Count it all joy.

Before I sat down to write this post, I was listening to worship and then decided to open the "Desiring God" app and read John Piper's daily devotion. Once again, I was hit right between the aortas. Read it here. The verse was James 1:2-3.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,

for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.

This verse is very similar to the verse that popped up on Stef's "Bible Verses" app while she was in the waiting room during my second colonoscopy. The verse was 1 Peter 4:12-13.

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering,
as though something strange were happening to you.
But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ,
so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Speaking of John Piper and suffering, this song by Shane & Shane along with the excerpt from John Piper has been of much encouragement to Stef and I. We've listened to it over and over in the days leading up to surgery:
 

Surgery:

We met with the surgeon again on July 9th, the day after my second colonoscopy. He explained the test results. He found no more tumors and the CT scans looked clear besides a spot or two on my lungs that he strongly believed were not cancer-related. (I guess most people have a spot or two on their lungs from previous illnesses.) So, it was not Stage 4, but there was no way to tell if it was stage 1, 2, or 3 until the tumor was removed and analyzed. He drew a picture to describe how he would do the surgery and what he was planning on removing. He would do the surgery laproscopically and remove the section of colon that had the tumor along with all related tissue and lymph nodes. He would then reattach the colon. I would not need a colostomy bag, although my bowels would probably take awhile to adjust. 

He scheduled the surgery for the following week, July 17th. We hoped the twins would not decide to come at that time, but decided if they did, Stef would already be at the hospital so as far as convenience goes, it'd work out. When we told our kids about the possibility of Mom going into labor at the same that Dad was having surgery, Olivia seemed to think it would make sense to streamline our hospital stay. "Well, why don't you just do that?" she asked.

I couldn't eat anything beginning Monday at midnight. I also had to "clear out" my digestive system with a laxative regiment. Not fun, but this being my third time in about 3 weeks (counting the previous two colonoscopies), I guess I was getting used to it. Thursday morning came around. We had to be at the hospital at 5:00AM and I had to get up early to take a shower with special pre-surgery soap. We got to the hospital and before long, they were prepping me for surgery as Stef stood beside me. The nurse looked at my wife and said, "OK, I'm going to give him a relaxer, so now would be a good time to kiss him goodbye." She did and the last thing I remember is her saying "God's got this, honey" as they wheeled me off.

Ris and Stef in the waiting area during surgery.

The surgery started at 7:30AM and was over in two and half hours, but I was in recovery until about 1:30PM. Stef, her sister Marissa, my mom Connie, my uncle Rick, and my grandma Wuethrich all waited in the waiting room during this time. Marissa had to leave, but the rest came to see me after they moved me to a hospital room which would be my home for the next three nights. The surgeon came in to report that the surgery was a success.

After surgery.

I was totally out of it Thursday afternoon, often falling asleep mid-word. The anesthesia and pain meds were doing their work. I don't remember much about that day. Everything seemed like dream. A dream that I would come in and out of many, many times. But, I do know my wife stayed faithfully beside me.

I will spare you the details of recovering from surgery, but I will tell you it is filled with pain, tiredness, sleeplessness, incoherence, nausea, restlessness, waiting, uncomfortableness, and uncertainty along with a lot of button-pushing...turning the TV on and off, calling the nurse in, adjusting the bed, and pushing the button for on-demand pain meds every 10 minutes. Sometimes 10 minutes did not come soon enough.

I was able to go home Sunday morning. It's now been two weeks since the surgery and I'm feeling much better. Today, July 30th, we go to an appointment to get the 17 staples removed from my 6 incisions. We also will find out what stage the cancer is in and what the plan will be for me moving forward. I covet your prayers!

Speaking of prayer...a couple quick updates:

Reeve's fever was short-lived (only 3-4 days) and the highest we recorded it was 103.5 degrees! After I posted the blog about him and asked people to pray, his fever immediately decreased and only spiked one more time! Prayer was answered!

Stef has been hanging in there and we have a C-section scheduled for Monday afternoon, August 4th! She says that she feels prayers are the only thing holding the babies in at this point! Again, prayer has been answered!

Two more songs that have recently been an encouragement to me:

Brady Toops - O For Grace 

"O Lord, to know my answer is You."

Jon Guerra - I Will Follow

"In the good things and in the hardest part, 

I believe and I will follow you."