Cheery pics in the midst of heartache...

My dad underwent another surgery yesterday. It seems that during the first surgery to remove the cancer, the doctor "nicked" the tube that goes from the bladder to the kidney and cut it. That caused urine to back up into his stomach. After extracting 7 liters of urine from the stomach, they decided to try surgery to fix what they had done. The intent was to put in a shunt in place of that tube. When they opened him up they found that the tube was too severed for a shunt. He is now facing options. 1. redirect the tube out his side so that his urine goes into a bag much like his colostomy bag, or 2. they go back into surgery and remove the kidney. Both options have their ups and downs, but it is ultimately Dad's decision to make. All of this has to be done before he can start Chemo.

In other news... Heath's brother's and their wives and children came to Chicago for Memorial Day weekend. Here are a few pictures of our time together.....

Adjustments...

So dad is back in the hospital because now his gallbladder has malfunctioned. We don't really know much more than this. There are many questions for the doctors and I'm hoping we can get answers soon. It seems that there are a many adjustments that dad has to get used to. This will not be an easy process, but necessary for all of us to be a part of it.

I have been undergoing some adjustments as well. I have always considered myself flexible and thought that I can adapt to many situations. This year has required much more. We have been unable to sell our house (no one has looked at it since Thanksgiving) which means that our finances have gotten tighter than ever, We have been puzzled all year about our son's medical needs, and my dad (whom I have always thought of as invincible) is going through the toughest time of his whole life. This on top of a few little things that aren't worth mentioning but just add to the list of adjustments in my life.

Last weekend my sister and a few childhood friends and I took a road trip to North Carolina for a weekend reunion of R and R. Each of us took turns talking about our lives and struggles and accomplishments since last Spring (when we last got together.) When it came to be my turn to "tell all" I poured my heart out without holding back. All of the emotion of the past year came flooding to the surface and I was taken aback at how much my life had gotten out of my control. I had not adjusted well. But my friends that saw through the gunk and straight to my heart. There was no Judgement, no Confronting, no Advice on how to deal with it all better. NO, they just loved me and spoke to me with mercy and grace and true friendship. God brought these women into my life to carry me to the cross when I could no longer walk on my own.

As we spent the weekend by the lake, time stood still and my heart was able to recharge. When I returned home to my family, life started up again right away, and I found that only one thing that had changed: My Heart.

A few days ago I had a really rough day and it seemed that I again was needing a small heart adjustment. I asked God to once again show me His mercy. The next morning I got a message from another friend. A friend that I have known for 10+ years, but haven't seen in 7 years. She was encouraging me to hold on to hope and then also sent me a song to listen to. This song was like a salve to my aching soul.

I am adjusting! And when the adjustments seem to be too much? That is when God steps in carries me on the wings of the angels he has placed in my life for just such a time as this.

Father and Son Part II

Karston is doing much better. The antibiotics are working. The swelling in his ankle is way down and the open sore has now scabbed over. He has had no fever since Sunday and has been back to school for two days now. He will not be wearing his leg brace until we can figure out a way to prevent this from happening again. That means he will have little support for his ankle and his knee so we have to get this figured out as soon as possible. Thanks so much for all of your prayers and kind words that have helped so much.

As you may know by now we did not get the news we wanted about my dad's surgery. It was determined that the cancer is in stage 4 and has spread to the bladder and the liver. They were also unable to re-attach the colon and he now has a colostomy bag. He will be starting 6 months of chemo/radiation in just a few short weeks. This is a very difficult year for him full of many difficult adjustments. The Sumrall family is really needing your support and prayers right now. We know that God is in control and has a plan for all of us to get through this, but it helps when we know that we are not alone in the struggles and challenges that are facing us. Thank you to everyone for being such incredibly great friends and family!

Father and Son...

Many of you have been keeping up with all of our updates and have been praying for both my dad and my son. I appreciate all of the prayers and aske that if you are not the praying kind to please keep us in your thoughts as we make it through all of this.

Many of you may know that just a couple of weeks ago my father was in the hospital. He had several rough days of kidney dialysis and feeling sick from colitis (a chronic digestive disease characterized by inflammation of the colon.) Upon further testing of the colon it was also found that he had Colon Cancer. He has been recovering under the care of my aunts for about two weeks. Tomorrow he will go into the hospital around 10:00am and be preped for surgery. They plan to go in and remove all of the cancer (but not all of the colon) and the precancerous spots around the cancer. The hope is that he will come out of surgery without needing any chemotherapy or radiation. It all depends on what they find during surgery, but regardless there will be at least 6weeks of recovery time. Many of you have been praying for him during the last few weeks and I trust that tomorrow you will continue to aks God for his Mercy to shower over my daddy (Johnny.) Your continued prayers would also be welcome for the other family members as well.

As for my son, Karston. We took him into the E.R. last Friday morning uncertain of why he was in pain and unable to bear weight on his leg. He ran a fever of 103 degrees and the doctors got him on IV fluids right away. We were told that he had a viral infection and he was started on Antibiotics right away. We knew that he had a blister over his ankle bone and wondered if that may be where the infection was taking place. All xrays came back clear and he was sent home to rest. For two days staight he had very little energy and laid on the couch watching movies. Yesterday, Mother's Day, he woke up feeling fine. He was full of energy and ready to have fun at his grandparents house with the family. It didn't take long before we noticed that his ankles was swollen. Below is a picture of what it looked like(CAUTION: the picture below could be considered gruesome.) on Mother's day. The doctor said that if he had seen it like that he would have sent us back to the E.R. overnight for IV antibiotics. He said that it still could be the case that the infection is rejecting the antibiotics so we need to keep a close eye on it and if it swells again and he runs high fevers then we need to go back to the E.R. immediatley. I looked at just an hour ago and it is a little more red and swollen but nothing like it was yesterday. We will continue to monitor it and keep you all updated on how he is doing.

Dad's surgery...

The following is the latest update that my dad posted on facebook....


"ok - Dr Davis has cleared me for the surgery on the 12th. There is still a question of what they will find when they get in. They will remove the entire sigmoid portion of the colon and any nearby lymph nodes. What they find will determine if any chemo or radiation will be needed."

We are all believing in the best for him and are grateful for all of your prayers and support.