forgotten touched her life in the past. Many and former students made their cards. “I received cards and e-mails from former students that I hadn’t seen or heard from in years,” Hanson says. “In addition to teaching elementary classes, I taught Sunday School classes for years. Many of those former students took time to pray for me and wish me well. It was all very helpful and I believe it had a lot to do with my recovery.” Her school, Missouri Valley Christian Academy, and church, Calvary Baptist, provided daily meals for Hanson and her family during her recovery. Altogether the Hansons enjoyed 50 days of ready-to-eat dishes. Hanson knows she isn’t “out of the woods” yet in terms of cancer issues. Every three months she’ll undergo a diagnostic CAT scan. In the meantime, doctors are closely monitoring her liver functions. “If pancreatic cancer returns, it often shows up in the liver,” Hanson says. “I’m also working with doctors to resolve pain issues I’ve had since surgery. They tell me they rearranged my insides quite a bit during surgery and that takes time to heal. I’m trusting it will be resolved and I’ll remain in good health.” Hanson will soon resume teaching responsibilities at Yankton’s Missouri Valley Christian Academy that were abruptly interrupted when she first became ill. “It’s always been my dream to teach first grade so I’m delighted this opportunity is still there for me,” Hanson says. “I’ve missed the kids and am looking forward to being in the classroom for the entire year. When I visited, they were all captivated by the ‘railroad track’ stitches on my abdomen. They all wanted a chance to see what that looked like. “One of my friends told me that all the kids I worked with in the past and helped learn to pray were now praying for me,” Hanson adds. “I thought that was pretty neat. I’m fortunate that I can not only teach prayer at Sunday School, but pray daily with my students. What I want to take away from all of this is the goodness of people in our community and those in other states who didn’t even know me but prayed for my recovery. Just knowing they were willing to take time for that made every part of this experience easier to work through.” n By Loretta Sorensen Her Voice Scarecrow Photo Contest Robin Neth and family of Scotland, South Dakota submitted this photo of their scarecrow “Sammy”, posing with Robin’s children Kristin and Kellyn. Congratulations Robin and thank you for reading Her Voice! 33??????3?????3 ????3???3???3???3??? 3 Matt Dvorak, PT Michelle Valencsin, PT Morgen Square 260.5003 HERVOICE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2014 v 5