If you are the praying type...

Geez Chris,

I pray things get better very soon for you both.

Hi all, another request to exercise those 'prayer muscles' if you will, please?

My own news is good: my Ulcerative Colitis is now "controlled" to the satisfaction of the specialist. I just need to get a bigger wheelbarrow for my monthly trip to the pharmacy ...

News is less good regarding Rosemary, my OH. She saw a surgeon before Christmas, and he suggested surgery next April (6 months after her last hospital admission). A colonoscopy was attempted in early January: again this failed to get past the area of scarring and inflammation to look at the upper 2/3rds of the intestine. Additionally, it showed deterioration in the lower 1/3rd of the colon. Since the polyps removed from there last year showed some signs of cancerous changes, surgery has moved from being a suggestion to being an imperative.

The timetable for surgery has been brought forward from April, and things will now move quite quickly. She sees the anaesthetist next Monday, then goes into the hospital on the 1st of Feb ready for a colectomy on the 2nd. We have confidence in the surgeon (who thankfully speaks some English), but he is reluctant to predict how extensive the surgery might need to be. She is inevitably quite anxious, not least because her mother died at the same age as she is now.

So, if you are the praying type, we'd value a share in your prayers please: it's going to be a bumpy few weeks. Thank you! Chris

Hello Chris, I will keep you and her in prayer, God bless!!! Angelicamarie

Thank you! God bless you too!

Most certainly, I will keep you in prayer. May the Lord be with you and keep you all strong.

How to Manage Emotions with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Thank you, Mrs. A! We're about as ready as we can be for Thursday, but it has been sobering to contemplate what might lie ahead and to talk about things one knows we should talk about but so often don't!

Her faith in God's care for her is absolute, and I guess the prayer is that I will be able to continue to be a part of God's care for her here for a while yet.

Thank you for your prayers for Rosemary: she survived the operation and is now in intensive care. The worst is over, God willing - but please keep up the prayers!

PS: While I was waiting for her to get to ICU, I expressed worry to a nurse. After all, the op started at 8 a.m., and by now it was 5:15 p.m.! Now, what did that nurse do? She went to her computer, called up Rosemary's file, and was able to tell me that her vital signs were absolutely stable at that moment, so she was fine! I am seriously impressed!

Great news, Chris! God is able! Angelicamarie

Amen to that, Angelicamarie!

So glad to hear Rosemary is stable. Modern technology is wonderful, but God is awesome as it is His hand that guides the surgeon!

Keep us posted.

Praise God for the fact that Rosemary was discharged from hospital this weekend, and all seems to have gone perfectly. She doesn't have a stoma, but she does have a long slice extending up to her rib cage, all held together by a rather shocking number of staples! She is quite sore, and we are a little concerned that she has passed nothing for three days. She does not need constipation, especially at this stage!

Thank you all for your prayers - God is great!       Chris

Chris, that's great news! She didn't have to have a stoma, but we have to continue praying. God can do anything but fail. God bless you and Rosemary! Angelicamarie

Hi Chris,

Hope Rosemary is doing better these days. Angelicamarie is right, nothing is too hard for the Lord.

Keeping you both in prayer!

Chris...

So glad the outcome was good!!! May God continue to be merciful. God bless!!! Angelicamarie