Update From Christi

Here is the latest email from Christi. Again.. with specific prayer requests. I know they appreciate all prayers.

So, many of you have asked me how things went in the hospital (they went great!) and how I am... as of yesterday afternoon I was allowed to go home... my head is sensitive but other than that and the obscene amount of medications they gave me (yes and my staples and my black eye... which is healing quite nicely!) I was doing AWESOME.

Well... then we got a phone call... and I'm still doing awesome... still trusting God, but the phone call told us something we really didn't want to hear.

The tumor was cancerous. I have cancer.

Wow, it's weird to see that in writing. But it doesn't change anything. God is STILL God. God is STILL good. God is STILL in control. I see no point in asking "why" - I already see so much of what God is doing and has done through this that the "why" is so unnecessary. If just ONE PERSON sees how great and how big God is through all of this then my suffering has purpose. I know I am not healed (yet), I know that the future is uncertain, I know that many people would blame God for this but the bottom line is that some of us are called to be beggars in the street healed with a single touch and some of us are called to be Job.

Three weeks ago my life was normal. I had a few headaches, but my life was normal. I would have never guessed that this was waiting for me in my future. But we can either run from life's challenges or we can face them head-on with certainty in the healing power of our Heavenly Father.

So here's the plan... I meet with an oncologist sometime this week or next to get more info... right now we know very little... we know that this is a bad form of cancer. There is one other one that is more aggressive and at least one other one that is less aggressive (although I think the scale was more than 3 types... like I said, we know very little). Just know for now that it's not good but it could be worse... After I meet with the oncologist I have another appointment with Dr. Gore (My neurosurgeon... I know, awesome name for a surgeon!) and we'll talk about doing a second brain surgery to get out more of the tumor - he didn't get as much as he wanted and the less tumor you have when starting chemo and radiation the better. That surgery will take place at the earliest a few (6?) weeks from now... first I just need time to heal from this last surgery.

After we go in a second time and remove more tumor, I believe the chemo and radiation will begin. I'm guessing I'll lose my hair, but there's a chance I won't... really the smallest of my concerns right now :) My tumor story/case is being presented at a giant neurosurgeon/neurologist conference for Dr.s across the US to evaluate (kinda cool) AND Dr. Gore and another Dr. have been researching tumor vaccines which would make a malignant tumor basically turn on itself and kill itself... also pretty cool and MY TUMOR is one of the test tumors for the vaccine now that it is out of my head. There are a lot of good things going on here!!!

We are DEFINITELY still asking for prayer. We ask specifically for the following:

Healing
Patience in dealing with strenuous medical treatments (when they start in the months to follow)
Strength to continue being Cailyn's mom while going through those treatments
and Patience with my own INABILITIES to BE Cailyn's mom especially once the medical treatments start.
Also please remember to pray for Adam and our families as they go through this with me. It's not easy to watch someone you love go through something like this... honestly I wouldn't trade places with Adam for the world right now... I think his job is much harder than mine... but that's just my opinion :)

We love all of you and, as I said, we're going to fight this and God's already got this. Keep praying!!