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Prayer Warriors,
Here is the update I
promised, provided so beautifully and courageously by Sherry
herself.
Thank you again for all the faithful unknown warriors out
there who keep the fire of prayer burning brightly. I thought after I sent
the request yesterday that because of the fact that some of you are in the CIS
and probably elsewhere around the world, we have prayer coverage night and
day!! Praise the Lord!
Read on and take heart . . .
Subject: Rachel's
surgery
Dear friends,
Thank you all for your prayers on Rachel's
behalf. We felt surrounded by them all day yesterday, and Fred finally
slept through most of the night last night.
Rachel's surgery showed the doctors about what they
expected to find. They removed the "flanges" (laminae) from one
side of two of her vertebrae to get to the tumor and get it away from the spinal
cord. It had not attached itself to the cord but was only pressing on it,
so that's good news. She should regain full use of the leg that was
affected, now that the nerves are free to work again.
They know that the tumor originated in muscle of
the pelvic area and was growing along what the doctor called "the path of
least resistance," apparently along the plane of the pelvic area and up the
spine. They didn't try to get as much as possible, as we thought.
Because it was wrapped around the vertebrae, they had to go in through the back
to release those nerves. But the main body of it is in the pelvic area and
would have to be accessed from the front.
So they are going to start chemotherapy in about a
week (after her incision has a chance to heal). Because the tumor is
extremely fast-growing, and chemotherapy works best on fast-growing cells, they
offer pretty good hope that it will shrink the tumor enough so that it can be
safely removed in a second operation from the front. The doctor said some
children respond so well that the tumor shrinks away to nothing just from the
chemotherapy.
Then we got to the real question of
prognosis. The surgeon said that 40% to 60% of children respond to this
treatment if the cancer has not spread elsewhere. We will know more about
that after the results of a bone marrow biopsy taken during the surgery and a
bone scan that will be done today. We asked a lot of questions about what
she would be able to do if she is in this 40-60 group, and she would be able to
do anything she likes--basketball, cross-country, etc.--even missing those two
laminae. But nobody was ready to ask about the percentages on the other
side.
Fred's brother-in-law, Mike, a pastor, reminded us
of Gideon's army, and how God whittled down his men until only a few remained
and the odds were overwhelmingly against him. Mike assured us that God
doesn't go by the odds or percentages, and that an army with Him at the front is
a victorious army every time. We are trying very hard to keep focused on this
moment only, knowing that Jesus stands with us where we are, and that if we run
ahead of him, the path will have no light on it.
We did break the record for the most people waiting
for a surgery patient, said one doctor. Off and on through the day there
were probably 35 people who came and went, and many stayed until she was out of
surgery.
My heartfelt gratitude to my Sunday School class,
who called a prayer vigil at the hospital chapel last night, and to those who
prayed at home during that time as well; to those of you who sent e-mails
winging right back; to those who called; to those who waited with us; and to
those who sent our need across the country to others whom we don't even
know.
I read somewhere that having children is OK as long
as you don't mind your heart walking around outside your body. What a true
statement that is! We are at no point more vulnerable.
Thank you again for your overwhelming love and
support.
Sherry and Fred Pinson
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