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.

Hanging out at the Hospital

Zach had surgery on Friday (Sept 24th). The surgery was scheduled to take 3 1/2 hours, but took 5 hours instead because of some problems with the stapler they were using to put everything back together. Thankfully Zach wasn't awake for this, but it was very frustrating for the medical team working on him. A nurse gave mom, Carmon, and I updates every 1 1/2 hours so we knew what was going on. The doctors feel that they were able to get Zach's colon hooked back together correctly after removing over a foot of it. We are waiting for Zach's system to start functioning again. A test of patience for Zach since he thought he might get to go home Tuesday or Wednesday. His doctors and nurses have assured us that it just takes time. We have been walking the halls a lot and are getting good at moving around nurses, computers, and other patients. We are hoping he will get to go home Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

Zach and I enjoyed visits from our kids, my mom, Zach's parents, Brad/Sonya, and Ryan/Jessica on Saturday and Sunday. Austin and Rachel visited Monday night. Matt Pfister just stopped by and Mike (Zach's dad), Brad/Sonya, and Ryan/Jessica are coming up tonight.

Things I am thankful for: medical care in the U.S. (so many people around the world aren't able to access treatment for cancer), Zach getting through his surgery, family members to visit and take care of our kids, a church family that prays for us, a comfortable safe hotel, God's grace and strength each day.

Zach is thankful for the opportunity to work on his patience. He committed to work on his patience at a Bible Study a couple of weeks ago and this is definitely giving him a great opportunity to work on it. It should be interesting to see what he reports back to the other brothers in the Study.

Praising Our God in This Storm

Praise You in This Storm
Written by Mark Hall / Music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now
God, You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

CHORUS
I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with You"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

CHORUS

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth
(repeat)

CHORUS
Though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm



Parts of this song have went through my head many times over the past few months and then a card that plays the chorus arrived in the mail today. I wasn't sure of all the words of the song or even the group that sings it, so I looked them up and wanted to share the words.

It is our desire to Praise God through this battle with cancer. As Zach faces surgery on Friday I am forced to continuously give my fears to God, knowing that I am helpless to determine the outcome of the surgery. I continue to believe that God can work a miracle and provide healing from this cancer that has no cure. He can make a way for the surgery to to be successful. He can give us strength, grace, and peace as we face whatever He decides is best for us. I Praise God that He is with us always and that He can use this cancer for His glory.

It's not about me. It's about You. If it pleases You, it pleases me. All that matters is that You are glorified. (Nancy DeMoss)

Cancer Update

Zach had his fifth chemo treatment yesterday along with a CAT Scan to see if the treatment has been effective. The doctors found that the cancer spots in his liver and lungs have shrunk around 50%. They told us that this happens in 20% of patients or less. Normally they expect the first four treatments to stop the cancer growth and maybe shrink it a little bit. This is definitely a wonderful answer to the many prayers that have been said for him. We are so thankful.

The tumor in Zach's colon has continued to cause some concerns and the doctors have decided that since the cancer has responded so well to the chemo that now is the time to remove the tumor and hopefully get rid of some of the symptoms he has been having. They also want to remove it before other more serious problems happen requiring a more emergency surgery (or a surgery that does not come at a good time for the rest of his treatment). Another benefit of surgery now is that once Zach has recovered they can give him an additional type of chemotherapy (they have not been giving this one so far because it can cause complications if he needed to have surgery).

With every surgery there are of course risks. The surgeon hopes to use a Laparoscopic surgery method that will mean smaller openings in Zach's skin. He plans to remove the tumor and the part of the colon that the tumor is attached to and then attach the colon back together. There is always a risk of infection from the surgery itself and also the risk of the colon not healing properly and causing future complications. Zach has one more chemo treatment scheduled for September 14th and then his surgery is scheduled for the morning of September 24th. The doctors anticipate him spending five days in the hospital to recover. If all goes well Zach should be able to start chemo again 4-6 weeks after his surgery.

Several people have asked for specific things they can pray for, so here they are.
-Praise God that the Chemo is working.
-Pray that the cancer can continue to shrink and that the tumor will get smaller before surgery so that there will be less to remove.
-Pray that Dr. Helft will be given wisdom as he directs Zach's treatment.
-Pray for Dr. Nakeeb as he performs the surgery.
-Pray that Zach and I can glorify God and walk in peace through this storm.
-Pray for our children, Zion and Moriah, and our extended family members and friends as they are going through this with us.

Thanks for your prayers, cards, gifts, and support. We have been blessed by so many and hope God can use us bless others even as we have been blessed.