Febraury 18, 2010

Dear friends and prayer warriors,

Tim and I wanted to update you and ask you to pray for us. Over the last several weeks Tim has had significant weakness on his right side, instability, difficulty walking without dragging his foot, etc. We mentioned this to the radiologist this week on our weekly visit. He was very concerned and ordered an MRI that same day. He showed the MRI results to the surgeon and they both felt there was obviously something near his motor skill area that was new but still within the area that is being radiated. They said it is very rare (less than 5%) for a tumor to progress or grow during treatment but that it was possible, and they both were leaning toward the conclusion that it was tumor growth. If that is true, it is very bad news. This was about 10:00am Wednesday morning. We notified the staff and elders and immediately they began praying.

Around 4:00pm, the oncologist saw the report and called us at home. She was not willing to concede at this point to the other doctor’s conclusion and believes that it is more likely trauma, debris and swelling from the radiation treatment. She is ordering a different type of research MRI scan that takes different types of images and may give us more insight. She didn't know if it would give us a definite answer, but it would be helpful to compare to future scans. She is hoping to get that scheduled later this week or the first part of next week. She also started him on steroids that will reduce swelling, if that is the problem. If he shows remarkable improvement in his motor skills in the next few days, that will be a good sign. The three doctors (surgeon, radiologist and oncologist) will be meeting on Friday to discuss his case and future treatment plans. Please pray for the Lord to reveal the truth of the situation.

Obviously Wednesday was an emotional day. We were encouraged by the oncologist’s remarks, but we want to be even more encouraged that God will hear our pleas for healing and that He will rise up with healing in His wings and reach down and touch His servant and bring about complete restoration and long life to Tim. This is not just a physical battle to be fought with medicine and science, it is a spiritual battle that needs to be fought with fervent and believing prayer. Please stand with our family, believing God for a miracle.

From my heart to yours, I am not ready to lose my husband, and more than that I am trusting that God has a work for Tim to further His kingdom. I asked the Lord to show me something from Him this morning to let me know how to pray, what to believe about this situation. As a result of that prayer, Amy and I were lead to Isaiah 38: 4-6, “Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: 5 "Go and tell Hezekiah, 'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.” When I saw that this included not only Tim’s life, but his life calling to bring Jesus to the city through ArlingtonAnswers.com. Then Amy was reading Psalms 112 and shared it with me. As she did I recalled a time before when I asked the Lord for confirmation about my dad when he was facing a life threatening surgery and the Lord lead me to this Psalms passage. The combination of these two passages was confirmation. I knew it was from the Lord and rejoiced with great hope!

Thank you for your love for us and your willingness to pray on our behalf. At this point we have not talked to our granddaughters (Kaitlyn 13 and Analiese 8) but plan to visit with them this weekend so please don't say anything to them if you should see them at church. Please understand that if I don't reply to all emails that it isn't because we don't appreciate your love and prayers. We covet them! The kids are here a lot and the daily trips to Dallas cut our days short and I just want to spend as much time with Tim as possible.

We love you all dearly,
Janice