Rebecca is out of surgery! The surgeon reports that he was able to completely remove the tumor (the one at the bottom tip of her spine) without removing bone or nerves! We’re so thankful for this good news!

The doctors are still perplexed with her condition(s) and still working out the next steps in the game-plan to remove or treat the other tumors throughout her body. They promise further results and additonal steps by Friday.

Rebecca will be in ICU over night and they hope to be able to remove her breathing tube shortly.

Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers.

Rebecca is doing fine and resting well this evening. Her surgery is tomorrow at 8:00 AM. The surgeons will be removing as much of the mass on her tailbone as they can. They plan to keep her in ICU for at least 24 hours as a precautionary measure.

As always, thank you for your prayers and well wishes. Rebecca and I appreciate you all so much!

Today Rebecca is doing well. She will just be resting most of the day to keep her energy for tomorrow’s surgery. We don’t anticipate that we will get any news today or that they will be doing any procedures.

Sorry this one is a bit late. Becca is resting well tonight. She is tired but stable. The doctors talked with us tonight. As of now (things are always changing) they are going to remove as much of the tumor in her tail bone that they can. They will send that off to be tested. Unfortunately the previous biopsy came back inconclusive as they didn’t get enough to clearly define which type of cancer it is. They are leaning to a type of bone or cartilage cancer. Each is treated differently, so until they know for sure which type it is they are going to hold off on treatment. The good news is that should release the stress on her legs. The bad news is the surgery will be about 4-6 hours on Wednesday and there are always the risk of paralyses or bowel problems. They will also try and do a biopsy of her shoulder while she is in the other surgery.
As for the wrist, there isn’t anything there as it was just a shadow… good news. However, that leaves the c2, c3 mass in her spinal cord and the spots on the brain. They are back to thinking that the two are not connected again. Her doctor feels that once they get though the mass in her tail bone and she recovers, they can tackle those issues, perhaps with a biopsy of her brain. He was very positive on the procedure and said that he knows it sound scary, but was reassuring that it’s computerized and very specific and ‘they do this all the time.’ The doctor was also very happy that she seems to be stable at this point, that even though she doesn’t have all her strength, she is not getting worse. He feels the steroids are keeping her stable.

We will see what happens tomorrow, but we are keeping up the faith! Psalms 40:1-2.

This morning Becca is in good spirits. She just had another CT scan for her right shoulder. They want to see how the growth has changed over the last week. The doctors have stated they are worried about her not getting the strength back in her arms as the steroids should have worked by now. They are probably going to have to biopsy one of the spots on her brain. They have told her that she will be ok and that they will make sure she is comfortable during the procedure. We don’t know when they will do it yet.

At the end of the fast yesterday I know our prayers were heard. Rebecca was having a major headache to the point she had almost given up. It was so hard for me to see her in that state. But I know that through the prayers her ailment was lifted and the doctors found the right mix of drugs to help her out. In fact, by the end of the night she was back to her old self again, with almost no pain. Every staff member at the hospital (Zale-Lipsky) has been so caring and understanding. We have had several questions as to our faith and religion. If you would like more information, you are welcome to visit our home page. Rebecca is so strong I know it is by the faith of all those around her and our friends & family who are praying so hard for her.

We are hopeful today we will have a better time line for the next few procedures, as well as the results from the biopsy in her tail bone.