3/24/20 - Life at Home

Hi All -  It’s hard to believe that we have been home for 2 weeks now!  We continue to stand in absolute awe of the Lord and his providence over Jason and our family!

Some highlights from the past 2 weeks that are SUCH BIG PRAISES!!!
- We were able to come home from NYC on Jason's birthday, Tuesday, March 10th.  WHAT A BIRTHDAY GIFT!!!  And to get home before all of NYC went on lockdown, WOW!  God's perfect timing for sure!
- We made it for Taylor's BIG presentation at school that she has been working so hard on for months and was devastated about us not being home in time to see it.  Well, what another unexpected blessing that we were home just in time for it!

- And while we were for sure that we would miss Ty losing his first tooth, man that thing was loose for well over a month and he waited to pull it until we made it home.  And then the one right next to it fell out the day after LOL.

- By that Friday am, my mom headed back home to Ohio after knowing we would be able to manage through the recovery from that point forward!  Again, UNBELIEVABLE!  We had planned for at least a month of her needing to be here to help, if not longer.  And here was it just a little over 2 weeks that she ended up staying.  THANK YOU MOM!!!  The kids didn't miss a beat with her around and us gone.  So thankful they had that comfort with her from living with her last year.  Man are we thankful that they could stay in their space during this time to have one thing stay consistent through this all.
- The following week, Jas was able to wean off of the narcotics which means.... drumroll everyone.... he can drive now!  THIS IS HUGE!!!!  For him, for me, for everyone involved!  THANK YOU JESUS!!
- Last week Jas was able to go to get a vitamin C infusion and drive himself to the clinic.  With all of the germs flying around and to help expedite healing, his naturopath wants him to do at least 2-4 rounds of these infusions.  While the plan was also to do the hyperbaric chamber oxygen therapy 3 days a week at the same clinic, they closed that down for now due to the Coronavirus.  But at least he can continue for now with the vitamin C infusions.
- Jas has been able to get in the number of calories he needs daily via mouth which is HUGE!  We are hopeful that his feeding tube will be able to be removed in the near future as a result.  This is the last tube remaining which would be a HUGE CELEBRATION 🎉🎉🎉.  At this point last time around he was still choking on smoothies (due to his hook up point closing as it healed) and we saw no near possibility of his feeding tube being removed for a long time. Please continue to pray he is able to maintain his weight and build about 10 good lbs back on.
- Coronavirus - Not a highlight at all, but something that is impacting us greatly as the kids are now home 100%.  This obviously was not planned or expected at all during his recovery... However, they are actually doing great under the circumstances and are learning when Jas can join in with them and when he needs to rest.  I feel like this is a gift of time that we are able to have together given our time apart last year!
- Jason's work has been FANTASTIC in supporting him through this entire process!  He has approval to stay home from work until this pandemic subsides given his weakened immune state of health. What a HUGE relief that he won't push himself too hard right now to return to work and be placed in a situation that would be risky for him health wise!  THANK YOU JESUS!
-Overall, Jas continues to experience exponential improvement daily!!!  What an AMAZING BLESSING 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼  Even this morning he commented on feeling less pain and sensitivity which is incredible the rate of healing compared to last time!

We continue to go back to Ephesians 3:20-21 and stand in ABSOLUTE AWE of our Heavenly Father and his providence over Jas and our family!  So many ways in this past month alone He has proved this to be true to us and it’s been INCREDIBLE to be on the recipient end of it!  To see how the Lord laid this verse on my heart as they wheeled Jas back into surgery and how God has KNOCKED OUR SOCKS OFF this past month in so many ways.  Wow Wow WOW!

“Now to HIM who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭3:20-21‬ ‭ESV

So many families have faithfully loved on us with the kids, meals, supply deliveries and continued showering of financial support! Our hearts are so full from all of the love poured out to our family!  It has meant the world to us that we will be forever grateful for!  THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts!

With Much Love and God Bless!

3/9/20 - We are Coming Home!

Hi All!  Jas was released to go home 🎉🎉🎉. HALLELUJAH PRAISE THE LORD 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼. Staples from his abdomen came out, the open incision in his upper abdomen is healing well from the inside out, and the side rope stitches from the chest tubes came out!!!  Goooo GOD!

So the plan is to enjoy our last day in the city and head home first thing tomorrow (Tuesday) on Jason's actual birthday.  Can't think of a better way to celebrate this year 🎉🎉🎉.

Thank you Jesus for the gift of life!!!

3/8/20 - 11 Days Post Surgery

Hi all- I have to tell you these past 2 days have been just AMAZING!  Jas has gotten a good night sleep both nights and taken good naps.  The dark circles under his eyes are starting to go away.  His personality and orneriness are back and he is able to be up and around and moving, which brings him much joy!  This will crack you up bc it’s so him...By the time I woke up yesterday (Sat) at 7am he had already planned out mini adventures we could do throughout the city together to get out and have fun for the next 3 days 😂😂.  This man has always had a sense of adventure!

I’m in awe of the Lord to see how well Jas is doing for what he has been through especially compared to last time!  We are both so thankful that the Dr. required us to stay in the city this weekend, as it has allowed for much needed healing physically for Jas and emotionally for us together.  So many things we need to heal from as a couple f/ these last few years.  People probably think we are nuts bc most times we stop to take a breather, tears will be involved as we reflect back on everything we have been through these past 5 years and see God’s hand through it all.  For example, if he wouldn’t have done the unaccompanied tour last year, he never would have gotten the Abu Dhabi post and then needed a medical clearance.  This cancer never would have been caught in this stage if he didn’t have to go through all the medical clearance testing.  He had decided the year prior that bc he was 8 yrs out f the last cancer, that he didn’t need to do them anymore and could live w the size of his esophagus at that point of not needing stretched anymore.  During the stretchings is when they also checked for any reoccurrences.  While I struggled so much since the decision was made to be apart for a year last year, all the way up until now, I’m understanding more of God’s plan through it all now.  And I recognize that we don’t always get that understanding in life here on earth.

So, time to process and have some unexpected fun has been an Amazing blessing!  We are both so thankful that God is allowing him to heal so quickly and strengthen up before we head home.  Hopefully, if things go well at the Dr appt tmw, we will go home Tuesday on Jason’s Birthday ❤️. Come Tuesday, it will be 2 weeks when we left to come here, which is much shorter than we ever thought or even imagined!  Thank you Jesus 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

We miss the kids like crazy, but recognize how much we needed this time as a couple and are thankful for it!  Thanks for your continued prayers!  We will keep you posted on how the appt tomorrow goes w our surgeon.  Enjoy some pics f our adventures!

3/6/20 - Hospital Discharge - Day 9 Post Surgery

I can't believe I'm even writing these words right now!  It's just INCREDIBLE!  Jason's scope went so well today that they decided to discharge him!  Holy Smokes this is UNBELIEVABLE!  10 days out from surgery and we BUSTED out tonight!  I don't know how this can be anything short of a miracle!  THANK YOU JESUS 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼

Now the Dr. wants us to stay in the city until next week for a follow up with him, so he can put his eyes on him one more time before the full clear to go back to MD.  So we will both stay in the hotel that has already been booked and see how this next week goes.  I'm praying he continues this outstanding healing and gets some good quality rest while it's just he and I here.  No one to wake him in the middle of the night or loud roomies!  This is a really nice window of time to figure out life with medications, food and feeding tube on our own before entering back into real life.

On an extremely funny note, the surgeon came in today and took out almost all the staples on the upper half of his ab incision to air it out for healing and to dig around to see if there was any infection. When he was repacking the wound the surgeon looked at me, as I turned my head away to try to keep f passing out, and said when we release him can you do this for him?  And my reply was, I really can't.  Of course Jas stepped in and said, “I got it Doc, I can do it myself” 😂😂😂(which he will do and do well!). The Dr.'s response was hilarious bc he looked at Jas amazed and told him he was a beast!  This man of mine.  God made him a strong, tough fighter for sure ❤️.

Throughout the course of the day, it was an absolute whirlwind as they changed their mind multiple times throughout the day of discharging him, not discharging and back to discharging him.  So it has been an absolute flurry!  But we made it to the hotel and are getting settled 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼  This is our hotel set up w all of the meds, supplies, feeding tube set up!

So, as you head to bed tonight, please joining us in celebrating what a mighty God we serve!

3/5/20 - 8 Days Post Surgery

It was another really good day!  PRAISE JESUS 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼. Between three different walks today he walked a total of 2.25 miles!  Wowzer!

They took off the steri strips from his neck incision today to let it air out and I'm impressed with how well it looks!  This incision was an additional one compared to last surgery bc the new hookup was much higher this time to remove the old one.  It's pretty much to the height of the new incision now.

He was able to eat three small meals today and a snack and is on night tube feeds only now.  This is HUGE to only have to be "connected" to a pole at night!

He has not had a good night sleep in over a week, so he is tired!  With having a roommate, there are so many more ways to be woken up throughout the night on top of the typical nurse check ins . So that would be a new prayer request.

His pain is being managed well today,  which is a BIG PRAISE also!  He has been cleared to try meds in a pill form which is also HUGE and something he struggled with these past 8 years.  So we will see how that goes.

I'm laughing bc he is starting to take over in areas, which is a good sign that he is healing well!  When certain monitors start beeping, instead of pressing the call button he walks out onto the floor to find his nurse.  And he is wanting to give himself his own medications via his j-tube vs his nurse.  Good practice when he gets outta here!  One nurse even asked, “Hiw do you know how to do all this?”  I guess by his third time around it all comes back quickly!

Thanks for your continued prayers!!

3/4/20 - 1 Week Post Surgery - IT WAS A BIG DAY!!!

Hi All!  Today they moved Jas to a 16 hr tube feed this evening so that he will only have to hook up and be connected to the pole from 6pm to 10am.  This allows him to now walk around being a free man outside of those hours which is HUGE🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼.  Thank you Jesus!!!!

We were able to walk down the hall to a lounge today and sit by a sunny window with a beautiful view for about 45 min, which was so nice and a great change of scenery!

Today is the last day he will be able to be on one of his pain meds that has worked so well for him this past week.  So we are praying that as they shift to something new again, they can find a combo that is effective!

His abdomen incision is looking much better, which they are pleased about!  Another BIG PRAISE TO GOD for no infection 🙌🏼🙌🏼. They also took off his dressing from the chest tube incisions today on his right side to let that area be exposed to air and heal.  It's amazing through this all that only the abdomen area was stapled closed.  His upper right back and throat area are only steri-strips which will eventually curl up and fall off in about two weeks.  And his chest tube areas are stitched back up.  It is absolutely incredible to see and learn even more about the human body through all this and how it was designed to heal.  We continue to stand in awe of our Creator!

Another FANTASTIC update for today!!!  They took out the last drainage tube that needed to come out up by his neck incision 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼. The J Tube (feeding tube) is the only one left at this point, which he will have at least for a few weeks still to supplement nutrition into his body until he can eat enough orally.

And....DRUMROLL EVERYONE..... he was able to eat his first soft food this evening for dinner and he didn't choke and didn't need to chase it with water.

WE CONTINUE TO STAND AMAZED with the healing the Lord is doing here!  Since last surgery he has had over 60 trips to the hospital for dilations alone because his "hook up spot" healed too small.  That has been his life the last 8 years!  Because they cut out the old "hookup" and created a new one higher it may have completely eliminated this daily struggle.  To think that he may not have to struggle with that battle anymore is INCREDIBLE & LIFE CHANGING!   As we had a real dinner together tonight in the hospital, we had many tears flowing recognizing what a gift God has given us in Jason's healing.  Exceedingly & abundantly more than we thought to ask or imagine 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼. Thank you Jesus!!!  What an unbelievable week it’s been!

3/3/20 - Day 6 Post Surgery

Hi All!  We met w Dr. Altorki (Jas’ surgeon) this evening.  All went well w the barium swallow test today!  No leaks 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼  Thank you Jesus!!!!  Jas said it was really strange to see how different it was to see his colon in place of his esophagus on the xrays.  He could see the ridges on the colon and it just looks bigger than the last tubing.  Maybe he won't have any issues getting food through the new hookup as a result? This afternoon and evening Jas was able to drink broth and tea.  PRAISE.THE.LORD!!!  This is HUGE!  I can't even imagine how good it felt to be able to drink something after almost a week of nothing orally!  It's strange because he had to retrain his body how to swallow after the surgery.  So with the first few sips there was some coughing (because the hook up is swollen) but after that his body is figuring it out and he can swallow fairly well.  So tonight we had "dinner (broth for him) and a movie" date together in the hospital room ☺️.

More good news, the epidural came out today!  One more less tube 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼  Since the removal of the epidural in the am, they have been able to figure out a good pain med combo, including layering in a liquid narcotic to give him a little more time to heal without being in awful pain.  And the really good news is no nausea 🎉🎉🎉. Thank you Lord!!!

They are a bit concerned about the incision area in the abdomen. So they took out about 10 of 40+ staples to relieve some of the pressure and fluid and then swabbed it for infection.  The initial result came back ok, but it's also something they let sit for awhile to see if anything shows up differently later.  So they will closely monitor and have him on antibiotics to help keep any infection away while the incision heals.

Tomorrow they will progress to thicker liquids to drink and see how it goes.  It's truly trial and error at this point bc you just don't know how the body will respond. The goal of course being to be able to advance to soft solids in a few days.

On the hospital roommate front, we had a changeover today. It was neat because during the course of the day we were able to share some of our story w the prior roomie and how God has worked through  the past situations.  He was amazed to see how well Jas is doing today compared to last Thursday when Jas came to the room.  I shared I would be praying for him and his upcoming surgery which he seemed to appreciate.  You never know how God can work through a roomie situation right? In between the switchover, we had a couple of hours of peace and a gorgeous view!  Normally the curtain is drawn btwn the two beds for privacy, but we opened that puppy wide open while no one else was there.  Check out our view!

And then the next roommate moved in and our view changed back to this (below.)  Thankful for the little bit of sunshine and peace/quiet we got while it lasted!

To end the evening, I was was able to transfer from one hotel to another thanks to all the generous donations of Marriott points!  We are so incredibly grateful for so many coming together to help us out in this way!  God is moving and continues to move friends!  

That’s it for now!  Have a good night to all and thanks for your continued prayers!  

3/2/20 - Day 5 Post Surgery

Fantastic news for today!!!  The nose tube is out, catheter is out and second chest tube is now out!  Three big and annoying/painful tubes out in 1 day is a BIG DEAL!  And he is able to go walking on his own without anyone by his side which really helps him feel more independent having that option.  I'm seeing more and more smiles f my hubby ❤️

The plan for tomorrow (Tuesday) is to do the barium swallow (the leak test) where he will swallow contrast and they will follow the liquid on an X-ray from his mouth all the way through his digestive tract to ensure there are no leaks at any of the three new hook ups!  This is something that only can heal with time.  Please pray he passes this test with flying colors so he can begin to drink orally and eventually eat.  That will be HUGE!  Also tmw they will remove the epidural.  Please pray they can find a way quickly to keep his pain to a manageable level without a narcotic.  They were going to pull it tonight and we said let's try in the morning so we have all day to figure it out before bedtime comes w the day shift since we have had some horror stories in the past.  Also, Jas has had a good increase in energy just from the tube feeding alone.  PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE THE LORD!  Still in shock/awe/amazement in how God is working through this all 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼. There is POWER IN PRAYER.  Thank you so much for being prayer warriors for us!

Below is a video of Jason cruising around w/ clothes and a gown on lol.  Quite the fashion statement!  Go to wilestrials.blogspot.com to view the video.

3/1/20 - Day 4 Post Surgery

It's been another good day 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼. One chest tube is out and one tube feeding was completed to help start pumping in calories.  Pain has been managed well today and the wild man completed 4 walks, most of them being 3 loops each time of the entire wing.  Another big milestone is that he graduated to walking without a walker AND them letting me walk with him without a nurse.  PRAISE. THE. LORD!  Exceedingly and abundantly more than we could have imagined!  God continues to amaze us!  

Also, I was able to go to the Times Square Church today which was such a gift!  It was so nice to see my cousin Mark, who was part of their outstanding choir!  They meet in an old theatre, which is super cool setting and love the gospel feel!  Great worshipping to our GREAT & MIGHTY GOD!

This was the final day with my Thailand peeps, as they headed back to their families. Man they sure helped time fly through the toughest and what could have been the scariest part of post op.  Sooooo thankful to them and their families for supporting us in this way!

Below are some pics from today, however you will need to go to our actual blog, wilestrials.blogspot.com to see the newest video of Jas walking.

Much love and God Bless!

The Times Square Church’s 150+ choir