The Alexander Family has a million things to be thankful for... none the least is for wonderful children and grand children, with one more coming very soon! Lori was able to spend Sunday afternoon with all of her children and we took lots of pictures, like the one above of Ryan, Erin and Em's. We are blessed beyond our wildest dreams in so many ways and today was another day of blessings:
-- Lori's surgery went off without a hitch, about 3:30 hours long with a highly trained neurosurgeon!
-- No fat was needed to be harvested from her side which was the biggest pain last time!
-- No spinal fluid leaks!
-- No pick line this time and no catheter!
-- No headaches or weird things coming out of anesthesia!
-- No nasal sinus packing this time!
-- No burning stomach pain that required morphine from huge doses of cortisone!
-- Lori is so far more alert and happy than with previous operations...
-- OK ... she hates the needles, the bruises, the beepings, IV's, or whatever that burning arm pain is!
and as Emma would say, "It's scary... very scary."
We are ever so thankful for all of you who have prayed for Lori and beseeched our Heavenly Father on her behalf. The gross tumor was completely removed and she says her head is so much "clearer."
We still need and covet your prayers for Lori's headaches, neck pain, tingling, and stomach aches to finally leave her alone. She needs some years of plenty to replace her many years of suffering.
We also ask for your prayers that the tumor never return again. The surgeon is concerned that tumor cells remain in the Dura, too deep to remove without causing a spinal leak, or worse things. So it looks like Lori will have an MRI in 3 months and then yearly for life to monitor the tumor's recurrence, and if it comes back... it is either back to surgery again, or radiation. Radiation would most likely kill her pituitary, then on to a number of hormone replacements the rest of her life to survive.
We thank God for His love and protection through the surgery, and getting us this far in life. We would wish for all good news, but then we would be spoiled brats if we were given everything, without having to follow by faith into all God has in store for us. We know Lori is in His perfect hands, and with that we must remain thankful and content.
Many thanks again for all your prayers, love and concern. We believe in miracles... so let's start praying that the tumor never returns!
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1)
"And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up"
(James 5:15)
