Diane Craver - Blog

AMISH BABY SNATCHED - Awesome Review!

9/12/2019

Norma Den posted this review the other day on Amazon.

5 stars We meet old friends in this new series. Excellent story.

What fun to meet up with old friends from the first series set in Fields Corner Ohio. When Beth & Chloe meet, one Amish & the other “English”, their paths cross. Both pregnant, one unmarried, they form a special friendship. Throughout their pregnancies they support each other through heartache & despair. This book goes into the pain of having a stillborn baby, the sorrow of having to make decisions between keeping or having a baby adopted. Well written, clean & altogether a good story.

Purchase here:
Amazon

A Christmas of Hope Review

9/7/2019

Christmas of Hope is a delightful Christmas tale centered around the lives of Rachel and Samuel Weaver residing in Fields Corner. Diane Carver knows how to captivate readers quickly with her characters and action within the first page or two. I appreciated catching up with the beloved characters from Carver’s earlier books, The Bishop’s Daughters and Dreams of Plain Daughters series, which were mentioned in this novella making this an extra special read any time of the year.

This story brought life to the challenges each character was facing in the various stages of their lives. With an accident happening near Christmas the true meaning of hope was discovered in a new way for characters needing renewed hope and peace. There’s a gentle faith message with interspersed Biblical principles along with dimensional characters, realistic life issues to conquer and even a budding romance of a young couple.

I look forward to reading many more of Craver’s books as they are released. I enjoy how she has crafted extra-ordinary stories mixing the Amish and English worlds together through her characters.

By Reviewer, Marilyn R.

Last Chemo Treatments!

9/6/2019

On Wednesday and Thursday, I received my last chemo treatments. I didn't feel well after them. Very lightheaded, weak, and other side effects.. I'm a little better today. I go in October for a survivorship visit with NP. In December, I start my maintenance plan.

I lost blog posts when I switched to a new theme for website. I did copy some of my posts and reposted them here.

September is Lymphoma Month!

9/3/2019

I recently joined a FB Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma group. I have gotten some feedback from others about the 2 year maintenance plan. I'm considering doing it. First, I have to get the last cycle of chemo treatments finished. Hopefully, I will this week!!!!

More Shots to Get WBC up

8/30/2019

I received my third shot today. My blood count still isn't high enough for chemo but getting closer. I have hopes that I'll have my sixth cycle of chemo next week. I wish I could have had it this week because next week we are babysitting our granddaughter two days. I'm sure it will work out. I suppose if I still don't have treatment next week, then might as well forget about it. I am in remission now.I probably will do the maintenance program for two years. From what we were told on Wednesday, it sounds like I have a higher chance of getting cancer again the first year.

We don't really have any plans for the Labor Day weekend. Last Friday night was so much fun because I decided to take the family out to celebrate two August birthdays (Sara's and Bart's), Christina's new teaching job, and my remission. We went to Rincon restaurant and it was a great time.

Grandchildren are back in school. Here are pictures of Dillon, Elena, Lila and Dean! They are so adorable!

Unexpected Flowers!

8/26/2019

Tom gave me beautiful roses today! I was surprised. That was very sweet! He also cooked supper but my darling husband does that frequently.

No Cancer!

8/18/2019

My oncologist on Wednesday told me and hubby that NO cancer showed up on my PET scan.

He also said that my spleen had shrunk and is just a little enlarged now. I am blessed to be in remission and thankful to all the prayers said for me. I wasn't able to have chemo on Wednesday due to my low white blood count. I feel like I'm on a roller coaster at times. Up one minute and back down again. I wanted to get the 6th cycle of treatments out of the way. I'm surprised because I had an on-site injector of medication after July's chemo treatment, so my white blood count would stay high enough for this month. It was 420 and needs to be 1000 (which is still low) or higher to be able to have chemo. Next appointments are August 28 and 29 for chemo treatments. I'm glad Dr. Herms made it for 2 weeks instead of this next week already. He wants my body to have time to recover from the low blood count.

This delay in treatment gives me more time to decide what to do about the maintenance program. I have Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and the marginal zone type which has relapses. If I do a 2 year maintenance plan, I'll go every other month and get the drug rituximab by IV. If I do this, I might have 7 years before I get marginal zone type of NHL again. If I don't do it, I might have 4 years before it returns.

Anniversary and Shipshewana Author/Reader Event!

8/8/2019

I can't believe it has been a week since Tom and I attended the Amish event in the charming town of Shipshewana. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to because some days I had absolutely no energy. I am so thankful I was able to attend. Chatting with friends and meeting new ones was a wonderful experience. It was fun meeting some of my readers. I'll share pictures that my husband took for me. Also Tom was with me for part of the book signing I did on our forty-fourth wedding anniversary. That evening we attended an Amish dinner at Yoder's farm. Saturday we went on a carriage ride, then went swimming at our hotel's pool, and attended Mass. We picked up a pizza on the way back to Shipshewana (went to church in White Pigeon, Michigan) and attended the play, A Simple Sanctuary, at Blue Gate Theatre. We enjoyed the play that was based on a novel by Beverly and David Lewis and the actors were awesome!

On Tuesday, I will go to Jewish Hospital to have a P.E.T. scan. Then on Wednesday, I'll see Dr. Herms to hear the results. I have chemo on Wednesday and Thursday.

Cancer Update!

7/22/2019

My daughter Emily took me to chemo on Wed. I was glad I could finally have the treatment. My IV stand is on other side of my purse. I had to get the IV in my right arm. She couldn't get a vein in left arm. Chemo is hard on the veins. It was the fourth week by the time I could have chemo. It's been stressful. The insurance had to approve the shots and so I had to play the waiting game until that happened. I was told that the insurance company likes to wait to see if the patient's white blood count will increase on its own which mine never did. I finally had my white blood count up on Sunday when I was at Jewish Hospital. My treatment center is closed on Saturday and Sunday so I had to go to their treatment center at Jewish Hospital on the weekend. I had the shot on Sat. and on Sunday I didn't need it because my count was up to 1700. After my chemo on Friday, the nurse put an on-site injector on my arm. It was set for 27 hours and at 4:00 pm on Saturday, it beeped, then injected medication for 50 minutes. It will help keep my white blood count up so I can have chemo treatment in August. I was relieved when I could remove the patch and the whole thing. It kept flashing a green light every several seconds for the whole time. Emily said it looked like dental floss. LOL

Fleeting Hope Review!

7/19/2019

Here's a new review for FLEETING HOPE and it is in my Dreams of Plain Daughters Series:

5 stars - A Delightful Read!
"Another glimpse of Amish family life. Endearing characters and well developed. This book is hard to put down! I thoroughly enjoyed it."

What every author loves to hear! Buy here at Amazon!