Monday, January 11, 2010

The Name of the Lord Be Exalted

"Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted..."
~ Psalm 148:13 ~

Hmmm... I just realized that I never wrote an update on my dad after the last one in December. So I thought I would do that. :) You can skim over this next paragraph for a quick recap on the last thing I mentioned in that post:

"We'll see what the results for the MRI are, and if he has a new lesion they want to do another lumbar puncture to see if they can find anything indicating what this is... because he still hasn't been given a diagnosis! We've been dealing with this since May of this year and all the doctors are stumped.... They also want to try not to give him any steroids if possible, because he's had them every time and they want to see what the lesion does without them. (That is, if they really do find a lesion.) The steroids have been the only thing to take away his symptoms, though. So if he gets as bad as he did last time he will most definitely have to have them."

Well, he ended up getting the steroids. :) Another lesion was growing, but this time it was not located on the brain stem. Instead, they found it on the right side of his corpus callosum. That was something new. He went for a lumbar puncture on a Monday (the week before Christmas) and afterward suffered from what they call a "spinal headache". At first we weren't completely sure if that was the cause of the headache because he had already had a bad one for a couple of weeks, before the lumbar. For a few weeks all he would do was lie in bed every day. So by the next Monday (Christmas week) his doctor said it sounded to her like a headache resulting from the lumbar puncture because it was worse for him when he would sit or stand up. She said he could either come back to the hospital to have a "reverse lumbar" done, or he could try drinking a lot of caffienated liquids. He decided to try drinking lots of liquids! ;) The doctor said if it didn't work she would be on-call Christmas Day and the day after, and she would meet Mom and Dad in the emergency room to perform the reverse lumbar herself! ...Thankfully, it worked!! Christmas Eve was the first day he came out of his bedroom for weeks. We were all so happy! Therefore, we were all able to enjoy a very nice Christmas together. :)

Dad was slowly starting to feel better again. For about two weeks he felt so good! He was laughing, smiling, taking care of the barn animals, burning trash, putting new rock on the road, etc.... all things we take too easily for granted. But unfortunately, (hey! this sounds the same as my last update--unfortunately) last Saturday what seems to be his "I've-got-a-new-lesion-growing" headache started again. Sunday morning we didn't make it to church because it was bothering him too much. We also noticed when he opened his eyes that they weren't working together properly. Now today he's unsteady on his feet as well. The doctor made an appointment for him to have an MRI tomorrow. So now we're waiting to see what shows up there I guess.

~ All of this being said, I can't help but ask that you continue to keep Hope in your prayers as well. It seems she now has an infection in her liver, which is very serious. Her mother is asking that we pray that the Lord would provide her with new strength! Please pray for God to heal Hope of this cancer as well, but most importantly that His name would be exalted in their lives.

...And it certainly wouldn't hurt to pray something similar for our family while you're at it! ;) We really appreciate all the prayers. Have a blessed week everyone!

"Stand up and praise the LORD your God, who is from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be your glorious name, and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise." Nehemiah 9:5
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"In that day you will say: 'Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.'" Isaiah 12:4

9 comments:

Unworthy said...

hi taylor, how are you?
long time
happy new year

Anonymous said...

Taylor, We continue to pray for your dad and all the family. We pray for spiritual and physical healing, that all your spiritual and physical needs will be met and that our Lord and Savior will be glorified in all these things. All we need is a touch from the Master's hand.Continue to persevere, endure and continue in Him, for we know that all things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to His purpose. Love you all, Susan

Taylor said...

Joelle: Happy New Year to you, too! I'm doing pretty well right now. :) ...Thank you for commenting! It's always nice to hear from you. :)

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Susan: Thank you for the prayers and encouragement. :) Romans 8:28 is one of my favorite Bible verses!

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Have a blessed day!!

Love,
~Taylor

Chloƫ said...

I'm praying, dear Taylor, for your family and father...and Hope...

Please keep us updated!

Your friend,
Chloe

Sister #1 said...

Praying for daddy. :) Love ya sis and miss ya everyday! Can't wait to get back home. *blows kiss*

Love,
Sister #1

Taylor said...

Chloe: Thank you! I will do my best to keep you updated. ;)

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Sis #1: Miss you too! :) I love you!

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Love,
~Taylor

Allison said...

Dear Taylor
I am remembering Hope and your family in my prayers! Know that my family and I are praying for you! In fact, the first time I looked at your blog, I explained to my mom what I understood about your dad's problems. We sat down right then and there to pray for you. Then yesterday, when I found out about Hope, my family sat down and prayed for her.
Your sister in Christ!
~Alli

Jenna said...

Hi Taylor!!
I've been intending to hop over to your lovely blog for a while...I'm finally here:)

Would you like to send a prayer request for your Dad to
On Bent Knees? I'm praying for him and your family...

Love,
Jenna

Taylor said...

Alli: Thank you so much! It's a huge comfort to know that there are people praying for our family... even people we've never met before!! It means a lot to us. :) Prayer is very powerful!!

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Jenna: I'm glad you decided to stop by! I will try to email you with a prayer request for my dad soon. Thank you for praying!!

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Blessings to you both!

Love,
~Taylor