The thick of it

She's in the thick of it now.  The first incision happen about 10am.  If all goes as expected the "opening up" part of the surgery will take 3-4 hours, tumor removal another 2-4 hours and then they close her back up with a little "padding" from her stomach and artificial skull substance.

Waiting.  Trusting.  Leaning.

These sound like passive words but they aren't.  We have a loving Father who is not afraid for us to wrestle honestly with Him in our struggles.  We don't just cope.  We pursue Him - all the while He is pursuing us.

This sermon on Sunday was meat for Kerry's soul: Waiting on the Lord.  Our Elders anointed her with oil and prayed for her this Sunday.  She has been at peace sense.

Continue to pray for the Lord's hand to be on her and the doctors.

Psalm 40: 1-5:

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD.
Blessed is the man who makes
the LORD his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.



Jerry

In the OR

Kerry has been back in the OR since about 8:55.  They were a little slow in giving the "happy juice" for my taste but all of us were more than impressed with her strength.  Let me rephrase that.  She was strong but not in her own strength.  We were thankful that the Lord was holding her.  She was ready. She knows who holds her. She has that peace that is incomprehensible.

The first thing they did was write a big YES below her left ear to make sure they operate on the right (or as we joked, the correct side, lest we confuse them) side.

We expect updates every hour and to meet with the doctors twice during the surgery.  We know that many are praying.  Our prayer requests are the same:
-protection in surgery
-no blood clots/other complications
-skill for doctors and staff
-peace for lily and jade this day

The physical presence of Christ in and through His people is one way he demonstrates his love and care for us.  Thank you for praying and for remembering Kerry today.  


Jerry (for Kerry, for now)

Driving to get PJs

This is my first post (Jerry).  And kind of a test post too.  I had to prove my technical skills to Kerry.  : )

Kerry's surgery was delayed to 9am tomorrow.  The preferred anesthesiologist had another 7am case.  There was a tinge of concern when at first Kerry thought the main surgeons took an earlier case (they did not).  When you're having brain surgery you pretty much want to be the center of attention for those 8-10 hours.  I think that makes sense.

We are supposed to be there at 7am instead of 5am.  No arguments here.

I plan to update after the start of the surgery and a couple of times tomorrow as we get updates.  If you subscribed to the blog, know that the posts are not forwarded to e-mail for a several hours so check the blog for current updates.

And, yes, we're just now headed out to get hospital PJs.


Thank you for praying for my bride,

Jerry (for Kerry, for now)

Uh, oh! Mountain Cedar taking its toll...

************Revision below *************
The Lord knows all. He knew this weekend I would be calling my surgeon to see if it was okay to load up on Sudafed and Allegra before surgery.  It seems the record levels of Mountain Cedar in the air have left me with scratchy throat, congestion, sneezing and coughing.

He also knew that I would be going in for my all of my pre-op testing today...seeing multiple docs who will be able to decide if with these symptoms it might be wise to postpone surgery.  You see, my pre-op had been scheduled for last Wednesday. However, after many phone calls and requests, I rescheduled it for today so I could drive Lily's field trip last week instead. It meant so much to her and I was glad I had gone through the trouble of rescheduling.  I felt totally healthy last Wednesday...so I am thankful that it is today that I am going in and they can make some decisions about how I am feeling.

Would you pray along with us? It would be really hard on me for surgery to be postponed as I know it would take weeks for them to reschedule. I am ready. But I also know that God is in control and He may have some other purpose to accomplish.  Please pray that the Lord's will would be done.

Speaking of prayer...the elders of our church anointed me with oil and prayed over me yesterday.  It was a beautiful, peace bringing, and moving time for Jerry and myself.  Our senior pastor also mentioned to Jerry that people will be praying in our church's chapel throughout the day of my surgery.  Wow.  So humbled and thankful.

If you want to commit to praying for 15 minutes during the operation on Valentine's Day, click below to sign up and an e-mail reminder will come your way!

Off to pre-op testing...fun, fun!

************ Revised at 5:00 PM ********************
Pre-op complete.  The docs were concerned, but not overly, about my symptoms.  If fever develops surgery won't happen.  If I wake up feeling crummy Thursday I still go in.  Basically the anesthesiologist will listen to my lungs closely and will make the final call.

I did learn that I might be intubated overnight in ICU which totally freaks me out.  :( Major surgery on my head and I am more worried about intubation and catheters.  Go figure. 

To leave you on a funny note, I have to tell you about my labs.  They drew 5 vials of blood and then asked if I could give a urine specimen.  Of course I had just used the restroom.  So they poured me cup after cup of water and about an hour later sent me in with a specimen cup.  I totally went and flushed and then caught eye of the unopened cup sitting there.  Seriously.  Where is my head?

Thankful to be at peace...

Well, surgery keeps getting closer! First the calendar turned to February, and now we are actually less than a week out. Some fun things we were looking forward to (a night away and Jerry being announced in his new role) have come and gone and now the next big thing is actually the surgery.

I have been doing remarkably well, even emotionally.  I finally do have peace...which if you know me and what an awful patient I am...it is definitely an inexplicable peace from the Lord. I feel completely carried by the prayers of many.

I did have a moment of tears on Monday.  I am not sure why, but it really hit me hard when I was called with the exact time of my surgery.  I have known the date of 2/14 for weeks, and of course assumed early morning because of its length. However, when she said your surgery is scheduled for 7am and you need to report at 5am, it all of a sudden became a bit too real!

We continue to praise the Lord for the Body of Christ which has come around us in unimaginable ways. It has truly been an experience like no other and we are so grateful.

One hard thing I have been facing is that it has become difficult for me to pray for myself regarding the surgery. It simply causes anxiety to verbalize the requests. I am thankful to be able to rest in the promises of Romans 8:26-28:

 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

A sweet friend who was also recently diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma (what are the odds!?!), asked if I had thought of setting up a prayer signup for people to pray in increments during the surgery.  I had not thought of that, but alas, with Danielle's great idea and the beauty of sign up genius...here you go!

 

I would be so honored by your prayers during the operation...that the Lord would keep me and grant me protection. Please continue to pray that I would remain healthy until then as well...I feel a cold coming on. :(

Also, I plan to go back and record some of my experiences with this journey over the weekend...it is therapeutic! Plus there is a whole Acoustic Neuroma Association that points people to blogs like this as a way to navigate the process. So if you are subscribed you may see some random posts back dated to November and December.