Blow-dried Hair!

Yes, that is correct... working together Michelle and I actually blow-dried (is that the proper way of saying it???) her hair today. It was one of the first big steps of "normalcy" she has taken since the surgery, so praise the Lord for that!!!

It's 9:50pm as I write this; it's the first opportunity I have had to update you all. Today started off a little rough, with Michelle seemingly a little worse than last evening. She was real light-headed/woozy and just not feeling too good. I'm not sure, thinking back, that she came out of the bedroom until after 9:30am to 10:00am. In talking tonight, the way she was feeling was kind of like the "hangover" from chemo, especially when she had to take Neupogen to boost her white blood cell count; pretty achy starting down in the lower back and working up into her head. Makes sense, I guess, her body is working overtime to heal. As the day moved along she began to feel better and this evening she was back to where she was last night, seemingly even a little stronger overall, though still dealing with the back and head issues some. All in all, we think it was a good day, so be encouraged...

We heard from the surgeon today regarding the pathology report from the surgery. The short of it is that the pathology of the tumor was entirely the same as the biopsy done a few weeks back and very similar, if not the same, as the pathology from 2001. The best news was that there were large margins of good tissue with NO sign of cancer and the extra 1mm of tissue taken from around the area incised was completely free as well; all that to say the cancer seems to be completely localized and there is no sign of anything outside of the incised area, nothing at all even questionable. That is a HUGE praise and a HUGE answer to all of your prayers! God is indeed faithful!!!

I can't begin to tell you how thankful I am personally for all your prayers and words of encouragement. They have not only been a source of strength for Michelle but for me as well! I thank God for each of you daily; even those of you who rub in the fact that you are already playing golf or reminding me to do the laundry! I have received some of the most precious prayer e-mails that I will always remember and never delete; I want to pray like some of you when I grow up! Continue to pray for Michelle's healing and that each day more normalcy will be realized in our lives; don't forget to pray for our kids who have to put up with me as their teacher, that is definitely not my "calling"! More than anything, continue to pray that the Lord would daily use us as a vehicle of displaying His glory and grace, not just in the good times but even more so in the "bad". Blessings, grace, peace and love to you all... - Steve and Michelle -