Dear Friends,
This is Lisa.I am so sorry for the lapse in posts to this blog. We are at home now and I want to bring you up to date.
On the day of surgery, Hannah was taken from recovery for a post-surgery MRI. By the time we saw her in a room that evening, all of the laptops were inaccessible. Nathanael entered the previous post from my Mom's computer while he and Meredith were making their way home from Vanderbilt.
Hannah is making a good recovery. She has the normal struggles with pain management and such that occur after surgery . We have so much for which to be thankful and your prayers meant the world to us. The MRI showed no evidence of the tumor after the surgery! We are still waiting for the pathology report. The doctor explained that the tumor is considered benign because these tumors do not metastasize to other parts of the body. The pathology report will grade the tumor. We will then know how fast the tumor grew and whether or not there will be a need for follow-up radiation. There is a risk that there are a few cells lurking around. We pray this will not be necessary.
Hannah is still taking steroids which will taper off for the next two weeks. We are praying that there will be no swelling or inflammation in her spine when we cease the steroids. Apparently there is some risk of this which could cause complications.
Our Lord has been so near to us and I know that your prayers were crucial. In the days leading up to surgery, I really did experience His peace in a way that was incomprehensible.
I write irregularly in my journal. While waiting to hear the facts of Hannah's surgery, I was in the hospital chapel reading and praying when I read an entry that I wrote about 14 years ago. Here is that entry.
"Luke 7:11-17, is the account of Jesus raising from the dead the son of a widow. The truth of her situation seemed to be, "My son is dead; I am alone". When the disciples were in a storm at sea, Jesus was asleep in the boat and the truth of their situation seemed to be, "We perish". I am so conditioned to believe that facts point to or lead to the truth that I often miss The Truth, the person of Jesus. I must look to Him, not the facts surrounding any given situation. Jesus raised the widow's son back to life and Jesus calmed the sea."
God used that entry to minister to my heart and it was shortly after when the doctor gave us the facts of Hannah's surgery. He told us that he was encouraged but he made no promises. We had to wait.
I can't tell you how wonderful it was to see Hannah returning to normal during the next day. I wanted to cry from the relief.
I cannot place a value on your friendship and your prayers. I wish I could hug and thank each and every one of your personally. We will continue to update the blog when we have news. If God brings Hannah to your mind, you know how to pray.
Lisa, for all of the Lees
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Post Surgery Day 2
Hey everybody,
Nathanael here. Mom and Dad are still in Nashville. They asked me to update everyone. The official word on the tumor was "total gross removal." This means they are pretty sure they were able to remove it completely. (They never say one-hundred percent apparently.) This is good news and an answer to prayer. Also, they did not have to do any bone grafting or put in screws. This is good as if either of those was needed it could potentially have meant future limitations in mobility. We are still waiting for the report on the tumor type. That has to come back from a lab. We'll know more about that in a couple of weeks.
Right now we are taking things one day at a time. Hannah was allowed to sit up today at noon for the first time since surgery. She worked some with the hospital's physical therapist and walked on her own power. She was also able to change into some comfortable pajamas. We are anticipating she will be in the hospital for a few more days but will be discharged soon. We are praying for a speedy and safe recovery.
My Mom and Dad would want all of you to know how blessed they have been by your prayers during this time. Our entire family has felt God's blessings and guidance through this process. Thank you for your prayers for Hannah through this time and as she recovers.
Nathanael here. Mom and Dad are still in Nashville. They asked me to update everyone. The official word on the tumor was "total gross removal." This means they are pretty sure they were able to remove it completely. (They never say one-hundred percent apparently.) This is good news and an answer to prayer. Also, they did not have to do any bone grafting or put in screws. This is good as if either of those was needed it could potentially have meant future limitations in mobility. We are still waiting for the report on the tumor type. That has to come back from a lab. We'll know more about that in a couple of weeks.
Right now we are taking things one day at a time. Hannah was allowed to sit up today at noon for the first time since surgery. She worked some with the hospital's physical therapist and walked on her own power. She was also able to change into some comfortable pajamas. We are anticipating she will be in the hospital for a few more days but will be discharged soon. We are praying for a speedy and safe recovery.
My Mom and Dad would want all of you to know how blessed they have been by your prayers during this time. Our entire family has felt God's blessings and guidance through this process. Thank you for your prayers for Hannah through this time and as she recovers.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Thursday's appointment at Vanderbilt
Dear Friends,
Thank you for your prayers for us. Your love and concern for our family has been overwhelming and extremely encouraging.
We went to Vanderbilt on July 9th for Hannah’s preoperative evaluation. We do not know the results of all of the tests yet, but there were no immediate problems. Unless we hear otherwise from Vanderbilt, the surgery will be this coming Friday, July 17th.
While we were at Vanderbilt on Thursday, many of the nurses and technicians spoke highly of Dr. Cheng; some had worked closely with him. We are less than a week away from surgery and ask for your continued prayers for our family and for the Vanderbilt surgical team. We learned during our previous visit that Dr. Cheng is a believer.
Hannah’s tumor is thought to be benign myxopapillary. It is less likely to be benign meninginoma but Dr. Cheng said that it “would be great if it is meninginoma”. He said this type of tumor is easier to remove. Dr. Cheng said that the surgery will take hours “unless the tumor just pops out”. When he said that I spoke up and said, “That is what I’ve been praying.”
Please continue to pray that God would protect the nerves that are in the area of the tumor between now and surgery, that these nerves would receive ample blood supply. Hannah is visiting friends in Dayton this weekend. Summit Ministries is hosting Worldview Conferences at Bryan College during the month of July. You may remember that Hannah was prepared to be a counselor at these leadership camps. The discovery of her tumor changed the course of her summer. Ibuprofen is the medication that has best helped Hannah’s discomfort these last few weeks. She has had to discontinue it for the week prior to the surgery. She remains active as the pain allows, now taking only Tylenol.
We are continually reminded that Hannah belongs to God and she is in His hands. Knowing that some aspects of her future lie in the hands of fallible men, we are looking to God in prayer. Alexander Carson said, “If we need the protection of men, let us first ask it from God. If we prevail with him, the power of the most mighty and of the most wicked must minister to our relief.”
Lately I have been reminded of the Old Testament story of Queen Esther. Haman, as head of the King’s officials, was in a position to affect the future of the Jews. Since going before the King without being summoned would mean certain death for her, Esther asked the Jews to fast and pray on her behalf. Will you fast and pray on Hannah’s behalf on July 17th, from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time if you are able and led by the Lord? These are the hours she is scheduled to be in surgery. Even though we believe that the Lord is sovereign and in control of Hannah’s life, there is an aspect of Hannah’s future which lies in the hands of Dr. Cheng and his surgical team. We are asking God to give these men superior skill and wisdom as they perform surgery and make judgments that will affect Hannah.
Thanks for being faithful friends.
Lisa for the Lee family
Thank you for your prayers for us. Your love and concern for our family has been overwhelming and extremely encouraging.
We went to Vanderbilt on July 9th for Hannah’s preoperative evaluation. We do not know the results of all of the tests yet, but there were no immediate problems. Unless we hear otherwise from Vanderbilt, the surgery will be this coming Friday, July 17th.
While we were at Vanderbilt on Thursday, many of the nurses and technicians spoke highly of Dr. Cheng; some had worked closely with him. We are less than a week away from surgery and ask for your continued prayers for our family and for the Vanderbilt surgical team. We learned during our previous visit that Dr. Cheng is a believer.
Hannah’s tumor is thought to be benign myxopapillary. It is less likely to be benign meninginoma but Dr. Cheng said that it “would be great if it is meninginoma”. He said this type of tumor is easier to remove. Dr. Cheng said that the surgery will take hours “unless the tumor just pops out”. When he said that I spoke up and said, “That is what I’ve been praying.”
Please continue to pray that God would protect the nerves that are in the area of the tumor between now and surgery, that these nerves would receive ample blood supply. Hannah is visiting friends in Dayton this weekend. Summit Ministries is hosting Worldview Conferences at Bryan College during the month of July. You may remember that Hannah was prepared to be a counselor at these leadership camps. The discovery of her tumor changed the course of her summer. Ibuprofen is the medication that has best helped Hannah’s discomfort these last few weeks. She has had to discontinue it for the week prior to the surgery. She remains active as the pain allows, now taking only Tylenol.
We are continually reminded that Hannah belongs to God and she is in His hands. Knowing that some aspects of her future lie in the hands of fallible men, we are looking to God in prayer. Alexander Carson said, “If we need the protection of men, let us first ask it from God. If we prevail with him, the power of the most mighty and of the most wicked must minister to our relief.”
Lately I have been reminded of the Old Testament story of Queen Esther. Haman, as head of the King’s officials, was in a position to affect the future of the Jews. Since going before the King without being summoned would mean certain death for her, Esther asked the Jews to fast and pray on her behalf. Will you fast and pray on Hannah’s behalf on July 17th, from 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Central Daylight Time if you are able and led by the Lord? These are the hours she is scheduled to be in surgery. Even though we believe that the Lord is sovereign and in control of Hannah’s life, there is an aspect of Hannah’s future which lies in the hands of Dr. Cheng and his surgical team. We are asking God to give these men superior skill and wisdom as they perform surgery and make judgments that will affect Hannah.
Thanks for being faithful friends.
Lisa for the Lee family
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Wednesday's Appointment with Dr. Cheng
Dear Friends,
Hello, Hannah here. My family is mostly managing this blog, but Mom suggested I update you all on the appointment at Vanderbilt today. Because the surgery is so complex and they needed to assemble a team and make sure they had the facilities available, my surgery is scheduled for July 17th at 8:30am CST. While it was great getting to meet Dr. Cheng, who seemed very knowledgeable and experienced, he was very honest about the risks involved with this type of surgery.The size of my tumor (5cm x 2cm) is unusual, and given its placement at the very bottom of my spinal cord there are a number of complications that can arise. Besides the fact that if the tumor is too close to the cord he might have to remove a small section of the cord itself, Dr. Cheng is quite concerned that the nerves will be too caught up in the tumor. Dr. Cheng said that my risk of nerve damage is pretty high, and he wanted me to know that it's a very real possibility they will either have to leave part of the tumor knowing it will grow back or sacrifice some nerve function. Neither of these is optimal, so please be praying that Dr. Cheng will be pleasantly surprised and the tumor will be easily removed without nerve damage.
In addition to the risk of nerve damage, Dr. Cheng will have to remove a section of bone and possibly joints along my spine to access the tumor, and while he hopes that my spine will stabilize on its own he will have to monitor me after surgery. If my spine doesn't stabilize, he might have to do a bone graft (which would require fusing my bones and prohibit movement in those joints in the future) or place rods and screws in the bones. Between now and the surgery, the immediate concern is for the nerves in the area of the tumor because the tumor could be restricting the blood flow to the nerves and causing damage to the nerve function in the lower half of my body already.
Please Pray:
1) That God will protect my nerves from being damaged by the tumor between now and surgery, and that I don't have any further symptoms (Dr. Cheng said that if any new symptoms arise or my current symptoms worsen they might have to postpone the surgery).
2) That the tests during my pre-op visit with Dr. Cheng's nurse will not make postponing the surgery necessary.
3) That the surgery won't keep me from completing my senior year of college on time. I asked Dr. Cheng and his nurse about the likelihood of me being able to return to school in the fall, and both of them said they were
hopeful I would recover that quickly but they couldn't promise anything. My hope has been all along that if I took the summer to have this surgery and recover I'd be able to go back to school, and the thought that I might have to graduate a semester late is discouraging.
4) Please pray for peace for myself and my family. Now that we have the surgery scheduled, all we can do is wait, pray, and try our best not to worry about all of the possible complications and unknowns. Pray that we will rest in the fact that God brought us here and we are in His keeping.
5) Finally, I would ask you to pray that I would be able to bring glory to God in the midst of everything. The Lord has brought to my mind on many occasions these last few weeks Psalm 19:14, which reads: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Please pray that my words and heart would be pleasing to God through this time.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. As we sat in the waiting room this morning my dad leaned over and whispered, "Do you know there are hundreds, maybe thousands of people praying for us?" Your love and
encouragement has been such a blessing to us all, and we can't thank you enough. May God bless you for loving us so well.
Hannah for the Lee Family
Hello, Hannah here. My family is mostly managing this blog, but Mom suggested I update you all on the appointment at Vanderbilt today. Because the surgery is so complex and they needed to assemble a team and make sure they had the facilities available, my surgery is scheduled for July 17th at 8:30am CST. While it was great getting to meet Dr. Cheng, who seemed very knowledgeable and experienced, he was very honest about the risks involved with this type of surgery.The size of my tumor (5cm x 2cm) is unusual, and given its placement at the very bottom of my spinal cord there are a number of complications that can arise. Besides the fact that if the tumor is too close to the cord he might have to remove a small section of the cord itself, Dr. Cheng is quite concerned that the nerves will be too caught up in the tumor. Dr. Cheng said that my risk of nerve damage is pretty high, and he wanted me to know that it's a very real possibility they will either have to leave part of the tumor knowing it will grow back or sacrifice some nerve function. Neither of these is optimal, so please be praying that Dr. Cheng will be pleasantly surprised and the tumor will be easily removed without nerve damage.
In addition to the risk of nerve damage, Dr. Cheng will have to remove a section of bone and possibly joints along my spine to access the tumor, and while he hopes that my spine will stabilize on its own he will have to monitor me after surgery. If my spine doesn't stabilize, he might have to do a bone graft (which would require fusing my bones and prohibit movement in those joints in the future) or place rods and screws in the bones. Between now and the surgery, the immediate concern is for the nerves in the area of the tumor because the tumor could be restricting the blood flow to the nerves and causing damage to the nerve function in the lower half of my body already.
Please Pray:
1) That God will protect my nerves from being damaged by the tumor between now and surgery, and that I don't have any further symptoms (Dr. Cheng said that if any new symptoms arise or my current symptoms worsen they might have to postpone the surgery).
2) That the tests during my pre-op visit with Dr. Cheng's nurse will not make postponing the surgery necessary.
3) That the surgery won't keep me from completing my senior year of college on time. I asked Dr. Cheng and his nurse about the likelihood of me being able to return to school in the fall, and both of them said they were
hopeful I would recover that quickly but they couldn't promise anything. My hope has been all along that if I took the summer to have this surgery and recover I'd be able to go back to school, and the thought that I might have to graduate a semester late is discouraging.
4) Please pray for peace for myself and my family. Now that we have the surgery scheduled, all we can do is wait, pray, and try our best not to worry about all of the possible complications and unknowns. Pray that we will rest in the fact that God brought us here and we are in His keeping.
5) Finally, I would ask you to pray that I would be able to bring glory to God in the midst of everything. The Lord has brought to my mind on many occasions these last few weeks Psalm 19:14, which reads: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." Please pray that my words and heart would be pleasing to God through this time.
Thank you all so much for your prayers. As we sat in the waiting room this morning my dad leaned over and whispered, "Do you know there are hundreds, maybe thousands of people praying for us?" Your love and
encouragement has been such a blessing to us all, and we can't thank you enough. May God bless you for loving us so well.
Hannah for the Lee Family
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