By Katie
Yesterday we talked to the pathologist who studied Matt's tumor. She told us that the cancer was only in stage 1 and very likely did not spread to any other part of his body. She said he has an excellent prognosis. Praise the Lord!
Today we'll meet with the doctors who operated on Matt. They'll give us their advice for a treatment plan. Also, yesterday I got three emails from people saying that there are three oncologists from the States who are all willing to look at Matt's pathology report and CT scan and give their opinions too. We're going to take them all up on it.
Matt's been doing better and better after the surgery, but certainly not 100% yet. That will take a while.
Please continue to pray for us. We will have a big decision to make in the next few days about when, where, how and whether to do treatments. Also, we've been holding up pretty well, but the stress of all this is certainly something we are contending with. Pray that God's hand is strong to hold us up and guide us. We can certainly feel God's presence and thank you for your prayers so far.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Update
By Katie
Matt had his surgery today as planned and it turned out well and almost exactly as the doctors had predicted it would. They removed the tumor, which had grown a little bit since Thursday, but had not spread to any other part of his body, so it was a relatively simple surgery. The pathologist determined that the tumor was malignant, and the type of cancer was seminoma. On Monday we'll have another appointment with the oncologist to find out the extended results of the biopsy. From there we'll know whether chemo or radiation will be best. Chemo or radiation won't start for another two to three weeks, so that buys us some time to figure out where to do the treatments and if they happen in the States, how to find a solution for our insurance because our insurance doesn't work in the US.
We've been holding up quite well, thanks to your prayers. God is certainly using the people who are here in Honduras to care for us. I had a little crowd of folks to sit with during the surgery and we've had some nice distractions over the last few days too with going out to the movies with friends and eating good meals together. The phone has been ringing off the hook with folks we work with here, church people and folks from the communities.
Thank you so much for your prayers for the surgery. Now we begin the road to recovery and treatments, and we'll still need your prayers. God is good!
Matt had his surgery today as planned and it turned out well and almost exactly as the doctors had predicted it would. They removed the tumor, which had grown a little bit since Thursday, but had not spread to any other part of his body, so it was a relatively simple surgery. The pathologist determined that the tumor was malignant, and the type of cancer was seminoma. On Monday we'll have another appointment with the oncologist to find out the extended results of the biopsy. From there we'll know whether chemo or radiation will be best. Chemo or radiation won't start for another two to three weeks, so that buys us some time to figure out where to do the treatments and if they happen in the States, how to find a solution for our insurance because our insurance doesn't work in the US.
We've been holding up quite well, thanks to your prayers. God is certainly using the people who are here in Honduras to care for us. I had a little crowd of folks to sit with during the surgery and we've had some nice distractions over the last few days too with going out to the movies with friends and eating good meals together. The phone has been ringing off the hook with folks we work with here, church people and folks from the communities.
Thank you so much for your prayers for the surgery. Now we begin the road to recovery and treatments, and we'll still need your prayers. God is good!
Answers to Prayer
By Matt
We know a lot of people in the U.S., Canada, and Honduras are praying for us right now. We have already seen answers to those prayers. On saturday God provided us with some very experienced and trustworthy doctors.
Last night Katie and I read from the Bible and a daily devotional that we follow. The verse was Isaiah 43:1-7,
"But now, this is what the LORD says-
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth-
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."
As I read these words I felt that God was in the room saying these things directly to me, to us. Tears streamed down our faces as we were comforted by God's presence in a very tangible way. Thank you for praying for us. We trust that God will take care of us and bring us through this.
We know a lot of people in the U.S., Canada, and Honduras are praying for us right now. We have already seen answers to those prayers. On saturday God provided us with some very experienced and trustworthy doctors.
Last night Katie and I read from the Bible and a daily devotional that we follow. The verse was Isaiah 43:1-7,
"But now, this is what the LORD says-
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth-
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."
As I read these words I felt that God was in the room saying these things directly to me, to us. Tears streamed down our faces as we were comforted by God's presence in a very tangible way. Thank you for praying for us. We trust that God will take care of us and bring us through this.
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