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Final Sherk Update March 15th , 2023

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Hello friends and family, The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 How are you? Can I not answer that question? How about, “not good.” I am brokenhearted and crushed in spirit. I’m not trying to be rude. Just being honest. It’s been almost three weeks since Sharon was embraced by the loving and healing arms of Jesus. By faith, I’m holding on to this vision and promise. By faith, I long for the closeness of God while in this tempest. Oh, how I miss my soulmate and my best friend. Sharon, I see you everywhere and yet you are nowhere in sight. My experience of grief has never been so intense, so life changing, so painful. My heart aches. Our heart breaks. My emotions are all over the place. Feeling numb one minute, one hour, one day…and a myriad of other emotions the next moment. Anger, guilt, confusion, panic, fear, despair, hope, loneliness are but a few items on the menu of feelings. How does one grieve? I feel pressure in the land o
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Sherk family update Feb 24th, 2023

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Hello friends and family, Blessed are those who mourn,  for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 Silent cries. Can’t breathe. We are into a deep winter of anguish. I love you, Sharon. We love you mom. We are happy for you experiencing a peace with no pain. We are thrilled that you are healed beyond our comprehension. Yet, we miss you already and profoundly. Come back please! We know you cannot. While we are in a storm you are in a calm. We look forward to spring, your favourite season, for renewal, rebirth, and resurrection, to be comforted. See you soon… Dean and family https://www.henrywalser.com/memorials/sharon-sherk/5147186/index.php For those asking how they can help: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/l6525d https://gofund.me/2fb06667
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Sherk Update Feb 21st, 2023

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Hello friends and family, Last lasts! Dean here. I can’t pretend that today is not a painful day. This 24-hour period brings to close several lasts from this past week. What do I mean?  Valentine’s Day – on February 15th Sharon was fortunate enough to have a hospital bed with an air mattress delivered to our home. It was a blessing for her to have this bed, set up in our dining room, for six nights. Comfort and relief from pressure/bed sores. However, earlier, Valentine’s Day represented our last evening sharing our bedroom. At 5am that ‘night’ we were awake, mindful, and thankful for our marriage and the love we have shared for over 37 years. We reviewed memories and we recognized we have so much to be grateful for! Thank you, God, …and it hurts.  Family Day Weekend – February 19th – all our kids and grandkids gathered at our place for one last time as a family to celebrate “us,” Sharon and God’s goodness. It was a wonderful day, with storytelling, sharing memories and yet our souls a
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Sherk Update Feb13th, 2023

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Not a day goes by without the shedding of tears, but not a day goes by without us receiving a reminder of God’s grace and love. We are saddened by the relentless speed and aggression of this cancer. I am literally seeing the life and vitality of my best friend and life partner being attacked every day and every hour. Sharon is losing energy and strength, and simple tasks like getting out of bed or taking a few steps or going up a few stairs are daunting. We are all exhausted by this disease that takes no breaks. Our circumstances are beyond our control. The reality is life was never in our control. We sense we are being invited to “let go” and surrender control while simultaneously putting our trust primarily in God for the care of loved ones, and for the future. In essence we are invited to ‘choose life and blessing. ’Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would
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Sherk Update Jan 30th, 2023

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Dear friends and family, Pathway of pain and possibilities Weakness, weeping, relentless aches and pain, powerlessness, resentment, envy, weariness, anxiety, confusion, anger, and impatience. Thanksgiving, praise, calm, hope, community, grace, and love. These are just some of the emotions, actions, and conditions we have experienced since our last post– some chosen and some not. Words don’t convey our turmoil and stubborn faith. Did you notice the first list is rather bleak and the second list is more hopeful? Did you notice the first list is longer? That’s been our journey of late. Frankly, it’s been difficult, and we’ve had a disheartening week. I wish I could say we are in some way beating this cancer and fighting with strength, but that would be a lie. We need God’s strength, and we need a miracle. Would you lift us up in prayer and lift our arms to God when we simply don’t have the energy to do so? Thank you for your gifts of friendship, counsel, and service. Thank you for joining
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Sherk Update Jan 21st, 2023

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Dear friends and family, Living in a season of loss and love.  Last week in our update we mentioned that Sharon was admitted into the hospital, due to a high fever. This week’s update is a follow-up and we have difficult news to share. Following numerous tests, on Tuesday afternoon, our oncologists (team), shared a painful reality with us. "The chemotherapy is not working." A CT scan revealed that the tumours in Sharon’s liver had not begun to shrink and in fact had grown. The best chemo regime was ineffective versus a very aggressive cancer. Shocked, we asked about future courses of action. "What are our options going forward?" One option presented was a different type of chemo, a "second best" chemo product that had even more significant side effects than the one we were on. The oncologist was not hopeful nor sounded promising about the positive impact of this option.  The other option presented was to pursue a palliative path of care focusing on pain an
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Sherk Update! Jan 14th, 2023

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Hello family and friends, Thank-you for your prayers and thoughts. Sharon signed off on our last post with a hopeful statement, 2023 is going to be a good year! We are still hopeful, but discouraged. This update will be brief. 2023 has brought many challenges and difficult experiences. And we are only two weeks into the month of January. Our fourth round of chemo was incomplete.  Our slow drip bottle of chemo had a kink in the line and didn't deliver the chemo fully. We have had numerous days and evenings dealing with fever (which means infection somewhere) and this has resulted in trips to emerg.   Our latest (5th) round of chemo was supposed to be this past Thursday but it was postponed due to fever the evening before. We will have chemo next Thursday instead, and with that a new bi-weekly schedule.    We have some tests coming up this week (Wednesday) - X-rays, bone scan, etc. We continue to appreciate your prayers.  Please pray against infections and discouragement.  We are fee
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