sarah beth is out of surgery and doing fine! God has been so gracious...the surgeon said that he was able to get a lot of the tissue out - some of it was necrosis, some tumor. she's able to open her eyes, wiggle her toes, lift her arms. she's breathing on her own. she'll be in recovery and ICU tonight. scans tomorrow. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all of your prayers for sarah and for our family. we can't even express how much it means to us. we've been overwhelmed.

hello to all...this is sarah beth's aunt leigh ann. i'm on website update duty again. =)

sarah beth's surgery is tomorrow (monday), to begin sometime between 5 and 7 pm. her surgeon, dr. weinsweig, will be removing the brain tumor, or as much of it as he is able. it is pressing on a major blood vessel, which could make it difficult to remove entirely. but we're believing for the best - we want that tumor GONE! chemo will begin in a few weeks. as always, we are all so grateful for your prayers for sarah, her immediate family, and extended family. she continues to be strong in her faith, relying fully on God.

i'll be updating loveyourguts for her during her recovery period, to keep all those who love her and are following her journey up to date. please feel free to leave comments for her. she'll love to hear from you.
leigh ann

The consenses has come in and all three docs are in agreement that surgery needs to happen asap and then we'll follow up with chemotherapy after that. I don't have an exact time or date ( i know it will be either monday or tuesday). i'm going to ask my aunt to keep this updated when she gets a chance so you guys can know updates and how to pray. thank you again so much for your support (prayers, encouragement and love). it doesn't go unnoticed and is very much appreciated!

lyg,
sarah

Believe it or not, I actually told mom a few weeks ago that's what I felt like. Even though I know that is the farthest from the truth, I was just going through one of those stages when you feel you have nothing to give and therefore causes you to feel worthless. That is just satan and I literally told him to get behind me.

Julia's wedding was this past weekend and it was a lot of fun. She was absolutely beautiful, as was the whole wedding ceremony.

Just a quick update on me. I'm back in the hospital. Have been here since Tuesday. They've run some scans and we've got back the oral reports. They are deciding whether or not to go ahead and start chemo or do surgery first then chemo. The place in my brain has grown and so have the places in my liver (but not as much as the brain). So, anyway, I'm here and would appreciate the continued prayers! God is in control!!

lyg,
sarah

We'll start with a quick update as to what I have found out, which is really nothing. Well, I take that back...the spinal tap came back negative, which is a huge praise!! The MRI shows mostly necrosis, but the place where I had my surgery, the tumor has grown, which is not good. That's all I know for now...I'll try to keep you updated as far as what we will do next. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Patience is one thing you will learn during a cancer journey. You will wait a lot. Actually any trial you go through, this will most often be part of the process. Healing doesn't happen over night. It's not just people who are sick. There are so many of us who are just mentally and emotionally worn out. We want answers and want to feel better and be what we would call "normal". But, what is normal?" I'm beginning to learn that we as humans may not have the correct answer to that question.

Psalm 139 is one of my favorite passages in all Scripture. If you have a Bible, I encourage you to read it and soak up every word. Hopefully after you read that, you will realize how much God loves you and wants to be in a relationship with you. He didn't create you just so you could worship Him. He created you for relationship. He wants to be your daddy, your Father, your comforter, the one you rest in when you don't know what else to do. Scripture tells us in 2 Timothy that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."

Let's face it. We're living in a tough world right now. Actually, it's been a tough world since the fall of man. But, by God's grace, we can have hope. Yes, it's normal to sometimes feel like we are so far from God, that we'll never get back to Him, but I can promise you that He doesn't leave us. He is there the entire time. Sometimes it's hard to believe that when we don't "feel" His presence, but that is where faith comes in. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see...and without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who believes in Him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him. (Heb. 11:1,6)

So, if we have faith, believe that the word of God is God-breathed, then we can have hope no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in.

Let's pray and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ to live boldly for God. Encourage one another in love when we are going through trials. Use your spiritual gift that the Lord has given you to encourage those around you. I have no idea who reads this, but know that I pray for you and have hope that you have given yourself to the Lord Jesus. There is nothing more secure and never will there be anything more secure than a relationship with God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit.

LYG,
Sarah