Hello friends and family,

We continue to be thankful for all your support and prayer! It’s been over a month since we’ve last updated, and that’s largely because things with Lewis haven’t changed much since then — at least, not that we know of. Our pace of bimonthly cyst drains and successful infusions has continued for these past four months, which is so amazing to think about, especially considering how dire both of those medical interventions seemed then. Being able to consider delaying a resection this long has felt like an answer to prayer. One of our doctors told us recently that their expectations have already been surpassed for how long we’ve been able to hold off a surgery for. Also, the hives never came back - yay!

And while Lewis has been developing great, we know how big the cyst was five weeks ago (it’s very big), and any significant growth could easily push us beyond what our current treatments can deal with and force us to do something more irreversible.

So, we’re updating now because this week is a busy one, and we’re asking for prayers across the board. Tuesday is Lewis’ first quick MRI in five weeks, we are a mixed bag of both anxiety and hope. Please pray for good news — for a collapsed cyst or shrinkage if you have faith for it! But even no growth would be great news, and would let us continue our current plan for attempting to keep the size of the cyst under control.

Wednesday, we have our normal infusion, and then Thursday, Lewis has laser treatment for the scarring on his wrist, hand, and arm. This is his second laser treatment for the scars, and we’re praying that it will successfully keep away any damage to his future functionality, as well as allow his scarring to heal without further interventions. Lastly, this is our first time trying a gas mask instead of full sedation, so please pray that he handles this less-intense anesthesia well and that there aren’t any complications.

We’ve also been quiet these past weeks because July marked the one-year anniversary of Lewis’ first MRI where the tumor was discovered and he was diagnosed with a craniopharyngioma. We’ve tried to take time to process what this anniversary has meant to us. We’ve grieved what this tumor has forced us to consider, how it’s touched every aspect of our lives, and what it will continue to mean for the rest of Lewis’ life. We’ve also taken time to be thankful for how God has carried us through this past year. For all the answered prayers against all odds, for all the times it felt like God had spoken true and hopeful promises to us, for all the people that have come along side us and helped lift our burden when it has been impossible to carry on our own. We have so much to be grateful for. The greatest thing of all is just getting to see the little boy Lewis is showing himself to be. Our one prayer for Lewis before he was born was that he would be full of the joy of the Lord. Seeing that so clearly in who he is today, even with everything he has to endure, has brought us so much joy too.

But hitting this anniversary has also come with something that feels like spiritual blowback this past month or so. The pressure has felt tangible these past few weeks, and we’ve faced trouble of every variety as a family, including sudden physical ailments, a death in the family, a reoccurring mental health issue, and a lot more than we won’t get into. We don’t say this casually, but it’s been hard to know what to call any of it other than spiritual warfare. Please pray for the Lord’s protection and strength during this time. It’s easy for us to feel depleted, tired of asking for healing, feeling like a burden on others, not always knowing where to turn for support, and even slipping into believing lies that we know are not true. If you have faith for it, we would ask for the beginning of a new season of peace and health for our family — and that it would come soon!

We know so many of you are lifting us up in prayer, and we’re so thankful for all your support, your encouraging messages, and just for rooting for us. Thank you always!