Surgery This Week

We are praising the Lord for very good news. I apologize for the radio silence for so long on this blog. No news in this case is very good news. Before I get into the details of the good news that has filled the past few months, I want to ask right up front for your prayers for Sherry for THIS WEEK.

Prayer Requests for this week:

Please pray for Sherry’s comfort and peace of mind. She will be having outpatient pro op procedures then outpatient surgery on Tuesday, March 26. The most concerning procedure for Sherry will begin in the morning around 9am. The doctors and technicians will insert a probe to mark the spot in her breast where the surgeon will need to focus his work later in the day. They will also inject some dye at that time. She will be awake during this procedure and will only have local anesthesia.

At around noon on Tuesday they will begin a lumpectomy to remove the area where the tumor was found back in September. They will also remove a lymph node under her right arm. The node will be tested to ensure there is no cancer in that area before completing the surgical procedures for the day. This surgical procedure should take no more than about an hour and a half.

Sherry specifically asks for prayer for, “Calming of the nerves for pre op procedures and that tests on lymph nodes will come back clear. That there will be no negative side effects, especially from the biopsy of the lymph nodes.”

The list of good news is long and amazing. Thank you for your continued prayers and support for our family. Chemo is DONE! Praise the Lord! Her last chemo treatment was on February 13th. She did not “ring the bell” because she is schedule to continue receiving immunotherapy injects for several more months, not to mention the six weeks of daily radiation treatments that will follow once she heals from the surgery.

The Lord has brought Sherry through the entire chemotherapy process with no major complications. We had one point in January where Sherry got sick with what turned out to be a sinus infection and caused her to miss a planned trip to Augusta with the kids, but other than that, there have been no illnesses to speak of. There have been side affects from the chemo that caused her problems and we have been told that some could be long lasting. Sherry asks that you pray for here thyroid to wake back up. This last round of chemo between December and February took a toll on her thyroid. She was on one of the most harsh chemo drugs during that timeframe that anyone can be given. It is nicknamed the Red Devil due to its color and nasty side affects.

Once chemo was done, Sherry was scheduled to get an MRI in late February and then we met with the surgeon. The MRI results were AMAZING. I wish I had taken a picture of the computer screens that the doctor showed us. One screen had a picture from the MRI results from back in the fall and the other screen had the most recent MRI results. You did not need to be a doctor to see the difference. There was a significant mass about the size of a ping-pong ball in September and the new MRI results looked as clear as the other breast to the untrained eye. There is some residue and scar tissue in the area where the tumor was, and that is what will be removed this coming Tuesday to ensure there are no remaining cancer cells left in that area.

Sherry has been able to do most of the things she normally would do without a cancer diagnosis and the treatment plan that has followed. There have been some adjustments and we have had help during the times where Sherry simply needed to rest. She has bounced back very well from chemo treatments has continued to home school our children, attend church regularly, care for our family, take trips to speech and debate tournaments, and love me more than I could ask for or deserve.

We have been blessed in many ways by family and friends. Friends and family have taken care of our kids, sometimes with little notice. My employer has been very accommodating and allowed me to take as much time as I have needed, at times with little to no notice. I have only taken two work trips since September and both were scheduled when we knew Sherry would not be recovering from chemo treatment. We have been very humbled by the need for help that we have faced and thankful to the Lord for so many to have it put on their hearts to help, many without being asked. Members of our church family at Grace Community Baptist as well as other friends have provided meals and in some cases cash to buy meals. We have been blessed with gift cards by the speech and debate club members. One friend did a fund raiser and donated all of the proceeds to our family to help offset the medical costs. And the medical costs have been big. Once immunotherapy drug that Sherry has received every three weeks and continues to receive bills at over $30K per dose. Another drug that she got between December and February billed at over $6K per dose. And that does not include the chemo, tests like MRIs, PET Scan, or other procedures. I have lost track of the running total. Our friends the Olivers started a GiveSendGo page that has received over $1500 in donations and all of these different efforts have helped tremendously. We also received financial relief from the Roper hospital system who approved a reduction in the amount of out-of-pocket that we have to pay based on need.

Thank you for caring enough to read this and pray for our family. Your prayers and love for our family is felt and greatly appreciated.