Reyn is home

Reyn is back from Durham and the appointment at Duke went very well!  Thank you to all of the prayer warriors that prayed for his safe return and that baby Grier would wait to make her grand debut until after daddy returned home!  I am still pregnant but feeling very large at this point....so we will be happy to see her whenever she decides to make her presence known.  I feel I can breathe a sigh of relief now that he is back.

As for this morning, Reyn met with Dr. Allan Friedman (the neurosurgeon) at 9AM.  Dr. Friedman was kind enough to let me sit in via speaker phone call and ask questions.  We learned that he feels confident he can remove 60-80% of the tumor.  This will obviously decrease the pressure in Reyn's head and give us a better idea of the true composition of the tumor (drawing from a larger sample).  There are also much fewer cells that can be problematic later.  If we go the surgical route Reyn will be at Duke for about a week and he expects him to return home for the remainder of his recovery, which really consists of rest.  Reyn will then be able to resume normal activities and work at that point.  Dr. Friedman does not anticipate Reyn needing physical therapy, although he may need a really good hair stylist due to his new hairdo!  ;)  There are many benefits to surgery, mainly increased quality of life and overall improved future outlook.  The surgery itself will be ~ 5 hours long and Reyn will be given general anesthesia for the surgery.  Reyn may require chemotherapy treatment after surgery but it would not be immediate.  Dr. Friedman recommends observing Reyn after surgery then making the decision down the road as to whether chemotherapy is necessary.  Dr. Friedman also recommends Reyn tapering off of his steroid which is also positive news.....steroids can take a toll after a while!

So, many decisions to make but we do like Duke and the confidence they have regarding their capabilities. 

For those of you who have read "Jesus Calling" you know what a great devotional it is but I continue to be amazed at God's perfect timing when I start to feel discouraged.  Reyn handed it to me yesterday and told me to read the devotional from the previous day.  So here are a couple of excerpts...

"I am able to do far beyond all that you ask or imagine.  Come to Me with positive expectations, knowing that there is no limit to what I can accomplish.  Ask my Spirit to control your mind, so that you can think great thoughts of Me.  Do not be discouraged by the fact that many of your prayers are yet unanswered.  Time is a trainer, teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust Me in the dark."  Then one of the many verses she references is Ephesians 3:20-21.  This is one I have been clinging to from the beginning of Reyn's diagnosis.

Thank you God for hearing us when we call out to you. 

Lamentations 3:24-  "The Lord is my portion, therefore I will wait for Him"  And so, we will.

We will let you all know once we decide the course of treatment but ask that you pray along side us and that we will do what God wants us to do.  We will also send out an update when baby Grier arrives!

Jordan