1/27/11 - Headed Home Cancer Free

Well...both those statements are pretty sweet to say and to have sunk in over the past day.  Praising our good Lord and thanking Him for each and every thing we have been through, knowing there is still one more major decision that needs to be made regarding follow-up treatment.

So we got the official news from our thoracic surgeon on Wednesday night (1/25) that all margins were negative in surgery (which means that no cancer was found around the boundaries of what was removed) and even though there was residual cancer that was identified in the pathology test, from a surgical standpoint, we are cancer free. Almost the best news that we could have heard and what a blessing from GOD and a huge answered prayer request! On the residual cancer found....there were still cancer cells identified in lymph nodes and a very small layer in the esophagus at the tumor location.  This does reassure us as to why God was so clear with us that we needed to take the next step and have surgery.  So knowing that there were active cancers cells in my body at the time of surgery, shows that I didn't have a complete pathological response to the chemo and radiation.  But all in all, this is what Megs and I expected based on comments from our surgeon about what he saw in surgery.  And to hear the surgeon speak in confidence about what he was able to do during the surgery, we stand confident that I am cancer free.

The decision that now remains on the table is whether to undergo "mop-up" chemo.  The surgeon and onocologist are both in agreement that my next step in treatment, to ensure they are doing the most they can at the time, is to conduct a round of chemo (to include 3 doses, once every three weeks for a total of 9 weeks).  The idea being that a new type of chemo will attack "any remaining" free floating cancer cells to stop them from adhering and starting a new tumor elsewhere in my body.  So let's just say after going through one cancer, being beat down from a second cancer and now on a long physical road to recovery, we have a lot to pray about and discuss with the multiple Dr's, including our Natropath, over the next few weeks.  Since they would want to start chemo around 4-weeks after I am out of the hospital, decisions will need to come fairly quickly.  No doubt we have another big decision that we will need to make, but can instantly feel the Holy Spirit providing a calm over us as we trust that God will provide us the answers to our prayers in the same clear, concise and timely manner we have asked for in the past.

So on a more immediate joy, I am getting released (we hope everything goes as planned, as I am writing this pre-release) today and I am really looking forward to all of the luxuries of home.  After 19 days in the hospital, my body and my brain are now aligned and telling me its time to go.  We pray there will be no 11th hour postponements. 

So we'll look to settle back into the house, our own routine (one that is not dictated by the nurses) and get familiar with the limitations that I will have and how that effects what we can and can't do.  Which in regards to limitations, other than diet (only soft foods for the next 3 months) and not laying down for three hours after I eat....I am physically limited by my nocturnal feedings that I will have nightly tied to a machine for 10hrs as I am fed through my feeding tube a liquid food supply.  Additionally, I am limited to lifting 10lbs, so play with Taylor and household chores could be interesting.  Other than that, I am pretty much a free man again to push myself and heal as quickly as I can. 

So overall, I sit here in the Glory of God feeling so blessed and hopeful about tomorrow.  Though there still remains tough decisions and a long road ahead, I am joyful for TODAY.

We'll let you know how the transition home goes and continue to ask for your prayers on clarity as to whether we should undergo chemo now or keep that in our tool kit should the cancer decide to return someday.  However, Meg and I trust that God has used this situation to it's fullest and he has bigger things in store for each of us, as a couple and as a family.  We also know that this journey over the last 9 months has changed us and shaped us into what we could have never imagined.  Now cancer doesn't define me, but it will always be part of me and does support my testimony to how our never-changing, never-failing, ever-loving GOD can use "ugly" undesirable situations to provide opportunities for all to see there is good that will come from everything.  No matter how the next chapter in this book goes, all the Glory, Power and Strength through these trials of cancer came from HIM and in that HE is seeking a personal ever-lasting relationship with each and every one of you!  It's there...will today be that day you accept it for yourself?

Love and God Bless!

Jason

1/22/11 - 2 Weeks Down - Post Surgery

Hi Everyone – We’ve had quite the eventful week to report on with some positives and some bumps in the road along the way.  But all in all, we’re still moving forward thanks to God’s strength!  Let me recap last week for those of you who haven’t gotten any updates, but have continued to faithfully pray for us!

Some major mile markers that took place last week:

The Epidural was taken out Wednesday morning as it can only stay in for 9 to 10 days total.  While Jas didn’t think the epidural was doing much for him, he quickly found out otherwise the poor guy!  We told you we’d celebrate together as each tube/cord came out of Jas.  Count one down with the epidural coming out – hooray!

Our first bump in the road in week 2 was that his feeding tube was plugged for an entire night last week - which was his only source of nutrition/calories at the time.  So unfortunately the nurses came in every hour for an entire night to keep trying to flush the plug out in order to keep getting nutrition into his body.  Praise God they were able to get it unplugged, however we were exhausted the next day after another sleepless night.

Back to another positive - Jas passed his leak/swallow test on Wednesday.  Hooray!  When we heard this news, things really began to progress forward.   That evening Dr. Burrows did the honors of pulling the tube out of his nose that ran all the way down his new esophagus into his stomach.  Instantly he could breathe better, his throat didn’t feel as sore and the flem that had been hanging around went away – YEAH!!!  He was like a new man after this!  Yet another tube gone – THANK YOU GOD!   Here are before and after pics.

Freedom from another tube!

And to follow closely behind, his catheter then came out.  Another tube gone!   We were on a roll!  AWESOME GOD! 

Chest Tubes

By Thursday night, they still hadn’t been able to get the new meds right to help with the pain that the epidural had been covering so Jas had another really awful, sleepless night with lots of pain in his stomach and side (where the chest tubes were - pic to the right).  The poor guy couldn’t even catch his breath through the pain!  I have never in my 14 years of knowing him seen him to this point of pain ever!  It was so hard to watch and I felt so darn helpless.  Needless to say, the one thing I could do through it all was to keep pressing the nurses to take action - which unfortunately took ALL night : (  However, Praise God they eventually got things working again for him the following morning.  From what we are learning, typically the majority of people who have this surgery are 55+ yrs old.  Because Jas is younger and his nerve endings are more tethered than a 55 yr old,  the pain he feels is much more intense therefore he requires much more medication than their "typical patient".  Wheew!  Yet another night of not much sleep and an experience probably similar to the pain a woman is in during intense labor for a whole night with no relief.  I do think he’ll have much more understanding and sympathy to the entire pregnancy/labor process in the future : ) 

His first drink in 5 days!

By Friday, they took out 1of his chest tubes and TADAAAAAAAAAAA that helped with part of the pain reduction tremendously!  Yet another tube down – THANK YOU GOD!  Also, he was able to start taking liquids by mouth so each day they have progressed a little further in terms of what they are letting him eat.  To the left is a picture of his first drink - grape juice.  We’ve gone from water to juice to chicken broth to tomato soup to cream of wheat, etc.  And of course, it’s also been frustrating all the things they try to serve you in a hospital that are loaded with sugar that Jas has politely declined: juices with added sugar, pudding, ice cream, shakes with sugar and high fructose corn syrup, grrrrr….  An answered prayer to this was that our friend Dr. Kim (Grace) came to visit on Saturday and took me grocery shopping 5 minutes away to a Whole Foods store so I could pick up some almond milk, organic applesauce and a lot of Naked Brand fruit and veggie drinks for Jas so he could have some quality options.  THANK YOU Grace – you were a lifesaver!  I certainly don’t know my way around Baltimore outside of the hospital, so it was such an incredible thing for her to do for us on her day off : )  What an awesome friend with such a heart for the Lord!  Another very positive thing about Saturday is that they took his 2^nd chest tube out.  Yet another Hallelujah – Praise God day : ) 

By the way, let me bring you up to speed on how he's walking!  I can't even video him now because he is walking so incredibly fast.  We did some figuring and think that he's up to 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile each day now.  And, he has a reputation on this floor among all the nurses.  They don't even ask him if he wants to walk, they ask him if he's ready for a run.  That just makes Jas smile to know that he's the ones pushing the nurses to walk faster through is physical therapy.  Yet another WIN - Thanks God! 

Then Saturday night, going into Sunday was a rough one again.  We had the nurses flying into the room every hour bc Jason’s heart rate was very high and he had a fever.  So of course they had to closely monitor him through the entire night every hour.  All day Sunday (1/22) they tried to diagnose what the root cause of the problem was that was causing his fever with no answers.  His fever came down, but his white cell counts doubled and heart rate remained fairly high.  By Sunday evening Jas had a CAT scan with contrast done to see if they could find anything out as to the problem.   Bless Dr. Burrow’s heart, he stopped by to see Jas 3 times this day to "put his eyeballs on him".  The last time he swung by was to tell us that there may be a possible leak that the CAT scan detected, however he wasn’t so sure that was the case as it hadn’t showed up on the swallow/leak test earlier in the week.  However, know that the swallow/leak test tends to be a much more sensitive test to pick up on leaks and this was done on Wednesday showing no leaks, so he isn’t so sure that there actually is one.  Also, he shared that there’s a small amount of fluid and air in the right lung which had been collapsed during surgery.  Nothing to be extremely worried about, but enough to put in a catheter/chest tube back into his chest to drain the fluid and air.  Uggghhh!  Those darn things just immediately scream pain, so please pray that this one miraculously doesn’t cause any pain for Jas.

So we ended Sunday evening with some tough/sad news that because of the bump in the road that Jas experienced today, it’s looking like it may be another week in the hospital, totallying closer to 3 wks instead of heading home tomorrow : (  Jas is still in decent spirits through it all and looking on the bright side, at least this is all happening while he’s still in the hospital vs. after he came home right?  On the other hand, what breaks our hearts is that we’re now going to not see Taylor for yet another week - totaling now 3.5 weeks of her being gone : (  But, we know it's best for her as she doesn’t have to experience any of the stress of this situation and can just be carefree like you would hope an almost 3 yr old should be.   We are so incredibly grateful to our family in Ohio for taking such amazing care of her for practically a month! THANK YOU GUYS!  We love you! It’s just so hard being apart from her this long!  Thank God for technology so we can at least Skype/Facetime with her often to see her sweet little face.  She let us watch her make an angel craft tonight while we talked which was fun to see her in action and happy!  The other funny thing is that every time we talk with Taylor, she thinks it's hilarious that daddy has his jammies on all the time and that they always have moons and stars on them.  Those beautiful hospital gowns our daughter loves - smile!

We can’t thank you enough for all of the love and encouragement you have sent us these past couple weeks specifically.  And for those who have come to visit, sacrificing your time to spend with us to help time pass by more quickly – THANK YOU!  And for all the special things you have brought for us and treated us to, we are so grateful.  Again, God continues to pour his love out on us through our family and friends here on earth!  Here’s a couple pics that will make you smile that displays some creative gifts we got this week.  And…we’ve gotten more bottles of chapstick than you can imagine with a rainbow of flavors that just makes me laugh as we see them all lined up in the hospital room : )  Even the nurses are commenting on our collection of chapstick since our last blog post lol.  Love being able to laugh through this all, which can only be coming from God!  Please, keep the humor coming - laughter is good for the soul!

If you can read this you are DANGEROUSLY too close sign!

Well, that's it for now!  Please keep Jason in your prayers for complete healing, strength and patience while we continue to reside in our luxury suite at the hospital with our Baltimore skyline view for another week.  And that Taylor continues to behave and enjoy having extra special time with our family in Ohio, not feeling any stress of what we are enduring right now!

Thank you so very much for your continued commitment to pray and love on our family through this trial!
With Much Love in His Healing Name!

Meg

1/16/2012 - One week down...How time flies when you are having fun

Well, it might be a little fascias to title the blog that way, but the week really has flown in some respects.  Thanks to all your encouragement and prayers this last week and especially those who have been able to come to the hospital or Skype with us.  It does take a little bit out of me, but I look at is as a good thing as it definitely pushes me daily and I know that is a main part of healing.

So Megs and I have gotten into some form of routine these last few days, providing me the opportunity to set goals daily and push past them when I can.  It hasn't been all smooth sailing and there have been some up and downs, but Praise God, once they got the meds regulated and the pain under control, I continue to push it with much rest mixed in.  Saturday (1/15/2012) was probably my toughest day yet as I had more drainage into my new stomach than I have had to date, this in-turn made me cough more during the day, until they figured out that the drainage tube (the tube you see hanging out of my nose, called the NG tube or nasogastric tube, also can be used for feeding but in this one is reversed and it sucks everything out of my stomach) was stuck to my stomach wall and not sucking up fluid properly.  After they got that fixed, I felt like a new man and its just one more thing I am monitoring hourly now.  So today, has been a little rough because I am sore from all the coughing, as that has my #1 nemesis right now.  I guess there is just no way around coughing, other than limiting it as much as I possibly can.  With the incisions in my abs and the diaphragm, I really ache when I cough, even if I use a pillow to splint my belly when I cough... The old adage here definitely holds true, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"

I know Megs posted a video the other day of me taking my first steps...I have a little better pace now.  Below is an updated video that you'll have to go to wilestrials.blogspot.com to view.  Some of the nurses feel like they have to keep up with me now - smile.  Feels good to get out from these four white walls, walk and see the hospital, and waft the smells coming up through the atrium from the Great American Cookie company.  Just cause I changed my diet, doesn't mean cookies don't smell good any longer.

Here are a few pics of the hospital.  We have been really happy with The UMMC, their staff and the facilities.

They added the wing we are staying in right to the outside of the old hospital and added the glass roof... it's just so light and airy and makes you feel like you are walking outside.

Here are the stairs down to the bottom of the atrium right outside the unit, and Megs is getting her exercise walking all 9 flights during the day as well.

My new loofah

So I got a spa day the other day, after five days of not washing any part of my body.  Boy that felt good... I know many of you offered to give me a sponge bath, but I just couldn't wait for you to get here, so Megs had to do it herself....If you really have a desire to help out with that, there will be many more opportunities we can get you scheduled in.  We even have a special loofah now you can use.  Ha


Another neat thing during spa day, they have now are these shower caps which are "rinse free" caps that you warm up in the microwave, put on your melon and scrub away and then just dry your head.  Oh that felt great!!!!







We also had some friends who were coming to visit pick up some chapstick, as with the nose tube, I have had to breath out my mouth more than I usual, so my lips have been chapped really bad......They picked up some flavored chapstick and once I put that on, I think my eyes rolled in the back of my head.  Let me tell you what, I was beside myself cause I hadn't tasted anything with flavor since before surgery.  It's been the little things that have brought a smile to my face at times.  Meg said she hadn't seen me smile that big in about a week!

We even had a "date night" the other day, I couldn't tell you what we watched, but it was nice to just "cuddle" in our own little way.  We've talked about our new normal, well here is what it looks like at least for the next week or so.  Each of us in our own recliner - wheeled together so we could hold hands.  Meg laughed saying this isn't exactly where she thought or envisioned we'd be at this point in our marriage - as we'll be coming up on our 10 yr anniversary in February. But God continues to surprise with what he has in store for us.

Additionally, we have gotten to see Taylor daily, via Skype or Facetime.  Thank goodness for technology.  She's been such a trooper and we can't thank our family enough for helping watch her, distracting her from the reality of our situation.  She is having a blast!  We weren't sure how she would react the first time she saw daddy with a tube hanging out his noise.  Well as resilient as kids are, she saw me and says "Daddy, what's that thing on your face?" Just matter of factly.  I explained to her that it's to help daddy's booboo... guess that sufficed since she went right back to playing as if nothing was wrong.  She's a wild-woman!  Though we are really missing her we know how much harder it would be if she was down here these 2 weeks while I'm in the hospital.

No Fear Prayer on Meg's Believe Big Shirt

A couple of neat testimonial things...I can't tell you how many people (staff) have asked me about the Roman 8:28 I had written on my chest - that still remains but has faded a bit.  It really allowed me to share how God has led us through this journey and provided for us in more ways that we can even begin to document or share.  Also a neat story on Meg's BelieveBig t-shirt.  So she went down to get something from the cafeteria on Saturday, she rode the elevator down.  After she got off and was walking down the hallway for a bit, a lady came up to Megs and just said she wanted to thank her for the "No Fear" prayer on the back of her shirt.  She said she was praying that prayer during the elevator ride, as she has had some anxiety about upcoming travel for herself and it just brought her peace as she prayed it.  Pretty neat!

So that's where we are at now.  The doctors continue to assure me that I am right on track and we look forward to the leak test either Tuesday or Wednesday (1/17 or 1/18/2012).  Please pray for positive results on this test, which will in-turn allow for a number of the other tubes to come out, allow me to start eating soft foods and hopefully push the healing exponentially.

Thank You all again for the the prayers, encouragement and support!

Trust in Him
God Bless!

Jason

1/11/12 - Catching Up These Past Few Days

Hi Everyone -

I know many of you have been asking for the "details" from the last few days, so I'm going to attempt to remember the whirlwind of events for you all : )  If you aren't a detailed person, WARNING - this is going to be a long one, so enter with caution LOL.

Let me first start with the address of the hospital, for those of you who have been asking to mail things and visit.  He now is open to visitors,since he has a room.  If you are interested in coming to see him, please email me at megan_wiles@yahoo.com and I can give you directions and make sure you know where you are going in the hospital : )  One day to AVOID is Sunday, January 15th.  The Baltimore Ravens have a home playoff game on Sunday, about a half mile down the road and you will not find any parking in the city!  He may be in the hospital until Monday, January 23 give or take.
 

University of Maryland Medical Center

C/O Jason Wiles - Room 950
22. S. Greene St.

Baltimore, MD 21201-1595

MONDAY: 

Easy Ladies!

Believe Big Sweatshirt

So Monday morning was surgery day.  We started off the day by preparing ourselves with Jason writing Romans 8:28 on his chest in permanent marker and with me arming myself with my brand new, cheery Believe Big Sweatshirt that has the No Fear Prayer written out on the back and a bright big sunflower on the front.  When we arrived back to MD from our trip to Ohio there was a box sitting on our front porch.  Low and behold, God provided for me the perfect shirt to wear for our big day on Monday (thanks Ivelisse!)  Here are a few pics.

 

No fear prayer

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30am and they took Jas into pre-op at about 6am.  At that time we learned that they would have a chest epidural in him for 7 to 10 days to help minimize the pain to allow him to heal.  We were surprised but completely understood the strategy.  Of course we continued to see the humor that Jason would get to go through yet another pregnancy type experience.  As they wheeled Jas back to the OR at 8am, our surgeon walked me up the stairs to show me where the waiting room was, bless his heart.  With me walking in front of him, he had to have seen the no fear prayer on the back of my sweatshirt that you all have been praying for us.  Dr. Burrows shared that he had just gotten off the phone w our dear Dr Aboulafia (surgeon for jas' sarcoma) and that he sends his best also. Dr. Burrows also said that he was thinking about Jas all weekend. He must have been feeling all of our prayers for him also and I shared that with him later in the day - that we had many people praying for him too!   :)  Also during prep, a nurse who was caring for Jason wrote down Romans 8:28 on her notepad after looking at his chest so she could go look up the verse on her own.  Awesome right?

The surgery started at 9am and ended at 5pm, however Dr. Burrows didn't come out to talk to us until a bit after 7pm.  He stayed with Jas for the entire procedure including the stapling back up, making sure he came to and that he did well when they removed the breathing tube.  He shared that Jas took awhile to come out of being under which was why the gap from 5 to 7pm.  Most surgeons typically don't do this but boy did we appreciate that he did!  So when Dr. Burrows came out to find us in the waiting area, he spent about 45 minutes with my friend Brandie and I.  Like I shared earlier, he told us that Jason did very well through the surgery - remaining stable the entire time.  He also shared that he removed everything from Jas that needed to be taken out of his body - esophagus and a large amount of lymph nodes.  Included in the large amount of lymph nodes, specifically he identified the 3 lymph nodes that we knew were cancerous at the beginning of all of this - which is a big PRAISE to GOD!  So, we'll have a week, give or take, until pathology comes back on the esophagus and all the lymph nodes to see if there was any cancerous activity evident.  That will determine whether or not Jas will need any further treatment after he recovers from the surgery.  When Dr. Burrows left he said, "I have to send Dr. Aboulafia a text to let him know how Jason's surgery went."  It feels so good to know both of our surgeons have partnered together in this way.  And, we continue to be amazed thinking about what a surgery like this requires out of the surgeon team.  I can't even imagine standing up that long doing such tedious work like that!

Jas after surgery

I'm thinking it was a little after 8pm that we got to see Jas for the first time in the transitional care area.  He actually looked better than I ever expected him to!  Lots and lots of tubes and cords, but we decided that we would celebrate each time one is taken away!  I think he is around 15 to 16 cords at this point so we'll have to count down with you all : ) Celebrating the small wins!

Full body shot after surgery.

So one cool thing that Brandie experienced while we were in the waiting room on Monday, was a couple sitting with their bible talking with another man and then praying with him as he accepted Christ into his heart.  How awesome!  I was bummed that I missed seeing it since I was out of the room at that point.  But Brandie sure had a great big smile on her face as she shared the awesome news!  Also that day I had the pleasure in talking to many families to learn about what they were there for and asked for the names of their family members so I could pray for them.  True gratitude washed over me as I realized that I was such a minority that day, in a room full of anxious, fearful, terrified people as they awaited the news on their loved ones.  God totally blanketed me in complete peace that passes all understanding, which was such an amazing blessing that I am so incredibly grateful for!  Thanks for showering us with your prayers!


Unfortunately I wasn't able to stay the night Monday night, as they did not have a room for Jas yet.  The floor he needed to go was an intermediate care floor that only has 10 beds, in between the ICU and the normal recovery areas.  So, we went back to Frederick that night exhausted.  However, I was able to get a good night sleep that night Praise God!  


TUESDAY:
Then Tuesday morning rolled around.  My girlfriend Mel (who ran the marathon in the fall) spent the day with me at the hospital - THANKS MEL!  I had called prior to leaving Frederick to see how Jas fared through the night and found out that a room had not yet opened up.  This meant Jas was still in the temporary recovery area with 20 to 30 others and a roomful of loud nurses.  That was tough and he was not a happy camper!  To top it all off, the nurses were having a training right outside of where he was.  Praise God when a room opened up at the end of the day on Tuesday after a very long, restless, frustrating day for Jas.  So, we followed him into his new room - where he'll be the majority of the next 2 weeks.  I literally sang outloud (yes I'm a dork) bc it was such a nice change for him and I was so happy for him!  He could have the lights off, shut the door, sleep in a cool room and not hear a ton of loud voices!  THANK YOU GOD!

Speaking of which, this is pretty funny looking back now but wasn't at the time.  In the past 1 to 1.5 days that Jas was in the transitional care area, we had a horrible track record of visiting him.  We were allowed to see him for 15 minutes every 2 hours.  Needless to say, every time I went to see him I almost passed out bc it was so incredibly warm, the air was stagnant and it had the weird hospital smell.  Oh it gets better.  Not only did I almost pass out, so did Brandie and then Mel the next day.  I don't think there was one time that I went to see him that I didn't almost pass out.  Geez Louise right?  Well, Praise God we are done with that area.  We didn't like it and it didn't like us : ) 


So, back to the new suite that we are so happy with.  We had quite an unplanned surprise!  While it has an awesome view of the Baltimore skyline, it unfortunately doesn't have a restroom with a shower like every other hospital room I've ever been in has.  So, we have a snaffo to our original plan.  I was planning to stay with him the 2 weeks and not have to leave  : (  So it goes. Thanks to close friends for opening up their home to me so I can stay locally to shower vs. make the haul back to MD.  We are so grateful!


WEDNESDAY:
Now to Wednesday (today).  When I arrived in the morning with my friend Kelly - THANKS KEL! -  I was quite surprised as to how Jas looked and sounded.  He didn't look nearly as well as yesterday and quickly told me that he had a really rough night.  His diaphragm was severely cramping on him throughout the night to the point where he couldn't control the pain.  They had to cut through the diaphragm during the surgery.  So, he then had a hard time breathing - even catching his breath : (  Poor guy!  So they introduced a new medication to him this morning and coupled that with some Valium to help get him more comfortable.  He finally was able to take a couple hour nap to prepare him for Physical Therapy this afternoon.  Let me tell you, we've had some funny conversations about the dreams he's having on all these drugs!


Good news on the Physical Therapy!  One of the two Physical Therapists came into our luxury suite I'll call it, and commented right away on Jas' Romans 8:28 on his chest : )  YEAH!  They got him up and walking for a bit - hooray!  I kept silently praying Philippians 4:13 the entire time - "Jas can do all things through Christ who gives him strength."  While he about passed out a handful of times and felt nauseous - he did it!  Praise God!  And he's been sitting up in a chair since.  Tomorrow he has much more rigorous goals to accomplish.  He will be sitting in a chair all day and walking at least a couple if not a handful of times.  It's so nice to see him get up and moving!  Here's a video of his first walk so you can join us in celebration!  Not to fear, everything that needs to be covered is covered LOL.  You'll have to go to the blog to actually view the video at wilestrials.blogspot.com vs. playing from the pushed email.

After PT we met with Dr. Burrows (Wed - 4:30pm).  He shared that he was going to introduce one more pain med to help reduce the pain that Jas has been experiencing in the kidney area.  Once we get that under control, he really thinks it will help get Jas moving around even more.  He shared that while he's not worried, Jas is a bit behind on the PT end so he's really going to be pushed tomorrow to catch up to where he wants him to be with walking and all.  So now with the new additional drug (6:30pm), Jas has his pain under control and is acting more like himself - THANK YOU GOD!


Thank you Thank you Thank you for your showering of prayers!  We so appreciate our team of prayer warriors!


With Much Love in His Healing Name,


Meg

1/9/12 - Surgery Completion

Hi Everyone -  We wanted to Thank You all so much for your showering of prayers today for Jason, our family/friends and for our Surgeon and team.  It's been an incredibly long, exhausting day starting at 3:45am and ending at 10:30pm.  I do have some good news to report on Jason!  I'll make this post brief this evening so we can all get a good night sleep and will try to send out more detail over the next day about everything that happened today.

Dr. Burrows was extremely pleased with the outcome of the surgery today!  Hooray and Praise God!  He came out after surgery and spent 40 minutes with my friend Brandie and I, whom I'm so incredibly grateful for her comforting presence the entire day at the hospital with me - what a trooper!  Dr. Burrows said that Jason did very well and was stable throughout the entire surgery.  He also shared that he was able to remove everything that needed to be removed from Jason's body that he could see with his "naked eye."  So, the esophagus came out and a very large amount of lymph nodes also.  Those are all being reviewed by pathology and we should find out in a week or so the results.  Again, Dr. Burrows was extremely pleased with how smoothly the surgery went!  And, we are so incredibly grateful for such a compassionate and amazing Doctor that we've been able to partner with.

Jason's breathing tube is now out and fortunately he will not have to go into ICU - HOORAY!  He will be headed into intermediate care probably at some point in the middle of the night after a room becomes free.  I left the hospital at about 9:30pm as they did not have a room to put him in yet, therefore no place for me to sleep either.  So we are praying for a very good night of sleep for Jas and I tonight and will head back tomorrow AM to be with him.

Also, he was experiencing pain when he inhales, so they were trying to tweak his epidural that will be in his chest for 7 to 10 days to help with that.  But if we could ask for your continued prayers for the pain to supernaturally be minimal that would be a wonderful help! 

We'll keep you posted on more details as we go!  Good Night : )

With Much Love In His Healing Name,

Meg

1/8/12 - It's Go Time for Surgery!

Hi Everyone - We wanted to check in quick to keep you updated on where we are at in our journey.  We had a fantastic couple weeks in Ohio with family/friends, celebrating the awesome awesome news we received shortly before Christmas!  God sure gave us quite an amazing Christmas Gift this year!  All Praises to Him!

Jas and I returned back to Maryland Friday evening (1/6) and went straight to our new favorite restaurant downtown Frederick to have Thai for his "last supper."  Smile.  Yum what a treat!  From that point on Jas has been on a liquid diet preparing for surgery Monday morning (1/9).

So, the plan is to leave our house tomorrow morning (Monday) at 4:15am to be to the hospital by 5:30am.  I'll be honest in saying that we do not know what time actual surgery is scheduled for other than we have to be there at 5:30am.  As a reminder, surgery is a 8 to 10 hour ordeal so it's going to be a long day!  I will try my hardest to get an update out to everyone on the blog by Monday night.  If you typically get automatic emails to your inbox vs. checking into the blog at wilestrials.blogspot.com, you may want to go to the website Monday night if you are hoping for an update before Tuesday morning.  The automatic emails don't get pushed out via email until the day following my post. 

We've had many ask about visiting us in the hospital - bless your hearts!  We would love visitors, as 2 weeks seems like a long time to be in a hospital at this point : )   However let me see first how Jas fares the surgery and whether or not he'll go into ICU afterwards - as that will determine when visitors will be allowed.  We are praying that he can go directly into intermediate care after surgery vs. ICU so he will be tended by a team of nurses that specialize in follow up care for esophagectomy surgeries vs. an ICU team.  So, after Jas gets moved into intermediate care I'll include that in a posting to let you know and we can coordinate from there.   Those who want to mail something, please hold off and I will get the mailing address and room number as soon as I can.  Here's the physical address in case you need it to get to the hospital.

Address:
University of Maryland Medical Center
22. S. Greene St.
Baltimore, MD 21201-1595
800-492-5538


God sure has been blanketing us with peace, love and encouragement all weekend yet again, hedging protection around Jas and I to not be brought down by devil!  I can't even begin to imagine how easy for plucking we would be to the devil if we did not have God on our side through this.  We've been blown away again with all of our family/friends reaching out to pray with us and encourage us through this next step in our journey.  THANK YOU!  It means so very much to us and we love you!

We wanted to ask for your help in praying the specific Have No Fear Prayer below for us over the next week.  THANK YOU again for your help!  We also ask for prayers for Taylor and our family taking care of her while she is in Ohio, apart from us for 2.5 weeks.  She's our little trooper!  Lastly, prayers that we will be shining God's light to others while we have this unique opportunity to be in the hospital for 2 weeks.  There are so many people at the hospital that are needing to hear that God loves them, and we are honored at the opportunity to be able to serve Him through this trial!

In HIS Healing Name!
With Much Love,

Meg

JASON & MEGAN WILL HAVE NO FEAR PRAYER

Jason & Megan will be strong and courageous. They will not be terrified; they will not be discouraged. For you, my Lord, are with them wherever they go. (Joshua 1:9)  No one will be able to stand up against them all the days of their life. As you were with Moses – and Joshua – I know you are with them. You will never fail Jason & Megan and you will never leave them. Never. (Joshua 1:5) They will meditate on your Word and will follow you alone. (Joshua 1:8)

You have chosen Jason and have not rejected him. So he will not fear for you are with him. Jason and Megan will not be dismayed, for you are their God. You will strengthen Jason and Megan and help them; you will uphold them with your righteous right hand….For you are the Lord, my God, who takes hold of their right hand and says “Do not be afraid; I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:9-13)

We praise you because Jason is fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) For you created Jason and formed him.  Jason and Megan will not be afraid for you have redeemed Jason. You have called Jason by name and he is yours. When Jason passes through the waters, you will be with him; and when Jason passes through the rivers, they will not sweep over him. When Jason walks through the fire, he will not be burned; the flames will not set him ablaze. For you are the Lord their God, the Holy One of Israel, their Savior. (Isaiah 43:1-3)

Jason and Megan will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day. (Psalm 91:5) And even though Jason walks through the valley of the shadow of death, he will fear no evil, for you are with him. Your rod and your staff, they comfort Jason and Megan. (Psalm 23:4) For God did not give Jason and Megan a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7) And Jason and Megan are more than a conqueror through him who loved them. For Jason and Megan are convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate them from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus their Lord. (Romans 8:36-39)