Day Four Monday Evening April 28

Hello to all,

He's lookin' good, huh? He's still smiling, praising God for every wonderful day!

I'm sure a lot of you are keeping up with this blog on a daily basis. I am thankful I started it because there just isn't time to make phone calls. It won't be long and Brock will be on the phone himself. The tube in his nose is aggravating his throat somewhat, so he really isn't talking a lot.

This morning he called me a little past 7 am. The surgeon had been in already. He seemed pleased with Brock's progress. He said again that the margins were all good and wide and the lymph nodes in the area of the tumor were cancer free. But, we still haven't gotten the pathologists report. The pathologist was in today also. He said they were having a meeting later in the day about whether or not Brock should have chemo. Maybe tomorrow we will hear. We hope so.

Today Brock ate a lime popsicle. It was so good to see him eat something. Still no luck on the digestive tract. Maybe before I see him tomorrow. They aren't acting real concerned yet, but the nurses are very hard to read. Just have to pray for the best.

The catheter came out today. That was sure a blessing! Brock never complained about it, but I know that was very hard on him. They took the IV out of his neck and put it on the back of his right hand. The doctor said to take the port out of his neck, but they hadn't done it yet when I left. Hopefully it will be gone by the time I see him in the morning. Every tube and wire that comes off, makes life easier for him. They took the dressing off his incision today. I guess it is 8 to 10 inches long. It's stapled. It didn't look bad at all. They left the bandage off so it could get some air.

Brock took 5 walks today. The doctor wants him out of bed more than in it during the day. I am now getting him ready for his walks. Helping him out of bed, taking the oxygen off, unhooking and capping off the NG tube, unplugging everything and making sure his drains and feeding tube and IV are all tangle free. It's a major deal getting him out of the room and back in the chair and then into bed again. Then he sleeps awhile and the whole thing starts over again. Needless to say, I was quite exhausted this evening. It's starting to cross my mind how nice it will be to have him home. And of course when he gets home he'll have even less things attached. :)

I am still not saying we are out of the woods yet, but the countdown is on. We started with 5 to 7 critical days and now we are on 1 to 3. His blood pressure is under better control now and his blood sugar is staying within range. His lungs are clear.

We feel that without you and all your prayers, we couldn't have come this far. We treasure you and thank each and every one of you.

Brock is still in control of the visiting and hasn't told me he's ready yet, so hang in there with us.

We need you.

Our God is an AWESOME God!

Sleep well,

Love to all,

Chris