Hello everyone! First off, I want to thank you all again so much for praying. God is so good and I know that no matter what happens with my father, God will use him in wonderful ways! My family can't thank you enough for your calls, emails, thoughts, and prayers. Please keep praying: for strength, encouragement, hope, and healing!
Ok, so here's the update on Dad:
We were supposed to have an appointment at UVA Medical Center this week (Thursday), but they called on Wednesday afternoon and said that they wanted to admit my dad that night. So my family drove up to Charlottesville and Dad checked into the hospital.
On Thursday morning early, Dad had a CT scan, which went fine. Then later that morning, Dad tried another MRI. This one was a different one than before, and more hi-tech. They placed little probes all over his head which helped get a, basically, 3-D picture of his brain. Dad thought he could do the MRI without sedation, but ended up having a REALLY hard time with the test. He ended up needing to be fully sedated, and finally after 2 tries, successfully completed the MRI on the 3rd try. My father has now become extremely terrified of the MRI machine, as are many people, and hopes to never have to have one again!
They ended up performing the biopsy Friday morning very early and my mother and I got to be with Dad in the pre-operation room before they took him away to have this done! He's continued to be in good spirits- praise God! The biopsy, which the doctors called a Stealth Guided Biopsy, was another hi-tech procedure and ended up going smoothly!
Now comes more waiting. We will be heading back up to UVA this coming Thursday and will meet with the Neuro-oncologists and Neuro-surgeons to discuss the outcomes of the biopsy and, hopefully, the treatment of the tumor. The neurosurgeon talked with us before leaving about the biopsy and told us he thought it could be one of two possible kinds of tumors. We know that the tumor is not in a good, easy accessible part of the brain (as I said before) and he told us that the tumor, most likely, could not be removed. Rex has been doing a lot of research, and through that I've learned of some various kinds of tumors.
You guys- please pray for healing! Please pray that the doctors will find that the tumor can be treated with radiation and chemotherapy and that God will help take it away! Please pray that my family will prepare themselves for the road ahead: their financial situation, future planning, health care in general, etc. My parents have some things that they need to care of and I just know that they have not prepared themselves for a situation like this.
Please pray that my whole family will stay strong and that we will rest in the faith and understanding that we serve a good, merciful, gracious, loving God who has the ability to do more that we can imagine! As we get more and more into this process, (as you can imagine and some of you have dealt with personally) it's getting harder and harder to stay strong and to stay positive.
I appreciate all of you so much and I am thankful for your friendships and love! I am continuously amazed at how God works and I know that He will work through my father!
I am so sorry for this super LONG email, but I wanted you to be informed! Thanks again and I love you all!
-Erin and Rex
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