Early tomorrow morning, Jeremy and I will head off to the "Taj Mahal of hospitals" (as one of today's nurses put it), the new Shands Cancer Hospital. Today, after nearly 8 hours at Shands and the UF Orthopaedics Institute we're ready for surgery. The highlight of today's pre-operative waiting, scanning, testing and screening was the result of Jeremy's first of every-three-month chest scans. We only waited about an hour after the scan before a doctor came in with an "unofficial report" that the CT and MRI scans showed nothing to be concerned about. No evidence of matastasis to the chest. Praise God! We remain in awe of God's mercy and faithfulness.
Jeremy and I face tomorrow with confidence. Confidence in God's provision; confidence in the hundreds of brothers and sisters in Christ (some of whom we've never even met) who are praying for us and offering support; confidence in our families who offer perspective and support they know we need -- thinking ahead for us when we can't think beyond the moment; confidence in our friends-like-family who eagerly and lovingly care for our children and prepare dinner for us, while our birth families remain by our side, so we can focus on Jeremy and his recovery; and confidence in the surgeon, who has ample experience with liposarcoma.
Jeremy and I also face tomorrow with eagerness. We're eager to say so long to sarcoma. We will arrive at the hospital at 6am, and hope to begin surgery at 8AM. Dr. Scarborough expects the surgery to be a quick success. He is very pleased with the drastically smaller size of the tumor than the last time he saw us at diagnosis. He believes there will be no need to remove skin, so he will be able to close Jeremy's wound. He will remove the tumor, surrounding tissue and the muscle fascia near the tumor. Everything he removes should not affect the function of Jeremy's back muscles, making for a much faster recovery.
Tomorrow is a big day for us. Thank you so much for your prayers.
"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." Psalm 46:1-7
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