Pathology

To me, pathology sounds ominous but today it announced very good news. There is no sign of any spreading of the cancer in the colon to the lymph nodes - which is definitely worth celebrating! There were some complications during the surgery, the details of which Steve will share if and when he is ready - thank you for your respect of this in advance.

While recovery will still be a long process, we are thanking God today for the clean reports. And as a family, we are again and still so grateful for all the support and care that you have shown Steve and our family. I will let you all know when he will be leaving the hospital and heading home.

recovering

Thanks so much for all of your prayers and concern for Steve! I apologize for lack of updates. There is not much new news at this point. The surgery went relatively smoothly but as it is major surgery the recovery seems almost as complicated and intense - at least to this novice! All things considered, Steve is doing well - though I think he is more than ready to be able to eat real food and sleep without monitors, etc.

He will likely be in the hospital until Wednesday though it largely depends on when his body can handle food. My mom will be staying with Steve for several weeks. Again, thanks so much for all the expressions of love and concern for Steve and our family - it means a great deal!

surgery is done

Steve is out of surgery and in recovery. As you saw in his earlier post, the pathology reports won't be back until Monday or Tuesday. For those of you in the Wheaton area - I will also post to let you know when he is feeling up to visitors. Thanks for your continued prayers and I will update details as we have more information.

Psalm 20:1-9

1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.
3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings. Selah
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.
5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.
6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer us when we call!

Final Details

Well it's been a "fun" day of preparation and harsh antibiotics, but I am doing fine. Thankfully, I haven't had the really negative reactions to the antibiotics that other people have.

My surgery is scheduled for 10:20 AM Central time. Generally the surgery takes 3 to 4 hours, but that depends on a lot of things that we won't know until they are in there. Janet will update the blog when I am out of surgery. I probably won't get the pathology report back until Monday or Tuesday, so we won't know more about the stage of the cancer until then.

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and your kind words these last two weeks. I really do appreciate it and I am confident that God is in control of this part of my life, as He is the rest. I find confidence in His care and protection, whatever the results of the surgery and the tests.

I love you all, and I will try to be back in personal contact with you as soon as possible, but it will likely be a few days. Until then Janet will let you know what is happening.

Surgery Details

Many of you have been inquiring about the details of Steve's surgery. It will take place on Thursday, January 24th but we will not know the time of the surgery until Wednesday night. I will post the details as soon as I have them.

Update on subscribing

I am coming to the conclusion that you can't add a "subscribe" button to google blogs. So...for now you will have to come to the site for updates. This is what you get with a novice like me. Sorry for the inconvenience!

to steve's cloud of witnesses

Nine days ago Steve had the first of many tests which resulted in a diagnosis of colon cancer. It's amazing how quickly the world can be upended. For better or worse, several of my good friends have used a blog to keep their friends and family connected in the midst of similar circumstances. In the absence of being able to fix this for Steve, I will update this regularly to keep you informed and aware of how Steve is and the ways in which you can pray for him. We are so thankful that you are part of his 'great cloud of witnesses' in the midst of this.