mom's funeral, but we did make an audio recording. My movie making skills are extremely limited, so I put the audio file with one picture that was on the service brochure. The picture lasts about five seconds, and then you see a blank screen, but you hear the entire service.

It is posted on YouTube in several parts. You will hear three Johnny Cash songs in the middle of the service. Those were played during a slide show. The complete slide show is shown here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOWX6sJlphc

Thanks to our friend Adam Molstad for putting it together.

Here is the service:

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wG49mSQ9W54
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XXRNOukGw8
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TaYadHIFsI
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8Zf3RN24I4
Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gCAi7_FI7A
Part 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0znTjS_kUW8
Part 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmpDURYYIS4


One more thing...the service was underway when they began recording. You miss part of the scripture reading. It is listed below:

"The things we see are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever. For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven - God made, not handmade - and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move - and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less.

"That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming.

"But neither exile or homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions. Sooner or later we'll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions. We will appear before Christ and take what's coming to us as a result of our actions, either good or bad."

2 Corinthians 5:1-10.

Deron's Funeral

Thank you to all for checking back to see if Deron's funeral service has been posted. It was more of a battle than I was expecting. Thank you to my friend Sally's husband Todd for helping me out.

The service is posted on YouTube in 11 parts:

Part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAP7IVq_crM
Part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGqJROH6d00
Part 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yh6jyvvQP4c
Part 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aU9Xez6ExFA
Part 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bikwnJFWdkA
Part 6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ7Qa0WYOT0
Part 7
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8NaF2_jJSg
Part 8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZDGIkXRYI
Part 9
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yVePWJ85VE
Part 10
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrvOzSPUnX8
Part 11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRkZt8WHGYs

I still miss him so much.

Sharon's Funeral

Sharon's funeral will be in Brookings, SD at the Wesleyan Church on Tuesday, Dec. 1, at 11:00 am. Visitation will be at the church from 9:00 am until the time of the service.

Sharon is in Heaven

Dawn called just a little while ago. She asked me to put it on the blog. She said that Sharon went peacefully.

Sharon is now running a fever of 102 degrees. The doctor has said that this is common with brain tumors as there is swelling in the brain, and, among other things, the brain has difficulty regulating temperature. Also, her blood pressure is low.

Dawn says that Sharon continues to appear comfortable, and that they will keep her in the Hospice House until the end. The doctors continue to have difficulty giving a time frame as to when that would be. We pray that God will take her quickly so that she will not suffer.

Thanks again for your prayers, and we will do our best to keep you updated.

Update on Sharon

Over the past two days, Sharon's condition has continued to decline fairly rapidly. On Tuesday, Sharon was talking about things that didn't really make sense, but Dawn could understand the words. Yesterday, Sharon began mumbling her words, and Dawn could not understand them. Now, Dawn tells me, that Sharon has not really woken up in the last 24 hours.

She is sleeping comfortably, and does not appear to be in pain. They are giving her continuous IV morphine, and this appears to be keeping the pain under control very well. They are not giving her any other medications at this time. They do not feel they are necessary.

Her breathing is heavy, but it is at a regular rate at this time. Dawn states that everyone she talks to at the Hospice House gives her a different estimate as to how long until Sharon would join Gene and Deron in heaven so no one really knows (except God). We take comfort in the fact that Sharon is not in pain.

This is about all I know for now. Dawn is remaining strong in her faith and she is dealing with all this as well as anyone could expect. We want to thank you again for all the prayers for our family. We will keep everyone updated the best we can.

One to Two Weeks

Mom is declining rapidly. She is currently in the Hospice House, which is beautiful. They thought she would be transferred to a local nursing home, but now they think she will most likely need to be at the Hospice House. They believe she is showing signs of being about 1-2 weeks from passing away.

She had a rough day today with confusion and agitation and possibly some pain, but I think they found the right mix of drugs for her now. When I left today, she gave me a big smile and said, "We had a lot of fun, didn't we!"

No More

Mom saw an oncologist at the University of Iowa today. Due to her weakened condition, he will not give her any more chemo. Her radiologist says they have done what they can do with radiation. Hopefully, she will retain her vision, which was the goal.

The oncologist said that her high calcium level, which was the reason she was in the hospital, was a direct result of the cancer.

He suggested contacting hospice, which we are doing.

And I just talked with the doctor, and we have to go back in to a hospital here. More details to follow.

Lifting Weights

Some of you may not know that Deron was quite a weight lifter. Of course, his workouts were more strenuous in his younger years, but here he is a little over a year before transplant lifting weights with Mark.

Deron's Life Story

Thought I would post this for those who couldn't be at the funeral...I like the term "life story" instead of "obituary." This was printed on the back of the program at the funeral.

Deron was born August 18, 1971, in Brookings, SD, the sone of Eugene and Sharon (Johnson) Arnold. He was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis when he was 4 years old. He grew up in Brookings, graduating from high school in 1990. Deron made it his goal to become a doctor at a young age. He studied very hard and was first in his class in high school and college, and received many honors in medical school. He received his undergraduate degree in Chemistry from South Dakota State University in 1994 and attended medical school at University of South Dakota, Vermillion, receiving his MD in 1998.

Deron was a wonderful person to be around. He was warm, fun, and surprisingly energetic considering his condition. Ever since he was little, he used his treatment time to read or study. He loved to read the Bible, particularly the Psalms, and various books about Christianity. C. S. Lewis ane J. R. R. Tolkein were among his favorite authors. Later, he also used his treatment time to search the internet for various tidbits of interest - many of which he incorporated into his blog, "Here In Time."

He always kept his childlike curiosity for learning. He enjoyed comparing and contrasting different versions of the Bible, and he enjoyed his profession so much that he often requested medical books as well as various study Bibles and other reference works for Christmas and birthday presents. An added benefit of his chosen profession was meeting Jan while they were both working at the same hospital. On June 13th, 1998, he was united in marriage to Jan Gustafson at Viking Covenant Church in Viking, Minnesota. They moved to Sioux Falls, SD, where he started his five-year residency in pathology. He completed his residency at the USD in Sioux Falls in 2003, and they moved to Willmar, MN. He was a pathologist with Minnesota Pathologists Chartered at Rice Memorial Hospital.

Deron was loved and encouraged first by his father and mother, and later by his sister, wife and twin sons, Maxwell and Mark, who were born on Dec. 31st, 2004. Being a husband and father was one of his life's greatest desires - one not often fulfilled for someone with cystic fibrosis. It gave him a great deal of happiness, joy and fulfillment like no other experience in his life.

Deron lived his life based on his faith in Jesus. He was loving, fair, honorable, helpful, persistent, and truthful. He loved his wife and was faithful to her. He loved his kids and spent as much time as he could playing with them, leading devotions at bedtime, and showing a Godly example to them. He worked hard and performed excellently as a pathologist, even though he never felt well. He tried to find humor where possible in his circumstances.

Due to his treatments, it was difficult to spend much time with Deron. But for those who got that chance, even for a few minutes, the surprise was that although they may have thought they were visiting to uplift him, they were the ones who left inspired.

Surviving are his wife, Jan of Willmar; sons, Maxwell and Mark; mother, Sharon Arnold of Brookings, SD; sister Dawn (and Joel) Mason of Cedar Falls, IA; many uncles, aunts, and cousins; four nieces and one nephew. He was preceded in death by his father, Gene, and all grandparents.

He is truly enjoying Heaven. My his memory be blessed.

Surprised by Joy

I was going through the tapes I made of Deron's funeral service and found an unexpected surprise. The following clip was taken a year before transplant, at Deron's 37th Birthday.

Thought this one was good, too:

I've got lots more I just need to find....