Stepping Forward

We had a good meeting with Dr. Markert, our neurosurgeon this morning.  He explained the surgical procedure and recovery process to us and he also encouraged us by explaining that the tumor is accessible and that he thinks he can get a good part of it removed. Tomorrow morning at 5 am, Karla and I will head to the hospital to be admitted and surgery will start around 8 am.  We expect the surgery to last for several hours and we do not expect to have much to update until late afternoon going into early evening.  We are planning for this blog to be the primary and quickest means to give you any updates that we may receive.  In light of this we thought it may be beneficial to let you know how we are praying through this time and invite you to join us in this journey.  As we both humbly and boldly approach God in prayer we want to share that we do not believe that prayer is a means to try and convince God to do what we want him to do.  Biblical prayer is God’s means to make our request known to Him and to align our desires and hopes into His perfect plan for our lives.  This journey with a brain tumor is not the path we would have chosen for our lives nor is it an easy or comfortable ride, but we trust that God’s way is always best and we will be faithful to walk forward in the strength and presence that He provides in our lives.

Some specific ways to pray tomorrow:

Pray for the medical team that will be involved in tomorrow’s surgery.  Dr. Markert (Neurosurgeon), Dr. Jennifer (Neuro- physicians assistant), Andrea (nurse) Christof (resident), the anesthesiologist) and other medical professionals that will be a part of the surgery.

Pray that the mapping will go well and that the doctors will identify and remove as much tumor as they can find.

Pray that that there would be no temporary or permanent losses to Jonathan’s field of vision, motor or verbal skills.

Pray that God will give strength to Karla and family as they walk through the time waiting for news.

Pray for a fast and complete recovery process both after surgery and in the days to come.

Pray that the pathology report would confirm a slow-growing non-cancerous tumor.

Pray that this would be an opportunity for God to display the Gospel and His Glory.

We are confident that God is sustaining our family and we are thankful for the many ways His church has been supporting us through their presence, generosity and prayers.