Circular letter 5 (september 2002)

Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2002 17:07:35 +0200 To:  From: dulfer@xs4all.nl Subject: circular letter 09-2002 Cc:  Bcc: alluvathsalya@yahoo.com, antenna@eth.net, bshpdkl@yahoo.com, csatts@sify.com, dmcsi@md4.vsnl.net.in, evdinga@rediff.com, jkum2000@hotmail.com, leivonccc@yahoo.co.in, pcicomshg@yahoo.com, pfrank_dalit@yahoo.com, Revdinga 021@yahoo.com, riniralte@lycos.com, shobha8@hotmail.com, solomonraj32@hotmail.com, try_nehmiah@sancharnet.in, ttsmdu@sify.com, tvm_nalinin@sancharnet.in, vjwmaurice@sancharnet.in Circular letter 5 Amersfoort, 7 September 2002 Dear friends, Through this circular letter we wish to let you know that we are very grateful for all letters, cards, emails and telephone calls that we received from you in the past few months. It is time to give you an update of our situation. On Wednesday 4 September we visited our medical specialist and the next day we had a consultation with our home practitioner. Lucie's condition has deteriorated quite rapidly over the last two weeks. It has become difficult for her to take food (which Gerard prepares and offers in small quantities) and her physical reserves are quickly depleted. Also the results of blood tests show that her condition has gone down quickly. To our great regret we have to acknowledge that she has entered a new phase. The moment that she will have to stay in bed is nearing quickly. At the moment she is still on her feet during part of the day. If she wants to go out we use a wheel chair that is equipped with an electrical motor and battery in order to allow her to save her energy (the wheel chair is a heirloom of Gerard's mother). We still hope that Lucie may be able to attend the official part of the wedding ceremony of Bas (our youngest son) and Ida on the 26th of September. But - as we wrote in our previous circular letter - we live by the day and our concrete planning covers a period of about one week. Gerard's condition under Kahler's disease has stabilized despite the fact that the last four chemotherapy treatments have been less 'strong' than the first two treatments. The present treatment will be continued for the next two months. His current physical condition allows him to carry out the necessary household tasks as well as daily care for Lucie; assistance is coming from the local home care organisation, members of our family and our dear neighbours. On the 21st of July we celebrated our 35st marriage anniversary which was attended by our (grand)children, Lucie's 94 year old mother, and our neigbours. The last week of August we were able to stay in a small cottage on a camping place in Hoenderloo (a village amid several extensive nature reserve areas). Diederik (our eldest son) and his family had made the reservation on the same camping where they were having their 3 week holiday. All went well and we enjoyed the possibility of making small trips in the nature reserve areas by car, lying in the heather and smelling the honey. Bas and Ida also joined us for one day. We are very happy that we could have this time together. We started this letter by saying how grateful we are for all signs of sympathy and support as well as prayers that we received. Also from many friends and acquaintances abroad. Thank you so much.  We hope that also in the coming period we will be able to continue our communication with you by email and postal services. Please be assured that we feel very much supported by your concern, sympathy and prayers. One of our very best friends wrote: "I do hope both you are feeling the hands of God and the wings of the angels touching your lives." All your messages bring to mind the verse/song written by the late German theologian Bonhoeffer: "By gracious powers so wonderfully sheltered and confidently waiting come what may, we know that God is with us night and morning and never fails to greet us each new day." All of you together are the gracious powers that shelter us. Best wishes and warm greetings, Gerard and Lucie P.S. We are not in a position to reach by email everybody with whom we would like to share the content of this letter. Please feel free to pass on this information to others who are interested. -------------------------------------------------- Gerard en Lucie Dulfer - Luijendijk Sint Andriesstraat 18 3811 HT Amersfoort The Netherlands  Tel. + 31 33 479 99 50 Email: dulfer@xs4all.nl