Home from Hospital

Tim had been in the hospital for 3 weeks receiving intense physical, occupational, and speech therapy. Attempts were made while he was in the hospital to reduce his steroid intake from 4-2mg. As a result, he suffered 5 seizures during the second week. They quickly brought his steroid levels back up, but the damage was done (temporarily.) The side effects of swelling in his brain where the vessels attached themselves to the tumor that was removed in November began to seep. Tim experienced reduced capacity to communicate, extreme lethargy and reduced use of his right side. He was attacked with discouragement and depression at the setback.

Janice brought Tim home Tuesday (7/13). The doctor ordered a research MRI on Wednesday to determine if there was any new tumor growth or if it was just swelling. Thursday Tim went in for a first of three IV chemo treatments with Avastin which is known to reduce swelling, clean up and seal off pre-tumor vessels. The doctor also confirmed NO NEW TUMOR GROWTH! Praise the Lord!

The doctor was very optimistic today that Tim was still on track to recover from all that he has lost in spite of how weak and disconnected he feels. She is confident that with a lot of work, patience and prayer he will recover. This was very encouraging to the entire Wright family. Even so, pray against discouragement and depression as Tim walks this out. The biggest side effect to pray against is clotting from the IV therapy. Tim will not be doing OC, PT and Speech Therapy outpatient at the hospital until he is stronger. They are bringing in home health care to help.

Many of you are asking about taking food over to them. Since Tim is on a restricted diet, it would be a great help for those interested to get them a grocery gift card from Whole Foods, Kroger, or WalMart. If you are near one of these restaurants, Spring Creek, On The Border, Panda Express, Chili’s, Cheesecake Factory, or Red Lobster, there are certain things that Janice can order for Tim and a gift card is great from these too. An encouraging note or card is always a blessing.

Please pray for prayer as follows:

Complete healing and restoration
Emotional and spiritual strength
No blood clots from the IV chemo therapy
Decrease in swelling of his brain
Increase his cognitive skills
Strength to return quickly to his right side
His ability to stand and walk unassisted
No more seizures
Strength for Janice as she is by her husband’s side

For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling that I may walk before God in the light of life. Psalm 56:13

Bind / Cast Out Death:

cancer, seizures, discouragement, schemes of the enemy, generational curses

Speak Life:

brain cells, immune system, nervous system, muscle tone, coordination, strength, peace,encouragment, hope, trust, renewed purpose and vision for Tim and Janice

Prayer Update

Tim is beginning his second week of therapy and he is making progress. He has occupational (upper body strength and fine motor), physical therapy and speech therapy each two times a day. They are keeping him busy and the constant activity and interaction is hard on him but he is able to complete most sessions. He is continuing to come down off the steroids and has not had any seizures so praise God. The doctor said it will take about 6 months of exercise to work through the myopathy caused by the steroids. It appears that he has neurological damage (drop foot) in his right ankle, foot and toes so please pray that the Lord will heal the nerves and allow him to have function again so that he will be able to walk with stability and safety.

Please pray peace over his spirit as he has suffered loss in so many areas: physical, cognitive (problem solving, short term memory loss), emotional, being unable to work etc. His attitude is so incredible most of the time, really trusting God for his provision but I know it must be very difficult, especially for a man, to not have control over so many areas of his life. It is especially difficult for him when he is unable to express his thoughts the way he would like to.

Pray for the Lord to give us wisdom for out patient therapy when he is released from the hospital both for speech and physical therapy.

Please pray for me to have patience and to know best how to love, encourage and serve him. I have always enjoyed being his helpmate thru work and ministry so pray that our marriage will continue to be strong and vibrant during this season. It will be great when his strength increases for us to be around friends again as the isolation is hard.

Tim will have his next scan towards the end of July. Continue to ask the Lord to take captive any rebellious cancer cells that would attempt to grow. Pray for his platelet counts to come up so that if it is important for him to continue chemotherapy that he will be able to do so.

I know that the Lord always has a plan for our lives and that he uses trials to refine and strengthen our faith but it has a tendency to highlight our weaknesses too. Pray for the Lord to reveal to our hearts how He desires to purify our faith. He has been so faithful to refresh our spirits thru his Word. Please pray for the Lord’s great character of love and mercy to be victorious in our lives. We know the enemy would like to keep Tim and I from ministry so please pray that any plan of his would be crushed and that the Lord’s plan for us would prevail. We know His plans for us are always good and we know He has the power to defeat the enemy in our lives.

We are so grateful by the love and kindness of our friends. We so covet your prayers and know that many of you are in the midst of your own struggles. May God work mightily in your lives too so that His name will receive great glory and honor. We can't wait until we are back in your midst loving and serving alongside you!!!

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5

For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling that I may walk before God in the light of life. Psalm 56:13

In-Patient Physical Therapy

Answered prayer! Tim checked into a Dallas hospital yesterday to begin his inpatient physical therapy. We are guessing he will be there 2 weeks, but that has not been verified. Praise the Lord that all of Tim’s past scans have been clear. Tim, however, has slowly become isolated at home due to the decline in his health from the steroids and low platelets. This isolation has contributed to his feeling disconnected from people. His brain surgery inhibited his speech and ability to communicate well. We are hoping that the therapy will help stimulate his brain to reconnect his thought and speech processes. The therapists will also be setting goals for him to determine his ability to walk unassisted for more than a few steps.

How can you help? Email Tim and Janice an update of you family happenings, like a year-end letter you might receive in a Christmas card. This will help him stay connected to his friends and church family.

Tim is down to 4 milligrams of steroids starting today and they plan to decrease it 1 mg a week until he is off completely. He will be more tired than usual as he comes down off the steroids so therapy will take all of his effort. Two weeks ago, when they reduced his steroids, he experienced seizures. The decreasing in medication and therapy will be a delicate balance. Please pray for:

· no seizures as his system is adjusting to the decrease each week

· his body to be strengthened through his physical therapy

· his speech therapy and occupational therapy to show continued improvement

· that he will supernaturally surpass their goals for him

· ultimate healing and restoration

· Janice to feel rested and rejuvenated

· blessings over their finances

· protection over their mental stamina during this season

· many people to write and keep him connected to their lives

· prayer, prayer, and more prayer. Please pray each week at meals, with friends and in small groups.

Gary Hutchison has asked that we step-up prayer for Tim over the next 2 months, to have a focused prayer time each week. Philip Pfanstiel, a member of Grace, was impressed by the Lord to begin organizing structured prayer time. More to come on that later.

Prayer sheets will be updated and placed in the HOP and lobby weekly.

Health Update

We received some wonderful news from Tim's most recent MRI (6-20-2010) that shows no signs of new tumor growth and the swelling has gone down to a minimal level. Tim has been on high doses of dexamethasone (steroid) to help accomplish this and unfortunately has experienced some very negative side effects. He has steroid myopathy which basically means the steroids have caused his muscle tissue to atrophy. He is not able to take more than a few steps at a time and somedays is wheelchair bound.

Some of you know that we took a trip to Georgia for our 34th anniversary towards the end of May. We had some free tickets that were going to expire the end of May and thought the change would be good for morale. We took lots of books and were going to just find some pretty spots around the hotel and read and talk. About 4 days into the trip Tim experienced 3 really bad seizures and had to be hospitalized for 2 1/2 days.

Below is a letter I sent out to some of our friends when we got back. In the meantime we are waiting on the insurance company to approve inpatient therapy or to begin out patient therapy. Our oncologist would really like to have us in the hospital as we continue to reduce his dose of steroids. Even though the steroids have caused the weakness; decreasing the dose makes him even weaker and it increases the risk of more seizures. We would covet your prayers as we go through this season. Tim's attitude has been incredible but that doesn't mean he doesn't get discouraged. We are both trusting the Lord and seeking His divine healing, peace, power and joy. I will admit there are days that I feel overwhelmed and fearful but through your prayers we have grace for each day and a desire to wake up each morning and do battle again.

Please pray for Tim's muscles to be strengthened, his ability to be stable on his feet and to walk well again, for health and safety as the steroid dose is reduced, and for no more seizures. We want to trust the Lord for his heart of restoration in Tim's cognitive abilities too. His platelets have come up to 92,000 but still need to increase to about 140,000 before they will do another round of chemo. He has missed three rounds of chemo already but we just need to trust the Lord in this.

We know that trials refine our faith and that our hope is in Him. While we appreciate the medical advances that we have we know that it is God who is the one who wills and works healing and restoration in our lives. We do not want this time of suffering to be wasted in our lives but for us to walk in closer harmony with God and to bring Him glory and to trust that He is our sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

We love you all and are so grateful for all your prayers!!!!! We are anxious for the day that we can be back among you at church and involved in ministry again!!!!!

Hospitalization During Georgia Vacation: June 1

I can never tell you how much we appreciate your love and prayers for us during this time with Tim in the hospital. Even though it was a very frightening time for us I could see God’s goodness in the midst of things. Being in unfamiliar territory I had to totally trust God for Him to work things out. Witnessing Tim have seizures for 45 minutes, the small hospital, the EMTs lack of confidence in the hospital and the incompetent ER doctor, I must admit I was filled with fear. I just kept calling out to the Lord and things began to change.

We were assigned to a different doctor, (who was nothing short of incredible) had great nurses who were kind and competent, told I could spend the night in a house across the street, Beth Ramos (a former Grace member and PBT missionary living in Jacksonville) came to be with us and picked Amy up from the airport. Carol Weideman took on responsibility of helping find ways for Amy to come to help me get Tim home. I was unaware of all she was trying to do here on this end to get tickets for us as I had about all I could handle with Tim and the hospital side of things. Since it was a holiday weekend, the standby tickets were not working out very well, Carol got the word out we might need more help with the tickets. When Carol called and told me a neighbor had bought a ticket for Amy to come it just opened the floodgate of tears that I had been holding back. At first I was going to say I was amazed at the generous outpouring of our friends and neighbors but then I have seen so many wonderful expressions of love and generosity among the brothers and sisters of Christ over the last 16 years of being at Grace and among our neighbors that I shouldn't be amazed only extremely grateful and touched. A boyhood friend was among those who blessed us too and that really hit a tender spot with Tim so we all cried over your generosity.

We are finding it very humbling at times to receive from people but know that we also feel so very blessed. We were extending ourselves to take our anniversary trip but we knew our marriage needed some “fresh air” so to speak. To have something to share together besides “have you taken your medicines yet, or no we can’t eat that because of your blood sugar issues” and to just to get out of the house. We had a wheelchair with us that allowed us to get out a little more but mostly we found a scenic and relaxing spot to read, sit and talk and reflect together. We both cried a lot and were able to for the first time since Tim’s surgery to grieve together instead of keeping things locked up inside. It was emotionally healthy for us in that regard and even though we had the trauma at the end we are in a better place as husband and wife because of it.

From here we will be in contact with our doctor in Dallas this week. Tim had been on anti seizure medication ever since his diagnosis but they have doubled the dose. Our oncologist wants to begin tapering him off the steroids but this will put him at greater risks of seizures too. Tim will start having physical therapy as his muscles on his right side have gotten very weak and have begun to atrophy. He is due for another round of chemo but his platelets are too low so they may consider a transfusion or postponing the treatment. Tim recently had an MRI and the scans looked great as far as no new tumor growth and the brain swelling is now minimal. We continue to be very hopeful and covet your prayers for continued recovery. But with that said please be praying for Tim’s spirit to be encouraged. He is very discouraged with progress or lack of it at this point.

Thank you again so very much for your love, prayers and generosity towards us!!

Health Update

I just wanted to update you all on how things were going. We had an all day visit to UT Southwestern Medical Center today with 2 MRIs and a visit with the oncologist. It was a timely visit for me as I had been concerned about Tim's increasing weakness. The scans looked great, the oncologist was thrilled with the images as it shows that the swelling is reduced and no signs of anything growing. Tim has been taking high doses of steriods to help the swelling go down but since he has been taking them for so long it has started to effect his muscles. Primarily his shoulder and thighs which explains his heightened immobility and difficulty walking.

His platelet counts have dipped back down into the 70s and she will not do another round of chemo for awhile as he is not tolerating it very well.

We have an anniversary trip planned next week (34 years) using some frequent flyer miles to the coast of Southern Georgia. The doctor gave us the okay to go and said to call if any problems occur. Tim has agreed to let us use a wheelchair at the airport and on the trip so we can get out a little to check out a few lighthouses, etc. But we plan on taking lots of books and worship music to just relax, spend time with God and have a change of scenery.

Please continue to pray for his platelets to go up, for his body to tolerate the reduction of the steriods, muscle strength to be renewed, no new cancer cells and for safety on our trip. We fly to Jacksonville, FL then get a rental car - I will be driving so pray for me to have peace and safety on unknown freeways.

As always it is with deep gratitude that we appreciate your love and prayers,

Janice and for Tim

Health Update

We just wanted to update our friends and prayer partners on our visit today to the neuro-oncologists office.

The last month had been a little discouraging to Tim and I as we have not seen any improvement and in fact felt that he regressed somewhat with his ability to walk and function with his motor skills and fatigue, etc. His platelet count has been too low to start his chemotherapy which he should have started a month ago. So all in all it was very good to have the conversation with the doctor today.

The oncologist, Dr. Maher, feels that the physical symptoms and fatigue is caused from swelling and the brain's slow ability to heal from the trauma of the surgery and radiation. Tim has been on a low dose of steroids but she is increasing that and we will be talking with her office on a weekly basis to see how high we need to go on the dose etc. as to how his symptoms improve. The higher dose of steroids does effect his blood sugar levels so we will have to be more on top of that too.

Tim's platelets are still low at 123. She would like to have them up in the 150s but she is going to start him on the chemotherapy anyway and have his blood work monitored closely. She did not want to wait any longer to start the chemo. It will be by pill form for 5 days a month for up to a year or however long he can tolerate it. So pray that his platelet count does not fall too low as it can cause internal bleeding.

Some of you may know that Tim is part of a research study and has had these high tech MRIs done that give a much different look into the brain than the normal type of MRIs. The study is to help identify pseudo tumor progression versus real tumor progression. From this study they can tell what type of cell is in the inflamed area by their metabolic character. His definitely show that it is normal cells vs tumor cells. It is a bit complicated for the lay person like me but she showed us the scans and it was very helpful. She said that Tim is the best case study from this research and she said "his scan was a gift to her from God". It will help tremendously in future treatments, not only for us, but for everyone affected with this disease. So, his wonderful brain is about to be pictured in the medical journals.

Thank you all so much for continuing to partner with us in prayer for total healing. Whenever we get discouraged God sends us a gift through your hugs, scriptures that come to your mind while praying for us, a note card in the mail or email, a gift of fruits and vegetables, lawn work, household fix-it things, tree branches and firewood cut, and the list goes on. We know that our God never slumbers and that He delights to give good gifts to His children. Thank you for being part of that "good gift" to us!!!! Your encouragement is a help to us to stand firm in our faith and to not waiver!!!!

With great love and gratitude,

Janice