hi everyone!

this has been a hard week! we were able to start our infusions on wednesday! yay! but also very hard. it is on the cancer/chemo floor. while lewis’ diagnosis isn’t technically a cancer, it is basically considered a cancer that is not cancerous (it doesn’t spread). it has been hard to make that mental adjustment.

lewis was able to start his treatment after they got his IV in after the FIFTH try. those five tries were really horrible! lewis was a very tough guy. after his IV was in, lewis was back to his smiling self. the infusion itself went well, it took around an hour & a half and lewis even fell asleep while he was receiving it. the staff there is incredibly nice, which is great as we will be there every other week for the foreseeable future.

lewis with rosie the therapy dog at his first infusion appointment

we were planning on getting a port put in after a few months of treatment to make sure it went okay/was worth, but we had to move things up. so lewis will be getting surgery to put his port in tomorrow, monday nov 8th. while we have only heard good stories about how much people love their ports, it is hard for us to have another surgery & another scar for lewis. it is going to be hard for us to see the port with him everyday, he is chunky but he is still so little! please be praying that surgery goes perfectly with no complications & a quick recovery. & that luke & i have lots of peace tonight & tomorrow.

our surgery at UCSF is scheduled for wednesday, nov 24th - the day before thanksgiving. lewis will be having a cyst drainage (same as last surgery) + a catheter put in for monthly drainages at home at OHSU. we feel confident with the UCSF team performing the procedure again, it definitely helps knowing how well last time went. it will be tricky for us to learn how to manage the cyst drainage & timing, but we are thankful for our team at OHSU & how they will help us. hopefully, this surgery will relieve the pressure & the catheter + infusions will maintain it & prevent the cyst from creating new symptoms (like his dancing eyes) + further vision loss. we are hopeful that draining the cyst & relieving the pressure will reduce his dancing eyes & increase his vision again, please be praying for this!

our church has been doing a series on the power of the Holy Spirit. today’s sermon was about healing! it was very timely. we are still yearning & begging god to heal lewis by his mighty strength, without medical intervention. we are in the middle of 40 days of prayer for lewis (please join us!), which will end on thanksgiving. it seems like a god thing that our surgery got scheduled the day before the end of the 40 days of prayer. it would be SO amazing for god to heal our precious lewis right before the end of the 40 days. we would just LOVE for the pre-op scans to reveal NO tumor + god’s healing power! please join us in asking for this.

in the meantime, we are planning for our SF trip. like last time, we created a list of meals/things that would bless us while we’re down there if you’d like to support us. we always appreciate these ways of staying connecting. it helps us through the long days, especially we’ll be spending the holiday at the hospital. it’s as close to a hospital visit from you as we’re able to have! :)