THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!! Thank you for praying for DJ and for me and for my family. Thank you for praying for the doctors and nurses and anyone else you can think of. Thank you for releasing and inviting and requesting God's power and grace on our behalf. I am so very grateful. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I am very happy to report that DJ's health and well-being continue to improve, little by little. Every day for the past week he has seemed a little stronger; we have taken longer and longer field trips out of the house and away from the couch; he has moved and spoken and interacted and used his body slightly more increasingly, and balanced movement and activity with rest and recuperation. He is not particularly verbal or expressive with words, and he still experiences some pain and discomfort in his surgical site and on the right side of his body; but the pain seems to be minimal, from what I can tell. He is still very tired at times, especially as he is becoming every so slightly more and more "active". But it feels like an upward trajectory to me, and I am SO VERY GRATEFUL!!
Psalm 103 has been given to me by friends, and I joyfully join with the poet and his words - "Bless the LORD, my soul, and don't forget any of His benefits - who forgives all your sin and heals all your diseases!" How grateful I am for God's grace and mercy - sin-forgiving and disease-healing!! I will worship the LORD forever because of His great love and mercy and grace and power. I will honor and love the Lord Jesus Christ for all of my life because of His sacrifice for my sin and for making a way for me to stand before the God of the universe clothed in His righteousness. Aaaaaaaa-men!!
This coming week on Wednesday August 6, we are scheduled to visit Dr. Theodore again at the UCSF for a chest x-ray (not for me - for DJ!) and a post-operative chitchat. I expect that Dr. Theodore will say, "You look fantastic! Come back in 6 months for a routine visit." On the same day DJ is scheduled to visit formally with Dr. Ko, the GI oncologist at the UCSF, to talk about the next steps of his treatment. The radiation oncologist is not available to meet with us until August 19, so perhaps we will not have a plan formulated until then; but I am hopeful that Dr. Ko and Dr. Gottchalk have heard the voice of the LORD and will prescribe for DJ whatever will bring the most healing into his body. Will those two recommend that DJ take radiation to the two nodules which yet remain in his chest? Will they decide that chemotherapy or a biological drug or a clinical trial are the best plan? Will they suggest that DJ take treatment there at the UCSF facility 200+ miles from our home, or locally in San Luis Obispo? I do not know the answers to these questions; but I know that the LORD knows, and that our doctors will be guided by Him to whatever is good and right and best and healthy for DJ.
Feel free to continue praying for DJ and for our family as these decisions are made and as DJ undergoes whatever is to come. Chemotherapy is not pretty, or easy, or fun; his need for courage and grace and hope and healing continue. I thank you for being a part of God's provision for us through your prayers and expressions of love.
Here are some photos of how our kids like to spend their summer vacation:
Here are some photos of how our kids like to spend their summer vacation:
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| Caedmon LOVES to play Mine Craft!! |
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| Brooke loves to lie around. So does Bradley |
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| Alexandra loves to bake. |
Thank you for loving us!
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