Hello again,
Today Leslyn will be coming home from the hospital. The doctors feel that she is stable enough and able to control the pain from the surgery through oral pain killers, so they want to get her back home where she will be more comfortable and less likely to get an infection from the other patients.
Yesterday, she was doing much better. The nausea had subsided and she was able to sit up, talk, and even eat a sandwich. The plastic surgeon, Dr. Ghorbani, checked the surgery site and said it was healing well. To me, it looked much better than I had expected and the scars seem to be placed well. The doctors truly did an amazing job!
Please keep her in your prayers over these next two weeks, as they are crucial to the healing process. Specifically that infections will not occur and that the pain will stay at a low and manageable level.
Thank you all for your prayers!!!
~Karyn
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Surgery Update 1
Hello everyone,
Thank you all so very much for your prayers today!! They have been very effective because the surgery went very well and Leslyn [Mom] is recovering well. Surgery ended sooner than expected, which was great because she didn't have to be under anesthesia for an extra hour. The surgeons are confident that they have clear margins and have removed all the cancer. She was also able to get a private room with a nice view of the mountains, so that is an extra blessing. I saw her today, and she seems to be at peace, especially since Ron [Dad] will be spending the night with her. She has asked you all to please be praying for three things specifically:
*That the nausea accompaning the anesthesia will subside quickly
*That she will remain infection free
*That the pain will be at a minimal level or even better, that there will be no pain at all!!
Thank you all so much for your prayers, they have carried Leslyn and the rest of us through this difficult day.
~Karyn
Thank you all so very much for your prayers today!! They have been very effective because the surgery went very well and Leslyn [Mom] is recovering well. Surgery ended sooner than expected, which was great because she didn't have to be under anesthesia for an extra hour. The surgeons are confident that they have clear margins and have removed all the cancer. She was also able to get a private room with a nice view of the mountains, so that is an extra blessing. I saw her today, and she seems to be at peace, especially since Ron [Dad] will be spending the night with her. She has asked you all to please be praying for three things specifically:
*That the nausea accompaning the anesthesia will subside quickly
*That she will remain infection free
*That the pain will be at a minimal level or even better, that there will be no pain at all!!
Thank you all so much for your prayers, they have carried Leslyn and the rest of us through this difficult day.
~Karyn
leaving for surgery in 5 minutes
My dear friends and family,
I just had to write one more quick note to thank each of you for your prayers, loving notes and steadfast faithfulness to me and my family. The peace and presence of God is tangible in our home and in our hearts this morning. God bless each of you! with much love, Leslyn
I just had to write one more quick note to thank each of you for your prayers, loving notes and steadfast faithfulness to me and my family. The peace and presence of God is tangible in our home and in our hearts this morning. God bless each of you! with much love, Leslyn
Monday, July 28, 2008
New Surgery Info
Surgery has been pushed back to 12:45 PM. We will arrive at the hospital for pre-op at 10:45 AM.
Surgery should last for about 5 hours with another hour or so for recovery.
I am having a double mastectomy, then they will biopsy the lymph nodes under my left arm and remove any that have cancer--of course we are hoping they are all clear. The plastic surgeon will then begin the reconstruction process. After that, I will go to recovery and then to a room.
They expect me to be in the hospital for about 3 nights.
*Please pray for Dr. Kerlin, doing the cancer surgery, and for Dr. Ghorbani, the plastic surgeon, and that the presence of the Lord will permeate the operating room.
*Please pray that I get a good room, either with a great roommate or a private room and that the presence of the Lord would already be there when they wheel me into it.
*Please pray that I will remain infection free especially since I have only 3 antibiotics that I can take to fight infection--this is a major concern.
*Please pray for my family during the long hours in the waiting room, I know it will be a long day for them.( Again, I am so grateful that family and friends will be with them and to the Grunders for being available to my girls while I am in surgery and the hospital! It puts my heart at ease.)
*Please pray that I do not get nauseous after the surgery from the pain medication or the anesthesia.
*Please pray that the pain is miraculously minimal.
Please check back here Tuesday night. My daughter, Karyn, will let you know how the surgery went and any prayer updates. Thank you, thank you, thank you for standing with me and my family in prayer, I lack the words to express my gratefulness to you!
Surgery should last for about 5 hours with another hour or so for recovery.
I am having a double mastectomy, then they will biopsy the lymph nodes under my left arm and remove any that have cancer--of course we are hoping they are all clear. The plastic surgeon will then begin the reconstruction process. After that, I will go to recovery and then to a room.
They expect me to be in the hospital for about 3 nights.
*Please pray for Dr. Kerlin, doing the cancer surgery, and for Dr. Ghorbani, the plastic surgeon, and that the presence of the Lord will permeate the operating room.
*Please pray that I get a good room, either with a great roommate or a private room and that the presence of the Lord would already be there when they wheel me into it.
*Please pray that I will remain infection free especially since I have only 3 antibiotics that I can take to fight infection--this is a major concern.
*Please pray for my family during the long hours in the waiting room, I know it will be a long day for them.( Again, I am so grateful that family and friends will be with them and to the Grunders for being available to my girls while I am in surgery and the hospital! It puts my heart at ease.)
*Please pray that I do not get nauseous after the surgery from the pain medication or the anesthesia.
*Please pray that the pain is miraculously minimal.
Please check back here Tuesday night. My daughter, Karyn, will let you know how the surgery went and any prayer updates. Thank you, thank you, thank you for standing with me and my family in prayer, I lack the words to express my gratefulness to you!
The Surgery Date is Here: Tuesday, July 29 @ 12:45PM
When I first found out that the surgery would be a month away, it seemed like such a long time but now all of a sudden the surgery is tomorrow! It seems like these past four weeks have flown by with all of the doctor appointments and things to do to prepare. My whole family is back to the surreal sensation again today.
We have had a pretty good day, thank you all so very much for praying...I can feel it. Ron, the girls and I have all felt a bit nervous off and on throughout the day, but I think that is very normal. Thank you Brenda for doing my hair again today and Julie for adjusting my neck and back...ahhh, I feel so much better!!
We are spending the evening as a family, quiet and just being with each other. Our home feels very peaceful. Michelle O. made a beautiful banner with Scriptures about healing with a cross in the center. We have it hanging in our living room and I can see it right now as I type, it is so encouraging.
Thank you for praying for us today and especially tomorrow and the days following. My brothers, Rich, Bill and Kevin and sister Lisa will be with Ron and our girls in the waiting room along with my sister-in-law, Cecelia and several of our dear friends. They should have a great time together, that makes me happy. I will be sleeping soundly in the operating room in the loving arms of my Heavenly Father and the capable hands of my surgeons.
I know that a number of you have told me that you are going to be fasting as well as praying, I thank you for that sacrifice on our behalf.
My daughter, Karyn, will be updating the blog while I am in the hospital so please check the blog tomorrow night for a post-surgery update. Blessings and much love from a grateful heart, Leslyn
We have had a pretty good day, thank you all so very much for praying...I can feel it. Ron, the girls and I have all felt a bit nervous off and on throughout the day, but I think that is very normal. Thank you Brenda for doing my hair again today and Julie for adjusting my neck and back...ahhh, I feel so much better!!
We are spending the evening as a family, quiet and just being with each other. Our home feels very peaceful. Michelle O. made a beautiful banner with Scriptures about healing with a cross in the center. We have it hanging in our living room and I can see it right now as I type, it is so encouraging.
Thank you for praying for us today and especially tomorrow and the days following. My brothers, Rich, Bill and Kevin and sister Lisa will be with Ron and our girls in the waiting room along with my sister-in-law, Cecelia and several of our dear friends. They should have a great time together, that makes me happy. I will be sleeping soundly in the operating room in the loving arms of my Heavenly Father and the capable hands of my surgeons.
I know that a number of you have told me that you are going to be fasting as well as praying, I thank you for that sacrifice on our behalf.
My daughter, Karyn, will be updating the blog while I am in the hospital so please check the blog tomorrow night for a post-surgery update. Blessings and much love from a grateful heart, Leslyn
Thursday, July 24, 2008
If you'd like to help
This new "help" section on the blog has been created in response to the many offers that we have received from people wanting to help. I have been urged to make our needs known to you. I thought this would be the best way to communicate those needs.
Over the past 9 months, as many of you know, I have been running a temperature accompanied by debilitating fatigue and body aches. Now, with this diagnosis of breast cancer, I will have another year to year and a half (unless of course I am healed!) of treatment, recovery and healing time ahead of me.
Because of my prolonged illness, I have not been able to travel and speak or write, causing a significant decrease in that source of our income. Additionally, donations to Global Prayer Ministries, of which I am the president, have dropped dramatically so that I have not received a salary in many months. In response to this financial need and the Lord's leading, in addition to being the full-time senior pastor of our church, Ron has taken on a part-time position at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church (WCPC) making pastoral visits to some of the dear folks in that congregation. He is doing all he can to provide for our family and yet with the increased medical bills and related needs, we are falling short each month and our bills are beginning to pile up. [**update: due to budget cut backs, WCPC could no longer afford to hire Ron so they had to let him go. He lost that job in Sept 08, further reducing our income.]
If you would like to help us during this time of significant need, my family and I would be very, very grateful. Your tax-deductible donations to Global Prayer Ministries will go directly to funding back salary that I have not yet received. If God has touched your life through Global Prayer or through my life, would you please prayerfully consider sowing into our ministry at this time? We need your help.
Your donations, large or small, can be sent to:
Global Prayer Ministries
1647 Willow Pass Road, #317
Concord, CA 94520
Please make your check payable to Global Prayer Ministries. Please do not put my name on the check, instead, you may enclose a note indicating how you would like the gift to be used. Thank you so much!
**Global Prayer Ministries is recognized by the IRS as a non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
Over the past 9 months, as many of you know, I have been running a temperature accompanied by debilitating fatigue and body aches. Now, with this diagnosis of breast cancer, I will have another year to year and a half (unless of course I am healed!) of treatment, recovery and healing time ahead of me.
Because of my prolonged illness, I have not been able to travel and speak or write, causing a significant decrease in that source of our income. Additionally, donations to Global Prayer Ministries, of which I am the president, have dropped dramatically so that I have not received a salary in many months. In response to this financial need and the Lord's leading, in addition to being the full-time senior pastor of our church, Ron has taken on a part-time position at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church (WCPC) making pastoral visits to some of the dear folks in that congregation. He is doing all he can to provide for our family and yet with the increased medical bills and related needs, we are falling short each month and our bills are beginning to pile up. [**update: due to budget cut backs, WCPC could no longer afford to hire Ron so they had to let him go. He lost that job in Sept 08, further reducing our income.]
If you would like to help us during this time of significant need, my family and I would be very, very grateful. Your tax-deductible donations to Global Prayer Ministries will go directly to funding back salary that I have not yet received. If God has touched your life through Global Prayer or through my life, would you please prayerfully consider sowing into our ministry at this time? We need your help.
Your donations, large or small, can be sent to:
Global Prayer Ministries
1647 Willow Pass Road, #317
Concord, CA 94520
Please make your check payable to Global Prayer Ministries. Please do not put my name on the check, instead, you may enclose a note indicating how you would like the gift to be used. Thank you so much!
**Global Prayer Ministries is recognized by the IRS as a non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
a wise friend said...
A dear and wise friend of mine, Mary L., wrote a while back to warn me that "cancer seeks to infiltrate everything. It seeks to insinuate itself into your body, your time, your thoughts, your relationships. Just like the devil, it wants the supremacy of your thoughts." I took that warning to heart and have been praying about it but also vigilant against it. God has given me great grace to keep close watch over my thought-life. I also know you all have been praying for me and my family for peace throughout the days. Your prayers have been very effective.
The other day I was sitting at the kitchen counter while Ron was working in the kitchen and I said with all sincerity, "Gosh, I really don't feel well. (pause) I wonder why?" Ron turned around and just stared at me. As I looked at him and his response, it suddenly dawned on me..."oh yeah, I forgot."
There are many times in each day when I have no thought at all of cancer. This disease is only a temporary intruder in my body and I have no intention of allowing it to insinuate itself into my life, my thoughts, my emotions or my family more than I need to in order to deal with its effective removal from my body.
Thank you for praying for grace for me and my family, God is abundantly answering your prayers.
The other day I was sitting at the kitchen counter while Ron was working in the kitchen and I said with all sincerity, "Gosh, I really don't feel well. (pause) I wonder why?" Ron turned around and just stared at me. As I looked at him and his response, it suddenly dawned on me..."oh yeah, I forgot."
There are many times in each day when I have no thought at all of cancer. This disease is only a temporary intruder in my body and I have no intention of allowing it to insinuate itself into my life, my thoughts, my emotions or my family more than I need to in order to deal with its effective removal from my body.
Thank you for praying for grace for me and my family, God is abundantly answering your prayers.
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