Surgery Update

Zach's surgery went well and he seemed to feel pretty good when I left the hosptial last night. We are hoping that he will get to go home tomorrow if everything continues to heal.

Short Update

Zach was admitted back into the hospital yesterday. Today was a busy day for tests and procedures. We couldn't get wireless access in Zach's room, so I am on the Internet for the first time today. Zach has a surgery tomorrow late morning/early afternoon to address the leak they found in his colon. Thanks for all the prayers. I will try to post more information tomorrow.

Prayer Request

Zach and I have appointments tomorrow with his three doctors. We are really concerned that he has an infection. Please pray with us that the doctors will be able to figure out why Zach's body isn't healing and have wisdom to treat whatever problems they find effectively. Pray that we will know how to work with the doctors even as it can be very frustrating when we feel like our concerns aren't being addressed quickly enough.

Thankful for our Busy House

We were blessed beyond measure by our church family over the weekend. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday Brothers (and a few Sisters) tore off the old roof on our house and put on a new one. Several sisters provided meals to us and the many volunteers. My cousin Sarah and her husband, Mike, came for a visit Friday-Sunday and blessed us with their company and their remodeling skills. They tore down the wall between our kitchen and dining room and with help from some Leo Brothers got everything back together by Saturday Night.

As I reflect on the weekend a verse from a song goes through my mind. "God will repay what I can not. Only Heaven knows my heart." My words can not begin to express my appreciation to the many who gave of their time to bless our family. It was so humbling to see over 25 people working on our behalf each day, knowing that many of them were sacrificing time at work and with their families to give to us. My prayer is that each one will be richly rewarded in Heaven for their efforts.

For We Walk By Faith

For we walk by faith, not by sight. - 2 Cor. 5:7

My eyes see meaningless pain and suffering.
My faith sees a plan and purpose to bring souls to Christ.

My eyes see discouragement and despair.
My faith sees a reason to rejoice in the midst of trials.

My eyes see a pointless end in death.
My faith sees hope and promise for a much better future in Heaven.


Faith is the light in your heart when all your eyes see is the darkness ahead.

Zach

Home at Last

Zach was released from the hospital at around 2:00 yesterday (Friday) afternoon. It is really nice to be home with our kids again. We enjoyed being at Ryan's 30th birthday party for a while last night. We spent a couple hours at TJ and Shelby's wedding reception this evening and sat with our neighbors by a fire for a while tonight. Zach is spending a lot of time resting, but is also enjoying distractions from other people to keep his mind off the discomfort. We head back to the hospital for follow-up appointments on Tuesday the 19th.

Wednesday Update

Zach did well during surgery this morning He has two tubes in his back draining urine from his kidney and his abdomen. They had hoped to put a tube into his left ureter, but it was too badly damaged (cut all the way through) to complete the procedure. The Colon Surgery Team came in to explain the situation and it sounds like Zach will need a surgery in 3 or 4 months to repair the damage. I haven't talked to the Urology Department Surgeons/Residents yet, but they will be coming to give their recommendations and explain more about the tube from Zach's kidney that will stay in place until he has his next surgery. Zach's oncologist also came in today to answer my questions about how this will impact Zach's cancer treatment. Dr. Helft will be closely monitoring the situation and will help us decide when the surgery should be done based on CAT Scans of the cancer in the liver and lungs. If the cancer is growing Zach may have a few rounds of chemo before surgery.

Update from the Hosptial

Thanks for your continued prayers.

Zach is still at Hospital. His colon woke up from surgery Sunday, but he had a lot of testing yesterday because his abdomen has been swelled for days. They removed 2 1/2 liters of fluid yesterday evening and we found out today that his left ureter (the tube between the left kidney and the bladder) is damaged and leaking fluid into his abdomen. He abdomen is swelled again today and this is causing him a lot of discomfort. He has a procedure/surgery tomorrow (Wednesday) to put in a tube to re-route the urine so the ureter can heal. They don't think the recovery from this should be too long, so we are hoping he will get to go home at the end of the week.