Caring Bridge - October 14, 2019

Tomorrow Leah and Asher head back to St. Jude for a few specialist visits, and minor surgery on his right eye. This surgery will include a small weight sewn into his right eyelid to help him close it, as his control is very weak on the right side of his face, and Botox injection into one of his eye muscles to help bring it back to center. Please pray for the surgery to go smoothly, particularly because the surgery is in the afternoon and requires sedation—he won’t be able to eat or drink nearly all day.

Other things to pray about:

Please pray for uneventful travels.

Pray that his physical therapists can get him fitted for a new AFO (an ankle and leg brace he has to wear on his left leg) as he has grown out of his current one, and it’s painful to wear, but necessary.

Asher will also see the audiologist for the first time since early this year. His hearing is not great. Pray that we can get some options to help him.

Pray for his speech to get better. This is probably the thing that frustrates him the most lately. If you know him, you know he’s a chatterbox, so not being understood, and sometimes feeling like he’s being ignored really gets to him.

Pray that he would be completely and fully healed.

Pray that a new, effective treatment for DIPG would be found, not only for us, but for all of the other families that are suffering because of this type of cancer.

Finally, join us in expressing thankfulness to God for this season. We have experienced so many joy and laughter-filled moments together as a family these last few months. Memories that were already intrinsically wonderful now have a gleam and shine that will cause them to be remembered for a lifetime. I’m filled with gratitude to find joy and beauty in the valley of the shadow of death. Our Good Shepherd continues to lead us onward, further up, and further in, not toward death, but life more full, more free, and everlasting.