happy 2022! we hope everyone had a wonderful christmas & new year’s & holiday with loved ones.

it’s been another roller coaster of MRIs and infusions — but we do have some good news to share. lewis’ 2nd surgery (the one before thanksgiving) decompressed the cyst a lot (it was almost unrecognizable!) & today, it’s around the same size & has remained fairly stable. we got a quick MRI last week that suggests that the cyst shrunk compared to the time before! that alone is such an answer to prayer. we never could have imagined that his cyst would be this size over a month and a half away from his last surgery. praise god!

however, that last MRI on 1/5 also suggested that there could be a second cyst that has developed near the catheter. the doctors are pretty unsure of what it could be, but it’s possible that it’s something temporary (like fluid) that could go away. we are concerned that it could be an indication that something has gone wrong with the catheter, which would require another surgery to take out. we will continue to watch it. please pray that there is NO new cyst & it is nothing more than some built-up fluid!! that will easily go away & not cause any problems. & that it will be gone at our next MRI, thursday, 1/20 at 9am.

but also, we have been praying that god would drain the cyst out of the brain through the catheter & are hoping that what we are seeing is God in Action!

the second big request for prayer is around lewis’ infusions. he has had 3 infusions so far. his white blood cell count has dropped significantly each time and has prevented us from getting infusions every other week like we’d planned to. our doctor lowered the dosage last time, so please pray that this lower dose allows for his body (specifically his bone marrow) to recuperate faster so that we can continue the medication + that it would shrink/stabilize the cyst. our next infusion is scheduled for friday, 1/21!

and of course, we still pray every day that the cyst and tumor we continue to shrink and disappear entirely! we’ve been given so much hope over these past couple of months, and we are trying to cling to that as we move forward. we are stepping into our inheritance & asking for healing with the authority that god has given us as his children.

thank you for carrying this with us! in turn, you are actually carrying us. we can feel it & are so thankful. we love you all & will keep you posted! may we all have a wonderful rest of this week.

-luke + rachel