The New Game Plan

This morning started with a call from David’s radiation oncologist. She spoke with David’s neurosurgeon and they came up with a game plan. The best course of action for these new growths is radiation. So we headed out to Phoenix so he could have his imaging done for the planning of the radiation. He will be doing 5 total sessions of radiation on this new growth. We are going to be holding off on the radiation on his brain. This is because both his radiation oncologist and his neurosurgeon are so pleased with his brain MRI and how there’s no signs of regrowth, that they would like him to hold off on the radiation on his brain so that he can get his bone flap put back on! We don’t know a whole lot of information on all that yet, because we won’t be meeting with his neurosurgeon until tomorrow, but it’s really encouraging to hear that they feel that confident in his imaging! As a reminder, they were too concerned with regrowth before to do another operation to put his bone flap back on. Once he has an operation, he can’t get that area radiated for two weeks. So to hear that they are willing to go ahead with the operation is really promising! So tomorrow we have an appointment with the neurosurgeon and David SHOULD be starting radiation tomorrow. The nurse today spoke about their schedule being really packed, so if he starts tomorrow, it will probably be them squeezing him in.
As I read over this summary of today, it seems so cut and dry. There’s a lot of big emotions happening behind these updates. Not just for David and myself, but our families and especially our kids. For us adults, we can typically see how we are reacting to things and put into words our feelings, etc. Our kids don’t really have that ability yet and so we are seeing a lot of different things going on with them as they are having to go down this roller coaster as well. As a parent, you want to shield your kids from all these kinds of things, and I SO wish I could. Unfortunately, I don’t have the power to do that, so we are doing our best to wade through all these big emotions from the kids, and the different behaviors that stem from them. All the while, dealing with our own emotions that feel a little bit too big for ourselves. Thank goodness we have a God who knows how to handle ALL of our emotions. With all the trials we have had to face in our lives, we have always rested on the assurance that God is using these hard times to help us grow in our faith and that growth will help us to help others in the future. That’s kind of a big concept to teach to kids, though. I have no doubt that what was meant for evil, God will turn to good. I’ve always had SO much confidence in that promise because I have seen it first hand in my own life many times. It’s my prayer that our kids can experience it first hand for themselves and that they will come out of this whole thing with an even bigger faith in our loving God.
A lot of you have reached out to us, wanting to know how you can help. I get that, as my love language is acts of service! I always want to DO something… so here’s a few things that we need a little help with right now. As good as I am about WANTING to help, I am very bad at ASKING for help. Once we left the hospital, I had dreams of things slowly returning to a somewhat normal… kids having regular chores, me doing yard work as the kids play outside… that kind of stuff. However, that has not been the case at all. (I know, I’m a bit delusional. Lol).
Our yard has been severely neglected for a couple months now, since David has gotten sick.
-Our front yard needs the weeds taken care of and a bush and a tree need to be trimmed.
-Our backyard is in such rough shape, I’m embarrassed to even ask for help with it, but I guess it’s time to swallow that pride and see if anyone feels like helping out.
-Meals. We have had such an outpouring of love and support in this area!! We are so thankful to everyone who has helped feed us. It is such a huge deal to not have to worry about if I have the right ingredients for dinner and if I have enough time to even fix dinner. With radiation starting up again, and possible surgery (which also means hospital stay), we will need even more help in this area. My sister in law set up a meal train schedule, and if this is an area that you love to serve in, it would be greatly appreciated!! https://takethemameal.com/TRHI8599
Above all, PRAYER!! Keep it coming!!

Prayer requests:
-For complete healing of David’s body
-For David’s strength to come back and for the pain to go away
-For wisdom for his doctors as they plan out what’s best for him
-For wisdom and peace for us, as we make decisions
-For our kids. That God would place GOOD friends in their lives that help build up their faith and encourage them.
-For all the emotions that all of us are feeling, that we can handle them appropriately
-For family members who are helping out with kids. That they are renewed daily with extra energy, patience and joy.
-For joy to be abundant… even on the rough days

Thank you for always loving us and supporting us!!