Thankful

Andrew made it fine through the surgery yesterday. Thank you for your prayers!
He has been out of it mostly. I think this may be all the morphine he has had since Saturday. But you may find it funny to know he has watched a lot of The Food Network when he is awake. He and I used to snuggle together and watch Emeril years ago. Now he likes Alton Brown. It must be the scientific aspect Alton Brown brings to food!

Hopefully Andrew will be discharged some time tomorrow. Some good friends are fixing Thanksgiving dinner in their home for our other two children and my husband and I will eat with Andrew at the hospital.

We are staying local to do the radiation and chemo. We just can't leave our children and our support system again. It was too hard on the whole family before.

But I am also still researching alternative treatments to be used in conjunction with traditional protocol. We did not want to have Andrew go through the radiation and chemo because it does not cure this type of cancer and we hated to put him through the side effects to no avail. However, we are hoping it will give us more time.

Andrew's diagnosis is a GBM stage 4. It is the deadliest brain cancer and very rare in children. We are told there is no cure. BUT GOD.

I keep coming back to that because we know that God heals and we have heard of miracles happening for people who were sent home to die.
We continue to believe, hope, pray and breathe faith. Last week we were at our weariest and, to be honest, I thought I was near a break down at any moment. Sleep deprivation is a bad thing.

I am still praying for so many of you that have requested prayer. I don't have all the answers but I do have my faith and trust in a good God. I pray and believe because His Word tells me to. I persist because Jesus gave us the parable of the persistent widow. I trust in Him because He is trustworthy.

Happy Thanksgiving! We have our son so our day will be full of thanks.

Surgery Again

Please remember Andrew in prayer tomorrow (11/24) as he goes into surgery again around 10:00 a.m. est.
He has been in All Children's Hospital in St. Pete since Saturday. All Children's is 30 minutes from our home. We did not want to be separated from family and friends again.
He will have a debulking of the tumors. Following a short recovery, he will begin radiation and chemo. He began having excruciating headaches and vomiting last week.
There is no medical cure for this kind of brain cancer which is rare in children. BUT GOD.
We have put him over and again in God's kind and capable hands. We have not given up on Andrew's miracle. We still believe.

Please pray that God guides the hands of the surgeon and that there will not be an infection as was the case last time.
Pray that there are NO Ill Effects of the surgery.
Pray for us to have the wisdom of God on how to proceed with Andrew's care and that we are led by His Spirit as we talk with our son.
And please include our other children in your prayers. Andrew's big sister, Audra, is 20 and his big brother, Avery, is 15. Avery is not expressing his emotions and we are concerned about this.

Thank you for your prayers and your concern and your outpouring of love.
I'll let you know how things go when I can.

Looking Good!

A couple of weeks ago, I asked Andrew to draw a picture for me. He drew himself on his skateboard! Can't wait to see him skating again. You can be sure I will videotape it for you!

This morning Andrew weighed 97.2 pounds! (He has gained 13 pounds since being home.) His hair is growing out and soon will cover the scars on his scalp. He looks great and feels great, too.

These are some of the things we are doing:
We have cut out all refined sugar and make sure Andrew eats some raw vegetables and fruit every day. He has learned to really enjoy eating apples (organic) for a snack or as a dessert. If you are wondering what the black bag is in the picture from the prior post, it contains a pump. The pump is infusing vitamin C 24/7. We are also using the feeding tube to give him the Budwig "cocktail" twice a day. He has a physical therapy evaluation on Monday and we meet again with his doctor on Tuesday.

We continue to stand in faith on God's word for Andrew's complete recovery from cancer and its effects. Have I already mentioned how much I hate cancer? If not, I HATE CANCER. A couple of weeks ago I found out a friend from college days is going through a similiar situation with her 14 yr. old son. Her son, Britt, was also diagnosed with cancer (brain & spine). He started radiation and chemo this week. Please pray for Britt's complete healing, too!
I believe the enemy is attacking this end time generation because they will be on the front lines of spreading the gospel in these last days. Pray that none of the evil schemes of the enemy will thwart or cut short the purposes and plans of God for this generation! "Oh God, deliver us from evil."

Above all, we pray about everything all the time!

Bless his sweet heart, Andrew rarely complains. He asks us often if he will be better by Christmas. He is bored with not being able to play like he used to...just this summer. Because the tumors affected his left side, he cannot use his left arm/hand/fingers at all. He also has weakness in his left leg which makes it more difficult to walk. But we believe this is a temporary condition! We speak life and recovery and restoration to him on a daily basis.

Is it hard? Yes, some moments are very difficult for me. But I thank God for my husband who is a rock! And I thank God for all of you who pray for Andrew and our family. It means so much to us. Thank you for the cards. And I haven't forgotten those of you who asked me to add you or a loved one to my personal prayer time. I am praying for you!
A very special woman emailed me this week and asked me to pray about a specific need. I tried to email you back but was unsuccessful. You told me about your son. I would love to respond and if you would like me to, please email again with a return address. In the meantime, "God loves you and is pleased with you." I felt impressed to tell you that.

Have a Happy Day! "He hath made me glad."

I Love Sundays

Yesterday (Sunday) all five of us sat shoulder to shoulder at our church. What a great day! When our pastor welcomed Andrew back to church after such a long absence, many stood and clapped for him. That blessed us so much. I leaned into Andrew and whispered in his ear, "People love you, baby." Then our pastor directed his father (one of my favorite people) to anoint Andrew with oil and pray the prayer of faith (James 5:14-15).

Praise was lifted, the Word went forth, the Body of Christ loved on us and our family was blessed!

I wanted a picture of the five of us back in church together but our oldest son was ready to go and already in the van and our daughter had driven herself and had already left for home. Oh well. Some things never change! A family picture of any type is always a challenge.

Last night as bed time neared, Andrew and I were talking and I said, "Wasn't it great to be in church this morning?"

His reply: "I was excited!" And then he added, "I enjoyed Pastor Randy's message."

The message was the first in a new series our pastor is preaching entitled, All Things Have Become New from 2nd Corinthians 5:17.

What a fitting theme for our family. ALL things have become new, indeed!

From One Skateboarder to Another

A friend made a contact and Tony Hawk made a phone call to Andrew! Yesterday at 5:54 p.m. Tony Hawk called our home and asked to speak to Andrew. I had no clue who was on the other side of the line. But Andrew recognized the voice of Tony Hawk and they chatted for a few minutes. Thanks, Tony Hawk!
Thanks, Kathy for setting this up. And thanks to Paula, who weeks ago contacted Tony Hawk's "people" and Tony sent Andrew an autographed picture.
Andrew told me a few nights ago that he dreamed he was skatedboarding. I believe he will be on that board again! He has a vision and so do I.

Get A Life~Vision!

About a week ago the Lord impressed me to get a vision! A vision of Life for Andrew. In other words, Get a Life~Vision! A life vision for each of our children. A life vision for our family and our home.

Nearly a year ago, I was out walking with Andrew. He was skateboarding and was a little ahead of me. We had just rounded the top of our street. I could take you to the very place where a thought came to me regarding Andrew. It was, I believe, a heavenly thought.

I saw him skateboarding and loving life and the phrase "unusual ministry" came into my heart. Let me tell you that those two words have been something I have clung to like I would a canteen of water in a desert place.

Both my husband and I have "seen" Andrew as a young man, healthy, happy and whole. These spiritual pictures have "seen"us through tough times lately.

I have also had "snapshots" of the futures of my other two children as well. When my oldest son was still a baby in my arms, I got a "vision" for his future! Even though now I do not "see" it in the natural, I "see" it with spiritual eyes. As for my daughter, her gifts have always had lots of volume so they are easy to "see" and easy to hear.

I believe that God impressed me last week to get a vision for Andrew's future. I have held this vision up to God in prayer and I am not letting go of it.

God, Himself, said he knows the thoughts or vision he has for us and it is for hope and a future!

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope" Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV.

The vision I have for our family is for hope and healing. I want our home to be so saturated in prayer than no one enters or leaves our home without sensing the presence of the Holy Spirit.

I told my daughter Saturday that the two most important things to me are that our family knows God intimately and that we make Him known. Everything else I have ever been interested in pales in comparison. Everything else is but a shadow. A living, growing, breathing, "bride" relationship with Christ, the Son of the Living God, is my highest desire.

Yes, one day I will renew my interest in recipes and decorating for the seasons and in shopping my closet. Those things are fun and are a blessing to my family and to others. They are gifts to enjoy. I finally took the spring wreath off my door last week! I found my fall wreath and fluffed it up a bit. A neighbor brought a pumpkin by and it is on my porch. Maybe by Thanksgiving I will find my indians and pilgrims to display. I truly believe that is a part of "keeping" a home and my family enjoys a change in scenery now and again. And so do I!

However today my heart is in making our home a healthy environment and a holy place where the peace of God rules and reigns.

Thank you for your continued prayers for Andrew and our family. I love you.

Prayer requests: A good situation for physical therapy for Andrew, more movement and control on his left side (this would so encourage him), a job for my husband, uninterrupted joy in our home and, of course, 100% recovery for Andrew