Surgery Three Updates

We’ve been playing around with different update options, and we think this is still the best option for our friends who follow our story through the blog.

So, here is how this will work…

There will only be this one link for the duration of the day. For my email friends, that means you will only receive notification that I’ve posted to the blog the first time. I can’t figure out how to make it send a link when I update, so you will have to check in periodically to see how things are going (so sorry about that).  If you follow me or Jesse on Facebook, you will see the link to this blog posted each time I add information.

Update 1 (8:00 am):

We arrived at 5:15 this morning, and he was wheeled into the brain suite (the operating room he will be in) at 7 a.m. We are given an update every two hours or so, and the surgery is expected to last 6-8 hours. The first hour or so is spent just prepping him for the procedure, and several hours will be spent doing MRIs and mapping out the procedure itself. We hope and expect this day to be fairly uneventful, so if you aren’t seeing frequent updates, that’s a good thing!

If you don’t know how to pray today, please read yesterday’s post (https://everylittlejot.com/2017/03/30/he-will-be-good/)  You will find a list of specific prayer requests at the end of that post. I’ll only add to that list that you should maybe pray for all of the people who will encounter the version of me that has been running on caffeine and snark since 4:30 a.m. I am PRECIOUS in the morning! (except the exact opposite of that) 😉

Update 2 (10:30):

Everything is going well. He is still having MRIs and the doctors are working on the mapping process. This will likely continue for a good while longer. I’m sitting here thinking about you all, wondering how I can encourage you all to rest; and it has occurred to me that Jesse can speak peace over you even while he is in surgery. Below, you will find two links to sermons he has recently preached. I am praying over you all, asking the Lord to help you to look past your circumstances, to look up into His face, and to take hold of the peace that comes with surrendering fully to His will. You are loved, friends!

This one is the first he preached coming off of sabbatical: http://www.crosslakechurch.org/resources/sermons/rejoice-pray-give-thanks/

This one is his most recent, the one he preached knowing surgery was coming at the end of the week: http://www.crosslakechurch.org/resources/sermons/psalms-46/

Update 3 (12:20 p.m.):

We just learned two important things.

1. The first ablation (a laser burning technique) is complete.

2. They are doing a second ablation procedure, which was not in our original plan.

We aren’t sure where that second burn is taking place in his brain, but we trust that our surgeon is seeing something he is confident needs to be managed and can be managed with success in this surgery. Tentative completion time for surgery is currently around 2:30. Specific prayers for continued protection of Jesse’s functionality and for his body as he rests under anesthesia are much appreciated. Pray big prayers with us, guys. God is ever on His throne, in complete rule of every moment in that surgery suite!

Update 4 (2:45):

Jesse is out of surgery, and he’s doing well! He looks good, and his speech sounds fluid! HUGE praise there, especially considering they messed with the part of his brain that manages his speech. 🙂

The surgeon did treat two areas. He was able to ablate 60-70% of the originally targeted tumor site, and he also ablated another area in his temporal lobe. The intention going into surgery was to biopsy the portion of active tumor in his frontal lobe, but there was a significant difference between his last two scans that prompted him to biopsy the temporal lobe instead. This is complicated to explain, so bear with me for a minute.

The scans he had done on Monday were done using a different piece of equipment, so the imaging is clearer…sort of. This is where it gets confusing, because what looks to us to be a bigger, more active tumor can also just be the result of a different, stronger scan. So, we wait. We should have pathology in a week or so, and that will tell us whether his tumor is still the same grade and type that it has been. We will potentially begin a second form of chemo that acts to starve the tumor in a few weeks, after he has healed.

For now, we are praying that this be the beginning of soon-coming healing of his broken brain. We are asking God to heal and protect Jesse in the recovery process, to mercifully stop his seizures, and mostly, to continue to use Jesse’s story to further His kingdom and proclaim Himself to others as Healer and Provider, for His glory and our good.

We love you all so! Don’t stop praying, friends. The Lord hears you, and He is ever near.