75% : A Surgery Update

Chris had surgery to remove the tumor on his kidney Thursday afternoon. He did great! The doctors were able to remove just the tumor and save most of his kidney-75% to be exact. This is what we were praying for and we were so pleased to hear the entire kidney didn't have to be removed.
Chris was on a pain medicine pump the night and most of the day after his surgery. He got off that Friday afternoon after the doctor saw him and started oral pain medicine as needed. The doctor visit was great and he again told us about the surgery and said Chris looked and was doing good.

Many asked how the kids are doing and they both came to the hospital Thursday night and again for a visit on Friday night. They were very glad to see their daddy. They brought cards and balloons for him and their smiles brightened the hospital room. Many thanks to all of you helping get them to school, doing after school activities with them, staying with them, and loving on them at school.

It's now Saturday morning as I type this post. The doctor just left the room. He removed the dressing from around the incision as well as a drain tube that was draining some blood from the kidney area. The dressing was pretty gross and made me so nervous about it bleeding at home but once it was off, the incision is so clean and just has staples. I'm so relieved. :)

The doctor gave Chris clearance to go home so we are waiting to be released.

God is SO good! Our prayers for saving the kidney were answered, his lymph nodes looked clear, the doctors were successful, and Chris is recovering nicely. We can't thank you all enough for all your prayers, support, meals, love, texts, visits, messages, and love you have shown our family!

On a total side note, ALL our nurses loved Chris. He was a great patient and had them all laughing! Did you expect anything different? Ha ha!
Germantown Methodist has been a great hospital and we are also thankful for everyone that helped us while we were there!

Oh, we will get the pathology report back on the tumor Thursday or Friday when Chris goes to the doctor for a checkup. We are praying for the best results. Again, thanks for all the support. We are truly blessed!

The Masters and an Update

Chris was able to go to The Masters this weekend with his buddy, John. I am so happy for them that they get to go. I hear it's quite an experience and I think that it will be good for Chris to have a stress free, fun guys' weekend! :)

Many people ask how Chris is doing...well, it's really great because he feels totally normal. He has been able to work out some and hasn't experienced pain.

Chris spoke at PDS Chapel last Friday and shared a little of his story with the 1st-6th grade boys. He did a great job and I was so proud of him.

The surgery is in less than two weeks...please continue to pray for Dr. Chauhan and the medical team and they he will be able to remove only PART of the kidney. There is a 50/50 chance he will be able to save half of his kidney, so that is what we are praying will happen! Prayers for Chris to have a smooth recovery as well.

We truly appreciate everyone's concern and prayers! Blessed to have so many wonderful friends and family! Have a great weekend!

Spring Break 2013

We decided to go to Atlanta to see Chris' sister and brother-in-law for spring break this year. We haven't seem them since thanksgiving.
We left Friday afternoon and drove half way. We arrived in Atlanta Saturday around lunch time. While checking in, they asked Chris if he wanted an upgrade to the presidential suite...so we had a great room with a great view. After lunch at Legal Seafood at our hotel, we went to the aquarium. We had lots of fun there. The kids took pictures with their iPods. We saw a 3D movie and a dolphin show that was like a musical with live dolphins.
That night we went to the Atlanta Hawks NBA game. Hawks games are nothing like Grizzlies games. There were a lot of empty seats and not much cheering from the crowd...except from the Kia 6th man section which we were right beside. They all had cowbells are chanted cheers the whole game.
Sunday we went outlet shopping and the to Carmen's house. The kids counted the hours and minutes until they got home (they had been in LA at the Dream Center for a week of service).
Monday we went to see Oz and Tuesday we went bowling at a neat place with arcade games and also played laser tag.
Chris flew out of Atlanta on Wednesday to a conference so after dropping him off at the airport, I drove home with the kids. Carley was so sad to leave her "Aunt CiCi." It was sad leaving.
We had a great time and are thankful for time to visit with them as well as seeing Chris' cousins and aunt and uncle who live in Atlanta as well.
Now we ate home and it's great weather for the end of our break. We spent the afternoon Friday at the Memphis zoo and the kids loved the stingray exhibit. Thankful for the time off work and school...breaks are always nice!

Surgery Date & Update

Well, we heard from the doctor and Chris' surgery will be Thursday, April 25 at Germantown Methodist. The doctor said he will be in the hospital for 2 to 3 days.

Fun at the neighborhood park

As for Chris, the doctor told him it would be ok to work out, so Friday he was back at it. I asked him to please not run as my thinking is the impact may irritate the tumor, so he isn't running, but is using the elliptical machine as well as weights and other exercises. The GREAT news is that this is not irritating the tumor and he is in no pain so far from exercise. :) Chris really seems "normal" (yes, I laughed as I typed that), so that is a huge blessing as our lives aren't really disrupted by that stupid tumor. The kids are doing fine and I think it's because they see their daddy doing every day activities-like this past Sunday, we all rode bikes to the park and they played on the playground!


Thanks so much for all of your prayers and support! We are looking forward to a quick trip to Atlanta to see Chris' sister and her family during Spring Break.

News from the Doctor's Appointment

Chris had an appointment with the doctor today. We talked with him about the next steps. Basically, it's a little different than the news we were given yesterday. 

Here's what we found out:

•the cancer is contained in the kidney...it is NOT in the lining of the kidney or the tube connected to the kidney-this is GREAT NEWS!

•the surgery will be an incision rather than laproscopic. If it is done laproscopically, the doctor only has 30 minutes to work on the kidney due to having to clamp it off. It he makes an incision, he has up to three hours because he can pack the kidney in ice while he is operating. This surgery is longer and needs more recovery time, but he feels this is the best way to try to only take the top part of the kidney where it's located.

•There is a 50/50 chance he can only take part of the kidney (a little different than we heard yesterday, but that's ok) We are praying that partial removal will be what is done. It's always better to have one and a half kidneys rather than just one. :)

•Chris will be in the hospital for 2-3 days after the surgery. Recovery time will be about a week doing nothing and 4-6 weeks with no heavy lifting over 10 pounds.

•WHEN? The big question! We need to have the surgery at Methodist Germantown. The nurse said she has to schedule it with Dr. Chauhan, another surgeon who will be present, and the hospital. We asked for mid-March, but she came back and said they couldn't do it until mid-April. We asked them to look at the week of April 22. We will know next week sometime when the exact date is. The doctor said he didn't have to rush to do it but he didn't want it in 6 months, so I guess waiting 2 months is ok.

Prayers: We ask that you join us in praying specifically that the doctor is able to remove the tumor by just taking off part of Chris' kidney. Please also pray that Chris will continue to live normally and pain free until the surgery date.  We can't thank you all enough for your support and prayers.

Partial Removal

Chris received a call from the doctor today. The nurse told him that the doctor wanted to make sure he knew that he needed the smaller surgery which confirms that they will only have to remove the top part of his kidney rather than his whole left kidney. This is very good news and we were glad to hear it today. Tomorrow he has an appointment to talk to the doctor about the next steps which we hope will include a surgery date. Thank you all so much again for your prayers.

Weekend Update

Chris has felt good this whole week. It's really like things are normal, which is great. Friday night we had a date night and went to dinner and a movie. Saturday, we celebrated a friend's daughter's birthday and Chris, Caleb and Carley played laser tag. It was a fun time! Saturday night, we had another date night and went out with our friends the Bradys. We went to Local in Midtown...if you haven't been, it was really good. Sunday, we went to Heartsong for church and Sunday night we all went to Incredible Pizza with a big group from Heartsong. It was fun as well. Tomorrow we have no school and no work since it's President's Day. You have to love a day off! :)

Fun at Incredible Pizza!

Basically, we are trying to stay patient until we know more. We are going to the doctor for reports on Thursday morning. I'm really hoping that we will set a surgery date during that appointment. Patience isn't one of my strong points, so I guess I'm trying to focus on the present rather than stressing about the future.

Thanks again for all your prayers!