Blessings Abound

Jeff, Brady, Brianna and myself arrived at UAB Hospital at 5:45 a.m Wednesday morning for Jeff's surgery to remove the right upper lobe of his lung. At 7:15 a.m., Brady, Brianna, and I joined by Nanny(my stepmother) and Raymond (Jeff's brother) said a prayer, kissed him goodbye and watched him roll away.  We were filled with a "peace that passes understanding" as we anticipated a wait that would end in successful removal of the tumor.  We had full confidence in Dr. Cerfolio and his ability. I am thankful that at that moment we were blissfully unaware that Dr. Cerfolio would be advised not to try to remove the tumor  due to it's close proximity to the trachea.  A visiting doctor from Stanford did not think that he could remove it even if he opened him up, much less remove it robotically. But remove it he did, and he did it robotically!   Opening Jeff up would have meant a longer and more painful recovery. God had lead us to one of the world's best surgeons because his skill would be required. Praise be to God!

As I think back on the last two days, I am blown away at how well Jeff did!  He had very little pain, no nausea or other side effects from anesthesia, and was able to get up and walk the morning after surgery.

He performed his breathing exercises fairly easily and didn't even have any pain when they pulled his chest tube! We are blessed!

The uneventful recovery wasn't the only blessing we received. Lunch for our entire family, Nanny, and Raymond was provided by Dr. McElderry, one of the doctors I work with. He also provided my dinner.  My coworker and friend, Carlos, gave me a handful of meal tickets to use during Jeff's hospital stay. My sister, Kelly brought us fresh organic fruit, nuts, and other snacks from Whole Foods.  Many friends visited us, encouraging us with their presence and their prayers.  Others sent text messages and cards. Our hospital room was huge and beautifully decorated, looking more like a hotel room than a hospital room.  Jeff received excellent care from Dr. Cerfolio's Clinical Care Coodinator, Angela Chisholm, who we bonded with immediately. The entire stay reminded me of one my favorite scriptures, "God is able to make all grace abound to you at all times, in all things, having all that you need to abound in every good work." 2 Corinthians 9:8. God's grace abounded and we will be forever touched! 

We will now continue with our nutritional program and monitor Jeff's lungs with CT scans through Dr. Cerfolio every 3 months. We feel confident that the nutritional program learned through Health Quarters will enable Jeff's body to heal itself of any remaining cancer cells, if there are any,  now that the cancer load has been diminished. We know that this is the path that the Lord has lead us down and we give Him all the  Glory!!!