The Latest - April 20

I apologize to all of my friends who haven't heard from me in awhile and especially everyone in South Korea! I realized that I haven't updated since surgery so I figured I would fill you all in. I miss my friends in South Korea and today I was really craving some South Korean food, but I had to settle for Arby's. Before I get to the details, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate all of the support i've gotten from everybody. It's been really encouraging to know that so many people are praying and thinking about me. I haven't really been in contact with anyone since I got home because I've spent a lot of time just trying to recover from surgery and all of my adventures. To be honest I just haven't felt very social, but it's definitely been a good time of recharging and resting. So if you feel hurt that I haven't contacted you or responded to your messages and comments, know that I got them and it's nothing personal, its just been a long and exhausting couple of weeks.

Last Monday the 12th was my surgery to remove the main tumor that was located on the end of my spinal cord. They chose to remove it because it posed the most danger being on the spinal cord. The surgery was a success and that tumor was almost completely removed (It's impossible to get every little particle of it). Recovery was slow at first and rough because of some of the side effects, but I have been walking on my own for a couple of days and weaning off of the pain meds so things are good as far as recovery goes.

That leaves me with one larger tumor in my lower back and a series of very small tumors dotting my spinal cord higher up. Our game plan as of right now is 4-5 weeks of daily radiation treatment starting within a couple of weeks. This radiation will hopefully kill the tumors which will prevent them from growing and hopefully shrink them.

While that all seems straight forward, we are far from being finished with this tumor. This is an uncommon type of tumor and while it is by definition benign, it is able to move around within the cord. My case was presented before a board of Akron area doctors because it's an uncommon case. The good news is that radiation consistently proves to be very effective treating this type of tumor, but the bad news is we will probably be chasing this tumor for a long time to come.

I have a few more appointments on Thursday, so hopefully at that point we will know more about what we're facing, The most pressing issues right now are spiritual strength and a good attitude during my upcoming treatment and recovery. This experience has helped me to grow in so many ways already so I know God will keep showing me new things as I seek Him out. Also pray that this tumor stays put and out of my brain. There have been a couple of instances where that has been discussed and it is a very real possibility. That's just creepy to think about... 

You guys all rock, I miss my South Korean friends but am grateful to be home with my awesome family and friends. I will make an effort to respond to people trying to get a hold of me so I hope to hear from some of you soon!