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
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!
ReplyDeleteThank you once again, Alica.
DeletePraying for a smooth and successful surgery and for healing!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jan.
DeleteDear friends,
ReplyDeletePrayers and positive thoughts go with you! Please have Rita or children keep us updated. God bless your family through this time.
Thank you Carol. We will try to update blog as soon as possible.
DeleteRay,
ReplyDeleteGlad your itching is (finally) under some control.
I'll certainly be praying for you and Rita
Rick
Thank you, Rick!
DeleteDear Ray ~
ReplyDeleteEvidently 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
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!
DeleteLord, 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.
ReplyDelete“You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You” Isaiah 26:3
pat