Georgia Low Country = God's Country

When I get to go home occasionally from my work, I go to Savannah. I've included a few pictures of Skidaway Island where we live. The island is surrounded on three sides by tidal marsh and one side by Ossabaw and Wassaw Sounds of the Atlantic Ocean. I am hooked on the tidal marsh, which is full of egret, heron and other wildlife. As the tide recedes twice every day, they feed on the ecosystem of the marsh which has small crabs, shrimp, and fish.

The tidal change around Savannah is 8-9 feet, the largest along the Atlantic Coast of the US. That is related to the inward curve of the coastline around Savannah, which is due south of Pittsburgh/Cleveland. It is the western-most point on the US Atlantic coastline. The effect is called the Georgia Notch and it also means we have a very low hurricane rating due to that geography. Only maritime Canada has larger tide changes in eastern North America, which in the Bay of Fundy are a whopping 40 feet. I took these pix on Saturday while out logging in 12 miles. Next weekend the miles ratchet up again to 18 miles. I had a foot injury from last weekend and have been nursing my right heel. I was worried I might have a stress fracture (remember Tom DeLay on DWTS?). Fortunately my foot pain has gone away and I am back on track.

My honored hero today is JJL, the daughter of our dear friends MJ and KJ. Joe has known J since she was a little girl and I met her as a teenager. J is currently in her mid 30's, a mom of two, and the wife of a Marine officer. When she was a carefree single gal, living in DC, and working for a Senator, she signed up to be a bone marrow donor. She wrangled her parents, M and K to do it also. J got called up and donated to a perfect stranger. She took the blood stem cell growth factor medicine. She got hooked up to a machine that looks like a dialysis mechanism but instead it is designed to run her blood through it to filter out the stem cells for the transplant. Her donor was a woman in Indiana. That transplant extended the woman's life for five years. Sadly, the lady ultimately died of leukemia. After her death, her husband called J to again thank her. He wanted J to know that in spite of her death, that extra five years had allowed her to see her grandchildren born and enjoy their lives for a short time----and that had been very important to their family. I give J a lot of credit....there aren't many single 20 year olds that think beyond themselves to make this sacrifice for a stranger.

I got swabs to gets cells out of my cheek for the donor registry. Will send them in this week.

Please say a prayer for two young people suffering today from ALL, Acue Lymphoblastic Leukemia. First, I heard about Nick Doize from my Brenham friend. Nick is 16 years old and has suffered from ALL for 3 1/2 years. He is being treated at MD Anderson in Houston and needs prayers at this time. He lives in Katy Tx and is a student a Taylor High School, although due to his illness he has spent most of his high school days out of school.

Also, I checked out the blog for Riley Mika. On Saturday, yesterday, her mom posted that Riley has a fever and is being treated and tested at this moment at Texas Children's Hospital to find out what is wrong. A fever in a leukemia patient is always something to be very concerned about. Check out Riley's blog at http://rileyelizabethmika.blogspot.com/

Say a prayer for that sweet little girl and for her family who must be highly anxious as they wait for test results.

Things to be thankful for: BEING AT HOME!!!! my tempurpedic bed, our outdoor fireplace on a cool evening.