Thank You for Your Prayers
Hello from Montana!
We're at the end of a very long Sunday. Jason's dad had brain surgery this morning to remove a cyst that was creating pressure on his brain. This surgery was a risky one, with sudden death during surgery, mistaking radiated normal brain tissue for cancerous brain tissue, and bacterial meningitis as very real possibilities. The decision was made to move ahead with the surgery, because without it, he would not have survived much longer. We started our day at 7:00 assembled in his hospital room with both sets of Jason's grandparents, his stepbrother and stepsister-in-law, a couple who are good friends of his parents, and us. Jason's granddad led us in prayer, Jason read some scripture, and we sang some hymns together. It was a sweet time. Lynn finally went into surgery at 9:30 MST, at little later than expected.
The doctor believed he saw a cyst on the MRI, but when the surgeon saw the mass during the surgery today, he determined that it was not really much of a cyst at all. It was instead portions of the tumor that had died, having exhausted the blood supply to those portions. Those were removed, as was any tumor that the doctor could see. Lynn's survival of the five hour surgery and the removal of the source of the pressure on his brain was a wonderful blessing and answer to prayer. The six hours he was away from us were difficult, and there was obvious relief among us when we finally knew that the surgery was over and he seemed to be okay.
The sad news that we have is that the chemotherapy and radiation have had no impact on his cancer. He is in the twenty percent of cases of this type of cancer that does not respond to the treatment at all. The doctor gives him six months at the most, but we are preparing ourselves for less than that, based on the experience of the last three months.
He is currently in ICU, and he was very groggy when we left for supper this evening. We plan to go back to the hospital in a little while to see him again. We are so tired--it was a very short night, and many of us slept very little. The day was emotionally exhausting, and we are ready to crash. (Jason's actually sleeping beside me in the car as I write to you.) We will be in Montana for at least another week. We will update again as we can, although it may not be often. (Our dial-up connection isn't working.) If you think to pray for us, pray specifically that his body resists infection. He is still at risk for bacterial meningitis, which would be fatal.
We understand that a significant portion of adult Sunday School was spent in prayer for us this morning. Thank you so much for that ministry to us--we know God used your prayers to hold us up on this difficult day. We love you, and we thank God for each of you.
Allison
We're at the end of a very long Sunday. Jason's dad had brain surgery this morning to remove a cyst that was creating pressure on his brain. This surgery was a risky one, with sudden death during surgery, mistaking radiated normal brain tissue for cancerous brain tissue, and bacterial meningitis as very real possibilities. The decision was made to move ahead with the surgery, because without it, he would not have survived much longer. We started our day at 7:00 assembled in his hospital room with both sets of Jason's grandparents, his stepbrother and stepsister-in-law, a couple who are good friends of his parents, and us. Jason's granddad led us in prayer, Jason read some scripture, and we sang some hymns together. It was a sweet time. Lynn finally went into surgery at 9:30 MST, at little later than expected.
The doctor believed he saw a cyst on the MRI, but when the surgeon saw the mass during the surgery today, he determined that it was not really much of a cyst at all. It was instead portions of the tumor that had died, having exhausted the blood supply to those portions. Those were removed, as was any tumor that the doctor could see. Lynn's survival of the five hour surgery and the removal of the source of the pressure on his brain was a wonderful blessing and answer to prayer. The six hours he was away from us were difficult, and there was obvious relief among us when we finally knew that the surgery was over and he seemed to be okay.
The sad news that we have is that the chemotherapy and radiation have had no impact on his cancer. He is in the twenty percent of cases of this type of cancer that does not respond to the treatment at all. The doctor gives him six months at the most, but we are preparing ourselves for less than that, based on the experience of the last three months.
He is currently in ICU, and he was very groggy when we left for supper this evening. We plan to go back to the hospital in a little while to see him again. We are so tired--it was a very short night, and many of us slept very little. The day was emotionally exhausting, and we are ready to crash. (Jason's actually sleeping beside me in the car as I write to you.) We will be in Montana for at least another week. We will update again as we can, although it may not be often. (Our dial-up connection isn't working.) If you think to pray for us, pray specifically that his body resists infection. He is still at risk for bacterial meningitis, which would be fatal.
We understand that a significant portion of adult Sunday School was spent in prayer for us this morning. Thank you so much for that ministry to us--we know God used your prayers to hold us up on this difficult day. We love you, and we thank God for each of you.
Allison
posted by Pastor Jason | 8:30 PM
1 Comments:
Pastor and Allison,
I am so very thankful, as you are, that your father came through this surgery. My vote is that you stay with your father for as long as possible. I wouldn't want to leave my parent's side if I were in your shoes. May God's will for your father be done and peace and comfort given to all of your family members.
Carol
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