Making Progress!!!

Wednesday was doctor day and the news is good. Rob was able to have ALL his tubes removed and he is one happy man now that all his "attachments" are out!!! See that smile on his face above!!!

The doctor also gave him the biopsy results. They show that of the 18 lymph nodes removed, 17 were benign and only one large node was malignant. Not sure yet what that means but Rob will ask his Oncologist in a couple of weeks to explain ALL the details.

Baring any restrictions, Rob wants to make the trip to Los Angeles to the Hungarian Consulate after seeing his surgeon next week Wednesday. If all goes well, my sister Georgia will drive us to L.A., then to Long Beach to visit my cousin, then to Riverside to visit one of Rob's uncles, and finally to Las Vegas to visit my brother and his family.

Most likely, the week after we get back, Rob will begin his radiation treatment. We've heard some gruesome tales of what that will be like so we're asking for prayer for Rob's strength to get through it without too many side effects.

Except for being beardless, we're both surprised at how little change there is in his appearance. Of course a lot of that could be the result of swelling.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for your faithfulness in praying for Rob. He is encouraged by all the love being poured out to him. Thanks to all who have written e-mails, snail mail, and made phone calls.

Thanks Pastor Bodi and Doctor Krisztian, your calls from Hungary meant the world to us.

Blessings to all,
Carol and Rob

Rob is Home!!!!

The picture below is Rob smiling and thanking everyone for their prayers. The doctors allowed him to come home Saturday although he still has a catheter bag plus two drains in his wound. You can see by the smile on his face he's happy to be out of the noisy hospital even though he was blessed to have a private room!




He had a rough night, waking several times (it's hard to get comfortable with all the "attachments") but his pain level is manageable with pain meds.

Rob will see his surgeon on Wednesday to have his catheter removed and hopefully, both of the drains. Rob is hoping to be able to make a trip to Los Angeles in about 2 weeks to go to the Hungarian Consulate to have paperwork signed.

After that, he will start the radiation treatment about week 3 post-surgery. That will entail 6-7 weeks, 5 days a week of radiation targeted to his surgery site. They are saying the affects of the radiation will begin about week 2 or 3 with a burning affect much like someone who has experienced a fire. He doesn't know more than that yet but will find out more once he has his pre-treatment meeting with the Radiation Oncologist. No one is saying what comes next so we'll keep you posted how you can be praying once we know more.

Today we are celebrating our risen Savior, Jesus and thanking God for His loving care. We are so aware of all the prayers being lifted for him and for me as well. Thank you dear ones for continuing to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

Blessings in Jesus, the RISEN Savior.

Carol and Rob

Rob Doing Well!!!

Never one to miss an opportunity to have an In-N-Out cheeseburger, as soon as the docs gave him the ok to eat whatever he wanted, he asked me to bring him one from his favorite place, plus fries and a chocolate shake. Boy was he grinning when I walked through the door shortly before noon today.

Rob is currently out of bed, disconnected from his monitoring devices and leg pumps (keeps the blood flowing while bedridden), but still with an IV attached, and sitting in a recliner chair reading one of his favorite authors.

No pain meds have been needed for the past 8 hours so he is doing REALLY well, post-op. He is looking forward to being able to come home tomorrow and will see his surgeon on Wednesday of next week, hopefully to have the drains removed from his neck.

We will have a quiet Easter at home, probably watching one of the TV Church programs. My sis and a friend are stopping by in the afternoon to check on his progress.

Once again, we thank each of you from the bottom of our hearts for your faithfulness in standing with us through these many weeks.

May you all be encouraged and your faith strengthened as we celebrate our risen savior Jesus Christ. To God be the glory.

Gratefully His,
Carol and Rob

Rob's Surgery Outcome

Rob thought you all might like to see him before shaving and after so no one will have a problem recognizing him in the future!!! As you can see, he still has a smile on his face and did even when they were wheeling him into surgery.

The results of the surgery are this: They did NOT have to remove the muscle in his neck or his salivary gland. The tumor was the size of a closed fist, it is "non differentiated" squamous cell cancer, at least a stage 3. His doctor said they also removed a lymph node that was totally affected. She also said that since the lymph node was involved, it may have spread to other lymph nodes and therefore could be in other parts of his body at some point, not necessarily just the head or neck area.

I was able to see Rob for a few minutes, he was still groggy from the anesthesia but knew who I was. His throat was sore from the breathing tube during surgery so he wasn't able to talk much.

Since he went into surgery at 4:45 p.m. and they finished about 8 p.m. he will be staying in the hospital until at least Saturday.

Thank you all for your prayers and good wishes. Rob has been encouraged by all the love coming his way.

Blessings in Christ,
Carol for Rob too

More Details

Hi all,

Rob got a call from his doctor yesterday and the decision is to do his surgery on Thursday, April 9th at 2:30pm. The reason for the late start is that there is a question about how long the surgery will take, anywhere from 2-4 hours depending on how much tissue is involved, if they can save his neck muscles, any lymph nodes, etc. The doctor is determined to save as much of his head and neck as possible, always a good thing!

Rob continues to be encouraged by all the comments on the blog, e-mails, and phone calls. He had a call from Pastor Bodi while he was still in Texas and Rob got to talk to a few of the former students all meeting and staying with Tenny's family.

Rob is keeping busy these days, updating our ministry financials and teaching me how to do it on my own. Something that's being in a holding pattern for the past 10 years!!! Yesterday he also worked on our taxes, never a fun thing to do but oh so necessary.

We do need prayer about the ministry financial situation. Several of our long-time supporters are in a situation where they will not be able to continue due to the recession, job loss, or other financial considerations. Please pray that God will continue to provide all that is needed to keep things going even though we are not there. In any case, the ministries continue, praises to God!

We are so grateful to Dani and Andi for their help in keeping things going in Hungary at the mission house. A real cause for concern if not for them. Kudos to you both Dani and Andi.

We love you all, thank God for you by name, each time we remember you in our prayers.

In His grip,
Carol for Rob too