One of my best friends from high school, Rick, has been battling an extremely rare and aggressive cancer the last several months in Dallas. I have been a link between Rick and our high school class's email news list, forwarding updates on Rick's condition.
Rick's wife, Susan (Rick's high school sweetheart and also a good friend and classmate back in that day), called this morning with a post-op update. Following is the update I sent to our class email list. I share it here just as a window into the world of two souls who have endured a severe form of the mercy of God -- spared, so far, from cancer's ultimate goal. They are encouraged and hoping in God for grace to be completely free of Rick's cancer in the days ahead, and committed to making lifestyle changes that will support that outcome.
Their experience has dialed up my sensitivity in recent days to those who suffer, to my gratitude to God for what health I enjoy, and to practice more diligently what I preach. For all who live on praying ground, when you remember your own needs, a word of humble intercession on Rick's behalf will not go unheard in heaven:
Greetings All,
A good conversation with Susan this morning with an update on Rick's post-op status.
I won't repeat all that Susan shared with me, but let me summarize it this way: Our friend Rick has been through an unbelievable ordeal -- hell on earth, if you will. But, in spite of it all, by the grace of God he is pulling through.
I say "is pulling through" because the battle is far from over. Here are the highlights of what Susan shared with me:
•Rick will leave the hospital on Monday and return home. This will mark a major medical and emotional benchmark -- a sign that he is physically recovering and the ability to sleep in one's own bed and be among familiar surroundings.
•The doctors said that, on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10, Rick's surgery was a 12. (Nine and one-half hours.)
•He was connected to all manner of drainage tubes for a week or so, that caused excruciating pain, but is now free of those and is ambulatory, able to (slowly) get up from bed and move around.
•The doctors are very (cautiously) optimistic about what was accomplished in the surgery -- removing the vast majority of the cancer. They placed markers (that will show up later in MRIs) to be able to focus further radiation treatment.
•Rick will have to do more chemo and radiation, hopefully on an outpatient basis approximately every two weeks. The original chemo treatments were the strongest available to the doctors, and they don't think the future treatments will have to be that strong. But how much and for how long will depend on ongoing diagnosis.
•Because of the extreme rarity and severity of Rick's cancer, his doctors are going to present Rick's case to a medical conference next Friday. It will then be presented to the doctors at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to the doctors under whom Rick's primary physician trained. All of this to try to elicit further feedback on Rick's case and to share what's been learned with other doctors. Rick and Susan are both convinced that God led them to the doctors that have treated Rick -- that they could not have received any better medical treatment based on what they've learned through this experience given the rarity of Rick's cancer.
•Rick, of course, lost all his hair due to the chemo treatments, but is beginning to re-grow his facial hair which is a sign of the body returning to normal. Susan said that his bodily functions (stomach digestion, kidneys, etc.) are returning to normal and his blood markers are good -- more good news.
•Susan has been at the hospital non-stop the last two weeks and is looking forward to getting him home and feeding him juices and nutritious foods to give his body what it needs to heal. She was encouraged to hear her doctor put a strong emphasis on the need to build up Rick's immune system so it can do its God-given job of sweeping up remaining cancer cells. [WK note: What I've been sharing with Rick and Susan in recent weeks is the paradigm shift I've been through in my own life in recent years: that God designed the human body to be a self-healing organism, whether healing a minor scratch on the skin or destroying rogue cancer cells. Yes, in emergency situations, like Rick's, emergency surgery and treatment may be needed to arrest the progress of a disease -- every person has to make that decision. But in the end, cancer and other abnormalities will be self-healed as the body is given the nutrients it needs to perform that healing work. That's why diet, nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle are the best defenses against disease -- keeping the body in a place of health; giving it the upper hand against abnormalities that might erupt. Rick and Susan are committed to that perspective along with the medical modalities they've employed -- another reason to get Rick home so Susan can begin feeding him!]
•In the midst of all this difficulty, Rick and Susan were blessed with the birth of a new granddaughter a few days ago! (Both their children live in the Dallas area.) Rick hasn't been able to see the baby yet, but we can only imagine the pleasure he will have in holding that new little life in his arms after such a close brush with his own mortality.
As I said earlier, Rick "is pulling through." He is not completely out of the woods yet, but definitely seeing the edge of the forest as compared to the dark place he was in before the surgery. The doctors told Susan that had they not gotten to Rick when they did that he would not be with us today. So we thank God for the severe mercy that allowed the confluence of Rick's disease, his doctors' commitment, Susan's tireless support, and their determination to do everything healthful they can to win this battle.
Susan again extended her thanks to all who have expressed their love and prayerful support for Rick. Please continue to pray for his complete recovery, for the doctors' wisdom and decisions, and for God's healing grace to attend Rick's every moment.
Blessings to all,
William
Rick's wife, Susan (Rick's high school sweetheart and also a good friend and classmate back in that day), called this morning with a post-op update. Following is the update I sent to our class email list. I share it here just as a window into the world of two souls who have endured a severe form of the mercy of God -- spared, so far, from cancer's ultimate goal. They are encouraged and hoping in God for grace to be completely free of Rick's cancer in the days ahead, and committed to making lifestyle changes that will support that outcome.
Their experience has dialed up my sensitivity in recent days to those who suffer, to my gratitude to God for what health I enjoy, and to practice more diligently what I preach. For all who live on praying ground, when you remember your own needs, a word of humble intercession on Rick's behalf will not go unheard in heaven:
Greetings All,
A good conversation with Susan this morning with an update on Rick's post-op status.
I won't repeat all that Susan shared with me, but let me summarize it this way: Our friend Rick has been through an unbelievable ordeal -- hell on earth, if you will. But, in spite of it all, by the grace of God he is pulling through.
I say "is pulling through" because the battle is far from over. Here are the highlights of what Susan shared with me:
•Rick will leave the hospital on Monday and return home. This will mark a major medical and emotional benchmark -- a sign that he is physically recovering and the ability to sleep in one's own bed and be among familiar surroundings.
•The doctors said that, on a difficulty scale of 1 to 10, Rick's surgery was a 12. (Nine and one-half hours.)
•He was connected to all manner of drainage tubes for a week or so, that caused excruciating pain, but is now free of those and is ambulatory, able to (slowly) get up from bed and move around.
•The doctors are very (cautiously) optimistic about what was accomplished in the surgery -- removing the vast majority of the cancer. They placed markers (that will show up later in MRIs) to be able to focus further radiation treatment.
•Rick will have to do more chemo and radiation, hopefully on an outpatient basis approximately every two weeks. The original chemo treatments were the strongest available to the doctors, and they don't think the future treatments will have to be that strong. But how much and for how long will depend on ongoing diagnosis.
•Because of the extreme rarity and severity of Rick's cancer, his doctors are going to present Rick's case to a medical conference next Friday. It will then be presented to the doctors at Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to the doctors under whom Rick's primary physician trained. All of this to try to elicit further feedback on Rick's case and to share what's been learned with other doctors. Rick and Susan are both convinced that God led them to the doctors that have treated Rick -- that they could not have received any better medical treatment based on what they've learned through this experience given the rarity of Rick's cancer.
•Rick, of course, lost all his hair due to the chemo treatments, but is beginning to re-grow his facial hair which is a sign of the body returning to normal. Susan said that his bodily functions (stomach digestion, kidneys, etc.) are returning to normal and his blood markers are good -- more good news.
•Susan has been at the hospital non-stop the last two weeks and is looking forward to getting him home and feeding him juices and nutritious foods to give his body what it needs to heal. She was encouraged to hear her doctor put a strong emphasis on the need to build up Rick's immune system so it can do its God-given job of sweeping up remaining cancer cells. [WK note: What I've been sharing with Rick and Susan in recent weeks is the paradigm shift I've been through in my own life in recent years: that God designed the human body to be a self-healing organism, whether healing a minor scratch on the skin or destroying rogue cancer cells. Yes, in emergency situations, like Rick's, emergency surgery and treatment may be needed to arrest the progress of a disease -- every person has to make that decision. But in the end, cancer and other abnormalities will be self-healed as the body is given the nutrients it needs to perform that healing work. That's why diet, nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle are the best defenses against disease -- keeping the body in a place of health; giving it the upper hand against abnormalities that might erupt. Rick and Susan are committed to that perspective along with the medical modalities they've employed -- another reason to get Rick home so Susan can begin feeding him!]
•In the midst of all this difficulty, Rick and Susan were blessed with the birth of a new granddaughter a few days ago! (Both their children live in the Dallas area.) Rick hasn't been able to see the baby yet, but we can only imagine the pleasure he will have in holding that new little life in his arms after such a close brush with his own mortality.
As I said earlier, Rick "is pulling through." He is not completely out of the woods yet, but definitely seeing the edge of the forest as compared to the dark place he was in before the surgery. The doctors told Susan that had they not gotten to Rick when they did that he would not be with us today. So we thank God for the severe mercy that allowed the confluence of Rick's disease, his doctors' commitment, Susan's tireless support, and their determination to do everything healthful they can to win this battle.
Susan again extended her thanks to all who have expressed their love and prayerful support for Rick. Please continue to pray for his complete recovery, for the doctors' wisdom and decisions, and for God's healing grace to attend Rick's every moment.
Blessings to all,
William
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