Good news

We just got back from a late night visit to the hospital to see Kim and Jason. Things went really well today. They were able to get the entire tumor (to their knowledge) and scoped things out - lymph nodes, liver, etc. while they were in there. They took out about 60 cm. of his bowel which leaves him with like 90% of it still (v. good). Sounds like they had a terrific surgeon who really took his time and left no stone unturned. In fact, the pathologist was right there and literally examined the tumor as soon as it came out of his body. Everyone's pretty marveled at the entire situation, especially since it doesn't seem to have spread anywhere and the tumor was so massive that it's amazing he was able to eat anything in the last several weeks. Apparently it was folded in upon itself and puckered all around. Anyway, the surgery was close to three hours long but I thought that Jason looked great tonight. He briefly opened his eyes and said hello to us but we spent the rest of the time talking to Kim. We chatted some about what was going on but then shared stories about life in general and got a few great ones about the kids. Plenty of snickering and silliness.

They're such good people. We love them with a fierce love. The road ahead will be more difficult. It looks like in about 10 days to 2 weeks or so he'll begin chemo of the nastiest variety. So basically his body will heal only to be popped good and hard again. Just pray that he heals well from the surgery and can get started on the chemo as soon as humanly possible. Pray for us as we seek to encourage and help in anyway that we can and just consistently "be" there.

Can you use it in a sentence please?

So, you might remember our friends the Gallmans (and specifically Jason) are walking a very difficult road. Their oldest child, Claire is in the the 5th grade.

Let me preface this entire story by stating that Claire is one of the most gifted children I've ever met. She is both intelligent and wise beyond her years. As a preschooler she was reading on a 3rd grade level and as a kindergartener on the 8th grade level. Now as a 5th grader, I'm sure she could read laps around me. Anyway, this week Claire was in the county spelling bee. She ended up coming in 7th place despite of her huge vocabulary.

The irony of the word she went out on continues to tickle me and give me goose bumps at the same time. And as Brian said, "Holy sermon analogy, Batman." So, here's the word that this young girl whose father was diagnosed with a fist sized tumor in his small bowel just two weeks ago missed - pessimist. Isn't that unreal? What a testament to Kim and Jason's fantastic child rearing skills. Of all people, Miss Claire could be a pessimist. But it's a word that's just not in her vocabulary.

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