Sunday, January 12, 2014

Last Update Before Surgery






Hello family, friends and prayer warriors,
 
  Just 2 1/2 days until check in for surgery. We cannot thank you all enough for the literally thousands of prayers and emails, phone calls, cards and notes of concern.  It is so comforting to know of God’s Army out there praying for us. We wholly trust Him for the outcome.
 
  Just a few notes of how we are doing. The past 4 nights have been the best sleep since early November. The jaundice is greatly reduced and the itching has abated to the point that I have slept those 4 nights with no ice packs and little lotion. I have maintained a great appetite, have eaten well and had no pain or nausea throughout this ordeal, and Praise God for that. The weight loss has slowed though total weight loss since 1 year ago is now approaching 60#. My body just can’t utilize food until we correct the problem and get the enzymes and digestive juices flowing correctly. We look forward to post surgery and treatment, to gaining strength while maintaining a healthy weight.
 
  We have been blessed this past week with a visit from old friends Pat & Kathy. Pat is a 7 year survivor of Stage 4 Burkitt’s lymphoma and we had a wonderful time of sharing and prayer one evening. I visited by phone with Terry, husband of Melanie whom we met at Vanderbilt. She prayed openly with us on our very first visit to Vanderbilt. Terry had the same surgery I will have 2 1/2 years ago and I appreciated his input.
 
  We were blessed with wonderful soup and bread and another Sarah Young book from our friend Paige, with milk shakes and a quick visit from Tom and Dottie, and with a 10th birthday party with family for grand-son Jackson. Plus cards, letters, emails, blog comments and phone calls from so many more. God bless you all.
 
  Lastly, I trust God completely during this time. I want the last words on my mind before anesthesia to be “Help me, Jesus” and the first words when I awake to be “Praise you, Jesus!”
 
  Please pray also for an added measure of strength, peace and grace for my beloved, Rita.
 
  Love,
 
  Ray
 

  Surgery: Wednesday January 15,  8 AM central

11 comments:

  1. I'm glad you're sleeping much better, and that the itching seems to be finally under control! Praying that surgery goes smoothly, for peace for you and your family, and for healing for you!

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  2. Praying for a smooth and successful surgery and for healing!

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  3. Dear friends,
    Prayers and positive thoughts go with you! Please have Rita or children keep us updated. God bless your family through this time.

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    1. Thank you Carol. We will try to update blog as soon as possible.

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  4. Ray,
    Glad your itching is (finally) under some control.
    I'll certainly be praying for you and Rita
    Rick

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  5. Dear Ray ~
    Evidently our Lord has heard the prayers for peace and comfort being lifted up by
    so many....restful sleep, calm digestion and relief from itching, His answer. We are
    praying you through the coming days and surgery....Be steadfast in your Faith and
    hold on to all of His promises....He is holding you tenderly in the hollow of His hand
    and heart and there is so much yet of His beautiful world for you to discover... We are in Brentwood and if there is anything we can do to help you and Rita during these days, please allow us to do so. I'll leave my number at the residence at
    Vanderbilt..... Godspeed.
    Mary

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    1. Praise God, there is no limit to His goodness! I told Rita 2 months ago when this journey began that my blog was going to change from mainly a gardening rural blog to a "current condition" update and that I was not going to shy away from expressing my spiritual journey through this. I expected to lose some readers, but the traffic on the blog has more than tripled! What a blessing to know that you are reading, that you are nearby and that you are following God's prompting. Bless you!

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  6. Lord, Thank you for your promises and for giving Ray and Rita a peace that only you can provide. We pray that you fill the doctors with wisdom and knowledge as they perform the surgery this morning and remove all foreign germs or anything that would be considered bad from the operating room. Let your glory been seen today through all your servants and cover the family with your peace. We pray for your healing hand to touch the wound and provide full restoration to Ray.

    “You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You” Isaiah 26:3

    pat

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