Home

I apologize for the lack of updates. If I am being honest, I am not feeling well. I am exhausted. The good news is Bruce is home and is recovering well from surgery. We have not received pathology results yet. He is quite limited in what he is allowed to do for the next month, which leaves me to handle everything around the house as well as all medical and parenting care for the kids. My body has been in a constant state of crisis management for the past six plus weeks. Alex's surgery was June 11th. Bruce's CT scan that revealed the mass in his colon was done 2 days after we got home. Please continue to pray for good pathology results, but also pray for my strength and stamina. We cannot afford for me to get sick right now.

Thank you for continuing to love us through the craziness of our life.

Ali

Good Day

I just realized I haven't updated! Bruce has had a really good day. He continues to do really well. He has eaten several times today without complication and has been able to get up and walk around his room. We did have a consultation with his surgeon today. We are still waiting on pathology on the lymph nodes. Most likely we will have results Friday or early next week. He did let us know that Bruce's tumor was the size of a softball. We were also told that regardless of the pathology on the lymph nodes we will need to follow with an oncologist. I am hoping we all get a good night sleep tonight and I will update as I know more.

Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Ali

Surgery Update

This has been a LONG Day! I so appreciate all of the prayers. I was at peace for most of the day and even when I started to get impatient, I still felt peaceful. I finally spoke to the surgeon at 6:15 this evening. In his words, the surgery could not have gone any better. He was able to remove the whole tumor as well as the surrounding lymph nodes and arteries. There was a bit of inflammation above the tumor, but he removed that as well. In all he took right at a foot of colon. We still need to wait on the pathology on the lymph nodes, but the biggest surprise is that he was able to complete the surgery without the need for Bruce to have a temporary Ileostomy. When we saw him last week he was pretty adamant that an ostomy would be necessary in order to allow Bruce's colon to heal. He was thrilled that when he attached the remaining colon to the rectum the tissue looked much better than expected. He ran some tests and felt confident that it would heal without the need for the ostomy. I have not spoken to Bruce, but I know he is happy. He was most concerned about the need for a second surgery to reverse the ostomy in a few months. All in all this is the best possible outcome thus far. Please continue to lift us up as Bruce still has a long recovery ahead and specific prayers for the Lymph Nodes to show no cancer.

Ali

Surgery Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Bruce's Surgery. I have had so many people reach out and send nice messages. We appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers. Many have asked how they can help and the answer is I really am not sure. We have dealt with Alex being sick for so long, but this is unchartered territory and we do not know how long or hard this journey will be. Please be patient as we try and figure out this new obstacle before us.

After much discussion, Bruce and I have decided that I need to take a leave from my work. I was already juggling a pretty full plate with homeschooling Alex and handling all of the kids extensive medical care. I have now added homeschooling Maddy and another patient to care for. I just only have so much of me to go around. My priority needs to be on the physical and emotional welfare of my family. We are trusting in God to provide as it is always scary to lose any income. We do believe this is what's best for our family at this time.

We are trying to keep things as "normal" as possible for the kids. Alex has been teaching Maddy some card games. Maddy has been "wassling" (wrestling) with Daddy before he is out of commision. We have been watching movies and visiting with Mimi and PopPop. It has been such a blessing to have them here to help during this crazy time.

Please pray for us over the next week. Pray for relief from worry. Pray for Bruce's safety. And most importantly pray for clear lymph nodes!

Ali

Snuggled up for Church

Mad got 3 inches cut off her hair

Maddy and Daddy Playing

Maddy and Mimi

Maddy loving on Zoey

VBS Fun! (Ignore the mess, I was reorganizing the kitchen.)

Learning new card games

Not good news

Bruce and I had the appointment with his surgeon today. Unfortunately, the pathology came back showing that the mass in his colon is cancer. He is scheduled for surgery on Tuesday. Our prayer is that it has not spread. They are removing 1-2 feet of colon and the surrounding lymph nodes. If the lymph nodes are clear then the surgery should remove everything. If the lymph nodes come back as cancerous then Bruce will need chemotherapy.

Please keep us in your prayers as we navigate this next obstacle. We are exhausted from years of medical crisis. But we will continue to live our motto and find a way to CHOOSE JOY.

Ali

More hard news

Usually, I start with all my positive news first, but I'm flipping it this week.

Bruce has been having some concerning GI issues for a number of months. Unfortunately between awful insurance last year, COVID and Alex's surgery we delayed addressing it. Over the past few weeks he has had several tests and yesterday we found out that he needs a major surgery. We are waiting on pathology results to find out if there is any concern beyond the surgery. Please keep us in your prayers as we navigate another big obstacle over the next month or so.

Our other "bad" news is that we have struggled with a roof leak in the bay window bump out of our kitchen. We have had many people try and fix it over the past 5 years. It has reared its ugly head AGAIN! We are working with a roofer we know and trust now and we are pretty sure we have pinpointed the issue, but it is just one more thing on our plate.

Maddy has finished her first two weeks of school and is doing great! I have had several people ask me why we started so early. My optimistic self is hoping that at some point COVID will be more under control and we will be able to leave the bubble of our house. If we get to that point, we want flexibility to enjoy some fun outings!

Alex is doing really well overall. He has a new concern that we are trying to sort out, but his pain is back to baseline and he is looking and feeling pretty good! The only other issue is that we are struggling with his ostomy leaking so we are being woken up most nights nad Alex and I are EXHAUSTED!

I saved the best for last... Mimi and PopPop are officially here. They arrived on Thursday afternoon and we have enjoyed how very close they are. They don't have their stuff yet, hopefully tomorrow. The kids are loving going back and forth between the two houses.

Please keep us in your prayers over the next little while.

Ali